Homemade Cleaner Crackers in 15 minutes or less!

With the new year approaching, I see a lot of people are ready to make a change in how they eat.  I can relate.  That is why I started this blog earlier this year.  Well that and for myself too to remember all the cleaner eating creations I come up with. (haha)  Today I made one of our weekly soups(white bean and kale) for our lunches and thought to myself I wish there were a better cracker or something to go with it.  So, naturally I got in the kitchen to see what I could come up with.  

Ingredients:

(Yields 30 or so crackers)

• 1 cup of oat flour (ground from steel cut oats or old fashioned oats)
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp. of ground fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• Optional: Chia seeds
• Optional: Onion powder

That's it!

First Break out that ninja or whatever tool you have to grind down your oats into a flour.  Then follow the method below!

       Method:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended.  Make sure your dough is good and sticking together forming a ball. 
2. On a board, put an additional tablespoon or so of flour. 
3. Put your dough out and roll it to it about 1/4 in thick with your rolling pin.
4. Cut into squares.
5. Top with any additional things you want. I.e. chia seeds, onion powder, garlic powder, Cajun powder, etc.
6. Put on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for about 10-12 minutes or until the corners turn brown.

If you want a sweet kind of cracker, add a tbsp. of honey or maple syrup and some cinnamon. :)

These crackers are so easy to make, and so delicious! They may only store for a couple or so days because they are fresh made. Although in my house, they only last a few hours ;)

Enjoy these crackers with one of my soup recipes, hummus, guacamole, or just by themselves for a healthy snack to get you through the day!

 
 Here you see my dough rolled out to about 1/8- 1/4 in thin. I topped my crackers off with chia seeds. Chia seeds are ridiculous healthy folks! You can find them in the bulk section of your grocery store or at Whole Foods(here in central Arkansas, you will probably have to take the trip to WF).  I think my next batch I will top them with some raw sunflower seeds.  

Final product! 
These crackers are definitely thick enough or strong enough for you to pack on some hummus or dip of choice (healthy dip).  I have a couple of recipes listed on my blog earlier in the year for a ranch type of dip, guacamole, and a hummus recipe :)  
Enjoy Friends!
Cheers everyone and good luck on your cleaner eating journey! Remember, if you ever have any questions, I am here to answer them!

Bone Broth Is More Than Just Tasty

Ever wondered why chicken soup seems to make you better when you're sick? It's because chicken contains a natural amino acid called cysteine, which can thin the mucus in your lungs and make it less sticky so you can expel it more easily. Processed, canned soups will not work as well as the homemade version made from slow-cooked bone broth. 

Making your own bone broth is extremely cost effective, as you can make use of left over carcass bones that would otherwise be thrown away. And while the thought of making your own broth may seem intimidating at first, it's actually quite easy. Bone broth provides you with a variety of important nutrients—such as calcium, magnesium, chondroitin, glucosamine, and arginine.

I make bone broth every couple of weeks and freeze it to have on hand for making all of my soups.  I even use it to make my sauteed veggies and casseroles too.  Today I ran to kroger and picked up my organic free range chicken and decided I needed to let you all in on this secret:) (It's not really a secret, but maybe you all thought it was more difficult that it really is ;)  Anyhow, here's my method and my advice above on why and how to make good bone broth!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole free range organic chicken
• 6 stalks of celery
• 1 onion
• 3 tbsp of garlic powder
• 3 tbsp of onion powder
• 3 tsp of salt
• 3 tsp of pepper
• 3 tsp of dried sage

Method:

1. Remove the skin from the chicken.
2. Cut the chicken into atleast 3 parts. ( I start by cutting it straight down the breast bone)
3. Divide the chicken into 3 pots or one big pot if you have one.
4. Put 2 stalks of celery, a quarter or more of the onion, 1 tbsp. of onion and garlic powder, and 1 tsp of salt, pepper and dried sage to each pot.
5. Boil for a couple of hours.
6. Once the broth cools down, debone the chicken and freeze it in seperate bags than the broth. (discard the bones)
7. Pour your broth is big freezer storage bags and freeze.
8. Use at your convience in soups, sauteeing, casseroles, etc.

It's just that easy! I hope you all make tons of bone broth and use it weekly to improve your overall health! It's a miracle food, not just a super food!! Merry Christmas all!

The Easiest and Best Granola You'll Put in Your Mouth!

So, we are back in full swing with our super crazy healthy lifestyle after a few months of falling of the wagon a bit. It's funny because our "falling off the wagon" just means we ate more pasta, bread, a little pizza here and there, and maybe some sweets a couple times a week! Oh and I did enjoy a few more frap's from Starbucks that I should have! (;
We laugh at ourselves too, so don't worry.  Even on our worst meal, we never eat fast food or total junk food.  Anyhow, today I am blogging about the most delicious granola you'll ever eat!  I decided to go back to making this for my family to stop buying cereal, to use on our yogurt and/or to simply eat as a snack if I want it.
It's so simple to make and a ton cheaper than the pre-made bags of granola on the shelf AND way better for you!  This recipe is so stinkin healthy I am begging you to make it!


