Pumpkin Seed, Cashew, and Almond Butter Energy Bars

These energy bars are an adaptation from this recipe: Homemade Energy Bars. So you follow the directions from that post, using these dry ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups rice krispies
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup raw, whole cashews
• 1/2 cup roasted and salted green pumpkin seeds (also called Pepitas)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ

And these wet ingredients:

• 2/3 cup honey
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup almond butter (I used the one pictured below- it is my FAVORITE!)

I like to wrap them individually, so they are easy to grab for breakfast, lunch boxes, or a bike ride. So much cheaper than Clif Bars, and WAY tastier!!

Enjoy!!

Make Your Own (Whatever flavor) Chewy Granola Bars!!

Ok, I know I have an unnatural obsession with bars.... Larabars....energy bars.....

I love when I can make something from scratch that tastes as good as (or better than) store bought things. Especially when it saves me money. I heart saving money. (Unfortunately, I also heart spending money. Sort of like how I like exercising and eating. Yeah.)

I really like these granola bars. They were VERY easy to make, I had everything on hand, and the kids liked them as much as I did!

Don't they look good? I made mine with chocolate chips and sunflower seeds.... yummm...

Here's what you need:

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup mix ins (I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds... craisins and white chocolate chips would be good- or almonds and dried cherries.....)

1/2 cup honey

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ok, I'm not trying to be creepy, but how weird-looking is the honey bear's face?! Have you even looked at your honey bear? I had to turn the bottle in the opposite direction, because it was giving me the heebeejeebees!!! He was staring at me!

Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl, and the dry ingredients in another:

Then combine them, and mix well with a spatula, or your hands. Then dump the mixture into a well-greased 9x13 pan:

Spread/pat the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan:

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars and let cool completely in the pan. (If you wait for them to cool before cutting, it's much harder)

That's it!! Now you have a batch of yummy, homemade chewy granola bars!!

I adapted this recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/

Chocolate Brownie Larabar Energy Bars!

So, I've been looking for a Larabar/Pure Bar- like chocolate energy bar recipe. I LOVE the Pure Bar chocolate flavor, and it is similar to a Larabar- dates, nuts, cocoa..... plus, it tastes like a brownie, and it's good for you! So it's an ideal late afternoon snack!

So here's what you need:

• 2 cups chopped pitted dates
• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 Tb vanilla extract
• 2 or 3 Tb water

This is the coconut I used. I found it at a health food store.

Put the dates, cashews, almonds, cocoa, and sea salt in the food processor and pulse and process until it's the texture of coarse crumbs, then add the coconut and pulse once or twice to mix:

Then add the vanilla and 2 Tb of the water, and process. It should be like a moist dough. If you need more water, add a little at a time.

Pat the mixture into a pan (I used a 9.5 X 6.5) then use a spatula to press it in really well:

Chill for 20 or 30 minutes, then cut into bars. If you make 10 bars, each bar has 280 calories.

I wrapped mine in saran wrap and put them in the fridge for lunches and snacks this week:

I adapted this recipe from http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/

Cherry Pie Larabars! ....and Gourmet S'mores!

So, my friend Karen's birthday was this week, and I wanted to make her something special!

One of her favorite things is S'mores- (and really, who doesn't love them) so I started brainstorming ideas to come up with a good treat....

So, essentially, this is homemade. I made homemade marshmallows, homemade graham crackers, then bought some good chocolate bars.

These marshmallows were not NEARLY as difficult as I imagined they would be, as a matter of fact, they were quite easy to make!! These will definitely be on my Christmas "to make" gift list (and maybe on yours too when you see how easy they are!).... I am planning on trying a few different flavors too- maybe peppermint, or vanilla bean.....

The graham crackers were easy as well!! There was a variation for cinnamon sugar topping, I will make them again with the topping when I'm not making them for S'mores!! I was so pleased with how delicious they tasted!!

So I wrapped up the marshmallows in cellophane and attempted to make a cute tag. I am SO not crafty.

Same with the grahams....

