Almond Butter Granola Bars

It's no secret that we love granola bars around here. In fact, we eat a batch of them just as quickly as we eat a batch of cookies! Here's our latest favorite, inspired by Sunbutter Granola Bars.

 Almond Butter Granola Bars

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup protein powder (or more oats)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp chia seeds, ground flax seeds (or wheat germ if you're not gluten-free)
1/2 cup natural almond butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (or just use a full 3/4 cup nut butter)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dates or raisins
1/4 cup dark chocolate squares or chips

Add the almond butter, coconut oil, honey, dates, and chocolate to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the oats, coconut, protein powder, salt, and chia seeds and pulse until everything is incoporated.

Press the dough into a thin rectangle on a foil or Silpat-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and then cut into bars. Allow them to cool before removing from the pan. I bet these can be stored for up to a week in the fridge, but we haven't had a batch last that long!

Worth noting: The dough should be slightly crumbly, but easy for form into a ball that stays intact. If it's too wet, add more oats; if it's too dry, add more honey. When we made a batch with sunflower seed butter, we actually had to add almost 1 full cup of oats since Sunbutter is so drippy. The almond butter made for a much drier batter.

Crammed

I feel like a weight has been lifted. I wish it was from my chest, but it's off my shoulders at least.  After 4 days of steroids, I'm still hacking away at the slightest provocation of breathlessness and I'm desperate. I do love steroids sometimes, but I'd prefer to only need them once every few years. This is the third round in the last 9 months. Something's gotta give before my bones do (nothing like getting diagnosed with osteopenia at the age of 22 to make you feel old).


1. The first to go is farm work. I probably shouldn't have blogged about Urbavore immediately after getting home when I was tired, cranky, cold, and oh-so-sore. After a hot shower and a round with the neti-pot, I was left with yes, aching muscles and wheezing, but also the immense satisfaction of a job well done. Few things can be more fundamental and important as growing your own food and knowing exactly how it got to your plate. I feel very passionately about that. But 15 hours a week on top of my full-time job is a bit ambitious even without asthma in the mix.

There is 100% chance of soaking, revitalizing, but yes cold rain today and the high temps are only supposed to hit the low 40s. I do feel a little bit  really guilty and wimpy because the farmers (one of whom is 6 months pregnant) and interns are out in the field working in this weather. I came home from work last night in a panic because a cold and wet Therese is not an animal you want to encounter in the wild, but also because cold = bronchospasms and a day out in this weather would further lower my immunity. I had to tell Brooke. Fortunately, she was very understanding.

image from google search

We're still trying to figure out if my stipulations (avoid straw, hay, debris, mold, and dust) are conducive to actually being helpful on the farm once a week. If so, I'd LOVE to stay involved, even if it means picking pole beans for hours on end beneath the summer sun (mmm... sun). But for now, I'm at home recovering. And no matter what, I will be FULLY supporting the Badseed Farmer's Market and Urbavore Farm Stand all summer- if you're in town, I'd love to take you and introduce you to the people who have poured their lives into such an incredible and worthy endeavor.

2. The second thing to go, temporarily, is gluten. Homeopathic remedies seem to be hit-or-miss, but I'm desperate and there are a good number of people who swear that a gluten-free diet reduces inflammation. As much as I love baking and eating the fruits of the breadbasket of America, I need to give gluten-free another shot. My month of clean eating in February ended after two weeks because, let's be honest, it was a lot of work and it was also inconvenient/embarrassing in social situations. (I know, there are more important things, but really. We live in a society built around convenience.)

While my stomach never really felt better, my asthma did drastically improve during those two weeks. I'm not sure if it was the lack of gluten or lack of dairy (both of which have been blamed as inflammatory culprits), so I'm going to rule one out at a time. Gluten is the first to go simply because I just stocked up on Greek yogurt (protein and calcium intake are important to maintain while on Prednisone).

