Good-Bye Sugar- Why and How to Remove Sugar from Your Diet

     Most of us have a sweet tooth. We all love to enjoy a piece of cake, brownie sundae, chocolate bar...cupcake.... but these things are all jam packed full of SUGAR!!! Why don't we like sugar? Well, our taste buds love it, but the rest of our body could probably do pretty well without it!

Healthy Honey Graham Crackers

Graham crackers are one of my favorite snack foods ever! My little brother almost always has a stash of them in my mom's bag or in the pantry, and he isn't the only one who eats them! But, most graham crackers aren't the healthiest choice out there and they are full of things you probably don't want to eat. So, that's why I decided to make healthier graham crackers that aren't full of chemicals and additives, refined sugars and flours! These are full of flavor from the honey, whole wheat flour and cinnamon, you'd never guess they were healthy!

 

There are a lot of graham cracker recipes out there, and I am not saying mines the best (you can be the judge of that!) but mine is one of the simpler ones. I wanted a recipe that was both simple, easy to follow and quick as well as healthy, full of flavor and delicious, so I created my own!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup Honey
1/4 cup Coconut Oil at room temp.
4 tbs Olive Oil
2 tbs Water (You might need more if your dough is a little dry)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla

Start my mixing together the dry ingredients. To keep from having clumps of Baking Soda, spoon it into your hand first and get rid of the clumps before adding it to your mix.

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing to combine.

It should come into a dough ball, but if it becomes crumbly, like mine did, add water bit by bit until it forms a dough ball.

 

Make sure you add the water while mixing, so parts of the dough doesn't go soggy.

 

Perfect! Now that the dough has formed a ball, we can move on to the next step.

place dough onto a well floured surface and give it a few squeezes to make sure all the crumbs won't fall off.

 

Roll the dough out fairly thin, but not see-through. Make sure it is even so that the cookies will all be the same thickness.

 

 

Cut you dough into desired shapes. I used a circle shape, but feel free to have fun with the shapes!  Use a fork and knife to make the traditional design, or draw any shape you would like!

Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes, or until they have gone a golden brown and the house if filled with a delicious cinnamon aroma! Let them cool before enjoying!

 

And we're done! See how simple homemade graham crackers are to make? And not only are they simple, but healthy and delicious as well!

 

I had fun with mine and drew smiley faces on a few of my cookies! They look cute, smell heavenly and taste just like store-bought( or maybe a little better!).

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

H. Banana

Whole Wheat Naan Bread

Naan bread is so delicious! I first had it store-bought and I liked it then, but home made is even better! If you've never had Naan before, you should try it! Believe me, you won't be disappointed!

Most recipes for Naan that I've found use all white flour, sugar, dairy milk, and use little or no seasoning. In my recipe I use whole wheat flour, honey, almond milk( though there isn't anything wrong with using dairy milk, I just like the flavor almond milk gives to the bread) and spices for a hearty and more flavorful bread!

Ingredients:
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour( or 2 cups Whole Wheat and 2 cups All Purpose)
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Ground Corriander
1/4 tsp Curry Powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 cup Warm Water
1 tbs Honey
1 tbs Dry Active Yeast
3/4 cup Almond Milk
1 cup Greek Yogurt

Start by warming your water. It should be lukewarm temp. Whisk in honey and yeast.

Let that sit while we move on to the next step. Mix dry ingredients( Flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground coriander, curry powder, and garam masala) together.

 

Back to the yeast, it should have started to rise and bubble. You should also smell a familiar just-baked-bread smell.

 

To this, add the almond milk( Note: use any milk you desire. Dairy, Goat, Cashew, Coconut..... any will work!) and yogurt. Whisk to combined.  Add this to the dry mix and combine. Knead just until the dough has come together. It will be a sticky dough.

Take the dough and place it in a bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place for at least an hour.

The dough should double in size. Once it has done so, we are ready to get cooking!

There should be lovely yeast bubbles all over!

Heat some butter, coconut oil, or olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. On a floured surface, roll out little balls of the dough. They should be fairly small.

Roll the balls out very thin. They will puff up in the skillet, so don't worry!

