Granola with Coconut Oil

I love coconut oil.  It is heaven sent.  You can just mix some of it with chocolate chips, melt it in a microwave and BAM!  You have an instant chocolate shell for your ice cream!

I also discovered that you can use it as the oil for granola!  Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.

Butter a 9x 12 pan and then pour in the following to be mixed:
4 cups of oatmeal
2 cups of sliced almonds
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1/3 cup of sesame seeds

In a small pot on the stove at medium, heat

1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1-2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 cup of honey

Usually takes about 5 minutes to melt everything.  Then, pour the sugar mix over the oatmeal in the pan and mix.

Bake for about 45 minutes, mixing every 15 minutes.  I like mine browner so sometimes I do five minutes after the last time - you basically want the granola to be a bit browned.

Here's what ours looked like!  Goes great with vanilla yogurt and raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries (or all of the above!)

Kale Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and dry kale and cut off of rib into 2" pieces.  For one bunch of kale, use about 1 T of olive oil (or less, I use only about 1 t) and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until you can smell the kale, check the kale and the sides should start to curl.  It will be crispy and "chip" like, that's when you know it's ready.

Easy Granola Recipe

I made granola on Monday from my friend Lorraine's recipe.  I tweaked it a bit.. so here it is...

Mix it with some low-fat Danon vanilla yogurt, sliced strawberries and berries and BOOM - easy healthy breakfast as evidenced by my hubs:

Ingredients:
4 cups oatmeal

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup honey or maple syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract3/4 cups unshelled sunflower seeds (raw or cooked)

1/3 cup sesame seeds (I used toasted)

½ cup sliced almonds

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place oatmeal in large bowl.  In medium saucepan, heat oil, brown sugar, and add honey over medium heat, until thin, about 5 min.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla and salt.  Pour over oatmeal, add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and almonds and toss to combine.  Spread evenly on 2 baking sheets and bake 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes.  If you want it a bit toastier, cook it a few minutes longer.  I did one at 15 and one at 20... and I kind of like the 20 better.  Makes 6 cups.

Warning:  Due to the content of nuts in your granola, eating it in large quantities (think larger than a handful) is very high in protein but calories as well.

My Mother in Law's Sorta Salsa

I made this THREE times this weekend - once for Andy's med school buds, once for my cousins, and once for our friends. It was spectacular every single time. Simply sensational! And after making it three times, I tweaked it to make it a tad more healthier by using less oil (tastes the same!) and EVOO instead of pure oil.

Serves 10-12 with tortilla chips!

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

1 can corn rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes slightly drained (just with the lid)

1 lime squeezed

1 bunch of cilantro chopped

4 T of pico de gallo salsa or one tiny can

1-2 avocados chopped

1 package of Italian dry seasoning - mixed - here is where I first mixed 3 T vinegar (used apple for last batch and tasted just as good!), 1/4 cup of water, then subsequently added 1/4 cup of water and 3 T of EVOO instead of 1/4 cup.

Was quite delicious if I do say so myself! The only warning is - it is a load of protein and the combination of beans may give you gas. But it was well worth it!

Celery with Peanut Butter

celery is supposed to be a zero calorie food item so I guess celery with peanut butter is just eating peanut butter but exercising your mouth while doing so.

Need some more variety? Put some raisins on top of the peanut butter.

Miam!

Egg Whites Are Powerful

The art of boiling eggs is simple enough - yet until about a month ago, I knew not how. Armed with the knowledge of running them through cold water immediately after boiling, I know have 2 egg whites for breakfast everyday! Surprisingly, these eggs keep me satisfied until around 11, at which point I have a banana or some other fruit to keep me satiated until noonish. Try them! 4 egg whites if you are a male as you consume more calories throughout the day. That's eggs-trodinary! Egg-tastic! Eggs-xactly!