No Bake Chocolate Walnut Bars

My husband and sons love, love, loves these. They are a great grab and go. If you have a sweet tooth, these will hit the spot.  They are pretty easy to make and work great for us.

Here is what I do:
1/2 Cup raw unfiltered organic honey
1/4 Cup organic cold pressed coconut oil
1/4 Cup almond butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Cup chopped walnuts or half cup walnuts and half cup almonds chopped
1/2 Cup raw organic cocoa nibs (you can use chocolate chips if you want. We just don't want the added sugar. Cocoa nibs keeps it healthier.)
1/4 Cup sunflower seeds
1/4 Cup pepitas ( raw shelled pumpkin seeds)
1/4 Cup dried goji berries (I sit and cut them in half. You don't have to but I like them smaller)
1 Cup organic rolled oats

Place walnuts, cocoa nibs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries and rolled oats into a large bowl. Mix and set aside.
Oil an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.
In a saute pan set over med-low heat add the honey, coconut oil, almond butter, salt and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over med heat and let boil about two minutes stirring constantly. This will be your tried and true work. If you boil it long enough the bars will not get soft and messy when eating them room temperature. If you don't boil it long enough they will be a bit gooey. Not big deal. You will figure out what the right amount of time to boil the mixture for is. After the two minutes remove from the heat and add the vanilla and stir well.
Pour over dry ingredients and stir well to combine (I use a rubber spatula for this. It seems to work best and everything doesn't stick to it.)
Pour into prepared baking dish and press everything in tight. Place in refrigerator for two hours. Take out and cut into 12 bars. I them wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. They will soften some as they warm up while you eat them. Sticky and delicious. 

Vegetarian Mexican Tortilla Soup

This soup is terrific, filling and healthy. It is adapted from "The Food Babe's" recipe. Just like most recipes I take a recipe and then make it my own to suit our tastes. I will give you options in making it healthier if you choose. I also used all organic ingredients where I could.


Here's what I did: (I doubled the recipe)

2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
1-2 Cups onion, chopped (I used two small white onions)
1/2 Cup diced cerely
1 Cup diced carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 cup green lentils, rinsed (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup but I wanted more so I used 1 Cup to make it heartier)
6 Cups vegetable stock
1 (14oz) can or jar crushed tomatoes (mine were chopped not crushed and they broke down just fine)
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2- 1 tsp. salt (you will taste and adjust seasoning at the end)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 sprouted corn tortillas **( I did not use sprouted corn tortillas as I couldn't find them. I bought a bag of organic white corn tortilla chips and crushed up a hand full to add to the soup. It is important to use organic corn products as almost all corn and corn products are GMO's. If I can find sprouted corn tortillas next time I make the soup I will give it a try. The organic chips worked great though)

In a large pot heat the olive oil up over med heat and add the onions, celery and carrots. Stir and cook till the vegetables are slightly tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Next add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils, jalapeno, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and chopped cilantro. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cover and simmer 30 minutes or so till lentils are tender. When lentils are tender add a hand full of crushed corn tortilla chips(or the sprouted corn tortillas.) Cover and continue to simmer another ten minutes. The chips should break up and dissolve into the soup and thicken it up some. Taste for seasoning.
Serve with optional toppings of :
tortillas chips
monterey jack cheese (I use pepper jack cheese. Organic or course.)
cubed avacado
additional cilantro

Enjoy!

Individual Cauliflower Pizza

Made this today and this is sooooo good that I just had to put it on here for you all to try. I unfortunately can't remember which web site I found it on to give them the credit they are due for this wonderful recipe. I found it by looking for cauliflower recipes on Pinterest.
We are trying to go 95-100% organic without breaking the bank. This was fairly reasonably priced and very easy to make.

Here is what I did:

1 lg. head cauliflower, shredded. (you need 4 cups. The Cauliflower I used made a smidgen more than 4 cups and I used it all.)
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
salt (optional)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup pizza sauce (optional. I did not use it. I just used the slices of fresh tomato)
fresh basil, shreds
12 slices of tomato
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven 450

using a hand grater, shred cauliflower into crumbles. Measure out 4 cups and place in microwave safe bowl.  I had about 4 1/2 cups and just used it all.
cook cauliflower in microwave for 8 minutes. Stir and let cool 10-15 minutes.
Add salt to taste if using, the 2 beaten eggs, 2 cups mozarella, oregano, dried basil and garlic powder and stir to combine.
 Lightly  grease two baking sheet pans. Divide into 12 balls (I used a 1/3 measuring cup and got 11 and that worked fine) Place spaced out on baking sheets and pat each one down to about 4 inch wide rounds. Bake 15 minutes. The edges will char and this is a good thing as it is very flavorful.
Remove from the oven and turn the oven onto broil. Top each with parmesan cheese, shreds of fresh basil and then mozzarella. Top with slice of tomato. Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes till cheeses are melted and tomatoes are warmed some.