No Bake Chocolate Carrot Oatmeal Bites

My kids love bite-sized foods/snacks that they can hold in their hands. So one day I thought about making some little no bake oatmeal bites which I knew they would love. I wanted to add a veggie twist, and that is when I came up with this no bake chocolate carrot oatmeal bites recipe.
The veggies come from two different sources, the tub of baby food puree, and some grated carrots.

This recipe calls for 6 simple ingredients and can be easily put together.

Start by finely chopping the carrot in a food processor. I used my beloved Ninja Nutri Blender System. This is by far the most used small kitchen appliance in my kitchen. I use it almost every day to prepare healthy nutritious meals for our family.

Next, mix together everything except the oatmeal in a bowl. When these ingredients are all mixed well, stir in the oatmeal.

Then, shape into little bite sized balls and refrigerate for a few hours. I usually make this the night before and serve it for breakfast or snack the next day.

No Bake Chocolate Carrot Oatmeal Bites

1 small carrot chopped in a food processor (about 1/4 cup)

4 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbs peanut butter

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 tub baby food puree (4 oz)

5 pouches oatmeal (about 1 1/4 cup)

Finely chop the carrot in a food processor and mix in a bowl with the cocoa powder, peanut butter, maple syrup and baby food puree. Stir in the oatmeal until combined. Shape into bite sized balls and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Here is the printable version of the recipe.

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Peanut Butter Spirulina Toast

I've been hearing more and more about Spirulina powder recently, and thought I should get my hands on some and give it a try. One of the first things I tried was to use it for peanut butter toast.
I was a little skeptical on whether or not my kids will eat green peanut butter toast, but I was pleasantly surprised that the baby kept coming back for more.

Here's how I made it. It is so simple and only needs 3 ingredients.

All you need is to take some peanut butter and place it in a bowl, mix in a couple of dashes of spirulina powder, and spread on a piece of toast. Optional: you could sprinkle in some stevia if you wanted to add some sweetness to it.

Super healthy, and it tasted pretty good...That's what I call a Win-Win situation :)

Peanut Butter Spirulina Toast

2 Tbsp peanut butter

a few dashes spirulina powder

Stevia (optional, for sweetness)

1 toast bread

Mix together peanut butter, spirulina, and stevia (optional) in a bowl, then spread the mixture on a piece of toast bread.

Here is a printable version of the recipe.

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Veggie Marshmallow Cereal Bars

My kids have recently discovered how much they loved rice crispy treats and every time they see marshmallows at the store, my oldest always requests me to make some. I don't blame them, because let's face it, life is so much better with marshmallow crispy treats :)

Since I've been into making my own veggie powders with my newest favorite toy, I am constantly thinking of ways to add veggie powders into recipes. So a few days ago, my oldest helped me make a batch of veggie marshmallow cereal bars and he absolutely loved everything about it from the fact that he got to help me make a mess in the kitchen, to the fun of picking out which "color" (AKA which veggie powder) to use for each batch that we made. And of course the best part was eating it. Even the baby kept going back for more, not realizing that I infused it with some veggies (Insert evil laugh....Hahaha...).

By the way, if you are looking for a good heavy duty dehydrator, you should definitely look into the Excalibur dehydrator. Definitely worth every penny i put into it. So far I've dehydrated fruits, veggies, herbs, fruit leather, made powders, jerky, and even made yogurt many times in it with great success

Anyway, back to the veggie marshmallow treats, to make this recipe, you start with the usual steps of making rice crispy treats, which is the melting of butter and marshmallow in a pot. Then you will add the veggie powder and mix well before adding the cereal.

I've used crispy rice cereal and cheerios for this recipe, but i'd imagine you could use any cereal you have in hand. Once the cereal is blended with the marshmallow mixture, I placed it in an oiled 8x8 pan and let cool. Cut into squares and serve.

The first time I made it, I used my homemade pumpkin spinach powder. I've also used carrot powder in this recipe with great success.

The second time around, we didn't even bother cutting it into squares, my boys just ate it straight out of the pan...hahaha...

Veggie Marshmallow Cereal Bars

2 Tbsp butter 2 c mini marshmallows 1/2 tsp veggie powder 3 c crispy rice cereal or other cold cereal Melt butter and marshmallows in a pot, add veggie powder and mix well. Add the cereal and stir until combined. Place in an oiled 8x8 pan and let cool before cutting and serving.

Here is the printable version of the recipe.

I wouldn't exactly claim this to be a guilt free recipe, but it sure feels good to know that you get some veggies in your snacks/dessert, especially when you have picky eaters like I do :)

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Baby Food Puree Powder

I've been on a powder making craze these last few weeks. One of the things I've been excited about turning into powder are baby food purees. The other day I found some organic baby food puree pouches on clearance for $.40 each, and I couldn't resist grabbing a bunch of them. It was spinach pumpkin flavor and I knew my kids won't want to eat it as is, so I decided to turn them into powder so I could sneak it into other recipes that they would eat.

