Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats with Peanut Butter, Flax, and Honey

Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats

I am trying to make dog treats at home since we are discovering some food sensitivities in our boy dog, Brutus.  The vet said it's likely Brutus is sensitive to chicken. Apparently that is very common.  A long while back, we also thought Brutus might be sensitive to wheat as well.  So a week or so ago, I set out to make some treats that contained no chicken or chicken by products (also no eggs) and no wheat.

I found a recipe that called for yogurt and peanut butter; at the last minute I decided to add in some flax seed meal and honey.  My thought process being... if the dogs don't like them, then I WILL EAT THEM.

Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats

1 cup Greek yogurt (I used 2% Fage brand)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon ground flax meal

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Stir until ingredients are nearly combined.  Scoop all into a gallon sized plastic bag.  Snip one corner of plastic bag with scissors.  Use the plastic bag like a pastry bag and squeeze the yogurt mixture out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet through the hole in the bag's corner.  You can portion the treats out as small or as large as you would like and depending upon your dog's size.  I made very small dollops which were about the size of Hershey's Kisses (or smaller).  Place cookie sheet in freezer.  Freeze for about 1 hour and then transfer the treats to a glass or plastic container with a tight fitting lid.  Store in the freezer.

VERDICT:  Sandy really likes these treats. She loves all things DAIRY. Cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, cheese, and so on.  Brutus is not a fan of the frozen yogurt treats.  Since I used Greek yogurt, these treats are very tart.  I am not sure if is Brutus is not a fan because they are frozen or because of the tart taste.  

RECIPE SOURCE:

http://playeatlearn.blogspot.com/2013/10/homemade-peanut-butter-yogurt-dog.html?m=1

Banana Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats

Banana Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats with Chia

Sometimes a girl needs a little chocolate, am I right?  I was doing a little food prep on Saturday and I realized I had just enough Greek yogurt left to make up two kinds of overnight oats.  I made up some Strawberry Chia Overnight Oats (recipe link HERE) and decided that I wanted to also make up some Banana Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats. I looked around on the internet and reviewed a few recipes and none of them had just the right proportions I was looking for, so I decided to wing it and they turned out great.  One thing I can tell you about this recipe is that if you use thick, strained Greek yogurt, this dish will be a bit tart.  If you find the tart taste of Greek yogurt to be off-putting, then you can just use plain, unstrained yogurt.  If you use unstrained, non-Greek yogurt, you might want to use slightly less milk in your preparation (since Greek yogurt is very thick and unstrained yogurt has a thinner, more liquid consistency).  It took me awhile to get accustomed to the tart taste of Greek yogurt, but I've grown to really love it and I especially like the thick and creamy texture it has.  I use Chobani Greek yogurt with 2% milkfat.

Banana Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats (makes 2 servings)

Measurements in ( ) reflect 21 Day Fix containers

1/2 cup of rolled oats (1 yellow container)

3/4 cup plain yogurt (1 red container)

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of your preference (1 red container)

2 tablespoons chia seeds (1 orange container)

1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used just 1 tablespoon but add more to make it sweeter if you like)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 banana sliced

1 to 2 tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a medium sized bowl, combine the oats, yogurt, milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir well to combine.

Layer and divide the ingredients into two glass jars or plastic storage containers.  Place about 1/4 of the yogurt mixture into the bottom of one jar and then place about 1/4 of the yogurt mixture into the bottom of the second jar.  Put half the sliced banana into one jar and half the sliced banana into the second jar.  Sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips into each jar.  Top the banana slices and chocolate chips with the remaining yogurt mixture (covering the banana slices with the yogurt will help prevent browning).  Cover jars with lids and refrigerate overnight.  Eat cold and best if eaten within 3 to 4 days.

