Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers

I have to admit. . . graham crackers bought at the store really aren't that bad for you. They don't contain a ginormous amount of processed foods, but I still thought it would be fun to make some of my own. Can I say FABULOUS? I'll continue making them because they taste almost like a cookie when you make them yourself. I loved it.

I used the recipe straight out of the THRIVE Cookbook. Normally I like to change things up & do it my way, but really this was the perfect recipe & why mess with perfection right?

Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers:

2 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup THRIVE White Flour

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda

1/2 cup Butter, softened (or do 1/2 THRIVE Butter Powder + 1/4 cup Water)

1/2 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar, packed

1/3 cup Honey

1/2 cup THRIVE Powdered Milk, rehydrated (1 1/2 Tablespoons powder + 1/2 cup Water)

2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons THRIVE White Sugar

Sift together the whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, & baking soda. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, & honey until light & fluffy.

Stir in the sifted ingredients alternating between the milk & vanilla..

Cover dough & chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the chilled dough into quarters. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out one quarter at a time into a large rectangle. (just like rolling out sugar cookie dough) The recipe says to roll it 1/8 inch thick, but I though the thicker grahams (1/4 in thick) turned out yummier. So it's up to you. Divide into smaller rectangles with a butter knife.

Place rectangles on ungreased baking sheets. Mark a line down the center of each one without cutting through the dough, & prick the tops with a fork. Combine cinnamon & white sugar & sprinkle over dough before baking.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

These are SO GOOD. I don't know why I expected them to be not as good as the store bought kind, but they're seriously like eating a cookie. FABULOUS. They're even better with ice cold milk. Mmmmm. The kids LOVED them too. In fact, my little two year old kept sneaking into the kitchen to eat more when I wasn't looking. He almost ate the entire batch the little stinker.

If you'd like to purchase any of the ingredients used in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Banana Nut Crumble Muffins

These are

THE BEST MUFFINS YOU WILL EVER EAT!

I made these the other day & we ate them ALL at one sitting. They were SO good, I had my sweet husband BEGGING for another batch.

Basically, I just started throwing things together & combining some old recipes I had & this was the end product. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Banana Nut Crumble Muffins:

1 1/2 cups THRIVE White Flour

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

3 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Bananas (or 3 brown bananas)

1/2 cup THRIVE White Sugar

1/4 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 Tablespoon THRIVE Egg Powder (+ 2 Tablespoons Water in wet ingredients)

1/3 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (+ 1/4 cup Water in wet ingredients)

1/2 cups Chopped Walnuts (optional)

1/3 cup THRIVE Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons THRIVE White Flour

1 Tablespoon THRIVE Butter Powder (mixed with 1/2 Tablespoon Water)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups (or use liners). Let your Freeze Dried bananas soak in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes until they are soft & ready to be squished. Then drain out the extra water.

While your bananas are soaking, mix your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.

Add your powdered egg & powdered butter to the dry ingredients. I know it sounds SO strange, but you have to trust me. It works out & bakes just fine. It's hard to get used to, but it makes your food DELICIOUS.

In another bowl beat the bananas, vanilla, sugars, & 1/4 + 2 Tablespoons water (to make up for your powdered egg & powdered butter. . . again, trust me on this.)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients & mix thoroughly. Add your nuts & stir until evenly distributed. Scoop into the muffin cups until 2/3 full (or even a little more).

In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, flour, & prepared butter powder until you have a nice little crumble. (I had to make two batches of this because I ate most of the first one.)

Sprinkle the cupcakes GENEROUSLY with the crumble. Put a TON on them. It's SO good.

Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes until baked all the way through. We ate them HOT out of the oven & all 12 were gone in minutes.

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the ingredients listed in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Cheese Crackers

I'm always looking for healthy snack ideas for my kids. They are addicted to Cheese-its (which I HATE) so I've been looking for a good recipe for homemade cheese crackers WITHOUT all the sodium, sugar, & preservatives. The THRIVE Cookbook had a recipe for Cheese Crackers in it so I thought I'd try it out. It was good, but my taste buds craved a little more flavor, so I took their recipe & tweaked it to my liking. So here is MY version of cheese crackers;

I hope you like it!

1 1/4 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (to add just a little kick of flavor)

1/2 cup THRIVE Cheese Blend

1/4 cup THRIVE (FD) Cheddar Cheese, prepared

3 tablespoons THRIVE Butter Powder, prepared

water (a little less than 1/2 cup)

#1: Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, & cheese blend.

#2: Prepare the cheddar cheese by mixing the FD cheese with a little water & soak for 10 minutes. Drain & pat dry. (It's alright to leave it a little squishy for this recipe).

#3: Prepare the butter by mixing the butter powder with little bits of water until you reach the consistency of fresh butter. (you want 3 tablespoons prepared).

#4: Add the cheese & butter to the sifted dry ingredients & mix until the batter is crumbly.

#5: Add water one tablespoon at a time until a ball of dough forms. Roll dough on a floured piece of parchment paper until 1/8 inch thick. Flip the rolled dough & PARCHMENT paper onto a greased cookie sheet. Remove the Parchment paper & you have your perfectly rolled dough on your pan.

#6: Cut with a pizza cutter into little squares. My kids made triangles, squares, hearts, etc. My oldest even put some SpongeBob faces on some of her squares. Poke a hold with a toothpick in each piece (to make it look like a cheese-it), & sprinkle with a little salt.

#7: Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cook less for cookie like crackers & longer for crispy crackers. It's up to you & what your family likes. ENJOY!

I promise your kids will eat them right up & THEY ARE HEALTHY!!!! Hooray for healthy recipes!

If you would like to order any of the ingredients listed in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com