Apple Cinnamon Granola, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Vegan

I love granola.  I’m so happy that granola can easily be made gluten free—and refined sugar free.  It makes for a great snack.  Even when you just need to grab a handful and go.  But it also makes for a great breakfast.  I love it in a bowl with almond milk and some more fruit as well as with a little Greek yogurt, more fresh fruit and a drizzle of raw honey.  I almost always have some made and ready to eat at any time.  As I type this, I’m almost out of this yummy Apple Cinnamon Granola and need to make more.  Some Gluten Free Oats were on sale recently, so I have plenty in stock.  I love making all kinds and flavors of granola.  What is your favorite?
Apple Cinnamon Granola, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!
4 cups gluten free old fashioned oats***
1/4 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened, natural applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup dried apple pieces, tossed in a little cinnamon (optional)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, flax meal, sunflower seeds, pecans, salt and cinnamon.  Stir together.  In a medium sized microwaveable bowl, combine the coconut oil and coconut sugar.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  Whisk to combine.  Add the applesauce and vanilla and whisk together.  Stir the wet ingredients into the big bowl of dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened.  Pour the mixture out onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.  Spread evenly.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden brown.  Let granola sit untouched on baking sheet on wire rack until cooled, this helps the pieces stick together in bigger clumps if you like it chunky.  Stirring right after if comes out of the oven makes for separated pieces (which is still good!).  Once pieces are broken up spread the dried apple pieces around and toss evenly.  Store in an airtight container.  ***Don’t want to or need to worry about gluten free, just use regular oats, this works both ways!

Hmm, what kind should I make next?  Any ideas on flavors yet unseen?  I need more granola and I need it right now.

Cherry Cheesecake Crisp—Lucky Leaf Pie Filling and Giveaway

First of all, don’t you just love these colorful, square ramekins?  I think they are so cool and cute and fun.  Guess what?  One lucky reader can enter the giveaway I’m having from Lucky Leaf (Premium Pie Filling).

You can win your own Rachael Ray Bubble & Brown Square Singles Stoneware Set and some pie filling, courtesy of Lucky Leaf.  I received a set of the stoneware and some pie filling, too.  Thanks, Lucky Leaf!  While I’m not currently eating sugar (or gluten), so I didn’t get to try this cherry cheesecake dessert I came up with, my boys and husband ate it up.  Kevin loves cheesecake and they all love cherry pie filling. 

This cherry cheesecake crisp was so easy.  I wanted to make something that didn’t take a lot of time and when Kevin suggested cheesecake I knew that wasn’t as easy as he was thinking.  So I kind of just winged it and came up with this simple no bake version.  I didn’t really want to bother with a crust on the bottom, so I made a quick graham cracker granola to sprinkle on the top.  Kevin said it was really good (and he’s not really a granola or graham cracker fan).  He also liked that the cheesecake wasn’t too sweet.  He really doesn’t like super sweet things.  He said the cherry pie filling added just the right amount of sweet to this.  For making something up on the fly, hearing him say it was actually really good made me quite happy.

The granola takes the longest for this and it’s super simple to whip up, the longest thing is waiting for it to bake in the oven and then cool.  You can make it ahead of time and store it in an airtight container.  There is plenty of it left that I’ll be making these individual cheesecakes again soon.  Raspberry pie filling sounds good, or strawberry…..ooh, peach.  The list could go on and on. 

I love that Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup.  And the cherry filling is FULL of cherries.  There was enough to make these four individual desserts and would have made a fifth, but one of my sons just prefers to eat the cherry filling without the cheesecake, so I left him some!

