The other day I posted a recipe for delicious homemade chewy granola bars. Yesterday, I shared the recipe with a friend, who made the granola bars for her boyfriend. I loved how she wrapped them (she was sending them through the mail)! What’s even better is how much that adorable twine cost…just a dollar at Target.
I think these granola bars make a healthy alternative to sending cookies. What are some other ideas for delicious, healthy treats?
Ciao!
Sarah
After the success of my first attempt at homemade granola bars (recipe here!), I found another recipe to try. This one isn’t as healthy (brown sugar included) but doesn’t crumble as easily and tastes delicious. I found the original recipe at mybakingaddiction.com (recipe here). I replaced the wheat germ with chia seeds, but I think flax seeds are also a good replacement.
Enjoy!
Sarah
What’s better than peanut butter and bananas? How about peanut butter and bananas in pancakes! This is a super easy recipe (originally found here). My next try with this recipe will be replacing half the peanut butter with Nutella. Now that would be a perfect pancake.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small banana, peeled and chopped
Directions:
Mix flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the peanut butter, then add the milk and vanilla. Blend well. Stir in banana pieces.
Coat skillet with cooking spray. Cook pancakes over medium heat on skillet.
Enjoy!
Sarah
p.s. Freeze extra pancakes for later!
I can’t totally take credit for this recipe; I got it from a coworker after trying a batch of his. I did modify the recipe to fit my own tastes (substituting flax seeds for chia seeds and adding a bit more peanut butter and less honey). A great thing about this recipe is that there really is no limit to its variations. I decided to make my own granola bars instead of buying them because I not only wanted to save a bit of money, I also wanted to control exactly what I was eating in this snack. I always had trouble identifying store-bought granola bars that were truly healthy (“Is this more like a candy bar than a granola bar? What does whole wheat really mean in this bar?”). With my own homemade granola bars, I know exactly what I’m getting!
Granola Bars
2 Cups Quick Oats
1 Cup Protein Powder
1 Cup Chia or Flax Seed
1 Cup Dried Cranberries
1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
Mix the above ingredients in a bowl, then add:
1 1/2 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Honey
Press the mixture into a 9X13.
Depending on how crazy I get with the chocolate chips or cranberries, I’ll add in extra peanut butter or honey to firm up the mixture.
Store in the fridge to help keep from crumbling.
Hope you enjoy as much as I do!
Ciao!
Sarah
Recently I discovered a local Vietnamese market (not as large or as wide in variety as those I am used to in Chicago, but still a lucky thing to find!) and seized the opportunity to purchase frozen dumplings. Using the ingredients in my fridge and pantry, I created this easy curry recipe. Enjoy!
For some other quick and easy recipes, check out this tuna melt sandwich and chicken parmesan
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What you need:
1-2 cups brown rice
1 box tofu
Handful of spinach leaves
Cumin powder
Curry powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Soy sauce
1-2 eggs
1/2 a large onion
Half a large bag of frozen dumplings
Half a lemon
1/2 cup milk or half and half, coconut milk can be used as substitute
Olive oil or vegetable oil
Prep (5 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to cook):
*This recipe serves two.
First, prepare the rice according to the package (this will take the longest to cook and should be started first, as a result. For an even quicker dinner, use instant rice).
Secondly, put oil at the bottom of a wide non-stick sauce pan. Cook up the dumplings until they begin to brown. Set the dumplings aside and covered for later. Then, fry or scramble the eggs in the same pan. Leave in eggs and add a bit more oil as well as the onion and spinach. Gently cut the tofu into chunks and place in the pan. Add spices to taste. Squeeze in lemon juice. Add milk or half and half. For a more creamier sauce, add more liquid. Let simmer for a few minutes until tofu is cooked. Carefully (in order to preserve the shape of the tofu) stir occasionally. Add dumplings, lower heat, and cover with lid for a minute. On two plates, add rice and top with the delicious curry tofu.
As well as moving into my first place, I’ve also started my first job, and already I’m finding that cooking anything besides a frozen pizza is difficult. So I’ve decided to try out some easy, quick recipes and post the best ones here. I’m focusing on dishes that takes less than ten minutes to prepare and use food that I normally have around. My first dish was an easy chicken parmesan.
What you need:
Two cans of tuna
One large spoonful of cottage cheese
Lemon juice from half a lemon
One large spoonful of mayo
One teaspoon of Dijon mustard
One stalk of celery, chopped
5-6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Four slices of rye bread
2 thins slices of dill havarti
Prep (5 minutes to prepare, 3 minutes to cook):
Mix the above ingredients together then spread onto the rye bread and top with the havarti. I grilled mine panini-style in my George Foreman, but you could also broil them open-faced in your oven.
It’s a super easy and delicious spin on a traditional tuna melt!
As well as moving into my first place, I’ve also started my first job, and already I’m finding that cooking anything besides a frozen pizza is difficult. So I’ve decided to try out some easy, quick recipes and post the best ones here. I’m focusing on dishes that takes less than ten minutes to prepare and use food that I normally have around. The first dish is a really simple chicken parmesan. If I had known chicken parmesan was this easy to make, I’d done it a long time ago!
I found the original recipe here, but modified it slightly so that it feeds two instead of four.
What you need:
Prep (10 min. to prepare, 20 min. to cook):
Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/2 inch thick.
Whisk the egg and milk. I give a range for the milk depending on your taste. Using 1/2 a cup will give you left overs and is ideal if you are making 3-4 servings.
Dip the chicken breasts in the milk and egg mixture and then dip in the bread crumbs.
Put a small amount of olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) in a skillet and place in chicken breasts. Cook until the chicken is brown and cooked all the way through. This shouldn’t take more than five minutes or so.
Set the chicken into a glass baking dish and sprinkle the mozerella on top. Then pour a desired about of sauce over on top. Top with parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350° for about 20 to 25 mintues or until the sauce is bubbly.
I served mine with spaghetti but most pasta works well!
Enjoy!
Do you recommend any easy, quick recipes?
Ciao!
Sarah
p.s. To set the record straight, chicken parmesan is not an Italian dish. You’ll only find it on the menu of tourist restaurants in Italy! It’s another example of a delicious American dish with Italian inspiration.
gibbsongirl.com 