Chocolate Oatmeal Avocado Smoothie

 I don't know about you but we've been experiencing humid and muggy days here in Pennsylvania.  This makes wanting to make a real meal unappealing since turning on the oven or stove just adds extra hotness.  The quickest, easiest, and coldest meal or snack in my book is a smoothie.  In lieu of frozen bananas I decided to go with an avocado to give the smoothie it's creamy texture.  Oh my goodness, best decision ever.  This tasted like dessert thick, creamy, and cooling!  I will definitely be making this combo more often, so delicious.

  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/3 cup of old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 of a refrigerated avocado (cut into chunks)
• 1/2 scoop of  vanilla protein powder (I used Spiru-tein)
• 2 tablespoons of dark cocoa powder
• 3 ice cubes

Directions: Throw everything except for the ice cubes in the blender and blend until smooth.  Add ice cubes and blend until combined.  Pour and enjoy!

What's your favorite go-to summer meal or snack?

Crunchy Quinoa Granola

I cannot stop making this granola, it is so good!  We are traveling next week to Houston for Spring break and I am definitely making a batch or two to take with us for an easy airport snack or breakfast over Greek yogurt.  (I am open to any recs for things to do and see and places to eat in Houston too!)  This recipe comes from Two Peas and Their Pod.  I modified it a bit since we are not fans of super sweet foods while using whatever ingredients we had on hand.

Crunchy Quinoa Granola (adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)

• 3/4 cup Red Quinoa (The first time I made it, I used both white + red quinoa it turned out great.) 
• 2 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
• 1 cup Raw Almonds
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• 1/8 cup Brown Sugar
• 1.5 tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 4oz container Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1 tablespoon Soybean Oil
• 2 tablespoons Bourbon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Dried Cranberries, Blueberries and Mango Mix
• 1/4-1/3 cup Dried Goji Berries (You can get these super cheap at your local Asian market)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper.  (I've used my Silpat mat and my granola is still a tad not crunchy even after leaving it in for 40+
minutes while stirring it every 10 minutes.  I have even reduced the applesauce and no dice.  So next time I am going to try the parchment paper.)

2. Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain well.  In a large bowl, combine quinoa, oats, almonds, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together applesauce, honey, oil, and vanilla extract.  Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Pour the granola evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until granola is golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes.

4. Take out of oven and stir in the dried cranberries, blueberries, mangos and goji berries. Let granola cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to one month. (Believe me it won't last this long!)

Notes:  If you are reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe, reduce the amount of salt.  I made this mistake the first time around.  It wasn't terrible enough to throw the batch away but at times I could taste the salt over the other flavors.  Also after letting the granola cool completely add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips for a special treat!

Orange Macadamia Nut Granola

My mom wanted to know what to buy my hubby for his stocking for Christmas and I told her he liked Macadamia nuts.  Well she proceeded to buy him 3 jars, so I have been trying to find healthy recipes using these babies.  I stumbled upon this recipe and tailored it to what we had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups rolled oats (used old fashioned oatmeal)
• .5 cup sweetened coconut flakes (used unsweetened coconut flakes)
• Zest of 1 orange (used 1 large orange, may use more the next time since hubby loves orange zest)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup pecans (omitted and used half a cup of dry roasted macadamia nuts)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (used 2 tablespoons of soybean oil)
• Juice of half an orange
• 1/4 cup honey (used a little less)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract (used a little more since I didn't have an 1/8 measuring spoon)

Directions:

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Grease baking sheet and set aside. (Skipped this and used a Silpat baking mat instead.)  
• In a medium bowl, add oats, coconut, zest, salt, macadamia nuts, and pecans and stir to combine.  
• In a small microwavable bowl, combine butter, orange juice, honey, maple syrup, and almond extract. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, microwave for another 30 seconds until mixture is completely melted. Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine. (I still microwaved the liquid even though I didn't use butter.)  
• Spread mixture onto baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 9 minutes.

The finished product, enjoy!