Healthy Almond and Oat Thumbprint Cookies with Apricot Preserves

Disclaimer: The following post will leave you with an emergency cookie craving condition that can only be cured by immediately making Apricot Thumbprint cookies and devouring 3 or 4 with a big glass of cold milk.

These little cookies are the perfect solution for sudden sweet tooth emergencies. With a very short ingredient list of pantry staples you can have these naturally sweetened cookies in your hot little hands in minutes. What?!! Mom made cookies!!! and the "HIP HIP HOORAY'S" continued for minutes while the little darlings danced around and hugged each other.

note to self, make cookies more often for the poor children.

I made these cookies as part of a fun little project I'm putting together so check back soon for that! They will be incorporated into a make shift Mediterranean noshing platter that would be perfect to serve for a "girls night in" or any little gathering of friends and family.

Just a handful of healthy ingredients go into these cute little cookies. Making them a better-for-you thumbprint cookie than the typical shortbread variety.

plus a bit of walnut oil, not pictured

If you own a blender or food processor, making you own "Almond Meal" is super easy and tons cheaper than store bought! I use Raw almonds that I've soaked in water previously, dried and store in an airtight container. Soaking almonds removes the naturally occurring phytic acid in the nuts which block the minerals from absorbing in your body.

Throw the almonds in your food processor or heavy duty blender like a Vitamix and pulse for 20-30 seconds till you have a floury substance. Don't over mix or you'll get almond paste.

Instead of using wheat or white flour in your cookies try using oat flour. Again, it only takes 20 seconds to blend up your own flour and it will save you a ton of money. Make big batches ahead of time and store in an air tight container for future use. I love Coach's Oats for the toasted, cracked flavor and the whole grain goodness.

Mix it all up, form into walnut size balls and use your thumb to make room for the jam! 

You know the drill.

Enjoy!

recipe adapted from Whole Foods Market


YIELDS   18-20 COOKIES        TIME 20 MINUTES

Ingredients

1 cup blanched, unsalted, raw almonds or pecans
1 cup Whole rolled oats (I use Coach's Oats)
1/2 cup gluten free flour mix or unbleached, white whole wheat flour 
2 tablespoons flax meal (optional, adds Omega 3's a healthy fat)
1/2 cup expeller-pressed canola oil or Coconut oil
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup 
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons naturally sweetened Apricot Preserves


Preheat oven to 350°F. Put almonds and oats into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground, about 20 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl and add flour, oil, syrup and salt. Stir to combine well. Roll walnut-sized balls of the dough in the palm of your hand to form each cookie. Place a sheet of parchment on a large cookie sheet and arrange balls 2 inches apart. Press your thumb gently down into the center of each cookie to make an indentation. Spoon a small teaspoon of jam into each indentation. 

Bake cookies until golden brown and just firm around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to let cool completely, then serve immediately or store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

notes/substitutions

Sunflower or pumpkin seeds can be subbed for those with nut allergies.

Whole grain oats such as Coach's Oats or steel cut are a healthier option than over processed quick oats which have been processed usually with the bran stripped from it's original state and pre-cooked all before it gets to you.

You can try subbing 1/2 of the oil for applesauce but the cookie may flatten out a bit and will have a more cake like texture.  

Maple syrup is 'wetter' than honey so if you use honey your mixture will be a bit crumblier.

Apple Cider & Pomegranate Popsicles {and a Give Away}

These naturally sweetened popsicles are a perfect early fall treat. We are loving the cooler weather here in The Valley of the Sun (by cooler I mean in the 90's) and sitting out on the back patio with one of these popsicles is a special after school treat for the boys. Little miss thinks that "Popsicles are the World's greatest of all foods ever!" I'll have to agree with her on this one.

With the overload of sweets and candy that seem to be everywhere in late October I am especially happy to give these to my kiddos for a special treat. Apple cider and pomegranate have lots of vitamins and antioxidants to fuel the bod.

I really loved the combination of sweet, spiced apple cider and 

mouth puckering tart pomegranate in these.

