Healthy Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Oat Breakfast Bars

1.  That title is a mouthful!

2.  I can't believe I haven't blogged on this blog in a year.  That's ridiculous.

3.  I didn't eat these as breakfast...  These were a dessert.  They are that good.  Below is the recipe as I made it (I followed it pretty exactly, just used butter instead of coconut oil).  Here is the link to the original.  I am not concerned with the gluten-free aspect, so that isn't a focus in my ingredients.  But this very easily is gluten-free.  My thing is trying to cut back on refined sugars.  So this really hit the spot and was amazing.


2 1/4 cups oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium, ripe bananas, peeled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Drizzle: 
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

To make oat flour: Place oats into blender or food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles flour. You may need to stop blender and stir oats a couple of times to ensure that all oats have been blended. Transfer oat flour medium bowl; whisk in baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

Place bananas, vanilla, applesauce, and honey into blender; blend 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add to oat flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Gently fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly with rubber spatula. Bake for 15 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool 10-15 minutes on wire rack.

Prepare drizzle by adding 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and butter in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high 30 seconds; stir well to combine then drizzle over the top of bars. Cut bars into 16 squares and enjoy!  (My drizzle wasn't super drizzly, so I may have burned my chocolate a little or maybe the butter isn't as great for this as the coconut oil...  So I put mine in a little snack-size ziploc and cut off a corner and squeezed it out over the bars.  Still tasty!)


Anyway, this woman who came up with this recipe is awesome beyond words in my book.  I have some nephews who have quite a few food allergies to contend with... I sent this link to my sister-in-law, because I am pretty sure this is something the boys can have, and it is seriously so good.  In fact, I need to make another batch :).

Now if only all healthy desserts could be this good!

Angel Kisses (or Meringue Cookies)

Motherhood is teaching me a lot of things.  It's helping me improve myself (even if it is a slow and sometimes painful process!).  See, in recent weeks and months, I've learned the hard way that 2 year olds are great at repeating what they hear.  Even when it's not nice.  I'm grateful we don't choose to use swear words in our home, because they would have already come out of our little girl's mouth by this point.  But even so, sometimes we as parents say things we shouldn't (like we call something stupid).  Or just the way we say something isn't the best -- for example, when she earns a time out and I'm at my wits' end and I grumpily say "Go to your room!"  She has taken on that tone herself and likes to try to send us to our room when she isn't getting her way.  Sigh.  And so, I'm trying to do better.  Because, even though my saying "I don't care" isn't always done in a negative context, that's how she always uses it.  And it's not the nicest sounding thing coming from a 2 year old.  Which makes me think it's not the nicest sounding thing coming from her mommy, either.  We also want her to learn that there are appropriate ways to express our feelings, such as saying "I'm frustrated" instead of screaming and yelling and throwing.

Ergo...

We did a Family Home Evening lesson on the words we say and how we say them.  We used a Conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland called "The Tongue of Angels" (which you can find by following that link).  It is an amazing talk in so many ways.  I loved revisiting it and having new application for it now that I am a mother.  If you're interested in the lesson I put together, just continue reading after the recipe.  We like to have a treat as part of Family Home Evening, and it occurred to me that meringue cookies have also been called Angel Kisses.  How perfect!!  So I did a search on pinterest and found one I liked.  Let me say that I am not an idea person.  I wish I was super-creative and crafty and such.  Alas, I am not.  So having all of these come together in my mind and work so well together, I know beyond a doubt it was inspiration from the Lord.  I know He knows me and cares about me.  He also cares about my sweet babies.  I want our home to be a sanctuary -- a place where the Spirit can dwell.  A place that is safe from the awful things of the world.  In order to create that, I know the words we speak must be peaceful.  Kind.  Loving.  I am always trying to improve myself, and this is an area I need to work on.  I'm grateful that the Lord knows my heart and answers prayers, both spoken and unspoken.  I'm grateful He helped me put together a short lesson to help our family learn how to communicate more kindly, more gently, and more lovingly.

So here is the recipe for the treat :).  These things are melt-in-your-mouth delicious, by the way.  My lame amateur pictures don't do the cookies justice.

 The original recipe can be found here.  I pretty much followed it completely, except I used a silicone baking mat.

4 egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Beat egg whites in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. (If using a freestanding mixer, use wire whisk attachment.) Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Increase speed to medium-high. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form. Beat in extract. Gently stir in chips, if desired.

Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto 2 large foil-lined baking sheets sprayed with no stick cooking spray.  (I used a silicone baking mat with cooking spray just in case ;).)

Bake both sheets of meringues at the same time 45 minutes. Turn oven off. Let meringues stand in oven 1 hour or until completely cooled.  (Mine peeled off these silicone mats super easily!)

