Over Night Tart Cherry and Pear Crisp Breakfast

I am not a morning person. Everyone who knows me knows that it's best not to ask me anything serious, important or annoying in any way shape or form before I've had a cup of coffee. You would think that I would be used to being up and at em' at the crack of dawn since I've been doing it pretty much my entire life. I have to be up around 5 a.m. for work with my head screwed on tightly by 6:30 and ready to focus in surgery. Also, after having 4 kids, my first one at age 19 I've known many a early mornings in my day.

Not happening. I've tried, honestly. I've gotten up early to go hiking which I l.o.v.e. I've committed to boxing classes that started at 5:00 a.m. and actually felt totally amazing and pumped for the day afterwards but dragging my zombie butt out of bed was shear torture. 

So making a decent breakfast for myself and the kiddos while trying to get ready for the day is out of the question. I have however committed to not buying any more  boxed cereal  whatsoever so I've been forced to come up with some other healthy and most importantly simple options.

Over night breakfast to the rescue!

You simply throw all the ingredients, which are minimal into your slow cooker and walk away. 

I love non-committal recipes like that.

Unless your lucky enough to have a slow cooker with an automatic shut of button (most newer ones do) than you might have to make this during the day and reheat in the morning. Unless you stay up late like me and start it around 10p.m. and are up super early like me  *sigh  to shut it off than it may burn a bit.  I'm actually o.k. with that, tastes like a cookie!

So I have an automatic shut off option on my slow cooker but I have made thrown this together before making dinner, around 4p.m. on the 6 hour option instead of the 10 hours and turned it off before going to bed making sure not to lift the lid for a peak and a sniff. It was just as good the next morning.

Just a few options for ya.

You will need: 

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups almond milk or milk of your choice
2 pears of the firmer variety
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon real vanilla (optional)
2 tablespoons local Organic honey
1/2 teaspoon salt


Throw all ingredients into your slow cooker. Turn on the lowest setting if making before you go to bed or follow instructions above for other options. Wake up in the morning to the smell of cinnamon, honey pear crisp and enjoy a fuss free morning.

Now that's the way to start your day!

What do you usually have for breakfast?

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

Age is JUST A NUMBER

As I near forty nine I think not about my age or how I look but blown away by how fast time has gone.  I can remember my parents being fifty and never imagined I would be in the exact same spot…HERE IT IS…weird!  As I get older and wiser, I really appreciate the GIFT of time, and soak in every moment.  In a blink, sixty will be here and I do not want to miss a thing! 

Now let me back this up a bit as I do care about how I look, and most importantly how I FEEL.  YES, age is just a number in my book, and it surely does not mean I throw in the towel and subscribe to some sort of category that stands for unhealthy and frumpy…nope…that is just not me.  Life is about quality and keeping my body functioning in a healthy way, feeling the BEST that I can each day, and that involves CONSISTENT healthy food intake, exercise, plenty of water, and I have noticed…lots more REST is required.  There are some days that I feel every bit forty eight when  my neck flares up, or my back hurts, etc.,  and that is when I take special care to relax more, stretch more, and not push so hard.  My body just like yours is a wonderful machine that talks to me and if I do not listen, then it will eventually let me know.  I appreciate the gift of my body, and will spend the rest of my life taking care and appreciating that fact.

It does feel GREAT to be healthy and wear that badge on the outside, but I will share that is all starts on the inside.  HAPPINESS is what I want out of life, in

addition to being a healthy woman, and if I did not work on my internal stuff, then life would not make sense.  I do not care how fabulous I or anyone could look, if the inside is a mess and an unhealthy mind lives in that body, that is ugly, regardless of the age.  It is like someone having all the money in the world and being completely unhappy and unfulfilled.  In my opinion, health and happiness go hand in hand. 

I consider getting older a privilege and honor and do not hide the fact that fifty is knocking at my door.  I have lived a journey full of the good, bad, and the ugly and consider all the roller coasters as growth periods that have created an older, wiser, better, happier ME.  I like that phrase that says “In order to get built up, you must first get broke down” just like building muscle, life is my opportunity to grow, learn, change, and reach for the positive lesson.  I must say that I am a very blessed woman with my hubby, health, family and friends.  In living a healthy lifestyle, thinking and reacting in healthy ways, God has truly blessed me with the husband that I have, my family and beautiful friends that nourish my soul in ways that are gifts themselves.

