Healthy Recipes

These bites are full of good healthy stuff and are super easy to make in a food processor. If you want, you can substitute melted coconut oil for the butter and canola oil. It'll be different than the original, but it still tastes great.

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup dried apricots
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ¼ cup cooked quinoa
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 24 count mini-muffin pan.
2. Pour 1 cup of rolled oats into a food processor. Process for about 1 minute until oats are pulverized into oat flour.
3. Add in the remaining 3/4 cup rolled oats, sugar, dried apricots, raisins, flax seed, sunflower seeds, coconut, quinoa, chia seeds, and baking soda. Pulse until apricots and raisins are in small bits.
4. Pour in honey, melted butter, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Pulse just until combined.
5. Divide batter among the prepared muffin tin.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove pan from oven and let cool in pan on a wire cooling rack in the pan.
8. Once completely cooled, remove from pan and store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.

Have fun and get creative with your bistro box!

Whether it' a sandwich or a stuffed tortilla rolled up and cut into pinwheels, that's a great main element to any bistro box. From there, add fruit or vegetable slices, nuts, chips or pretzels and a dipping sauce to tie it all together.

Healthy bites made in 5 minutes with just 8 ingredients. They are vegan, Paleo gluten-free and have no refined sugar.

Ingredients

• 2 cups pitted dates
• ½ cup raw pecans
• ½ cup raw cashews
• 2 TBS cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt*
• 2 TBS almond butter
• 1 TBS unsweetened almond milk
• ½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Line a baking pan with wax paper, set aside. (You will not be baking these, you just need a place to set your rolled bites as you make them).
2. Put dates, pecans and cashews in your food processor fitted with an "S" blade or in your Vitamix. Process until mixture is fine and homogeneous.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed (cocoa powder, salt, almond butter, almond milk, and vanilla) to your food processor and process until mixture just starts to clump together.
4. Roll 1 TBS portions of your "dough" into balls and place them on your prepared baking sheet.
5. Put them in the fridge or freezer until they harden.
6. Transfer to an airtight container to save for later! These can be stored at room temperature, but will last longer when kept in the fridge or freezer! I think they taste the best cold/frozen!

Grain bowls are a healthy and nutritious meal full of fresh ingredients. They're easy to make and take when you're on the run. You can craft them based on what you like, but here are a few tips to get you started:

• Grab a grain: rice, farro, quinoa, millet or barley – you decide.
• Pick a protein: Use chicken, steak, duck, or fish, or go vegetarian with eggs, or vegan with tofu, beans, or lentils.
• Load it with veggies: Roasted, steamed, or grilled eggplant, broccolini, sweet potatoes, carrots, or parsnips are all good and can be made ahead. Raw vegetables are also great options. Salad greens or something crunchier like carrots, radishes, or bell peppers add a bright, fresh-tasting element. Use as many as you like.
• Dress it up: Tie your entire creation together with a sauce to add moisture and flavor. Try vinaigrette, yogurt, warm broth, hot sauce, soy sauce, or any combination.
• Garnish: Finish it off with a pop of color and texture with a fresh herbs, microgreens, seeds or nuts.

There truly IS an art to making a perfectly boiled egg. Here's an easy way to do hard boiled.

• Put your eggs in a large saucepan and fill with water, covering the eggs with about an inch of water.
• Add a half teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of vinegar (this makes the eggs easier to peel).
• Place saucepan over high heat.
• Once the water comes to a rolling boil, set your timer for 8 minutes.
• When the timer goes off, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and let sit for at least 10 minutes until the eggs come to room temperature.
• Your hard-boiled eggs are ready to eat or refrigerate for later.

Our teen ambassadors from our Navigating Teen Life YouTube channel did a special video segment with Jessica Lewis, Executive Chef at Spirits & Tales at the Oaklander Hotel, and a participant on Season 11 of Hell's Kitchen with Chef Gordon Ramsay. She came up with three simple, delicious and filling recipes that you can easily whip up in your own kitchen to stay on that healthy track!

Chef Jessica specifically selected "shaker" recipes – a concept where all ingredients are combined into a mason jar, then shaken and eaten! These recipes are particularly great for teens and your busy lifestyle, as the shakers are essentially a grab-and-go option. Not to mention, using a glass mason jar is an eco-friendly alternative to plastic containers and bags.

Check out the recipes below, all of which can be customized to your personal preferences or dietary needs! And make sure to view the video on our NTL YouTube channel!

Grilled Chicken Curry Salad Shaker

• 6 oz grilled chicken – cook on your own or purchase pre-cooked!
• ½ avocado, diced
• 1 small tomato, diced
• ¼ c red onion, fine chopped
• 2 cups basmati rice, cooked
• 2 Tbsp sesame seed
• 4 ounces curry sauce
• (you can replace the tomato and red onion with ¼ cup salsa)

Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad Shaker

• 2 c green lentils, cooked
• ½ c chickpea
• 1 cup or 1 medium sweet potato, diced
• 1 cup spinach
• ¼ c red onion, diced
• ¼ c olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Roasted Potato Bacon Salad Shaker

• 2 cup roasted potato, cut into a dice
• ½  apple, diced
• ¼ c bacon, chopped
• ¼ c parmesan
• ¼ c lemon mustard vinaigrette