I have a confession. I am addicted to Lara Bars. Specifically the Chocolate Chip Brownie Lara Bars. I love that Lara Bars use all real ingredients. I eat one almost every day as a snack or dessert.
While pursuing the Lara Bar website I saw a Carrot Cake version. However, I have not been able to find it in the stores. So I decided to create my own copy cat version. It is amazing that a grain free and refined sugar-free bar can taste just like carrot cake.
Ingredients
10 baby carrots, organic
10 large dates, pitted
1 oz raisins (snack box size)
1 cup of whole raw almonds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TBS coconut oil (optional)
1 TBS maple syrup
3 TBS almond butter
1 TBS water (if needed)
In a high speed blender or food processor, chop the carrots until finely diced.
Add in dates, raisins, and almonds. Blend on high for several minutes.
Add all additional ingredients. Continue to blend on high speed, scraping down the sides as needed.
Dump contents on to a large piece of wax paper. Using hands or a spatula shape into a square.
Refrigerate bars.
Apple picking at Huber's leads to lots of apple recipes. Apple crisp is one of my favorites. This version uses no butter, no margarine, no flour, and no refined sugars. Still tastes amazing!
Ingredients
1 tsp coconut oil
6 apples (peel, core, and thinly slice)
1 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 TBS coconut flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the crisp-
1 cup oats (gluten-free)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 TBS coconut flour
1 TBS coconut oil
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large pie plate with the 1 tsp of coconut oil.
In a large bowl, mix together the apple slices, lemon juice, honey, salt, coconut flour, and cinnamon. Place apples in greased pie plate.
In a small bowl, mix together the oats, maple syrup, coconut flour, and coconut oil. Spoon mixture onto apples, spreading evenly.
Bake 30-35 minutes. Apples will be soft and crisp will be lightly browned.
Homemade Apple Butter is amazingly easy to make when you let the crock pot do all the work! Well, you still have to peel, core, and dice a LOT of apples but then it is just a matter of time.
Each fall, we visit Huber's Farm to pick our own apples. Wiggles and I went on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather. Cooler temperatures and warm sun! I love the start of the Fall!
The varieties of apples depends on the season. This year we were able to pick Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonathon, and Mutzo. I have no idea what a Mutzo apple even is. ;)
Ingredients
12 cups of diced apples (peel, core, and dice)
1 to 1-1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
Start by washing the apples in a vinegar and water bath. Rinse well. Peel apples. Remove the core and then dice. Chunks do not have to be that small.
Place all apples in a crock pot. Cover with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.
Set crock pot to low. Four hours later, stir the apples well and mash with a potato masher. Take a quick taste test to assess sweetness. Add additional sugar if needed to suite your personal taste. Replace lid and cook an additional 1-3 hours, stirring well every hour. The apple butter will be dark in color when done.
I freeze my apple butter in individual Bell freezer jars.
Enjoy over pancakes, waffles, or biscuits.
This recipe is kid approved! My girls LOVE this and often ask for seconds.
I like to buy the Trader Joe's Truly Handmade tortillas for this recipe. I have tried making my own but with mixed results. I always have canned organic black beans on hand. However, I prefer buying the organic dried black beans and then cooking them myself. I freeze the extra in approximately 1 cup increments.
I make two versions of this recipe each time I make it. In one I use real cheese and in the second I use Daiya dairy-free cheese.
Ingredients
6-8 tortillas
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup frozen onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 cans organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1-1/2 cup of chicken broth (preferably homemade)
1 package of organic frozen corn
shredded cheese OR Daiya cheddar style shreds (about 2 cups total)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and heat until translucent. Add garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. Add in beans, chicken broth, and cumin. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-20 minutes, until most of broth has been adsorbed. Stir in the corn and remove from heat.
Spray a deep casserole baking dish (I use two round, white casserole dishes) with cooking spray. Place tortillas to cover the bottom. Layer with 1/4 of the bean mixture and top with cheese. Cover with an additional tortilla. Repeat layering until the bean mixture is gone. The top layer will be just beans topped with cheese.
Bake 20 minutes, cheese on top will be melted.
Notes-
1. Recipe is naturally soy free (always double check the tortillas!).
2. Use all Daiya cheese to make recipe dairy free.
3. I make two casserole dishes each time. One with real cheese and one with Daiya cheese.
4. Recipe reheats well the next day for lunch.
