Bursting Blueberry Scones

Mmmmm.....  Scones! 

We have our 3rd lacrosse tournament in a row this weekend so us parents chipped in for coffee and brought breakfast snacks for the first game of the day. I made a double batch of blueberry scones last night for the parents. 

Our team and parents are awesome this year and we have gotten together for a tailgate party and camped together for our other tournaments this year. We are a young team against 4 stronger and older teams, so we knew it wouldn't be a winning weekend for us but we wanted the kids to have a great weekend! It's important to keep the kids spirits up and keep them motivated so we made a plan....

Gord and I came up with a real life star chart rewards system for the boys! 

Most of us have used a star chart to motivate our kids at one time or another to accomplish a task whether it’s potty training or staying in bed all night as little ones or helping with chores around the house when they are older.  It’s a proven method to motivate them and a visual representation of their progress.  

 

So…. At this mornings game we had 5 stars in the stands for parent or sibling volunteers to hold up after EVERY shift.  

Each shift could earn a max of 5 stars per shift for never giving up, working hard and giving it their all.  

The plan was that they would never receive fewer than 3 stars (we don’t want to demotivate them) but they actually never received fewer than 4! We had a great game and they all worked hard! 

 

After a shift is over and the kids go off the floor, the parents collectively decided how many stars 3,4 or 5 would be given for effort and hold them up for the kids to see with a BIG CHEER!!!  

 

I marked down the stars given after every shift and tallied them up at the end of every period to share with the team.  The goal was 75 stars for the game total!  

They earned 89 🌟s for their first game!!! 

Our kids worked so hard and really held their own in the first game! We have decided to stick with the stars for the rest of the weekend because it really seemed to motivate them!! 

The prize is a BIG water fight after the last game today!

Blueberry Scones

Ingredients

Dry Mixture

2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1/3 cup organic cane sugar 

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp Hymalyian sea salt

3/4 cup coconut oil 

1 cup blueberries

Wet mixture

1 large Egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup almond milk

Topping 

1/4 cup almond milk

1/8 cup organic cane sugar

Directions

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt into a large bowl. 

With a spoon stir in coconut oil until the mixture is crumbly. 

Add in blueberries and set aside. 

Mix together egg, almond milk or vanilla and pour over top flour mixture. Stir until dough comes together, transfer to a floured surface, knead 3-4 times. 

Separate dough into 2 small balls, pat flat and cut each into 4 pieces. 

Place scones on a parchment lined baking sheet. 

Brush each scone with almond milk and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. 

Lemon Zucchini Mini Loaves

I have SO MANY ZUCCHINI'S from my Sisters place!  She loaded me up yesterday with Zucchini, tomatoes (I already have a tonne of my own), Corn, Potatoes and Eggs! 

I had the house sort of to my self last night with Asher and Gord at the races and Fraser in bed, so I decided to get started on some baking with the Zucchini.  I only used one Zucchini and I made Zucchini Parm Bites, these Whole Wheat Lemon Zucchini Mini Loaves and a to die for Zucchini Brownie!  I'll add the links to those recipes as soon as they are on the blog!  

For now here is the Whole Wheat Lemon Zucchini Mini Loaf Recipe!  These are our breakfast this morning!  The awesome thing here is that you can use this recipe to make muffins or a big loaf too!  The glaze is optional as it does have icing sugar in it but it does add lots of lemony flavour!  Next time I'm going to experiment with a honey lemon glaze and see what I can do to eliminate that little bit of icing sugar!  

Whole Wheat Lemon Zucchini Mini Loaf Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1 cup honey
• 2 TBSP lemon juice or juice of 2 lemons
• ½ cup almond milk or regular milk
• zest of 2 lemons
• 1 cup grated zucchini

Glaze ingredients:

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 TBSP lemon juice

Instructions

1. Mix WW flour, sea salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add coconut oil and honey until well blended. Add lemon juice, milk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased loaf pan or spoon into mini loaf pan. You can even make this into muffins! 
6. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or 1 hour for a big loaf. Or until golden brown. 
7. While still warm, make glaze and brush on the tops of the loaves. 