Zoko sent me one of their pop makers to trial and I gotta say, I'm very impressed! Not only can you pour just about any combination of flavors and ingredients in the Zoku including yogurts, fresh fruit and nuts and have a cold, sweet treat in less than 10 minutes but they don't come out freezer burned and rock hard like the popsicles I've made in the past. Totally cool.... get it....cool?  O.K. fine 80's humor aside these popsicles rock! ;}

Love the cute, modern design! What color would you choose?

Next on my list? Chocolate pops! Thanks goodness these freeze super fast for those last minute chocolate emergencies!

photo source: Kid Crave

You Will Need

1 cup vanilla almond milk (helps the pops to not be like an ice cube in texture)
1 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons real maple syrup (not the artificially flavored kind)
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla
dash of cinnamon
1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Pour the pomegranate into the Zoku maker and let sit 5-6 minutes
Blend the remaining ingredients in a blender till combined.
Using a small funnel, pour the apple mixture into the Zoku, on top of the now frozen pomegranate juice.
Wait another 5-6 minutes and watch as they freeze in front of your eyes on your countertop!

Give Away is for 1 triple Zoku pop maker (they also come in single and duo) in the color of your choice, a $49.95 value.
Winners must live in USA or Canada





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ginger-Pear Popsicles

Have you ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder 'SAD'? According to the Mayo Clinic it is described as a very real condition which is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. Usually symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

Usually people who are affected with this live in a part of the Country or World where there is less light during the day such as in Washington State or the East Coast here in the States. This being said, my husband is convinced he has SAD. He's not the type of guy to complain or even mention that he not feeling well and has 'jokingly' said he must have SAD when I ask him why he is so sullen lately. The fact that we live in Phoenix, Az., the Valley of the Sun makes it harder to wrap my head around the possibility that a native Zonie can have a condition that is primarily caused by a lack of light. (light therapy usually helps treat this condition).  Maybe a vacation to the Bahamas is in order! I've been feeling a bit moody or as I like to say "hormonally unstable" lately as well. Then again, I'm used to it. ;)

Maybe a V-K isn't possible right now but I'm pretty sure popsicles cheer up most everyone, right?

Who says popsicle season is over? IMHO it's the perfect time for a cold sweet treat especially when all of my favorite flavors are in season like pears, pumpkin and apples. Apple Pie popsicle anyone? Check back on Thursday for the recipe and a chance to win my new favorite toy, the Zoku Pop Maker. This cute little gadget is cord free and can freeze popsicles in about 5 minutes! Shazaaam!

Ginger Pear Popsicles

Simple ingredients: Fresh pears, ginger root, vanilla almond milk and honey.

Did you know that ginger is excellent for calming a sick tummy? If you or your kiddos have an upset tummy give them one of these popsicles, it will help with nausea. I wish I had thought of these

when I had morning sickness for months on end!

My favorite pear to snack on are Bosc's although they are slightly grainy and next time I won't use them in popsicles. As my 8 year old put it "It tastes like you put sand in these."

These are my other favorites:

Bartlett's  are the juiciest pears when eaten raw and, consequently, lose their shape when cooked, turning to pear-sauce quite easily with the briefest exposure to heat. They are perfect for making Pear Butter or any other recipe where you want the pears to fall apart when you cook them.

Anjou  pears have a mild flavor and a firm texture, while still being sweet and juicy.

Bosc  pears are crisp when raw and hold their shape beautifully when cooked. They have the best example of the soft, grainy texture associated with pears. They are easy to recognize by their brownish russet skin, classic pear shape, and heady pear aroma. Use them to make savaory dishes like Pork With Pears and Chiles and Bourbon-Glazed Pears, or in desserts like Upside-Down Pear Cake and Sparkling Pear Sorbet.

Asian  pears are super crunchy - more like crisp apples than other pears. They are great for eating raw, especially when sliced or diced into salads. They are so good raw, in fact, that people rarely cook Asian pears. If you have a glut of them, though, they work wonderfully in tarts and crisps, like this Asian Pear Crisp. 

