Sweet Snack: Dates & Pecans

Dates & Roasted Pecans

Here’s a delicious snack when you’re craving something sweet. This is something I’ve been enjoying as a treat after my lunch. It helps to satisfy that sweet craving after lunch or dinner. I first discovered this a few years ago when on a restrictive nutritional plan that didn’t include sugar.

Ingredients:
Organic Dates/ Honey Dates
Roasted/Unroasted Pecans

You can either roast the pecans or not roast them. If you decided to roast the pecans you can do so in a non stick skillet or in a toaster oven. Try not to burn the pecans.

Take one pecan and one date, open the date and place the pecan inside. Enjoy!

Nutty Mix- Trail Mix

I'm so excited to share with you the nutty mix (trail mix) I just concocted. Tomorrow is a tournament day for me, so that means judging all day and snacking, since there is no time to eat. I wanted to create something festive and flavor full so I headed off to my local market to have some fun.

Nutty Mix

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup raw cashews

1/2 - 1 cup raw pepitas

1/2 - 1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup goji berries

1 cup jumbo raisins

Measure out all ingredients and put them into a large Zip Lock Freezer bag. Zip the bag close and shake. Shake until all ingredients are mixed. You can store the Nutty Mix in the Zip Lock bag or poor and store in a air tight container.

If you're craving a sweeter version add 1 1/2 cups carob chips. This is a good mix to put out at holiday parties or any type of get together.

Enjoy!

Banana Date Nut Cookies

I’ve had a few people try these cookies and they love them. They instantly asked me for the recipe, and I had to post.

If you’re looking for a treat that has no added sugar, flour or eggs this is the recipe for you. With the different nutritional plans I’ve been on this gives me something sweet to eat without the guilt. I really like the fact that the recipe doesn’t include any processed sugars, flour or eggs.

Banana Date Nut Cookies

Ingredients:
3 medium to large ripe bananas
2 cups organic rolled oats
1/2- 3/4 cups chopped pecans
1 cup medjooled dates, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp alcohol free vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats and chopped pecans to mashed bananas. Chop the dates and process in a blender to get them a little more chopped up. Add dates, coconut oil, vanilla, and cinnamon to banana mixture. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Once the cookie mixture has sat for 15 minutes, drop mixture by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.
Let the cookies cool until you can store in the refrigerator. These are best served cold.

Hope you enjoy!

Weekend Pancakes

The best weekend pancakes to enjoy any time of the week. In my family pancakes were always a special treat that my dad would make on Sundays. To this day when we all get together at my parents house my dad will make us his famous pancakes. Yummy!

I decided to switch up my regular pancake recipe this morning. This is a recipe that does not include flour, milk, or refined sugar. These were so enjoyable I thought I would share.

Oatmeal Banana, Blueberry, Walnut Pancakes
Makes 2 Pancakes
1/2 cup Organic Rolled Oats
1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed
3 egg whites
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1/2 tsp Alcohol Free Vanilla
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 large banana
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat fry pan on low with olive oil. Make sure oil is distributed evenly. In a high speed blender place rolled oats, ground flax seed, egg whites, agave nectar, vanilla, and Cinnamon. Blend all ingredients together. Once ingredients are blended slice and add bananas, add blueberries and chopped walnuts. You can also save the chopped walnuts as a topping for your pancake instead of adding it to the batter. Add batter to fry pan cook each side until it’s golden brown. When you are done cooking the pancakes drizzle agave nectar on top (instead of maple syrup).

When strawberries are in season I like to make my pancakes with out the fruit inside. Instead I cook up the pancake and add 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, 1/4 blueberries, and drizzle the agave nectar on top.

Enjoy!

Craig D The Produce Guy

I'm so proud of my friend Craig D The Produce Guy. He is going to be featured on a radio program which is broadcast nationally. Congratulations Craig D The Produce Guy! Make sure to check out what Craig D has to say about white corn. I think I'll be buying some for my annual Labor Day BBQ.

