Author: admin

My big sis just had a little baby boy, (her first) so I wanted to make a recipes that were quick and easy. Also I know that sometimes after having a baby, everything may not be flowing like normal. That’s why I came up with these bars that are full of healthy fibers and lots of protein to keep a mama going! (In every sense of the word)

First ingredient is PRUNES!!! Our neighbor gives us bags of dried prunes, so it’s nice to have a quick and easy recipe to make that uses them! Prunes are FULL of health benefits!! High in fiber, potassium, vitamins, and iron. Plus they lower blood pressure, and cholesterol! Like I mentioned before, they help to keep everything moving inside!!

Next up…Dried cranberries!! These are also full of fiber and have a lot of nutrients packed into them! They contain Vitamins’ E, A, B-complex, and vitamin K! To add to their greatness, they also have amounts of copper, iron, and manganese!!

Old-Fashioned oats...my go-to for SO MANY of my recipes!! They are, you guessed it…rich in FIBER!! Along with lowering cholesterol, stabilizing blood sugar, and regulating digestion, they also aid with weight loss! I don’t know about you, but when I eat oatmeal, it holds me over for a LOOONNNNNGGGGGGGG TIME!! Especially when you put fruits and peanut butter on  top!

I used Justin’s Peanut butter in this recipe. I sometimes use Teddy Bear, or smuckers. It’s just whatever our local stores carry or our neighbor gives us. But always natural! Peanut butter is my absolute FaVoRiTe next to chocolate! You can never have too much of either! Justin’s Peanut butter is linked her if you would like to purchase it!

We get our coconut oil from SAM’s because we’re serious about our coconut oil. We use it for cooking, baking, and all kinds of goodies! Coconut oil also has a ton of health benefits that I won’t bore you with. But if you wanna purchase your own, you can use any of the 3 links provided!!

We get our maple syrup locally and if you’re interested in purchasing some you can check out my friends website Shumakessugarshack so it’s the real deal.  Or you can purchase on Amazon with the provided link above! (Like, I’ve went out in the woods with them and collected the sap, and helped boil. It’s a lot of fun, AND a lot of work! But so worth it when you know where it’s coming from and that it doesn’t have any added junk in it!)

Mmmm this picture is making me HUNGRY!!! Or hungrier at least!! I was hungry to start with, and writing about food doesn’t help the situation AT ALL!

Here I am hungry again and finishing up this post. Story of my life. Oh well, just made some of these so I’m just gonna devour one of these for dessert or a snack later!!

 

 

 

For the last 2 years, my cousin and I have been making/canning something healthy in the fall. Something we’d never done before, and wanted to try out. Last year we made apple butter, and instead of putting a ton of unhealthy white sugar in, we put in Maple Syrup that our friends made locally! If you would like to get some, you can purchase it at ShumakeSugarShack.com So this year we decided to make GRAPE JUICE!!!! So step 1….pick em.

These are delicious Concord grapes, and the gentleman the grew them has gone on to be with the Lord. He was like a grandpa to me and I miss him dearly. On another note, he didn’t spray the grapes or anything so they are toxin free!! A good way to tell if the grapes are ready is if you can just break the whole cluster off easily. Also grandpa told me they are best after a frost. It hasn’t frosted here yet but the some of the grapes were already drying out. You will have some clusters where most of them are ready and some aren’t. Go ahead and pick them because if you wait, they ripe ones will start to go bad quickly.

As you can see, we had a few little helpers with us. They enjoyed throwing grapes at each other more than picking them, but they did help a  little. Another tip when picking grapes…the ones that get the most sun are probably the most ripe, and are more likely to have completely ripe clusters.

No worries, I’m gonna start putting pictures of the process on. I just am kinda in love with the pictures I got. I’m a very aesthetic person, so please bear with me. When I picked a perfect cluster of grapes it was SO SaTiSfYiNg!!!

Step 1: De-stemming and lemme tell ya…with the amount of grapes we got, this took FOREVEERRRRRR!!! We got about 4 walmart bags full. We later got the bright idea of leaving them on the stems, and i’ll explain why you can do this shortly.

Step 2: Washing with cold water the crisp them and be sure to check for webs, worms, etc.!

