Crunchy Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon
1 large head broccoli
1/2 cup diced cheese
1/2 cup mayo
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS honey
salt and pepper

Directions:
Cook bacon and drain grease. Crumble and set aside.
Cut broccoli stems included into small piecies and place in a bowl with bacon and diced cheese(could add optional onions and raisins).
Whisk together mayo, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour dressing over mix and serve.

Chia Seed Jam

We have started ordering our produce from Bountiful Baskets and are so happy with the selection, quality and quantity we are receiving every other week. I split my order with a neighbor so we can order more of the "special" items. This week alongside our conventional basket we ordered 10 lbs of strawberries and 13.5 lbs of apricots. I was so excited to make jam for my family and started to research Chia Seed Jam recipes. When purchasing jam and jelly in the stores they are often packed full of artificial dyes so we have struggled to find something that we love for a good price AND dye free.

After making these jams I will never go back to store bought. Between what we get from my husband's grandmother - who makes the best jam and jelly on the planet and what I now can make so easily at home we are well stocked.

Chia Seed Jam

Ingredients:
2 TBS Chia Seeds
4 TBS Filtered Water
2 lbs Fruit (we used apricots, strawberry, and strawberry banana)
Honey to taste (or any other sweetener of your choice)

Directions:
Mix chia seeds and water together and let sit for 10-15 minutes soaking. Clean, dice and put into a food processor your fruit of choice. Add honey and puree fruit until smooth. Add in the chia seeds and water mixture to the processor and blend 3-4 minutes. Let set in fridge for one hour - as the jam sits the chia seeds will expand and make the jam thicker.

Freezer and Storage Tips
You can take this jam once jarred and freeze for up to 6 months. Make sure your lid is on tight and that you left a little room at the top for expanding. No canning or sealing process needed.

Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

My parents have been using Chia Seeds for many years and I hear from so many other people how wonderful the health benefits are. This week I got brave and decided to make a recipe that I have been staring at for several months. I was thrilled with the outcome and am now completely addicted!

First off Chia Seeds are considered a "superfood" because of being able to give maximum nutrients with such few calories. The seeds are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and have a high amount of protein and fiber. (2 TBS contain 11 grams of fiber which is 40% of your daily value) - thus keeping you feeling full longer. To see a more completed list check out the Top 10 Health Benefits of Chia Seeds. 

Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 3 TBS raw chia seeds
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (coconut, soy, reg milk, etc)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS maple syrup or raw local honey
pinch of sea salt (I used celtic but kosher would also work)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and cover tightly  - Refrigerate over night or at least 4 hours (longer the better) - Stir and mix in your add ins and enjoy!

Kitchen Notes:
* To thicken pudding replace 1 cup of the milk with 1 cup yogurt (dairy free yogurt works great too).
* I loved the mix of the honey and vanilla in the pudding.
* The consistency is much like tapioca pudding - YUM!
* I added sliced bananas and coconut to my first batch and it was SO good!
* Visit Domesticate Me website for the original version of the recipe and ALL the awesome add ins she has come up with - the options are endless. PLUS photos!!!!

Spinach Banana Muffins

Here I go again looking for a good muffin recipe that includes tons of veggies. We love spinach at our house - in fact our little won't eat scrambled eggs if they aren't loaded with spinach and garlic. She will actually turns them away if they aren't loaded and green!  

Right now the craze seems to be juicing and while we love smoothies at our house we don't have a good enough blender or juicer to really dig into this one. Therefore I turn to making muffins because they are such a great way to pack in veggies and are filling for our little for breakfast and snacks. 

While making these we both were skeptical and the color really surprised me but they turned out amazing. We both ate 3 and could have had a 4th but stopped ourselves. They would be perfect for St. Patty's Day! 

Spinach Banana Muffins
adapted from Full Belly Farm

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, packed
1/3 cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place the first 7 ingredients in a food processor and puree.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in food processor and pulse just until combined.
6. Scoop batter into a greased mini muffin tins
7. Bake for 8 minutes or until the muffin top springs back when you gently push on it.

Kitchen Notes:
I doubled this recipe and it made about 65 mini muffins - freeze great! 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I have to record this recipe before I forget. Dinner tonight was amazing! It was so simple and easy to put together and would be perfect for mixing up ahead of time on days that we are all busy at work and school.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
1-2 chicken breasts diced small
1/2 onion diced
1 cup mushrooms diced
1/2 cup red peppers diced
dash of garlic garlic
3 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS red wine vinegar
romaine lettuce

Directions:
Dice chicken and veggies - almost mince them. Saute together until chicken is cooked. Add garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar toss to coat and let cook until the liquid is gone. Cool and serve on romaine lettuce leaves.

Kale and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Our daughter is a mini - me of my husband not only in looks but in food taste. They love any type of mexican food and together they can go through a costco pack of tortillas in about two weeks (48 tortillas!!!).  Thus meaning I am always looking for ways to expand our mexican selection of foods in our house. We do a lot of tacos, nachos, fajitas, enchiladas, etc and everything is LOADED with veggies. I love making sweet potato and black bean quesadillas for example. My husband, being from New Mexico, can never get it spicy enough and our daughter loves the variety of what you can do with a tortilla! 

This week I wanted to expand on the sweet potato quesadilla so I added fresh organic kale. They turned out so good. I actually started out making a plain cheese and garlic quesadilla for our little but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. Instead she ate 1/2 of a loaded kale and sweet potato one. Love that my family craves veggies and loves fun quesadilla variations! 


Kale and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Ingredients:
Tortillas (2 per quesadilla)
2 TBS coconut oil
Kale (1 bundle)
Sweet Potato (2 med sized)
Mushrooms (1 cup)
Onion (1 small)
Cheese (shredded)

Seasonings (celtic sea salt, garlic from TS, cumin)

Optional Toppings:
sour cream (green valley makes a great lactaid free one)
guac or diced avocado
salsa

Directions:
Dice sweet potatoes and onions finely and saute until soft in coconut oil. Mash roughly then add diced mushrooms and roughly chopped kale then add your seasonings. Cook until kale is tender. 

Lay tortilla in a hot skillet and add cheese and sweet potato and kale mixture, top with second tortilla. Lightly brown tortilla on both sides then slice into triangles. Serve with your toppings. 

Banana Carrot Muffins

We have been on a muffin kick lately. A couple weeks ago I posted a great recipe for Apple Carrot Muffins and it got me thinking about other ways to use a mix of fruit and veggies in muffins. I wanted something that I could serve our toddler for breakfast and also make a healthy snack. Both of these recipes make a ton of muffins in mini muffin form and freeze great! 

Whole Wheat Banana Carrot Muffins
makes 5 dozen mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups finely chopped/grated carrot
• ¼ cup quick cooking oats
• ¼ cup coconut
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 ripe bananas mashed into a paste
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix till combines. The mixtures will be quite hard. If it looks too dry add a little more yogurt. Don’t be tempted to make it too watery.

Scoop the batter into the greased mini muffin tray. And bake till done, approximately 10 minutes.