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Maple Dijon Salad Dressing

I tried a new salad dressing this week during my Saturday meal prep session. It was so easy and I like the taste very much.  You could make this dressing in a jar with a tight fitting lid (ie. a Mason jar) or in a bowl with a whisk, but I used a container I had on hand for making Good Seasonings Italian Dressing. I just shook the ingredients together in the jar.  This recipe comes from a website called My Kitchen Addiction (www.mykitchenaddiction.com).  I just made 1/2 a recipe to make sure I like the dressing and it was just the right amount for four salads (about 8 tablespoons total).  In my salad, I have kale, carrot, celery, a hard boiled egg, and... as you can see... a gob of grape tomatoes. I bought a big tub of grape tomatoes at Sam's Club.  As a result, I will be having gobs of grape tomatoes on EVERYTHING for the next few days!

In the photo above, you can see three little shot glasses containing the vinaigrette all lined up.  I found these little plastic shot glasses at my local liquor shop.  They are perfect for portioning out my salad dressing when I make up a few salads at a time.  And, as you can see in the photos above, the shot glasses fit perfectly in my plastic storage tubs I use for keeping my salads fresh.

MAPLE DIJON VINAIGRETTE

From www.mykitchenaddiction.com

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a jar or container with a tight fitting lid and shake well until all ingredients are well combined.

My Saturday meal prep (photo above) entailed no cooking whatsoever except for boiling a few hard boiled eggs. We are in a heat wave in Southern Colorado and using the oven just seems like a bad idea. 

Sweet Potatoes for Breakfast

SWEET POTATOES FOR BREAKFAST

This is an interesting idea. I tried it and I liked it. I was inspired to try sweet potatoes for breakfast after seeing this recipe for "Loaded Breakfast Sweet Potatoes" posted on Facebook. (See link HERE).  I made my sweet potato in the microwave oven but I do prefer it baked in the oven.  I think in the microwave, sweet potatoes get kind of dried out.

I topped my sweet potato half with peanut butter (a little less than 1 tablespoon), sliced and diced banana (1/2 a banana), cinnamon, and a tiny drizzle of honey. It was good.  If you check out the original recipe link, you'll see the blogger also topped her sweet potato with fresh blueberries and granola.  I like that you can just see an idea someplace and then just take the idea and run with it.  Make it your own, top it how you like.  If you give this a try, I would love to know what you think of it or how you topped your sweet potato.

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches #12 Beach Club Unwich

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

#12 Beach Club Unwich 

Do you have Jimmy John's sandwich shops in your area?

We do.  I love their sandwiches but I don't eat a lot of bread. A few months back, I noticed you can make any of their sandwiches an "unwich".  This means they wrap the sandwich contents in iceberg lettuce leaves instead of bread.  Nice way to eliminate some calories and some carbs. But don't get me wrong... their bread is GOOD!

The unwich I order is the #12 Beach Club and this is how it comes:

Turkey

Provolone cheese

Tomato

Cucumbers

Avocado Spread 

Mayonnaise (I ask for no mayo)

I really like this combination and feel like it's a pretty good choice when eating out, but it occurred to me that I could make the very same unwich at home. I tried it out yesterday and it was even better than the Jimmy John's version. I used really nice Mesquite Smoked Turkey from the deli at my Kroger store.  I used fresh avocado in place of the avocado spread that Jimmy John's uses.  Also, I used Romaine lettuce leaves in place of iceberg lettuce. I just layered the sandwich ingredients in a narrow Romaine lettuce leaf and then wrapped it all closed using an even larger, flatter Romaine lettuce leaf. It was kind of tricky to hold it all together and eat it, but it was light, refreshing, and delicious. 

Here are a few photos...

Ingredients:

2 to 3 slices deli turkey
1 slice provolone cheese (cut in half)
2 Romaine lettuce leaves (more if desired)
English cucumber slices
Roma tomato slices
1/4 of a ripe avocado

B.A.T. Toast (Avocado Toast...Again!)

Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato (B.A.T.) Toast

Can you handle just one more post about Avocado Toast?  Here's a new tasty combination.

Toast, mashed avocado with a little salt and pepper, turkey bacon, and sliced tomato!

Delicious!

Avocado Toast Day 4: Bacon and Egg

Avocado Toast: Bacon and Egg

Having Avocado Toast four days in a row was a lot of fun: I enjoyed thinking about different ways to top it!  The reason I had this four days in a row is because I used just 1/4 of an avocado each day so it took me four days to eat my way through one avocado.  What a bargain considering the avocado was on sale for $0.88.

