3 ingredient Clean Eating Chocolate

These little nuggets are like Doves dark chocolates.  I like these better.  I have been playing around with chocolate recipes on the web and have found a few things out: 
-If you are trying to make candy without white sugar, then Pure Maple Syrup makes a good replacement.  Honey sinks to the middle to fast and so the edges of the candy tasted BLAH. Agave wasn't sweet enough for it or maybe I should say for me.

-The type of cocoa powder you use makes or breaks this recipe.  If you don't like these the first time you make it try a different cocoa powder.  I use the stuff from the bulk bins at Winco.  Simple and it works well in this recipe.
-They have to be stored in the fridge. Coconut oil turns into a liquid at 76 °.  These are not M&M's, they will melt in your hand.
-Don't be fooled into thinking you can eat a lot of these since they are not made with white sugar.  Coconut oil and Pure Maple syrup are high in Calories so these are about 50-56 calories per chocolate.  It depends on how much you put into your mold.  My silicone molds are mini ice cube trays.  Each square is 1 ¼ inch by 1 ¼ inch,  I fill them ½ full.
-I bought my molds at the Outlet Malls in Park City.  I don't know the name of the kitchen store but it's right next to Mrs. Fields.  Don't ask how I know that, ☺  okay I LOVE cookies.   Ikea also has some molds that would work. 


3 Ingredient Clean Eating Chocolate
 by: Homerunrecipes.blogspot.com

1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Coconut oil
3- Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup


Put coconut oil in a microwave proof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds or till melted.  Stir in cocoa powder and syrup. Stir till it's all blended well.  (I stir for a good 2-3 minutes).
Next put into silicone ice cube trays or silicone muffin cups.
Put into freezer until they have set up, about 30 min.  Pop them out into a contain and store in fridge or freezer.
****I prefer to eat them from the freezer.  Try dipping it, or use manners and spread with a knife, almond butter or peanut butter on it, right before you eat one.  It's a little piece of heaven. 

Success and Failure

Is it becoming a rare thing to find people HAPPY for their acquaintances, friends, or family who've succeed or accomplished something?  

Something to think about ............ the last time you accomplished something.
-Did you hesitate to tell people for fear you'd make them feel bad?
-Did you hesitate to share your news because it wouldn't be celebrated?
-Did you share your great news to only have people respond with an excuse why they didn't do it too?

In college I took an interpersonal communication class and felt like a light bulb went off in my head when I learned this.  I still don't remember it all the time.  I feel like I should apologize to all those amazing people who shared their stories of success and I didn't make a BIG DEAL about it.  It is human nature to feel distress when others do amazing things and we feel like all our attempts turn into failures.  Just because we may have failed at something Does not mean we are failures.  Shut off that voice in your head that says you can't do it, or that should've been you, or why not me.


While I was thinking about this post I went to help in Art class at my children's school.  The teacher told a story that illustrates this perfectly.  Leonardo da Vinci was helping on a painting with his art teacher and other students.  Back then they could make more money by working together on paintings.  In the picture just below they can see signs of Leonardo's work through out the painting, but the story goes with the angel on the right.  When he finished painting the angel his teacher NEVER painted again.  He declared that Leonardo da Vinci was a much better painter.  HOW SAD to quit.  Think of all the other students he could have taught or paintings he didn't create. 

Let's be rare and practice our interpersonal communication skills by..........celebrating the success of others. 

Bottled Vegetable Soup or Stew

Canning does take Time and it does make your kitchen a Mess.  BUT my love for having a jar of soup that we can just crack open and add anything to for a quick dinner or lunch out ways 1 busy day.  Plus it uses ingredients we almost always have around the house.  Another reason to make it - you know what went into this soup.  My #1 tip is to have a frozen pizza on hand for dinner.  That way when you are tired and don't want to spend anymore time in the kitchen you already have something easy for your family for dinner. #2 tip is to put your kids to work.  Having your family help makes it go so much faster. 

This soup once you open a jar can be turned into so many options.  Have fun experimenting.  We add tomato soup, Rotel tomatoes, or canned tomatoes.  Cooked noodles, or even a little leftover rice.  You can add cooked hamburger or this canned chicken,or stew meat.  We have added just about ever creamed soup they make and it's all been great.  Milk or evaporated milk is also great in it.  Cheddar Cheese Soup is one of my kids favorite. 




This is for QUART size jars.

Carrots - Sliced
Potatoes - Diced
Celery - Chopped
Onions - Diced
Beef Boullion - 1 cube per jar
Salt -1/2 tsp per jar
Pepper - 1/4 Tsp per jar
Accent - 1/2 tsp per jar
Pearl Barley - 1 Tbsp per jar
Parsley - 1 Tabsp per jar
Water - HOT to fill jars

1- Prep all your veggies.

2- Place the following in bottom of quart jars:  Each jar gets - 1 Beff Boullion Cube, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, 1/2 tsp of accent.


3- Fill jar 1/4 of the way with Carrots, add Potatoes to 1/2 full.
Layer in 1/3 cup Celery, 1/4 cup Onions.

