Quinoa Crust Cheese Pizzas

My kids have LOVED pizza since before they could even say “pizza!”

This obviously means that we have pizza once a week in our house (or, possibly four times a week?).

Often we go out to one of our local pizza places and then eat our slices in the park.

But lately I’ve been trying to find a version I can make at home that's a little healthier—but still satisfies our need for pizza!

These quinoa crust pizzas are remarkably easy.

You just cook up some quinoa and mix it with the eggs—which believe it or not—gives you a nice, sturdy crust.

If you're trying to understand how that wet mixture of quinoa, eggs, baking powder, and Italian seasoning forms a crust, you'll have to trust me.

It firms up so beautifully in the oven and is one of the most robust alternative-type crusts I've ever made.

This crust has a slightly wheat-y taste, which my kids don’t mind at all.

But if you have an extra picky eater, try making the crust on the thin side and loading on the toppings.

This will allow the focus to be more on the flavors of the sauce and cheese rather than the quinoa.

This is the kind of meal I love to make because you don’t feel like you're being healthy—you just feel like you're eating pizza!

These are also great to freeze so you have individual-sized pizzas ready to go anytime!

Quinoa Crust Cheese Pizzas

servings: Eighteen 4-inch pizzas

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups quinoa
• 6 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 cups pre-made pizza or tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella (16 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the quinoa in a mesh strainer and then transfer it to a medium saucepan. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat; cover the pan and turn down the heat to maintain a simmer. Let the quinoa cook until it is tender—10 to 15 minutes, then transfer it to a medium bowl and let it cool.
2. Mix the eggs, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and salt in a small bowl. Then add this mixture to the cooled quinoa and stir to combine.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the quinoa onto it; flatten and shape it with your hands into 4-inch-diameter rounds (using about ¼ cup of dough for each round), ¼- to ½-inch thick.
4. Place the crusts in the oven and bake them until they are golden brown—about 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and top each with about 2 tablespoons of the pizza or tomato sauce, then 2 tablespoons of the cheese.
5. Return the pizzas to the oven until the cheese is melted—5 minutes more.

Notes:

• If your kids are weary of the quinoa crust, try adding some extra toppings so you have a lot of sauce and cheese and just a little crust in each bite. Another option is to make the crusts a little thinner.
• To Freeze: Let the crusts cool before adding the toppings; once cooled, add the toppings as in Step 4. Freeze the pizzas topped, but not baked. To heat from frozen, bake at 450°F until the cheese is melted and the crust is thawed through—7 to 10 minutes.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Toddler PB + J with Quick Frozen Fruit Jam

There are a lot of delicious peanut butters out there, but not as many good jams. 

So I'd like you to imagine an incredibly tasty jam—a jam that is made simply of fruit and a touch of sugar.

And now that you're conjuring up this super appetizing vision, this is where I say, “Oh, but you can make a jam like that yourself!”

And then you snap out of your jam-filled fantasy and say, “Um, Nikki? I really don’t have time to be making my own jam.”

But here's the thing—you do!

It's as easy as grabbing a bag of frozen berries, adding a tablespoon of sugar, and cooking for only 15 minutes.

That’s it!

And if you want to combine this amazing new jam (that you made!) with some peanut butter and hemp seeds on your favorite bread, you suddenly have a seriously awesome lunch for yourself!

Oh, and your kids, too, of course. ;)

Toddler PB + J with Quick Frozen Fruit Jam

servings: 1 sandwich with ¾ cup of jam

Quick Frozen Fruit Jam:

• One 10-ounce bag frozen fruit (such as mixed berries)
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Toddler PB + J:

• 2 slices sandwich bread (such as whole wheat)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon hemp hearts
• 2 tablespoons Quick Frozen Fruit Jam

Quick Frozen Fruit Jam:

1. In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the frozen fruit, 2 tablespoons of water, and the sugar. Bring this mixture to a high simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up the fruit with a spoon.
2. Continue cooking the fruit mixture over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick enough to leave trails in the pan when stirred—10 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then transfer the fruit mixture to a small bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the jam to set and chill.

