Nutella Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients:

Quick oats (GF if desired)

Nutella

Banana

Optional: milk/cream

Directions: Cook oatmeal, drizzle with Nutella, top with bananas! 

Blackberry & Cream Oatmeal

Ingredients:

Quick cooking oats (GF if desired)

Dark brown sugar

Honey

Blackberries

Heavy cream

Directions: Cook oatmeal until desired texture. Add in brown sugar (preferably dark) to desired sweetness.  Top with blackberries and drizzle with honey and cream. 

Banana Ginger Bread

Initial idea borrowed and altered from: Nutritious Kitchen Gingerbread Cookie Crumble Bread

Ingredients:

1.5 cups white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp salt

2 bananas

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 maple syrup

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt

1 egg

Topping:

Brown sugar

Cinnamon

Oats

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in bowl, and in separate bowl whisk wet ingredients included sugar. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, do not over mix. Pour into greased bread pan and put topping over the top (amount of topping is whatever you want, more sugary or less). Bake 40-45 minutes or until inserted plastic knife or toothpick comes out clean.

Whole Wheat Banana Cookies

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup melted/liquid coconut oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

2 large mashed bananas

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cups rolled oats

Chocolate chips as desired

Directions: Mix up the dry ingredients (minus the oats and chocoalte) and set aside. blend up the wet ingredients and add to the dry, then fold in the oats and chocolate chips. Cook at 375 for 9-11 min. depending on oven. 

Healthy Apple Muffins

Ingredients: 

1 cup whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted/liquid)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp Orange juice

1 cup peeled and chopped apple
Water as needed

Topping (optional):

Brown sugar

Cinnamon

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix up dry ingredients in one bowl, then beat liquid ingredients in another. Add them together (If batter seems too dry, add water by tablespoon until more of a batter texture, not pourable, but you should be able to scoop with a rubber spatula and have it drop off into the muffin cups) and stir in apple. Pour into greased muffin tin and top with topping mixture. Bake 15-17 minutes. YUM!

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. sea salt

2 eggs

2 large ripe bananas

½ cup Greek yogurt

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup brown sugar
Dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg

½ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:  Preheat your oven to 350ºF grease a bread pan. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in one bowl, and stir. In a different bowl mix up the eggs, banans, greek yogurt, syrup, and brown sugar. Pour the wet into the cry and mix well. Pour into bread pan and cook 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry. 

Note: I specifically put mini chips because my larger ones ended up sinking to the bottom.

Cake Jars

This isn't so much a recipe as it is an idea.  Use whatever homemade or box cake mix you like!  Pour it in a mason jar, bake it in the oven, and frost with whatever you want.  If you grease them good enough, you can slide them out, cut in half, and put frosting in the middle too.

Turkey Nachos

Ingredients:

Ground Turkey
Chili paste
Chili powder
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Lime
Tortilla Chips
Shredded cheese
Chopped tomato
Chopped red onion
Chopped jalapeño peppers

Directions:  Cook turkey with garlic (or garlic paste), and season with chili paste, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and lime.  Add the rest on top of chips with cheese, fairly obvious.  Best to put chips on parchment paper on pan, then create the nachos on top, then broil to melt cheese fully and serve fresh and hot!

Broccoli Asian Slaw

Ingredients:
Ramen noodles and/or Chowmein noodles
Coleslaw mix
Broccoli slaw mix
Shredded carrots
Broccoli tops
Green onions
Asian dressing
Toasted sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds

Directions:
Bake ramen and sunflower seeds a bit to toast and brown a little.  Stir everything up in bowl!

Sunbutter Cookies

I am excited about these because sunflower seeds are a huge source of magnesium, which helps regulate muscle tension and moods, but sunflower seeds get old after a while.  Enter: Sunbutter cookies!

Ingredients:
1 cup Sunbutter
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup oats
1 egg
Dark Chocolate Chips
Sea Salt

Directions:
Stir up all ingredients.  Roll into little balls and bake at 350 for 10 min.  Use fork to smash down and criss cross top.  Sprinkle a little sea salt on hot cookies.

Sweet Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
Lemon
Honey
Lime (optional)
Brown sugar (optional)
Pineapple
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
(whatever you like, I kept it to things that wouldn't brown because I wanted it to keep in the fridge for several days.  Also great with banana and apple if eating the same or next day)

Directions:
Stir up the lemon juice with honey and a little brow sugar (best if you can heat it on the stove together to really mix well but don't get too thick).  Also grate some of the lemon peel into sauce, its very good for you!  Throw fruit into a bowl and drizzle sauce (if heated let it cool) over the fruit and stir it up.  The lemon helps keep everything very fresh.  Let sit in fridge for about 2 hours before serving.

