Easy Peasy Oat Bars

This has been on my recipe to-do list for a while now. An easy, healthy snack to bring on the go if I needed to. And to share with friends, of course. I also love recipes that are very customizable, you can add anything to this…within reason. Chris also really liked these, so I know they’re a good hit. Try this recipe out and play around with it, have fun! I got it from here, a famous blogger, but tweaked it for my own needs.

Square of happiness

Serves: 9
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

2 cup oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (I will probably play around with this one too–using honey or trying without!)
3/8 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease up a baking pan that’s a few inches deep
Mix up the wet ingredients first and then mix in the dry. Stir it up until smooth

Scoop the smooth mixture into the baking pan and make even

Get ready to bake

Pop it in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Mine was ready in about 23 minutes. Let it cool for a bit and then cut into squares

Cut it up!

Yes, that’s how easy it is. I’m already planning to bake another batch tonight for the upcoming week. They are the perfect snack, below 250 calories and full of fiber and healthy fats. They’ll keep you satisfied for those busy hours when you don’t have time to put together a good snack or meal. And like I said, feel free to play around with it! I’m going to try chocolate chips, maybe throw some nuts in there, use honey instead of sugar, etc. Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria watching Spongebob…obviously has good taste like me ^.^

Apr252013

Scrumptious Whole-Wheat Banana Date Muffins

We had dates and bananas that needed to be used. Okay maybe the dates didn’t need to be used since they last forever, but I’ve been wanting to try this. Like my other muffin recipe (which this one is actually based on), it’s super simple and quick to do. I threw this together late last night after a leg workout. It’s very healthy, estimated at about 167 calories with 3 grams of protein and fiber! Not too shabby.

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Bake Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
10 dates
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
3/8 cup honey [a little more than 1/3]
2 eggs
2 bananas mashed
1/4 cup hot water

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients: whole-wheat flour, salt, and baking soda

Chop up your dates, 5 into little pieces, 5 into long quarters

Put dry ingredients to the side and get a bigger mixing bowl. Put the olive oil and honey into big bowl and whisk!

Crack both eggs and drop them in. Whisk away!
Now, mash your bananas so they are nice and smooth. Scrape the bananas into the wet mixture
Add the finely chopped dates (don’t put in the long date quarters)

Slowly stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with pouring in hot water

Grease your muffin tin and pour them in. Make sure they don’t overflow, but you want them high enough so they puff over the top when baked.

Top each muffin with the quarter slivers of dates we cut ahead of time as a garnish!

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Mine took about 17 minutes

And enjoy! Oh they are SO good warm right out of the oven. And of course, before I brought them into work, I had to taste test them. And…I approve! Another fail-proof recipe to enjoy and not feel the slightest guilt eating them.

BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria cuddling Chris

Nov062012

Get Yo Autumn On: Whole-Wheat Banana PUMPKIN Bread

Oh yes I said it…pumpkin. I’ve made tons of banana breads, but now it was time to introduce the beloved fall vegetable, pumpkin. How many times do you think I can say pumpkin in this paragraph? Anyways, this pumpkin banana bread is one, absolutely delicious, two, easy to make, and three, doesn’t leave you feeling guilty. It uses a bit of brown sugar and honey to sweeten things up, as well as the banana and pumpkin that go along with it. I found this recipe here and varied it a bit, put more cinnamon in it, more honey, typical stuff for me. Alrighty, get ready.

Ingredients:

WET
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 banana
2 tablespoons orange juice (weird)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DRY
1.5 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

This is the pumpkin puree I use. You can find it…ANYWHERE right now

Okay, looks like a long list but it doesn’t take long to prepare.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55-70 minutes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
REAL simple here. Mix all the wet ingredients together

Then, you mix in the dry ingredients like the flour, baking soda, etc. Just look up at the ingredient list above, I organized it for you (it was really hard).

Spoon it all into the buttered or oiled baking tin and place into oven!

Bake for 55-75 minutes. Test it in the middle with a fork or a toothpick to make sure it’s cooked all the way through.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we will! I’m bringing this over to my aunt’s and cousins’ to watch the Election Night coverage as we bite our fingernails. Now that I think about it, I probably baked this to subconsciously soothe myself. Don’t forget to VOTE tomorrow. Please.

BONUS KITTY PIC

Sep302012

Whole-Wheat Oat Banana Cookies: Get a Padlock Ready

I’m pretty upset I didn’t take a picture of the banana I used. It was bad. Like really really bad. Like not even brown and black, but a gray-black color, desperately begging to be used. So instead of the normal banana bread route, I wanted to make cookies (Chris was all in favor of this, for some reason, I think he might like cookies?). And I definitely ~~wanted~~ needed to use that banana. So I found a recipe from another blog and always…altered it! And for the padlock comment? Let’s just say…Chris may have substituted one of his meals with these, but…more on that later.