The I bought some milk and dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's (I personally LOVE milk chocolate, but dark is good too, especially in sweeter desserts)

Added a few skewers, and wrapped it all up with cellophane:

I will be sharing the recipes for the marshmallows and graham crackers later this week!! I am so excited to be able to make marshmallows, I have all sorts of ideas for gifts using the marshmallows.

So, I also made another type of Larabar yesterday!! The Cherry Pie flavor- they turned out GREAT!!!!!

For detailed instructions on how to make the Larabars- (it's EASY don't be afraid!) see this post: Make Your Own Larabars

For these you need:

• 3/4 cup that's 1/2 full of chopped dates, and 1/2 full of dried cherries
• 1/2 cup almonds (I got the slivered blanched)
• I used a pinch of sea salt

Roughly chop the dates. I didn't do anything to the cherries. They were AWESOME just on their own. I know, because I kept eating them as I was making these!

The almonds after their run through the food processor

The cherry/date paste

I chose these cherries because they didn't have any added sugar. Check the labels if you want your Larabars to be natural and no added sugar. A lot of dried fruit has a TON of sugar. (If I'm going to eat sugar, I want it to be Red Vines or Swedish Fish.....)

So excited to have another flavor!! I am going to try another flavor next week!! What is your favorite flavor of Larabar?? Please share!!!!!

Also, if you've completed either of the Spring Cleaning projects, share your progress!! :)

DINNER TONIGHT:

Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup (from the last freezer cooking day)

Homemade Croutons (I will make them large to go on top of the soup)

Strawberries

Salad

Make Your Own Larabar Energy Bars!!

Have you ever had a Larabar?? I first tried one at a marathon expo, and I was hooked!! They are amazing, and only contain real ingredients, no weird preservatives or funky dyes. (Not that I would personally avoid such food. One of my favorite foods is Red Vines. Oh Red Vines, how I love you.)

...but they are expensive. So as I have been consuming more (since I have been watching <somewhat> what I eat and bars are an easy way to snack when I'm hungry without overdoing it) I decided to try and make some myself!! They are EXACTLY the same as the ones you buy.... wooooo hoooo!!!!!

I made the "Cashew Cookie" flavor. Don't they look pretty in my garden window?? I love my kitchen.

Here's what you need. It's really complicated. Get a pen and paper.

• 1/2 cup Raw Cashews
• 3/4 cup pitted Dates
• Sea Salt (optional, but good)

First, coarsely chop the dates. You should sample a few, you know, just to do some quality control. Because you care.

Take the pits out first. What is the difference between a pit and a seed? Who knows such facts?

Now, I apologize, because I know your food processor is buried behind some other stuff, waaay in the back of the cabinet. But you're going to have to dig it out. Process the dates until they are like a ball of date paste. (I know that sounds gross, but it tastes really good in these bars, I promise)

Then chop up the cashews like this. Don't process them too long or they'll turn into cashew butter.

So then put the dates, cashews, and a pinch of the sea salt into a bowl. At this point, you need to goosh them together. I first used my hands and sort of kneaded them together.....

Then I got a great idea- to use a potato masher! It worked great!

Now you're going to use saran wrap (Oh, I guess I used "cling wrap" I like the thinner more clingy stuff) So you need to put a blob of the larabar stuff on the square of wrap. I made 3 large bars plus one snack-sized bar out of this recipe. You could totally just make the bars a bit smaller and make 4.

Then sort of wrap the cling wrap around it and shape it into a bar. Alternately, you could totally do little squares or balls if you wanted more of a snack size bar.

I tapped the edges on the counter to get them flat. Then put them in the fridge. (I plan on storing mine in the fridge, but you totally wouldn't have to. I just like the consistency of bars that have been in the fridge)

There you have it!! You've made your very own Cashew Cookie Larabars!!! Sweet!!

Seriously, don't they look good??

I am going to try and figure out how to make a few other flavors, and I will post those too!!

Edited to add a few links, since I have made more flavors since this post!

Cherry Pie Larabars

Peanut Butter, PB Chocolate Chip, Apricot, Yogurt Chip Larabars

Chocolate Brownie Larabars



DINNER TONIGHT:

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Watermelon

Sweet potato fries