Ever miss pop-tarts or those fancy little Nutri- Grain bars now that you are eating healthy? I  missed the convenience of grabbing something quick in the morning. I never missed pop-tarts until I got pregnant and now- preggo CRAVING HOLY COW!! Here is my simple fix to my craving and keeping it healthy and Paleo. *Egg Free

On- The- Go Fruit Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 C. Almond Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Coconut Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/3 C. Maple Syrup
• 4 Tbsp. Cold Butter
• 1 C. Jam of your choice, we use my Strawberry, blueberry or Mixed Berry (just combine both jams)  freezer jam recipe.

Process:

1. Combine Flours, salt and syrup in a bowl and mix with a blender.
2. Add butter a Tbsp. at a time and mix with a blender.
3. Place batter in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, the longer you put it in the fridge, the easier the dough is to work with.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
5. Line a cookie sheet with Parchment paper or a silpat
6. Scoop 1 Tbsp of dough onto the cookie tray and pat it into 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ rectangles. (Don’t pat the dough too thin or the jam will leak through.) You will need 2 pastries per bar. You should be able to get about 6 on-the- go bars per batch.
7. Bake the pastries for 5 minutes, should be slightly yellow/ golden but not browned.
8. Let them cool for two minutes and then place 1/2 Tbsp. of jam on one side of the bar. Leave room on the edges of the pastry so that you can press the two pastries together.
9. Place the other side of the pastry on top of the jam and press it firmly with a fork.  (This process is very fragile, I use a large spatula to loosen the pastry and then I fold the silpat over top of the jam pastry.)
10. Bake the bars for 2 minutes and then flip them and bake for 2 more minutes.
11. Let them cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
12. You can wrap them in parchment paper or store them in a tightly sealed container for  3-4 days. These are great for breakfast and on the go snacks.

Step 6 visual:

Step 7 & 8 visual: 

No surprise I love baking and cooking for my family. This Maple Baked N’Oatmeal is the current family favorite. I make a batch and Super Hubby takes it to work for breakfast every day with fresh fruit. This morning we woke up to snow ice and negative temperatures- my summer loving heart needed a cozy family breakfast before we started our day of house projects. Fresh squeezed OJ and fresh fruit from the year round farm Market Willey Farms , a perfect match for this Maple Baked N’Oatmeal.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Almonds
• 3/4 c. Walnuts
• 1/2 c. Coconut Shred
• 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 3 Tbsp Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 C. Maple Syrup
• 1 1/2 C. Almond Milk
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Banana, Sliced

Process:

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
2. Place Almonds and Walnuts in a chopper, chop until finely ground (should be oat sized)
3. Combine nuts and all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl (except bananas)
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients
5. Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir
6. Add the sliced Bananas last and gently mix (batter will be very runny)
7. Pour mixture into a greased 8×8 pan and bake for 30- 35 minutes (edges should be slightly browned and center should come out clean with a toothpick)
8. Remove and let the Baked Oatmeal sit for 5-10 minutes to cool and firm
9. Serve with Fresh Berries or a little syrup drizzle
10. Makes 6 large servings or 12 small

Always looking for quick on the go recipes for breakfast. With one kid and another on the way, and a husband who leaves early for work, I like to have food on stock for the busy weeks. These are Apple Muffins I created when we first went Paleo. I have made a few changes and recreated them to be healthier and taste even better. They take about 5 minutes to make and 25 minutes to cook. So easy and simple and they store and freeze well.

Apple Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 C. Coconut Oil
• 1/4 C. Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 C. Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 small Apple, Chopped Finely (no need to peel)

*Optional Walnut Topping:

1. 1/4 C chopped Walnuts
2. 2 tsp. coconut oil, melted
3. 1 tsp. maple syrup
4. dash of Sea Salt

* Walnut Topping Process:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside
2. top each muffin with a 1/2 tsp. of topping 10 minutes into their baking time.

Muffin Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place liners in a muffin tin and spray with coconut oil
3. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl with a large spoon
4. Add all of the wet ingredients and mix well with a large spoon
5. Add the apples and stir gently
6. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way up
7. Bake for 25 minutes
8. Add Optional topping 10 minutes after muffins have been baking
9. Place on cooling rack and let cool completely

• 1/2 c Pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 c Sunflower seeds
• 1 c Almond Meal
• 1 c Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
• 2 c Almonds, chopped
• 1/2 c Coconut Oil
• 1/2 c Honey
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Line a cookie tray with a silpat or parchment paper
3. In a large bowl, add seeds, almond flour and nuts. Mix well
4. Add in Honey, oil and Vanilla, stir until combined.
5. Spread mixture onto the cookie tray.
6. Bake for 20 minutes
7. Flip it over/ stir it around  and bake it for another 5 minutes
8. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes
9. This stores well in a tightly closed tupperware. I keep mine in the pantry for 5-7 days.

*The great thing about this recipe is that you can do so many different variations. Even if you can’t have some of the ingredients or are missing a few- use these guidlines to make you own variation. I’ve baked it with 1/2 a cup or raisins for a sweeter treat. It goes great with some fruit and dark chocolate or just a simple bowl of crunch and almond milk.

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was to go to work with my dad and we would get Dunkin’ Donuts sometimes and I always loved getting Jelly donuts just like him. While I’ve cut out my Jelly donut intake, that doesn’t mean I don’t still crave it (especially now that I am pregnant)! Why is it that you crave childhood foods when you are pregnant?? If I ask for a strawberry Pop-tart with icing…Just say NO!!!

