Eat Smart Recipe Book

I can't talk enough about this new cookbook I got!  Well, I got it a month ago and absolutely LOVE it!

I needed a good, easy cookbook to help me get rid of all wheats and pastas from our diet, and this is the book that helped me do it!

I love and support Trinity Fitness as much as I can!  They are GREAT and AWESOME people that work there, the owner is a Christian, and has scriptures all over their walls and awesome inspirational quotes!  Ones that help you keep going when you want to give up!

They are getting ready to do another challenge, it starts the 7th and goes to the end of the month.  It is 100 kettle bell swings AND 100 squat thrust jumps!  Anyone wanna join me?  ;)

Ok, back to the cookbook.  My hubs has LOVED each and everyone of the recipes I made!  Plus since we don't have a ton of "snacky" foods, I've been making him the protein cookie recipe.  He loves it!

I planned 3 weeks of recipes using this cookbook and each one was a hit with the hubs and kids!  BONUS!!!  Everyone loved them! Not only are good and healthy, they are EASY!

I've been doing something new, and each night one of my kids helps me cook dinner.  All the recipes are easy enough that my kids can help me like I want them too.  It is also teaching them about health, so we usually have a talk about the foods we eat when we are cooking.  It is a little harder with my 2 kids who are deaf, so trying to sign and cut the food can be a challenge, but instilling in them now about healthy foods.  :)  It's also our health class this semester!  Hands on! :)

There are a few ways you can get this awesome book!

PDF version is $9.99 and go to website to order:

eatsmartprogram.com/books

Their acutal book is $24.99, let me know if you want one and I can get it for you, or you can call them at  (240) 776-4135 to see a good time to go pick one up!  :)

I was not asked by them to talk about this cookbook, I just LOVE it and want everyone to know about it!

Peanut Butter Bars

Oh yum!!!! What a treat!!

I put a little bit of melted chocolate on top of these, but you cold omit that if you want it even healthier. I'm really watching what I fix for my family and this is a special treat! :)

Peanut Butter Bars

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup water

1 cup natural peanut butter (crunchy or smooth- whatever you like)

1/2 cup oat flour, or quick cooking oats (bet you could use almond flour if you want it gluten free... or just get the gluten free oats...)

Chocolate chips- optional

Add honey, vanilla, cottage cheese, cinnamon and water to blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into bowl and add peanut butter, sir to combine. Add the oar flour or quick cooking oats and stir to combine.

Put a piece of Saran wrap into a 9x9 baking dish. Make sure the edges of saran wrap are hanging over a little bit. Pour your peanut butter goodness into pan and spread all over. Use hands to make flat and even all over and pushing into corners.

If adding chocolate over top, melt about 1/2 cups chocolate chips of our choice and pour over the top. Put in frig to set and once set break or cut into pieces and place in covered container. Keep in freezer or frig!

We love these because they are healthy and have just a bit of chocolate. Sometimes you need a little bit of chocolate! ;)

Hope y enjoy these!! :)

Granola Bars

Love me some granola bars, esp after a workout! Need to fill your body back up with some calories that you just burned off! ;)

I have a batch of these, or some other homemade granola bar, always in my frig! Not only are they healthy, they are easy to make and kids can help make and eat as well!! :)

Granola Bars

3 cups oats

1/2 cup cranberries (can also use raisins)@

1/2 cup almond meal

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup honey

1/4 shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in mixing bowl and stir until incorporated. Lightly coat a 9x9 baking dish, pour it mixture into pan. Press down into corners and all over until flat with your hands. Bake anywhere from 12-20 minutes depending if you like crunchy or chewy bars. Cool. Cut into squares and store in frig.

See, super easy and healthy! My kids love these!! 

If you aren't into coconut, use almond milk and then se chopped peanuts or sunflower seed instead of the shredded coconut. :)

Enjoy!!!

Below is a pic of the granola bar..  It was my "snack" after my workout!  ;)

Mandarin Orange Fish

If you know me, you know I dislike fish. With  a passion. I won't tell you that I've never had a "fresh" crab... Yes I live in Maryland and have never had one. People tell me I will love it. I'll try it... ;)

My hubs and kids all LOVE fish, so I fix it for them and I'll eat the veggie sides or chicken if I have leftovers! ;)

This is so simple but yet all my family love the taste of this! I love the simpleness of it! :) 

Easy and healthy, that's what I like! ;)

Mandarin Orange Fish

Tilapia (depending on many you are serving depends on how many you fillets you need)

Can of mandarin oranges, keep in juice, don't drain 

Preheat oven to 350. Place your fish fillets in bottom of 9x13 baking dish and just dump the can of oranges over the top. 

If fixing alot you may need more than one can. I usually have about 9 fillets and 2 cans of mandarin oranges. I buy my oranges from Alids.

Place in oven uncovered for aprox 20-30 minutes. Every oven will vary on time.