Step 3: Steaming in the best creation EVER!!

I know this isn’t the greatest angle or quality but i’ll link the steamer here if you’d like to purchase one. Thankfully my cousin’s neighbor let us borrow hers. BLESS HER!! So you put water in the bottom section for the steaming effect. The great thing about the steamer is…you don’t have to MASH, DE-STEM, SEED, or anything else!! We just put the grape clusters in the top section, and the steamer does the rest!!

Facing the spout towards your counter top is a fantastic idea! That way you can just put a big pot underneath to catch the grape juice. It comes out in spurts. When we started it was enough to fill a quart jar. As it got going, it would do enough to fill 3 quart jars. Be sure to never let the water run out in the bottom!! Also, you can add grapes as they go down, but after about 2 times of adding you should probably dump out the grapes and put an entirely fresh batch in. If you don’t, the old grapes turn to a sludge that the juice can’t get through so it takes FOREVER to get a jar.

Make sure you DON’T STIR the grapes. If you do, you’ll push sediment through the strainer and possibly seeds. If you just leave ’em alone…you get a nice clear juice. (Clear of anything but juice type clear) Be sure to have your lids, and jars hot when putting the juice in so they will seal. I recommend putting your jars in the oven on the lowest setting. Then just take each one out separately when you’re ready to fill them. The lids you can boil and leave them in the water. They’ll stay hot for a while. What we did, was heat them up between each draw. That way they stayed hot. USE OVEN MITTS WHEN HANDLING JARS AND LIDS!!! If you don’t have a good pair I recommend the silicon kind. You can buy them with the link.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!! Always looking for new recipe ideas and suggestions too! You can find me on Instagram (ac_unit18) Facebook and Pinterest  (Amy Croasmun)

It is STILL SUMMER!!! So i’m gonna keep on coming with the Klondike bar recipes whether ya like it or not!! Besides… ice cream is always good no matter the temps right?? Anyways…I kept thinking about what new flavor I could make, and the only logical one I could think of, was Chocolate Chip Mint!!

Mmmmm!!! Would ya look at that Chopped Chocolate?? So when I was making these, I realized we only have 1 pack of chocolate left. Which is enough to make these bars, but then we’d be out. That’s just unacceptable in our house. So I told my dad to get some, and my mom hoping they’d both come home with a bunch. Cuz hey, you can NEVER have too much chocolate, and it surely wouldn’t go to waste. Alas, my dad came home with a bunch, and my mom with none. So at least my dad came through for me haha. If you want to purchase the chocolate I use from Aldi, you can use the links given!

You may have noticed that I always use parchment paper when making my klondike bars. That is because it’s 100x easier to pull out the bars when they’re frozen! Trust me on this one! I linked it here and will below so you can buy it when you see how easy it makes your life!!

See what I mean about the parchment paper?? Super easy to pull out and break apart the bars! Also, if anyone happens to be wondering…I am not sponsered by Aldi for Moser Roth Chocolate. At least not yet. I just really love their dark chocolate bars. So creamy, rich, and satisfies that chocolate craving!! Also, they’re extremely low in sugar. Products made with good ingredients is important to me!! That’s why I linked Pyure on the word “sugar.’

LOVING the feedback on Instagram (ac_unit18) and Facebook (Amy Croasmun) You can comment on here, or find me on social media! I am also on Pinterest (Amy Croasmun) Keep an eye out on my insta stories to see when new recipes are posted or just subscribe on here!! Also on my insta stories you can vote on what recipe you want to see each week!!

 

I’ve been making all these sweet bagels lately. My Healthy Cinnamon Bagels (Vegan option), Healthy, Blueberry bagels! (Vegan option), Healthy Chocolate Chip Bagels! (Vegan option), and Cranberry Orange Bagels (Vegan option). So I figured it was about time to make some savory ones. Since I have a fresh pot of herbs I grew, Rosemary seemed like the way to go for this recipe.

My big sis came and helped me do a bake/recipe day, so no I didn’t get married haha! These bagels seeemed extra sticky, not exactly sure. So make sure you sprinkle spelt flour on your hands and kneading surface to keep it from sticking. Also I divided these into 16 bagels since I was sharing some with my sis. It just makes smaller bagels. Honestly they were the perfect size for a breakfast sandwich though.

