Pumpkin Granola

I have been drooling over this Pumpkin Pecan Granola recipe for awhile now and finally had a chance to make it yesterday!  Due to food allergies, I changed the recipe up a bit, but for the most part I stayed true to the recipe linked above.  It turned out delicious.  My recipe below is for double the amount of granola that the original recipe produces.  Since making some dramatic changes to our diet this past spring, I have almost eliminated breakfast cereal from my family's diet, and granola like this is a wonderful substitute.  We will quickly go through the doubled recipe!!  It is also a fun treat for my little guy to eat this for breakfast with (coconut) milk poured over it.  Just like Daddy!  (My husband loves boxed cereal, so I have yet to completely eliminate it from my pantry - I am still working on it!)

I wrote to the recipe's author, Erin Chase, and asked the reason why she uses quick cooking oats.  She said it makes the granola more "clumpy" so it is easier to eat for snacks, etc.  I did follow her directions (50% old fashioned, 50% quick cook) and it did make a difference (usually I only use old fashioned) in how clumpy it turned out!  It is also a softer/chewier granola, making it very kid friendly!  I did use some brown sugar in this recipe, but subbed in maple syrup for half the sweetener.  Next time, I would use all maple syrup, I don't think it would make much of a difference!  The banana that I added also provides extra sweetness.  (I may try subbing in more banana for the apple sauce and cutting the sugar in half next time.)

The liquid ingredients

The dry ingredients
(Note: I added this to a large mixing bowl after taking this photo!)

The final product - delicious!!!

Pumpkin Granola (Allergy-friendly)
Adapted from $5 Dinners' Pumpkin Pecan Granola
Makes 16 (1/2 cup) breakfast servings (or lots of snacks/lunchbox treats!) :)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup mashed ripe banana
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or you could use maple extract if you have some)
• 4 cups quick cooking oats
• 4 cups traditional oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed (optional)
• 2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger – each
• 1 cup raisins (I ran a knife through them to distribute them throughout the granola more evenly, and I used a but less raisins than called for.)

Directions

• Preheat to 300.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the applesauce, banana, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and extract.
• In larger mixing bowl, toss together the 2 kinds of oats, brown sugar, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
• Spoon the pumpkin mixture into the oats mixture and combine until all the oats are covered in the pumpkin mixture.
• Spread onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then gently toss and bake for another 20-25 minutes.
• Stir in the raisins or other dried fruit after it has cooled some on a cooling rack.
• Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Beyond a week, I recommend storing in a plastic container or freezer baggie in the freezer for up to 3 months
• Dairy-free breakfast ideas using this recipe: sprinkle this granola over plain coconut milk yogurt or blend it in with oatmeal or brown rice cereal for breakfast in the morning (and on occassion as a bowl of cereal).

This post is linked up to:
Healthy 2day Wednesdays
Fresh Bites Friday
Allergy-Free Lunchbox Love
Allergy-Friendly Friday

Menu Plan Week of 10/17

After a wonderful weekend away with my husband in Lanesboro, MN (relaxation, an awesome 27 mile bike ride, and great eating!) I am refreshed and ready to get back into the kitchen this week!  I have some great recipes planned, a couple very easy work week options for you!

After returning this afternoon, I made a double batch of pumpkin granola that turned out really tasty - a great substitute for boxed cereal for breakfast and a good kid-friendly snack option (sprinkle over yogurt or pour some milk/coconut milk over it!)

For more menu planning inspiration, check out Orgjunkie's Monday morning post for lots of ideas!

Monday:  Chuck-Wagon Pot Roast with green salad
Tip:  I use beef stew meat instead of a roast.  If you want leftovers, the recipe is good as-is, otherwise use 1 lb. stew meat and a little more than 1/2 jar of pasta sauce (and split the rest of he recipe in half, too!).  I also only use 1/2 the water that the recipe calls for.  Prep veggies the night before if needed and if using rice noodles, cook them the night before and stir in just before eating - rice noodles are really starchy and if cooked in the crock pot, the sauce becomes too thick.  Note: (added Tuesday, 10/18): TURN CROCK TO HIGH AFTER ADDING VEGGIES.  After making this again last night, I recommend stirring in cooked pasta right at the end whether using rice noodles or not.

