Muesli!

This recipe makes an ENORMOUS batch of - for serious - the best muesli/granola you've ever had. AND it's a gazillion times cheaper than store-bought granola (yes, a gazillion - I did the math). The basis of this recipe was swiped from 101cookbooks.com, where it's suggested that you stir in sliced dried fruit at the end. However, Lupe and I decided to eat it without the fruit; instead, we sprinkled it on top of some greek yogurt and a spoonful of cherry preserves. Heaven in a bowl.

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried shredded coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Heat the honey and vegetable oil over low heat in a small saucepan. When it's all warm and liquid-ey, pour it over the dry ingredients and mix well. (It works best if you add a little at a time, stirring in between additions).

Spread the mixture out in two baking pans (the whole process is MUCH easier if you use pans with rims!). Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, try not to eat it all at once.

Strawberry Oatmeal Coconut Muffins

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

1 C oatmeal
1 C plain yogurt
1 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C canola oil
2/3 C brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 C shredded coconut
1 1/2 C fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped

Topping:
1/4 C white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP shredded coconut

In a large bowl, combine oatmeal and yogurt and let soak at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In separate bowl mix oil, brown sugar, egg, and coconut, then add to oatmeal mixture. Blend well. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten. Gently fold in strawberries.

Grease muffin tins or line with paper liners. Spoon mixture into tins, filling about 3/4 full (should make about 18 muffins). In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of each muffin.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Chickpea and Brown Rice Burgers

Easy to make and totally delicious. I tried these first as burgers, and then a couple days later made them again but formed little 1 inch cubes instead (for a cube-themed meal!). I served the cubes with a yogurt-cucumber-lime sauce that was pretty awesome too if you're looking for a different option... Enjoy!

Burgers:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2/3 C cooked brown rice
2 TBSP oats, chopped finely
1 medium carrot, grated
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
2 medium scallions, minced
2 clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp lemon or lime zest
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large egg, beaten

Salad:
1/2 C cucumber, diced
2 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 small red onion, slivered
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon or lime
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a medium bowl, mash chickpeas until a course texture is reached. Add brown rice and mash until well combined. Add oats, carrots, parsley, scallions, cilantro, garlic, lemon/lime zest, coriander, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add egg, mix until combined, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In a separate small bowl, add all salad ingredients and toss gently. Set aside.

Set oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray, form burger mixture into 5 patties and arrange on sheet. Lightly coat tops of burgers with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip burgers to second side, and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Serve burgers topped with salad. Yum!

Pineapple Ginger Upside-down Cake

Okay, here's another adaptation of a recipe I found online (because we all know how I can't just follow directions...). It came out tasting like some amazing cross between dense molassesy gingerbread and pineapple cake. Awesome awesome awesome - this dessert is so worth the calories.

Ingredients:

Topping
1/4 C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 C (packed) brown sugar
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced

Cake
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 C molasses
1/2 C (packed) brown sugar
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
2 TBSP fresh grated ginger root
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C whole milk or soy milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1/4 cup butter in 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium heat. Add 2/3 cup brown sugar and stir until mixture begins to form thick mass, about 4 minutes. Continue cooking, without stirring, until butter mixture spreads and covers bottom of skillet and bubbles appear all over surface, about 6 minutes longer. Remove skillet from heat. Arrange pineapple slices close together in concentric circles over sugar mixture in skillet (we ended up with two layers of pineapple).

Sift dry ingredients into medium sized bowl. Using electric mixer, beat molasses, brown sugar, melted butter, grated ginger, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add half of dry ingredients, then milk, then remaining half of dry ingredients, beating until well blended after each addition. Spread batter evenly over pineapple in skillet.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in skillet 5 minutes. Run small knife around edge to loosen cake. Place platter over cake in skillet and invert cake onto platter. Cool at least 20 minutes. Serve warm by itself, or with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Banana Oatmeal Sunflower Chocolate Chip Cookies

Surprisingly amazing. And you can feel good about eating them because sunflower seeds are superfood. For real. PS - this had a flour typo, but now it's all fixed up and ready to rock...enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup oats (the quick cook kind)
2 medium bananas
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate (or dark chocolate!) chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and mash bananas. In large bowl beat oil, bananas, and sugar. Mix flour and oats with sunflower seeds and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to bananas and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add chocolate chips. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies a little on sheet (because they won't really spread in the oven). Bake about 15 minutes until edges are golden brown. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.