Larabar Bites

These are by far my favorite thing to snack on. They are both salty and sweet and have dark chocolate; how can I possibly resist?! I can’t. Left to my own devices I could eat all of these in one week; which would not be good considering they should last at least two weeks. This recipe should make 20-30 bites, depending on how big you make them.

I have a big major sweet tooth. I need to have chocolate throughout the day to get my fix and I can rarely deny that craving. These homemade larabars are just the thing to subside my need for chocolate. I love to bring these to work to snack on because I can easily grab one in my spare time (“spare time”- to all my teacher friends out there, you feel me?) and eat it quickly and on the go. 

I’ve shared before that choosing snacks that are healthy is a struggle for me but choosing simple snacks is even harder. During the school day there are very few times when I can stop and have a snack and when I can, it needs to be fast. You might be thinking, “Well why can’t you just eat in your classroom? It is your classroom.” Have you tried eating in front of a 7 or 8 year old? The first things out of their mouths are, “Why do you get to eat? Can I have some?” Trust me when I tell you, you do not want to share these larabar bites with anyone, not even your most adorable students. They’re finger food snacks that even the busiest bee can snack on. Have you tried larabars before? These are perfect homemade dupes! Try them and you will see.

Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup lightly salted cashews

½ cup pitted dates

2 tsps cinnamon

1 oz chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips

Directions

1. Add all ingredients into food processor and blend until well combined - if you’re using a small blender do a little bit at a time

2. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out a small amount and roll into a ball with hands

3. Refrigerate in airtight container

 

 

 

Meaty Zucchini Skillet

Ground beef isn’t something I can typically transform into a flavorful masterpiece. I find that it takes a lot of seasoning and added flavors to make a delicious meaty meal. This recipe is full of flavor and packed with a little bit of spice. I cooked this recipe a lot when Jay and I were doing the Whole30 and it never disappointed.

  

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very low tolerance for spice. My best friend and I will always joke because anytime I think anything she cooks is spicy, she needs to add at least a teaspoon more of cayenne pepper to her dish to kick up the heat. In fact, I usually steer clear of any spicy foods. I decided to give it a whirl in this dish to give the meat a little something extra.  

If you’re like my best friend than you’re going to want to add a lot more cayenne pepper to your dish than I did. I used about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper in this dish and the hint of spiciness is there. It comes through as an after taste as you finish up your first bite and dive in for more. 

To the browned beef I added a can of unsalted diced tomatoes and 1 to 1 ½ finely sliced zucchini. This would be really good with thick cut zucchini so it stays a little crunchy or spiralize the zucchini and top it with the ground beef and tomatoes. This recipe is very simple and quick to make. In total it took me under 30 minutes. Cooking in a short amount of time is especially key to me these days. I headed back to school this week and even with no kids there yet, I am exhausted. The last thing I want to do when I come home is prep a million things and cook dinner. Keep this recipe in mind when you have a long day at work or if you’re simply feeling hangry and just can not wait to eat; which is how I am most days when I get home from work (my husband can attest to that). This dish is perfect for two and great for leftovers the next day. I hope you enjoy this yummy dish! What are some other ways you incorporate ground beef into your meals? I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

¼ lb ground beef

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (increase if you like spicy)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can unsalted diced tomatoes; drained

1-1 ½ thinly sliced zucchini

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

 

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in pan and brown ground beef. Season beef with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper

2. Add diced tomatoes and zucchini. Mix well.

3. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes until zucchini is tender

4. Serve alone or over rice

 

 

Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Cheerio Bars

With Fall fast approaching we all know what it brings; pumpkin. If you don’t like love pumpkin I will make it my personal goal to change your mind. Pumpkin is very versatile and goes so well with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; all delicious Fall spices. It also goes very well with dark chocolate. I saw an ad on Instagram for pumpkin cheerios and immediately went on the hunt for them. I found them at my favorite place; Target (insert a million heart eye emojis here). This store literally has everything you need and somehow has the magic to suck you in there for 2 hours and spend $50+; but still I love it!