Cherry Cheesecake Crisp, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

6 ounces of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 ounces whipped topping (or you can use real whipped cream that is whipped first)

1—21 ounce can of Lucky Leaf cherry pie filling (or flavor of your choice)

For the granola:

1 cup old fashioned oats

4 graham crackers (2 ounces)

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon honey  (you can cut a little of the brown sugar and add more honey if you’d like)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Line a 1/4 sheet baking sheet with parchment paper.   In a food processor pulse the graham crackers until mostly finely ground (a few pieces are okay).  Or crush the graham crackers in a plastic zip top bag.  In a bowl, combine the oats, graham crackers, brown sugar and salt.  Mix together.  Add the oil, honey and vanilla and stir until all combined.  Pour the granola mixture onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and don’t touch until cool.  Break into pieces for the tops of the cherry cheesecake (there will be some small, crumbly pieces and that’s okay).

While the granola is baking/cooling, combine in an electric mixer bowl the cream cheese, lemon juice and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Add the sugar a little at a time while it is beating.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add the whipped topping and beat until all combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and clean off the paddle attachment.  Fold it all together with a spatula to make sure it is well combined.  Spoon some of the cheesecake filling evenly into each ramekin.  Spread it evenly.  Add cherry pie filling to the top of the cheesecake.  Sprinkle with Graham Cracker Granola.  Serve and/or keep refrigerated until serving.  Store extra granola in an airtight container.

Want some other recipe inspiration?  Check out all the recipes at Lucky Leaf.

If you’d like a chance to win that colorful stoneware set and some Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling, all you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment here on this post telling me what your favorite dessert is using pie filling.  Again, check out the recipes at Lucky Leaf if you need some help there.  For a second entry, follow Lucky Leaf on Pinterest  (#LoveableLuckyLeaf ) and leave me a comment here that you are now following them.

This contest is open to US residents only and will close by Wednesday, February 12 at 5 p.m. MST.  The winner will be notified by email, so make sure I have a way to contact you.

***Congratulations to Comment #4 Pam!  Your comment was chosen by the random generator and your giveaway package is on the way!  --Katrina, 2-13-14

Pam said...

I love to make cobblers with Pie Fillings so fast and simple and tastes like you have been slaving

February 06, 2014 3:54 PM

Crazy Nutty Gluten Free Granola

I have been craving crunchy things.  With eating gluten free, refined sugar free and even cutting back on lots of grains, I felt like I just needed to crunch something.  I used to eat homemade granola almost everyday and was really missing it.  (Know what else I miss, sometimes just taking a big chug of fat free milk…..I’ve cut back on dairy, too, and have heard fat free has all kinds of chemicals in it, so I don’t drink it anymore, but it’d sure be nice after one of these Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Brownies that are so good you’d never know they are gluten free or refined sugar free.  They are SO good chilled in the fridge, too.  Must make more.

We’re talking about granola here though.  So I set out to make me a crunchy gluten free granola.  The only sweetener in this is raw honey.  You could use maple syrup or agave, too.  I decided to put a bunch of nuts and seeds in this.  I’m so happy with how it turned out—perfect, I must say. ;)  I wanted a clumpy granola and there is a perfect “trick” to that.  Once it comes out of the oven, don’t stir it.  When it is completely cooled, it will have stuck all together and you can break it in to any sized pieces you’d like.

This is the perfect kind of granola to just take a baggie full somewhere for a snack on hand.  But if you break up the pieces a little smaller, it’s also great on top of yogurt with some fresh berries.  One of my favorite things.

Look how clumpy that is!  Of course, you don’t have to make it gluten free, I just used gluten free oats—this is still a great granola with any kind of oats.

Crazy Nutty Gluten Free Granola (Refined Sugar Free), by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 cups gluten-free oats

3 tablespoons ground flax meal

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup raw almonds

½ cup raw pecans

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup raw honey

3 tablespoons organic coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flax, sesame seeds, coconut, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds and salt. Stir together.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the honey and coconut oil. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir together with a whisk until well combined. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until everything looks wet. Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes until fragrant and browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Do not touch the mix during this time as it is setting up and will be clumpy. Once it is completely cooled, you can break it in to clumps and store in an airtight container. *You can use any nuts and seeds you’d like or have on hand, just make it nutty!

