Iced Green Tea with Raw Honey

I love Starbucks iced green tea (sweetened). If I'm there it's been my regular order. But I'm sure the sweetener in them is junk and the cost to make it is practically pennies! So...I just started making it myself. I cut the refined sugar and added raw honey. I think this one beats the flavor of the Starbucks version too! It's also a yummy drink to brew for a summer party or shower. It's light, sweet and refreshing. Here's the easy recipe.

12 cups water

12 green tea bags (I use jasmine green)

1/2-2/3 cup raw honey (add more if you're from the south,  :)

Place tea bags in water and bring to a medium boil. Once water boils let tea bags sit 1 minute with heat turned off. Take bags out and add honey, stir until melted and mixed in. Let cool on stove 15+ minutes. Store in pitcher and serve 8.oz of tea to 8.oz of ice. 

 Enjoy!

Cj

Brannon Fam Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

Ok, yummy gluten free cookies are hard to come by for me. These my friends, are delish! You won't miss the flour and neither will your stomach :) Super easy and super yummy!

3/4 cup honey

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/2 T. cinnamon

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda.

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups GF oats (trader joes :)

8.oz chocolate chips

4.oz raisins

1/3 cup sunflower seeds or other nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Combine honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda and mix well. Add peanut butter and mix. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, raisins and nuts.  Place a teaspoon full of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet (2 inches apart). Bake 10-12 minutes until golden around edges.

(inspired from a Trader Joe's recipe)

 Makes about 4 dozen.

Enjoy! 

Cj

sneaky sauce

My boys are great eaters, and I normally just make them eat whatever I've served them...but recently they've not been digging steamed or cooked green veggies. Any spinach, kale or zucchini with that stemmed mushy texture is now a battle for them to eat. So I decided to save the mushy green veggie battle and have been sneaking the veggie into the sauce! No one knows it's there and they gobble it up! 

Just add raw veggies to your pasta sauce, blend in vita mix or food processor, heat until it comes to a boil and serve! 

I added 3 zucchini and 3 cups raw Kale! 

Enjoy!

Cj

Sneaky Spinach Smoothies

 If you're feeling blah from too many holiday treats, whip one of these up, do 100 jumping jacks and you'll be feeling great in no time :)

1 frozen banana

1 1/2 cup of frozen fruit

3-4 cups fresh organic spinach

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

orange juice (fill blender 1/2-3/4 way full)

Blend in blender until smooth, Enjoy!

Have a wonderful week,

Cj

(photo cred. 52kitchenadventures.com)