Spaghetti Squash

We took the plunge and tried spaghetti squash. It makes a visually different spaghetti, but it turned out very tasty. And it was EASIER than noodles!

I halved the squash (I used two) and threw it on a lightly oiled pan and baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I was shooting for 30 minutes, but life happened.

Then cooked up my beef (1.5 pounds)/jarred spaghetti sauce (1.5 jars) while shredding the insides of the squash.

Mixed it all together and let it simmer 5 minutes to soften up the squash the last little bit.

The husband B, notorious picky eater, ate it right up! And my kids were done before I had time to settle the twins. Next time I'll try to get a picture so you know what to expect. :)

Miraculous Nap = SNACKS!!

My children napped today. All four of them. I did an amazing thing. I put away clean dishes, I started a load of laundry... and I made snacks. Delicious snacks. Please excuse my horrible iPod photos... it was handy.

#1: No Bake Cookies

I used the recipe from here.

1 cup Almond Meal
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Coconut
2 Tbsp Ground Flax
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Coconut oil.

Mix and form into balls. It made around a dozen... it is hard to know because I kept eating the dough...



#2: Coconut Fudge Truffles

Used the same recipe from a few weeks back. Adapted from here.

1/3 cup Coconut Oil
2/3 cup Almond Butter
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Cocoa
1 tsp Vanilla
Shredded Coconut

Mix first five ingredients, refrigerate until mixture is slightly stiffened. Then form balls in (approximately 1 tsp) and roll in coconut. Store
in the freezer!

#3: Chia Seed Energy Bars

I've been reading energy bar recipes and this is a compilation of a bunch of them... so I don't have a base recipe I went off of.... 

25 Whole Dates (pitted) 
1/2 cup Whole Almonds
1/4 cup Chia Seeds
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

Pulse all ingredients in food processor. Add more dates if the mixture is too dry. Press into a waxed paper lined container (I used a 6"x8" Pyrex) and chill. Cut when they are chilled. Mine were initially too crumbly, but I added more dates and they are a much better consistency! :)

Healthy Chocolate?

So my goal is to eat better, you know that from scratch thing. Also Primal/Paleo. But sometimes I fail because I like grains... and dairy. A LOT.

But I NEED chocolate, and I found my new (healthy!) love...

Paleo Hazelnut Fudge
2/3 Cup of Almond Butter
1/3 Cup of Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup of Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup of Honey
1 tsp of Vanilla
1/2 Cup crushed Hazelnuts.  

Mix it all together and throw in an 8x8 pan in the freezer. Cut and eat by the handful. This does need to stay in the freezer as it melts super easily!