Tuesday:  Moroccan Chickpeas with rice and broccoli
Tip:  Check out the hyperlink for this recipe and my tips for making this ahead of time!

Wednesday:  Leftover turkey (from the freezer) on toast with carrot and parsnip "fries"
Tip:  For fries, cut carrots and parsnips into matchsticks, toss in olive oil and roast at 375 for 15 minutes, mixing them halfway through roasting.  Serve with organic ketchup (no corn syrup!) :)

Thursday:  Veggie Quesadillas with the fixings
Tip:  I used this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it would work really well to make the quesadilla filling the night before.  I also found a new tortilla that my family loves (our favorite gluten-free tortilla so far! ) Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas.  Find them at Whole Foods or your Co-op!

Friday:  Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin (crock pot) with salad and green beans
Tip:  Prep this the night before - marinating in the honey mustard mixture overnight makes this pork all the tastier!

Saturday:  Out

Sunday:  Grass-fed beef burgers with kale chips and oven baked sweet potato fries

Pumpkin Muffins

I made some major tweaks on this recipe to cut sugar and allergens out. Mix it all in one bowl, so easy! These muffins are incredibly moist and flavorful. Note that the batter will be much wetter than a normal muffin batter. Not to worry, they will turn out wonderful! Freeze a batch of these a pop in the microwave for 25-30 seconds for breakfast along with some fruit and breakfast sausage or ham (that's how them serve it here, at least)!  Stick a frozen muffin right in your child's lunch, by lunchtime it will be defrosted and ready to eat!


3/4 cup sugar (I like rapadura aka whole cane sugar)
2 eggs OR Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/4 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (highly recommend, but you can use butter)
1/4 cup cold water
1 c pumpkin
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl. Put in greased muffin tin. Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Add flax seed meal, raisins, chocolate chips, nuts as desired.

Menu Plan Week of 10/3 and 10/10

Hello, all!  Welcome again to my newest readers from Just One Bite!  For those of you who might not follow Just One Bite on Facebook, click on the hyperlink and take a look, there is a lot of great information about nutrition and wellness as well as motivation to continue to improve yourself from the inside out each day of your life.  Taiha Wagner, the owner of Just One Bite, is a fantastic resource!

This past week was very busy for us, especially this weekend!  Lots of fun, but not a lot of time to cook.  The key to menu planning is to make it flexible - don't feel stressed if you cannot hold yourself to it!  Planning saves you time and money at the grocery store and assures you that you will find time in the day to get a nutritious meal on the table for your family.  That being said, if you have to skip a meal, just make sure that you prep and freeze the ingredients as soon as you are able to (fresh veggies, meat, etc.) in order to enter that meal into the next week's plan quickly and easily without wasting food.

One week from tomorrow is my little guy's second birthday.  I cannot believe it!  This last year has been a whirlwind for us to say the least, but compared to one year ago he is in such a good place health-wise!  I am so grateful for the "team" of people I have around me (family and friends for encouragement and knowledge, health experts for support and expertise).  Without them, I don't even want to think about were we might be in our journey.  It probably would not be pretty, that's for sure.  This birthday marks many celebrations for my little one and our family.

Because the next two weeks will be especially busy, I am laying out a two week menu plan here to decrease stress and assure that, although we may be off our normal routine a bit, that my little guy is getting all the nutrition he needs to keep his immune system cranking in high gear and his tummy happy.  :)

Monday:  Whole chicken with squash and broccoli (from last week!)

Tuesday:  Mom's group playdate with dinner - the mom who is hosting is doing a Mexican potluck, I will bring tortillas, black beans (just warm black beans with organic salsa (very yummy and easy) and guacamole).
Tip:  Lately, the price of avocados has been high than usual (even for non-organic, which is the route I go because they are on the "safe list" according to the EWG.  Plus, you never know if an avocado will be good until you cut into it.  I save money and time by buying Wholly Guacamole at Costco - 5 packets in a box.  I freeze it and take each packet out as needed.  Defrost in cold water or 15 minutes or just take it out the night before.

