Quick Peanut Butter Granola

So simple and quick! Made of typical household staples, and great to make a big batch and store on hand. I love it tossed in with organic Greek yogurt flavored with pure vanilla extract (I love the vanilla bourbon one from Trader Joe's) and liquid stevia or xylitol, with unsweetened vanilla almond or coconut milk or just on it's own.

what you need:
4 tbsp natural peanut butter
4 tbsp local raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup of gluten free oats
coconut oil spray

what to do:
Melt peanut butter and honey together and blend well. Add in and blend vanilla extract and cinnamon. Coat the oats thoroughly and spread on a baking sheet at 325 for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool and harden. Enjoy! :)

Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookie Balls

Well, Hello! Sorry I have not posted anything in a while, things have been super hectic but I have tons of recipes to refine and lots in my head I wanna make so stay tuned because I'm on vacation next week so I will update the site! For the most part, I try to avoid or limit grains and gluten whenever possible because I've primarily been on the advanced plan but lately I have been dropping back down to the core plan and adding in sprouted and whole grains once in a while. I LOVE using Ezekiel tortillas for pizzas or Ezekiel break for pesto and tomato grilled cheeses with raw cheese! No bake cookies are one of my favorite things so I decided to healthify some for those of you who are on the core plan! The point is to moderate grains and watch out for the quality of them. Organic sprouted grains and stone ground grains are the best, if you have an issue with gluten steer clear of these items and try other alternatives with almond flour or you can order paleo bread online. The problem arises when we are sick and fuel the fire with a high sugar, high carb diet and/or it becomes a habit for us. Carbohydrates break down immediately to sugar and sugar wreaks havoc on your body in a multitude of ways, it is at the root of nearly all disease so it is best to enjoy them occasionally and find fun ways to replace them.

* coconut sugar really yummy low glycemic sweetener that is a great alternative for brown sugar, I used it because I ran out of xylitol so you can replace it for xylitol. 


3 cups of gluten free stone ground oats
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup xylitol
4 tbs coco powder
1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
1 cup natural peanut butter, valencia if possible
(check the label, no added sugar or oil... just peanuts)
1 stick of organic butter
1 tsp natural vanilla extract

Blend oats, xylitol, coconut sugar and coco powder in a mixing bowl. Melt down your butter and stir in vanilla and peanut butter til smooth. Scoop out with a spatula and blend together until well mixed. Roll into 1 inch balls on wax paper and chill in refrigerator. Makes 30 cookie balls.

"Reese's" Peanut Butter or Almond Butter Cups

Obsessed. I was that kid who packed a jar of peanut butter in my lunch box and ate it by the spoonful, I LOVE peanut butter. Peanut butter is one of those tricky misconceptions, like yogurt, that a huge majority of people believe is healthy... I was told so growing up. There's still parents who put peanut butter as the "healthy" part of a bread and fluff or jelly sandwhich for lunch, which is delicious, but ALL absolute garbage for their children's health.  Truth: 98% of normal of peanut butter is packed with hydrogenated, denatured oils and sugars... oh... and mold. Yum, right? And what for? Good news is, natural peanut butters that don't have anything more than peanuts (check the label) are pretty good health wise in moderation (Valencia peanut butter is said not to contain mold, and can be purchased pretty cheap at Trader Joe's, green label) I knew peanut butter contained mold, but what I learned in nutrition the other day was that the particular fungi in peanut butter has been linked to things like liver cancer, so don't make it an every day deal. Peanuts are also not nuts, but legumes, so naturally have more starch. If you haven't fallen on the almond butter band wagon yet, you might want to consider. It's deliiiiiiicious, and better option. Raw almond butter from Trader Joe's is my favorite, and the cheapest way to go. You also have to try the roasted flax seed almond butter some time with apples or celery, but not this :) These are quick, easy and bare a striking resemblance to the real thing. I make up a couple batches and keep them in the freezer or fridge for when my sweet tooth strikes.

quick chocolate

2 dark chocolate simply lite chocolate bars (from trader joe's)

healthier chocolate version

1/4 cup coconut oil

4 squares of unsweetened bakers chocolate

1/2 cup xylitol (adjust to taste)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

filling

1 scoop Jay Robb vanilla whey protein

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raw almond butter

1 tablespoon pure vanilla

1/4 cup coconut oil 

In a small mixing bowl, mash together all filling ingredients until smooth. If coconut oil is too hard to be mashed, you may melt it down and mix it in, but allow time for batter to firm up in the refrigerator before use.

