Healthy Baked Maple Custard ~ A Gluten-Free Recipe

Does anyone else like to use long-bake-time recipes on cold days?  There's nothing like a warm oven filling the home with yummy smells when it's chilly outside.  Here is a simple recipe with no refined sugars that is a lovely little snack or dessert to pull from the fridge at a moment's notice (or straight from the oven as soon as it's not too hot to eat.  I love warm custard.) Also?  This recipe is easy and non-threatening; qualities I look for in life.

Baked Maple Custard

Prep: 10 min; cook: 70-80 min; serves 6

• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup grade b maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
• ground nutmeg (optional garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. Thoroughly whisk all ingredients except the nutmeg together.  Pour mixture into ramekins or these fun jars like the ones pictured above.  Sprinkle the tops with nutmeg, if desired.
3. Place cups in a baking pan (I use my roasting pan with the grill removed) and fill pan with hot water so it comes to about halfway up the ramekins or jars' sides.
4. Bake for 70-80 minutes or until the custards are set (they jiggle a little but aren't liquidy anymore).  Enjoy warm, completely cooled, or chilled.  Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Healthy Cookie Dough Balls ~ A Raw, Gluten-Free, GAPS & Paleo Recipe

Picnics, park days, camping, work, school, home, road trips...  these little treats beckon you beneath their lidded containers with their siren call of the cookie dough.  Come and partake.  We are doughy and sweet and healthy.  Who can deny the power of cookie dough?  Once you slap a good-for-you label on them (because they really are), all hindrances fade away and you are left with happiness and sticky hands.

We make a batch of these delicious, protein-packed bites every week.  My kids don't even like almond butter, but I buy it in bulk because they adore these treats.  I know there are millions of cookie dough bite recipes out there, but frankly I'm tired of trying to remember how I make mine, so on the blog they go.  Other recipes are so cute and tiny.  We mow through them before the sun sets.  This recipe lasts us a whopping two days.  The superfood that is the chia seed not only absorbs the moisture and holds them together brilliantly, they also impart a yummy taste that reminds us of halva, one of our favorite desserts.  If you have never heard of halva, I shed a tear for you and for the sake of your well-being, will post a recipe for it soon.  In the meantime, do the world a favor and make a batch of cookie dough bites.  They will make you happy and in turn the world will be a better place.  It's for mankind, really.

Healthy Cookie Dough Balls
Prep time: 15 minutes, makes 24 balls

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup chia seeds (if the whole seeds bother you and get stuck in your teeth/braces, simply give them a whirl through a coffee grinder and use the fresh chia seed meal)
• 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or cacao nibs

1. Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in food processor.  Process until well-combined (about 1 minute).
2. Add chocolate chips to the processor and pulse until mixed in (about 5 seconds.  You can distribute the chips more evenly while making the balls).
3. Form dough into 1-inch-thick balls.  Store in a lidded container in the fridge.

I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Pennywise Platter, Simple Lives Thursday.

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Chocolate-Drizzled Pumpkin Muffins ~ A Recipe

Muffins are my favorite go-to for this time of year.  It's cold enough to bake, they're quick to make, they are a yummy breakfast and are also great for snacks and with lunches, and they freeze well.  Since we make a double batch of them each week, I need to change up the ingredients a bit so they don't all end up being almost identical.  Adding a little chocolate drizzle definitely makes them feel like a special treat.  If you'd prefer to opt out of the drizzle, no big dizzle.  They're still the bomb-schnizzle.  Yo.

Grain-Free, Chocolate-Drizzled Pumpkin Muffins

Prep time: 10 min, bake time: 20 min, makes 2 dozen muffins

For the batter:

• 1 cup milk (dairy or coconut)
• 1 cup puréed pumpkin (here's how to make your own)
• 2/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 7 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

For the drizzle:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease or line 18 muffin tins.  Put all batter ingredients in blender and blend on high for 45-60 seconds.  You might need to use the agitator to make sure everything mixes well.  Pour batter into muffin tins about 2/3 the way up.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until not jiggly. 
2. As the muffins cool, mix chocolate chips and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over warm muffins.  Enjoy!

