Nut and Cookie Butter

 Nut and Cookie Butter 

 

I enjoy making nut butters in my VitaMix. My recipe is simple...3 cups of nuts. I blend the nuts until a smooth consistency is achieved. Today I used roasted and unsalted peanuts.

 

Sometimes I make small batches of unique nut butters. Cinnamon is a favorite in our household. 

 

Today I made two small batches using HomeFree Treats. One batch used two packages of Crunchy Organic Ginger Snap Mini Cookies and another batch used Crunchy Vanilla Mini Cookies. The texture and flavor of both batches was great. It is a sweet treat to enjoy on the banana bread that I just made!

Kale, Chickpeas, and Tomatoes

My garden is producing quite a bit of lettuce, chard, and kale right now. As a result, I searched for recipes to use the bounty from my garden in new ways. I came across a recipe for Chickpeas and Kale in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce. 

I modified the recipe and made it my own based on the ingredients I had on hand and personal preferences. My dish features the KALE more than the original. It leaves the ingredients chunky and with a variety of textures.

 

Ingredients:

• 6 cloves of garlic (diced and crushed)
• 1 14 OZ can of diced tomatoes  (either with garlic or italian herbs)
• 3 cups of diced kale
• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• olive oil (so nothing sticks to the pan)

Instructions:

• Saute the garlic and onion in oilve oil until translucent
• Add the caraway seed and warm for a minute or two
• Add the diced tomatoes and stir to combine
• After a few minutes add the kale and chickpeas
• Cook until kale has softened to your liking 

Serve with rice, gluten free pasta, or gluten free bread bread 

You can add some shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (I prefer Violife Vegan Cheese) to the dish as you serve

PB HomeFree Protein Bites

 I was looking to make a twist on a tried-and-true favorite snack. I took one of my favorite cookies and combined it with my PB Protein Bites Recipe and HomeFree Chocolate Mint Cookies. 

 

I substituted HomeFree Chocolate Mint Cookies for 1/2 of the oatmeal in my original recipe

 

Base Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Oats (DRY)
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
• 1/2 cup Ground Flax Seed Meal
• 1/3 cup Honey (or sugar)  (Sub Maple Syrup to make Vegan)
  
• 1 tsp Vanilla

 

 HomeFree Cookie Remix Recipe Ingredients: 

• 1/2 Cup Oats (DRY) 
• 1/2 Cup HomeFree Chocolate Mint Cookies (Crumbled)
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
• 1/2 cup Ground Flax Seed Meal
• 1/3 cup Honey (or sugar) (Sub Maple Syrup to make Vegan)

 

The result was a crunchier bite. You can add more chocolate flavor by adding additional chocolate. You could add more mint flavor by adding mint flavor in place of the vanilla in the original recipe.