Walnut Cranberry and Coffee Granola Bars (Vegan)

Posted in healthy treats by a little Swiss, a little Canadian

These cereal bars are one of the most delicious snacks I’ve ever made, I have to keep them out of sight to not eat all of it ;))

It is high school exam week and has already been pushed one day forward because of the weather. We are under a snow fall warning and it is very cold. Great excuse to make a hot beverage, hide under a cozy blanket and watch the snow falling from inside your warm home.

I’ve used a coffee substitute I have from Switzerland but any Instant coffee, maybe decaffeinated (for older kids) would work well in this recipe or can be left out completely.

Walnut Cranberry and Coffee Granola Bars

(Vegan)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
8 tbsp warm water
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup instant coffee granules
pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup finely ground walnuts
3 cups oats

-Grease a 9×13 inch (around 22×32 cm) baking dish. Or line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

-In a small bowl stir together the water, flax and chia seeds, let sit for 15 minutes.

-In a large bowl mix together the coconut oil, maple syrup, instant coffee, vanilla and salt. Stir in the flax and chia mix. Add walnuts and oats, stir until well combined.

-Grease a 9×13 (around 22×32 cm) baking dish. Or line with parchment paper.

-Spread granola mix evenly into prepared form. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

-Let cool before cutting into bars or bites.

-Can be stored in a airtight container for 1 week.

Enjoy!

Stay cozy!

Ursula

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

24Jan2019

Cranberry and Orange Sheet Cake

Posted in cake by a little Swiss, a little Canadian

I love the smell and taste of this flavor combination, so lovely! If you are looking for a simple and delicious sheet cake this might be just what you are looking for.

I still had some cranberries left from Christmas baking and my kids have been eating oranges, I had everything at home to whip this up. I used spelt flour and maple syrup to make it a healthier treat.

Cranberry and Orange Sheet Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
2/3 cup orange juice
1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup grapeseed oil
4 eggs
3 cups spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp orange zest

-Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

-Soak cranberries in orange juice for 15 minutes.

– In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest.

-In a separate bowl whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla, then add the cranberry mixture. Stir in flour until well combined. Fill into the prepared baking pan.

-Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until tester inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

-Let cool completely. Cut into squares, decorate with an icing if desired, I used maple syrup and small cranberry pieces and orange zest.

-Can be baked in a smaller sheet pan, a bundt form or muffin tins.

Enjoy!

Ursula

Follow me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

2May2018

Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars

Posted in healthy treats by a little Swiss, a little Canadian

A happy new month to everyone! I love May as it usually means warmer temperatures and everything is starting to grow and bloom. The grass is finally looking green and my Daffodils are blooming.

These raspberry oat crumble bars are a great snack to bring to school!

Made with whole wheat flour, coconut sugar, oats and almonds.

Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup raw almonds, finely chopped
300 g raspberry jam

– Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F/180C (convection setting).

-In a large bowl, mix together the butter and coconut sugar. Add all other ingredients except the raspberry jam, and stir until well combined.

-Save 3/4 cup and set aside. Fill remaining mix into prepared baking dish, press down evenly.

-Spread raspberry jam evenly over crust, sprinkle top with remaining crumble.

-Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

-Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

This recipe is adapted from Healthy Hands Cooking Blog, “Raspberry Cookie Bars”.

Enjoy!

Ursula

You can find me on Instagram:littleswisslittlecanadian

20Apr2018

Maple Walnut Oat Muffins

Posted in cake by a little Swiss, a little Canadian

Happy Friday everyone!

I am finally able to do some baking again! We’ve had an ice storm last weekend that left us with power outages, especially Sunday almost all day and on Monday the power went on and off all afternoon and then it just continued for the last few days. So annoying!

Now I am looking forward to some warmer and sunnier days!

We’ve been munching on these scrumptious muffins this week! My kids put one in their lunch bags for school every day! They are lovely just plain or you can eat them warm or cold with some maple butter.

Try to get your hands on some real Maple Butter from your local maple producer! Which does not contain any butter!! 🙂

Maple Walnut Oat Muffins

Yields: 14 large muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups spelt flour
2 cups oats
1 1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 eggs
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups milk, room temp., I used cashew milk
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

-Grease or line your muffin cups. Preheat oven to 385F (convection setting).

-In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, salt and baking powder.

-Whisk together the eggs, add the butter, milk and maple syrup.

-Add the milk mixture and walnuts to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined, do not overmix.

-Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until tester inserted into middle comes out clean.

Optional, Maple Butter: 1/2 cup butter softened and 1/3 maple syrup, room temp. Beat together until smooth.

-Serve muffins warm with Maple Butter

Enjoy! And happy, almost, weekend!

Ursula

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

21Mar2018

Oat Seed and Nut Country Style Bread

Posted in Breads by a little Swiss, a little Canadian

I’ve been baking bread for a long time now. It kind of started to be a regular thing after I came to Canada (19 years ago) because I just couldn’t find a typical European style bread, you know the kind with an actual crust;) It is more common to get a soft white bread here, which is just not what I prefer on a regular basis.

Anyways, this is the style of bread I make once a week, changing the ingredients up a bit, this week I added oats, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and walnuts which turned into a rustic country style bread. My family liked it! Next plan for me is to try my hands on making sourdough bread. I’ve been thinking of this for quiet some time, it just seems a little intimidating to prepare and look after the sour dough starter. Wish me luck!!

I love the smell of fresh baked bread!

Oat Seed and Nut Country Style Bread

Ingredients:

200 g white spelt flour
150 g whole wheat flour
100 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup sunflowerseeds
2 tbsp flax seeds
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp quick yeast
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp honey, optional
250 ml room temp. water

-Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl or use your standard mixer. Add oil and honey and start with 3/4 of the water, mix together, add more water if it is to dry. Once it comes together nicely, take it out onto your counter and start kneading the dough until it is a soft and shiny dough, or let your standard mixer do the work. Put the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour or longer.

-Line a 9-inch bundt form with parchment paper.

-Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it again a few times. Lay the dough into your prepared baking dish and sprinkle with some extra oats and seeds if desired. Let rise until stove temperatures is set.

-Bake in preheated 375 F (I use convection setting) oven for about 40 minutes or golden brown and crusty and sound hollow if you tap the sides or take it out of form and tap bottom.

-Let cool completely.

Tip: the oil gives it a nice texture and helps preventing drying out to fast. I guess you could leave it out. If you do not like the all-purpose flour, just use more spelt flour instead.

Enjoy!

Ursula

You can find me on Instagram: littleswisslittlecanadian

13Jan2018

Vegan Granola Cookies

Posted in cookies, healthy treats by a little Swiss, a little Canadian

Happy Weekend!

The first week of back to school went by rather quick, it also only started on Tuesday, because Monday was a Snow-day. All schools were closed because of bad weather. The remaining of the week was very warm and rainy, melting almost all of the snow we had, which was a lot. Now we are back to freezing temperatures.

I like to use weekends to prepare some healthy snacks to have on hand, easy to grab for breakfast, school, work or for that moment when you are just really craving something sweet;) lol. I usually make cookies or granola bars. The following recipe is a healthy, vegan, crunchy granola cookie that tastes, well, like granola.

I’ve been using flaxseeds and flaxoil for my breakfast for a few years now already, these are rich in omega-3 fats. Because of my very low iron level I always have to include foods into my diet that are rich in iron, and these cookies are perfect, rich in healthy fats, protein and minerals, including iron.