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Fight Back Friday.

How to Make Apple Chips ~ A Recipe

By way of friends with trees and really good finds on organic, local apples, we ended up with a bushel and a half of Granny Smith's this year.  Boy, were we thankful and excited!  Then we realized just how much effort it takes to preserve 65 pounds of apples.  We made several batches of late harvest crisp, apple pies, and slow cooker spiced applesauce, but we still had twenty pounds of apples on our hands.

By the way?  Processing 65 pounds of apples wouldn't have been possible without our shiny new toy: what the children call The Amazing Apple Machine.

Before I go on about how amazing this apple machine is, I really wished we had invested in the kind with the clamp base and not the suction one.  The suction looses it's grip fairly easily which is especially frustrating for little helpers.  It didn't deter them too much, though.

This amazing apple machine peels, cores, and slices an apple in five seconds flat.  How have I lived without one for so long?  I might have been able to campaign for prop 37 with all that extra time.  Then it would have passed and the world would have been a better place, but because I wasted all that time peeling, chopping, and coring without an amazing machine, GMOs are still not going to be labeled and it's all my fault.  Wait.  What?  Sorry.  Getting back to apples now.  I really am going to show you how to make those chips.  Readysetgo.

We were able to process ten pounds of apples at a time.  It filled the 9-tray dehydrator (don't worry, you can make these in the oven too.  We'll get to that soon) and a 1-gallon glass jar where they were stored once they were done.

Apple Chips

Prep time: 30 minutes, bake/dehydrate time: about 8-12 hours, fills a 1-gallon jar

• 10 pounds apples (Granny Smiths work well)
• juice from 3 lemons

1. Pour 1/3 of the lemon juice in a large bowl.
2. Peel, core, and slice apples, one at a time, and cut in half (see below).  Honestly, to get the slices thin enough, you need an apple peeler/corer/slicer.  I mean, you can slice them manually if your knife is sharp and your apples are firm, but it will take you forever.  The slices need to be about 1/4 inch thin.
3. Gently stir the apple slices around in the bowl to coat with lemon juice after each apple has been processed.  The juice keeps the apples from turning brown.  When you are half way through your bag of apples, pour another 1/3 portion of the lemon juice over the slices and gently toss.  When all apples have been sliced, sprinkle the last of the lemon juice over the apples.
4. Lay the apples out on your dehydrator trays or on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Be sure they are in a single layer (see below).  If using a dehydrator, set to 105º and dehydrate apples for 8-12 hours, or until they are the consistency you like them (we like ours a little bend-ble but all the way dry).  If using an oven, set it at the lowest possible temperature and bake about 12-18 hours.  Store in a sealed container in a cool, dry place like the pantry.  They will stay good for at least one year (but in my house they last about one week).

And just what to we do with all those peels and cores?  Let's just say our hens love apple day.  Of course, if you don't have chickens, the scraps make great compost.

Taking chicken scraps down to "the ladies"

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I'm sharing this at  Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter.

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Persimmon Spice Muffins ~ A Recipe

Persimmons are the last fruit of the season.  They are rich in antioxidants, fiber, and are known for their anti-inflamitory and tumor-fighting nutrients.  We enjoy them in smoothies, grain-free cookies, and now in muffins as well.  Because they only take thirty minutes from start to finish, I like to make a double batch of these first thing in the morning so we can enjoy warm muffins with soft butter for breakfast.  We also then have a stash to pull from for lunches and snacks for the rest of the week.  They freeze well if you'd like to tuck some away for even later.

