Pumpkin Pancakes With Just Two Ingredients

That's right, there is just 2 ingredients in these delicious Pumpkin Pancakes.

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (or sweet potato or butternut squash)
• 4 eggs
• Coconut oil for cooking

Directions

• Put pumpkin and eggs in blender or food processor and blend until well combined.
• Grease griddle or pan with coconut oil and heat to medium high
• Turn griddle to medium low, pour batter by 1/4 cup onto griddle and cook for 7 minutes, flip over and cook 4 more minutes
• That's it!

Thanks WholeFoodsSimply for the idea!

Simple Pico de Gallo

We absolutely love this simple Pico de Gallo.  It's super quick to make and tastes amazing.

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups tomatoes diced tomatoes (Roma are my favorite!)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1-2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 limes, juiced

Directions

• Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

I go through A LOT of pumpkin pie spice this time of year.  But instead of buying it, I make my own and put it in an old Pumpkin Pie Spice jar.  I don't know how it comes out cost wise, but it sure is nice to just be able to whip some up when I run out.

Ingredients

• 2 TB Cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp cloves

Directions

• Mix all ingredients and pour (carefully) into container.  This will fit perfectly in a 1.12oz jar

Homemade "Cheez-It" Style Crackers

Looking for a healthier alternative to Cheez-Its or Goldfish crackers??  This is the perfect recipe.  It has so much flavor and it couldn't be easier.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used half cheddar and half Parmesan)
• 1/2 cup flour (You could use whole wheat or half and half.  I used half Oat Flour and half White) 
• 3 TB softened butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Any seasonings you want!  I used 1/4 tsp Paprika and almost 1 tsp Mesquite seasoning for a more BBQ flavor.  You can create pretty much whatever you want.  :)

Directions

• Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until you get a crumby mixture (you could also do this by hand of course)
• Add water 1/2 TB at a time until dough comes together and forms a ball (I only used 1 TB total)
• It will look something like this when ready

• Wrap in plastic wrap (or ziplock bag) and place in fridge for 20 or so minutes
• I divided into 2 balls and rolled one at a time inbetween 2 pieces of wax paper and transferred onto a silpat baking sheet.  Use slightly greased sheet if you do not have a silpat.
• Bake for about 11 minutes in 350 degree oven (check to make sure it's not burning)
• Let cool slightly, then cut into desired size/shapes.  
• Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

<3 Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer <3

The other day I made some Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer (this recipe uses sweetened condensed milk, which isn't super cheap.  I am going to experiment a bit more and try to find a cheaper homemade version)  But it was definitely a hit with the husband.  He will easily use 1/4 - 1/2 cup of creamer per cup of coffee (in his only slight defense, he does have a large coffee cup).

Since it 'tis the season, I decided I would make some Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer today (I was making many other Pumpkin things so it was good timing anyway).

Ingredients

• 1 cup Almond Milk (You can use half & half as well, or regular milk +1 TB melted butter)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (organic is best!)
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• dash of sea salt

Directions

• Pretty simple, just blend in food processor (or even blender) and you're done!  

Homemade Flour Tortillas - Lard free

Burritos are such a great lunch to send with the hubs to work, especially since I can make them ahead of time and freeze them.  It's cheap, it's easy and it's way better than fast food.  I make our own Refried Beans which saves us a fortune.  While tortillas aren't that expensive, since we're trying to stick to a mostly whole foods diet, or at least make food at home from scratch, I began looking around for a good Tortilla recipe.  Unfortunately, most of them contained lard, or bacon grease, or something along those lines.  Nope, definitely not what I was wanting.  It took some more digging but I finally found some Lard Free recipes.  They were all very similar.  Here's what I ended up making...

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup hot water

Directions

• Mix flour, salt and baking powder together
• With hands, mix in oil
• Add hot water and mix until a large ball of dough forms
• Let sit for at least 30 minutes
• Divide into balls (I originally did 12, but after the first couple I realized that was too many and the tortillas were too small.  I recommend about 8 balls of dough)
• Roll out into tortillas and cook on hot griddle (I set mine to 300 degrees)
• Cook 2-3 minutes each side

Divide into balls

Cook on griddle

Done

Add Homemade Refried Beans

 Add to freezer bags and freeze

Or add Homemade Salsa, Greek Yogurt and lettuce

Homemade Refried Beans

Making homemade refried beans couldn't be easier, not to mention way better for you.  Did you know 1 can of bean has anywhere from 400mg to 530mg of sodium?  Maybe even more?  And did  you know, when you make your own beans, that the equivalent of 1 can has about 3mg of sodium?  Yes that's right, 3mg vs 530mg.  I guess that's why canned beans cost so much more.  Normally you can find a can of beans for about $1 at the grocery store, yet it will only cost you about 20 cents to make your own, and that's not buying your beans in bulk. This is why I Soak and Cook Dry Beans.

Buy some Pinto Beans (in bulk or in a prepackaged bag).  If I'm not going to freeze any, I will use 3 cups of dried beans.  If you are wanting to make more and freeze them, I would suggest at least 6 cups of dried beans.

1. Measure 3 cups of dried beans, check for any rocks, etc.  Rinse and put into pot.  Cover with a couple inches of water and let soak, overnight preferably.
2. After the beans have soaked over night, drain water, rinse and add enough fresh water to pot to cover by beans a few inches.
3.  Bring to a boil and cook on medium-low to medium (depending on your stove).  They will cook faster if you cover the pot, but watch out for it to boil over.  You may need a lower heat.
4.  Cook until beans are soft.
5. From here you can mash the beans with a potato masher, but I prefer to put them in my Food Processor in small batches and process with a small amount of liquid from the pot.
6. Once beans are the consistency you desire, add salt to taste and 2-3 tsp of cumin.
7. Stir and you're done!  These freeze well, so from here you can enjoy or freeze and enjoy later.