Obviously I took the picture before I cut it into 16 pieces just because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Ya know? Like would it just look like a blob when I was done haha?!?! It didn’t look bad honestly, I just didn’t take an after picture.

Mmm, mmm they’re coming together!! These turned out SO GOOD! Like, they weren’t too seasoned, just enough to get the flavor but not overpowering! I added some parsley too just because I had mostly parsley, and only a little bit Rosemary.

This is before baking. My Sis was putting the toppings on while I was cooking the other bagels and egg washing them. Tip: Have someone help you make these bagels, because it’s more fun and definitely helpful!

Like OOO LA LA!! AMIRIGHT?? These look BEAUTIFUL!! Of course I think food in general looks beautiful. But who doesn’t?? I’ve never tried vegan cheese, but my tip to the vegans…add the vegan cheese!! If you don’t have any, you can purchase some using the links given.

See what I mean about them making delish breakfast sandwiches?? Yeah! Feel free to comment, give recipe suggestions and PIN!! Check me out on instagram (ac_unit18) Facebook and Pinterest (Amy Croasmun) Always looking for new recipe ideas and requests!! Also let me know how you like the recipe!!

Today I am going to introduce to you to another kind of food that i’m a little obsessed with. Granola, because…who isn’t?? A couple years ago I went to visit a friend in Washington. When I was there, we had yogurt with homemade granola on it for breakfast, and I asked my friend’s mom for her recipe. I was tired of buying granola, and had a hard time finding a kind that I liked. I loved hers so why not??

So for the past several years I’ve been making my friend’s mom’s recipe, and slowly been modifying it. Then recently I wanted to make my own granola bars, because you NEVER know whats in the store bought ones. In my attempt to make homemade granola bars, I crashed and burned. Thus leaving me with this SCRUMPTIOUS GRANOLA!! The only reason I crashed and burned on the granola bars was because they didn’t stick together! I was only upset for 2.5 seconds until I realized it was the perfect granola!!

This picture is a perfect example of why you should melt the coconut oil before mixing it in with your honey or maple syrup. I used both, and since the maple syrup was cold…it solidified the partially softened coconut oil. If I had melted it completely it wouldn’t have done that. Lesson learned for next time…because there will DEFINITELY be a next time for this granola!! Also if you guys want to purchase maple syrup, you can follow the link. Or I have some friends that make it…and you can get pure authentic Pennsylvania Maple syrup at Shumakesugarshack.com. 

Soooo, i’m gonna be real honest with you here. Our neighbor gave us a couple bags of fruit and nut mix and that’s part of the reason I came up with this recipe. In the recipe I broke down everything that’s in it so no worries on guessing. Then I add a few more goodies to make it fantastic. Lil secret…chocolate is one of those ingredients!! Because…well I shouldn’t have to explain chocolate…it explains itself.

Here’s me again!! Real smile and a real background!! As of right now I don’t have a fancy setup for taking pictures, that’s why the lighting may be off or you can see weird things in the background of some pictures. But hey, that’s life, and i’m working on getting a better setup. Also you can peep a new bagel recipe in the background, so keep your eyes open in the next couple weeks for that. Or you can just look through my last few bagel posts and make some of them!! Also watch my Instagram stories (ac_unit18) to vote on what recipes you want to see next!! I’m always open for tips, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, new recipes ideas, or requests!! You can comment below or find me on Instagram, and Facebook. (Amy Croasmun)

Oh lala!! Check out that up-close!! As you can see this last picture looks like a pin! Feel free to find and follow my on Pinterest (Amy Croasmun/Eatingismyjam) Pin away!!

 

 

 

So I’ve heard of this combo before and never really thought it sounded that great.I mean, Orange and Cranberry?? But as a food blogger, you don’t always make recipes that just YOU like. Ya know what I mean?? Anyways, I thought I would try it for the sake of others who might like it, and who knows…maybe I would actually like it. Guess what?? I DID!!