On Day 4, I mashed up my avocado with a little salt and black pepper and spread it on some toast.  I topped that with some torn up cooked turkey bacon and then topped all that with hard boiled egg slices.  This came together quickly and easily since the cooked turkey bacon and hardboiled eggs were already made up and in the refrigerator.

I went shopping the other day and bought a very under-ripe avocado. It's sitting on my countertop getting nice and ripe so I'll be able to have avocado toast again soon.  If I come up with any more great toppings for avocado toast, I'll be sure to share.

Avocado Toast with Basil Pesto

Avocado Toast with Basil Pesto

I am having fun planning my breakfast each morning. This week, I am having avocado toast four times; each day I am having one slice of toast (Dave's Killer Bread Thin Sliced) with 1/4 of an avocado (sliced or mashed up) and then switching up the toppings.  Today: Basil Pesto!

There is so much inspiration on the internet for various toppings.  I was really wanting to have turkey bacon and tomatoes today on my avocado toast, BUT we are having a BIG SNOW STORM in Colorado today and the grocery stores are RIDICULOUSLY crowded when we are expecting snow. So I had to come up with alternative toppings today since I did NOT want to go to the grocery store yesterday.  Yes, it's that bad!

This couldn't be easier.

1 slice of toast

1/4 avocado, mashed with a fork and seasoned with a bit of salt and black pepper

topped with hard boiled egg slices

finished off with a little drizzle of prepared Basil Pesto (I used Kroger "Private Select" brand)

I am not sure what toppings I'll have tomorrow.  I don't think I'll be going to store so I may have to get creative, but I love that!

Avocado Toast... with Indian Spice

Avocado Toast with Indian Spice

I am only using 1/4 of an avocado on my avocado toast each morning so it's going to take me four days to eat one stinkin' avocado.  Today, my avocado toast was super easy to assemble.  I just mashed up 1/4 of my avocado and stirred in a pinch of kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper.  I smeared that over a piece of toast (again, I am using Dave's Killer Bread Thin Slice).

I sliced up a hard boiled egg with my handy dandy egg slicer and made pretty rows over the avocado covered toast.

I finished it off with a sprinkle of Garam Masala.  This is a spice blend used in Indian cooking; I got a small sample of it to try out in recipes from one of my favorite spice shops.  I loved the taste and texture of this meal.  It was a lot like the texture of egg salad.  I might just have this again for breakfast tomorrow morning. I liked the hard boiled egg better than the over easy egg on top of the avocado toast, which is what I had yesterday.   

Greek Tuna Wraps

GREEK TUNA WRAPS

This meal was so yummy I had it for lunch yesterday and again today.  This could feed two people or one really hungry person.  I have been eating both wraps at once!  Zach and I have been doing a work out program called "21 Day Fix Extreme" and I definitely work up an appetite.  I don't count calories but I think this huge meal comes in at under 400 calories.  It is light and refreshing and hits the spot!

Ingredients:

2 Ole Brand XTREME WELLNESS tortillas (50 calories each)

1 can (5 ounces) Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna (120 calories), drained

2 tablespoons white onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons, finely diced

1 to 2 tablespoons Ken's Steak House Brand Greek Salad Dressing (50 calories per tablespoons)

Optional: 2 teaspoons crumbled feta cheese (20 to 40 calories?)

a handful arugula (or tender spinach)

1 Roma tomato, sliced

a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Warm the tortillas in the microwave oven or in a dry skillet on the stove top over medium heat. 

In a small bowl, combine the tuna, onion, celery, and prepared salad dressing.  Stir well with a fork to combine and to break the tuna into smaller pieces, as desired.

Top each tortilla with a small handful of arugula down the center to the tortillas. Portion 1/2 of the tuna mixture onto each tortilla, placing the tuna on top of the arugula.  Top the tuna with the sliced Roma tomatoes, the crumbled feta cheese (if using), and a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Enjoy! 

Panera Bread

Panera Bread Salad Dressings to enjoy at home!

