Grain-free Mini "Granola" Bites

Grocery shopping alone sounds wonderful, and it is in many ways. The peace and quiet is nice. However, for some reason, without my kids (and perhaps my routine?) I lose my focus and it takes me FOREVER. And I forget things, even with my list. I think I have grown to rely on Lily my taskmaster quite a bit.

This week, I went alone and forgot many things, things written right on my list, that I held in my hand, even. One of those things was a jar of pumpkin seeds, with which I intended to make mini granola bars or "granola bites". I pulled everything out this morning to make said granola bites only to find my base was missing. Me=discombobulated for sure. Time to improvise.

Grain-free Mini "Granola" Bites

1C ground flax seed
1C ground hemp seed
1C large coconut curls (shredded coconut is probably fine)
3 eggwhites
1/3C oil
1/4C honey
1/4C raisins or other dried fruit
1/4C chocolate chips
pinch of sea salt
pinch of vanilla powder (or vanilla extract)


Mix flax, hemp, coconut, salt & vanilla powder (if using extract, wait a step) in a bowl. Add oil & honey, mix in until well incorporated. Stir in raisins & chocolate chips. Set aside.

Whip eggwhites until frothy and soft peaks form.

Gently stir in egg whites until well mixed.

I used one 24-count silicon mini muffin tray + one greased cookie tray, with 20 "bites" on them. Each bite is 1.5tbsp of mixture.

Bake at 350*F for 15-20 minutes. The muffin tray needed 20 minutes, but the ones directly on the cookie sheet got a little over browned.

Omelet Muffins aka Crustless Mini Quiche.

I'm food nesting for when baby comes. (Hopefully aaaaany day now.) My freezer looks amazing, full of deliciousness. I'm wishing the baby here even sooner so I get to enjoy all my yummy creations. I'm focusing on for foods in the post-partum period that are easy, satisfying and above all densely nourishing. I've been meaning to try crustless quiche made in muffin cups (or as I like to call them "omelet muffins").

1 bunch of kale
1 med sweet onion
8oz bacon
12 eggs
sea salt
black pepper
paprika

Fry up the bacon. I like it crispier in these recipes, because then it crumbles easier, but whatever you like is fine. Fry the onions in the bacon grease, until they are nice and browned. Add rinsed & chopped kale, frying until kale is soft. Stir in chopped/crumbled bacon. Set aside and allow to cool.

Whisk 12 eggs together until well-blended. Add a pinch or two of sea salt, black pepper and paprika. And cayenne, if you like things a bit extra hot.

Grease two 12-count muffin trays. Put a plop of the veggie/bacon mixture into each cup. Maybe a tbsp or so? Top off with blended eggs until muffin cups are 1/2 to 2/3 full. (You may have a bit left over. I did, so I just fried it up like a traditional omelet for breakfast this morning.)

Bake at 350*F for ~15 minutes. They will fluff up and get firm to the touch. Once they've started browning at the edges they are more than done.

Once mine had cooled, I took them out, put them in two layers in a big glass pan with rubber lid, and tossed them in my freeze. My plan is to take them out one "double stack" at a time for an "instant" omelet/quiche at a moment's notice.

Cinquain Poems by Lily

Moon

Moon
Bright, White
Shining, Watching, Shrinking
I like the Moon
Luna

Food

Food
Yummy, Healthy
Helping, Feeding, Digesting
I like Food
Grub

Stars

Stars
Tiny, Pointy
Twinkling, Shining, Singing
Stars are Pretty
Fireball

Little Sisters

Little sisters
Messy, Funny
Playing, Interrupting, Chatting
I love my little sister
Aevryn

Grain- & Nut-free Granola

After searching and searching for a grain- & nut-free granola recipe, I finally just broke down and tried my own experiment. I ended up just using a variation of my pre-allergy life favorite homemade granola recipe, and I'm fairly pleased with myself.

2C soaked, sprouted & dehydrated (or roasted) sunflower seeds - not totally raw, but crispy is what you're aiming for
1/3C flax seed meal (equivalent to 4Tbsp flax seeds ground in my coffee grinder)
1/3C coconut oil
2-3Tbsp honey (I eye-balled it, and just used the rest of my jar)
1/2C coconut flakes
(1/2 tsp cinnamon)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of vanilla powder (I bet 1/2tsp of vanilla extract would be just fine)

In a saucepan, melt the oil & honey. Stir in remaining ingredients until every thing is evenly mixed. Pour in a thin layer onto two, lightly greased, cookie sheets. Bake at 300*F for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the granola to dry in the warm oven for about half and hour. (Or more, of course, if you start reading moon poems to your kids and loose track of time.)

We added raisins and coconut milk and ate it like cereal. If my chocolate chips hadn't mysterious disappeared (into my tummy) overnight, I would have omitted the cinnamon and added the chocolate chips to the cooled, dried mix, along with the raisins. I am not a fan of "baked raisin" flavor.

I'm sure this would work witha variety of seeds instead of, or in addition to the sunflower & flax- pumpkin, sesame, chia...

Yay for granola!