Age being just a number is fabulous because I truly live by how I feel, and really

age is an afterthought or a non thought.  What has come from the years of journey in this life physically are the battle scars from surgeries, stretch marks from having children,  facial laugh lines, and the pesky lines that have appeared on my forehead…but hey…goes with the gift of living another day.    I am not in panic mode thinking I need to fix this and that, inject this and that, and cover this and that, and I do not need a red sports car.  I do not desire to be like someone else or try to be perfect, because as I have said before, perfection only exists in fairy tales, photo shop and heaven.  I believe in progress and I am always a work in progress…it is really a GREAT place to be at any age. 

I dedicate this Blog to my best friend and more like a sister, Rehana!  Thanks for gifting me such a wonderful early birthday celebration and spending the entire day with you was more than a gift to me.  You warm my soul and light up my life.  Love always XOXO

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding! 

Stay Healthy~ Darla

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Healthy Almond-Coconut Chocolate Thumbprint cookies ~ gluten free

Some days things just don't pan out the way I planned them to. Actually, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception lately. And by lately I mean since I had my first child 18 years ago. Holy crap! I have an 18 year old?!!  Anyway, this weekend I had to work on Saturday and was supposed to be off at 3p.m. and then planned on doing a little shopping at my favorite adds and ends Home store for kitchen props, plates, bowls, napkins etc. then go to Sprouts and then go home make a yummy dinner and possibly get some decent shots to put on the blog. 

At 2:35 p.m. however we get a call that we need to do an emergency tracheotomy on a patient. How rude. What's more, the Dr. didn't have an assistant so I got to double as a first assist and it was a difficult case, couldn't get the trach tube in because the patient had a mushy trachea. So now I'm tired and a bit cranky and it's 4:45p.m. So much for my nice afternoon. So much for making dinner. Pei Wei saves the day!

Fast forward to Sunday...... I was excited to try and recreate one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, cottage cheese pancakes. If you've never had them, don't wrinkle your nose till you've tried them. They are so good! The cottage cheese actually adds a bit of sweet creaminess to the pancakes, almost like a cream cheese crepe. I wanted to try to make them healthier by omitting the flour and tried using almond meal instead. Epic fail! The first batch crashed and burned, literally. The second batch was oily and burned.

Back to the drawing boards. 

Enter these cookies. Every problem or catastrophe can be solve with a good cookie and these are even fairly healthy! Bonus!

PREP TIME    15 MINUTES     BAKE    15 MINUTES     YIELDS   18-20 SMALL COOKIES

Ingredients: 

2 cups almond meal (almond flour w the skins un-removed) 

1 tablespoon flax meal (ground flax seed) 

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1/4 cup local honey  

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chips or bar)

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl mix together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla and almond extract. 

Gradually stir in the almond flour, flax meal and sea salt, and mix well until a uniform dough is formed. 

Scoop the dough by tablespoons and use your hands to roll into smooth balls. Roll the balls in the coconut flakes to coat. Place the balls onto the lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart, and use your thumb to press into the center of each cookie, creating a well for the chocolate. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven, let cool. 

Meanwhile, in a small ceramic or microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips or chopped up bar. Microwave on medium power for 90 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 90 seconds or until melted.

Spoon chocolate into the center of the cookies and let cool. 

These cookies are also wonderful with a bit of fruit preserves in the middle, my favorite is apricot!

I am submitting this post to Tasty Tuesday's

Roasted Chickpea, Heirloom tomato, Avocado, Lemon Tarragon and Basil Salad.

My mom is in the background reminiscing about how she always used to win the spelling bee. Every year she says, and there was a big stage and real prizes, that's how they did it in my day. All because I asked her how to spell extraordinaire. I should have known better. She's still going on and on (can't blame a gal for reminiscing) so of course I ask her how to spell reminiscing and she pauses with a bit of doubt..... HA! I totally know how to spell doubt! So I promptly turn to my handy dandy, new age spelling check thingy on my state of the art MAC computer and it shuts my poor mom down and tells me how to spell reminiscing before she can spout it out.   Pooooor  mommy.

