Robust Recipes

Healthy, Flavorful Food

Skinny Ranch Dip

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With Memorial Day coming up at the end of the month - you know, that three day weekend when everyone thinks they are going to have a party in their backyard or a picnic, but then it always rains (okay, at least here in the Midwest it does) - I thought it was the perfect time to share my take on Skinny Ranch Dip. Because, let's be honest, is it ever any kind of spring/summer party without a veggie platter served with creamy, dreamy ranch dip? About a year ago I shared my Cashew Ranch Dip which … [Read more...]

Blueberry Almond Energy Balls

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Happy Friday, friends! I don't know about you, but I am ready for spring. Our weather in Iowa has been teasing us a little. We've had several gorgeous 60 degree days with bright sunshine. On those days Paul and I have busted out the grill! Not only do I love grilling and the smell of food cooking outside, but it also gives me an excuse to relax. Paul doesn't do much cooking, but he does enjoy grilling! This makes me very happy! This week, we are supposed to have a lot of rain and possibly a … [Read more...]

Sriracha Honey Roasted Cashews

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Happy Monday, Friends! I have a little something for you to help kick-start your Monday: Sriracha Honey Roasted Cashews. I hope you're as excited as I am! The idea for Sriracha Honey Roasted Cashews came from an advertisement for one of those order-a-box-of-fresh-healthy-food-and-it-comes-straight-to-your-door companies. Their example of a snack item was sriracha roasted cashews. I heard that and just had to find out what that would taste like, because I love sriracha on everything - even in … [Read more...]

Homemade Nutella

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Friends, are you ready for today's recipe? Just by reading the name of the title, half of you are drooling and are excitedly running to your kitchen to get started! The other half of you are thinking, "But I can just buy a jar of Nutella from the store and call it a day." That's true, you can buy a jar of Nutella. It's convenient, it's decadent and delicious. OR you could make your own jar of Nutella and feel like a rockstar! Guess what, the homemade version is, of course, better than the … [Read more...]

Cherry Almond Smoothie

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Really, the title of this post should be "Cherry Almond Pie in a Glass" because it's that yummy! This smoothie was created because I had an abundance of frozen cherries in my way-too-small-freezer. My first idea was to throw some almond butter into the mix because cherries and almonds are meant to be. Then I thought, "why not bump up the almond flavor by throwing  in a tiny bit of almond extract?" Almond extract; talk about a ton of flavor! The result was -"why do I have to share this with my … [Read more...]

Apple Spiced Granola

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Hi, friends. You know those mornings when your alarm rudely chirps at you and all you want to do is roll over and hit the snooze button a few times? By "a few times" I mean 10! As the chill settles into Iowa I find it's harder to leave my warm bed each morning. Most mornings I wake up right as my alarm goes off, and sometimes 20 to 30 minutes before. I know, I'm kinda crazy, and to be honest with you, I never thought I would be a morning person, not in a million years! I really, truly love what … [Read more...]

Pear Coconut Green Smoothie

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  Hey, Friends, how was your Thanksgiving? Did you eat a lot of turkey and pumpkin pie and spend time with your family? Did you spend the long weekend relaxing by reading a book or watching a movie? Ahh, I love long weekends; they are refreshing and very necessary every once in a while, don’t you agree? After all of that cooking and eating wonderful, comforting, rich holiday foods I think it’s time that we take a little break from cooking for a day. Heck, why should we even take the … [Read more...]

Seedy Buckwheat Granola Bars

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Granola bars have never excited me too much; most of them seem to have almost the same amount of sugar, carbs, and calories as a candy bar. I would prefer to just eat the candy bar and stop pretending that granola bars are healthy. Does anyone else agree with me on this?   I felt this way about granola bars until I learned that I can make my own. Now I can’t seem to get enough of them! What I love about making my own granola bars is that I can control the level of sweetness. Most … [Read more...]

Homemade Applesauce

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We are fortunate enough to have this little apple orchard not too far from us. Every fall since we have moved to the area I have enjoyed going to the apple orchard to stock up on apples for a few weeks. I seem to have a problem of buying way too many apples when I go to the orchard. All of the apples look so beautiful, fresh, and juicy that I get really excited. I find it hard to stop loading up my bag. I keep wanting more apples. Before I know it, I have purchased 6 pounds of apples when I … [Read more...]

Gluten Free Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

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CORNBREAD MUFFINS!!! Yes, I am so excited about this recipe that I had to type it in all caps! If there is anyone out there who doesn’t like cornbread, especially in muffin form, and especially slathered with butter and honey, then I’m sorry but we can’t be friends anymore. KIDDING! But not really. In my very humble opinion corn bread should be fine in texture; use the fine ground corn flour. Cornbread should be tender; you don’t want it so dry that it gets stuck in your throat as you’re … [Read more...]