Toddler PB + J:

1. Spread one slice of bread with the peanut butter, then sprinkle it with the hemp hearts.
2. Spread the Quick Frozen Fruit Jam onto the other slice of bread, then sandwich the two slices of bread together.

Notes:

• The ¾ cup of jam yielded by the Quick Frozen Fruit Jam can make 6 sandwiches.
• You can omit the sugar if you prefer; the jam will still be super tasty.
• If you use tarter fruits, such as cranberries, you may need more sugar.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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White Bean Pancakes

Every Sunday my husband takes my daughter, Ivy, to the diner for pancakes while I try to catch up on a weeks-worth of sleep.

Ivy LOVES pancakes.

And when I found out that her iron levels were a little on the low side, I started thinking about how I could get more iron into her diet.

Pancakes were just the thing!

I’ve done Acorn Squash Pancakes, so I figured why not try a new version by adding an iron-rich bean instead of the squash?!

I put a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans in my batter, and I’m telling you, the result looks and tastes JUST LIKE regular pancakes!

It was so simple (opening a can of beans!) to turn a semi-indulgent breakfast into one we can feel really good about eating!

It’s easy to “eat healthy” when you’re eating like this!

White Bean Pancakes

makes: 10 to 12 medium (4 to 5 inches in diameter) pancakes

Ingredients:

• One 15-ounce can cannellini beans (about 1¾ cups), rinsed + drained
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 ounces frozen spinach (about 1 cup), thawed + drained (optional)
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Add the beans, flour, milk, spinach (if desired), eggs, baking powder, vanilla, and salt to a blender, and blend this mixture until it is smooth.
2. Next, add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, pour about ½ cup of the batter into the pan; this will make one pancake about 4 inches in diameter. Cook the batter until bubbles start to pop on its surface. Then flip the pancake and cook it until the other side is also brown and the edges are dry—about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.
3. Serve with extra butter, syrup, fruit, or whatever you like!

Notes:

• If you prefer fluffier pancakes, separate the yolks and whites of the eggs. Rather than following Step 1 as written, add the beans, flour, milk, spinach (if desired), egg yolks, baking powder, vanilla, and salt, to a blender, and blend this mixture until it is completely smooth; then transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in a medium bowl with a handheld electric mixer on medium-high until they are white and fluffy and have soft peaks (they should be about 4 times larger than their starting size)—about 2 minutes; you could also whisk by hand or do this in a stand mixer. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the bean and flour mixture, deflating them as little as possible. Then proceed to Step 2 as written above.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Banana Carrot Spinach Oat Muffins

Stop.

Do not look at this muffin and say, "EW! It's green!"

Instead, I want you to close your eyes and imagine that you're eating a mini banana bread muffin.

Now open your eyes.

This is when you discover that this same weird green muffin tastes just like banana bread.

But instead of using banana bread ingredients, I’m using a bag of spinach, some carrots, oats, bananas, and a touch of maple syrup to create a muffin that packs some serious nutritional punch.

And it's as simple as throwing everything in your food processor, blending it up, and baking.

I’m telling you, every time I eat one, I have to remind myself that they're good for me.

And if you’re on board, maybe your kids will be too.

And if you have a little one like mine, they might not yet realize that most kids think a green muffin is a scary thing. 

Banana Carrot Spinach Oat Muffins

servings: 36 mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed + squeezed dry (about 1 cup after squeezed)
• 2½ cups rolled oats, more for a garnish
• 3 medium ripe bananas, sliced
• 2 cups grated carrots (about 6 ounces)
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the spinach to a blender or food processor and pulse until it is finely chopped and almost pureed.
2. Add the oats, bananas, carrots, maple syrup, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to the spinach, then pulse until all ingredients are well-combined and the mixture is almost pureed, but not quite smooth. You may have to stop and stir the mixture a bit to make sure it doesn’t contain any large chunks.
3. Scoop the batter evenly into 36 cups of a mini muffin tin prepared with cooking spray, then top each muffin with a light sprinkle of the reserved oats.
4. Bake the muffins until a knife inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean and dry —24 to 28 minutes.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Banana Carrot Oat Muffins

My daughter, Ivy, loves all carbs (I can’t imagine where she gets it from 😉).