Here's something to look for at your grocery store in the refrigerated section in the produce area.

You can buy salad dressings from "Panera Bread" restaurant to use at home.  I stumbled across these three (on sale!) a few weeks back and have been enjoying trying them out. Each bottle has a suggested recipe to enjoy the dressing... what type of lettuce or greens to use, what toppings to add, etc.  The Fuji Apple dressing is slightly sweet and the Balsamic Viniagrette dressing is very flavorful.  I have not yet warmed up to the Asian Sesame dressing.  I think I am finding that I am not a fan of sesame oil; I think it feels funny in my mouth.  Whatever the case may be, I am enjoying these dressings.  Hopefully you can find them at your grocery store if you are interested.

This was a super salad. Spinach, hard boiled egg, turkey breast, celery, carrots, and honey crisp apple.  Delicious with the Balsamic Vinaigrette or Fuji Apple dressing.

After trying these dressings at home, we actually ended up going to Panera Bread for dinner two times this past week. I had to get my car serviced about an hour from our home so we dropped off the car one night and picked it up the next night.  At Panera, I had an amazing salad called "Ancient Grain, Arugula, and Chicken Salad".  It was served with a Sweet White Balsamic Dressing. The salad was so good that I had it both times I was at Panera this week.  I also tried to replicate the salad at home (with some modifications of course).

BELOW:  The Panera Bread "Ancient Grain, Arugula, and Chicken Salad".  The salad has arugula and grilled chicken of course. I am not sure what grains these are.  The salad has apples and red grapes, as well as toasted pumpkin seeds, and the dressing is a Sweet White Balsamic dressing. You can get a half order of the salad with a half sandwich or cup of soup.  I got a full order of the salad.

BELOW:  This is my version of the salad at home. My salad is made with arugula and turkey, as well as hard boiled egg and toasted pumpkin seeds.  I used honey crisp apples and dried cranberries (Craisins).  My grain is an ancient grain called "Freekeh" and the dressing is the Panera brand Fuji Apple dressing.  This salad was so good I had it for lunch and for dinner yesterday. 

I love finding healthy options when eating out at restaurants, but I also enjoy coming up with my own version at home.

This is the first time I heard of Freekeh.  I got this sample at a Health Fair.  It's similar to brown rice in texture and also has a nice nutty flavor. I really like it!  Here is a close up of the cooked Freekeh. I am enjoying having a chewy whole grain on my salad.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

Earlier this week, I tried to make Pumpkin  Pie Refrigerator Oats. The recipe is here:

http://www.theyummylife.com/recipes/261/Pumpkin+Pie+Refrigerator+Oatmeal

Unfortunately this recipe was a flop. I did not care for the taste or texture. It left me with leftover pumpkin purée. 

Pumpkin Pie Refrigerator Oats 

With the leftover pumpkin, I considered making these dog treats:

http://www.createdby-diane.com/2012/10/pumpkin-peanut-butter-oatmeal-dog-biscuits.html

Then I got distracted by this recipe for Breakfast Cookies... because, c'mon... who doesn't like the idea of cookies for breakfast: 

http://runninsrilankan.com/2016/08/18/coconut-oat-pecan-breakfast-cookies/

I decided to make this recipe for no bake energy bites because it would result in me using the pumpkin and I loved the idea of not having to bake these treats. 

Here is the recipe link:  

http://cleanfoodcrush.com/pumpkin-energy-balls/

• 
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
• From www.cleanfoodcrush.com

Ingredients 

• 3 cups dry, uncooked oatmeal 
• 1 cup all-natural Pumpkin Puree
• 1 cup all-natural Peanut butter, or Almond butter (I used peanut butter)
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup or raw honey ( I used maile syrup)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 4-6 Tbsp ground flax seeds :  if ‘dough’ seems too wet, then I add more ground flax, if it’s too dry, add less…start with a smaller quantity. (I used only 2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup small chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, chopped peanuts, coconut flakes, or any combination of mix-ins that equal 1 cup total (I used walnuts, pecans, almonds, and unsweetened coconut)
• 1/2 cup mini dark chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients together in a medium bowl until very thoroughly mixed.
2. Roll into balls of about 1″ in diameter (I made about 50 small balls with my cookie scoop). 
3. Place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper & freeze one hour.
4. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Applesauce & Cottage Cheese

Applesauce & Cottage Cheese

Oh my goodness!  WHY have I NOT tried this sooner?!?!?