This doesn't mean buying fancy gluten-free cupcakes and processed food right now. The point is to veer more toward whole food: brown rice, quinoa, and millet are all easy to make in advance and eat throughout the week. (Easy for me to say now, but in a few hours I'll be eyeing those Almond Joy Cookie Bars in the freezer and wondering if I could make a gluten-free version with oat flour instead of wheat flour!)

3. My running game was finally improving again last week. I was up to being comfortable with 3.5 miles of a run 9 minute/walk 1 minute pattern. Of course now the thought of running just makes me want to cough and wheeze. I was too sore from farm work last Tuesday and Wednesday and obviously haven't been breathing well enough to run since then. I'm going to continue to take time off until this weekend and re-evaluate. Typical of my over-compensation, I am signed up to run a 5.3 mile leg of the Brew to Brew run with co-workers on April 3. Yikes!

Photo from BrewtoBrew.com

4. Of course, just taking things away is never a healthy attitude, so I'm making it a focus to ADD more of the important things to my life:

-Getting involved in a new church that's actually conducive to new member involvement (any recommendations in the Kansas City area?)

-Counseling (embarrassing to admit, but long overdue with my history of depression and anxiety).

-The Word of God. No self-help book could ever replace His love story.

-Quality time with Ross. When BOTH of us pulled long days every day for the last week, things got grouchy fast. We are so fortunate to be able to have some leisure time in our lives and we would prefer to spend some of it together instead of alone in the apartment at different times on different days.

-Foods that please my body and not just my tastebuds- though I always aim to please both!

-Dry brushing. I mentioned it last time, and I've kept up with it sporadically, but it's strangely soothing. I can see how it centers autistic kids when they get anxious. Try it!


In the spirit of starting off on the right foot, I had some liquid sunshine with my breakfast to brighten up this dreary day. A carrot, beet, orange, and coconut smoothie.

*Disclaimer: I am a Registered Nurse, not a Registered Dietician. At work we deal with calorie and protein ratios in milk, not big-kid food. What works in my life and eating style may not work for you. But please, give me feedback on my recipes and feel free to share your own!

Liquid Sunshine serves 1 hungry girl
(you will need a food-processor or high-powered blender with these ingredients)

2-3 small steamed, peeled beets (I used pre-steamed organic beets from Hy-Vee-- don't confuse these with canned or pickled beets!)
1 orange
1 organic carrot, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 cup coconut milk (using unsweetened SO Delicious has been cheaper than buying cans of coconut milk and it has a very mild, creamy taste that's not overwhelming)
1/4 cup unsweetened Greek yogurt (or just add another 1/4 cup of another liquid-- OJ, milk, coconut water, etc.)
3-4 ice cubes


Add ingredients to food processor or blender and blend until smooth. This may take several minutes depending on how powerful the motor is.

Pour into a tall glass and garnish with shredded coconut or chopped almonds if desired, and smile: Today will be beautiful!

(Please don't think me a hypocrite. I know that after getting on my soapbox about local food, I made a smoothie from non-local ingredients. While I'd love to get to the point where 90% of what we eat is grown within 50-100 miles, it's not practical right now mostly due to extremely limited pantry and freezer space and the fact that the local climate doesn't grow fresh fruits and vegetables year-round. Probably my biggest disappointment over not being an Urbavore intern is that I will miss out on the FREE education about preserving local food so it can sustain you even through the winter. These farmers don't just talk the talk!)

Pecan Pie Muffins

I'm making up for lost blogging time now. I made these muffins a few weeks ago, but studying took precedence over waiting for my ancient laptop to download photos to the blog. I'm proud to say that this is one of the first recipes I can claim as MINE! I took a basic muffin concept, tweaked it a lot and the outcome was shockingly decent. Ross LOVED them. I hope you do, too!

Heavenly with a little butter melted on top

Pecan Pie Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or white whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar (may be reduced, but it will make the muffin more cake-like and less pie-like if that makes sense)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup pecans, crushed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup pecan butter (see recipe below)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F. Mix dry ingredients well in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Add wet to dry and stir until just combined. Pour into muffin tins and garnish with a pecan half if desired. Bake 20-25 minutes until knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Pecan Butter

So easy to make, I'll never pay $10 for a 6-ounce jar at Whole Foods! Simply take any amount of pecans (I used 1 cup), dump in food processor, and process until smooth. You may have to scrape the sides down occasionally. Save what you don't use for the recipe in a tupperware or glass jar in the refrigerator and try it in place of peanut butter on a sandwich, or on top of a baked sweet potato.