I think I’ll go snitch a bit of the granola right now.

Banana Split Granola

 

Banana Split Granola, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

I think this is right up there as one of my favorite granola creations.  And yes, I know, I think I say that with all of them.   This one is so good just as a snack by the handfuls.  It’s almost gone and I’ve yet to put it on yogurt or have it with milk.  But I’m sure it would be fantastic like that, too.

Have you seen all the freeze dried fruit that is out there?  I like freeze dried much more than just dried fruit.  Love the crunchier, lighter texture.  I’ve made a dark chocolate raspberry granola with freeze dried raspberries.  I’ve also put them in Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I have a few family members who LOVE those chocolate chip cookies with the raspberries added.  I think they are great, too.  And while Kevin doesn’t like fruit with chocolate things, he’ll snitch a cookie or two when I make them with the raspberries and I’m pretty sure he secretly likes them. ;)

You can get small bags of freeze dried apples, pears, and a combo of bananas and strawberries.  The boys like all of those, too.  They prefer the apples and pears though, so when I recently bought a big box of the individual bags at Costco, a number of the banana/strawberry ones sat in the pantry not getting eaten.  It hit me one day recently to put them in granola.  I then decided just bananas and strawberries weren’t enough, so I also added some dried pineapple, some cocoa almonds (love those, too and just recently tried them for the first time), and some chopped dark chocolate.  All of a sudden this Banana Split Granola came to life!

Banana Split Granola, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup ground flax seeds (meal)

1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)

1/2 cup freeze dried bananas and strawberries

1/3 cup chopped dried pineapple

1/4 cup cocoa-covered almonds, or just plain almonds

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, flax, coconut, brown sugar and salt.  Stir to combine.  In a medium sized, microwaveable bowl, combine the oil and agave.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  Add the vanilla and whisk until well combined.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it is all moist.  Spread the mixture evenly onto the baking sheet and bake for 22 minutes.  Let sit on the baking sheet on a cooling rack until completely cooled.  Break into pieces into a bowl.  Add the dried fruit, almonds and chocolate and mix to combine.  Store in an airtight container after trying not to eat too much of it at once. ;)

Get a bite of it with a banana, a strawberry, a piece of pineapple, an almond, a piece of chocolate and some granola—YUM!  I will be making this again very soon!

Coconut Lime Granola with Pecans Recipe

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This is one of my favorite granolas I’ve ever made.  It is made with coconut oil, lightly toasted coconut and the zest of a lime.  I could just live off of it (well, and a little chocolate here and there!) ;)  This granola is great with some Greek yogurt and with blueberries or blackberries.  If you’re looking for a new, different granola recipe, try this out!

Coconut Lime Granola with Pecans, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (optional)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

zest of one lime

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup agave nectar (you could also use honey)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, flax, coconut, pecans, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, salt and lime zest.  In a medium sized microwave safe bowl, add the oil and agave (or honey).  Microwave for about 30 seconds.  Whisk together well.  Add the vanilla and whisk again.  Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until well combined and all is moistened.  Spread the granola on the baking sheet in an even layer.  Bake for 22 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit on a wire rack until completely cool.  Do not mix the granola while it’s cooling.  Once cooled, break and crumble into chunks and pieces.  Store in an airtight container.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Granola Recipe

I made some of the most decadent, delicious granola, but it’s still pretty darn healthy.  I’m loving having it for breakfast and maybe a little snacking here and there, too.  It won’t last long, but you can be sure I’ll be making this Dark Chocolate Raspberry Granola again soon!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Granola, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

4  1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut*

1/4 raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dark)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey (or agave nectar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries**

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, almonds, flaxseed meal, salt, cocoa powder and brown sugar.  Mix well.  In a medium sized microwaveable bowl, combine the oil and honey.   Microwave for about 30 seconds.  Whisk until well combined.  Add the vanilla and combine.  Pour over the dry ingredients and stir well until all is coated.  Spread evenly on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 22 minutes.  Remove from oven and don’t mix the granola.  Let cool completely.  Break into pieces.  Add the chopped dark chocolate and freeze-dried raspberries.  Store in an airtight container.