Wednesday:  Breakfast for dinner - Oatmeal Bake with breakfast sausage
Tip:  To make this allergy friendly, I sub in Ener-G egg replacer, plain coconut milk for milk and coconut oil for the butter. I do not add any nuts.

Thursday:  Out (we have a 5:15 appointment so we'll eat out.  Our go-to meal is Chipotle.)
Tip (Chipotle):  For allergy kids, order the Taco Kit with our without tortilla depending on allergies, and ask for the cafeteria tray - they have little trays and can split up the fixings into the different compartments!  Comes with a tiny bag of corn chips and organic milk or juice.  Brilliant!

Friday:  Out (pizza night?) (my family comes into town for the birthday celebration!)

Saturday:  Birthday party!  On the menu:  Ham and turkey sandwiches (Crock Pot turkey recipe here - so easy!), Italian potato salad (I'll post this family recipe later - it's a vinegar and oil base, so yummy!), Green Salad, Fruit and an allergy-friendly apple spice cake (I'll post this recipe soon, too!)

Sunday:  Grilled chicken, squash, green beans
Tip:  Buy more chicken breasts than you need one week and split them up into Ziploc bags.  Pick a favorite homemade marinade and pour into bags with chicken.  Marinate overnight and then stick the bags in the freezer for quick meals - just defrost for 24 hours and bake!

Monday:  Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadillas with the fixings  (this recipe looks amazing!)
Tip:  Cook the filling on Sunday night so all you have to do is put make the quesadillas!

Tuesday:  Slow cooker beef tips (from Cooking Traditional Foods, this is a must-have recipe, I am going to try to get permission to post ASAP) with rice and green beans.

Wednesday:  I am out, so the boys will be winging it with leftovers, etc. :)

Thursday:  Easy Chicken with Wild Rice Dinner (another new recipe that looks easy and kid-friendly!)

Friday-Saturday:  Andrew and I are going out of town for a getaway (thanks to Andrew's parents!) 

Sunday:  Leftover meatloaf burgers (see recipe and my tip from last week here!) with green salad (or something else green on the side!)

For more menu planning inspiration, visit Orgjunkie's blog!

Immune Boosting, Kid-Friendly Recipe

My cooking style and methods have shifted quite a bit over the past year with a focus on traditional foods and using as many whole ingredients (organic fruits and veggies) as I can with every meal.  One technique I am working on mastering is making bone broth.  I have made a few batches and the results continue to improve.  I use a crock pot to make it, as it is easiest for me with my busy schedule and a toddler taking much of my attention away from the kitchen!  When using the crock pot, it is incredibly easy to make!  I cook up a whole chicken in the crock pot (a 4 lb chicken is easily enough meat for two meals for my family of three), pull the meat off of the bones once it is cooked and use them immediately to start my broth. 24 hours later (and completely hands-off) - I have homemade chicken broth ready to use or freeze!

When my little guy and I came down with our first colds of the season this past weekend, I bumped up our probiotic intake and Vitamin D supplements and then took a few containers of chicken broth out of the freezer right away.  From all of the reading I have done, I have learned that homemade chicken broth is packed with nutrients and has the healing components that a boxed or canned broth cannot provide. 

Chicken soup is not a favorite for my toddler, so I had to find something creative to do with it to make sure he ate his fair share!  I concocted the following recipe - it turned out flavorful but relatively "neutral" which tasted just right with the stuffy noses and coughs we were battling!  You can change this recipe up by adding different veggies or a different kind of meat, as well!

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
(***1 cup of additional veggies, if desired)
2 small cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp of salt (no salt in my broth!)
1 lb of ground meat of choice (I used pasture-raised organic chicken)
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1 1/2 cups noodles, cooked (brown rice or your favorite noodle)
Fresh parsley, if desired

Boil the noodles and drain.  Meanwhile, warm saute pan to medium heat, add olive oil and saute onion until soft (***add any other veggies at this time, as well).  Press garlic and saute for 2 minutes.  Add spices and salt, saute for 2-3 minutes more.  Add ground meat and saute until cooked through.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Add cooked noodles and simmer for another 2-3 minutes, until most of the broth if absorbed.

Serve in bowls sprinkled with fresh parsley, if desired. Bump up the nutrition factor with a side of roasted veggies! Serves 3-4.

