Tag Archives: applesauce

Nutty Fruity Granola

Posted in Breakfast, Simple and Delicious by

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My kids love all sorts of granola, especially with fruits and nuts. I enjoy a bit of it tossed on top of Greek yogurt and fruits. Store-bought granola can be a time saver, but they are usually very heavy on sugar/corn syrup (or another sweetener) and fat. Granola, which could be something healthy and good for you often takes a backseat due to the many bad calories.

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So, that nudged me to try a homemade granola recipe. This super easy granola recipe uses ingredients that you are likely to find in your pantry, along with a fresh apple to give that fall flair – albeit we are really closer to winter than fall!!

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The hardest part of this recipe is really keeping an eye on the oat mixture as it slowly transforms into granola. You do have to take a peek every 15 min or so, and slowly toss them around to make sure they get cooked evenly without getting burnt. What I truly loved about this recipe was how I could control the amount of added sweetness. Even though honey or maple syrup is better than refined sugar, it’s still calories. Also, by adding in some applesauce, I was able to cut back on the oil as well.

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I hope you will give this recipe a try. I really am not sure how long this would keep fresh, especially with fresh apples in it. I would think they should keep well in an airtight container for about a week.

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Fruity Nutty Granola with Apples

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 gala apple (or another firm apple of your choice), finely chopped
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 scoop vanilla flavored protein powder (optional)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted this)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 275F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, measure out old fashioned oats, chopped almonds, , chopped apples, chia, protein powder and coconut. Mix in the spices, including salt, if using.
3. In a small bowl, combine honey, coconut oil and apple sauce.
4. Add the honey mixture to the oats mixture and mix thoroughly to ensure all ingredients are well coated.
5. Transfer the granola mix on to the pan and spread the mixture evenly. Place in the preheated oven. Bake for 45-60 minutes lightly turning over the mixture every 15 minutes.
6. Remove the tray from the oven and let the granola cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container.

Hope this granola brightens your morning a little – especially because they truly are low in sugar and fat.

Lighter Chocolate Chip Bread

Posted in Simple and Delicious by

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Chocolate! What is not to love about it!!!

This recipe is a spinoff from the original recipe for Cinnamon-Swirl Chocolate Chip Bread by Sally’s Baking Addiction. The first time I baked this bread, I must confess I felt like I was transported to a great pastry shop somewhere! The smell of chocolate and cinnamon permeated the entire house and had my kids dash to the kitchen wondering what was baking!

Original Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

Original Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction

To top it off, I took some of the bread to work that morning (yes, the bread still slightly warm…needless to say, everyone raved about it and I obviously gave credit to Sally. I knew after the first loaf that this recipe was going to be keeper, but I wanted to find a way to “healthify” it up a little!

I thought cutting down the sugar content was quite easy to accomplish. Sally’s recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar with cinnamon to use in the cinnamon layer. Personally, I could do without it! So, there it is – my first calorie-saving switch was to eliminate the cinnamon sugar layer and instead use 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in the batter!

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Calorie-saving tip #2 – replace some of the oil with unsweetened applesauce! I substituted half the oil with the applesauce and you wouldn’t miss much of the moistness! Next time, I am going to try it with pureed prunes instead of applesauce to see how it turns out! I would imagine it will result in an equally delicious loaf with darker color! Yum!

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Final nutrient-boosting tip (#3) – substitute 3/4 cup of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat. Yes, yes, white flour baked goods are delicious, but at least I feel a bit better knowing almost half the flour is whole-wheat! 🙂

"Lightened Up" Version - Can you tell the difference except for chocolate chip topping vs. chopped chocolate?

“Lightened Up” Version – Can you tell the difference except for chocolate chip topping vs. chopped chocolate?

This recipe is pretty simple to put together. As usual, measure out the dry ingredients, whip up the wet ingredients and fold in the dry into the wet making sure not to release your stress during the mixing process! 🙂 Gentle does it! My recommendation is to save your stress release for another bread recipe that calls for extreme amount of kneading! Gentle mixing results in a lighter bread that is not tough! And oh, another word of caution…this bread takes a long time to bake – almost an hour! So, you have to be patient!

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Enjoy!

Lighter Chocolate Chip Bread

  • Servings: 12
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Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup mini or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 egg at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce-oil mixture (I spooned in applesauce halfway up a 1/3 measuring cup and topped with oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional:
2 tablespoons of sweetened coconut flakes
1 tablespoon of chocolate chips

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350F; Spray a nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray on all sides and set aside. Alternatively, you can lay a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray over the sides of the pan. Parchment helps to remove the loaf easily from the pan.
2. Measure out the dry ingredients and sift into a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Mix in the sugars till all lumps are broken down. Stir in the buttermilk, applesauce-oil combo and vanilla.
4. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients, along with chocolate chips taking care not to overmix.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with some sweetened grated coconut (optional) and additional chocolate chips.
6. Bake for about 50-55 minutes till the bread is baked all the way through (confirm with the usual toothpick trick!).
7. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan completely. If you are in a hurry like I was the first time I baked, let cool for 10 minutes in the pan and carefully remove taking care not to scorch yourself (not advisable). Transfer to a cooling rack.

Bread will stay fresh in a tightly closed container at room temperature for about 5 days.
Enjoy!