Maple Pecan Walnut "cracker/cookies"

I wanted to bake another portable snack for the girls and whipped this up. Rory told me "you'd better write this one down"... If only you could have seen the look on his face after his first bite. Needless to say, all family members readily approved of this!

2 cup pecans

1 cup walnuts

2 tsp baking soda

scant 1/2 tsp sea salt

3-4 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tbsp water

3 tbsp grapeseed oil

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse the nuts, soda and salt until finely ground.

2. In a bowl mix together nut mixture, maple syrup, water and grapeseed oil until well combined.

3. Spread onto a parchment or silpat lines cookie sheet.

4. To help get a uniform thinness, I put a piece of saran wrap over the top and used my hands to pat it into a rectangle shape that was about 1/8 to a 1/4 inch thick.

5. Bake at 350 for ~15-17 minutes.

6. Let cool then cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Noatmeal

I love fall. I pretty much love everything about it: crisp air, changing leaves, and of course... pumpkins! Pumpkin anything makes me happy. I opted for a "fall" breakfast this morning and was so pleased with the results.

handful of walnuts

handful of pecans

2 tbsp ground flax

3 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/2 c coconut milk

1/4 c water

2-3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp vanilla

dash of nutmeg

dash of salt

In a blender, pulse the nuts until coarsely ground. Add in remaining ingredients and blend until mixed. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until thickened and heated through.

I served Aubrey's with some raisins, a pat of butter, and extra drizzle of maple syrup. She ate up the whole thing!

No-atmeal

I enjoy No Oat Oatmeal from MDA, but I'm constantly switching things up based on what I have in my kitchen (you know me... I do that ALL the time!). Here's my little version this morning...

1 handful of pecans

1 handful walnuts

2 tbsp ground flax

generous dash of cinnamon

small dash of nutmeg

pinch of salt

3 eggs

1/3 c (ish... I eyeballed it) coconut milk (if you like yours a little runnier add a couple of tbsp water)

1/4 of an apple

1/2 peach (no need to peel)

1. In blender or food processor, grind nuts, flax, and spices until you get a nice pulp.

2. Add in remainder of ingredients and blend until desired texture. (I like mine fairly smooth with a few nice chunks of nuts).

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until desired thickness is reached.

Since I'm on a 30 day strict paleo challenge, I ate mine with some diced bananas on top on some melted coconut oil. Yum! For Aubrey, I did the same but drizzled honey on the top.

Grain-free granola

Awhile back, Rory bought some GRAWnola from Whole Foods. It was so tasty and such a convenient snack, I bought some for my brother for Christmas. Now, it was tasty but at $12 a bag, it was also a little pricey! So after doing some internet searching I came up with my own granola recipe. Super easy and super good- a new staple in our house!

1 cup walnuts

1 cup almonds

Generous half cup of dried figs

1/2 c each sunflower seeds, shredded coconut

1/4 c almond oil

1/4 c honey

dash of cinnamon

1. In a food processor grind the figs until a paste forms (its OK to have some chunks still in it). Spoon into a large bowl and set aside.

2. Grind walnuts and almonds in a food processor until you have a course mixture. I grind mine until there are still a few whole nuts floating around. This makes for a variety of textures in the granola. Pour into bowl with figs.

3. Add sunflower seeds, coconut, oil, honey and cinnamon. With your hands work the mixture until the figs are well mixed with the nuts.

4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, stirring once.

5. Turn oven off and let sit inside for another 15-20 minutes, turning once in between.

6. Cool for 45 minutes to allow honey to harden and the granola to crisp up.

I got the thumbs up for this recipe from our friends at Crossfit Fort Bragg. Thanks, guys!

Super Easy Roast and Walnut Stuffed Zucchini

Making a roast in a slow cooker is pretty fail-safe. The other day I made both a bison roast and an beef roast. In the cooker I added the roasts (still frozen...I love this about slow cooking!) 1/2 jar of artichoke bruschetta sauce, 1 diced green pepper and 6 cups of water. 10 hours later... delicious!!!

I served my roasts with walnut stuffed zucchini. I know it sounds a little weird, but I promise it is very good!

2 zucchini cut in half length wise

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1/2 c almond flour

1/2 beaten egg

3 dried apricots, finely chopped

1/4 onion, diced

1 tsp minced garlic

dash of poultry seasoning

pinch of salt

1. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeded part of the zucchini.

2. In a bowl combine the remaining ingredients, including the zucchini innards.

3. Fill each zucchini boat with filling.

4. Bake in a 350 oven for 45-60 minutes