I can't really feel all that proud about my somewhat limited technological (spell check told me how to spell that, I'm not ashamed) abilities because right after I was congratulating myself on my ability to spell a couple of 5th grade words and patting myself on the back for navigating through Photo shop to produce a half way reasonable food pic I found myself cursing my wireless mouse. You see, when I moved right, the arrow would go left. When I move up, the arrow would go down.  Gahhhh!  Why can't technology be simple?!!


Because idiots like me can't figure out when a mouse is turned upside down. In my defense it is wireless and is completely anatomical.

Yeah. I know.



It's a good thing I know how to cook without burning the house down. I love uncomplicated summer dinners. I'm declaring it summer here in Phoenix. It's in the 90's, good enough reason for me to turn off the stove and focus on quick and simple meals with fresh ingredients.






Simple, fresh ingredients. Heirloom tomatoes, chick peas drizzled with a good quality olive oil and sprinkled with some Himalayan Pink Sea Salt. Roasted to crispy perfection.  Don't feel like turning on your oven? No problem, neither do I come May. This salad tastes equally amazing with out roasting the chick peas. I happen to loooove the crispy texture and flavor that roasting brings to them but in a pinch, plain ol' cooked chick peas will do.



You can use canned chick peas or dry ones. If using canned, drain and rinse thoroughly. Put into a small bowl, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with a salt. Spread onto a baking pan, I love my stone one which absorbs flavor and allows you to use less oil and is super easy to clean. During the hot summer months I can see myself skipping the oven all together but I do love the crispiness and flavor that roasting the beans adds.

Roast in the oven at 375F for 20-25 minutes to desired crispiness. I highly recommend investing in a baking stone. I use mine to roast veggies, bake cookies and pizza crust. You use a minimal amount of oil with a baking stone and it roasts more evenly that a metal one.  Check out this Rada Cutlery Stoneware

When I can find them, I love these pretty little Heirloom tomatoes. They are naturally sweet and so good for you, think no GMO's. Real tomatoes not genetically modified. Don't want to spend the money or can't find them in your hood. Use cherry or grape tomatoes instead.

Slice a semi-ripe avocado into bite size pieces. Sprinkle with a generous amount of dried tarragon. Tarragon goes amazing with avocado! Squeeze the juice of 1 whole lemon over the avocado and gently toss to coat. Lemon not only adds fresh flavor but helps the avocado not to brown quickly. Set aside.

Avocado tossed with tarragon and lemon.

This one was an instant keeper! Usually I make recipes several time before posting them on my blog. But I am sitting here writing this with a bowl full of this yummy salad sitting in front of me.

 It's  that  good.



Light, lemony, healthy and fresh. What more do you want in a summer salad?

Perfect to bring on a picnic! Enjoy with a cold glass of Pinot Grigio and an herbed salad mix.

TIME     20 MINUTES       SERVES     4-6 

Ingredients: 

2 cans (or 3 cups cooked) chick peas/garbanzo beans1 pint baby heirloom tomatoes, sliced in half ~ can sub cherry or grape tomatoes2 avocados, dicedsmall handful fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly1 teaspoon dried tarragon2 teaspoons divided extra virgin olive oiljuice from one lemonsalt ~ I love my pink Himalayan sea salt

Preheat oven to 375F.  

Drain and rinse chick peas if using canned. Put into a large bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Toss to coat. Spread evenly onto a baking pan, I love my stone baking sheet.  Bake on center rack for 20-30 minutes to desired crispiness. 

Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half and dice up your semi-firm avocado. Put avocado into a large bowl first and sprinkle with tarragon. Drizzle lemon juice over avocado and toss gently to coat. Add tomatoes to the bowl and sprinkle with a bit of salt and sliced basil. Add chickpeas and gently toss to combine salad.  

Serve with a green salad to make it a meal. Don't forget the Pinot Grigio! 