Gluten-Free Persimmon Spice Muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes, bake time: 20 minutes, makes 12 muffins

• 2 persimmons, tops sliced off, then quartered and de-seeded (if yours has any)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger (or 1/2 inch fresh ginger knob)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (expeller pressed won't taste like coconut)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.  
2. Put quartered persimmons in blender and puree.  Add remaining ingredients and blend on high for 1 minute or until the badder is smooth.  While badder is processing, line 12 muffin cups.  I love these reusable muffin liners. 
3. Pour badder into the lined muffin cups to about 2/3 full.  Bake for 17- 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and no dough sticks to your finger.

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter.

Easy Homemade Hummus Recipe ~ Akin to Trader Joe's

Homemade hummus has been one of those unconquered challenges for years.  My kids actually like hummus, but only the plain Trader Joe's kind.  I've tried and tried and tried to mimic it to no avail.  Until today.  Huzzah!  And it was so simple!  Now the kids get this in their lunches at least once a week along with carrots, cucumbers, or bell peppers to dip in it.  Hummus also works as a lovely spread for sandwiches and wraps.

Plain & Simple Hummus

Prep time: 5 minutes, Yields: about 2.5 cups

• 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (or chickpeas)
• 3 cloves garlic (if you are using a high-speed blender like the vita-mix, there's no need to peel them.  Just toss 'em in!)
• juice from 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Put all ingredients in a blender (you will get the smoothest results in a high-speed blender like a vita-mix).  Blend on high until desired consistency.  You might need to use the agitator to help the blending process.  If you want a thinner hummus, add a little more olive oil or a splash of water, but don't go overboard or it will get too runny.
2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later use.  Use as a dip for veggies, pita bread, or chips, or as spread on sandwiches and wraps.

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I'm sharing this at Pennywise Platter, Simple Lives Thursday.

Preserving: Homemade Fruit Roll Ups ~ A Recipe

When I was a child, back in the days before home computers, cell phones, and Internet (my children don't understand how we survived), I loved me a good fruit roll-up.  You'd take the roll out of it's package and peel that leather off the wax paper.  From there, it was a matter of art and personal expression.  Some would roll the fruit leather back up and eat it like a burrito.  Others would hold it flat like a tortilla and take bites off it.  Me?  I rolled it around my thumb and sucked it clean off.  Wait.  I didn't actually just share my technique to the public, did I?  Don't tell anyone.

Now on to more adult-ish talk.  Did you know some kinds of fruit roll ups don't even have any fruit?  And most of them contain high fructose corn syrup (probably GMO), partially hydrogenated soybean oil ( also probably GMO), artificial colors and flavors, and MSG (listed as "natural flavor")?!  What the what?
"Sign me up for eating every horrid ingredient on the planet disguised as a fruit snack!"
Said no one ever.
Fruit leathers are the simplest things to make and the only ingredient needed is -- get this -- fruit!  You may also add spices like cinnamon if you want to get wild and crazy.

I waited forever to make fruit leathers because I thought I needed official non-stick dehydrator sheets. (NOTE: Although they won't be raw, you can still make these in the oven at 170º.  Check on them after 6 hours.) Then I remembered how I used to peel the leathers off the wax and thought, why not dehydrate them right on the wax paper?  Uh, yeah.  So here's how it works.  I've found that filling the blender with fruit will make enough purée for three sheets on the ol' Excalibur.  Depending on how many trays your dehydrator has, make as many batches that you need to fill that thing up.  If you can purée a fruit, you can leather it.  Here's what we're making today:

Peach Cobbler Fruit Roll Ups
Makes about 15, prep: 10 minutes, dehydrate 6-8 hours

• 2 bananas
• 4 peaches
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel bananas.  Remove peach pits & cut out any bruises.

 

  

Purée all ingredients in a blender.  You'll get the best results in a high speed blender like a Vita-Mix.  You might need to use the agitator to push fruit down to the blades.

Cover 3 dehydrator trays with wax paper (I like to use this unbleached kind).  Pour 1/3 purée over each tray.  Spread it as evenly as possible over the paper so it will dry evenly.  I use my favorite spatula of all history for this job.

