Holiday Recipes
Fun Holiday Snacks
A few years ago, I was asked to bring the “healthy treat” to a school Halloween party for my older son. Well, when you are the mom bringing the healthy food amidst the cookies and other treats, you sort of figure there may be leftovers! I pondered the orange foods I could bring and thought of…
Apple Crisp Baked Oatmeal
By now, my love of baked oatmeal has been well established. Truth be told, I hold back some of my variations because I don’t want to over-oatmeal people. I think the time has come, however, to release another! My sister-in-law, Melissa, is to thank for this delicious creation. She is a nurse who leaves…
No Bake Butterscotch Haystacks
Three ingredients are all you need for this salty-sweet, crunchy treat that takes mere minutes to make. No baking required! Butterscotch Haystacks are, without a doubt, my younger son’s favorite cookie. I always make them over the holidays and he frequently requests them throughout the year. When his science class organized a nature-themed bake…
Homemade Play Dough
Homemade Play Dough is easy with these simple instructions. As an added bonus, the texture is so much smoother than store-bought and there’s less crumby mess! The start of the new school year brought much change to our house. My older son made the leap to high school, and my younger son stepped up to…
Spiced Pecans
These crisp, sweet nuts are easy to prepare and make a delightful hostess or holiday gift. Sprinkle in salads or enjoy by the handful! My aunt, who grew up in the original Fountain Avenue kitchen, shared this simple recipe with me years ago, and it has been a favorite in our house ever since.…
Cheese Crisps
Low-carb cheese crisps require only one ingredient (jalapeño slices are optional) and cook in 2 short minutes－and believe it or not, the microwave produces better results than the oven. Perfect with a glass of wine or as a flavorful alternative to a crouton. If I said you could make a light and flavorful…
White Chocolate Gorp
Easy to make and fun to eat, this tasty treat makes a festive addition to any holiday celebration with the use of seasonal M&Ms. As a kid at camp in Maine, I loved to sign up for the hiking trips. Typically, we hiked portions of the Appalachian Trial, usually carrying supplies in a frame…
Bittersweet Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
Before I began making my Easter candy this year, I received a generous gift of assorted chocolates from a friend who works for The Hershey Company. I wanted to incorporate this gift into my Easter candy-making ritual, so I put a few of the rolled “insides” aside and refrigerated them for later use. The original…
Almond Bark with Sea Salt
Salty-sweet almond bark is the ultimate treat and takes mere minutes to make with three simple ingredients. Every year before Easter, I find myself up to my elbows in chocolate. For as long as I can remember, making homemade chocolates has been part of my family’s holiday tradition. I have so many fond memories…
Maple Cinnamon Roasted Garbanzos
Recently, I posted my new and improved technique for roasting garbanzo beans–also known as chickpeas. Additionally, I had fun experimenting with roasting various other types of beans lurking in my pantry. (To see the details, click here.) Somewhere between the black eyed peas and the butter beans, My Whole Food Life shared her sweeter version of this…
Wholegrain Sunflower Raisin French Toast
Sunflower Raisin Brown Bread with Steel Cut Oats is a spin-off of my healthy version of Irish soda bread. I love it for all its texture and natural sweetness and especially for its health value. There isn’t a speck of refined flour, and steel cut oats are thrown in for added goodness and nuttiness. This bread…
Roasted Cauliflower and New Potatoes with Blue Cheese
Super easy and incredibly satisfying, this recipe is veggie-based comfort food at its best. Minimal ingredients equal maximum flavor! Rice makes a perfect “sponge” for the flavorful tomato-based sauce in my easy slow cooker chicken tikka masala. But with this and other dishes for which rice forms a purposeful base, I sometimes replace the…