Since I’m a teacher I have the summer’s off. This means I am often home all day and it can be very easy to snack often. I find I get bored of eating the same kinds of things everyday so I need a variety I can choose from. It’s important to me that the snacks I choose won’t wash away the hard work I did at the gym and will keep me full. When I dabbled into the Whole30, I discovered that most boxed snack bars were full of ingredients that I couldn’t even pronounce. Enter Larabars. These are awesome snacks that have no added sugar and are made with dates, cashews, and cinnamon; ingredients you know and that you can pronounce. They are one of my go-to snacks but they can be pricey. I learned how to make them via Pinterest and I have been adding my own twists to them. I will do a blog post on them soon! 

Back to pumpkin and chocolate. I knew I wanted to make bars our of these cheerios because there is no way I could eat a whole box before they went stale. I love that the honey in these bars balances the bitterness of the dark chocolate. I used baker's dark chocolate because that's what I had on hand but dark or semi sweet chocolate chips would do the trick too. These bars are made with these three ingredients; that’s it. That’s all you need to have yourself a low calorie snack. But be careful, these things are very addicting. Being that it is just myself and my husband, I made a small batch that I cut into 16 bars. I used an 8X8 pan to shape these in and they are about ½ inch thick. If you double or triple this recipe be sure to use a larger pan or you’ll end up 16 two inch thick bars; but if you like that by all means go for it! What are your favorite healthy snacks?

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin cheerios

¼ cup honey

2 oz. dark chocolate

Directions

1. Melt dark chocolate with honey and stir until well combined. 
   

2. Add the cheerios directly to the hot mixture and stir until all the cheerios have been coated. 
   
3. Line an 8X8 pan with parchment paper and push mixture into the pan until even

4. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry

This recipe is one of my favorites. There are so many variations to this recipe that it can be a go to dinner multiple times a month. Loaded with vegetables and packed with protein from the chicken, this dinner will leave you full for the night without feeling like you cheated on your diet.

I’ve made this dinner twice for my husband and he is loving it; and we know how hard he is to please. If you missed how picky he is, you can read about it here. The best part about this dish is that there are so many vegetables you can add into the stir fry to bulk it up. I use broccoli, any color bell pepper, onions, and a bag of cabbage mix. Adding these vegetables with the chicken gives you a lot of food and I usually have just enough leftover to pack my husband lunch for work the next day.

To prepare this dish I use diced chicken and cook it on the wok and set it aside while I cook the vegetables. To flavor this dish I first saute the onions and garlic in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. When the garlic becomes fragrant and the onions become translucent, I add in the broccoli florets and sliced bell pepper. I like to chop both of the vegetables small so that they are easy to scoop up in one bite. Once the broccoli and pepper have become tender I add in the cabbage and stir fry it for a couple of minutes. I do this because I like the crunch of the veggies. When that’s all set, I add the chicken back in and stir it up so the chicken is immersed in the garlic and onion flavor. This is a really beautiful dish that looks like you put in a lot of effort when really you didn’t!

I pair this dish with a side of rice. My husband likes white rice but I would like to try brown rice. However, I think if I took that away from him he might boycott my foods. I cook our rice in a rice cooker and I love how simple it is. We have this one. It’s so easy to use because it tells you how much rice and water to put in and lets you know when it is done. It’s great for me because I can continue cooking other things without worrying about over/under cooking the rice. I especially like this one because it also doubles as a slow cooker. Previously we did have this small one and it is the perfect size for two people. We only upgraded because I wanted to have the option to cook more rice for a crowd. Have you cooked with brown rice? Let me know what you think about this recipe!

Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 chicken breast diced

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or whatever oil you like to cook with)

2 cloves garlic minced

¼ red onion finely diced

1 small head broccoli

1 bell pepper (any color of your choosing)

1 12 oz bag of cabbage mix
Pinch of salt and pepper 

Directions

1. Heat your wok on medium heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Once hot, add your chicken and brown on both sides. It will cook fairly quickly because the pieces are so small. Remove chicken and set aside.