She'll also gobble up anything that looks like a muffin.

And from a mom point-of-view, I know muffins are the perfect food to freeze and pull out as needed.

So I challenged myself to make a super healthy muffin that would taste just as delicious as a regular not-as-healthy one.

My goal was to make this muffin so tasty that not only would Ivy eat it, but the big kids in the house (my husband and I) would gobble it up as well.

The result is a muffin basically made of bananas, carrots, oats, and a touch of maple syrup. You puree all of these ingredients up and put the batter in the cups of a muffin tin.

These muffins couldn’t be easier to make and they actually taste like banana bread!

Whenever I’m eating one I have to remind myself how healthy they are because all I’m thinking is, I’m in muffin heaven.

Now don’t get me wrong, they're a little denser than a regular muffin (they're all oats instead of flour, so that's why that happens).

And they're a touch more moist than you might be used to (this makes them perfect when re-heated though!).

But the fact that you can eat ten of these and still feel like Healthy Eating Champion of the World makes it all worth it!

Banana Carrot Oat Muffins

makes: 36 mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups rolled oats, more for a garnish
• 3 medium ripe bananas, sliced
• 2 cups grated carrots (about 6 ounces)
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the oats, bananas, carrots, maple syrup, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the to a blender or food processor, then pulse until all ingredients are well-combined and the mixture is almost pureed, but not quite smooth. You may have to stop and stir the mixture a bit to make sure it doesn’t contain any large chunks.
2. Scoop the batter evenly into 36 cups of a mini muffin tin prepared with cooking spray, then top each muffin with a light sprinkle of the reserved oats.
3. Bake the muffins until a knife inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean and dry —24 to 28 minutes.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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No-Bake Granola Bars

It's back-to-school time!

For a lot of families that means struggling to find time to make food that is healthy but also something your kids WILL eat.

This week, my goal is to bring you some nutritious recipes (well, maybe with the exception of one 😉) that both kids and adults will enjoy.

I love a good granola bar, so I thought that might be the perfect thing to kick off the week—simple to make and great for school lunches or after school snacks.

A while back I started testing recipes in search of a great one I could make and keep on hand...

I tried baked ones, different combos of ingredients, and in the end found this relatively simple one the best by far.

I’m using two kinds of nuts, some hemp seeds, oats, cranberries, and a little cinnamon.

Then I'm folding in peanut butter and honey to make a chewy bar that has some texture, but is still soft enough for my toddler.

It’s kind of amazing what mixing just a couple of ingredients can do...

And with NO BAKING!

I made mine in a 9 by 13-inch pan (you press the granola bar mixture into a dish to form them into bars), but after eating a pan's-worth this week, I would say that you might want to try them in something a little smaller. That will allow them to be so thicker and hold together even better.

Really though, no matter what shape you make, they will be your family's new favorite snack!

No-Bake Granola Bars

makes: 16 bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups instant oats
• ½ cup finely chopped pine nuts
• ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
• ½ cup hemp hearts
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup honey
• ⅓ cup smooth peanut butter

Directions:

1. Line a baking dish, no bigger than 11 by 17 inches or 8 by 8 inches, with parchment paper, leaving the paper hang out about 2 to 3 inches over two of the sides (which will allow you to easily lift the finished granola bars from the dish); spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, pine nuts, walnuts, hemp hearts, cranberries, cinnamon, and salt, then set aside.
3. Add the honey and peanut butter to a small saucepan and cook them over medium heat until they are fully combined and just beginning to bubble—about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat the dry ingredients evenly and fully.
5. Firmly press the oat mixture evenly into the pan to ensure the granola bars stay together well; spraying your hands with cooking spray is helpful to prevent the mixture from sticking to them. Chill for at least two hours before cutting.
6. Remove the granola bars from the pan using the edges of the parchment paper. Cut them into your desired size and enjoy! To store, place in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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