Almond Tarties

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I LOVE Almond anything.  Almond tarts are one of my favorite treats, however they really aren't the best for you with all the white flour and sugar.  I wanted to make a healthy version of an almond tart using whole wheat flour and honey instead of white flour and sugar.  I also wanted to make it Dairy free, so I used coconut oil too!

I came up with these little mini Almond tarties (a mix between a tart and a cookie)!

Ingredients


            1/2 cup Honey



            1/3 cup Coconut Oil



            1 egg



            1 teaspoon almond extract



            1/2 teaspoon vanilla



            1 cup whole wheat flour



            1/2 teaspoon baking powder



            1/8 teaspoon baking soda



            1/2 cup chopped almonds



            1 ecipe Almond Glaze (optional)



Almond Glaze

            1/2  cup powdered sugar



            1/2  teaspoon almond extract



            2   teaspoons Almond milk


Directions

1.     
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 16 muffin cups with silicon baking cups; set aside.

2.     In a small saucepan, melt and stir Coconut Oil and Honey over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in egg, almond extract, and vanilla.



Honey and Coconut Oil

Melted down honey and coconut oil

3.     
In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

4.     Add flour mixture to oil and honey mixture; stir just until combined. Stir in 1/3 cup of the chopped almonds.



Batter all mixed up

5.     
Spoon batter into silicon cups, filling each half full.

I used a cookie scoop for each Tartie

6.     
Bake in the preheated oven for 14 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

7.     Cool in muffin cups for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin pans; cool. Drizzle cooled cookies with Almond Glaze if you choose. 
     

Make a tea and enjoy a Tartie or two!

Coconut Cream

Coconut Cream is SOOOOO GOOD!

It's so easy to make and everyone in our house just loves it.  I personally don't like whip cream all that much but I sure do love coconut cream.  So much flavour.

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk chilled

2 Tbsp Honey

1. You have to make sure to chill the can of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 24 hours so that it separates and you can easily scrape the white part away from the water. 

If you can try to find this brand I have had the best
success for far with it.  Trust me I've tried all the
brands in our local stores and this one has the
most cream.

Hint: Do Not get low fat coconut milk.  It will not work for this recipe. 

2. Once chilled, all you have to do is open the can, scrape out all the white stuff and put it in a bowl or mixer. 

This is what your coconut milk will look like
after you have chilled it and opened the can. 

After you have scooped out ALL the cream
you will see a small amount of coconut water
that has separated at the bottom. 

3. Then mix on high until creamy.  Drizzle in some honey to add sweetness and mix it a little bit longer.

Look at all that CREAM!!!

Now mix is all up with the honey
until it's nice and smooth!

Then your done!

4. Use your coconut cream to top all your favourite desserts or just put some on a bowl of fresh fruit for a healthy snack!  

Asher enjoyed his on top and Apple pie!

Flourless Chocolate Muffins

These dark chocolate muffins are delicious and surprisingly healthy.

Total Time: 22 min.
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Yield:12 servings, 1 cupcake each

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
3 large eggs
½ cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Prepare 12 muffin cups by lining with muffin papers or coating with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
3. Place chickpeas, eggs, maple syrup, cocoa powder, baking soda, coconut oil, and extract in blender or food processor; cover. Blend until smooth.
4. Divide batter among 12 prepared muffin cups.
5. Top each muffin with about four chocolate chips; push into batter.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool completely and enjoy!

Check out the 30 second clip I made on making this recipe!

Coconut Bar - easy, dairy free, quick and delicious!

Just found this simple recipe on Pinterest tonight and thought it sounded so good I'd throw it together before the kids went to bed and try it as a snack tonight! 

The recipe only includes 4 ingredients and if took me all of 5 minutes to make it! 

Popped it into the fridge for an hour and tried my first bite! Melted in my mouth and kept me going back for more! 

Plus, Hubby actually liked it too which is always a plus in my book! 

I used the enjoy life dark chocolate dairy free chunks! Which makes the recipe dairy free!! 

So here is the recipe! 

Chocolate Covered Coconut Bars

by Laureen King from ArtandtheKitchen

recipe adapted from Kasey's Kitchen

Prep Time: 15 mins    Set Time: 30 mins    Makes: 12 squares

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic coconut oil
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup organic honey
• 12 ounces organic dark chocolate

 Directions:

1. Warm coconut oil just until it is liquified.
2. Add shredded coconut, and honey.
3. Combine well.
4. Line shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
5. Press mixture into baking pan, freeze or refrigerate until solid.
6. Melt chocolate and spread over coconut.
7. Cut into squares and keep refrigerated. 