If you wanted, after it all soaks put on of each fruit on toothpick for cute appetizer.

Truffle Popcorn

Courtesy the Nutritious Kitchen!

Ingredients:
9-10 cups popcorn, already made
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp Nutella
1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
Sea salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine nutella and almond milk on a skillet over medium heat. Mix until a thick sauce forms together and stir in your sea salt.* Pour nutella mixture over popcorn and toss with a wooden spoon until popcorn is evenly coated.  Spread popcorn out over a parchment lined baking sheet like you would granola. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

*Make sure its thick, mine was too thin and I added way too much, not good!

(I mixed mine with plain popcorn and dried strawberries!)

Baked Asparagus

Ingredients:
Asparagus 
Pepper
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Salt

Directions:
425 for 10-14 min depending on thickness.  Stir up and coat before cooking, put on foil, flip halfway through.

Honey Italian Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
Multigrain bread
Honey
Fresh Basil
Mozzarella 
Fontina 
Tomatoes 
Oregano

Directions:
Spread honey on bread then top with the other stuff, sprinkle with oregano, then cook with olive oil in pan.  Cook on a little lower temp, takes a while to melt the cheese, or wrap in foil and shove in oven for a bit to melt.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Courtesy The Nutritious Kitchen!

Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Sea salt to taste
1/4 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
1/3 cup Chobani vanilla greek yogurt
3 medium, overripe bananas*
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg (or two egg whites)
Extra cinnamon + brown sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
Optional add ins: chocolate chips, chopped almonds, white chocolate, nutella swirl, peanut butter swirl, pecans, etc.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan and set aside.
Combine flour, oats, cinnamon, sea salt and baking powder in a small bowl.
Whisk your egg and set aside. Mash your bananas in a large bowl until it resembles an applesauce texture. This shouldn't be hard to do if your bananas are overly ripe.
Combine mashed bananas with maple syrup, vanilla greek yogurt, almond butter and egg. Once well combined, stir in your dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.
Once a dough has formed (it will be slightly thick but still have a moisture to it) pour into your greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle optional cinnamon and brown sugar on top then place in the oven for 40-50 minutes. The time depends on how strong your oven is. Test the bread at 40 minutes to see if a fork comes out clean. If not, continue to bake.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Bread stays fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Enjoy!

Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:
Wild rice (or quinoa or both)
Red onion
Red Pepper
Scallions
Black olives
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Dill
Cucumber
Carrot sticks
Lemon
Pepper
Salt
Olive Oil

Directions:
Cook wild rice.  Put in big bowl and just add other ingredients as desired.  Add olive oil and lemon juice.    Notes to self since I made it:  Chop cucumber smaller, and add more red pepper.  Don't be shy with lemon juice.  Make sure to chop up the parsley and dill VERY small.

Classic Granola

Ingredients: 
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup light brown sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil 
5 cups oats
Squirt in some honey why not
Some flax
(I will try adding some PB or sun butter someday, but I can't vouch for it yet)

Add things like raisins, cranberries, dried strawberries, etc.

Directions:
Stir up in bowl (if used coconut oil might need to use hands to really blend well) and cook in oven at 325 for about 40 min. on parchment paper (press it down nice and flat).  Let cool, break into chunks, add fruit and stuff, put in bag.

Chocolate Bananas

Ingredients:

Bananas
Chocolate chips
Coconut oil
Peanut butter

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips, coconut oil, and peanut butter in pan.  cut up banana for bite size or put in sticks for pops, and coat in chocolate.  Put on wax paper lined pan in freezer.  

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

Pasta 
Black olives
Red onion
Red pepper
Broccoli tops
Grated carrots
Pepperoni
Italian dressing
red pepper flakes
pepper
garlic powder
Oregano 

Serve with:  Cheese, lettuce or kale while served for more of salad

Directions:

While pasta is cooking, cut up veggies and toss in bowl, but keep broccoli to the side.  Throw hot pasta onto veggies when done and let sit a few minutes.  I've noticed this helps to suck more flavor out of those veggies but makes the broccoli a bit soggy.  Add broccoli on top.  Sprinkle with seasoning of your choice, I prefer the ones I listed, add dressing and stir up.  Refrigerate and serve.  

Healthy Chips

Ingredients:

Pita or kale or spinach

Olive oil

Salt

Directions:

Toss kale or spinach in olive oil and lightly salt (if pita, cut into triangles and brush with olive oil). Spread out onto pan, avoid any overlapping. 350 for 10-15 min. They won't look done but touch them and they will be crispy, once they get even a little brown, they taste burnt. (as you can see from the picture, they don't look cooked, but they are chips).