Place one unbaked Naan bread in the skillet and cover for 1-2 minutes.

It should have lovely bubbles and starting to go brown on the edges. Flip and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and then repeat with the rest of your dough.

They smell so amazing and they taste wonderful too! I always end up eating the first Naan bread I make, just to make sure it taste good!

We like to have Naan with Tiki Masala and Curry dishes. They are also great for snacks or even used instead of sandwich bread! You can switch up the seasonings and even use these for gyros!

I hope you give this recipe a try, and please share this post and my blog with a friend! Everyone needs to try Naan bread, and making it at home is a great way to introduce it to your menu! If you love Naan just as much as I do, please follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

Stay tuned for more healthy living post every Monday and Friday!

Keep healthy and SAFE!
H. Banana

Healthy Pumpkin Donut Cookies

 

Now, I know what you're thinking. How can donuts be healthy? Donuts are one of those foods that you just think 'unhealthy' when you hear it. Well, the other day I was in the mood to bake and Mom wanted something pumpkin, so what did I make? Pumpkin Donut Cookies, that are, you guessed it, healthy!
These cookies are so delicious and comforting and to make them even better they are free of refined-sugars, oil, and dairy! They are a perfect blend of honey, cinnamon and pumpkin, giving you a satisfying snack without making you want to hit the gym after eating a few (Or all) of them!
Are you hungry yet? Ready to eat a plateful of hot donut cookies? Well, lets get started then!

Ingredients:
1 cup Almond Flour
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
2 Eggs
3 TBS Honey
2 TSP Vanilla
1/4 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 TSP Baking Powder
5 TBS Pumpkin Puree
Pinch of Salt
2 TSP Cinnamon
1 TSP Almond Extract

Start with beating a lot of air into your eggs. They should at least double in volume if not triple. Then add the Honey, Vanilla, and Almond Extract.

Next, add the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and blend. Then add the pumpkin and cinnamon

Once your mixture looks like this, we can get on with the cookies. Heat your oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick paper. You can use a donut maker or donut pan here but, because I don't have one, we're just going to go with cookies.

Spoon them out on to the pan, about a tablespoon's worth.

Flatten a little with the back of a spoon and then bake for 15 minutes.

As they bake a wonderful smell with fill the kitchen making you think of Autumn and pumpkin pies!

When they come out of the oven, let the cool a bit before placing them on a cooling rack!

 

 

Oh my goodness, yum!

Let them cool a bit before enjoying them friends or devouring the whole batch by yourself!

 Crisp on the outside and soft in the inside, these cookies are perfect of those cold winter days, or when you are in the mood for Autumn!

I hope you've enjoyed these donut cookies as much as I did! Please share with a friend!

Keep it Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

Quick and Easy Sweet Potato

I love sweet potatoes but if I want to have one for lunch, I have to plan it out at breakfast so they are done by lunch time! Not anymore though! With this new recipe, that I found on Pinterest, I can have a sweet potato at short notice! For the original recipe, see my recipe page.

You will need:
 1 potato per serving
Butter
Parmesan Cheese(Shredded)
Cinnamon
Honey
Salt and Pepper

To start with, wash and dry your potatoes and use a fork to poke holes in them. Place them in a paper plate and microwave them for about 10 minutes (If your potatoes are smaller you might not need that long. I did two at a time and they took about 12-13 minutes)

When the potatoes are soft to the touch, take them out of the microwave. Slice them in half and then make little slits along the cut side. Don't cut all the way down though, just half way.

Cut up the butter into little squares.

Add them to the tops of the potatoes

Now, decide whether you want to do cheese or cinnamon. If cinnamon, add cinnamon and honey to the potatoes. If cheese, add salt and pepper along with the cheese to the potatoes.

I did some of both. Now, set your oven to broil and place the potatoes in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the butter and cinnamon start to bubble. Take them out and allow them to cool for a bit before trying to eat them!

They smelled so good at this point!

Place them on a plate and enjoy!

I made these for my family for lunch and we all loved them! My personal favorite was the cheese one but the cinnamon/honey ones were really tasty too! If you try these let me know what you think!

Keep it Healthy and Safe!

H.Banana