Chicken basil broccoli casserole

 After camping all weekend we didn't have a lot of groceries in the fridge and I planned on going tomorrow instead of rushing out to the root cellar this afternoon. So I took stock of what I had in the freezer first.  Chicken or Beef?  I decided on some stir fry chicken from the freezer and brought it out to defrost for a few hours.  Then I had to decide what I was going to do with the Chicken. I considered making chicken fried rice but then I realized that I had two bags of broccoli cut up that needed to be used up so this Chicken Basil Broccoli casserole was born.  

For more flavour I decided to cook my rice in homemade chicken stock out of the freezer.  So I grabbed out two jars and defrosted them in a sink full of warm water.  Then I added into my rice cooker:

1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

1 tsp basil

1 tbsp butter or dairy free butter

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water

Cook in rice cooker with chicken stock or half chicken stock half water, butter and basil. 

Then I moved onto making the Dairy free chicken soup base for the dish.

1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, sliced

1tsp olive oil

1/2 pound chicken, cubed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup almond milk

Pepper to taste

2 cups broccoli florets 

While rice is cooking, brown garlic and onion in large pan, once browned add in chicken and cook through. Sprinkle sea salt and flour into pan, mix into chicken mixture. Pour chicken stock and almond milk down over the floured chicken and stir until bubbly and thick. Add in more flour and chicken stock to reach desired consistency. Season as you like at this stage. 

Next add in the broccoli and just slightly cook. Then add in your rice mixing until covered with sauce.

Put mixture into casserole dish. Top with dollops of Sour cream, Greek yogurt or dairy free sour cream. Parmesan or vegan Parmesan and 1/4 cup white cheddar or lactose free cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes then broil until the top is brown.

One great thing about this dish is you could make it the night before and pull it out of the fridge to bake for dinner the next night!  When I was working I quite often made our dinners the night before and it worked so well!  Give this one a try one night and let me know how it went!

I know Gord isn't a huge fan of anything with the word casserole in the title which is why I hardly make dishes like these even tho I enjoy them.  But low and behold he actually took a second helping! My man has sure come a long way, when I met him he didn't even like anything RICE!

Unfortunately Asher was dog tired from a big camping weekend and had only a few bites, he chose going to bed over finishing his dinner and is now in bed and has been there since 5:30pm.  I hope it's not just a nap.....

We had a wonderful weekend camping but we are happy to be back home!

Have a great week everyone!

Diary, Gluten Free Chickpea cookies

I really had the need to bake today.... it relaxes me.  But I didn't want something super unhealthy.  I was roaming on pinterest this afternoon and came across a recipe for Chickpea cookies.  I did a search and found a ton of different recipes for Chickpea chocolate chip cookies.

This is what I came up with...

Chickpea Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie bars!

Ingredients

1 small can or 3/4 of a large can of Chickpeas
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/3-1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup enjoy life dairy free mini chocolate chips

Directions

Put all the ingredients except the chocolate chips into the food processor.  Mix until smooth. 

Grease 8x8 inch baking pan.  Stir in chocolate chips and Spoon batter evenly into baking dish.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  Careful not to over cook but insert a knife into the centre to ensure it is cooked.  I threw mine back into the over after 25 minutes because they weren't quite done.

Let cool 20-30 minutes before cutting into it.

I tasted the batter a few times,  and the first time I tested it, it was pretty chickpea-ish so I added in a bit more peanut butter and maple syrup.  Mixed it up again and the second test was a success.  I took the food processor off and mixed in the chips by hand. 

Asher was so eager to try them, but they HAD to cool.  It was a long wait!  But it was well worth it because he absolutely loved them and so did I!  We both ate more than we should have and when Daddy got home so did he.  Gord couldn't believe there were chickpeas in it!  Everyone in this house loved this one! 

This is what's left.... Oops!

Not entirely guilt free...mostly because we had more than one bar but all Real and Good food so I'm happy!

Give it a try and let me know what your family thinks.  I'd love to hear what you, your kids or your husband thought.