*If you don’t like coconut, don’t add it.  You could add a little more oats, or another nut if you’d like to replace it.

**If you don’t have or can’t find freeze-dried raspberries, some dried tart cherries or even dried cranberries would be good! 

Every morning for breakfast I have plain Greek yogurt (mixed with a little Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt—I just can’t quite do plain Greek), but with this granola on top, it is the bomb!  The freeze-dried raspberries have a great light crisp texture and a perfect bit of tart to go with the chocolate.  The granola itself is not too sweet at all, in fact I like that it isn’t. 

**I have one of these large cans of freeze-dried raspberries, they are a little expensive, but the can is large and lasts a while and they are so good and healthy, it’s worth it.  The website, Honeyville Grain also has some smaller bags, too.  Freeze Dried Raspberries from Honeyville Grain.  One thing I love about Honeyville is that their shipping is always $4.49 no matter how much you order in weight.  I ordered a 50 pound bag of whole wheat pastry flour from them and it only cost $4.49 in shipping!  Check out all the products they have!

Marbled Choco-Banana Muffins & Crumb Blog’s Granola—Secret Recipe Club

Come on in, sit down—have some breakfast—or a snack!

Amanda contacted me this morning about doing a fill-in post for a blogger who was left out of The Secret Recipe Club posts this month.  I agreed immediately to whip something up from Isabelle's blog, Crumb.  Check out the cute picture of her holding a parsnip in wonder over what in the world to do with it on the link with her name to her bio!  She has a wonderful blog that showcases her love of food!  Browsing through her blog, I came upon a couple recipes and had a really hard time deciding between the two.  Then it hit me—they are both breakfast foods, I’ll do them both!

So it is with great pleasure I present to you Isabelle’s Crumb Granola and her fantastic Chocolate Banana Marble Muffins (I’ve adapted the titles and the recipes every so slightly).

First up—I had just run out of granola, which to me is like having nothing to eat for breakfast.  I eat it everyday with some Greek yogurt and fruit (usually banana unless berries are in season)!  I liked everything about Isabelle’s granola recipe, which she titles Chewy Blueberry-Apricot Granola.  I just needed to make a few changes to the things I put in my granola as to what I had on hand, but this turned out GREAT.  I didn’t get this done in time for breakfast today, so I can’t wait for tomorrow morning to come!

 

Crumb Blog’s Granola, by Isabelle, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup quick oats (or just another 1/2 cup old fashioned if you don’t have both)

1/4 cups sesame seeds

1/4 cup shelled pistachios

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/3 cup dried tart cherries, chopped

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup dry skim milk powder

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup canola oil

2/3 cup honey

pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (foil works, too).  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, flour, milk, spices and salt.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the oil and honey and whisk together to combine.  Pour the oil/honey mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.  Turn the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to gently press the granola mixture into a large mound in the center of the pan.

Transfer the baking sheet to second from the top rack of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, gently break up the granola into large clumps (it will still be quite wet at this point).  Spread it evenly over the surface of the pan.

Return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes or until lightly toasted and brown, stirring the granola halfway through to ensure it browns evenly.  Allow the granola to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container (or bag or jar some up to give away!)

Variation—you really can add any nuts and fruit you’d like, just follow the amounts in total in the recipe. 

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I’ve never “met” a granola I didn’t really like, but this one is up there with one of the best I’ve made and tasted!

I’m also a sucker for all things banana (you might have known that already), so while I was looking through Isabelle’s blog at what to make, I also ran across these Marbled Choco-Banana Muffins and couldn’t resist making them as well.  I am so glad I did!  These are fantastic and perfectly moist and chocolaty!  They might as well be a cupcake with frosting, they are that good—but I even made a few healthy substitutions and am perfectly happy with how they turned out and they just don’t need that frosting!