  Remember that the leathers will shrink to less than half their current sizes, so spread them to about this thickness (about 1/3 inch, but no need to get too perfectionistic):

Dehydrate at 105º for about 6-8 hours, depending on the thickness of the leather.  Check on them periodically.  If they are dried for too long, they will become chips.  Not long enough will leave them with soggy spots and unsafe to store at room temperature.  Once they are ready, they'll be firm enough to peel off but not at all brittle.

Roll the sheets up, one at a time, in a tight spiral.

Cut them evenly into fourths.  This will make a sizable roll up.

Now roll individual leathers in plastic wrap.  Store in the pantry.  If they are fully dehydrated with no soggy spots, they should be good at room temperature for six months to a year.

Pros:

• I love that the leathers have practically no contact with the toxic-leaching plastic wrap with this method.   
• These are fabulous snacks for on the go and something wonderful to slip into school lunches.  They have been tested on eight picky eaters who love the Trader Joe's fruit leathers and they said they liked these better!
• Many flavors can be made.  Our favorites are blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry.  We like berries.  And all you use are, well, the berries!  In the fall we look forward to apple roll ups.

Con:

• I struggle that there is waste involved.  Ya just can't reuse wax paper and plastic wrap, I'm afraid.  

Cost breakdown:
Because it's easiest to see the pricing using a 2-pound box of blueberries, I'm going to pull this from making two batches of blueberry leathers.  Banana leathers are probably the cheapest to make unless you're using homegrown produce, the next cheapest is fruit, then berries.  Two pounds organic blueberries made 2 batches (30 roll-ups), costing 17 cents each.  The fruit leathers we used to buy at Trader Joe's cost 49 cents.  If you are working with homegrown produce or some given to you, these babies are free outside of the wax paper and plastic wrap!

Do I think it's worth it?  Well, all my children enjoy them, it only takes about ten minutes of my time to blend, spread, cut, and wrap many of them at once, and they are super cheap.  I'm in love!  This is definitely one method of preserving we will continue to use.

Thrilled with the size of this fruit roll up.

I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Pennywise Platter.

Kohlrabi Fries ~A Recipe for Snack Time or a Side Dish

Thanks to our weekly produce box, we get to enjoy things like parsnips, apriums, and kohlrabi regularly (when they're in season, of course).  This week, our kohlrabi was made into fries.  Except they were baked.  They make a delicious snack or side dish.  Kohlrabi (or German turnip) is actually of the cabbage family and is a good source of fiber, Vitamins C and B6, Copper, Manganese, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. It's also gluten-free and GAPS and Paleo legal.  We call these Baby Fries because they're only a couple inches long.

Kohlrabi Fries

• 3-4 kohlrabi bulbs, pealed and chopped into baby-sized fries
• 2 tablespoons expeller-pressed coconut oil
• seasoning of choice (garlic powder, salad dressing seasoning, etc.)
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450º.  Peal & chop kohlrabi bulbs.  Be sure to really peel them well or you will end up with tough fries.  
2. If your oil is solid, melt it, then pour over fries and toss to coat.  Lay the fries in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Generously sprinkle seasoning over fries.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Serve warm.

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, SImple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday.

How I Got My Family to ENJOY Parsnips (and Spinach!) ~ Savory Cakes ~ A Recipe

Half the battle to achieve victory in food fights, I'm realizing, comes from leading by example and chilling out.  When I let my defenses down, miracles can happen. (ie: NOT giving in to I just spent all this time preparing something healthy and trying to make it taste good and I will freak out if it's received poorly.)  The other day, I experimented with the last of the parsnips.  The texture and presentation was feeling good.  I was going to enjoy this dish (and publicly express my enjoyment),  regardless as to what the family consensus becomes.

Oh my gosh.  I'm so excited about lunch!  These things are so good, you've gotta try them.

What are they?

"Parsnip Cakes" wasn't going to fly...

