Crunchy Peanut Butter Bites**

We have a freezer full of decadent tasting little bites and balls that make a perfect quick snack. Cacao and date balls, almond butter balls, and crunchy peanut butter bites are in the rotation right now. The thing they all have in common is they are no-bake, raw, and can be whipped up pretty quickly.

My husband is a crunchy peanut butter bite addict.

It's not the peanut butter that is crunchy, it's the bites that are. And the secret, dear friends, is raw buckwheat groats. Have you ever seen one? They are the cutest little things. These tiny, triangular seed, from a type of grass. Grass! Not wheat. Anyway, buckwheat groats can be eaten raw, and are irresistible in these little bites.

The hardest part of this recipe is stirring at the end because it gets a little stiff. Second hardest is waiting until they chill and firm up.


For the peanut butter lovers in your life!!

equipment needed:

mixing bowl
mixing spoon
measuring cups
measuring spoons
silicone pans or glass pans lined with parchment
parchment to flatten down the mixture into the pan
spatula or other thin, blunt edge to cut into bites


ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut nectar
1 cup organic smooth peanut butter (I favour the one from bulk barn, which is lightly salted)
1 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of hemp hearts
1/2 cup of raw buckwheat groats

(a pinch or two of sea salt if your peanut butter is unsalted)


directions:

1. stir together the coconut nectar and peanut butter in a mixing bowl. mix in the salt now if you are adding some.
2. stir in the shredded coconut
3. stir in the hemp hearts
4. stir in the buckwheat groats.
5. if you are using a square silicone pan, put the mixture in and press down. I find a piece of parchment helpful for this part.
6. if you are using a glass pan, line it with parchment before you put the mixture in. Press down!
7. using a blunt edged spatula, cut the pressed mixture before chilling
8. put in the freezer to chill
9. Remove the bites from the pan and store in an airtight container.

Maple Vanilla Baby Cakes

Sometimes people ask me for recipes and then I realize that the only thing I have that's remotely like what they are looking for is way too complicated and esoteric. Ugh. So, when an awesome neighbour (who usually bakes with very traditional ingredients) asked me for a cupcake recipe that was sweetened with maple syrup, I could have sent her a recipe that involved 12 different types of flour. But I thought that would be mean. So instead I came up with this one, that uses kamut flour and tapioca starch. Simpler. Few ingredients. Quick to mix up. Super tasty. Taste Testers: The Kid and The Husband (who by the way never leaves his socks lying around) snarfed 3 of them before I could ask them how they were. In my husbands words: "They were so terrible I had to have another just to make sure. And then another. Terrible."

They are this perfect mix of plain and delicious.

equipment:

1. kettle
2. mixing bowl
3. mixing spoon
4. whisk
5. measuring cups
6. measuring spoons
7. cupcake or muffin cups -- I use the silicone ones on a baking sheet, but you can use a muffin pan lined with papers if you prefer!
8. oven


ingredients:

a)
1 1/2 cups of water (warmed up a little but not hot)
2 tbsp coconut oil (the warm water will melt it)
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar

b)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 cups kamut flour

c)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean (optional but awesome)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
(you can use 2 tsp baking powder instead of cream of tartar and baking soda)



directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345!
2. in a mixing bowl, combine the warm water and coconut oil and let the coconut oil melt
3. add the rest of the ingredients from part a)
4. using a whisk, mix in the ingredients from part b)
5. still whisking, mix in the ingredients from part c)
6. scoop the batter into muffin cups, leaving room for them to rise
7. bake at 345 for 25-30 minutes, or until the top springs back when gently pressed

made 20 quite small cakes

Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container!

Easy Peasy Super Wholesome Trail Mix Cookie Bars***

September 1? WTF? How on earth did that happen?

With images of empty lunch boxes blurring my vision, poking at my psyche, and taunting me today, I started to think about nutritionally dense snacks.  I had a bunch of overripe bananas nagging me, and these cookie bars coalesced in my imagination.  They are simple -- really just mashed banana with ground chia, a little tapioca, shredded coconut, and large oat flakes. A few seasonings, a few mix-ins for flair, and presto here we are. But I have to tell you -- they are really delicious. A huge hit both with my kiddo and my dh.

equipment:

coffee grinder for chia seeds, or buy ready ground
hand blender for mashing bananas, or use a fork
2 x 8 inch silicone pans
1 baking sheet to put the pans on
measuring spoons
measuring cups
mixing bowl
mixing spoon
oven


a) base:
2 cups mashed banana (I used my hand blender but a fork will do, too.)

b) seasoning and leavening:
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp other cinnamon)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

(or substitute 2 tsp baking powder  for the baking soda and cream of tartar!!)

c) batter:
1/4 cup ground chia seeds
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups large flake rolled oats

d) add ins:
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)


directions:

preheat your oven to 345!

1. combine your mashed banana with the ingredients from group b)
2. mix in the ingredients from group c) in that order, stirring after each addition.
3. mix in your mix-ins. Don't be afraid to mix it up!!
4. divide into 2 silicone square pans
5. press it down really well
6. bake at 345 for 40 minutes
7. Allow to cool slightly then cut into bars -- gingerly. I used the blunt edge of a spatula, careful not to destroy either the bars or my silicone pans.
8. when fully cool, store in an airtight containers in the fridge