Chewy Oat Bars

My friend JoAnna sent me this delicious recipe:

http://tammysrecipes.com/oatmeal_chocolate_chip_cookie_bars

I made the following changes:

I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup white flour

Took out 1/2 of a stick of butter (so I used 3/4 of the butter it called for)

Took out half of the chocolate chips

Added 1/4 cup of ground flax seed

Added 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Added 3/4 cup sliced almonds

Instead of a 9x13 inch pan, I scooped the dough into two greased 8x8 glass dishes. I was holding my 9 month old while I made them, and she refused to let me put her down. My 9x13 inch pan was too high for me to reach while holding her, so I used the ones that were more accessible. If you don't have kids, you now think I'm ridiculous. If you have kids, you probably understand. :)

These came out so so so good, and were pretty simple to make. They were delicious straight out of the oven, all warm and gooey, but they will make a great snack later when they firm up a bit as well. And the best part, they are fairly healthy! :)

Honey Cinnamon Banana Muffins

As usual, we had a handful of overripe bananas sitting on the counter this week, so it was time to whip up some banana bread. It has become a staple in our house, but I always try to do something a little different each time I make it. This time I skipped butter, and used honey and a little brown sugar in place of the white sugar...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 T cinnamon

6 oz (one small container) plain yogurt (ours came from our organic farm delivery)

2/3 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

2 large eggs

3 large overripe bananas

Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a stand mixer (or large bowl), cream together the brown sugar and yogurt. Add in the honey and continue to mix well. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Slowly pour the flour mixture into the honey mixture, and blend together (but don't over mix). Finally, add the bananas and mix until combined.

Pour into greased muffin tin, and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

We received our weekly delivery of fresh produce yesterday, and it included a handful of medium sized zucchini. There's nothing better than the smell of something cinnamon-y baking on a cold, rainy day, so I decided to make some (healthy) zucchini bread. (I am no longer on the dairy-free diet, but this bread happens to be dairy-free.) I used the following ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis finely chopped or shredded (I used a food processor)
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup canola oil
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 T cinnamon
1 t pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg)

Mix the wet ingredients (eggs, brown sugar, oil, vanilla) together (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer). In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, flaxseed, cinnamon, pp spice). Slowly blend the wet and dry ingredients together. Finally, mix in the zucchini, but do not over mix.

Pour into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. This makes a great healthy snack for kids and adults. :)

A Healthy, Hearty, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie (Great for Kids!)

While looking for a cookie to make for playgroup a few months ago, I found the following recipe on www.wholesometoddlerfood.com:

Farmland Flax Cookies - A popular cookie that everyone loves.
Butter 1 1/3 cups
Granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups
Brown sugar 1 1/2 cups
Flax seed- 1 1/2 cups
Large eggs 3
Vanilla 1 1/2 tsp
All-purpose flour 3 1/2 cups (try a mix of whole wheat flour/all purpose)
Baking soda 1 tbsp
Oatmeal 3 cups

In a bowl, cream butter and sugars; add flax seed. In another bowl, beat eggs and vanilla together. Combine with flax mixture. Sift together the flour and soda. Mix in oatmeal and combine with other ingredients. Form dough into 4 cm (1 1/2 inch) round logs. Place in freezer and chill. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Slice into .5 cm (1/4 inch) medallions. Place on baking sheet leaving about 5 cm (2 inches) between cookies.
Bake 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool Yield: 108 cookies (5 cm/2 inches)

Changes I made:

I used all whole wheat flour, only 1.5 sticks of butter, added a cup of applesauce, and added about one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (not enough to really make them super chocolatey, but enough to give them a little chocolate kick).

I made a few "logs", ended up baking one for play group, saving one for later (in the freezer), and giving two of them to friends. These were great for the kids, and for the adults as well!

Toddler Veggie Cookies (Great For Adults, Too!)

Goldfish, puffs, melts, etc, etc, etc. These toddler snacks are getting old in our house, and I really don't feel like they have much substance. I always end up cutting up some fruit to go with them(pears and strawberries are Audrey's current faves), so I was interested in making something that would be sort of an "all-in-one" healthy, substantial snack. After our dog, Wilson, ate the remains of our last loaf of banana bread, one of Audrey's favorites, I was motivated to get started on the following:

I took the following recipe from www.sheknows.com, and made quite a few changes.

ZUCCHINI AND CARROT COOKIES
Ingredients

3/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon


This is the list of ingredients I used:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini
2/3 cup shredded carrots
2/3 cup applesauce
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl.
Add egg and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.
Mix in shredded zucchini, carrots, and applesauce.

Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add these dry ingredients to the large bowl, stirring until well combined.
Drop teaspoons of dough approximately 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.
Use 2 spoons to drop the dough by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake 12 minutes.
Makes about 20 cookies.

Making Banana Bread with a Toddler