There is no reason to feel guilty about eating these cookies, barely any butter or sugar, with lots of oats to keep your fiber count happy! Let’s take a look at the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup regular sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 banana
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

It may seem like a long list, but it goes by very quickly. I think this whole process (including cooking) maybe took 20 minutes max. Pretty nice, and I find cooking/baking relaxing and cheerful anyhow. Okay, let’s get started! Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter up baking pan.

Instructions:

First, in a medium bowl (please note: this will not be your final mixing bowl, I don’t know how many times I’ve short-sightedly followed a recipe thinking it was going to be the main mixing bowl), get your dry ingredients ready. Mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Next, in your large mixing bowl (this is it, folks! This is the bowl that everything will end up in!), we will combine the butter and the two sugars. Whisk that puppy up.
Then, we’ll put the egg, vanilla extract, and (MASHED) banana into the mixture. Good to use a whisk.
In comes the dry ingredients, rudely interrupting the wet-ingredient get-together. Slowly pour in the medium bowl ingredients into the large bowl (flour, etc. –> sugar, egg, butter, etc.). Mix that up.

Now, for the (almost) final step! Fold the chocolate chips into your mixture, make sure they’re evenly spread out so one cookie doesn’t greedily get them all.

Take gobs of the beautiful cookie dough (again, I ate too much of it and afterwards could not eat enough of my Mexican dinner twenty minutes later) and place upon your greased up baking sheet.

Set timer for 10-12 minutes. Mine took 12 minutes because I always make HUGE cookies. And voila! You’re done.

So for the padlock comment expanded…while I was working at the assisted living home yesterday, Chris ate five cookies (and they are BIG). Choosing to eat cookies instead of a real lunch. So, baker, wherever you are, keep a close eye on these cookies, they are sure to disappear rather quickly…

Sep082012

Need Some Protein? Whole-Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

I know, I know, it’s a pretty cheap way of protein, but I had to catch your eye somehow. But maybe just the word ‘cookies’ would’ve done it. Hmmm…

Anyhow, this is a real easy recipe and takes no longer than 20 minutes (including prep time!). It’s great to have with a nice cup of tea (for me, Chai tea). I originally got the recipe from here, but as always, it’s altered. Take a peek below for ingredients and directions!

Ingredients

1 cup of peanut butter (I used creamy natural)
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix the peanut butter, butter, honey, sugar, and egg til it’s smooth like…butter

3. Then stir in the whole-wheat flour and baking powder until blended in

4. Make little balls out of the cookie dough and place them on the cookie sheet

5. Place in oven for 13-15 minutes (depending on how you made the cookies)

6. Enjoy!

Let us know if you enjoyed this recipe! We’d love to hear back from you. Cheers 🙂

Sep012012

HEALTHY Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

We usually have a bunch of bananas in the house. For fruit salads and more so primarily, for protein shakes (rahh!). However, sometimes we forget about them, or don’t do heavy workouts, so we feel like we don’t deserve one of Chris’ amazing protein shakes (that post is coming up!). So they sit in the lazy Susan cupboard, lonely for attention.

And so later in the week, I stumble upon them in their browning blackish glory. Aha! I know exactly what to do with you! So, the spotted way-too-ripe bananas get pulled from the cupboard and onto our maniacal counter-top. It’s easy, folks. IF you have over-ripe bananas, MAKE BANANA BREAD. I don’t want to hear any excuses. And if you throw them out…you’re in trouble. Let’s get started. I pulled this recipe from here, but altered it slightly (no nuts, nutmeg, etc.).

Prep Time: 15 minutes (I was slow, watching Empire Strikes Back/Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)
Cook Time: 50 minutes (on the dot!)
Set Oven To: 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3 bananas (I suggest more than one, but that’s all I had to work with tonight)
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour

Remember to get out a bread pan and butter it or oil it up. Sticking is your enemy. Now first, beat the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl.

Yes, that is a whisk! I’m moving up in the world!

For this next step, make sure the bananas are mashed as much as possible. Then, mix those bananas, eggs, and honey in. I want it smooooth.

You’re almost there!! The final step is to slowly add in the whole-wheat flour. Put a little in, stir it, put some more in, stir it, and so forth. It should come out looking like this:

Then pour it into your already-greased pan. I lost a good amount of the batter to a tragic accident…my appetite.

Now put it in the oven! Remember it should be at 350 degrees. For me, it took exactly 50 minutes to bake. I took it out, tested it with a fork to see if any batter stuck and it was ready! I usually have to stick it in for another ten minutes or so. It came out really well!

Remember that this only has half a cup of sugar in it. That’s barely ANYTHING when it comes to baking. So don’t feel guilty as you shovel this down, it’s got good ingredients. We always love to put butter on ours, gives it a great added flavor, especially when it’s nice and hot.