Peanut Butter Granola Clusters

I have been wanting to try this recipe since the end of the summer/early September. I don't know what my problem is because when I see a recipe like this I usually go out the next day and get what I need and make it. It is kind of like buying new clothes. I need to wear them right away. Who are those crazy people who buy them and let them hang in their closet for months before wearing them??? Anyway I found the recipe in this little newspaper magazine...

See that it says, "Back to school kids' issue?" That is what caught my attention in August actually and here it is January 15th and I am finally getting around to it. Relish is always full of wonderful recipes and they are often very healthy. It usually comes in the weekend or Monday paper around here so keep your eyes out for it.

I am always trying to find some healthy snack alternatives that I can feel good to saying yes about when the kids ask, and that Miles and I will enjoy also! So when I saw the peanut butter and granola cluster recipe I figured we had a winner.

So we begin with a healthy all natural peanut butter. Smucker's is my favorite one but I will admit I didn't try a whole bunch because when your heart finds the one it loves you quit looking. You will also need some brown rice syrup. The health benefit of this as a sweetener is that it is a complex sugar. Your body breaks complex sugar down more slowly so you don't get the spike in blood sugar you get from simple sugars. It is a bit expensive so you can substitute honey if you wish. Perhaps that is why I bought a cheap brand of pure maple syrup if there is such a thing!

You will measure these ingredients out along with some olive oil and put them in a pan to melt and thin the peanut butter. It takes about 5 minutes and a little stirring.

In a large deep bowl measure out some rolled oats, cranberries, chopped almonds, cinnamon, and a dash of sea salt. I did this before I turned the burner on so I could concentrate on the peanut butter mixture.

When the liquids are ready pour them into the dry ingredients and with a spatula sprayed with cooking spray mix together. You will need every last drop of that peanut butter and syrup mix so use a spatula to get it all out and resist licking the spoon!

I was a bit concerned when this didn't stick together the way a regular cookie dough does but I hopefully proceeded anyway.

I was even more concerned when I dropped them by heaping spoonfuls onto the parchment paper and they didn't seem to want to stick in nice little heaps. My fingers were telling me otherwise though as I helped to shape each one a little bit so I figured they would be okay. Just keep in mind that you will need to use your fingers or the back of the spoon to help any loose parts get connected to a cookie!

Twenty two minutes later we had such a great little portion of goodness. I can't believe it took me so long to make these sweet, crunchy cookies!  They look a bit like my healthy banana oatmeal cookies, but they taste nothing like them, so try them!

Miles loved them and said they might be all gone by tomorrow. Evan said they taste like a granola bar and Faith said she liked them too. Now given the choice between the molasses cookies and these, they would pick the first for sure, but they are coming along and if I said they could have this cookie after school for a snack I believe they would happily accept. In fact Faith just came in with an old cell phone, pretended to take a picture, and told me she posted my cookies on facebook.

Love. That. Girl.



Peanut Butter Granola Clusters (Relish Magazine August 2011 Issue)

1/3 cup creamy style natural peanut butter

½ cup brown rice syrup

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ cups uncooked old fashioned oats

½ cup chopped almonds

½ cup sweetened dried cranberries

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. coarse salt

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine peanut butter, syrups, and oil in a small pan. Cook over low heat until melted and the mixture can easily be stirred together. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a deep bowl, combine oats, almonds, cranberries, cinnamon, and salt. Toss to mix well. Pour peanut butter over oat mixture and, using a rubber spatula coated with cooking spray, stir until everything is evenly coated. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden and crisp. Set tray on wire rack and let cool completely.

Store cooled in an air-tight container.

Food in a Bowl

I have a thing for throwing some food in a bowl and calling it a meal. I like it to be fast you know. I like to do this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It usually involves quinoa, yogurt, or oatmeal of some sort but I just never get tired of it. Another great thing about it is that it forces me to use up leftovers. Tonight for example I came upstairs and started cooking some quinoa at 5:13 not really knowing what I was going to make with it. I looked in the fridge and saw my leftover cranberry orange vinaigrette that needs to be used up and thought a fruity quinoa salad with some nuts will be great for dinner. Miles and I both said we weren't very hungry tonight. I didn't over eat today but ate a big salad for lunch and it keeps me full quite long. So it is now 5:38 and I am about to eat my dinner. Here is what is going into the salad tonight.