2. Add the rest of the oil to the wok. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant and translucent.

3. Add broccoli, bell pepper, salt and pepper to the wok and stir fry until the vegetables are soft. This will take about 5-8 minutes.
   

4. Gently fold in the cabbage mix to the vegetables and stir fry for an additional 3-5 minutes.

5. Add the chicken back into the wok and mix into the vegetable stir fry.
   

6. Pair stir fry with rice and serve!

Banana Blueberry Bread

This summer I have done an awful lot of baking so be prepared for some sweet treats headed your way. Don’t worry, I’ve swapped out all of the unhealthy ingredients and traded them in for more natural sweeteners. Sugar is by far the devil when it comes to keeping my curves smooth rather than bumpy. I’ve worked hard to change my diet and eat clean when I can. This banana blueberry bread is no exception. It is sweetened with honey, fresh blueberries, and ripe bananas.

 

I was inspired to make this bread by my little sister. There is quite an age gap between us as she is 7 and I am 24. Growing up I was an only child so I was a little shocked when, at 17 my parents told me I was going to have a baby sister. Even with the age gap, we have so much in common and it is evident that we are indeed sisters. Just as I love to cook, so does my sister. Whenever she comes and spends the night we always make it a point to bake something together. This time she got to pick.

 

Just as my husband, my sister Paige is quite the picky eater. I knew she would be hard to please by taking out the sugar from this bread. I couldn’t use my go-to whole wheat flour because she has made it clear it is not her favorite. I made this recipe with white flour but I would like to try it with the whole wheat on the next go around. As we were making this dish together she made it known that she was skeptical about using honey and applesauce and claimed it would not be “sweet enough.” This aside, we put the batter in the pan and popped it in the oven to bake. 

About half way through the baking process the blueberry and banana bread aroma started to fill my house. Every five minutes Paige was asking if it was ready to take out of the oven to eat. It does take a while to bake but this is one big loaf of bread. The honey makes this bread a little more dense but the applesauce keeps it moist. When replacing sugar with honey, it helps to add an extra ½ tsp of baking soda; it will help to make the bread rise. 

Finally, after longing to eat this scrumptious smelling bread, it was time. It came out of the oven perfectly browned and slid out of the pan with ease. We could only let it cool for about ten minutes before we had to dig in. The colors are gorgeous when you cut into this bread. You will see small chunks of banana and whole blueberries swirled throughout each flavor packed piece. This is a great dessert bread or you can eat it for breakfast if you don’t mind a sweet wake up call. Personally, I’ll be eating this bread for both. I hope you enjoy! What are your favorite breads to make?

Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Ingredients

½ cup applesauce

¾ cup honey

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 large bananas

1 ½ cups blueberries + 1 tbsp flour

2 cups flour

1 ½ tsps baking soda

½ tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees 
   
   
2. Combine all dry ingredients in small bowl and set aside
   
   
3. Mash bananas and add vanilla, eggs, honey, and applesauce. Whisk together until well combined.
   
   
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined. 
   
   
5. Toss the blueberries in 1 tbsp of flour and fold it into the wet mixture. 
   
   
6. Place mixture into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes of until golden brown.

Quick Baked Chicken Bites for Two

Often times my husband and I will come home from work and want a quick and easy dinner. It’s so tempting to order take out or go grab some dinner from our favorite pizzeria Gio’s. Instead I took a fan favorite, chicken nuggets, and made them a bit healthier.

These baked bites are super easy to make and can be prepped and cooked in under 30 minutes. I know what you’re thinking; how can I prep my chicken and fully cook it in this short amount of time? Well let me tell you. I always take out my chicken the night before so it thaws because I can never use the microwave correctly to defrost the chicken. When I do, half of it ends up cooking before it even makes it to the prep space; yuck! 

The secret to making the chicken cook so fast is chopping it into small cubes. I would say they are about an inch big. It makes it more like chicken bites rather than nuggets. The first time I made these the prep time took a while because I dipped each chicken piece into the egg individually. Let me save you a lot of time and annoyance and tell you to put all of the chicken pieces into the egg mixture at once. It is so much easier to simply pull out the chicken and quickly bread it and get it on the pan. 

