Healthy Apricot and Date Cookies

These cookies were yummy! They were cakey and delicious and my kids gobbled them up. :)

Ingredients:
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
scant 1/2 c. brown sugar (1/3 c. might have been sufficient?)
1 egg
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbps. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. chopped dried apricots and dates

Directions:
1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl, then mix the two together.
3. Stir in the daets and apricots.
4. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Farm Girl Granola

I'm reposting this granola recipe from my other website Everyday Art. It's a great recipe, and worthy of sharing twice! :)

I've been making homemade granola for as long as I can remember, and I've tried a lot of different recipes, but this is the recipe that I've stuck with lately.  

I don't even know where I got it--it's just this random recipe in my recipe box called "Farm Girl Granola" and we all love it.

 

It's the perfect amount of sweetness, crunch and wholesome goodness. My second-second favorite recipe is a dry-roast granola that has much much less oil, but honestly, there's just something yummy about roasting everything in some good-quality oil. I used to always make the dry-roast variety, but lately it's been farm-girl all the way. :) 

I also really like this recipe because so far it has with-stood all my massive amounts of tweaking. I never really make it the same way twice, and somehow it always turns out yummy.

Without further ado, here is your favorite granola recipe:

Farm Girl Granola

8 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

2 c. chopped nuts and seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

1 c. flaked or shaved coconut

3/4 c. oil

3/4 to 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. honey/molasses combination, depending on your own taste preferences

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Optional additions to add to the last 8-10 minutes of roasting:

dried fruit

wheat germ

roasted sunflower seeds

spices--cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, etc.

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix the oats, nuts and seeds, and the coconut together in a large bowl.
3. Mix the oil, sugar, honey/molasses, and vanilla together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.
4. Mix the oat mixture with the oil/sugar mixture. Spread onto two large jelly-roll pans or rimmed cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes. You may need to rotate the pans around if they are browing unevenly, or if you are lucky enough to have a convection oven, then just stir and don't bother rotating the pans.
6. Add any of the additional add-ins you wish during the last few minutes of roasting.

Hope you enjoy your granola! It really is a wonderful recipe and you really can't screw it up (as long as you don't burn it in the oven!). It's wonderful using any of the listed combinations above, but my favorite is slivered almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds along with dried cranberries. I've thought about adding some orange peel for the holidays.... 

 

Strawberry Oat-Almond Bars

 

You know what is cool? Besides being beautiful and delicious, these babies have no sugar. Zero. Well, of course unless you want to get all technical--they have no refined sugars, only the sugars found naturally in the ingredients. As nature intended sugar to be eaten I say.

Also, they are raw. No need to turn on a hot oven on a hot day.

The crust is made by pulsing dates, almonds, and oats in a food processor (I just used my Vita Mix). Then, you press that crust into a bread pan, spread some smashed-up strawberries on top and then top that with sliced strawberries. Easy peasy. And yummy. Here's the recipe.

 

Strawberry Oat-Almond Bars

1 1/2 to 2 c. pitted dates
1/4 c. raw almonds
2 Tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 lb. strawberries

1. Pulse the dates, nuts, oats, and a dash of salt in a food processor until combined.
2. Press teh date mixture inot the bottom of a bread loaf pan.
3. Mash about 1 c. of the strawberris adn spread on top of the date mixture.
4. Slice the remaining strawberries. Snich a few and add the rest to the top.
5. Slice and serve.

Quinoa Pudding

image: whole living

I'm a big fan of quinoa, but I'd never tried it in a dessert. This was the week for that! I found that I liked the recipe a lot; I liked that my kids liked it and that it was pretty healthy for them. It made way too much for our little family though and we didn't eat all the leftovers, so if you aren't truly serving 8, I'd recommend halving it. :)

Quinoa Pudding
Serves 8

3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 cups skim milk (I used almond milk with good success)
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Directions
1.In a large saucepan, bring quinoa and 3 cups milk to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, unti tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
2.Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, honey, eggs, cardamom, and remaining cup of milk. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stirring constantly, slowly pour egg mixture into quinoa; add raisins and apricots.
3.Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour pudding into a 2-quart dish and let cool slightly. Cover surface directly with plastic and refrigerate until cook, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Here's my version. I used dried apricots and dried cranberries.

Recipe from Whole Living Magazine

Also, if you are still looking for more recipes, I found this Quinoa Pudding recipe that looks divine--it'll be my next one to try. :)