Oatmeal pancakes - Refined Sugar and wheat free

These days, I'm on the hunt for wheat free and refined sugar free recipes.  Our family has had to change up the way we eat a little bit, and it's been a challenge, but it's also been fun. Some food we have just given up completely, but for others, I've just replaced the ingredients so we are still able to eat some of our favorites.  Pancakes are definitely a favorite that we didn't want to give up at our house.  I found a recipe that I was able to modify, and whip up in about ten minutes.  These pancakes are wheat free and sweetened with maple syrup or honey.  They were delicious served with just butter, but would be tasty with a little syrup or sauteed apples on top too.

Oatmeal Pancakes
2 cups whole oats
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup real maple syrup or honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup diced dried apples (optional)

Place oats in blender and pulse a few times to make oat flour.  Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until mixed thoroughly.  Add the apples if you are using them and pulse just to mix.  Pour onto a greased griddle or pan and enjoy!  This recipe makes about 12 small to medium sized pancakes.

Instant Oatmeal packs

We are camping this weekend, and while I was trying to figure out what to bring for breakfast, I remembered a blog post I'd seen about making instant oatmeal packs.  These will be perfect for camping, all we'll need to do is boil water (yay for easy camping meals).  They were super easy to put together, and I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, so no additional cost or time spent at the store.  Also, you can play with the ingredients and add more or less of what you would like or different dehydrated fruit.  I think I'll keep a couple of packs made up in the pantry too for busy mornings. 

Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal Packs
Recipe adapted from aseasonforallthings.blogspot.com

2/3 cup instant oats
2 tsp milk powder
2 tsp brown sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp dehydrated apples (finely chopped)

Assemble ingredients in a small sandwich bag.  When you are ready to eat the oatmeal, pour dry ingredients into a bowl and boil 1 1/3 cup of water.  Add water to bowl and let sit for one minute, enjoy!

Granola bar - FAIL

I love making snacks for our family.  I love knowing that we are snacking on healthy, homemade food...rather than processed food from the store.  I love the entire process (well everything but the clean up anyway) of creating delicious healthy treats.  Last week, I wanted to make some healthy snacks for the plane ride last week, so I decided to make some granola bars.  I based my recipe on one I saw in a Taste of Home magazine, but apparently I should have followed the recipe a little closer, because my granola bars wouldn't stick together...FAIL.

It wasn't a total failure though, because actually, this granola bar crumbled mess made some of the tastiest, chewiest granola I've ever had.  So...if you are in the mood to make your own granola, you can use my tried and true recipe healthy granola, or you could try this one too...minus the egg...that was only necessary for the granola bar recipe. Hey, and if you want to try to make bars out of this recipe, let me know if it works for you. 

3-1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup chopped cashews  
1 egg, lightly beaten 
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup honey 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/2 cup sunflower kernels 
1/2 cup flaked coconut 
1 cup dried cranberries 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

In a large bowl, mix oats, almonds, cashews, cranberries, coconut, sunflower kernels, cinnamon, and any other seeds or nuts you would like to add.  In another bowl whisk together the honey, butter, and vanilla.  Pour the honey mixture into the oat mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.  Spread in a large cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Egg scramble and lots of veggies

I'm not really a huge fan of scrambled eggs, but throw in a few veggies and a side of toast and it quickly becomes a favorite.  I love to cook with vegetables, all kinds of vegetables.  For this meal, I just used whatever I had laying around in my fridge.  This was actually a meal I made for dinner (breakfast for dinner is the best) but it would be perfect on a lazy Saturday morning too. 


1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 Roma tomato chopped
1-2 handfuls spinach
6 eggs
1-2 tbsp cream (or milk)
salt and pepper to taste
feta cheese (for sprinkling on top)

In a bowl whisk together eggs and cream, season with salt and pepper. 

 Saute onion and peppers in olive oil for 5 minutes, add in tomatoes and season with salt and pepper (a few shakes of each) and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add in the spinach and cook for one more minute and then add in the egg mixture.  Cook through and sprinkle with feta.  Enjoy!

Healthy granola

We don't keep boxed cereal in the house, not when we can have homemade, healthy, and delicious granola instead.  I make this granola often, and it's a little different every time depending on the ingredients I have on hand.  Here's my recipe:

 5 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
1-2 cups of chopped or flaked almonds
1 cup of raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of sesame or flax seeds
1 cup of unsweetened coconut (if I have sweetened in my cupboard I'll use that too)

Mix all of these ingredients in a very large bowl.  In another bowl whisk together:

1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup (or both) sometimes I'll add in a little bit of molasses too
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp vanilla









Whisk these ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.  Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until it's completely mixed in.  Spread into a large baking pan and bake at 225 for 2 hours.  I check mine every 30 minutes or so to stir and taste test to make sure it doesn't get overdone.  About 20 minutes before taking the granola out of the oven, stir in one cup of dried fruit, I usually use craisins.

Enjoy and store in an airtight container.

Easy puffed oven pancakes

Puffed oven pancakes, also known as german pancakes, are a staple in our house.  We make them at least a couple of times a week.  They are easy to make, tasty, and there are so many options for toppings.  They puff up and climb up the sides of your pan when they are done, but deflate pretty quickly.  You can top them with powdered sugar, syrup, banana slices, or you can saute apples in a bit of butter and cinnamon.  In the Summer when we have fresh berries, I like to slice up strawberries and blueberries too!

Here is the recipe:

Turn oven to 400 degrees, place two tablespoons of butter in an ovenproof skillet or I just use my 8x8 square Pyrex pan.  Let the butter melt, takes a couple of minutes, and take out the pan.  In the meantime you can prepare the batter.  In a medium bowl, whisk together three eggs and 1/2 cup flour.  It may be a little lumpy, but that's okay, then slowly whisk in 1/2 cup milk.  Add 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.  Pour into hot pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and well browned.

Enjoy!!