Roasted Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans)

I love this recipe because it is such a cheap, healthy, and tasty snack.

Just take 1 dried* bag of chick peas (also called Garbanzo Beans) and soak overnight in 6-8 cups of water. The next morning, rinse the beans and add 6-8 more cups of water to crockpot. Cook beans on high for about 4 hours until soft. Drain water and place chick peas in single layer on cookie sheet. Sprinkle season all over the top. Roast at 425 for 40-50 minutes, or until they are slightly browned and make a rattling noise. I like mine crispy to taste like nuts. Enjoy. My 3 year old loves these and they are such a healthy snack! And good for the car!

*Note - you can also used canned chick peas. Just drain and skip right to the cookie sheet part.

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

I made these this morning and thought they were delicious:

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes
(I adapted this from a recipe that my mom used growing up)

1/2 c. powdered milk
1 egg
1 egg white
1/8 c. olive oil
1/4 c. applesauce
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1.5 c. water
3/4 stp. salt
1 T. sugar
2 c. whole wheat flour

As they are cooking, sprinkle blueberries on them before flipping them over the first time. These are delicious!

Applesauce Pancakes

1 cup oatmeal
2 cups buttermilk*
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
Natural applesauce

In a large bowl, soak the oatmeal in the buttermilk for about 15 minutes. Sift the sugar, soda, and flour together and stir into the oat mixture. Beat in the eggs, and let stand for 15 minutes. Pour on skillet and brown on both sides. Then butter (if desired) when warm. Put applesauce between two pancakes and cut into wedges.

*If you don't have buttermilk, add 2 Tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 2 cups milk and let stand for 5-10 minutes.

I like to make a big batch of these and then freeze some of them so I can easily reheat in the microwave.

Also, I found I needed a little more flour than the original recipe called for.

Beth's Whole Wheat Bread

This recipe I got from Beth - she got it directly from here. Delicious and so hard to mess up. I make some once or twice a month and then freeze the ones I don't want to use right away. I don't use the gluten and you can replace the olive oil with applesauce, if you'd like.

WHEAT BREAD
4 cp warm water (hot water will kill the yeast)
1t. sugar
2 packets rapid rise or any kind of yeast or 2 T yeast
2 T salt
2/3 cp olive or any kind of oil
2/3 cp honey or sugar
4 T gluten
abt 8 or 9 cp flour

Put warm water, sugar and yeast into mixer bowl and let yeast proof. Add salt, oil and honey. (If you measure oil first and use the same cup, the honey will slide out of the cup easier). Add gluten, then 6 or 7 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add more flour and mix until the dough is holding together and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Check to see if the dough is sticky. If it sticks to your fingers, add flour a little bit at a time, until the dough is tacky but not sticky. When you get the right consistency, let it knead for 10 minutes. The dough should start to follow the dough hook after about 6 minutes. At this time, you can add a little more flour or a drop or two of water, depending on how the dough feels.
Divide dough and put into 4 1lb greased loaf pans (you can use cooking spray) and place in a warm place to rise. Let dough rise until it is well above the sides of the pan. Place dough in oven and turn on oven to 350°and dough will rise a bit more as it bakes for about 25-30 minutes, depending on the oven. Bread should be medium golden brown color when done and have a hollow sound when you tap the top of the loaf.

Whole Wheat Granola Bars

So, I am still working on making this recipe prefect, but here is what I have so far for my granola bars. I think they are delicious! I know they are not the healthiest granola bars you can find out there, but these are budget-friendly and still more healthy and delicious than store-bought.

(I adapted this recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/)

*This makes A LOT of granola bars...I think they freeze pretty well so I make a lot and freeze them*

*Also, it is hard to cook them just right. I personally like the bars soft so I cook them until they are a golden on the edges.*

*I also like them pretty thick. For this recipe, I take my big Sam's club cookie sheet and spread the mixture out so it covers a little over 3/4 of the pan. If you fill the whole pan, I think that they are too thin*

4.5 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. wheat germ
1.5 Tb cinnamon (or whatever to your liking)
1.5 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 raisins
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. honey
3 egg, beaten
2 c. applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins, and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into a pan.
3. Bake for 23 - 30 min. until the bars begin to golden on the edges. Cool for 5 min and then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow bars to cool completely before cutting or they will be too hard to cut.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

I got this recipe from a lady in my old ward. I love it. It takes time to make it so I have a big tortilla making "party" once in a while and keep some out and freeze the rest. I haven't perfected making them yet - I think that it takes time.

To cook the tortillas, you do it as you would a pancake. Put it on a grill and wait until you start seeing a few bubbles on the top (while the other side is browning) and then flip it over and wait for the other side to brown a little bit.

(this makes a lot of tortillas...you may want to half it)

3 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. hot water
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. olive oil
3 more c. of whole wheat

Mix the first four ingredients well. Add the remainder of flour and form a big ball. Knead for 3 minutes. Then, form small balls of dough (depending on how big you want the tortillas) and keep the balls under a damp towel. Then, roll out the balls and cook.

Beth's Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love this recipe from Beth- great chocolate fix :) The only thing I do different, is I use 4 - 4.5 Tbsp of applesauce instead of 3.5.

Beth's Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies(Adapted from about.com)

1 ½ tbsp oil
3 ½ tbsp applesauce
½ cup brown sugar ( Or substitute ½ cup of Sucanat instead of the brown and granulated sugar)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup cocoa powder (or carob powder)
1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (optional)
Mix wet and dry ingredients separately; combine. Bake 8-10 mins. (I do 7 ½ mins.) at 375º.Cool on cookie sheet. Makes 30 cookies

Beth's Low-Fat Oatmeal Cookies with Raisons or Chocolate Chips

We love this recipe from Beth:

This recipe I've adapted a thousand times so you may have to adapt it to your liking as well:
1 cup whole wheat flour (finely ground)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp oil (or substitute one tbsp with applesauce)
1/2 cup plain applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar (or Sucanat-- Sugar Cane Natural)
1/2 cup brown sugar (or Sucanat)
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or raisins)
Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In medium bowl, mix dry ingredients. In large bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add flour mixture and oats. Add chocolate chips or raisins just before batter comes together.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Store in airtight container.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Beth's Vegetable Pizza

Beth's Pizza:

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 pkg or 1 tbsp active dry yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
Pour flour into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and salt. Mix well. Add water, oil and honey; mix well. Cover with a moist cloth and place in a warm spot for 10 mins. to rise.
Punch down and press into greased 14 in pizza pan. Spread sauce and other ingredients on pizza crust. Bake at 425 for 15 to 20 mins or until crust is golden brown.
I like to add chopped bell peppers, artichoke hearts, sliced tomatoes, sliced olives, red onion, any fresh herbs you have, and a sprinkle of salt. Also, my favorite seasoning I use on everything--I found at Sam's Club is: Spice Islands Salad Toppings Garden Vegetable Italian Blend. I use it on everything including my pizza. It's just dehydrated vegetables but adds nice flavor.