Don't over cook your fish or it will be rubbery and no one will want to eat it! ;)

If you want even easier clean up, sometimes I'll place a piece of foil on bottom of pan... :)

Sweet Potato and Squash Soup

This is super easy and doesn't take much time at all!

Bake your squash and your sweet potatoes after lunch...  Then it will be ready for dinner time!  :)

For our family of 8, I cooked 2 squash, and 4 sweet potatoes.  But I only used half, and put the other half in a baggie in the freezer.  Then all I need to do is thaw out that part for another batch!  :)

Sweet Potato and Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, cooked
2 sweet potatoes, cooked
1 onion
5-6 cloves of garlic (less if you want, but we LOVE garlic!)
1 (or 2) big carrots (ya know, not the baby ones...)
milk
sea salt
pepper
caradom

I sauteed the chopped and diced onion in some coconut oil. Then add the diced garlic and grated carrot and saute until done, slightly soft.
Add milk (I used 2%, but you could use coconut milk, or whole milk...), as much as you want.  I filled my pot half way full.  Then I added my cooked squash and 2 cooked sweet potatoes.  I stirred it up, and then gradual add your soup mixture to blender and blend til all the onions and garlic are chopped and everything is thoroughly mixed up.  :)

Dump it all together back in your pot and simmer until ready to eat!  Super easy and good!  You could eveb double the amounts and it would be an even thicker soup.  All the kids and hubs loved it and gobbled it down!  There was just enough leftovers for a bowl for lunch for me the next day!  :)

Banana Chocolate Oatmeal Pudding

Seriously, banana, chocolate, and pudding all in one and for BREAKFAST???  Who doesn't love that? What kid wouldn't love that?

SUPER easy to make!  You can make this gluten free if you use gluten free oats.

I don't have exact measurements, I just like to dump.  And if you have leftovers, bonus, you don't have to cook breakfast tomorrow morning!  :D

I use a red pot for my oatmeal, so I fill it half way up with oats.

Then I added almond milk (mine is flavored vanilla) til its just over the oats.

A splash of vanilla, and cinnamon ( a good teaspoon to 2 for cinnamon) and add 4 mushy brown bananas. The cool thing here is you don't have to fully mash them because you will be putting this mixture in the blender!

Cook that until its soft and consistency you want it.

Here comes the fun part!

Pour about 1/2 cup milk in your blender.  Add half of the oatmeal in your blender and top with a handful of chocolate chips.  You can add more if you want, but that's all I added. Turn it on (after lid is on of course...!!!) and blend til desired consistency.  You may need to add more milk or oat mixture to blender depending on consistency.  Like I said, I don't measure because I know how much I use and how much my kiddos eat.  :)  But seriously this recipe wouldn't be all that bad to have leftovers in!

Pour into a bowl and top with chopped peanuts and dry oats.

This has a wonderful flavor of bananas, chocolate, and peanuts!  Thinking you could add some peanut butter to this, or sunflower or nut butter depending on allergies.

I don't give my kids chocolate for breakfast, so it's a rare treat!  I also figure, a few chocolate chips is better than a huge bowl of coco puffs, and if you give that to your kids, TOTALLY NOT judging!  I just chose not to give my kids that kind of cereal.  You do what is best for YOU and your family! :)

This completely filled them up while only using about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.  The only sugar in this recipe is the chocolate chips and whatever is in bananas.

My kids def loved this and want it again!

Oats and banana and almond milk

In my Vitamix, but you can use any blender! :) 

Yum!!!

My kids were so excited to eat this that as soon as I said it's ready! Come and get it, the. RAN into kitchen and lined up! As you can see my youngest couldn't wait to get his hands on his breakfast! ;)

Pancake Puff

Wanted something a bit different, but yet still very easy, for my kids.

This fits what I wanted.

Bonus, kids LOVED it!

I mean you can't get much easier than this....

It will puff up too.  So don't flip out when it starts getting puffy!  :)  My daughter came to me running saying that it was over flowing!  Well, not quite....  ;)

I made a blueberry sauce to go over the top, I know at first it sounds really odd, but trust me, it's so good!  :)

Pancake Puff

2 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons sugar

Place the butter in your pan (I used a Pampered Chef pie pan and a cast iron skillet-both work GREAT!) (a 10 inch pan, round is prob easier) and place in oven for 2-3 minutes or until melted.

Place rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend until mixed smooth and no lumps.  You can mix with whisk by hand, but putting it in blender is much better.  :)

Pour egg/flour mixture into your pan of melted butter.  Place in 425 oven for 16-18 minutes or until puffed and browned.

You can either dust with confectioners sugar, or put a fruit sauce on top.  We have used strawberry and blueberry homemade sauce.  Just pour how much ever fruit you want with a bit of sugar to make it a little sweet and cook until berries are soft.   (add some cornstarch if you want it a bit thicker...  Just take some sauce from the pan and whisk in some cornstarch.  Bring to boil and it will thicken up.)

Cut your pancake puff and pour some yummy fruit syrup/sauce over top, and enjoy!

Easy peasy and delish!  :)