recipe Archives - Happy Healthy RD

Gingerbread Granola

December 13, 2016 by 1 Comment

Gingerbread is one of my favorite holiday flavors. I love ginger year round but when it is combined with molasses and cinnamon, I love it even more. I recently made a batch of gingerbread cookies that lasted about 2.5 minutes before they were gone. I wanted to make more cookies but decided maybe it would be better to make gingerbread granola since then I can eat it for breakfast (not that I didn’t eat a gingerbread cookie for breakfast once or twice. ) To get the gingerbread flavor I used molasses, which in granola has the added surprise of making extra crunchy clusters. And if you eat it with milk, the milk turns into a delicious spiced milk that I could drink on its own (hmm….a gingerbread milk recipe could be in my future). Just keep in mind molasses tends to burn easy so be careful when cooking this granola. (I unfortunately have lost many batches to the burnt granola graveyard.)

I don’t typically stir my granola when cooking because I like lots of clusters (check out this post on tips on how to get more clusters!) but if you prefer no clusters, maybe give the mixture a quick stir after 5 or 10 minutes of cooking and at the end too.

This recipe creates a subtly sweet granola. I would recommend giving the mixture a taste before cooking to see if it is to your liking. If you like things a little sweeter, add a little more maple syrup. I also encourage you to play around with the recipe and use whatever nuts or seeds you prefer. I used walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and almonds but I think pecans would work great too. A few dried cranberries added after cooking would also be a delicious addition!

Enjoy!

Be Happy, Be Healthy!

Gingerbread Granola

A warm and spicy twist on classic granola.

Course

Breakfast, Granola

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

20 min

Servings

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
generous pinch of salt

Course

Breakfast, Granola

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

20 min

Servings

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
generous pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine coconut oil, molasses, and maple syrup. Cook until melted, turn off heat and add vanilla extract.
In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, and spices. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Stir until all the oats and nuts are coated. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Spread oats in a thin layer on the lined cookie sheet.
Cook for 15-20 minutes. Check after 10 minutes and rotate pan to help cook evenly. When oats start to brown, remove from oven. Let cool on cookie sheet. Store in an air tight container.

Recipe Notes

gingerbreadgranolapin

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Strawberry Coconut Flour Muffins

April 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Coconut is definitely having a moment. Everywhere you look there is coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut flour, coconut water, coconut butter, coconut flour…am I forgetting one? Luckily I’m a big fan of coconut anything.

One thing I enjoy most about having a food blog is it gives me an excuse to jump on the bandwagon and try out the newest food trends. So I had to give coconut flour a whirl. I found it at Earth Fare and have also seen it at our local health food store…not sure if it is in mainstream grocery stores yet or not.

Coconut flour is very absorbent and you typically won’t use very much in baked goods. So although it is a little pricey, a little goes a long way. You’ll also notice that this recipe calls for 4 eggs (that’s not a typo!). Due to its high fiber content recipes with coconut flour typically call for an equal amount of wet ingredients to prevent a dry grainy muffin.

The batch that I photographed were accidentally left in the oven a little longer than 40 minutes so they are a bit browner than I prefer (still tasted good though!). I would recommend cooking just until middle of muffin is set and they pass the toothpick test. Also FYI, these muffins tend to stick so you might want to spray the muffin cups before filling.

Strawberry Coconut Flour Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
1/3 cup yogurt (or kefir)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup strawberries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until just combined. Fill muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Be Happy, Be Healthy,

Sunshine Quinoa Collard Green Wrap

November 18, 2015 by 4 Comments

I have had a serious thing for collard greens lately. They are still in season here in Michigan and it is actually one of the peak times for this hardy leaf. We have had only a few frosts so far and the collards are still growing strong, and according to the lady at the Farmers’ Market a few light frosts make collards sweeter and crisper. I shared that I use collard green wraps in place of hamburger buns back in this post. But this time I have something a little more special for you.

I think collards are great to cook with but I’ve been using them as wraps on the regular. It is an easy way to eat some greens and tastes good too. I’ve been making a concerted effort to eat greens at least twice a day but the struggle is real. I’m the first to admit that some days you just don’t feel like a salad.

So lately I’ve been using collards to wrap up everything from roasted veggies to deli turkey. But my favorite filling is the quinoa salad that I’m sharing with you today! I was inspired by a wrap I got at our local food co-op, People’s Food Co-op, which I highly recommend if you’re in the area. Anyway, we had stopped by the Co-op before going to the movies one night to get movie snacks that we could smuggle into the theatre. One of the things I picked up was what they called a Sunshine Wrap (love the name). I had glanced at the ingredients but didn’t really pay attention to what was in it. Anyways, after the lights went down in the movies I broke out my Sunshine Wrap and it was so good! I knew I had try to recreate it at home.

So this is my version of a Sunshine Wrap. Qunioa mixed with marinated veggies, sunflower seeds for crunch, avocado for some healthy fats and lemon for brightness.

I typically cut out collard stems like pictured and then will fold over so it’s a double layer wrap. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, just work with the size of your collard to figure out which way would be best. These leaves were mini but sometimes you can find collard greens as big as your head.

I find spreading the greens with a little hummus helps the ingredients stick plus they you get the added creaminess of hummus. You could use add mayo or any other sandwich spread of your choice too.

Sunshine Quinoa Collard Wraps

Filling is enough for 7-8 mini wraps or 3-4 large wraps

1 1/2 cup quinoa cooked

1 small carrot, shredded

1/2 cup marinated artichokes, chopped

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped (make your own with my easy Roasted Red Pepper recipe)

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

1/2 avocado, cut into cubes

1/2 lemon, juiced

hummus for spreading

collard greens, with stems removed

salt and pepper to taste

Mix quinoa, carrot, artichokes, roasted peppers and sunflower seeds until well combined. Gently stir in avocado cubes. Add lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Once collard stems are removed, spread a thick layer of hummus on a collard green. Add about 1/2 cup of filling (more depending on collard size). Wrap tightly, secure with toothpick if needed.

Be Happy, Be Healthy!