Tag Archives: going healthy

Healthy Protein Goat Cheese Crackers

05/06/2017 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

A few years ago, I made goat cheese crackers for Going Mom for Mother’s Day? As a former Cheez-It addict, these goat cheese crackers are whey healthier and even more addicting. My wife confirmed the addictive properties by making them disappear within 2 days.

I promised to share the recipe then, and since I’m a man/dad/husband of my word, I’m sharing for all who care to see and try. Guys, forget the jewelry this Mother’s Day, these goat cheese crackers are the key to her heart and tastebuds!

Healthy Protein Goat Cheese Crackers

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup unflavored protein powder
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
4 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese or plain yogurt
4 ounces creamy goat cheese (aka chevre)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, but highly recommended)
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/4 cup favorite salsa; I use Drew’s Organic

Directions

Combine flour, oat bran, cheeses, salt, and cayenne in a food processor.
Pulse until crumbly and then add in salsa a little at a time, until dough comes together. (You may need to add more)
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and quick chill in freezer for 5 – 10 minutes or in fridge overnight.
Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick silicone mats. Set aside.
Place dough between parchment paper or a silicone mat; it can be sticky. With a rolling pin, roll to 1/8-inch thickness.

Using a greased pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares or whatever size you like. Poke holes with a fork or toothpick in each one to help keep them from being to “puffy”. Slide parchment paper or mats onto baking sheets.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crackers turn a light brown and are crisp. Remove one to let cool and check to see if it’s crispy. If they are not crisp, bake a few minutes longer.
Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days (they won’t last that long!).

This is how the sheets will look after cooking in the oven, but it’s easy to break into the squares you formed.

I used unflavored whey protein powder to give these crackers a protein-packed punch. If you don’t have or don’t want to use protein powder, just sub more coconut flour or a mixture of nutritional yeast and coconut flour.

Rolled oats can be used as well if you don’t have or like the other dry ingredients. They will mix just fine after being pulsed in the food processor. Whatever you do, give these a go and have fun in the “process”. Man I crack myself up.

These have a tendency of disappearing quickly, I highly recommend hiding a few for yourself or you’ll end up with zilch. I speak from experience…..

Going Healthy, Going Reviews

High Antioxidant Carrot Bean Dip with Mary’s Gone Crackers

09/01/2016 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Mary’s Gone Crackers recently sent me a package with four of their Super Seed Cracker varieties to try. They provided them free of charge and only asked for a delicious recipe in return. Make a healthy recipe and get awesome organic and nutritious crackers? Win-Win!

Mary's Gone Crackers, bean dip, healthy recipe, football

I’ve been enjoying their Original Crackers for a few years already, but the different flavors were a nice change. My favorite way to enjoy is by pairing them with baby carrots for a super crunchy snack with a little sweetness from the carrots balancing the light saltiness. And of course dipping in cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt, crunched on salad, and bean dips are all spectacular uses. On our recent 9 Year Anniversary trip to Travaasa Austin, Going Mom and I both snacked on the crackers in delight.

mary's gone crackers, avocado, travaasa, food, healthy fat — Anchovies + avocado + Mary’s Gong Crackers = Delicious!

I have an affinity for dips, so it didn’t take long to decide on creating the perfect dip for these lovely crackers. Taking my love of pairing carrots with Mary’s Gone Crackers, I knew just what to do. With steamed carrots, beans, and several health-boosting herbs and spices, the dip was done in under 10 minutes.

Mary's Gone Crackers, bean dip, healthy recipe, football

The flavor was just like a good bean dip with a little sweetness added from cooked carrots. Turmeric adds some earthiness and a host of health-promoting benefits. One of them being that it helps to retain beta carotene from the carrots.

Mary's Gone Crackers, bean dip, healthy recipe, football

Mary’s Gone Crackers are one of the few foods I feel good about eating even though they are packaged. No added oils (even helthy ones usually get damaged from high heat processing), lots of delicious nuts and seeds, and all organic make them a great choice for anyone. And if you love crunchy, then these are the crackers for you! Seriously, just crumble them on a salad or over eggs, they are wonderful.

I’ll stop going on and let you try for yourself. Once you grab a box (or five), make this High Antioxidant Carrot Bean Dip to share or keep all to yourself.

High Antioxidant Carrot Turmeric Bean Dip

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 5 Minutes

Ingredients

1 15oz can of pinto, black, or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup steamed carrots; Use pumpkin puree if you don’t have or don’t want to use carrots
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried parsley (dill or basil would be good too)
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Let me keep this simple…

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth; scrape down the sides once or twice to get everything.

Enjoy your new dip!

Have you tried Mary’s Gone Crackers before?
Ready for football season to start or could you care less?

Mary’s Gone Crackers provided their products free of charge in exchange for this recipe posting. All opinions are strictly my own and I was not compensated in any other way.

Going Healthy

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Protein Granola

08/03/2016 R.C. Liley 8 Comments

One absolutely essential thing I learned as I became serious about my health is that food matters!

Like gas for your car, the higher octane (quality), the better it runs. Same for your body, higher quality, wholesome food will help it fire on all cylinders by performing better physically and mentally.

Over the years I became fed up when searching for food without added non-food ingredients I can’t pronounce. So I started making my own as much as possible. Like, for instance, granola.

I used to be a cereal fanatic years ago. You usually find some form of sugar as the second ingredient along with processed grains made to resemble “O’s” or little leprechauns. Tasty, yes, but not worth putting in my body.

As my health views changed, I switched from the sugary kind and found low to no sugar varieties as much as possible. But even then it’s still processed into shapes and conveniently packed into a perfectly shaped box. I finally decided there were better alternatives than pouring crunchy clusters into a bowl for a “healthy meal”.

Looking to fill the gap to get my cereal fix, I created a quick and easy recipe for granola. Most granola has a lot of sugar and processed vegetable oil added; I wanted to avoid both.

With the help of stevia and tasty fruit like ripe bananas, applesauce, or pumpkin puree (yes, it’s a fruit), avoiding fat and sugar is easy. Omitting low quality oil and using fruit puree as a substitute allows your recipes to have sweetness with way less calories from fat.

Here’s something that is healthy and fairly simple to make.

Sugar and Oil Free Peanut Butter Protein Granola

Ingredients

2 cups Organic Rolled Oats
2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 cup vanilla or unflavored protein powder; I use Legion Whey+, a non-gmo whey protein from grass-fed cows sweetened with stevia
1/2 cup peanut flour; or 2 more scoops protein powder
1 T natural peanut butter; I suggest NuttZo
1 T Organic Coconut Oil; Melted
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 cup oat bran
1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree, applesauce, or mashed ripe banana
2 packets of stevia powder or 20 drops of liquid stevia (If using unflavored protein powder, add another stevia packet or 5 to 10 more liquid drops)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 T Milk of choice or water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl using a wire whisk.
In a separate mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix well.
Add the wet to the dry and stir until well combined.
On a parchment lined cookie sheet spread the mixture out evenly and bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Every 10-15 minutes stir the granola for even baking.

I used to make this all the time for Kelley and myself, but had to put an end to it for a while. If you’re wondering why, it’s because we became dangerously addicted to its delicious crunch. We’d both sit at work and mindlessly chomp away until it was gone! You can have too much of healthy food too.

Although it’s wonderful alone, my favorite way to enjoy this granola is with plain Greek yogurt, NuttZo, and frozen blueberries in a cup.