These muffins are great with the Jelly but they are also delicious with just the cinnamon Sugar. They Jelly is totally optional!

Jelly Donut Muffins

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Almond Flour
• 1 TBSP. Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/4 Cup Butter, melted
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
• 3/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/2 Cup Almond Milk
• 2 Eggs

Filling and Topping:

• 1/2 Cup Jelly, flavor of your choice. I like Strawberry or Raspberry
• 2TBSP. Melted Butter
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a mini muffin pan with liners and spray them with a coconut oil to prevent sticking. (These make great large muffins too)
3. In a small bowl, Combine Flours and Baking Powder in a bowl and whisk together well, set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, combine melted butter, sugar and nutmeg. Whisk together.
5. Add Almond Milk to the butter mixture and whisk.
6. Slowly add flour to the butter mixture and stir with a spoon until it is well blended.
7. Add Eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
8. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way up.
9. Bake mini muffins for 10-12 minutes or Large muffins for 17-20 minutes.  Muffins should be lightly golden on top. Insert a toothpick to make sure center is cooked through.
10. Remove muffins and place them on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.
11. Prepare topping: Melt butter in a bowl and in a separate bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
12. *If making Jelly filled- use a piping bag and a thin round tip, I used a number 7 round tip, to fill the center. Press tip into top of muffin and squeeze jelly into muffin. About a 1/4 tsp per mini muffin. The jelly will pop out of the top when it is filled so squeeze lightly until you think it is ready.
13. Brush the tops of each muffin with melted butter and dip the muffin top into the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.

These initially started out as a healthy breakfast muffin but then I found Civilized Caveman’s amazing Maple Vanilla Frosting and knew it would turn these Carrot Cakes into awesome cupcakes. Super hubby has always hated on my love of carrot cake… guess who devoured 3 of these yesterday and asked me to keep them in rotation for our meal planning (Wife Success)!!!!

The good news is, you can enjoy these for breakfast and then add some frosting and have them with a Hot Tea for dessert at the end of a busy day.

Ingredients:

• 3 Eggs
• 1tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 C Almond Flour
• 2 C Carrots, Shredded
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/2 C. Maple Syrup
• 1/4 C. Walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 C. Unsweetened shredded Coconut
• 1/2 C. Raisins

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a food processor ( I use a ninja), chop carrots until finely shredded
3. Add eggs, Syrup and Vanilla to the carrots and blend gently
4. In a mixing bowl,  combine Almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Add the carrot mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. This can be done by hand or with a mixer.
6. Add chopped Walnuts, raisins and shredded Coconut to the mixture and stir by hand.
7. Place muffin liners in a muffin tin and fill each cup 3/4 of the way up with batter.
8. Bake muffins for 20-24 minutes at 350. Insert toothpick to check doneness of the muffins. (If making mini- muffins, cook them for 12 minutes)
9. Place muffins on a cooling rack until they are cool enough to serve
10. Optional: Icing them with Civilized Caveman’s delicious Maple Vanilla Frosting for a sweet dessert

*I garnished mine with a heart I cut out of a raw carrot slice- super fancy I know!!!*

Always looking for alternatives to eating eggs for breakfast! Now that I am pregnant with baby number two, I am trying to stock up on easy recipes for on the go, busy mornings.

During the winter months, I crave a warm bowl of oatmeal. I created these Not “Oatmeal” Breakfast Cookies for my busy mornings.

• Ingredients:
• 1/2 C. Almonds
• 1/2 C. Walnuts
• 1 Tbsp. Flaxseed Meal
• 10 Pitted, Medjool Dates
• 1/4C. Honey
• 1/4C. Almond Milk
• 1/2C. Unsweetened Coconut Shreds
• 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 Egg
• 1/2C. Raisins

Process:

1. Place Flaxseed Meal in a small bowl and add 2 Tbsp. Water, set aside for 2-3 minutes.
2. In a food chopper, Chop Walnuts and Almonds.
3. Set Nuts aside in separate bowl
4. Chop Dates, Milk, Flax, Salt, Cinnamon, Coconut Shreds and Honey until creamy
5. Pour Date mixture into the Nut mixture, stir until well blended.
6. Add 1 Egg to the nut mixture and mix well.
7. Add Raisins and stir carefully.
8. Spoon batter onto Silpat/ parchment paper lined tray
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min.
10. Place onto cooling rack to let them firm up.

Eating them warm is my favorite but they are good at room temperature as well. These are easy to freeze- they last about 2 months in a freezer.

*Warning- Toddlers love these Cookies and sneak them when you aren’t looking.

Paleo Crunch Cereal

1/2 cup pumpkin seed, grind
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 cup almonds
1tbsp flax with 1tbsp water
1cup raisins
1/4 cup choc. chips (optional)
1/4 cup Honey
2 tsp Cinnamon

Process:
Grind pumpkin seeds, cashews, almonds and walnuts in a food processor.
Combine flax meal with water, mix and let sit for at least 3 minutes.
Soak raisins in a bowl of water for 5 minutes to puff them up.
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
Mix spread on silpat and bake in oven for 10 min at 325F
Let it cool and then break it apart and store in air tight container.
Serve with your favorite milk (almond, coconut, raw!)

Keeps for about 2 weeks!

Pepper to taste

1. Whisk all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Line a muffin tin with muffin cup foil or paper.
3. Fill muffin cups with egg mixture.
4.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!