In a double boiler, melt down two simply lite bars. (Otherwise, melt coconut oil and chocolate together until smooth, you may want to pulverize the xylitol in a magic bullet or coffee grinder so that the consistency of chocolate isn't gritty. Add in sweetener to taste and cinnamon until smooth) Line a muffin tin with 6 liners. Once melted, pour a layer of chocolate in the bottom of the liners. Spoon in a ball of filling in the middle, and pour chocolate over the top. Allow to set in refrigerator or freezer. Peel liners and serve!

Peanut Butter Cookies

2.5 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 Tsp sea salt
1/2 cup xylitol
1 organic vegetarian fed eggs
1 stick of organic butter (raw if possible)
1 tbsp vanilla  (no sugar added, check label)
3/4 cup Trader Joe's valencia peanut butter

In a medium sized bowl, blend together almond flour, baking soda, salt and xylitol. Melt down butter and peanut butter in a sauce pan until smoothly blended. Once it's taken off the heat, add in the vanilla and pour over dry mix. Blend together well. Add in an egg and blend that well. Grease pan and shape into one inch or so balls, flatten in a criss cross pattern with fork.

Peanut Butter Fudge

Kind of been on a peanut butter kick lately, if you couldn't tell. I was always told peanut butter was healthy growing up, common misconception I think... that and yogurt. Peanuts alone are fine in their raw form, but the problems come with the added sugars and rancid oils. Look for natural peanut butter with just peanuts, Trader Joe's has cheap good ones.  Peanuts are actually not nuts, but rather categorized with legumes (beans), so when possible use almond butter instead, just as if not more delicious with much more health benefits. The raw almond butter from Trader Joes will rock your world. Hope you enjoy :)

1/2 cup Jay Robb vanilla whey protein
1 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup xylitol
1/4 cup natural peanut butter @ room temp (no added sugar or oils, check the label JUST PEANUTS)
1/3 cup coconut oil

Mix all dry ingredients together. Once peanut butter is stirred and at room temp, add and mix with a large fork until well blended. Melt 1/3 cup coconut oil in a small sauce pan and fold it in. Transfer to a glass square dish, refrigerate until it firms up, cut and serve :) Must stay cool/refrigerated.

"Nutter Butters"

These used to be my favorite cookies growing up! Now you can enjoy them not at the expense of your health or guilt. Hope you enjoy.




1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder (Jay Robb is my favorite)
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
1/4 cup natural peanut butter @ room temp (no sugar or bad oils added, check label)
1/4 cup xylitol
2 TBS water (just enough to hold dough together)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the whey, almond flour, baking soda and salt. Stir natural peanut butter together and blend well in the mixture until it is in minute crumbles then mix in the water. On a cookie sheet place down cookie cutter and smoosh down batter into the mold,  place 1/4 apart. Bake just until edges are lightly browned. Allow time for them to cool and crisp before adding filling.
FILLING:
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup organic cream cheese (raw if possible) 
1/4 cup xylitol

Blend all in a food processor and adapt ratio to taste if necessary :)


Serve with coconut milk or almond milk and enjoy!

Rich Chocolate Peanutbutter Pie :)

So this was a mistake...a very, very delicious mistake :) I started to make Reese's messed up, so did some experimenting and came up with this. Not the worst mistake I've ever made, I think my taste testers would agree :) Warning: super rich.

Crust:
2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour
4 Tbsp Xylitol
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
6 Tbsp Organic Butter (Raw if possible)

Filling:
16oz Natural Peanutbutter (no sugar added, I get Trader Joes, it's less than $2)
8oz Raw and/or Organic Cream Cheese
1 Cup Xylitol
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract (no sugar added, check label)
1/2 cup coconut oil or softened butter

Chocolate topping:
1.5-2 Dark Chocolate Simply Lite Bars
OR
1 Package of Bakers unsweetened chocolate squares (8)
1 tsp organic or raw butter
dash cinnamon
Powdered Xylitol (to taste)

Mix dry crust ingredients together in a bowl. Melt butter in a sauce pan or double boiler (which you will use later for the chocolate). Once butter is melted, pour over dry ingredients and blend together. Transfer to 8''or 9'' glass pie dish packing the crust down and molding it with your fingers. Place crust in the oven at 350 until firm and golden. In a food processor, add peanut butter, cream cheese, xylitol and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Once crust is done, cool in the freezer. Once cooled, transfer filling into pie crust... you may likely have a little left over that you can store for a snack later :) In a double boiler melt Simply Lite bars or unsweetened chocolate with cinnamon, butter and powdered xylitol until smooth. With a rubber spatula smooth the chocolate over the top and allow to cool in the freezer or refrigerator before serving. Hope you love it :)