Semi-Healthy Oat and Seed Treats I

I got this idea from the original Rice Crispie Treats recipe. I'm just experimenting with different methods and ingredients. I don't think that this will be 'it' since it is not completely healthy. I am aiming for recipes that are only good for you.

Ingredients

(Click on the highlighted ingredients to find out more about why they are good for you)

1/2 C raisins
3/4 C oats
1/4 C chia seeds
"     C sesame seeds
"     C golden flax seeds grounded
4    T  butter/coconut oil (coconut oil is waaaaay better for you!)
4    T  sugar free peanut butter
approx. 200g mini marshmellows
1    t    hemp protein
"     t    mesquite pod meal
1/2 t    cinnamon
1    t    cacao nibs

makes about 20 pieces each being approx. 125 calories.

On medium heat, melt butter/oil, peanut butter and marshmellows. In a seperate bowl mix in the raisins and dry ingredients. Turn off the heat and mix in the dry ingredients and spread onto a greased dish or onto a cookie tray with parchment paper. Score into 20 equal size pieces (if you are calorie counting) and let cool in the fridge.

They were yummy! My son said he would like me to make these for his birthday party. My kids couldn't get enough of them.

Growing Vegetables (in small spaces) part I

This year I have decided to grow our own food on our upper balcony. I ordered a book on Amazon on how to grow vegetables in small spaces, because I do not have my own allotment or even a backyard. The book is so clear and really thorough. It's a great step by step guide and gives you loads of good tips. I like it because it teaches me that we can plant vegetables and herbs in anything! Boy, you should see what we are using! From bread tins to plastic recycling boxes (for now)!

 (The yellow post-its are marks for the vegg and herbs I'm planting)

There are many reasons why we decided to grow our own. It's completely local, good for the enviroment, it's organic, it saves money and it's theraupetic. It's important to learn a skill that should be known anyway. It is a great learning experience for all of us.

We bought seeds for veggies and herbs that we eat regularly, and little by little we have sown the seeds and potted them into bigger pots, getting them prepared to go outside onto the balcony. So far we have dill, cilantro, spring onion, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, sunflower(seeds), and strawberries.

I'm glad my whole family is in this with me. My kids have really enjoyed helping out, sowing seeds and getting dirty with the potting soil :)

My husband is building tables and layers for the vegetables. Do note, we have two balconies, the smaller one is for our garden. The other balcony is for the kids.

I still want to buy a few more veggies and herbs, but for now we are on a budget and I still have time. I know that this will take time, for we are a bit short on cash, but this is an investment, this will save us hundreds! 

The weather is quite warm during the days, so now the plants are going through the 'hardening stage' where the plants are outside during the day and we bring them in for the night. Once they grow a bit bigger and we get some 'donated' pots and compost, we will be replanting them in their final pots.

Raw Apple Crisps

Grab a bunch of organic apples. Wash, core and thinly slice them. Dip them into a bowl of half lemon juice and half water. Remove them onto dehydrator mesh sheets or onto parchment paper if using an oven. 

Dehydrate at 115*F until dry (overnight) or in the oven at the lowest temperature with the door slightly open.

My kids love these as snacks and they are a really good subsitute for regular crisps. I will be experimenting by making veggy crisps and jerkies. Posts coming up soon!

Raw Almond Dip

2 C almonds (soaked for 12h)
2 T lemon juice
1 clove of garlic (roasted)
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1-3 C water, depending on the thickness


You can add, chives, dill, paprika- anything you like! It's a good subsitute for sour cream, but it doesn't taste like sour cream. It's mega healthy!!!

In a blender, process all ingredients untill smooth. Serve chilled!

Raw Almond--Mesquite-Hemp Crackers

1        batch of Almond Dip (recipe here)
1/2 C Mesquite meal
1/2 C Hemp protein
1    C Water
1    C Golden Flax (grinded)

(Click on the ingredients to know more about them and why they are super good for you!)

Step 1, mix in the ingredients to the Almond Dip batch.

Step 2,  spread onto a parchment paper or teflexx* sheet, 2/3cm thickness and score. Dehydrate in a food dehydrator at 145*F for 2 hours, then flip over, remove paper and dehydrate at 115*F until dry.

In the oven: lowest heat possible (50*C?) , with the oven door slightly open, dehydrate until semi dry, flip over and continue dehydrating until dry.

 

I Love, love these with peanut butter/ almond butter and home made chocolate!!! YUMMY!
You can use them as savory crackers as well as sweet crackers by leaving out the roasted
garlic from the almond dip.

Mango Coconut Berry Smoothie

2 C   of Mango juice, either store bought or home made (thicker the better)
1 T    virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
1 C    frozen Berries
1/2 C Baby Spinach, tightly packed
1        medium Banana
3        capsules of multi-billion Probiotics, emptied in

YUMMY!

Raw Almond Sesame Seed and Apricot Bars

1 C Almonds Soaked
1 C Sesame seeds soaked and blended with 1 C of water
1 C Apricots
dash of salt
1-2 C water to mix it into a thick dough
1/2 of Oats
1 t flax seeds
1 t stevia

Chop the apricots, nuts and seeds in a food processor and mix in the remaining ingredients. Pour onto sheets and spread out thinly. Score with a spatula. I put Coco Bean Nibs onto one side for the adults. Just incase it is too bitter for the kid.