A big thanks to Ross' grandparents-- our pecan suppliers ;-)

edited to add: Find my recipe and some other amazing ones on Sweet as Sugar Cookie's Sweets for a Saturday!

Almond Butter Banana Muffins

Fall Spice Almond Butter:
1 1/2 cup almonds
1 Tbs. maple syrup + 1/2 Tbs. maple syrup
1 Tbs. molasses
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. canola oil

Dump almonds onto greased baking sheet and coat with 1 Tbs. maple syrup and 1 Tbs. molasses. Roast at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Then allow to cool on pan for 30 minutes.

Dump almonds into food processor and grind for 5-10 minutes, scraping sides down occasionally, until smooth (past the stage where it makes a large ball of "dough".) If it's not smooth yet, keep going. Every food processor is different.

Then add the remaining 1/2 Tbs. maple syrup, spice, vanilla, salt, and oil. Process again until you reach desired consistency. Makes about 3/4 cup of almond butter. Keep refrigerated and use on sandwiches, in oatmeal, etc. Or, use it to make these delicious muffins. (The almond butter recipe is my own. The muffin recipe is not.)

Almond Butter Banana Muffins:
1/2 cup almond butter (store bought is great, but it's fun to make your own)
3 Tbs. canola oil
2 large ripe bananas
1/4 cup (not packed) brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners (or spray two large loaf pans with nonstick baking spray.)  Place the bananas in the work bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond butter with the oil at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat the mixture at medium speed for 2 minutes, and then beat in the brown sugar, honey, and the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the banana puree, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Do not over-mix. 

Divide the batter almond the muffin cups, filling just over halfway. (This recipe made 18 muffins for me). Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean, 15-16 minutes.  Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I kept these out for a day or two, and put the rest in the freezer. They warm up nicely and make a great snack!

P.S. While I've been making a mess in the kitchen, Ross has been making a mess in the woodshop at school. Between work and homework, he somehow found time to make a desk for our office!

Better than Bottled

What am I talking about? Salad dressing, of course! I found this recipe on Angela's blog a while ago, and I've been using it for a few months. I altered it slightly, because the original was a little too vinegary for me. It's so easy, and one "batch" dresses 4-5 side-sized salads.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. balsamic, white, or red wine vinegar
• 1.5 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 

 Directions:

Pour all ingredients into a plastic or glass jar, shake vigorously, and serve over your favorite salad. Leftovers can remain in the jar for a week or two.

Right now, I'm loving this over mixed greens with Field Roast Italian Grain Sausage (so much better than soy "sausages") and an apple or pear sliced on top.

Roast Squash and Wild Rice

Oh. my. gourd. I have a problem. I can't stop buying winter squash!

I cooked up a storm last Thursday- I said I wanted to have healthy meals to eat while moving, but it was also a last hurrah in the kitchen I've utilized more than any other. Fortunately I had just discovered this recipe on Veggie by Season's blog and was so happy to see that I had most of the ingredients. Buttercup squash was the lucky victim. I'm not sure how such a bumpy squash earned such a cute name, but don't be deceived. This has now replaced butternut squash as my gourd of choice!

Squash + leeks. A match made in autumnal heaven.

Roast Squash and Wild Rice

serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a side dish 

2 c. prepared Wild Rice cooked in vegetable or chicken stock

2 lbs. squash of choice

2 medium leeks, chopped (or 1 large yellow onion- but the leek made this dish)

1/2 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 c. dried cranberries or cherries (I used cherries)
1 Tbs. coconut butter (not necessary, but I'm glad I added it on a whim)

1 Tbs. honey

juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, add squash and leeks (or onion), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss well. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until tender and caramelized.

