1 cup unsweetened applesauce
10 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
4 TBS ground flax soaked in the fridge for 15ish minutes in 12 TBS water (aka "flax egg")
2 cups almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup of fruit juice (I used pineapple this time)
2 TBS baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cups regular rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup blueberries (or other fruit you have)
Line a 9x13 glass baking pan with parchment paper.
Place pitted dates in blender. Add juice, almond milk, and applesauce. Let soak for a few minutes to soften dates.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Puree wet ingredients on highest speed of your cheapy blender for about 2 minutes. Stir in flax egg.
Fold liquid into dry ingredients. Once mixed, gently fold in blueberries or other fruit.
Pour into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, top with chopped nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
This turned out amazing. The texture, the taste, and the color was fantastic! My 7yo, who normally wouldn't touch the baked oatmeal asked me for more at dinner even! This will go on our normal weekly rotation, for sure.
Leftover Oatmeal Muffins
1 cup cold (leftover) cooked oatmeal
1.5 cups flour of choice
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup molasses, honey or natural sugar (depending on what you add to the muffins)
1/2 cup dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts (whatever you choose)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup dry milk (or dry buttermilk)
3/4 cup water
1 egg (we use xlarge)
1 Tbs oil of choice (or applesauce)
Orange or lemon zest if applicable to other ingredients
Add half of the water to the oatmeal and mix until smooth. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. (unless using honey or molasses, add that to the wet ingredients) Beat the egg slightly; add rest of milk, cereal and oil. Mix all together and stir until just moistened. Do not overbeat. Bake in greased muffin pans or bread pans. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
We use the above recipe as a starting point for all sorts of yummy inventions. Today we enjoyed Cranberry Chocolate Chip muffins, but I've also made garlic cheese muffins using rye flour. Have fun experimenting.
The Cranberry Chocolate Chip muffins came out at 162 calories per muffin, 4.6 grams of fat, 28.6 grams of carbs, and 3.3 grams of protein. Not the healthiest, but still a nice treat if you have saved some calories for one. And, they are so economical, since they use up that little bit of oatmeal left in the pot from breakfast. :)
You can make them healthier, too, by using different ingredients.
Winter Lentil Vegetable Soup
adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients
- 1 cup red or green lentils
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 6 carrots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Place the lentils into a stockpot or a Dutch oven and add water to twice the depth of the lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse lentils; return them to the pot.
Add onion, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, chicken broth, carrots and garlic to the pot and season with salt, pepper, sugar, basil, thyme and curry. Cook, simmering for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until desired tenderness is achieved. Serves 12.
Amount Per Serving Calories: 113 | Total Fat: 0.7g | Cholesterol: 2mg
This soup is fantastic! Hearty, filling, cheap, and so healthy! I skipped the sugar, bring it under 100 calories per serving. I only used 1 can of tomatoes and it was still delicious. It's going on the regular menu, for sure. :D
Indian Spiced Lentils
I overhauled my Indian Spiced Lentils recipe to fit with our Nutritarian menu plan.
2 cups lentils
3 cups vegetable broth (or water)
3 cups water
1 small onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
half-ish of a red bell pepper, diced
1 cup or so of those yummy yellow wax beans fresh from the garden, diced or any other vegetable of choice
2 cups or so mushrooms, diced fine so the children can't guess ;)
4-6 leaves of greens, diced (collards, kale, spinach, chard)
4 cloves of garlice, chopped (I am VERY liberal with my measurements ;) )
1 4oz can diced green chiles
1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp dried mustard, 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1 T parsley (all dried herbs)
Dump ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil and let simmer for an hour or so until all the vegetables are the consistency you prefer. You can also put this in the crockpot on low or 7 hours or high for 4ish.
We used the lentils as filling with large romaine lettuce leaves. Wrapped and ate them like a burrito. Yum!
Apple Sauce Corn Bread
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 flax "egg" or 1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat, spelt, or other flour of choice
1 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Mix applesauce and "egg". Beat well. Add dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Bake in parchment paper lined pan 25-35 minutes. 350 degrees. (I use a round cake pan for our corn bread. We generally double this.)
Taco Soup
1 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped bite sized
3-4 leaves of fresh greens (Swiss chard, spinach, kale, collard greens)
1 onion, chopped or 2 handfuls dried onion
1 bag frozen corn
3-4 cups cooked black beans
2 cans Rotel tomatoes OR 2 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes AND 7-14 oz canned green chiles (lower salt if you do it the second way)
1 28 oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can tomato sauce OR crushed tomatoes
16 oz water (or thereabouts)
4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
juice squeezed from half a lime
Water sautee onions and chard stems if using fresh. Add all ingredients to the pot. Heat on medium low, simmer on low for an hour or more.