Ingredients 

3 fresh pears (any kind should work)1 small piece of fresh ginger root (about the size of your thumb)1 cup vanilla almond milk1tablespoon local Organic honey1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1/8 teaspoon cardamom

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth, NO ice! I used my Vitamix so I even included the seeds and skins on the pears. Pour the mixture into the Zoku Pop Maker. Set timer for 7 minutes and watch while your kids peer over the top and watch the Popsicles freeze before their eyes!

The Results?

Jack ~ 8 1/2 years old "They taste kind of like nothing"  He's my cynic  

Nolan ~ 7 years old   "They're delicious! They kind of taste like chocolate but not really. Next time can we have chocolate popsicles?" He's my little sweet tooth.  

Mona ~  4 years old   "Mmmmmmm, these are sooooooo goooooooood! They taste just like a popsicle!"  She's my baby. ;}

Bottom line? I loved them! They were very refreshing with just a hint of zing from the ginger and a touch of sweetness from the honey.  Next time I might add a bit more honey to appease the kids. Perfect for sitting out on the back patio during the fall months with a cool breeze. 

Don't forget to stop by on Thursday for my Apple Pie popsicle recipe and a chance to win a Zoku Pop Maker!

happy snacking!

Healthy Almond-Coconut Chocolate Thumbprint cookies ~ gluten free

Some days things just don't pan out the way I planned them to. Actually, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception lately. And by lately I mean since I had my first child 18 years ago. Holy crap! I have an 18 year old?!!  Anyway, this weekend I had to work on Saturday and was supposed to be off at 3p.m. and then planned on doing a little shopping at my favorite adds and ends Home store for kitchen props, plates, bowls, napkins etc. then go to Sprouts and then go home make a yummy dinner and possibly get some decent shots to put on the blog. 

At 2:35 p.m. however we get a call that we need to do an emergency tracheotomy on a patient. How rude. What's more, the Dr. didn't have an assistant so I got to double as a first assist and it was a difficult case, couldn't get the trach tube in because the patient had a mushy trachea. So now I'm tired and a bit cranky and it's 4:45p.m. So much for my nice afternoon. So much for making dinner. Pei Wei saves the day!

Fast forward to Sunday...... I was excited to try and recreate one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, cottage cheese pancakes. If you've never had them, don't wrinkle your nose till you've tried them. They are so good! The cottage cheese actually adds a bit of sweet creaminess to the pancakes, almost like a cream cheese crepe. I wanted to try to make them healthier by omitting the flour and tried using almond meal instead. Epic fail! The first batch crashed and burned, literally. The second batch was oily and burned.

Back to the drawing boards. 

Enter these cookies. Every problem or catastrophe can be solve with a good cookie and these are even fairly healthy! Bonus!

PREP TIME    15 MINUTES     BAKE    15 MINUTES     YIELDS   18-20 SMALL COOKIES

Ingredients: 

2 cups almond meal (almond flour w the skins un-removed) 

1 tablespoon flax meal (ground flax seed) 

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1/4 cup local honey  

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chips or bar)

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl mix together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla and almond extract. 

Gradually stir in the almond flour, flax meal and sea salt, and mix well until a uniform dough is formed. 

Scoop the dough by tablespoons and use your hands to roll into smooth balls. Roll the balls in the coconut flakes to coat. Place the balls onto the lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart, and use your thumb to press into the center of each cookie, creating a well for the chocolate. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven, let cool. 

Meanwhile, in a small ceramic or microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips or chopped up bar. Microwave on medium power for 90 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 90 seconds or until melted.

Spoon chocolate into the center of the cookies and let cool. 

These cookies are also wonderful with a bit of fruit preserves in the middle, my favorite is apricot!