Now some people will be like, “Dried cranberries aren’t healthy!!” They’re right, but they’re so much EASIER!! If you would like to dry fresh cranberries you are more than welcome to!! To each their own right?? I even gave you the link to buy a nice big bag of fresh cranberries! Kudos to any of you whole take the time to actually do that!! I guess that makes me lazy.

I put a link in the first paragraph that you can purchase this oil at, but i’ll put it here again. (Orange Vitality Oil) If anybody is interested in joining the essential oil trend and wants to be a part of Young Living, feel free to comment below or DM me on insta! (ac_unit18) I don’t push oils on anybody, and i’m not a die-hard user. But I do stand behind them and know that they work. And of course they are all natural!

My favorite cutting board IS BACCCKKKKK!!! Now the one I linked isn’t the exact one I use, but that’s because I got mine in Hawai’i for my mom as a souvenir. It’s still a pretty cool one and you should definitely check it out! It’s made of bamboo, so no worries about plastic and chemicals!

Personally, I always bake mine 25 minutes. It makes them the perfect brownness. In our house, we like things browned! It seems to be the perfect level of flavor. If you don’t have cooling racks, you can purchase them using the link provided.

I hesitated to post this picture, because I look dopey. Honestly this is just me in my natural habitat! I love smelling food almost as much as I love eating it! In this picture, I’m taking a nice whiff of these fresh bagels outta the oven!!

Another thing I love doing, is trying new combos on bagels! The on bagel just has plain cream cheese, and yes it was delish! The other, I made into a PBJ. Now I know what you’re thinking. Peanut butter (technically almond butter) and Jelly on a cranberry orange bagel?? YUP!!

Subscribe, Follow, Comment! Feel free to give suggestions on what you wanna see on the blog next!! You can also find me on instagram @ac_unit18, on Facebook (Amy Croasmun) and Pinterest under Amy Croasmun also!

 

 

It’s seems like once I make a recipe we love, I make a million versions of whatever it is. Not a bad thing in my opinion!! First it was the Chocolate Klondike Bars! Low-Carb, THM, Keto, then it was the Healthy Cinnamon Bagels (Vegan option), and now it’s these bars. The first kind were my Vegan PBJ Crumble Bars! (Low-Carb-ish) and lemme tell ya, WOW!! They were SO SO GOOD!!

I try to make my recipes as simple as possible. Few ingredients, and ingredients that most people have in their kitchen. Now it’s not always that way, but I try. This crust is SUPER simple. 3-ingredients, unless you don’t count water as an ingredient. Then it’s only 2 ingredients. It’s just old fashioned oats, pitted dates, and good ole water!! We have an amish bulk store near us, so I got a screaming deal on my 5 lb. bag of dates!! Needless to say, I was VERY happy!! You can purchase any of the items you may not have for the crust with the links provided!

In the recipe I said that you can use fresh or frozen peaches. I used fresh because it’s peach season, and fresh is ALWAYS BETTER!! When you’re eating it fresh outta the oven, you gotta add more fresh peaches on top, because someone has to be extra! If it’s not you then who?? Oh right, me!!

These pouring pictures are just so satisfying to me. Also, looking at food is just as satisfying haha. Can ya tell i’m a foodie?? Since i’m addicted to food, it’s part of the reason I try to eat healthy. What you put into your body literally becomes you, so that’s why I try to be smart about it.

If you’ve been following me on my blog, you’ll notice that the 8×8 pyrex dish is the most used. It’s the perfect size to test a recipe just in case it doesn’t turn out, or tastes like garbage. Thankfully that’s not happened to me. Also you don’t have to use as many ingredients to fill and 8×8.

If you like the recipe, let me know!! You can comment below, DM me on instagram (ac_unit18), or even message me on Facebook (Amy Croasmun) Please feel free to PIN and SHARE!!! Also let me know what kind of recipes you want to see next. I want to hear from you! You can purchase any of the items using the links given. I would make a small profit from and and appreciate your purchase.

 

Since I’ve been on a klondike bar, and bagel kick lately, I decided to change it up a little bit. Also I wanted to come up with more vegan recipes as I have several vegan friends. What better combo to make into a dessert than Peanut butter and Jelly?!?!