I like to pair mine with Homemade Salsa.  Also much better for you than that processed garbage.

Avocado Mango Salad

I have a lot of produce getting too ripe in my house this week!  So as I was looking around deciding what to have for lunch, I spotted my Avocados and Mango, perfectly ripe...  Mmm Avocado Mango Salad!  Perfect.

Ingredients:

• 1 Avocado, cubbed
• 1 Mango, cubbed
• Red Onion (to taste)
• Juice of 1 Lime
• Sprinkle with Balsamic Vinegar (1-2 tsp)
• Pepper to taste, optional

Make Your Own Oatmeal Flour

Making your own Oatmeal flour couldn't be more simple.  Take your oats, process them until you get flour.  This article explains the best way to use Oatmeal flour when substituting for White or Wheat.  I substitute half  of whatever flour for Oatmeal flour in all my baking recipes.

Onion Ring Fried Egg

Tired of the same old boring fried eggs?  Do something a little different!

Heat up some Olive Oil in a pan, sear one side of the onion ring, flip it over and slowly crack an egg inside the onion ring.  Continue cooking until egg is done!

Healthy Homemade Ranch Dip

My husband will only eat celery, carrots and cucumbers if he has ranch dip to go with it.  Have you seen the ingredients on that stuff?  Holy cow.  Aside from Salt, I don't have a single one of those "ingredients" in my kitchen.  So, what do you do?  You make your own!  Oh yea!  Seriously, this is the BEST "Ranch" dip I have ever tasted.

Ingredients:

• Greek Yogurt
• Garlic (1-2 cloves)
• Green Onion (1-2 TSP) You can also use Chives, the onion taste is pretty strong with green onions
• Parsley (1 tsp dried, 1-2 fresh) (Fresh is best, I only had dried this time)
• Sea Salt (to taste)

Banana Applesauce All Natural Healthy 5 Ingredient Cookies

Every now and then my sweet tooth acts up and I want a cookie.  But I don't want the types of cookies I used to eat.  No, I want a healthy cookie.  Here's a great, 5 Ingredient cookie for such an occasion.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Mashed Ripe Bananas
• 1 cup Rolled Oats
• 1/4 cup Applesauce (HOMEMADE, none of that store bought sugar added stuff)
• 1 TB Ground Flax
• 2 TB Cacao Nibs (All Natural, Raw, Organic Chocolate) (You could also used raisins)

Directions:

• Mix all Ingredients
• Bake at 350* for 20 minutes
• Enjoy

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Ok well, these didn't really turn out to be "chips" in the traditional sense.  They did not get crunchy but they were still so good.  A great alternative to unhealthy potato chips.

Ingredients:

• Sweet Potato (Yam)
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt

Directions:

• Slice Sweet Potato into 1/8" pieces
• Drizzle with Olive Oil
• Sprinkle with Salt
• Toss to Coat
• Place on Baking Sheet
• Bake in 400* oven for 25-30 minutes

Homemade Refried Beans

The process for making homemade refried beans is similar to the process of making black beans, just with the added step of "refrying" them.

First, soak your beans over night with enough water for them to expand.

Rinse and put in crock pot (you can cook these on the stove in a regular pot too).  Add enough water to cover by 2-3 inches.  Cook on High 4 hours, or Low 8 hours.

Drain, reserving some of the water.  Move beans to pot, add in some of the bean water and desired seasonings (I used salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin,  paprika and minced garlic cloves).  Cook, stirring often, until beans reduce.  Add more bean water (or milk for creamier beans) if needed.  Once reduced and getting mushy, you can mash them with a potato masher or use a blender.  I added more of the bean water to make them creamier (It's like of like adding milk to mashed potatoes).

From here, you can enjoy and/or freeze.  :)

Whole Delicious Chicken Salad

Eating healthy does NOT have to be boring or tasteless.  This chicken salad I made today was fabulous!  I had some leftover chicken sitting in the fridge I had cooked up in the slow cooker the other night.  Along with fresh organic grapes, organic raisins and sunflower seeds, this salad was exactly what I was hungry for.  This has 20g protein, 2g Fat and just 153 Calories.

You could add some Greek Yogurt to this and make it creamier but I thought it was just fine without.

Ingredients:

• 3oz Cooked Chicken (shredded is better)
• 8-10 Grapes
• Small Handful Raisins
• TB Sunflower Seeds (raw, unsalted)

YUM!

Baked Coconut Carrot Fries

So I found this wonderful recipe for Baked Coconut Carrot Fries and had to give it a try.  WOW!  They taste like Sweet Potato fries!  So delicious.  I added some extra seasoning, because that's just how I roll.

Ok, I'll be honest...  The first batch I forgot to set the timer and I burnt the fries.  So, the fries in the first picture are not the same as the second picture.  Hey, it happens. :)

Ingredients:

• Carrots
• Coconut Oil
• Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder to taste

Directions:

• Cut carrots into French Fry size pieces
• Mix all ingredients
• Bake at 400*F for 30-45 minutes (check for doneness, bake time varies on how thick the fries are)

And there you go!  Deliciousness!