   

Marbled Choco-Banana Muffins, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Isabelle at Crumb

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Bestlife butter substitute, softened (you can use regular butter also)

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup mashed banana (2 medium-large bananas)

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1  1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose) (180 grams)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s dark cocoa)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line it with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Add the mashed bananas, yogurt and vanilla.  The mixture will look curdled, but it’s okay.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir just until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Measure out 1  1/2 cups of the batter into a small bowl and add the cocoa powder.  Fold together gently until combined.

Spoon the batter into the pan, alternating between the two batters.  Swirl each with a sharp knife or a toothpick to create a marbled effect.  You don’t want to swirl too much or it will just mix together.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes or so before gently removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.

My four year old just ate one of these moist, delicious muffins for lunch and said, “When I grow up and get big, I’m going to make these all the time!”  Shh, don’t tell him there’s Greek yogurt and whole wheat flour in there! ;)  So glad I was able to bake from Isabelle’s blog, Crumb today as a fill-in for The Secret Recipe Club!

Peanut Butter Granola and Plant Cell Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza

I ran out of granola and instead of making more of the Banana Dark Chocolate Chunk Granola that I’d recently made, I was hankering for peanut butter.  I did a quick search on the internet for peanut butter granola and settled on this one I’d found at Hillbilly Housewife (a website I’d never seen or heard of before, but one I’m sure I’ll be back to check out more).  I love this Peanut Butter Granola to which I added some dry roasted peanuts and some cherry flavored dried cranberries.  I even just rough measured the ingredients without actually using measuring cups/spoons. 

Another thing that “sold” me on this recipe was its short baking time.  I will for sure be doubling this next time I make it and will try some chopped dark chocolate in it, too.  Yum!

Peanut Butter Granola, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 tablespoons Smart Balance butter

1/3 cup natural peanut butter (you could use any kind of pb you’d like)

1/3 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

1-2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium sized saucepan, melt butter and peanut butter together and stir until smooth and combined.  Add the honey, vanilla and salt and whisk together until all heated through together.   Stir in the oats.  Spread on a baking sheet that is sprayed lightly with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Stir the granola.  At this point I turned off the oven and left the granola in for about 4 more minutes.  Remove from oven and stir.  Let cool to room temperature.  Add the peanuts and cranberries (and chocolate!)

This granola is perfectly crunchy and has just the right amount of peanut butter flavor.  I can’t wait to have it with some vanilla yogurt and sliced banana!

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Scott recently had a science project in learning about cells and all the “things” in a plant cell.  Like mitochondrion, druse crystal, vacuoles, nucleus, chloroplast, ribosome, Golgi apparatus, smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER).  I know, whatever that I’m so smart I can name all those.  Oh yeah, I’m reading them off a diagram.  Anyway, the students had to put together some kind of diagram using food.  Here’s what Scott (and Kevin) came up with---

I made a 14 inch pizza cookie and they went to town putting all the things on it to look like a cell.

(Photo courtesy of Wayne’s Word.)

That’s my kind of diagram!  And the boys sure enjoyed eating it afterward.

One Ingredient Raspberry Ice Cream and The Best Granola Recipe

It’s getting kind of boring that I keep saying “we’re still trying to use up things in the freezer”, but we are since we’re moving soon and can’t take any of the frozen food with us.  That being said, I found a whole bag of frozen raspberries the other day.    If you saw my post about One Ingredient Banana and Strawberry Ice Cream, you’ll remember that you just take frozen fruit and put it in the food processor for about 4 minutes, it’s starts out grinding a bit and having a hard time crushing up the frozen fruit, but all the sudden it begins “churning” it and turns in to this amazing “ice cream”.  You need to try it to understand, but it’s delicious and good for you (as opposed to full fat---cream and egg ice cream).