Veggie Wrap

This last week my lunch was so exciting and colorful. I was inspired to make something different, something clean and nutritious without adding meat. Lately I've been into eating Ezikiel tortillas and decided to make a wrap for my lunches this week.

Veggie Wrap
1 Ezikiel Tortilla
1- 1 1/2 Tbsp Goat Cheese
1/4 small avocado
carrot (shredded)
hiccuma (shredded)
red cabbage (shredded)
red onion (thinly sliced)
spinach
home made Italian Dressing

How I like to layer my wrap:
Of course start with the Ezikiel tortilla, next spread the goat cheese evenly over whole side of the tortilla facing myself/you, next I take the 1/4 of avocado slice it up and put on one 1/2 side of the tortilla, now for the rest I add the carrots, hiccuma, red cabbage, sprouts, red onions, and spinach (keeping it to the half side of the tortilla so it can be folded/rolled).

Once I've layered my wrap I add my nice home made Italian dressing to the side with all the veggies, then I take the side that has all the veggies on it and roll it into my wrap , and cut in half.

Make sure not to over stuff your wrap, tempting with all the great ingredients, you won't be able to roll or keep together well.

Other ingredients to possibly add:
Zuchini
Cucumber
Tomato
Red Bell Peppers/Green
Mushrooms
Shredded Lettuce
Radishes

Italian Dressing
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Flax Seed Oil
3 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Vinigar
1/4 cup Water
1 tsp Agave Nectar
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Dijon or spicy mustard
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

For the Italian Dressing place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on high.

Another kind of burrito:
One of my easy go to meals, usually for dinner, is an Egg White and Quinoa Burrito. This is a meal that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I’m always on the go, going from work to Taekwondo or work to the gym, and this is quick and easy and gets me on my way sooner then later.

Egg White & Quinoa Burrito
1 Ezikiel tortilla
3 egg whites
Spinach
Mushrooms
1/4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Pepper
1/4 cup cooked Red Quinoa

Cook up mushrooms in fry pan (don’t over cook), add egg whites, spinach, and seasoning, scramble. Cook scrambled eggs to desired consistency. Heat up Ezikiel tortilla. Place red quinoa in the middle of the tortilla, place scrambled eggs on top of quinoa. Fold the tortilla into an open burrito (one side open, other side folded).

Lemon Delights

This refreshing treat went over great with my family and my roommate. My mom liked it so much she kept going back to the freezer for more. It has the perfect lemon zing to it, similar to the infamous lemon bar. This treat is something you can make and store in the freezer. One Lemon Delight can help satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ingredients:
2 cups Cashews
1/4 cup Agave Nectar
3 Tbls Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
2 Tbls Lemon Zest
1 tsp Vanilla extract or 1/2 Vanilla bean scraped
1/8 tsp Sea Salt

You will need a food processor with the S blade. Start by putting the cashews in the food processor, grind until meal forms. Do not over process into cashew butter. Once meal has formed add and evenly distribute agave nectar, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract and sea salt to the cashews and process. Ingredients will form a sticky dough. Spoon dough onto parchment/wax paper (easy to peel off frozen cookies) and freeze. Once cookies are frozen peel off paper and place cookies in freezer bag. It is recommended that you not make cookies bigger then 1 1/2 inches in diameter, thickness of the cookie is up to you.

I hope you enjoy these treats as much as my family and I did!

Almond Milk & Granola

Almond Milk & Granola

My daily breakfast consist of oatmeal topped with strawberries and ground flax seed. Wanting to mix up my breakfast routine and try something different I decided to make almond milk and granola. Sundays are my day to prepare and make my meals for the week, well at least through Thursday. I made the almond milk and granola yesterday and it turned out great! I had some for breakfast this morning and it filled me up.

Here are the recipes I used:

Almond Milk
2 cups almonds (soaked)
2 medjool dates (pitted)
1 tsp vanila or vanilla bean
4 cups water

Soaking Almonds- soak the almonds over night in an open glass container.