Dehydrate at 135*F for 2-3 hours. Flip over,remove the sheet and dehydrate at 115*F untill dry (4-6h). I recommend drizzling melted chocolate on them!

In the oven: lowest heat possible (50*C?) with the oven door slightly open, dehydrate untill semi-dry, flip over and continue dehydrating till dry.

All I can say is YUMMY!

Protein Banana Bread

Protein Banana Bread Recipe (altered by Cathy)

Raw Chocolate Recipe here

Preheat oven to 350°

¼ cup honey
¾ cups vanilla or chocolate protein powder
3 tablespoons olive oil/coconut oil, softened
4 mashed bananas
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray or parchment paper

Combine sugar, protein powder, and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed with electric mixer. Add banana, milk, yogurt, and egg whites; beat well, and set aside.Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to protein mixture, beating until blended. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Raw Chocolate Chips

Raw Chocolate Chips, adapted from Angela at Oh She Glows by Cathy

2 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup cocoa powder (I grinded raw Cocoa Nibs in a coffee grinder)

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix all chocolate chip ingredients together in a food processor. Spread the dough out onto parchment paper and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes after 15 minutes. Flip the chocolate sheet over for even freezing.  When chocolate is frozen, cut into chips. Store in a plastic bag in the freezer.

YUMMY!

Beet and Swede Soup

I only happened to have these vegg in my fridge. The kids loved the colour of the soup and they had seconds. Serve it with Rosattis (link)

Cut up equal amount of

Beet
Potato
Swede

approx. 1-2 C of each

Put to boil in 0.5-1L of water, so it is covered. Add an OXO cube, bay leaf (remove later), 1T dried basil, parsley, 1t dried thyme, 1/2 T dried chives, dash of salt and pepper, 1 t oregano

While it's boiling, fry up an onion, 3 garlic cloves in olive oil until the onions have turned golden, at which point remove it from the heat.

Once beets have soften up, pour the soup and fried onions into a blender, blend till smooth, adding 1/2 C cooking cream as it blends.

  Garnish with cilantro

Raw Chia Seed and Date Crackers

2/3 C  Dates (soaked)
1         Shredded Carrot
1    C  Raw Almond or Peanut Butter
2/3 C  Goji Berries (soaked)
1/2 C  Chia Seeds soaked in 1.5 C of water (Chia seeds will soak it up)
2         Slices of sun dried tomatoes in oil
2 T      of the Sun Dried Tomato oil
dash of salt

Drain the dates, Tomatoes, and Goji berries, place in a food processor with 'S' blade, chop till fine, and add Chia seed pulp, Almond butter, shredded carrot, oil and salt, mix well.

Spread thinly onto a Teflexx sheet or parchment paper, score with a spatula and dehydrate at 135*F for 2-3 hours. Flip over, remove sheet and continue to dehydrate at 115*F untill dry. Store in sealed container. Will keep for 1-2weeks.

You can dehydrate in the oven too. Just make sure you are using the lowest temperature possible with the door slightly open.

Yummy with Peanut Butter/ Almond Butter/ sliced strawberries/ and or home made jam. Great lunchbox snack for the kids.

"Rosatti" Flat Bread

Well, I can't say enough about how much we love Indian and African food. More accurately, the wonderful types of bread that are served up with each meal. As a family we decided to create our own. African chapatti are somewhat oily and Indian Roti too dry, so we opted for somewhere in the middle. Our little experiment soon became known as the 'Rosatti'. I hope I don't need to explain the name? Anyway, ROti, chapATTI, and family name ROSE. Pretty clever, eh! 

They are just fantastic with Indian curries, African stews, as tortillas for Quesadilla, or just with peanut butter and jelly.

Ingredients:

3 1/2    decilitre Water
6-8      decilitre Flour
1/2 t     salt
3 T       olive oil

First mix the wet ingredients together and then add in the dry ingredients little by little until you have slighty tacky dough.

Divide the dough into 16 equal sized dough balls and place them under a towel, so they don't dry out.

On a floured surface begin to roll out each dough ball, adding a sprinkle of flour to aid the rolling process when required. Roll the dough until you have nicely sized, thin Rosatti.

Place the uncooked Rosatti onto a preheated (medium heat) skillet. Once the dough has gained some beige colour spots, flip it over and repeat. Flip the Rosatti again, which often results in the bubbling effect of the bread. Simply take the cooked Rosatti out, place it onto a plate nearby and place a towel over. Then repeat the whole process for the remaining dough balls.

Coming Up With Meals, -NOW!

I have found this particular site very helpful in those times where I feel that my brain is mush and I cannot come up with a basic, simple meal to make for me and my family. A few years ago, I stumbled across THIS site which helped me tremendously during those rough times, where I felt overwhelmed with having to come up with what to eat, especially when my pantry was pretty empty!? Having a newborn and a toddler running around, the idea of getting dressed up (mid winter for example) to walk to the shop to buy something was not appealing in the slightest!

This site is awesome! All I did was type in the ingredients I already had and it would give me several recipes and options I could make, from desserts to main entrees! From all around the world. Today I am making a Maleysian rice meal. Since my main ingredients (in my pantry) are onions and rice... :)

I am pretty good at improvising and throwing in a few extra items to make it more "ME"

Have a play! Makes my life a bit easier from time to time.