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Sometimes you want that peanut butter taste without the heaviness — that’s where peanut butter cream comes in.
I use about 2 teaspoons organic peanut butter and, using a fork, mix it with just over a tablespoon of hot water in a cup. That’s it. I suggest using less water at first and adding more to get the consistency you want.
It’s lovely, light, peanutty and warm, especially atop a warm gluten-free waffle!
Craving something sweet and yet healthy? That was me yesterday. I knew it was “time” for dinner and yet I was craving sweet rather than savory. After rummaging through the cupboards, I came up with the following and have to admit, they tasted fabulous!
Only tweak I’d make for the future is to add some raw walnuts to the batter.
No Sugar Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (I use these organic rolled oats or these gluten free oats)
1 heaping tablespoon creamy peanut butter (I prefer this organic peanut butter with only peanuts)
1 ripe banana
45 dark chocolate chips
No Sugar Added Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe:
Enjoy. Leftovers (if any) freeze well.
Options:
What other suggestions do you have for tweaking the base recipe? Please share in comments below.
There are hundreds of types of smoothies — the key to any great smoothie is to include a mix of fruits, veggies, protein source (protein powders, nuts and seeds) and liquid.
If you’re new to green (meaning including green veggies) smoothies, consider using more blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries. These berries have a strong flavor which tends to hide the taste of the greens.
Place all in Bullet or high speed blender.* Blend to desired consistency and enjoy.
*Note: If using blender, it’s sometimes easier to mix everything except the frozen blueberries first and then add them to the blended liquid last.
When you make a lot of smoothies, it’s often easier to combine some of the ingredients that you use in each smoothie. That’s my approach with the “Flax-Chia Seed Mix”.
Whenever you need either flax or chia seeds, take amount from combined jar.*
*Note: Do NOT use this mix when using flax seeds as a replacement for eggs.
There’s nothing like going outside in an early morning drizzle, picking spinach you’ve grown yourself and popping back into the kitchen to turn it into a body and soul-nourishing smoothie. #yum!
Today’s smoothie is ultrahealthy:
Put all in my Nutribullet (they have several versions, this is my favorite) and 35 seconds later…heaven! A quick breakfast (seriously, longest time was going outside to pick the spinach) which gives me plenty of energy, helps to keep my blood sugar stable and will hold me easily until lunch.
This makes so much soup that we usually have for dinner and keep out one more meal’s worth and then freeze the rest in Freezable Mason Jars.
Ingredients (note this includes making the broth from scratch. If you prefer to purchase broth, omit all “quartered” vegetables, the water, nori, shitake mushrooms and kale):
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating, take all fresh herbs and “stuff” the chicken with them. Rub the garlic powder and cumin all over the chicken. Put in roasting pan, cover and cook until done (2-3 hours depending on size).
While chicken is cooking, fill 6 quart stockpot with the water. Boil water.
Once water has boiled, add the following and then return to a boil: 
quartered sweet potato, quartered celery, quartered onion, quartered carrots, nori, shitake mushrooms, 2 chopped tomatoes, quartered zucchini, broccoli stems, 2 cloves garlic, whole spinach
Once boiling, cover and reduce heat so it simmers. Allow to simmer for 90 minutes.
Once chicken is done roasting, let cool. Pull the chicken apart and discard all skin, bones and the herbs. Cut or pull into bite-size pieces (think of shredded chicken size)
After broth has simmered for 90 minutes, strain it into another large saucepan or stockpot. Discard all the solids.
Taste broth, if too strong, add some water to dilute (note that you will not be able to taste any of the specific ingredients; it’s their nutrients we’re after).
Add: diced sweet potato, diced celery, diced onion, diced carrots, 1 chopped tomato, diced zucchini, wild rice.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add pulled chicken, broccoli florets and diced spinach. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until broccoli is tender. Serve hot (I like it with a dash of freshly-grated romano cheese).
*If you’re a vegetarian, omit the chicken and replace with canned, rinsed kidney beans added directly to simmering Super Soup.