So, for the lesson, as I mentioned before, we used Elder Holland's talk.  I only quoted one part from it for the lesson (a 2 year old's attention span is very small...).  "So, brothers and sisters, in this long eternal quest to be more like our Savior, may we try to be “perfect” men and women in at least this one way now—by offending not in word, or more positively put, by speaking with a new tongue, the tongue of angels. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today.... please know that your Father in Heaven loves you and so does His Only Begotten Son. When They speak to you—and They will—it will not be in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but it will be with a voice still and small, a voice tender and kind. It will be with the tongue of angels."  We also used a scripture from the Book of James:  “For in many things we offend all... if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” (James 3:2) since that is one of the scripture references in the talk.

Then we had a little lesson in which I had written words and phrases on little strips of paper.  We helped our 2 year old decide whether those were "happy" or "sad" words or phrases and she got to tape them up on the wall under the appropriate face.

I used more "happy" than "sad" because I think we should focus more on the good.  They are still hanging on our wall so we can refer to them from time to time.

I included phrases that our 2 year old has heard us use that have obviously made her happy, because she repeats them to us inquiringly sometimes so that we'll affirm them.  These include "special girl" and "best friend."  I am grateful that, in spite of some of our hard times, she still knows that she is my "special girl" and my "best friend."  She loves to hear me tell her that it's true.  And I'll tell her forever.  Because it's true :). 

Energy Bites

I found this recipe on a blog about 2 1/2 years ago.  It was while I was still working.  They seemed awesome.  And doable.  And easy.  So I tried them.  I made them my way (read:  the unhealthier way).  The original recipe calls for all-natural peanut butter (the kind without added anything) and agave.  I have neither of those things typically.  So I used good ol' store-bought Skippy (or JIF -- whatever happens to be selling at Costco at the time) and honey. 

Anyway, they are bomb.  And surely they pack a punch in the energy department.  And, compared to many other options (like Twinkies or something), they are a healthier snack option.  I think.

So here goes, with my recipe:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
2 cups dry nonfat powdered milk
2 cups oats
chocolate chips to taste

In a medium bowl, mix together honey and peanut butter until well-blended and smooth.

In a large bowl, mix together powdered milk and oats.  Then add the honey mixture to the milk mixture.  Like this:

Mix them together.  I start out with a utensil (and I recommend something sturdy)...  But I usually end up just mixing with my hands.  It gets really thick.  In fact, yesterday, I started getting a hand cramp from the mixing.  Just a little forewarning ;). 

As the mixture comes together, toss in your chocolate chips (to your liking...  I use semi-sweet.  And I use quite a few, as I like them.  However, you could even leave them out if you're not a fan of chocolate.  But who does that!?! ;)).  Mix those in (again, probably easiest by hand).

Form into 1-inch (or so) balls. 

I find that sometimes the mix is still too dry, so I've added a little water at a time until it's more manageable.  I often still end up with some crumbs that just won't mix in and shape into balls...  No worries... I just eat that with milk. 

Anyway, they are yummy.  And they just may cause me to surpass my target weight this pregnancy :/.

Happy eating!

Brownie Batter Milkshake

I found this recipe on Pinterest a long time ago.  As in 2 years ago ;).  But until now, I never had brownie mix that I was willing to open and only use a portion of.  But because I now keep THRIVE Fudge Brownie mix in my cupboard for my single-serve brownie snack-attacks...  Well, I actually now have opened brownie mix in the cupboard.

So, obviously I used THRIVE product in mine.  So that's the recipe I'm posting.  However, you can use any dry brownie mix -- as is shown by the original recipe in the link up there...

THRIVE Brownie Batter Milkshake
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cups THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix

Place all ingredients in blender and blend well until smooth.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup and garnish with brownie bits (both optional).  Enjoy!!


It was creamy and delicious.  The only thing with mine was I didn't blend it sufficiently.  I still had some big bits of vanilla ice cream.  But that's because my toddler had just gone to bed, and I was trying not to make a ton of noise with the blender ;).  Hahaha.


Anyway, it's good stuff if you just feel a hankerin' for something that is totally a calorie splurge :).

Graduation Cupcakes & Diplomas

So for part of the youth activity tonight, we wanted to recognize one of the girls who is graduating.  Because I am a total foodie, I said I'd be in charge of doing something foodie and cute, since we had decided to play board games for the activity.

Being that I'm not super creative with ideas....  I turned to Pinterest.  And it totally delivered.  Although, initially, I was thinking I could bake a 9x13 cake and try to cut it into a graduation hat (this probably would have been disastrous), I found something much better.  (Here is the website with the idea for the hats.  And for the diplomas (though this is just a link to a picture...).)  Graduation caps made out of candy and put on cupcakes!  And then I found little diploma ideas to boot!  So here are the pictures of my caps... and diplomas:

And here's how I did it:

Diplomas:

Little Debbie Swiss Rolls
Curling ribbon

Tie curling ribbon around the middle of each Swiss Roll.  Use scissors to curl ribbon ends.