This post/recipe is linked up to a great blog called day2dayjoys and her post (posted on Wednesday) about boosting your immune system naturally.  It is also linked up to a blog called Real Food, Whole Health and their Fresh Friday Bites post! 

Saute onion

Add garlic and spices, salt

Brown meat with onion/garlic/spice mix

Add tasty, nutritious broth :)

Add noodles...

The result!  Nutritious comfort food when you have a cold or flu!

Menu Plan week of 9/26

I am thrilled that this is my first plan to be linked to the Just One Bite Facebook page!  For Just One Bite readers visiting my blog for the first time - welcome!  I hope that these menu plans inspire you to try some new meals with your family and even to reconsider making some recipes during the work week that you would not have tackled before!  I try to provide as many tips as possible for a busy working mom or dad to get these meals on the table as quickly as possible on work nights!


Monday:  Veggie Quesadillas with salsa and guacamole  (Use Daiya dairy free/soy free cheese if needed. (I love quesadillas because I can personalize them for myself, my hubby and my little guy!))
Tip:  prepare the filling in the recipe the night before, refrigerate in a Ziploc bag for easy clean up! 

Tuesday:  BBQ Meatloaf with green beans and rice
Note:  This will still be tasty without the sausage, although it does bump up the flavor!  I will only be using 3/4 cup BBQ sauce in this recipe - no need for all of that sauce...  it overpowers the meatloaf if you use more than this.  I will not use onion mix; instead I will bump up the flavor with 1 tsp. onion powder, 2 tbsp. fresh sage, salt and pepper.  Eliminate eggs (no need for substitutions) if needed.
Tip:  Blend meatloaf mix the night before.  This is a doubled recipe (2 lbs beef) - instead of two loaves, make meatloaf burgers out of half of the mix - freeze burgers before baking for a quick dinner a couple of weeks from now!


Wednesday:  Brats (leftover frozen) and hot dogs with kale chips and crock pot potato wedges

Thursday:  Pizza night (Premade Crusts (Rustic Crust or Trader Joe's pizza dough are good suggestions) for hubby and I and frozen homemade crust with Daiya Dairy-free/Soy-free cheese for my little guy)
Tips:  Pre-chop any toppings for your pizza the night before.  Blend some pureed veggies into the tomato sauce for added nutrition!  (I grate zucchini squash into mine!)

Friday:  Out

Saturday:  Sweet Potato Chili (vegan!)  A favorite in our house...
Note:  A good one to prep the night before.  This recipe does NOT freeze well, so make it for one night and refrigerate leftovers, don't attempt to double the batch and freeze!  You will need to have some dried spices on hand for this so check the recipe carefully!

Sunday:  Whole chicken in the crock pot with broccoli and brown rice (Lundberg short brown or Medlies are our favorites)

For more menu planning inspiration, visit http://orgjunkie.com/blog on Mondays!

Apple Sauce in your Crock Pot!

We visited an apple orchard this weekend and I purchased Macintosh apples so that I could make a big batch of crock pot applesauce.

After making this sauce, I made some tweaks to the original recipe that I used (although it turned out delicious, I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these things).  I used a 3.5 quart slow cooker and filled it with sliced apples.  Here is my recipe:

10-12 cups cored, peeled, sliced apples (I used Macintosh)
1 - 1.5 cups cups water (more apples, more water...  I used 2 cups, would use less next time)
1.5 tsp cinnamon (I used more cinnamon than the original recipe called for and I'm glad I did!)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I did not use this time, would add for flavor depth!)
1/2 tsp cloves  (I did not use this time, would add for flavor depth!)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (to taste) **My apples were on the tart side, so once I tasted the final product I added about 1 tbsp. maple syrup to sweeten it a little.

Mix all ingredients together, cook on low for 7 hours.  The apples broke down into a wonderful sauce (no need for additional mashing/pureeing!)  And it made my house smell wonderful!

This post is linked to:

Healthy 2day Wednesdays  http://day2dayjoys.blogspot.com/

Fresh Bites Fridays http://www.realfoodwholehealth.com/2011/09/fresh-bites-friday-september-23-2011/