This honestly turned out just like I imagined, and I was SOO HAPPPPYY!!! It’s basically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that you eat with a fork. Also, I’m gonna let you in on a lil’ secret…I already made another version, it’s includes peaches, but that’s all i’m gonna say. You’ll have to keep an eye out for it in the next week or so. But it’s JUST as BOMB!!

Had to take a “pour picture” because isn’t it just satisfying?? Also,  raspberries are SOOO underrated! Everybody always has strawberry flavored this, or strawberry that. Don’t get me wrong I love strawberries, I just think that raspberries fall into the shadows too many times!

Look at that golden almond flour crumble!! Got me drooling right now because we haven’t eaten supper yet!! I’m startin to get a little HANGRY if ya feel me! It didn’t get as brown as I wanted, but the bars were done, so didn’t want the rest to burn on account of wanting a super brown topping!! You can get the same almond flour I use with the link provided. We used to get the Bob’s Red Mill almond flour until our SAM’s Club stopped carrying it for whatever reason!! Can’t stand it when a store stops carrying an item because “they say” it’s not popular. Well it was popular with me!! Thankfully they now carry the Blue Diamond Almond Flour!!

Man….I gotta get in the kitchen and off this computer to make some more of these delish bars!!! Looking at other food bloggers, I imagine they have all their goodies sitting in their fridges and freezers so they’re stocked up for weeks. In reality they’re probably like me. Make a recipe and it lasts a few days.

Feel free to suggest recipes you want to see, or want to see healthified!! Vegan, Paleo, Keto, Low-Carb, THM, you name it?? If you’ve tried a recipe and like it, please let me know!! Tag me in your insta story. (@ac_unit18) DM me or comment below and be sure to rate it! You can also find me on pinterest!! Amy Croasmun!!!

 

 

So on with the Klondike bar kick!! The other day I was thinking about what flavor on klondike bars I should do next… I thought Peach…ehh mayyybbbeee. Blueberry?? Then it hit me…Fudge sundae, because everybody wants their own when it comes to those!!

The base ice cream flavor of these Klondike bars is Vanilla. Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve made a vanilla flavored base and MANNNN I’ve been missing out!! There’s just something about the simplicity of vanilla…MMMM.

Next time I’m gonna use WAY more fudge sauce than I did this time. I was just using up what was left of the stuff my cousin gave to me. Not making that mistake again. Like EVER!! If you don’t have a healthy fudge sauce recipe you can purchase some using the links provided. If you want the recipe that I used, comment below and let me know!!

See what I mean?? Definitly NOT enough. Of course…I’m a recovering Chocaholic. Just kidding, no recovering going on here…WHATSOEVER!!! I think we should make a group called Chocaholic Anonymous where we get together and try different kinds of chocolate.

 

 

 

 

So as you may already know, I’ve been going back and forth between Klondike bar recipes, and bagel recipes. Because really, who needs anything else?? Besides God of course. Anyways, long story short, we now have Chocolate Chip Bagels!!

I am a fan of anything with Chocolate! Who is with me?!?!?! So obviously i’m gonna add it to my BAGELS!! When I had these for breakfast, I slathered natural peanut butter on top, and then added bananas and WOW!! Yumma!!

Am I really that dark?? Yes, Yes I am. My day job is a supervisor on a racehorse farm, sooo, I’m outside A LOT!! Believe me… I work hard for my tan!! (Sidenote: I make my own sunscreen using Myrrh Essential oil [Young Living] and a carrier oil. Don’t want to put chemicals on my skin!! It’s just as bad as consuming unhealthy foods!!)

Now that I’ve started making homemade bagels, it’s honestly my Go-To breakfast! It’s quick and easy, plus I’ve missed eating bagels SO MUCH, that I have to make up for lost time RIGHHTTTT?!?!?! Peep my Hawaiian cutting board I got as a souvenir for my mom when I went to HAWAI’I!! (I linked a cool one kinda like it)

OOOHHH…. just LOOK at THAT!!! You honestly need to get in your kitchen RIGHT NOW and MAKE these!! If you don’t you are missing out!! Your friends will love! You will love you!!

Feel free to Share, like, repost, comment, or ask questions!! Also i’m always up for recipe requests and suggestions!!