Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Food

#7 Friends by Recipes: True Porridge

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Hello, and welcome to day seven of my Friends by Recipes Challenge!

Today I am sharing a recipe from a new friend of mine. April owns a blog called the Stratheden Farm. She lived in Scotland for a while and learned exactly how to make the perfect hot porridge that keeps the whole body warm in the morning! April suggests:

“When buying oats for porridge, buy the brand that most looks like a ‘meal.’ It should look like coarsely ground grain, not flakes or hard little chunklets. (Those have other uses.) Our favorite variety is Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal which is the real deal; stone ground in a real water mill.”

I used Oat Bran to make this. Is that okay, April? They seemed like the texture you described, and the oatmeal came oat tasting scrumptious with it!

April's Oats

 

Ingredients
1 cup oatmeal
3 cups water
pinch salt
walnuts
rasins
flax seeds
dried cherries
milk

Into a 1 1/2 quart sized pot, place your carefully measured oats and a three-fingered pinch of salt. Now take a big handful of walnuts and break them up a bit. Toss into the pot. Throw in the same volume of raisins but be sure they aren’t just a big lump. Measure your flax by thinly covering the surface of the oats. Finally, add cold water. Turn the heat on under your ugly gruel. Medium-low is best. Never stop stirring… slowly… until your oatmeal is thickened. Oats are done when the bubbles are thick and leave a hole when they pop.

Do not believe the package when it says to add oats to boiling water. You will spend all your time breaking up lumps and think making good porridge is difficult. Good porridge is brain-dead work.

My Porridge!
This was delicious, April! The raisins were nice and plump while the oats were extremely creamy. Nothing like a nighttime bowl of hot oatmeal to put you to sleep 🙂

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you eat a bedtime snack?

I only do if I am hungry. I cannot go to bed on an empty stomach! But it also isn’t good to go to bed extremely full. There has to be a happy-medium.

If you do eat a bedtime snack, what do you eat to help you fall asleep?

I used to eat peanut butter toast. The whole wheat bread was nice and crunchy while the peanut butter melted as soon as it touched the bread’s surface!

#6 Friends by Recipes: Zucchini Hummus

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Welcome to day six of my Friends by Recipes Challenge!

Today, I would like you all to meet a spunky girl named Sarah who owns the Smart Kitchen blog!

She is a fairly new friend of mine, and I am loving every bit of her posts! She combines “Healthy, Economical, Creative, and Realistic” to create fantastic tasting food!

Today I am sharing her Zucchini Hummus with you!

Sarah's Hummus

 

Raw Zucchini Hummus
(Makes about 3 cups or so)

2 medium large zucchinis, peeled and chopped
Juice of 1 large lemon (5-6 Tbsp.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/3-1/2 cup raw tahini
1/4 c. chopped sweet onion

Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Blend away! Serve as a dip with raw veggies, crackers, or whole grain pita bread (or chips!).

 

Following her recipe, I placed the ingredients in a food processor….
And devoured it with a red pepper! (I’m eating a veggie on top of a veggie!!)

This was so, so good! It has a lighter flavor than regular hummus, but it still packs a punch! I will be making this again, Sarah!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is your favorite hummus flavor?

I really love Roasted Red Pepper Hummus! I usually like making my own, but when I’m busy I will grab a huge tub of Sabra from Costco! I like their roasted red pepper, too, but I also love their olive flavor. Sabra’s hummus is extremely creamy (probably because of the high-fat content 🙂 )

 

#5 Friends by Recipes: Marathon Mud Pie

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Ahh! Back to my Friends by Recipes Challenge! Today, I am sharing a new overnight oat recipe from a new friend who has a new blog! Her name is Emily Elizabeth, and her blog is called Kisses for Breakfast (cute!).

Emily suggested I try this overnight oat recipe called a Marathon Mud Pie. I jumped on this recipe because I know that overnight oats are super easy to make! Just whip it up the night before, and let it thicken overnight. This is perfect when you know you will be having a busy morning. I also LOVED this recipe because I got to be creative! I love layering oats, fruit, and peanut butter to make a beautiful breakfast parfait. The peanut butter+chocolate+banana combo ain’t too bad either 😉

Recipe: Marathon Mud Pie

Marathon Mudpie
Emily's Marathon Mud Pie

Summary: A creamy chocolate peanut butter pudding parfait for breakfast… and before a long run? Why not? Take a couple minutes to toss the ingredients together the night before and it’s ready first thing in the morning! Loaded with fiber, protein, healthy fats and a little caffeine from the cacao, it’s the perfect breakfast to sustain you through a long workout. I love to have this first thing in the morning before I head out for a long run.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup low-fat milk
  • 1/4 cup mashed banana
  • 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (just peanuts, no sugar and just a touch of sea salt)
  • 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 dash fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients and put in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight. That’s it!
  2. TO MAKE A PARFAIT (highly recommended!): After the pudding is set, spoon 1/3 of it into a fancy dish and top with a dollop of greek yogurt and 3 banana slices. Repeat 2 more times and drizzle a little peanut butter on top.