Cook rice while the vegetables are roasting. (I followed the package directions and cooked 1/2 cup dry rice in 1.5 cups broth to make 2 cups cooked.) Add cherries to the rice on the stovetop during last 10 minutes of cooking.

When rice is cooked, add coconut butter (if using), honey, and lemon juice, and toss to distribute. Mix in squash and leeks and serve warm.

I know this doesn't have a protein in it because we're low on groceries (I had a Greek yogurt on the side if that counts, Mom?!) But this would be great with navy beans, black-eyed peas, or even cubed chicken or pork.

This picture doesn't really do the recipe justice- I absolutely loved it! I ate this dish twice a day for the last 3 days and I wish I still had some in the fridge. It was that good.

CSA Week 22

Happy 10-10-10! If I had been off of work today, I would've done something crazy to celebrate... like run 10 miles! Or more likely, make cookies with 10 ingredients and eat 10 of them ;o)  Instead, I'll settle for a CSA post. I love getting local, seasonal produce every week. Things taste better when they're fresh and in season. And with the abundance of squash and sweet potatoes available right now, I'm also wondering if there's something about Beta Carotene that got our ancestors through a long winter. I plan on stockpiling, just in case.

Sweet Peppers

Hot Peppers

Sweet 'Taters

Garlic Chives

Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes- pictures don't do them justice!

Garlic Cutie

I'm trying to enjoy the fall harvest while it lasts. The farm has already had one night of frost!

I Have a Problem

Someone get me out of the kitchen. I can't stop baking! Sure, it's September, but it still feels like summer outside. Our A/C has been broken for 3 weeks. I don't need to heat up the apartment even more.  *sigh*  At least this recipe used up some CSA produce!

Carrot Cake Muffins (based on this recipe)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or King Arthur's white whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/2 cup pineapple, almost-pureed in the food processor (leave some chunks)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 cups grated carrots

Heat oven to 350. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
In another bowl mix milk, sugar, honey, canola oil, pineapple, and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing by hand throughout. Then fold in coconut, carrots, and walnuts.

Pour batter into lined muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

Coconut Cream Cheese Icing 

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup coconut milk
2-3 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add coconut milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth (this was easiest with an electronic mixer). Add coconut and stir to combine.

Enjoy eating your vegetables!

Mixed Feelings

A few trees are starting to change colors around our apartment already, days are getting shorter, mornings are cooler, and kids are Ross is heading off to school.

 
On one hand, I'm SO ready for fall: a month and a half of 100-degree days with blazing sunshine and stifling humidity got old fast. On the other hand, fall turns into winter and my inner heart of hearts has still not thawed out from last year's terrible re-introduction to the Midwest. Could we keep the sunshine and ice-free roads, but drop down to 60-70 degree temperatures? Oh wait, I guess I'd have to migrate south to find that.

This week is confusing me. It was in the 60s when I woke up, but it's already sunny and 80-something out there now. On one hand, I plan to bake this afternoon and pretend it's chilly enough outside to justify it. On the other hand, I wimped out in the bright sunshine and did today's run on the treadmill in the air conditioning.

Speaking of running, I'm signed up for my first official 10k and next week I plan to sign up for my first official half marathon. On one hand, I am so excited that the ball is finally rolling toward my first marathon- I've wanted to run one since I was 17!  On the other hand, my two-mile speed workout this morning was hard enough. I can't imagine adding another 24 miles to that!

Something I heard recently: Fitness is about gaining strength, not losing weight.

Thank goodness! Because I made cookies after my run.

Yes, I got this recipe from Eat, Live, Run and yes, I'm obsessed with that blog. I realize it's a problem. But the author is a fellow baker and bookworm. She confesses her love of Little House on the Prairie for crying out loud! A woman after my own heart. Plus, if these cookies are wrong, I don't want to be right!

How could you go wrong with these ingredients?