I am submitting this post to Tasty Tuesday's

Reliving Old Holiday Traditions and Starting a Few New Ones: Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Traditions are what makes the Holidays so special and coming up with new traditions to celebrate with your family is even better. Every year when we were little we would have a cup of  hot  warm  cocoa with mini marsh mellows while we decorated the tree. I remember feeling so special while holding that cup of creamy sweet chocolate and watching with my brother and sisters as the tree slowly came to life. We were always in our footsy jamies, the red "Annie" ones were my favorite and we always put out a small plate of cookies for Santa by our fire place, a rarity in Phoenix to be enjoyed only once a year on Christmas Eve.






The expectations and anticipations of Christmas come flooding back to me now that I have 4 children of my own. I relish in living vicariously through their utter thrill of all of the magic of the Holidays. Keeping up with most of the traditions that mine and my husbands families enjoyed so much and cherishing the new ones our own little family have started.

Going to Cost Plus World Market every year and letting all of the kids and ourselves pick out one special ornament to hang on the tree is a tradition that we started many years ago with our children. This has proven to be such a treat as the kids bounce out of their slippers every year as we drag out the Christmas boxes and let them rifle through the ornaments finding the ones with their initials and the year marked on them that they chose them and then hanging them perfectly on the tree. I know that we will cherish those ornaments forever and ever.



Making the hot cocoa that literally defines Christmas in my humble opinion is another tradition we have stuck with. I however prefer to make it with a good quality cocoa powder and sucanat or turbinado (organic) sugar  instead of the boxed/packaged/overly processed variety and then adding a bit of pure peppermint extract and using a peppermint candy stick to stir up the chocolate that settles at the bottom of the cup. Mini marsh mellow are of course Absolutely, Positively  still  Required. After all a little bit of marsh mellowy goodness never hurt anybody.

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to start a very recent tradition and go sit out in our new bubbly hot jacuzzi. I love living here in the Arizona desert, 58F is the perfect temperature.

What are your Holiday traditions?

Peace, love and peppermint wishes from Simply Healthy Family.

Chocolate Hazelnut Chia Seed Pudding

I'm usually not hungry at all first thing in the morning, especially when I have to wake up at 5:00 a.m. for work. You'd think I'd be used to it after 15 years of waking up at the crack of dawn to get to work and getting up with the kids, but my body, more specifically my brain are still in snooze mode until around 10:00 a.m. 

So the last thing I want to do is add to my fragile state by trying to make breakfast for myself and 4 children.

In an effort to stay away from boxed cereal I have come up with a few breakfasts that require little or no effort.

This pudding falls into the zero effort category. It has just 3 ingredients and you simply chill it over night (or for at least 4 hours) and wake up to a chocolate pudding for breakfast! Nice huh? 

What are Chia Seeds?

Chia seeds come from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, a member of the mint family that grows abundantly in southern Mexico. 

Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds.  And, unlike flax,  they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body.  Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, niacin, and zinc just to name a few.

When added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.

You can use any liquid you like for this pudding, some suggestions are:  almond milk, rice milk,  coconut milk and hemp milk. I have been staying away from soy milk because it is a GMO and some research suggests it may have harmful effects on your body and your hormones.

To make the pudding: 

Mix together 2 cups chocolate hazelnut milk with 1/2 cup chia seeds. Drizzle in about 3 tablespoons honey, preferably local, Organic honey. 

Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes then refrigerate over night. 

You could probably eat this in as little as 1 hour after mixing buy I find that I like the consistency better after at least 6 hours.

You could definitely have this chocolate hazelnut pudding as a dessert but I suggest adding a bit more honey. Also, since chia seed is so high in protein I like this for a breakfast treat. The consistancy of this pudding is very similar to tapioca but without all the sugar.

Please head over to Mom on Time Out and vote for my recipe!

This post is linked to:

Iron Chef Mom: Chocolate Edition
Tasty Tuesdays
Just another Meatless Monday







sources:

Dr. Weil dot com

Flour Less Chocolate {Garbanzo Bean} Cake

Today was a great day.... in a completely and utterly exhausting sort of way. In fact, if I had time to think about it, most every day seems to end up that way. Especially lately, the kids are out of school for the summer and it is hot here, damn HOT. The poor little bugs are cooped up in the house most of the day unless they are swimming or I can come up with somewhere cheap, cool and fun to take them. Also,  I've been working more than usual at the hospital because people are on vacation and want the surgery that they've been putting off for months or years done N.O.W. All of a sudden everything is an emergency. This means less time to get every day things done and even less time to entertain the kids.