See it is forcing me to use up the sliced oranges I already had and that pear that won't be good too much longer. I also decided to add a little white wine vinegar and some agave just to sweeten it up a tad. Then the magic ingredient which I didn't take a picture of was CURRY! I love curry! It made the salad perfect.

It was bit like the cilantro and pineapple curried quinoa I already have a recipe for but the dressing made a nice change as did the pear and oranges.

This was my breakfast the other morning. Steel cut oats I soaked overnight and then cooked quickly in the morning. I added frozen blueberries, almonds, cinnamon, Stevia, and a drizzle of agave of course.

This is my "banana split" breakfast. I fill my bowl a couple big dollops of Greek yogurt and mix in some Stevia. I slice a banana up and top it with some of my homemade sugar free strawberry jam and some peanuts. Totally love this!

This was an awesome breakfast as well of Greek yogurt, quinoa, frozen peaches that I thawed a bit in the microwave, walnuts, and agave. I usually eat the blueberries most of the time but these peaches were such a delicious change.

In case you missed this one I tossed some brushetta in with my quinoa one night along with some spinach, mozzarella, and chicken sausage. Divine!

This was some pumpkin overnight oats mixed with pumpkin, yogurt, milk, and cinnamon and left in the fridge overnight. In the morning I topped it with some leftover apple strudel cake that was actually healthy and vegan, and some almonds and probably a little more agave just because I almost always do!

And this one was some Indian curried chicken with lentils that was very delicious! I will share this recipe soon because we all loved it and it was different than the Greek food I can't seem to get away from!

So open your fridge and get creative and use up your leftovers too!

I must now go watch Tuesday night's episode of the Biggest Loser!

Pumpkin Applebutter Over Night Oatmeal

Big things are happening around here! My house has been torn apart for months really and it has been driving me CRAZY! But this is what was going on around here last night.....

Which is why I did not cook or post anything! This has been a long time coming! I don't know why anyone in Minnesota should have carpet right when you walk in the door. Winter lasts almost 6 months around here. That is a lot of snow and mud!

So I quickly threw together a salad for Miles and myself and some sandwiches and veggies for the kids who ate in front of the TV so I could keep them out of the way! Before you judge, know that we eat breakfast and dinner together almost everyday at the table and before school started we ate lunch together too. Now it is just me and Miles at lunch! So a little TV and dinner together sometimes is perfectly fine!

I decided at 8:30 last night that I should make our breakfast for the morning. We needed something that would fill us up after such a light dinner. Plus I think I burned off every calorie I ate yesterday, not only running, but pulling out carpet, tack strip, and staples, as well as moving furniture. Our backs were hurting!

Overnight oatmeal it was! I think if you haven't tried this yet from my previous post that you really must. It is so filling and you can make it so many different ways.

It is very simple. Add 1/2 cup old fashioned oats to a bowl and toss in 1/3 cup of milk of your choice. We like to put vanilla soy in ours. Then add 1/3 cup yogurt. We like Greek yogurt. If you want to skip the yogurt then add more milk.

The rest is all optional! I stirred in a packet of Stevia and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Then I added a couple heaping spoonfuls each of pumpkin and my homemade apple butter and mixed it all up and put it in the fridge.

I really like to add a little crunch to this oatmeal so after heating in the microwave for about 30 seconds I added some sliced almonds, and crumbled up a leftover vegan apple strudel bar I made for our Sunday night feasting. Then of course I drizzled it with agave because I am addicted to that stuff!

It was good to the last drop and I am totally stuffed! It is a good thing because I woke up at 11:30 last night after being asleep for about an hour and a half totally starving!

Just a few tips on this overnight oatmeal:

* Make sure you have a liquid for the oats to soak up.

* Save the crunchy things for the morning. Don't mix those in at night. Puffed wheat, oatmeal, granola, chia seeds, and nuts are all yummy!

* Warm it up a little in the microwave since it is getting colder outside now!

* Be creative. I also like bananas or blueberries and nut butter or jam mixed in. Sometimes I mix those in at night and sometimes I put them in in the morning.

