Cinnamon Chia & Almond Crunch Cereal

I started 2012 thinking I should post some healthy recipes that will make people feel great and give them a nutritious jump-start to their year...something that will help them stick to their "resolutions". After about two minutes of brainstorming I realized...THAT IS MY WHOLE BLOG!! What a great feeling to know that all my readers could make any of these recipes and know they are fueling their bodies in a good way!!

It's fun to look over my blog stats and see what some of the biggest hits have been! Wiebe Style Cereal definitely was a top fan favourite! In celebration of that...I thought I'd try out another option! Mixed this altogether while making dinner one night last week...it smelt AMAZING while toasting in the oven...and it got thumbs up all around the breakfast table the next morning! Quite similar to my other cereal...yet different. A little more of a granola texture to it...but so good! Like always, feel free to be quite flexible with substituting in your favourite grains, seeds or nuts...make it your own:)

We might even like this one a little better than Wiebe Style Cereal...just sayin':)


CINNAMON CHIA & ALMOND CRUNCH CEREAL

INGREDIENTS
4 cups oats
1 cup raw sliced, chopped or slivered almonds
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup coconut sugar...or sugar of choice
pinch of salt
1 TBSP cinnamon

1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup, or honey
1/3 cup nut butter (I used almond)
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.

In a small pot on low heat, melt all the wet ingredients together. Pour over dry mixture. Stir until all combined...might take a minute or two.

Spread out on parchment lined baking sheet...might take two depending on size. Lightly toast for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Store in air tight container for about 2 weeks...if it lasts that long:)

Enjoy over yogurt or with your favourite milk...that's Unsweetened Almond Milk in this house:)

Wiebe Style Cereal

The boys in this house are lovers of cereal! Let me clarify what cereal means to them...anything granola type with lots of nuts and seeds and fruit. They would likely explode with excitement if they were ever shown what a real cereal isle looks like!! For now...I keep them in the dark:)

We try to steer clear of processed cereals, no matter how healthy they are, they still contain unnecessary things. However, there are times when we buy it, like in the summer, for mornings we don't feel like having smoothies. Earlier this summer I was thinking that I could probably try to recreate some of their favourite ones that I have bought in the past...and this is what I came up with. Definitely about a third of the price of buying it from a health food store...and it seems to be a hit in our house! You'll notice all the variations listed at the bottom because I have basically never made it the same way twice. The first shot was literally all the odds and ends I had in my pantry, where now I go to the bulk store to buy ingredients to make this recipe. This one batch lasts our family almost a week...and that's even with Levi having two bowls most mornings! I figure it costs about $7 to make...so that's pretty good for a week of breakfasts! We like ours with unsweetened almond milk...but any milk or yogurt would taste great with it! We loved putting fresh blueberries on top when our massive order arrived! Another great bonus to this cereal is that it holds you through til lunch...gotta love it when a breakfast does that! Jay and I can even confess to having this for supper a few times this summer after a long day out with the boys:)

Hope your family enjoys it too! I let Noah help me when making cereal...likely part of the reason he likes it so much!!



Wiebe Style Cereal

6 cups oats & barley flakes...or any type of grain flake (rye, kamut, etc...)
1 cup chopped almonds...or any nut
1 cup quinoa flakes (great protein)
1 cup seeds (any variety...usually I use sunflower and pumpkin)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup cocoa powder (optional...sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't)
1/2 cup chia or flax seed
3/4 cup honey or maple syrup (honey will give you clumpy granola which is nice sometimes...I usually do half and half of each)
1/2 cup coconut oil...or oil of choice

Variations/Add-Ins:
1/2 cup coconut...I usually do this!
1/2 cup chocolate chips...once it's baked and cooled!
2 tsp toasted sesame oil...gives a great/unique flavour...just don't add too much!
Crystalized ginger, finely chopped

Options are endless...really! Make it your own:)

You will notice this recipe is extremely vague....it's so flexible...you can switch things around to your liking and it will always turn out. The only way to ruin it is to burn it!

That being said...mix all ingredients in a large bowl together. Spread out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 25ish minutes. I usually check on mine and stir it every 10 minutes or so. You want it baked until it all looks lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, feel free to add any dried fruit if you'd like! Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks...although ours has never lasted that long:)

Food-Colouring Free First Birthday!