4 very hot, extremely bored, cooped up kids   =   NOTHING GOOD.   Complete madness I tell you.

It also makes for one  very  scatter brained and irritated mommy.


*Cue me to enter the picture with my unkempt hair and unpainted toe nails dragging my tired,  out-of-shape-B.U.T.T.  into the embarrassingly neglected house. 

Case and point:

I made this cake weeks ago for a friend of mines birthday who has a severe gluten intolerance and have been trying since then in vain to get a post and recipe up on my blog. I've sat down at least 9 times this evening alone trying to edit pictures and write something articulate and witty or  at least  legible and coherent and am quickly coming to the conclusion that smart, funny and easy are things of the past for me. Replaced with loud, messy and bewildered.

Flour- Less Chocolate Garbanzo Bean Cake

Like I said, at least it was a good day. We went to the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) in Phoenix and had an amazing time! It was far more beautiful and grand than I thought it would be. I could definitely spend my summer there. Even the little ones had a good time and enjoyed listening to all of the different music from around the world.

Mona Claire enjoying a musical selection from Germany and the costumes from Africa.

Most flour less cakes have an exorbitant amount of eggs in them which is fine in moderation I suppose but wanted a healthier option for an every day sort of cake. I searched high and low and found this recipe which sounded too good to be true but in fact was perfect. I love garbanzo beans and all of their healthy benefits but in a cake?  I chose not to tell that tid bit of information to my unsuspecting co-workers. 

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon real vanilla

• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds after the first minute, until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you have a powerful microwave, reduce the power to 50 percent.Combine the beans and eggs in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the sugar and the baking powder, and pulse to blend. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth, scraping down the corners to make sure chocolate is completely mixed. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Be Merry and EAT CAKE!

Linked to:

Iron Chef Mom's Chocolate Edition 

Cran-Apple Millet Breakfast Bake

When you have 4 hungry kids at the breakfast table a box of cereal disappears in about 10 minutes flat. If we had cereal every morning I figure we would be spending about a million dollars a month on the stuff, not to mention all the sugar that comes in even the 'healthy' varieties.






I have been experimenting with whole grains like whole oatmeal, millet and quinoa for healthy and frugal breakfast alternatives. Millet is one of my favorite grains because it is one of the healthiest and simplest choices out there. Millet is a whole grain, complete protein, gluten free and contains the complete vitamin B complex and more of the amino acid lysine  than wheat, rice, oats or corn.


Millet's mild taste and soft texture make it an ideal choice for breakfast porridge's and bakes. You can simply throw it in a pot with (3-1 times) water and cook it for 20 minutes, add cinnamon, some nuts and dried fruit  or put it in your stone ware and add some of your favorite, seasonal fruits and slow bake it like I did here. Millet can also be put in your slow cooker and cooked overnight for an instant breakfast in the morning.

Cran-Apple Delight!

You Will Need:
1/2 cup Millet
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 TBSP Coconut Oil
1 cup whole, fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 Apples, unpeeled and chopped
2 TBSP  Coconut sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


In a small sauce pot bring water to a boil. Add millet and salt, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
Scoop into a ceramic baking dish and cover with a lid or foil.
Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes till the top is golden brown.
Serve in cups with a dollop of cream if desired.  This goes well with a nice hot cup of herbal tea.
Enjoy not feeling heavy and over sweetened. This can be enjoyed for breakfast, brunch or even dessert.

Notes:

I boil the millet first to reduce baking time but if you wish you can skip this step and pour all ingredients into your baking dish and bake for 60-75 minutes covered, then 10 more minutes uncovered.


Millet is a very mild tasting grain so the spiced in this dish are important to amp up the taste bud pleasure experience.


The coconut oil is added to help prevent the porridge from sticking to the dish and more importantly for it's incredible health benefits.