No-Bake Granola Bars {dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free}

I found these the other day while searching my new favorite website Pinterest. These will be great for lunchboxes, after-school snacks or even breakfast on the go. And healthy, too! I am on a mission to provide my children with brain-food for breakfast on school days and this recipe below should do just that. I adapted it a smidge from here and it’s gonna be a good one!

photo from fooddoodles.com

No-Bake Granola Bars {dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free}

Makes 12

• 2 large overripe bananas
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup crunchy cereal (I’d use rice krispies)
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup(or any other sweetener you use – I use Agave Nectar)
• 2 tbsp soy butter
• 2 tbsp vegan chocolate chips (I use 365 Whole Foods brand)
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries or other fruit (I will leave this out)
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed {brain power!}
• 2 – 4 tsp cocoa powder

Line a muffin pan with paper liners, or use a silicone muffin pan for easy removal.  Mash the bananas.  Add wet ingredients and cocoa powder and mix well.  Add all other ingredients, mix well then press into prepared muffin tin.  Freeze at least 60 minutes before serving. Freeze them overnight and throw one or two in the lunchbox before school. By the time lunchtime comes around, they will be perfect for eating!

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods {dairy-free, nut-free}

If you’re looking for a quick, yet fun treat for the kiddos {or yourself} look no further! These chocolate covered pretzel rods are super easy to make and hit the spot when you’re craving something sweet and salty! The kids love them and this is a great one for them to help with! Minimal mess…amen?

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods {dairy-free, nut-free}

Rold Gold Pretzel Rods {Rold Gold brand has NOT been processed around peanuts}

Vegan Chocolate Chips {365 from Whole Foods is great}

Sprinkles of your choice

Melt vegan chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove. Lay out a sheet of wax paper and when chocolate is melted and smooth, pour some onto the wax paper.

Take your pretzel rods and roll them in the chocolate covering only the upper half of the rod.

Lay chocolate covered pretzels onto wax paper lined cookie sheet. And then sprinkle your choice of colorful sprinkles onto the chocolate while it is wet. Then, place full cookie sheet in the fridge so the chocolate will harden. Store in an airtight container. Delish!

*These would be great for classroom treats {think back-to-school}, party favors, etc.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {dairy-, egg-, peanut-free}

I can hardly wait for my girl to get home from school today so she can try these homemade cupcakes! They are delicious and the frosting – oh.wow. – you just have to try it!! I adapted this recipe from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook by Cybele Pascal (p.92). If you are going to make full-size cupcakes, I suggest using her exact recipe. My recipe only works well for the mini-cupcakes because of the ingredients I used. These mini’s would be great for a brunch, tea party, after-school snack, dessert, etc.

On second thought, when is a mini cupcake not a good idea?

Mini-Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting {dairy-free, egg-, peanut-free}

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaping T cornstarch

1 tsp double-acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp cider vinegar

1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco Butter-flavored – it’s dairy-free)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 recipe Vanilla Frosting (as follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan. (I didn’t have liners on hand, so I just greased the pan. I recommend liners, though!)

2. Whisk together the flour mix, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Combine almond milk and vinegar. Set aside.

4. In mixer bowl, combine shortening, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in the flour mixture, alternating with almond milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 30 seconds.

5. Fill liners 3/4 full with batter. Smooth tops with a butter knife or spatula.

6. Bake in center of oven for about 15 minutes. (This is for the mini’s.) Transfer cupcakes to cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING:

1 cup shortening (dairy-, soy-free)

pinch of salt

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening and salt on medium speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add the sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You can either pipe or spread frosting onto the cupcakes.

Update: My daughters LOVED these cupcakes. The consistency (in the mini’s) was perfect compared to that of a boxed cake mix where I normally substitute the egg. The boxed mixes do not work nearly as well as this. These were easy and lots of fun to make!

Grown-up ‘Peanut’ Butter Truffles {peanut-, dairy-free}

Are you guilty of running to the pantry with spoon in hand looking for the peanut butter {or soy butter} jar ready to dig in for a heaping spoonful of protein to boost that energy? Now there’s a better alternative! This is a great mix of protein and brain food perfect for a mid-morning or afternoon pick-me-up! And it only has approximately 1 gram of sugar in each truffle!

Peanut-Free Truffles: Grown-up style

1/2 c crunchy soy butter {almond butter or sun butter works here}

1/2 c rolled oats

3 T ground flax seed

2 T pure cocoa powder

2 T Agave Nectar (natural sweetener, like honey)

 

Put ingredients in mini food processor and pulse until blended. Roll into balls and place on wax paper. Chill until stiff. Keep chilled in fridge – they are better this way! Yummy snack with only approx. 1 gram of sugar per truffle. Makes 10-12 truffles.

 

These would even make a good after-school snack for the kids! Or a great addition to their lunchbox.

 

Ground flaxseed is high in fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids and lignans. Ground flaxseed contains 1.6 grams of Omega-3s per Tablespoon and it is recommended that adults have 1.6 grams per day. And the benefits of Omega-3s are incredible…they promote better brain function and higher intelligence, there is a lower incidence of childhood disorders with Omega-3s, among many other benefits you can read about here.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothies {Dairy-free}

Yesterday, I made these for my girls for an after-school snack and I scored big!! Because I don’t make them often, {I don’t know why, thank you for asking} they thought these were the most awesome snack and I was their favorite mom {not to mention, their ONLY mom}. These are super easy and now that I remember that, I will keep them on my list of healthy after-school snacks.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothies

Fresh strawberries, washed and sliced

1 banana, peeled and sliced*

4 oz. soy yogurt, in vanilla or plain {coconut milk yogurt works, too!}

4 oz. almond milk {plain for less sugar content}

crushed ice

*you can substitute a frozen banana instead of using ice.*

Makes 2 or 3 servings – and serve it with a straw! Everything is better with a straw!

Put all ingredients in blender and pulse until you get the consistency you want. I use a Cuisinart handheld Quick Mixer and it is perfect for this job. This is a great one to let the kids help with, too. For added protein, you could add some soy protein powder, but I haven’t personally tried it so I cannot vouch for the taste.

After School Snack – Fruity Kabobs

This is the first in {hopefully} a series of allergy-free snacks/yummies that are fun for our family and maybe yours, too. When I say ‘allergy-free’, I mean free of the most common allergens. I realize some people are allergic to certain fruits and many other things, but I will just stick to the most common allergens.

FRUITY KABOBS

All you need to begin:

Strawberries, Bananas, Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, toothpicks

Slice the fruit, line them up on the toothpicks, squirt Hershey’s choc syrup onto the plate for dipping and if you want to make it extra special, sprinkle Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips on top. This is guaranteed to hold those hungry kiddos over til dinner.

*This snack is dairy-, peanut-, tree nut-, wheat-, fish-, shellfish-, egg- and soy-free. AND made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites in a dedicated Nut- and Gluten-Free facility!* It doesn’t get much safer than that.

Enjoy!