* Experiment. I have found that sometimes it is good to mix things in and sometimes it is better to just put a dollop on top and not mix it in. Example: I should not have mixed in the apple butter. I sort of lost the flavor in there. I will just dollop it on top next time with some chopped apples, walnuts, and agave I think.

* It is also good blended. Mix the overnight oats in a blender and put the blender in the fridge overnight. Then just add a little more milk (1/4 cup) in the morning and give it a whirl. Top with your favorite things.

It becomes like an oatmeal smoothie in a bowl, very creamy, yet still more filling then just drinking a smoothie. Plus you can add in other healthy things like wheat germ, flax, or chia seeds or anything else your little heart desires! I double the recipe when I do it in the blender so there will be enough for both Miles and me.

* Finally, I learned all of this from one of my favorite blogs  http://www.katheats.com/ so if you want more ideas and recipes you can find them on her site.

I know I have posted about his before, but have you tried it yet? That is what I thought. You must do this tonight and let me know your combinations. Plus it was such a delicious breakfast after such a busy day yesterday that I had to share.

I am working on some more lunch posts because I feel like I haven't shared enough of that. I usually keep it pretty simple and as quick as I can so stay tuned for lunch ideas!

Have a happy fall day!



Over Night Oatmeal

I have been wanting to share another quick breakfast secret with you for a while now. I keep meaning to have it several different ways so I can tell you which way is the best but it hasn't happened. I decided I should just go ahead and post so you won't be missing out and because it is Wednesday which means church tonight and not much time! Over Night Oatmeal is something I learned about from a blog I love to read call Kath Eats Real Food. She has a beautiful tribute to oatmeal on her blog you can check out here. It is very simple which I love and it is prepared the night before which I love even more, especially on the mornings I have to be out the door quick. Grab a bowl, a jar, a container, or whatever your heart desires to put this in and get started!

You start with some old fashioned oats. You need about 1/2 a cup. Do NOT cook them! That is the beauty of this recipe.

Then you need to add your liquids. You will add about 1/3 cup of each of these. We love Vanilla soy milk but you can use regular milk, almond milk, heck even chocolate milk might be good. Hmmm... I need some chocolate soy milk for next time! I love Greek yogurt because it is healthier for you, thicker, and a little tangy but you can choose your favorite kind of yogurt. Watch out for the sugar content of course. Fiber One has the lowest of the flavored yogurts that I have found.

Then you get to be creative! I like to add a chopped up banana or some blueberries but strawberries, raspberries or your favorite fruit will do just fine or you can leave the fruit out to top it off in the morning or have no fruit at all.

This time I added about 1/4 cup of pumpkin because I have been in the mood for some pumpkin. I also added a teaspoon or so of pumpkin pie spice and some extra cinnamon because I love those an awful lot too and one packet of Stevia.

I gave all those ingredients a quick stir, stuck the bowl in the fridge, (covered or uncovered it doesn't really matter) and walked away happy that my healthy breakfast would be ready for the morning! Hooray!

In the morning I heated the bowl up for 30 seconds in the microwave just to take the edge off the coldness and then topped it with a dollop of almond butter and agave. I have also added crunchy things like nuts in the morning so they don't get soggy.

Mmmmmm good!

This was my favorite way so far, maybe because it is fall and these flavors just go with fall, but here are some other ideas for what you can mix in your over night oatmeal.

Trail Mix

Granola

Flax Seed

Wheat Germ

Chia Seeds

Wheat Berries

Quinoa

Frozen Fruit

Peaches, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, etc.

Banana Chips

Cocoa Powder

Maple Syrup

Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds, whatever is your favorite

Sugar Free Preserves or Polaner All Fruit

Peanut Butter

Almond Butter

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

Raisins or Craisins

Puffed Wheat or Rice Cereal or your favorite kind (add in the morning)

Just a few things to keep in mind: You need 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/3 to 1/2  cup each of milk and yogurt to start each time. If you are omitting some milk then add more yogurt and vice versa. NO COOKING! Don't cook your oats. This is meant to be conveinent, portable (just make it in a to-go container or jar), and healthy. You can warm it up a little in the morning or eat it cold. It is good both ways.

Have fun and let me know what you mix in! Now I need to finish making dinner for myself and Faith and make my over night oatmeal before church. I think frozen blackberries are going in mine tonight!