Get a look at that fabulous color and that creaminess!  

This time, we had about two small frozen bananas (cut up in chunks before freezing), so I started those a-whirling, then once they started going, I added the 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries.  Again, don’t freak out if it’s having a hard time at first, just scrape it down a few times and keep it going and I’m telling you, all the sudden—you have an amazing concoction that you’d never know doesn’t even have any dairy in it.  This time, I could not even taste the banana, but it sure added a great creaminess to the raspberry.  I think I kept this one going so long that it had almost a whipped mousse texture to it.  The flavor was delicious.  Right near the end of the whipping, I threw in a big scoop of chocolate protein powder.  I wish it’d had more chocolate flavor with the raspberry!

I think we’ll make more banana tonight, I froze 3-4 more yesterday.  I think I’ll really bump up the chocolate flavor and add some peanut butter!   The bananas are best when they aren’t too ripe, but have just a few freckles.  Any frozen fruit would work and it’s fun to try different flavors, then you can add banana for that creaminess, or just use any fruit without the banana for more of a sorbet type “ice cream”.  Either way, it’s so good and a great treat!

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I have always loved granola.  Would almost say I never met a granola I didn’t like.  But when it comes to homemade, I’ve always been searching for a certain texture and a granola that actually holds itself together in chunks—like the kind you can buy.  I always figured it was because of lots of fat and sugar.  Well, the secret has been figured out.  Not by me.  Camilla Saulsbury (link to her blog and granola post) from Enlightened Cooking did all the work and gets all the credit in my book on this.  If you don’t know who Camilla is, you don’t watch enough Food Network.  She has appeared in many Challenges and won lots of contests for her cooking and baking.  The “secret” to this granola is egg whites.  You know at Christmastime when people give you (or you make) sugared nuts, they usually have egg whites, which helps make the sugar stick and caramelize on the nuts?  That is the concept with this granola.  Not to mention, that egg whites add extra protein.  You really can add whatever you like in your granola.  So I’ve left a link to Camilla’s post about her discovery and great granola.  Here’s what I did, adapting her recipe with what I like and had on hand to make mine.

Ultimate Healthy Granola, by Camilla Saulsbury (link to her website), adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used 4 cups and ran out, so I used 2 cups quick oats)

1 cup raw nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup raw sunflower or pepita seeds (I used a handful each of roasted, salted sunflower seeds and pepitas and added them at the end)

1/3 cup flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed)

Optional: 1 teaspoon favorite ground sweet spice or a combo, such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, etc. (I didn’t put any in mine this time)

3 large egg whites

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I just used 1/2 teaspoon table salt)

3/4 cup honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, or molasses (I used maple syrup this time)

1/3 cup canola oil (or other neutral oil)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup dried fruit of choice (I used 6 dried apricot halves, chopped and about 1/4 cup dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the oats, nuts, (seeds), flax, and (spices) in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until frothy.  Whisk in the sweetener you choose, oil and vanilla until well blended.  Add egg white mixture to the oat mixture and stir together to coat all the dry ingredients with the wet.  Spread the mixture evenly onto two rimmed baking sheets. 

Bake for 20 minutes (Next time I will use 325 degrees and stir every 10 minutes as I like that control of its browning better—not that I burned mine though!).  Stir the granola to ensure even browning. Bake another 8-10 minutes until golden.  Let cool completely on baking sheets.  Stir in the dried fruit.  Transfer the granola to an airtight container.  It will keep for 3-4 weeks (or can be frozen for up to 3 months.  Makes about 8 1/2 cups granola. 

 

Try not to keep snacking on this stuff!  I love it on yogurt and even sprinkled on oatmeal for some crunch!  Thanks, Camilla.  This will forever be my go-to method and I’ll surely be mixing up the ingredients!  It also worked perfectly that I had just used egg yolks for something and had the three egg whites just waiting to be used!