Blend all ingredients together. Once blended strain the almond milk. To strain the almond milk I used a mesh strainer. I think next time I’ll use a mesh bag.

For the next time I’d like to experiment by using a real vanilla bean pealed and add an additional medjool date for extra sweetness.

Granola

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
4 pitted medjool dates
½ cup jumbo or organic raisins
½ cup roasted almonds
½ cup raw walnuts
¼ cup virgin coconut oil
½ cup honey
1½ teaspoons cinnamon

Measure out and place raisins, dates, almonds and walnuts in food processor. Place oats in a large mixing bowl, add cinnamon. Once fruit and nuts have been processed to desired consistency add to oats and cinnamon. Thoroughly stir and combine ingredients. Mix together/combine honey and coconut oil until smooth consistency. Pour honey and coconut oil mixture into oats, fruit and nuts. Stir all ingredients, you may have to use your hands to combine all ingredients.

You can of course mix up this recipe by adding more raisins, nuts, or substituting fruit and nuts. When using the food processor make sure to use the S blade.

What I made turned out great but for the next time I think I’d like to add more fruit and nuts. I like my granola a little chunkier.

I hope you enjoy these recipes!

Preheat oven to 325°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pour out onto the baking sheet and put in the oven for 20 minutes. Stir, then set the time for another 10 minutes and check it. Bake for up to 30- 40 minutes total. You want it to be golden brown but not too crispy.

Add the raisins and mix well. Once it’s completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

You can eat this with milk, or mix it with yogurt and fresh fruit to add more fruit and protein to your morning breakfast. Eat with soy milk or almond milk.

Grape Season Is Here!

According to my good friend Craig D the Produce Guy grape season is here. On Craig’s facebook page he mentions that, “The best grapes are available from late July-October”. My favorite are the red grapes. Whether you like to eat green, red, or black grapes they make for a great snack, work well in fruit salads, and make for a great treat. As a treat I like to wash, dry and freeze the grapes. Frozen grapes make for a nice treat on a hot summer day.

Check out what my friend Craig D the Produce Guy has to say on his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Craig-D-the-produce-guy/133385693371686?ref=ts

Craig D the Produce Guy

My good friend Craig D the Produce Guy has created a Facebook fan page. He has created a great fan page to inform everyone on how to pick out the best possible produce and will answer any produce questions. Take a moment to check it out! On his page today he talks about cantaloupe and how it's in season. He even gives the nutritional value and how to chose the right one. Thanks Craig D for your great wit, humor and helpful info! I'm looking forward to following your fan page.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Craig-D-the-produce-guy/133385693371686?v=wall

Rita

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls

Recently I've been into making my Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls. They're quick and easy to make, only takes minutes. I was excited to share them with some friends the other day and co-workers today.

I'f you're ever craving that peanut butter, honey, chocolaty taste this is for you. This is a delicious all natural treat. You will find that I have also posted this recipe on the Eat Clean Diet website,http://www.eatcleandiet.com/the_kitchen_table/recipe/recipe.aspx?id=354

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls

3/4 cups all natural peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup organic shredded coconut
1 cup organic rolled oats

Combine peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Next add coconut and rolled oats. Once ingredients have been combined and stirred roll into balls. Chill balls in refrigerator for one to two hours.

Sometimes I'll add a little more vanilla and cocoa powder depending on my mood or I'll refrigerate peanut butter balls and dip in dark chocolate. It's always nice to sample after mixing the ingredients :-)

Enjoy!

Welcome to my blog!

This blog is something I've created for friends, family, and anyone who has a passion for food. In this blog you'll find new healthy recipes, health and nutrition articles, and helpful exercises.

I have a passion for food and sharing with my friends. I love to experiment and tweak different recipes, something I got from my dad.

You'll also find different diet and nutrition books I've read. Besides cooking and baking I love to read, especially cook books or health and nutrition books. When answering a recent questionnaire it asked, "What was the last book you read?". Of course I said a cookbook.

I hope you enjoy this blog and what it has to offer.

Marita