I make this dish just for two, so I only use 1½ chicken breasts and it’s unusual for us to have leftovers. You could easily plan to make extra so you can add it to your favorite chicken recipe. This chicken is also good cold and it would be delicious in salad. These chicken bites are juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, the perfect combination for the pallet. 

Since we’ve been married, I have been trying to step up my wife game and create meals that encompass the whole food pyramid; not just the tiniest top of it. Asparagus is a new found love of ours. We’ve grilled, baked, and sautéed it. Tonight I baked it in the oven at 450͒ for about 20 minutes. I tossed the asparagus in olive oil and sea salt. The saltiness and crunch pair together so well. Asparagus is the perfect side to any dish in my book. This guilt free dinner will leave you satisfied without feeling bloated or stuffed. If you try it, I’d love to know your thoughts!

Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 15-20 mins

Ingredients

1 1/2 Chicken breasts

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1 egg

1. Beat egg in small bowl and set aside

2. Place bread crumbs in a shallow dish

3. Dice chicken into 1 inch pieces and submerge into egg mixture

4. Coat chicken in bread crumbs 

5. Bake in oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes until chicken is golden brown

Healthy Zucchini Bread Muffins

 Welcome to Cooking With Kaytlyn. Since this is my first post, I wanted to fill you in on the inspiration behind my blog. About two months ago I married my wonderful husband Jay. I could go on and on about how wonderful and supportive this man is. Over our years together he has made me a more confident woman, feel beautiful, and encourages me to be the best I can be.

About 7 months ago, we decided that we needed to start getting into healthy eating habits. Not only to look better for our wedding but to live a healthier lifestyle. It was then that I learned about the Whole30. I did lots of research before going into this month long diet and decided Jay and I would be better for doing it. It was the most disciplined thing I have done and it was worth it. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to break bad eating habits.

After the Whole30, my food mindset had totally changed. I realized that I could indulge in my sweet tooth without sabotaging my workout, or create a flavorful dinner that was both filling and guilt free. Healthy eating isn’t always easy. It takes time, patience, and is filled with trying lots of new things.

Since most of you don’t know my husband I will let you in on a little secret; he is the pickiest eater I have ever met. If it were up to him we would have chicken and rice every night for dinner, followed by chocolate chip cookies. I can’t blame the man, that sounds delicious; but if we did that we would both become overweight very quickly. I try here and there to introduce new things into his diet or sneak them in where I can; enter zucchini bread muffins.

Imagine my shock when my husband, a man who eats as many vegetables as you can count on one hand, comes home and tells me a friend at work brought in zucchini bread and that he actually enjoyed it! I can’t tell you how fast I ran to the store to grab some fresh zucchini and bake a batch of muffins. I decided on the muffins so it would be easy for Jay to grab and go to work. It’s always a struggle to find quick and healthy breakfast foods, but I think this one is a winner. These muffins are super moist and the cinnamon and nutmeg gives it a fall taste. What are your go to breakfast recipes? Happy baking!

Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 35-40 mins

Total Time 1 hour

1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tsps. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ cup honey

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

⅓ cup coconut oil melted

1 egg

2 tsps. vanilla

2 cups zucchini (about 3 small zucchinis shredded)

Dark chocolate shavings (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat your muffin pan with nonstick spray. Finely shred three zucchini and set aside. 

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and whisk together. 

3. In a separate bowl combine honey, applesauce, melted coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk until all ingredients are well incorporated. 

4. Add about half of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and whisk until combined. 

5. Add your shredded zucchini to the other half of the dry ingredients. Stir until zucchini is well coated with the dry mixture. 

6. Gently fold in the zucchini mixture into the wet mixture. *If you are using dark chocolate, now is the time to grate it and fold it in. You could also use chocolate chips of your choosing.

7. Fill the muffin tins about ¾ full and gently pat down. 

8. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. Muffins will be moist and center will remain soft.