4- Spinkle 1 Tbsp Parsely, & 1 Tbsp Pearl Barley over veggies to prevent clumping.

5- Fill rest of jar with carrots and potatoes.

6- Fill jar with HOT water to cover the spuds, BUT remember to leave a 1 inch head space at the top.

7- Boil your lids, place on jars with rings

8- Pressure Cook at 12 lbs for 30 minutes.  (ALWAYS check with your county extension office on the right pressure for your elevation.  I have to do 15 lbs her in Idaho Falls, Idaho)

* Can added cooked hamburger, stew meat, chicken, noodles, any cream of soup you want, milk, tomatoes,  Lipton soup mix, etc. 

7 Steps to Canned Chicken

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH CANNED CHICKEN?  This is the #1 question I get asked.   We put it in  Dijon Chicken pitas, lime chicken sandwich, caesar pitas, soups, fast enchiladas, chicken salad, pretty much anything that calls for shredded chicken.

This recipes doesn't have you put any liquid in with the chicken.  In the photo above of the jar you'll see there is some broth.  This is the chickens natural juices.  SAVE THE BROTH.  I dump the broth into a freezer container and save it for soups. 

 I can get 40 pounds of chicken cut up and ready to pressure in 60 minutes with help.
I usually buy the 40 pound box of boneless and skinless chicken breast from Zaycon.
I also watch for it on sale at Albertsons.  I prefer buying the chicken from Albertsons if I just need chicken to freeze.  They'll wrap it up for you.  Just call ahead and tell them how many chicken breast you want in each package.  The Zaycon chicken comes in a giant box so if I need frozen chicken, I have to wrap it and pay for the materials to wrap and freeze it. 


Let's get started-

I usually lay down a piece of plastic on my counter that can be tossed when I am done.  

I feel like I get less chicken juice everywhere when I do this.

 

Step 1-Gather all supplies.

 Step 2. Cut Chicken into Chunks

Step 3. Place chicken in PINT Jars

Step 4. Add 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder and 1/2 tsp. Chicken Bouillon to each jar.

 

 Step. 5 Boil new canning lids for a good minute, (wipe down jar lip while lids boil).
Step 6. Next place lids on jars and tighten the rings.

Step 7. - Pressure Cook at 10 pounds of pressure.  If you live in higher elevation this will change.  Check with your county extension office.  I have to do 15 pounds of pressure.   Follow your user manual on how to use the Pressure Cooker

 Pints are pressured for 1 hour 5 minutes.
Quarts are pressured for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Canned Chicken

Chicken (preferable skinless and boneless, goes faster)

Chicken Bouillion

Garlic Powder

Step 1. Gather all supplies.

 Step 2. Cut Chicken into Chunks

Step 3. Place chicken in PINT Jars

Step 4. Add 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder and 1/2 tsp. Chicken Boulin to each jar.
Step 5. Boil new canning lids for a good minute, (wipe down jar lip while lids boil).
Step 6. Next place lids on jars and tighten the rings.

Step 7. Pressure Cook at 10 pounds of pressure.  If you live in higher elevation this will change.  Check with your county extension office.  I have to do 15 pounds of pressure.   Follow your user manual on how to use the Pressure Cooker

** Pints are pressured for 1 hour 5 minutes.
 **Quarts are pressured for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Nun's Puff's

A few days ago my 4 yr old brought me these red baking cups and said, "Please make me those yummy things."  I knew what he meant.  We made some right then.  They are like a German pancake.

This recipe is from a Betty Crocker cookbook.  Not sure why it has this name.  

Nun's Puff's

Makes 12

prep time- 15 minutes

cook time - 30 min.

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of milk

3/4 cup of flour

4 eggs

1 tablespoon of sugar

1. Grease or line muffin pan.  Heat oven to 375 Degrees.

2. In a saucepan melt butter; add milk.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Add Flour all at once and stir vigourusly.

4. Cook and stir until it forms a ball that doesn't separate.

5. Remove pan from heat and add eggs one at a time.   Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.  

6. Divide dough evenly.  Sprinkle with sugar (I never do because the kids put jam on top)

7. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Baked Beans

Lumber Jack Baked Beans

My husband first made these beans for a youth conference.  The smell had us all wanting some.  When he came home with an empty dutch oven we were all sad.   He adapted a recipe from jamiecooksitup.net    We also served these at a luncheon after our son's baptism- in case you were there and wanted the recipe.  


8 slices of bacon
1 small onion
1 Jalapeno
1 3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 U-shaped Johnsonville sausage (pick your fav. flavor)
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 16 oz can butter beans
1 16 oz can pinto beans
1 16 oz can red kidney beans
1 30oz can Bush's Homestyle Baked Beans ( I use countrystyle if they do not have homestyle)

1. In a large skillet fry up your bacon, until crispy and browned along the edges.  Remove it from the pan onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Remove all but 2 tsp of grease from the pan.
2. Toss your onions into the hot pan.  Cook until golden and wilted.
3. While your onions cook stir together the brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, ginger, and salt.  Then chop the jalepeno.  We chop it in bigger pieces.

