Homemade Granola ~~ Get-Out-of-Town Good!!

I am a granola bar junkie, but the commercial kind are not so great for us, so what's a girl to do? Yep make your own. I have actually made several different kinds and I'm always in the market for a new one to try, but this one is one of my fav's ~~ so give it a try. Go on don't be scared :0)

It's YUMMMY!!!



2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
½ cup oat bran or wheat germ
½ cup honey or agave nectar
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and oat bran onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.

Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

These are so yummmmy!! My hubby loves to take these in his lunch. So go on give them a try!!

Mushroom Miso Soup ~~ Go on try it ~~ it's good!!!

I love Miso soup. I first had it in a Japanese restaurant a few years ago. I generally cannot eat soups cooked in restaurants, they almost always have MSG in them. And I cannot eat Chinese out at all, but I found a Japanese restaurant in my area that not only has MSG free items on their menus, their Miso Soup is one of them. It was wonderful.

Well what exactly is Miso and where do you find it? Miso is fermented soy, and it is wonderful for you if you have hormone fluctuations. It helps to keep them stable. That is definitely a plus for me. And you can find it your local health food store. You can also get red, white or yellow. They are all delish. The red has the strongest flavor.

So onto this lovely soup.

I wanted a nice, warm and light soup on this ridiculously cold evening. I found a recipe that is similar to this one, but it used dried mushrooms and seaweed, so I modified not having either ingredient, and this is what I came up with. Delish!!!

Mushroom Miso Soup

3 cups veggie broth
2 tablespoons white miso
4 large button mushrooms

Warm broth in a medium pan and add miso. Stir until dissolved. Add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes.

Easy and delish. This is a low calorie, light and lovely soup.

I fixed a tofu sandwich with vegenaisse and romaine lettuce and had a lovely supper.

If you are watching your weight, this is a lovely soup and surprisingly filling when eaten with a tofu sandwich.

Hope you enjoy ~~

Happy and Healthy eating,
Dawn

Porridge, lovely Porridge ~~ A GREAT way to start your day!!!

This is one of my favorite breakfast concoctions. It keeps me satisfied for a long time and it is yummy!!

Yummy Breakfast Porridge

1/3 cup Bob's 5 Grain Plus Flaxseed Hot Cereal (or you can use oatmeal, but use 1/2 cup)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Amplify Whey Powder)
1 tsp Agave Nectar (or honey)
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk (I use Soy, but Skim is fine)
Blueberries or Banana as desired

Make cereal according to package directions (I make mine in the microwave). When it is finished, add protein powder and milk and put in microwave for 20-30 seconds. Add Agave Nectar and blueberries or banana. Enjoy!!!

* Note: I also add a teaspoon Almond butter sometimes, but it's not necessary, but it is oh so yummy!!!

Fig-Fig Bars.....YUMMMEEE Fig Newton Escq....

Since my heart scare about a month ago, I have been following a very strict eating plan. I have been looking for yummee recipes to help me follow this eating style while not feeling deprived or hungry. This recipe fits the bill.

If you like Fig Newton Bars, you will dig these.

FIG-FIG BARS:

Filling:
8 ounces dried figs
4 ounces pitted dates
2 tbsp. silvered or chopped almonds
1 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice

Snip off the figs' stems, and put them, the dates, and the almonds into the food processor. Grind to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining filling ingredients and process until mixed. Set aside.

Crust:
1 cup regular or quick oats, ground in blender until fine
1 cup regular or quick oats, uncooked (not instant oatmeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces unsweetened apple sauce
3 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well to a thick consistency. Press half the crust mixture into the bottom of an oiled, eight-inch square cake pan (use a wooden spoon or your hands). Spread the fig mixture evenly over the crust. Smooth the remaining crust mixture over the filling. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Icing (optional):
Mix powdered sugar (about 3 tbsp.) with a little water (Start with 1/2 tsp.) until the right consistency. Add vanilla or almond extract to taste (just drops). Drizzle over top of bars before cutting.

Cool. Cut into 16 squares.


Makes 16 bars. Each bar (with almonds) contains: 117 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 2 g Protein; 26 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 67 mg Sodium; 4 g Fiber

Enjoy!!!

New Recipe Tuesday ~~ Twice-Baked Potatoes

Well, this New Recipe Tuesday is just going splendidly; three for three with today's addition:

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Now I know your probably wondering what is so great about these. Well, let me just tell you, I have not always been a big fan of the TBP. Sometimes there a little dry and have a weird consistancy. Well not these. This is a fab recipe that I tweaked to fit our liking. So please give this one a try ... you will not be sorry!!!

3 Large Baking Potatoes
1/4 - 1/2 cup butter, softened (I use Fleishman's Butter with Olive Oil ~~ delish)
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk (I use skim)
5 pieces bacon, cooked and cumbled
1/4 of a sweet yellow onion
1 Tbl minced chives (more or less to your liking)
salt and pepper to tast
1 -2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use monterey and cheddar blend)

Scrub and pierce potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. When cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each potato and discard. This is an important step and one I had never done before. It gives you more room to scoop and fill. Scoop out hte pulp, leaving thin shells.

In a large bowl, mash the pulp with butter. Stir in the milk, mix. Add the bacon, onion, chives, salt pepper and 1/2 cup or so of cheese.
Spoon into potato shells about half full and add a bit of cheese. Fill to the top and add a little more cheese to cover the top.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20 minutes and enjoy. YUMMEE!!!!!

Happy Eating,
Dawn

Summer Raspberry Plastic Cup Freeze

This is a recipe I found online and modified. I love to take an existing recipe and mix it up, and that's what I did with this one. Mixed it all up!!! Hope you enjoy!!

Summer Raspberry Plastic Cup Freeze

1 (8 oz) pk cream cheese (can use less fat or fat free), softened
1/4 cup honey
1 cup fresh raspberries (or other berries and can use frozen, thawed)
miniture marshmallows (optional)
2 cups whipped cream

Beat cream cheese and honey until smooth, add raspberries and beat until raspberries are kind of mushy (yes very techinal I know =) Add marshmallow if you want and add whipped cream. Mix. Put in plastic cups and put in freezer. These are delish on a hot day. I like mine more without the marshmallows, but the kids dig the mm. Either way ~~ delish.

Enjoy ~~ Happy eating,
Dawn

New Recipe Tuesdays.....Baked Yummee Onion Rings!!!

So these were delish and we are two for two on New Recipe Tuesday keepers!!!

Baked Yummee Onion Rings

1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion, quartered crosswise and broken into rings
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour and season with salt and pepper.

Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 14 minutes. Season with salt. Serves 4


Per Serving:
Calories: 241
Fat: 9.2 grams
Protein: 6.8 grams
Carbs: 33.7 grams
Fiber: 2.4 grams


Happy cooking ~~ Dawn =)