Ingredients:

• 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
• 3-4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup or raw honey or agave
• 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of pecans
• 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds(raw)
• 2 tsp. of cinnamon

That's it! Super simple.  Now, you can add more oats, nuts or seeds to this recipe easily! It's so versatile!

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  
2. In a large bowl, but all DRY ingredients in. That's everything but the coconut oil and the sweetener of choice.
3. Stir.
4. Mix your sweetener(honey, maple, or agave) with the melted coconut oil and blend well.
5. Pour over the dry mixture in the bowl and make sure everything is coated.
6. Pour onto a baking sheet and bake for about an hour or so.  Stir every 15-20 minutes on the pan to make sure it's not burning. 
7. Done. Let it cool a bit and EAT IT!

You can enjoy this granola over yogurt and fruit, in a bowl with some milk(cereal.ha), or simple eat it right out of the palm of your hand!
I even cut up some dry prunes in mine. It's super delish! The best thing about prunes over other dried fruits like cranberries is that prunes are naturally sweetened. Cranberries almost always have added sugars, whether it's from "apple juice" or not..it's added sugar to that apple juice too. See, they try to get ya! Prunes are super healthy and low calorie, low fat, but really quench the sweet tooth. As does this granola recipe! TRY IT!!! Then tell me how you liked it please :) Thanks guys! Merry Christmas!

Cleaner Mexican Casserole

Hello friends and fellow food lovers! It's been a little bit since I've posted a new entree recipe, but wait no more! This one should make up for my absence for the last few months! :) This recipe that I came up with is packed full of nutrients, low in calorie, low in bad fats, and low in sodium BUT packed with FLAVOR! 

Interested Now? 

This may be surprising to the people who know us well, but my husband was recently reminded of his high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, so even though we eat pretty healthy, we still need to make some adjustments, like cutting out even more salt that we already do.  As we all know, salt makes everything better right? Well, in this recipe you won't miss it much! 

This recipe is a process. Start it early in the day so you can cook your beans from scratch and your quinoa. Quinoa only takes about 15 minutes, but the beans take 90+ minutes.  This is also a dish that will make 6 or more servings depending on how much you LOVE that first bite! 

Ingredients:

For the beans:

• 1/2 lb of pinto beans cooked from dry(takes about 90 minutes)
• 1 tsp of garlic powder

Method:
Once cooked, drain most of the liquid and puree the beans. (I used my Immersion 
hand blender)

For the vegetable filling:

• 2 ears of fresh corn-cut kernels off
• 1/2 an onion
• 1 tomato
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp. of cumin
• 1 tsp. of garlic and onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. of salt (500 mg of sodium)
• 1/4 tsp. of pepper

                                                                                                        Method:

Once all vegetables are chopped, add 1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil in a sautee pan and sautee all ingredients for about 10 minutes.

For the quinoa:

• 1/2 cup of dry quinoa cooked(cook like rice. 1/2 cup of quinoa is cooked in 1 cup of water)
• 1 Tbsp. of cumin
• 1 Tbsp. of onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. of garlic powder
• 1 tsp. of chilli powder
• 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. of salsa of your choice (220 mg. of sodium)
• 4 tbsp. of minced cilantro
• 2 tbsp. of minced parsley
• 1 tbsp. of plain nonfat greek yogurt

Method:
Cook quinoa as directed. Once fully cooked, add all other ingredients and stir well. No additional cooking needed.








        Additional ingredients:

• 3+ tbsp. of minced cilantro
• 1/4 cup of chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup of shredded cheese (190 mg. of sodium)
• 1 tbsp or so of lemon juice
• 8 corn tortillas(I used organic. Organic corn tortillas are made from stone ground corn, water, and lime juice. Other store brands have 12+ ingredients) 

Now, Method in layering your casserole.

1. Get your 9x13 casserole dish ready. 
2. Put one scoop of your beans on the bottom and spread thin.
3. Put 3 tortillas down. You may have to cut one in half and layer them that way.
4. Then scoop another layer of beans in, layer the cooked veggies, then a layer of tortillas (use  tortillas here)
5. Next scoop more beans on and spread out. 
6. Layer with the quinoa and veggies.
7. Repeat each layer until you run out of ingredients.
8. Top the casserole with any remaining fresh herbs, chopped onions, and the 1/4 cup of cheese.
9. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Done.
10. I am serving mine up for dinner with some fresh made guacamole made with just avocado, lemon juice, cumin powder, and pepper. 

This is the 3rd layer in. Layer as you like and feel free to add more fresh tomatoes or herbs. 

Omg. First bite is delicious!

Here's a good shot of how your layers should turn out :) Enjoy!!!