Is this what’s next?! (wink, wink….)
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“CHOCOLATE CHIP” CHEWY GRANOLA BARS (gluten/dairy-free)
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These bars are chewy and delicious, but not too sweet. They can easily be made gluten-free and/or dairy-free to suit your needs.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups Old Fashioned Oats (we use a gluten-free variety)
1/3 cup coconut oil (or butter)
1 cup raw honey
4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups almonds, chopped (we throw them in food processor)
1/2 cup cocoa nibs (optional), available at health food stores
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place oats on an ungreased 11″ x 17″ baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt honey and oil or butter together in a medium saucepan over medium heat, being careful not to burn it. Remove pan from heat; and add vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Stir until dissolved.
Add toasted oats to the saucepan mixture and toss to coat. Add chopped almonds and stir. Add cocoa nibs (optional) and stir to combine.
Line a smaller baking sheet (10″ x 15″ works best) with parchment paper. (Tip: Sprinkle the sheet with a few drops of water, first, to help keep the paper in place.)
Transfer batter to this cookie sheet and gently spread to all edges. Once entire sheet is covered, press batter firmly into pan – I use a Ziplock sandwich bag on my hand for this step, but a sheet of parchment or wax paper should work well, too.
Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. The bars are done when they just begin to turn brown at the edges. Don’t wait too long or they may burn! Bars will be moist and crumbly when removed from oven, but they come together as they cool! It may take a few attempts for you to figure out the best amount of time in your own oven.
Let cool completely (about 90 minutes on a cooling rack; longer if you don’t have a cooling rack). Cut into 24 bars and remove from pan. Enjoy!
We like our bars a little firmer and sweeter, so we store them in the fridge. They also freeze well for later use…and can be eaten frozen, as well!
(For more great recipes and all of the grocery shopping tips you need to ensure that you select the most additive-free versions of every ingredient you need to make over 150 natural recipes, check out my e-book “Eating Additive-Free“!)
“City Girl” Meets Dairy Cow!
Although we live in the city, we are most certainly on a quest to eat much of our food “close to the source.” This often entails visiting the farms where our food is grown or raised. A couple summers ago, one of our first farm visits was to Kvam Family Farm in West Point, NE. While we were there, we decided it would be fun to hike out into the fields and say hello to their cows (when in Rome… right!?!?!?).
Every cow that we tried to approach just politely rejected us and walked slowly in the opposite direction…so when this cow actually stayed there…and not only that, but lifted her head in my direction, I got a little “spooked.”
It’s embarrassing to look back at the video and to see how docile these creatures really are, but I just have a fear (as slightly irrational as it may be) of most any animal that weighs more than I do!! LOL!
Salad with Chicken & Fresh Veggies
I just LOVE to cook once and eat twice (or more)!!! And this is the perfect meal for doing just that! We smoked 4 chickens yesterday, and now we have tons of meat leftover. (You could also roast your chickens, instead – we use the smoker because we can fit more chickens in there. LOL!) Or you can use leftover grilled chicken…or grill some up fresh just for this. Whatever works! 🙂
Tonight we enjoyed organic salad mix from Costco topped with leftover smoked chicken meat; fresh tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers; and homemade Italian Dressing!
I tossed in some Italian flax crackers on the side for good measure, too! 😉 Click here to read more about those!
Completely Nourished 