Grain Free PB&J Bread

My 6 year old has 4 cavities. FOUR! If ever I felt like a failure as a mom, this is it. Epic fail. The fact that the dentist is my sisters husband may or may not have made me feel even punier. Not that I ever claimed to be World's Best Mom but I DO however like to think of myself as a fairly healthy eater and especially when it comes to feeding my kids healthy foods and snacks. I mean that's the entire premise of my blog! 

So how is it that my baby has 4 cavities? The dentist a.k.a. my brother-in-law asked me what his weakness was when it came to snacking.  "Errr, weakness?"  "Yeah, like does he love gold fish crackers and pretzels or candy?" Me, "NO! Well, I mean he does, actually have a big time sweet tooth but I SWEAR I can't even remember the last time I've bought gold fish crackers, or any crackers other that our GF quinoa and seed ones or any fruit snacks, candy or cookies or doughnuts....... (my mind is working over time trying to figure out where I went wrong).  So I say, "I mean sometimes I buy Popsicles, and there was Halloween where he gorged himself with candy  Oh!  all of those birthday parties at school with the cup cakes, that's got to be it right?  

Dentist/brother-in-law concerned for my mental health, "Ummm, no. You usually don't get cavities at this age from occasional snacking. Me, hanging my head in shame: "oh".  B-I-L, "What about your pregnancy? Was anything out of the ordinary there?"

Me:.......................... wrapping my mind around this question.

"Um. No. I mean I had to have surgery for appendicitis when I was 20 weeks along." 

"No, I mean were you sick a lot? Did you have a poor diet?"

Inner me trying to remember what the hell I ate 7 years ago while I was pregnant with my 3rd child that would have caused him to have 4 cavities at the age of 6:  "Um no. I mean maybe a little. I mean I think  I might have eaten more french fries than usual, and maybe a few second helpings of pasta..... at 2 a.m. 

And then I very jokingly and lovingly because he is family after all say "Why is it always the mothers fault?!!"  

I'm sure he knew I was joking. Kind of. Oh crap! I haven't been helping him brush his teeth in months. Should I mention that?

Nah.

Sighhh.

Which brings me to bread.

obviously.

I've played around with making gluten free bread a few times and have made a decent enough loaf or two but nothing that screams out "Mmmmm, home made bread!" Usually it's pretty dense and very dry.   

This bread was unbelievably good! It was heavier than your store bought, gluten laden variety because it is made with nut butter (ground nuts). I was however, expecting it to be much denser than it was. In fact, it was fairly light and airy and had just a mild hint of nut flavor. 

Cashews are my favorite nut after all. 

The small list of healthy ingredients, no yeast involved was a big bonus for me. Making home made bread was never so easy. You can use jarred Organic cashew butter or save some money and make your own if you have a good quality blender or food processor. See my post here on how to easily make your own nut butters.

Elana, from Elana's Pantry recommended using  Parrish Magic Line Loaf Pans
to bake gluten free breads which will help with the thin, dense bread that comes from using a regular size loaf pan. So I bought one. And it worked! Yay Elana! P.S.  she has another wonderful recipe for a grain free bread that I have tried and we all loved. It was however, slightly more involved than this recipe and I try to be as non-involved as possible these days. I blame the children. Which is only fair since somebody is going to turn around and blame me for all of their ailments and shenanigans anyway?  I kid!

Recipe from Danielle at Against All Grain

Yields 1 8.4x4.5 loaf
1 cup smooth raw cashew butter at room temperature.
4 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon local honey
2.5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup almond milk (cow milk, coconut, hemp milk or rice milk will work as well)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 

Directions 

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. 

In a stand mixer using a cookie dough paddle, beat the cashew butter with the egg yolks, then add the honey, vinegar, and milk. 

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until peaks form. Combine the dry ingredients in another small bowl. Make sure your oven is completely preheated before adding the egg whites and the dry ingredients to the cashew butter mixture. You don’t want your whites to fall, and the baking soda will activate once it hits the eggs and vinegar. 

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and beat until combined. This will result in more of a wet batter than a dough. 

Gently fold in the beaten egg whites into the cashew butter mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, then immediately put it into the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven, then let cool for 15-20 minutes. Use a knife to free the sides from the loaf pan, then flip it upside down and release the loaf onto a cooling rack.