I started by squirting out the entire content of the tube into a bowl and giving it a quick stir so that the puree will be an even consistency.

Next, I spread the puree on a parchment lines tray of my Excalibur dehydrator and set it to dehydrate at 135 F until completely dried and brittle.

I then broke the dehydrated baby food puree into small chunks and used a spice grinder to turn it into powder.

The color became darker after dehydration, but it seemed to return to its lighter color after grinding it in the spice grinder. I then stored the powder in and airtight jar until ready for use.

I've also powdered different kinds of home made baby food purees and so far i've been really satisfied with how they turned out.

I absolutely love powdering baby food purees. It is a great way to make fresh produce last a little longer (if you make your own purees), it takes up less space (if you have a bunch of baby food puree jars that are expiring soon), and the possibilities are endless when it comes to adding it into recipes.

You could even rehydrate it with some hot water and turn it back to baby food purees.

Baby Food Puree Powder

Baby food puree (home made/ pouches/ jars)

Instructions:

Mix the puree with a spoon to an even consistency before spreading on a parchment or fruit leather mat-lined dehydrator tray. Leave it to dehydrate at 135 F until completely dry and brittle.

Break into chunks and grind in a spice grinder to turn into powder.

Store in an air tight container.

Here is a printable version of the recipe

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Baby Food Puree Meat Sauce

You've probably heard of sneaking some veggies into pasta sauces as a great way to add extra nutrition, and I've done this several times with shredded carrots, bell pepper, etc with great success.

But the other day I wanted to make pasta and meat sauce for dinner only to realize that I didn't have any veggies to add to it. So I decided to use baby food puree instead.

This is another simple recipe with just a handful of ingredients.

I started by browning the ground beef and draining it. Then I poured in the can of pasta sauce and mixed in a couple of teaspoons of baby food puree. I used squash and we barely even noticed it was there. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, Italian seasoning, etc.

I served it with pasta and the picky eater actually finished his whole bowl, which made me so happy :)

Baby Food Puree Meat Sauce

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 jar pasta sauce

1-2 tsp baby food puree

Seasonings of your choice (such as salt, pepper, sugar, Italian seasoning)

Combine all ingredients and cook on medium heat. Season to taste.

Serve over pasta or rice, or as pizza sauce

Here is a printable version of the recipe

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Yummy Veggie Cake Bites

I saw someone's post about cake pops the other day, and it made me want to make some. So I set out on a mission to make some cake bites with a little veggie twist to add a bit of a healthy edge to these yummy treats.

I love how simple this recipe is and how few ingredients are needed, compared to other cake pop recipes I've seen online.

I started by crumbling some sheet cake in a bowl. You can use any kind of box cake mix you like, or to double up on the veggies, try using my baby food puree cake recipe.

In a separate bowl I combined the softened cream cheese and the baby food puree and beat with a hand mixer such as this one until smooth and combined. Then, mix the cream cheese mixture with the crumbled cake until it forms a dough that you can work with.
NOTE: this recipe also works great with veggie smoothies in the place of baby food puree in the same amount.

You can also taste test a small piece and see if it is sweet enough for your taste. If it needs a little more sweetness you can add some honey or your sweetener of choice to the cream cheese mixture before combining it with the crumbled cake. Next, shape the dough into cake bites in your preferred size.

Keep the cake bites in the fridge for half an hour or so to harden. Then you can decorate them by dipping them into melted chocolate and various toppings of your choice, or you could just eat them as is. I didn't really need to decorate mine since my boys were all over these as soon as they came out of the fridge.

I especially love that the cake bites aren't overly sweet due to the overload of frosting in the dough, and the fact that there are hidden veggies in it :)

Here is a printable version of the recipe.

Yummy Veggie Cake Bites

1/2 of a 9x13 pan of cake (crumbled)

2 oz softened cream cheese

2 and 1/2 Tbsp baby food puree

Beat together the cream cheese and baby food puree, then mix together with the crumbled cake until if forms a dough. Shape into cake bites and refrigerate for 30min. Serve as is, or decorate before serving.

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Spinach Mango Baby Food Puree Smoothie

We had a bunch of spinach and i thought of experimenting with some green smoothies with a baby food puree spin. I love veggie smoothies because sometimes it is just a lot easier to drink your veggies rather than eating them. Plus they are so great during hot summer days.

This smoothie recipe  has five simple ingredients and all you have to do is combine everything in the blender and let it do all the work. 

I love using the V8 veggie blend healthy greens juice for this recipe because it gives a little extra  sweetness along with another dose of veggies.

I absolutely love my ninja blender, especially the nutriblend feature which extracts the nutrients from your ingredients and mixes it all together really nicely in the smoothie.

And the best part?  My picky toddlers actually love this smoothie. Woohoo...

Spinach Mango Baby Food Puree Smoothie

2 cups spinach
1 cup frozen mango
1 jar baby food banana
1 single serving container greek yogurt
1 cup V8 veggie blend healthy greens juice

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

 

Here is the printable version of the recipe. 

 

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