Healthy Fruit Gummies!

My kids love these! And we make them together so it's even more fun. You can make lots of different flavors, or just mix all the flavors together. :) I've tried a few recipes before, and they usually seem a little tart, in our opinion, so we add xylitol and stevia to ours. 

This recipe is adapted from thankyourbody.com. Original recipe can be found here: http://thankyourbody.com/homemade-healthy-fruit-snacks/

Ingredients:

2/3 cup organic lemon juice

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cup frozen or fresh organic berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries are all great.)

1 – 2 Tbs raw honey

1/2 cup xylitol

1 packet stevia

8 packages gelatin (from grass fed cows)

Directions:

1. Pour juice and berries into a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until berries become tender and begin to soften. Add applesauce.

2. Add honey and stir until completely incorporated. Add xylitol & stevia and stir until melted and combined.

3. Puree mixture using a immersion blender or regular blender on low speed.

4. Let sit, off heat, for 5 – 10 minutes.

5. Slowly whisk in gelatin (or blend, on low, if in blender), one tablespoon at a time. Whisk vigorously until completely incorporated, mixing the gelatin in very gradually to avoid lumps. (If you do get lumps, just run the mixture through your blender again!)

6. Pour into a 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 glass dish. Refrigerate until set (30 minutes to an hour). Cut in small squares or shapes using small cookie cutters. Keep refrigerated, although they do transport well (just packed a few with my daughters' school snacks!).

*This is not my photo. My camera is in a room with a sleeping child. :)

Overnight Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

I made this Friday night as a special breakfast for Saturday morning. Everyone loved it and we had enough for Sunday morning too (I even halved the recipe). If you have a special breakfast or brunch coming up (Easter maybe?), THIS is your dish. Scrumptious!

Overnight Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch

cubes (we used a whole wheat sourdough with all healthy oils!)

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut

into 1 inch cubes (organic, if possible)

1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries

12 free range eggs, beaten

2 cups milk (raw is best)

1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

1/3 cup real maple syrup

1 cup xylitol

2 tablespoons arrowroot starch (also called arrowroot powder)

1 cup purified water

1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries

1 tablespoon organic butter

Directions:

1.	Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter or grapeseed oil spray. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.
2.	In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3.	Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4.	Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.
5.	In a medium saucepan, mix the xylitol, arrowroot, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast. YUM!

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Coconut flour is new to me, but I am having fun experimenting with it. This recipe is from elanaspantry.com and I thought was worth sharing. It is especially good with coconut oil spread on top :) I would even use coconut oil in the recipe in place of the grapeseed oil.

http://www.elanaspantry.com/blueberry-muffins/

Blueberry Muffins Revised

Check out some changes I have made to my blueberry muffin recipe. Even more healthy and delicious! MMMMMM....

http://cleanoutyourpantry.blogspot.com/2009/07/blueberry-muffins.html

Come to think of it, I've revised a lot of my recipes and I have added several sweeter options to the recipes, that way you can choose which one you like best :) I personally like the raw honey and sucanat currently. Have fun experimenting!

Blueberry Muffins

This is a Betty Crocker recipe re-done! I changed some of the ingredients to make them healthier. Not very sweet, but perfectly delicious and healthy!

2 cups milk

1/2 cup grapeseed oil or coconut oil (I love it with the coconut oil!)
2 eggs

1/4 cup raw honey
4 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

2-3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I use a 12 oz bag of frozen organic blueberries)

Oats (just to sprinkle on top)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line or spray pans with grapeseed oil spray. Beat milk, oil, egg and your choice of sweetener. Mix in flour, baking powder and sea salt just until flour is moistened. Will be slightly lumpy. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among cups and sprinkle with streusel topping and oats.

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup organic sucanat (This may looked burned or very browned when cooked on top but it is not)
1 tablespoon raw honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (kept cold otherwise it gets too melty!)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cutting in the coconut oil if it's solid enough. Sprinkle on muffins.

Bake for about 20 minutes. This makes between 15 and 20 muffins for me.