Savory Cakes!  And you get to put butter and salt on them.  See if you can finish yours before all the butter melts.

Adding butter is a big deal around here because we cook with so much of it, an extra dollop seems excessive, so a sliver of butter on top of these foreign cakes was all it took to get forks in everyone's hands.

Jeremy's reaction is always the first test for the kids.  His reaction is honest, I'll tell ya that much.  Once the kids saw him chowing down and after he gave them the reassuring "take a bite, kids.  They're actually really yummy," (my poor taste-testing family must feel like lab rats sometimes), they cautiously gave it a try... And cleaned their plates!  Elation!

I used leftover parsnip fries which sped up the preparation process, but if you, for some reason don't have any of those lying around in your fridge *smiley face*, I've included the roasting process for the parsnips below.

This is another Paleo, GAPS-friendly, and gluten-free dish that can be served as breakfast, lunch, or as a hearty snack.

Savory Cakes

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes, Makes 10-12 cakes

• 5 parsnips, thickly sliced & roasted
• 1 handfull spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup blanched almond flour
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter, expeller-pressed coconut oil, or bacon grease for frying

**If your parsnips are raw, bake in 400º oven for 20 minutes, allow to cool slightly, then proceed with recipe.**

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until it's doughy.  You might need to turn it off and push the spinach leaves down towards the blades, then turn it back on to get it all to incorporate.  Use your hands to form balls and flatten into cakes, about 1/3 inch thick.
2. Melt fat of choice in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.  Cook cakes about 3 minutes on each side, or until browned and crispy.  Serve warm with butter, a dollop of creme fråiche, or simply salt & pepper as garnishes.

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Simple Lives Thursday.

Parsnip Fries with Lambs Quarter Pesto

I've come to love parsnips.  They blend with any flavor you cook them with (we enjoyed them with herb roasted chicken the other night).  Parsnips are beautiful in all their simplicity and also delicious by themselves made into fries.  Serve them with a bowl of pesto and you've got yourself one stunning side dish (or snack), pleasing to both the eye and palate.  I didn't realize pesto could be made with herbs other than basil until my friend Karen introduced me to this delightful, in-season variety made with lambs quarter and Swiss (or rainbow) chard.  GAPS, paleo, gluten-free, and the general foodie alike can all commune over this springtimey snack.

**  Don't discard any leftover fries!  They make delightful Savory Cakes!  A recipe that can be found here.**

Parsnip Fries with Lambs Quarter Pesto


For the Fries:

• 12 parsnips, peeled and sliced in strips no thicker than 1/2 inch
• 1/4 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1tablespoon rosemary, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.  Melt coconut oil on low and stir in the garlic, rosemary, and pepper.  (Take a moment to close your eyes and breathe it in.  Heaven.  Nevermind the strange stares when you open your eyes back up.)  While the oil melts, prepare the parsnips.
2. Toss parsnips with oil mixture in a bowl.  Place seasoned parsnips on a baking sheet (stoneware makes these fries deliciously crisp) in a single layer, not overlapping.  
3. Bake on high for 30 minutes or until browned on the edges.

For the Pesto:

• 1 bunch lambs quarter leaves
• 5 Swiss (or rainbow) chard leaves, deveined and thickly chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, needles only (no woody parts)
• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or pistachios
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. While the fries bake, prepare pesto by placing all ingredients in a food processor.  Process until it's of the desired consistency.  Serve with warm parsnip fries.

Bon appétit!

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, seasonal recipe round-up, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter.

Muhammara ~ A Walnut, Bell Pepper Dip Recipe

Here is a variation of a favorite dip/spread/sauce of ours that we've been enjoying for a couple years now.  Muhammara is a wonderful dip for veggies, sauce for meat, pizzas, and sandwiches, and spread for toasts.  I'm surprised it hasn't caught on as much as hummus has; it's soverytasty and easy to make (not to mention incredibly nourishing).