This is possibly the post that I am most excited about to date! Levi turned ONE last week...and we threw him the most fun birthday party we could think of! The goal was to make it look beautiful...okay...that was MY goal...and to make it 100% healthy for all the little ones attending...and super tasty for all the grown-ups that brought the little ones along! I think it was a success:) I choose the theme about 6 months ago so that I would have time to pick up things here and there that would 'go'...that's very important to one year olds (lol)! The theme was giraffes...inspired by these super cute giraffe stuffies that I was dying to make for all the babies in attendance...and the colour scheme was brown, blue and orange/yellow. Colour schemes are not only important when choosing the decorations...but...also when choosing the food to serve!! Well...atleast in my little world it is!



Oh how I could have gone nuts over the all-blue bin of JellyBelly's at the bulk store...or the Reese's Pieces candies that are perfectly created with my colour scheme in mind....but I didn't:) I knew if I caved for those, which I could picture in my head in beautiful clear vessels lined up on the party table, that I wouldn't be able to blog about this party! So...instead we came up with these yummy alternatives. And no...not all treats were whipped up from scratch! In a perfect world, there would have been oodles for time for that...but part of me also wanted to show my readers that there are very yummy quick alternatives out there...and trust me...these all tasted better than Costco cake!! The adults were drooling over them...and the kids were excited about the recognizable favourites like Annies Bunny Crackers...which so favourably are bright orange!

Let's start with the birthday boy's cake! Levi had not yet had any form of a baked good...so this was a real first treat for him! I took our family's favourite muffin recipe...changed it a little for him...and was happy with the outcome! Levi took his time and savoured every bite...he was in his own little world for about half an hour while he enjoyed his 'cake'. The giraffe sticks were from Michael's...and were a simple way of tying in the giraffe theme! I thought they also kinda resembled the number "1" for a first birthday!

Brown Rice Flour Banana Muffins



2 cups mashed bananas (apple sauce works great too)
2 tbsp honey, agave, or maple syrup (optional...didn't use it for Levi)
1/3 cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour (spelt is great too!)

Mash the bananas, then add sweetener of choice and oil.
Mix in the dry ingredients

*Frozen berries, chocolate chips or any nut make great additions too! Even chunks of apple or pear if you're using apple sauce.

Bake for about 20 minutes. 8-10 minutes for mini-muffins.





Then there came the rest of the cupcakes...a little more decadent than Levi's!



First was the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter...can you ever go wrong with that combination? This one I cheated on a little. The cake was from a mix that we LOVE! It's Pamela's Chocolate Cake. Made with Rice Flour...it's Wheat and Gluten-Free and you would never know! This is seriously the most amazing cake mix we've ever had. The Vanilla is just as fabulous! Look for them on sale at your local Health Food Store and stock up! Anyhow...I baked them according to directions, added a slab of our favourite peanut butter on top...and then topped that with Pamela's Chocolate Frosting! Totally took all short-cuts available on those yummy little things! My favourite part is how home-made they look...wasn't looking for perfection with these guys!



Second was the Vanilla with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sprinkles. The sprinkles were from the Health Food Store...completely natural...gotta love that! The cake part was a simple Organic Vanilla Cake mix...turned out great...super simple...and nice to know the ingredients were decent! Here's the recipe for the Frosting!

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.



And third was the Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting! I used the left over icing from above. I bookmarked this recipe about a year ago...and finally got a chance to try it out! The original recipe made one square cake...however I made them into cupcakes and just baked them a lot less.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar (I used agave)
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an (8-inch) square baking pan with oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until well combined then transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until the cakes pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.



The fruit kabobs were simply pineapple and Okanagan grapes...keeping with the colour theme! Blueberries and mangoes would have been a great addition..but there were no blueberries to be found, and my mangoes didn't get ripe in time! It was interesting to see these kabobs be the first things to go!



The treat station was my favourite part of the afternoon!

Selfishly it contained Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds...I love those...



then some healthy Spelt Pretzels (a great combo with the almonds I might add!)...



some yummy fresh Farmer's Market Kettle Corn! A patient of Jay's owns the booth at the market, so it's always great to find an excuse to support her and her family!



and Noah's request...Annies Cheddar Bunnies!



Party favours for the babies in attendance were loads of fun for me! Made with love...hope they were a hit!



Favours for everyone else were cute boxes filled with Chocolate Gluten Free Animal Cookies! Always a hit!



Beverage choice for the little ones was water or water! For the adults...we offered hot apple cider...locally grown...with the option of a fun shot in it! Great for a fall day:) Not only that, but it made the kitchen smell amazing!



Another snack option sitting in the kitchen for those with no sweet tooth...Garden Vegetable Salsa with possibly the best chips on the market right now. Food Should Taste Good



So that's about it! There are about a dozen other little details that I won't bore you with...and about another dozen ones that never got further than my head...we'll save those for the next party!

Happy Birthday Levi! We love you!