The Veggie Shepherd's Pie
(this made 2 9x13 pans, adjust to your needs)
6 medium carrots, diced
3-4 large stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 - 1 package mushrooms, diced
1 cup of fresh or frozen greens, diced (kale, spinach, chard, collards)
1-2 cups frozen corn (or mixed veggies, peas, green beans, any kind of veggies you like, really)
10-12 medium sized potatoes, washed, roughly chopped (I leave the skins on)
1.5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dry lentils (or 2-3 cups of cooked lentils. I used some leftover cooked lentils from the fridge for the recipe tonight and it turned out great. Budget-friendly way to use up leftovers and feed the fam)
1 15oz can of cannellini beans, drained, pureed
1/2 - 1 cup almond milk
1-2 TBS minced garlic
Cook dry lentils for about 25 minutes (or according to package instructions)
Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until soft. Add the pureed beans, garlic, and almond milk. Whip with hand-held mixer until creamy, adding milk as needed.
Bring vegetable stock to a boil in a large sauce pan. Chop all veggies and simmer in vegetable broth for 15 minutes until soft. The broth should be absorbed by the vegetables by this time. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
Combine all the vegetables and lentils. Spoon them into the bottom of 2 9x12 pans. Top with whipped potatoes, equally in each pan.
From here you can cover with foil and store in the fridge until ready to heat and serve. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until hot and potatoes begin to crisp and brown.
Indian Spiced Lentils
I overhauled my Indian Spiced Lentils recipe to fit with our Nutritarian menu plan.
2 cups lentils
3 cups vegetable broth (or water)
3 cups water
1 small onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
half-ish of a red bell pepper, diced
1 cup or so of those yummy yellow wax beans fresh from the garden, diced or any other vegetable of choice
2 cups or so mushrooms, diced fine so the children can't guess ;)
4-6 leaves of greens, diced (collards, kale, spinach, chard)
4 cloves of garlice, chopped (I am VERY liberal with my measurements ;) )
1 4oz can diced green chiles
1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp dried mustard, 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1 T parsley (all dried herbs)
Dump ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil and let simmer for an hour or so until all the vegetables are the consistency you prefer. You can also put this in the crockpot on low or 7 hours or high for 4ish.
We used the lentils as filling with large romaine lettuce leaves. Wrapped and ate them like a burrito. Yum!
Apple Sauce Corn Bread
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 flax "egg" or 1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat, spelt, or other flour of choice
1 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Mix applesauce and "egg". Beat well. Add dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Bake in parchment paper lined pan 25-35 minutes. 350 degrees. (I use a round cake pan for our corn bread. We generally double this.)
Taco Soup
1 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped bite sized
3-4 leaves of fresh greens (Swiss chard, spinach, kale, collard greens)
1 onion, chopped or 2 handfuls dried onion
1 bag frozen corn
3-4 cups cooked black beans
2 cans Rotel tomatoes OR 2 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes AND 7-14 oz canned green chiles (lower salt if you do it the second way)
1 28 oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can tomato sauce OR crushed tomatoes
16 oz water (or thereabouts)
4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
juice squeezed from half a lime
Water sautee onions and chard stems if using fresh. Add all ingredients to the pot. Heat on medium low, simmer on low for an hour or more.
The Veggie Shepherd's Pie
(this made 2 9x13 pans, adjust to your needs)
6 medium carrots, diced
3-4 large stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1/2 - 1 package mushrooms, diced
1 cup of fresh or frozen greens, diced (kale, spinach, chard, collards)
1-2 cups frozen corn (or mixed veggies, peas, green beans, any kind of veggies you like, really)
10-12 medium sized potatoes, washed, roughly chopped (I leave the skins on)
1.5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dry lentils (or 2-3 cups of cooked lentils. I used some leftover cooked lentils from the fridge for the recipe tonight and it turned out great. Budget-friendly way to use up leftovers and feed the fam)
1 15oz can of cannellini beans, drained, pureed
1/2 - 1 cup almond milk
1-2 TBS minced garlic
Cook dry lentils for about 25 minutes (or according to package instructions)
Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until soft. Add the pureed beans, garlic, and almond milk. Whip with hand-held mixer until creamy, adding milk as needed.
Bring vegetable stock to a boil in a large sauce pan. Chop all veggies and simmer in vegetable broth for 15 minutes until soft. The broth should be absorbed by the vegetables by this time. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
Combine all the vegetables and lentils. Spoon them into the bottom of 2 9x12 pans. Top with whipped potatoes, equally in each pan.
From here you can cover with foil and store in the fridge until ready to heat and serve. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until hot and potatoes begin to crisp and brown.