In the mix:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c white sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Sift or whisk together the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Put 9 Tbsp of the butter in a medium skillet set over medium-high heat. Allow the butter to melt for 2 minutes and begin to swirl it around the pan, allowing it to brown. Keep the butter moving so it doesn’t burn. Browning should take about 3 minutes and you’ll know it’s done when it smells nutty and it has a dark golden brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and use a heat-safe spatula to transfer the butter to a large, heat-safe mixing bowl. Add the remaining 3 Tbsp of cold butter to the melted butter, and stir gently until it is melted.

Add the white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk the ingredients together. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk for 30 seconds until mixture is smooth. Allow the batter to rest for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds more. Do this two more times; the end result should be thick and shiny.

Y'all, I wish you could smell this. Pure caramel.

 Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined, about 1 minute. Gently stir in chocolate chips. The batter will be soft.

 
Form each cookie with roughly 1 Tbsp of dough. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake one tray at a time, 10 to 12 minutes, on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate baking sheet after 5 minutes and check the cookies at 10; you want them to be golden brown and set around the edges, but puffy in the middle.

Allow to cool on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

On one hand, this recipe is too caramel-y and rich for me to attack as the dough-monster that I am (that's probably a good thing). On the other hand, once baked these cookies are perfect and I could eat the entire batch in one sitting. I have mixed feelings about that idea.

Crunchy

In the past 2 years, I've made my own bread and my own yogurt, attempted a garden, and focused on local food and real food as much as possible. It's shocking that in my quest to be "crunchy" (as Ross says) I haven't actually made my own granola.  Until today!  I based mine off of this recipe and even Ross loved it!

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup chopped dried dates

(I got all the ingredients at The Merc in Lawrence. If I can't have Central Market, The Merc is the next best thing. And it's a little cheaper than Whole Paycheck Whole Foods.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread out the rolled oats and oat bran evenly on two baking sheets. Toast for 5-8 minutes, or until golden.

In a small saucepot, simmer the honey and vanilla extract over low heat for five to seven minutes. In another pot, combine the apple juice and dried fruits. Simmer for about five minutes or until soft. Drain.

 

In a large bowl, combine the oat mixture and dried fruit. Stir in the warm honey and stir to coat the oat mixture as evenly as possible.

 

Spread the oat mixture evenly onto two baking sheets and bake for ten to fifteen minutes, or until golden brown, stirring every two minutes to prevent burning.

Cool granola completely and then store in an airtight container for up to one month.

Ours will not live to see September at the rate we're going!

Serving suggestion: eat it as muesli, as suggested in the same blog post I got the granola recipe from (click on the link at the beginning of the post). For one person, I mixed 1/3 cup granola, 1/3 cup plain unsweetened yogurt, 1/3 cup milk, and a drizzle of honey.

 
I let this soak in the fridge for about 10 minutes and then added a sliced pear.  YUMMY.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I adapted this yummy, easy-to-make cookie idea based off of this recipe on my friend Amari's blog.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chunks (I used semisweet, but dark chocolate would be good, too)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour
3 Tbs. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In separate bowl, mix oil, syrup, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until moist. Lightly spray a baking sheet with oil and spoon rounded tablespoons of batter onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool briefly. Transfer cookies to cooling rack and enjoy!

Packing these in my lunch box will help me get through working over 62 hours in the next 6 days. A girl can dream, right?!

Vegetables

With all the traveling I've done lately, I haven't had time to post of our CSA produce the last 2 weeks. It's actually been the same stuff for a few weeks now, so you're not missing out. Here are a few pictures, though.

Is it weird to crave roasted eggplant? I can't get enough while it's in season!

Baby watermelon

I do have to admit, Texas watermelon last summer was better :-(

For some reason, we've only been getting purple bell peppers

Salsa fixings. Sadly, my homemade salsa was a big *fail*

Finally, we have "health challenges" at work and if you complete 3 challenges, you get a health insurance discount. July's challenge was an attempt to get at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Thank goodness for our CSA produce! This goal was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It takes planning, foresight, and preparation to eat 5-a-day.

It was interesting to track this, though. I started to notice that I really did feel more energetic (and have fewer stomach aches) on the days I ate more produce. I highly recommend challenging yourself to try this for a month!