4. Pour the sauce over the onions.  Add the Jalapeno.  Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Drain and rinse all beans.  EXCEPT for the Bush's homestyle.  Don't drain those ones.
6.  Add all the beans to a 3 quart dish.  If you double this recipe it fills a 16 inch dutch oven.
7. Pour the onion mixture over the beans.  Crumble your bacon and add. Chop  and add the Johnsonville sausage to it. 
8. Stir, and cover with foil. 
9. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Remove from oven, stir, leave uncovered and cook for 30 more minutes.  In a crock pot it's about 3-4 hours.   (doubling it made it take about 20 minutes longer to cook, or it could have been my oven that day.) 

Oatmeal Muffins

I LOVE it when I find a food that my kids like and it's healthy.   I remember my grandma announcing that she had made me mush for breakfast when I was a kid.  That comment may have been the WHOLE reason I disliked it.  I swore I'd never feed it to my kids.  Now I am always trying to get them to eat it.   I am learning that you should NEVER announce that a food is healthy.  That scares kids off before they even try it.  These are basically oatmeal baked  in a cup.  What kid doesn't like a muffin over a bowl of mush.

INDIVIDUAL BAKED OATMEAL CUPS- CLEAN EATING
makes 12 servings

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups applesauce, unsweetened
1 banana, mashed
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats
1/8 cup chia seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
Optional toppings: blueberries, raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips, pomegranate seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and honey together in a bowl.
Add in oats, chia seeds (if using), cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well with wet ingredients.
Finally pour in milk and combine.
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Divide mixture evenly into muffin tin cups. I used a 1/4 measuring cup, measure just a tad under 1/4 cup to make 12 servings. 
Add the toppings.
Bake 12-15 minutes.

Gluten Free Banan Bread

I have had fun trying a bunch of healthy banana bread recipes.  This one doesn't taste healthy.  Okay, confession I did make it less healthy by adding some chocolate chips, but you can leave that out.  

Banana Bread - Gluten Free

makes: 1 9x5 loaf or 3 mini loaves

3 cups of oatmeal (blend in blender and only use 2 cups of the Oatmeal Flour)

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Salt

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup of honey

1 tsp Vanilla

2 egg whites

1 cup smashed raspberries (I have put frozen berries in without mashing him)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Make oat flour: Place oatmeal into blender and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles flour. You may need to stop blender and stir oats a couple of times to ensure that all oats have been blended.
Measure out just 2 cups of the oat flour and place in a medium bowl. Whisk in baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a separate large bowl, beat mashed bananas, honey, vanilla extract, and eggs for 1-2 minutes until the consistency is smooth and creamy. Slowly add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Gently fold in raspberries and dark chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. If using individual small loaf pans, 28-30 minutes should do.  Cool 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and place on wire rack to finish cooling.

Garbanzo Bean Cookies

Garbanzo Bean Cookies

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp almond butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup carob chips

Blend (in blender or food processor) all ingredients, except chips and oats. Stir in oats and chips. If too runny, add some more oats (I think I added another 1/4 cup). Drop heaping tbsp onto parchment lined baking sheet. Smash down a little with spoon or spatula. Bake at 300 degrees for about 15 min.
I am going to try them with cinnamon and raisins (instead of the carob chips) too!

Lime and Avocado Chicken Sandwich

This is healthy and super fast to make.  I LOVE anything with lime, cilantro, and avocados. 

1 can of shredded chicken
Cilantro- chop abut 1/4 of a cup
Red Onion - chopped about 1/4 a cup
Salt and Pepper - to taste
Lime Juice - about 1-3 tablespoons
Avocado
Thin hamburger buns or whole wheat pita bread. 

I just mix everything together until I like the taste.  Then I put it on a bun or in a pita with sliced avocado.  You could also serve it on top of a salad if you are trying to get in more veggies. 

Banana Cream Cake

This Recipe is good for breakfast or a healthy snack!

 This Recipe is adapted from grain meal wagon.

• 1/3 cup plus 3 TB oat flour ( I just put regular oats in my blender and made the flour)
• 1 packet or 3.5 grams of Truvia
• 3 TB. Plain greek yogurt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg white

• Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separate then bake in greased loaf pan.  Bake 350 for 10-15 min.
• Allow to cool sprinkle top with cinnamon and garnish with banana 

Clean Eating Cookie Dough Babies

Healthy and Delicious!!!

3 ingredients is all this takes and 10 minutes.   If you are trying to come out of your sugar coma from the holidays like we are then you've got to try this recipe.  They satisfied my sweet tooth and didn't ruin my goal to not eat sugar.

1 cup of Dates
1/2 Cup of Almonds or Cashews
2-3 of the big squares of 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate

Put it all in a food processor and pulse till it's chopped.  Then form into 1 inch balls.  I store mine in the fridge.