Graduation Cap Cupcakes

1 box cake mix of your choice (I used dark chocolate)
1 container frosting of your choice (I used vanilla)
mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Hershey's bars broken into squares (could also use Ghirardelli squares, but WinCo didn't have any)
brown mini M&Ms
Chocolate for melting (I used leftover Hershey bar)

Bake cupcakes according to box directions.  Cool completely.  Frost. 

While cupcakes are cooling, unwrap peanut butter cups and have all candies ready to go.  Melt chocolate and put into a small Ziploc bag.  Cut of small corner for piping out melted chocolate.  Using melted chocolate, place a Hershey's square (writing-side down) on top of peanut butter cup.  Put a drop of chocolate in the center of square and place M&M on it.  Allow to dry.  Place on top of cooled and frosted cupcakes (I transported these, so I put the caps on once I got to where I was going).

**  I had intended to do tassels, but got the wrong kind of candy... I was trying Red Vines, since the WinCo didn't have the Rippy Bits that the original poster suggested...  The Red Vines were too stiff.  So I just left off the tassel.  Still pleased with how they turned out :).

Loved these.  And so did the girls, particularly the girl graduating.  She exclaimed (about the Swiss Rolls):  "They look like little diplomas!!!" 

So yeah, I consider this a success.  They weren't hard, and it was fun!

Appreciation Brunch

This past Saturday, a couple friends and I did an appreciation brunch for our dear friend Christina.  She is pregnant with her 4th baby, and we wanted to do something special for her.  She said she didn't really need anything for Baby, so we decided we could just have a day for her!  It was low-key, just an opportunity to all sit and visit and eat. 

On the menu was:

Yogurt parfaits
crackers w/ dip
veggies w/ dip
strawberry pizza
raspberry coffee cake
bacon cheese mini appetizers
orange juice
water with lemon


Here are the recipes for the Bacon Cheese Mini Appetizers, Raspberry Coffee Cake and the Strawberry Pizza!

A picture of the yogurt parfait bar area.

Raspberry Coffee Cake:

Streusel:

1/4 cup firm margarine or butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

 

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen, thawed)

 

For the streusel:  cut butter into flour and sugar until it resembles crumbs.  Set aside.

 

For cake:  Grease a 9x9 (or 11x7) pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all the ingredients, beating on medium speed for two minutes.

 

Spread half of mixture into greased pan.  Cover with 1/2 cup raspberries (and juice), then sprinkle half of streusel over the berries.  Repeat layers.

 

Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (mine took 40 minutes).  Recipe from Betty Crocker cookbook.

Strawberry Pizza (binder recipe):

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

For Filling:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 cups crushed strawberries

 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and extracts.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

 

On a floured surface, roll dough into a 13-inch circle.  Transfer to an ungreased 12-in pizza pan.  Build up edges slightly.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned (mine cooked 15 minutes, but my oven cooks hot).  Cool completely.

 

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth.  Spread over crust.  Arrange sliced strawberries on top.  In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and crushed berries until blended.  Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Cool slightly.  Spoon over strawberries.  Refrigerate until serving.  Yield: 12 - 16 servings.  Recipe from Taste of Home.

Bacon Cheese Mini Appetizers:

1 (10 oz) can FLAKY biscuits (must be flaky)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 pkg real bacon pieces
2 TBSP milk
2 to 3 TBSP very finely chopped onion
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 TBSP parsley (optional)

Separate bscuits into 2 or 3 layers. Spray muffin cups of mini muffin pan. Press biscuit layers into cups. Mix all ingredients. Fill muffin tins. Bake 15 minutes at 375.

Warm Winter Lemon Cake

1 package (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
2 cups cold milk
1 1/4 cups water
2 packages ((4-serving size each) lemon flavor instant pudding and pie filling
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix as directed on package. Pour batter into greased 9x13 baking dish.

Pour milk and water into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and granulated sugar. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Pour over cake batter in dish. Place baking dish on baking sheet to catch drippings, as mixture does bubble.

Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (Mine took 45 minutes). Cool in pan 20 minutes. (Mixture will thicken slightly as it cools.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Spoon onto serving dishes. Serve warm; garnish with raspberries, if desired. Makes 16 servings.

 

Personal Notes:  I forgot to add the extra 1/3 cup sugar and it was still delicious.  I didn't even realize I forgot it until the next day when I was reading over the recipe.  This is delicious warm or cold :).

 

Verdict:  Definitely a keeper!  It's easy and delicious.  Light, so not super-filling.