Berry Barbecue Glazed Chicken

I love crock pot meals. Dump everything in, turn it on, and come home to a nice dinner. This is one of those recipes, but it comes out so yummy and pretty you could serve it to guests!

1lb Frozen Chicken Breasts*
1c Thrive Blueberries (or 1/3c Thrive Blueberry powder from the bottom of the can)
3T Thrive Tomato Powder
2T Thrive Chopped Onions
1T Worcestershire
2t Thrive Brown Sugar
1t Ground Mustard
1/2t Garlic Powder
1/8t Black Pepper
1/2c Water
Dinner rolls, hamburger buns, hot dog buns or kaiser rolls

Put the chicken breasts (you could also use thighs) in a medium sized crock pot. Put freeze dried berries in a zip top bag and smash them with a mallet until they are powdered. In a bowl, combine berry powder and remaining ingredients and stir until a thick sauce forms. Pour sauce over chicken and stir to coat. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken, shred, and return to sauce. Stir well to coat. Serve shredded chicken on warmed rolls.

* Starting with frozen chicken breasts ensures that they will be moist and tender.

Mixed Fruit Jam

This quick jam is perfect on toast, homemade bagels, macaroon rolls, or even stirred into hot oatmeal. Yum!

1c Thrive FD Blueberries
1/2c Thrive FD Blackberries
1/2c Thrive FD Raspberries
1/2c Thrive FD Apple Slices or Chips
1/2c Thrive FD Pineapple (optional)
1/2c Thrive White or Brown Sugar or 1/4c Honey
1c Water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cover and simmer, stirring frequently, until all fruits are soft. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 14 days.

For a tart, no sugar added jam, just omit the sugar and/or honey.

Instant Oatmeal Packets

Your mother told you to always eat a good breakfast, and that means a breakfast that is nutritious, balanced, hot and yummy. That doesn't mean unwrapping a plastic covered "pastry", pouring a bowl of sugar bombs, or going through the drive thru. With just a little bit of planning, and half an hour on a Sunday afternoon, you can provide your kids with a delicious breakfast that is fast and healthy. These instant oatmeal packets are fun to make and simple to prepare.

1/3c Thrive Quick Oats
1T Thrive Instant Milk Powder
1t Thrive Sugar - more if you prefer sweeter oats

These three ingredients will be the "base" for each oatmeal packet you make. I like to pick up a box of 100 snack sized zip top bags (about $1.99 at Walmart) and use them to make my oatmeal packets. Set up an assembly line of open containers and this process will be simple! Here are a few ideas for flavored oatmeal:

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal: Base + 1/3c Thrive Blueberries + Dash of Cinnamon
Banana Bread Oatmeal: Base + 2T Thrive Banana Chunks or Thrive Banana Chips (crushed) + 2T Walnut Pieces
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal: Base + 1/4c Thrive Apple Slices (chopped) + 1/4t Cinnamon + 1t Thrive Brown Sugar
Peaches & Cream Oatmeal: Base + 1/4c Thrive Peaches + 1/4t Thrive Butter Powder + 1t Thrive Brown Sugar
Island Oatmeal: Base + 2T Thrive Mangoes + 2T Thrive Pineapple Chunks + 2T Thrive Macaroon Cookie Mix
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal: Base + 2T Chocolate Chips + 1/2t Thrive Butter Powder
Macaroon Cookie Oatmeal: Base + 2T Thrive Macaroon Cookie Mix
Brownie Oatmeal: Base + 2T Thrive Brownie Mix

Use your creativity to come up with your own combinations! To prepare the oatmeal packet, combine the contents of the bag with 1/2c cold water. Stir gently until milk powder and sugar dissolves, then microwave for 3-4 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Please note that you may need to add additional water if you use a larger amount of freeze dried fruits.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Blueberry Jam Filling

Blueberry Jam:
1c Thrive Blueberries
1/3c Thrive White Sugar
1/3c Water

Combine ingredients, stir and set aside for 10 minutes. Puree and chill.

Cupcake Batter:
1c Thrive White Flour
1/3c Thrive White Sugar
1T Thrive Whole Egg Powder
1t Thrive Baking Powder
1/4t Thrive Baking Soda
1/4t Thrive Salt
1/3c Applesauce
2/3c Water
1t Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a muffin tin. Combine flour, sugar, egg powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together applesauce, water and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well.

To assemble cupcakes, put 1T cupcake batter into each of 6 muffin cups. Carefully spoon 1T of the pureed blueberry jam into the center of the cupcake batter, then spoon additional cupcake batter over the jam until it is covered and the cup is about 2/3 full. You'll have some leftover jam - store it in the fridge and serve it on your next batch of homemade bagels!

Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and cool completely before frosting. For extra fancy frosting, stir a few spoonfuls of your homemade blueberry jam into your favorite vanilla frosting!

Triple Berry Coffee Cake

 This coffee cake is rich, moist, tangy, low in fat and full of antioxidants thanks to the addition of Thrive Freeze Dried Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries. I made a light crumb topping, but feel free to double the recipe if you would like a thicker topping on your coffee cake. Serve with a tall glass of coffee that will change your life.

Topping:

3T Thrive White Flour
3T Thrive White Sugar
1/2t Ground Cinnamon
1/4c Thrive Oats
3T Cold Butter

Mix all ingredients, breaking butter apart with with your fingers, into a fine crumble. Set aside. If you like a lot of topping on your coffee cake, double the topping recipe.

Cake:

2c Thrive Flour (White or Whole Wheat)
4t Thrive Baking Powder
1c Thrive White Sugar
2T Thrive Whole Egg Powder
1t Thrive Salt
1t Ground Cinnamon
2/3c Applesauce
1c Milk
1/3c Thrive Blueberries
1/3c Thrive Raspberries
1/3c Thrive Blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9" pie plate. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, egg powder, salt and cinnamon. In a seperate bowl, combine milk and applesauce. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir well. Gently fold in berries, then pour batter into pie plate. Sprinkle topping evenly over the batter and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked through.