My beautiful masterpiece:

This was so good, Emily! I loved the combination! It was perfectly filling, and satisfying. I would even eat this for dessert 🙂

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you ever make yourself, or someone else, healthy sundaes? I remember waking up early for my mom or dad’s birthday, and creating a yogurt parfait for their breakfast in bed! I would always layer fruit, yogurt, and grape-nuts! They are so much fun to make because you get to be creative with your food!

Also, did you ever make your mom/dad/grandparents/siblings breakfast in bed for their special day?

 

#4 Friends by Recipes: Muffins that take the Cake

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Welcome to day four of my Friends by Recipes Challenge! Today, I am sharing a recipe from my new friend from eat move love.

Her Muffin Pics!

 

Oooo...Yum...

Blueberry Muffins-That-Take-The-Cake…Look ;)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup oats (optional)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • cinnamon to taste
  • 1/2 mashed banana
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • raisins (honestly, I don’t measure – just throw them in ;) )

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Mix all wet ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

3) Add dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, oats, cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.

4) Add in blueberries and raisins.

5) Pour batter into muffin tin (with liners or lightly oiled).

6) Bake at 350 degrees for ~20-25 minutes.

Makes ~ 8-10 muffins (depends on the size you prefer).

7) Let cool. Then, EAT.

I used brown rice flour instead of regular flour to make them gluten-free, and they turned out great! They do taste cake-y!

I made my muffins mini! I also used frozen blueberries, and made them “bleed” on purpose to make them Purple muffins!!! Fun, Fun!

These were really yummy! I loved the cake-like texture! Who says you need sugar to eat cake? 🙂

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Halloween is coming up! What do you plan on doing? Are you going to dress-up? Maybe I’ll wear this hat…

Also, do you get a lot of trick-or-treaters? I used to get a good number, but since we moved I don’t know if we will get any! Do you give out candy? Or do you just shut off the lights?

 

#3 Friends by Recipe: Apple bars

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Hello! Hello! What is your favorite fall fruit? Is it, by any chance, apples?

If it is, then you are in luck! Teenage Health Freak gave me this recipe for Apple Bars.

Good gracious, these are so good! Look no further for a good granola bar recipe to eat on the go, she has given you the perfect snack!

This is what hers look like:

Apple Bars

  • 2 apples shredded (you may leave the skin on or off. I usually just take some off…or these would be like EXTREME fiber bars..ha ha)..and the skin can get a little chewy
  • 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 3 TBS coconut oil
  • 2 TBS apple sauce
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1/3 c. walnuts chopped
  • 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  • 1 TBS ground flax
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  1. Mix all the wet ingredients including the apples in one bowl!! Then the dry in another….
  2. Combine all ingredients.
  3. Press in a greased pan  (I just rub some more coconut oil on my pan) to make bars..or you can form into cookie balls!! I tried a few like cookie sized and they were yummy!! A little more crunchy!!
  4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

My Apple Bars:

These were really good! I loved them as a breakfast treat, or an on-the-go snack! I actually substituted brown rice flour for the whole wheat flour to make it gluten-free, and it turned out really well.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is your favorite fall fruit? Is it apples?   I really love apples! Especially when they are dipped in some nut butter 🙂 Or made into an apple pie!

 

#2 Friends by Recipes: Cindy’s “Donut Holes”

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Hey all! My brother and sister are huge fans of donut holes-the powdery ones that is. I, on the other hand, was never a big fan. They were too sweet, too powdery, too messy….Yuck!

However, when Cindy from A Sparkle a Day told me about a ‘almost’ raw donut hole recipe-I had to try it!

I am so glad I did, Cindy! They are Fabulous!

Here is a picture of Cindy’s Beautiful donut holes:

Would you like to make these adorable gems? Follow her recipe below:

Cindy’s Old Fashioned Donut Holes (almost raw)

  • 1/4 c raw pecans
  • 1/4 c raw walnuts
  • 1 tsp cinnamon (be generous)
  • 3 dates
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp coconut flour
  • 1 tbs coconut flakes
  • 1 tsp orange zest

Blend in food processor (I actually used a magic bullet!) and blend till well chopped.  Roll into balls and then roll in flaked coconut.  Freeze. (Sorry, Cindy. They were too good, and I was in a hurry, so I just threw them in a baggie instead of freezing them)

This is what mine looked like:

Instead of going out and buying an orange, I simply picked a fresh tangelo from my tree (It is finally tangelo season-half tangerine, half orange in case you were wondering) I also didn’t have any pecans, so I used almonds and walnuts instead (I bet pecans would taste better, though!) And…I omitted the coconut flour (Sorry! I didn’t have any!)

*Chomp!* Num! Num!

Cindy! These were great! I brought them to my tennis practice, and ate a couple in between my tennis lesson and weight session. Perfect energy ball! They reminded me of spiced oranges…and this spread...

Stay tuned for a new recipe by a different friend tomorrow!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you guys like donuts? I remember taking a standardized test in third grade, and my teacher brought us Krispy Kreme glazed donuts for “brain power.” Ugh! They gave me a headache even back then-too sweet!