Sunday's Recipe Share -- Sweet Potato Tots + 31 Healthy Ingredient Swaps

I have loved tater tots every since my first bite.  However, they are not the healthiest way to eat potatoes.  Since I'm trying to eat less processed foods and less white potatoes, I was very excited to try the recipe I found on Pinterest for Sweet Potato Tots.  They are very simple and quite yummy!

They went really well with my deconstructed burger.

Here's the recipe:

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, baked and cooled
1-2 T. Parmesan cheese
flax seed meal

Peel the potatoes and grate into a bowl.  Add Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.

Form into tots, roll in flax meal.  Place on a baking sheet that is coated with coconut oil.  It made a full tray.

Bake 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, flip over bake 5-8 minutes more or until golden brown.

These would make great appetizers as well.

Here's a bonus that I found via facebook.  Notice it says instant swaps to "healthify" any recipe--it doesn't say 31 instant swaps to lower calories/fat.  Healthier doesn't necessarily mean lower in fat and calories--read the descriptions that go with each substitution for more information as to why that choice is considered healthier.

Empowered Sustenance

 

Sunday's Recipe Share -- Pumpkin Banana Baked Oatmeal

Breakfast for dinner, yay or nay?  In my family, it's a big YAY!!!  My family loves breakfast.  Last night I wanted to do a breakfast for dinner, but I wanted to do something different.  So, I looked through my multitude of Pinterest pins and found this recipe for Pumpkin Banana Baked Oatmeal.

I haven't really been eating much oatmeal since going gluten free, but I found some gluten-free oats at Trader Joe's and decided I could have these once in a while.  (Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they are usually processed on the same equipment as wheat products--the oats I bought are not).

This baked oatmeal is AWESOME.  I changed a couple of things from the original recipe, but not too many.

I got the recipe off of the Skinnytaste website.  The link to the recipe is below the picture (I totally forgot to take my own picture--it did look just like the one here though).

 Pumpkin Banana Baked Oatmeal

Here are the changes I made--First I used gluten free whole oats.  Second, I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.  Third, my version is dairy free--I used almond milk--that's what I had in the fridge--I'd also use coconut milk.  Lastly, I'd use less pumpkin pie spice next time, maybe just the 1 tsp--it was a little too much clove for my taste.

The family loved it.  I will definitely be making this again.

I served it with a side of bacon and a large family sized omelet that we shared among 4 of us.  For breakfast, I'd eat it with just the bacon...in fact, the leftovers are calling me....

Sunday's Recipe Share -- Layered Ratatouille & Baked Eggplant "Skins"

I absolutely love eggplant, but that was not always the case.  The only way I'd eat it when I was a kid was when it was breaded and fried and dipped in tomato sauce.  Truthfully, it's the only way I ever ate it, because it was the only way it was ever served.

A while back I shared an appetizer recipe for Load Eggplant Rounds on my Facebook page and on Pinterest.  I call them Baked Eggplant "Skins" because they remind me of potato skins.  I made them for my mom's 85th birthday party and they were a big hit.  I think these are my favorite way to eat eggplant now.  The link to the recipe is below the picture.

Loaded Eggplant Rounds

This post, however is about Ratatouille.  I found a recipe for it that was delicious and now that I finally have a mandolin, the slicing will be so much easier!

This version has eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, green peppers, tomatoes and onions in it.  The recipe that I followed used red peppers, but I didn't have any.  When I made this, the tomatoes, peppers and herbs came from my garden.  I can't wait for warmer weather to start up my vegetable garden again!

Here's the link to the recipe:  Layered Ratatouille

Sunday's Recipe Share -- Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Okay, there's no question, I am a chocoholic.  It is one thing that I will never give up.  Thankfully, dark chocolate isn't considered bad, it's even considered good for you.  YAY!!!  However some desserts that are made with this healthy ingredient have some other not so healthy ingredients added to them.

I recently pinned a link to 24 Decadent Valentine's Day Desserts (grain free)--you can follow me on Pinterest by going to the link on the left.  This recipe was one of those 24 desserts.

It is for Chocolate Avocado Pudding.  Yes, I didn't name it that in the title because I wanted you to keep reading.  It is gluten free, grain free and dairy free--I used fair trade baking cocoa and almond milk in the recipe I made.

Doesn't it look yummy?

I had all the ingredients, so I thought I'd give it a try.  The results were so much better than I expected.  Thanks to the healthy avocado, it had the creaminess and mouth feel of chocolate pudding that was cooked on the stove for what seems like hours.   This took just a matter of minutes in my magic bullet.   

 It doesn't make a whole lot--it says two servings--really I could have eaten the whole thing in one sitting.  The above picture shows all of it.  I spooned half of it into a cute glass and added some sliced strawberries to garnish.  It was rich and delicious.  I will definitely be making this again--but probably a double recipe.  :)  The link to the recipe is below the last picture.

Enjoy!!!

 Chocolate Avocado Pudding