Muhammara

• 16 oz jar of roasted red bell peppers 
• 1 1/2 cups crispy walnuts
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 pinch paprika
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pinch Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth (little lumps are fine).  Allowing it to chill for a couple hours helps bring the flavors out.

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday.

Hummus Flowers ~ A Simple, Kid-Friendly Lunch

In an attempt to involve my kids more in the kitchen and for them to become more independent when it comes to meals (especially before this fifth lil' sweet thang is born), we've been focusing on new, simple, and fun lunch ideas.  Today, I give you the hummus flower.  If you're on the GAPS diet, simply use a different dip (might I suggest baba ghanoush?).  I made the first one (pictured above) to set the stage of possibilities and my kids were raring to give it a try.  I set out all the components (all in-season, nutrient-dense choices that complement each other), so anything they chose for their flower was going to benefit them.  Along with the hummus middle (so they get some protein no matter what), there were fruit, veggie, dairy, and meat choices (along with olives).  A fun, grain-free meal that my kids actually enjoy?  Miraculous.  Here are a few flowers my kids came up with:

The great thing about the kids assembling their own lunches is watching how surprisingly good they are at determining their portion sizes.  Clearing their plates has always been an issue.  Today, they cheerfully gobbled up every bit of their flowers.  The nice thing about these?  If they don't end up finishing them, simply cover it, stick it in the fridge, and they won't complain about eating the leftovers for snack because they made it.  With instruction of what to pull out of the fridge and chop up, my older children can do all the prep work, and they can all help with the clean up.  Need a kid-friendly meal to go?  Assemble these in a container that has a lid.  Seal that lid, stick it in the ice chest or lunch bag and you're kids will squeal to find a most intriguing surprise.  We now have a new, 100% mom-free, whine-free meal, ready to be pulled out of the hat whenever needed.  Hooray!  

And that, my friends, is how this mama nests.

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday.

White Chocolate Macadamia Lara(ish) Bar ~ A Recipe for Travel

We're a' hittin' the road and we need us some vittles.  Lara Bars are a favorite, but the nuts aren't soaked and they cost an arm and a leg.  Also, I wanted a new flavor.  Enter the White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie Dough Bar.  We crispify the nuts by soakin' 'em in water for several hours, then in to the dehydrator they go until they're, well, crispy.  The soaking process neutralizes the phytic acid, making it more digestable.  Don't have white chocolate or macadamias on hand?  Throw in some raisins, dried cherries or cranberries, or whatever happens to tickle yer fancy instead.  Normally, homemade Lara Bar recipes will tell you to encase them in plastic wrap, which is something I avoid because of it's many toxins and hormone disruptors.  Instead, mine were wrapped in unbleached parchment paper, tied up in cute little bows made of baking twine, and placed in a glass container with a lid.  Will I always present them in such a cute manner?  Probably not. But they were being introduced to the family for the first time and for the kids (just like their mother), cute packaging makes them giddy, so this helped them go over much smoother.  As far as the taste goes... everyone gobbled them right up!  Yee-haw!  I'm going to take the cowboy boots off now.  They're having an effect on my writing.

Raw White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie Dough Bars

Makes 10-12 bars

• 1 1/2 cups cashews
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or if you make your own and happen to run out but still have those beans in the jar like I did, go ahead and stick a whole vanilla bean in there.)
• 1 cup dates, pitted
• 1/3 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1. Put cashews, cinnamon, and vanilla in food processor.  Turn it on and add 1 date at a time until they're all blended.  Add the macadamias and chocolate chips and pulse just to chop them a little bit.
2. Form dough into bars, balls, or squish them into a pan to cut bars out of them.  Chill or freeze.  Take them out when you're ready to stuff them into lunch boxes, an ice chest, or just to throw one down the hatch right away.

Enjoy!

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I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Barn Hop, Traditional Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesday, Pennywise Platter, Simple Lives Thursday, Fresh Bites Friday.