Breakfast Cookies

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food (or sub in any other pureed, mild veggie like squash or pumpkin)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Oven at 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Note-These cookies are so tasty! I also love that you have a quick breakfast to go. These cookies freeze well and can be defrosted quickly in the microwave.

Easy Chocolate Bark

1 8oz package baking chocolate (either semi-sweet, milk chocolate or white chocolate-your choice)
1 1/2 cups total of add-ins of your choice-some examples are dried fruits, nuts, cereal, or pretzels, all chopping small pieces.

Microwave the chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high 1-2 minutes or until chocolate is melted, stirring after each minute. Add half (of each) add-ins. Mix well. Spread onto waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining add-ins. Refrigerate until firm. When cooled and hardened, break into pieces.

Moroccan Cous Cous

1 cup uncooked couscous
water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chickpeas
2 cups vegetables (good for this recipe would be peppers, zucchini, or carrots but use whatever you have on hand), chopped to match in size the chickpeas
1 cup jarred or homemade salsa
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons golden raisins (or whatever dried fruit you have on hand)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or whatever natural sweetener you have on hand)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cooked couscous in water according to packaged directions. Cover to keep warm and set aside. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute your veggies in the oil until softened, about 5 minutes. The last one minute, add garlic, being careful not to burn it. Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet, stirring to combine. Let simmer/warm for 10-20 minutes, letting the flavors blend.

**Note-this is a recipe I altered to fit what I had in my cupboard at the time. It is very versatile and perfect for using up little bits of left over things. Don't have brown sugar? Use honey! Don't have raisins, use dried apricots! There is a lot of play in this recipe, which is great when you clean out your cupboard and realize you have 2 bags of dried cranberries and don't know what to do with them.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest
3 cups quick oats
1 cup white-chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Oven at 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and both sugars in a large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in oatmeal one cup at a time. Add chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Drop batter by heaping teaspoonfuls, 1 inch apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.

**Note-These cookies are a great way to use up the odds and ends in your pantry (oatmeal, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips) as well as getting something fairly healthy into your kids (or spouse!).

Curried Quinoa Salsa

1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3 green onions, chopped
1 c garbanzo beans

Cook quinoa and curry in water as directed on package. Mix in remaining ingredients. Serves 2.

Zoo Day Snack Mix

3 cups animal crackers
1 ½ cups banana chips
¾ c chopped, dried mangoes
¾ cups peanuts
¾ cups dried berries or raisins

Mix together and divide evenly among snack bags (makes 6-12 bags).

**Note-This is a perfect snack for the zoo because the bananas are for monkeys, peanuts for elephants, mango for bats and berries for birds. Feel free to add other things to the mix that fit the zoo theme.