I want to say I saw my sister eating this combination YEARS ago, but I just tried this today for the first time and it is insanely delicious!  I had this today with toast and peanut butter. Yum!

I have to say lowfat cottage cheese has become a staple in my kitchen in the last two months since I have been eating clean. I've not been too creative; my favorite cottage toppings are fresh diced Roma tomatoes with salt and cracked black pepper, or pineapple, or fresh nectarines. 

I recently bought some dried dillweed so that I can try cottage cheese with chopped cucumber, dillweed, salt, and pepper. Doesn't that sound great?

Seeing how great applesauce and cottage cheese go together, I decided to "Google" the combination. Turns out the applesauce-cottage cheese combo is quite popular; I even saw an article entitled "The Cottage Cheese & Applesauce Diet".  Apparently, I have been sleeping under a rock and am late to the party... again. 

Anyway, my excitement over this new-to-me taste sensation has led me to think outside the box (or should I say outside "the round plastic tub") when it comes to cottage cheese.  Here are some other combinations I'd like to try soon:

Cottage cheese, unsweetened applesauce, cinnamon with raisins and chopped walnuts. 

Cottage cheese with fresh banana, strawberries, and pineapple (Banana Split). 

Cottage cheese and chives on a baked potato. 

I am sure I will find some other inspiration for cottage cheese toppings very soon; I will keep you posted. A 1/2 cup serving of lowfat 2% cottage cheese has 90 calories and has a whopping 12 grams of protein. I love that cottage is creamy and slightly salty, but goes well with both sweet and savory toppings. 

Here's a short article I found with some creative ideas for cottage cheese: 

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/09/10-ways-to-dress-up-cottage-cheese-ideas-recipes.html

On a totally unrelated note, here are some photos of the flowers in my backyard. They are loving our evening thundershowers. 

Muddy Buddies

Proceed with EXTREME caution! These treats are DANGEROUSLY good!

So I remember a day many moons ago: I picked up Zach at daycare/pre-school (remember, Zach is now a Senior in high school... I told you... many moons ago...) and I was informed they had made "Puppy Chow" that day. Turns out Puppy Chow is a treat made with Chex Cereal. Chocolate and peanut butter get all melty and delicious and are stirred into Chex cereal until it's all coated. Then you toss the chocately-peanut-buttery cereal in powdered sugar. I understood why they called it Puppy Chow since some puppy food does have a white powdery-milky coating on it.

In the past few months, I've noticed Zach has gone to a nearby gas station to get snacks and he brings home a bag of Chex Muddy Buddies (AKA: Puppy Chow). So I told Zach the other day, "if you go to the store and get some Chex cereal, I will make you Muddy Buddies!".

I finally made Muddy Buddies Chow at home last night. It was very easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand except for the Chex cereal. The recipe specifies using ONE two-gallon sized zip lock bag to coat the cereal. I used TWO one-gallon sized zip lock bags. The only tricky thing about making this treat was getting the coated cereal into the bag without making a big ol' chocalately mess.

Chex Muddy Buddies

from www.bettycrocker.com

9 cups Rice Chex™, Corn Chex™ or Chocolate Chex™ cereal (or combination)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I ended up using a lot more than 1 1/2 cups)

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated.

Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

TURNS OUT there are lots of Chex cereal recipes out there. I think I might have to try a few more. I'll keep you posted! :)

Easy Banana Granola Pancakes

 

Easy Banana Granola Pancakes

 

I love leisurely Saturday mornings, don't you?
I love that I don't have to hurry off to get any place.
I also have Thursday and Fridays off. Things feel more hurried those days.  I try to make Zach a nice hot breakfast before school since I don't get to do that on my work days.  I also meet with a friend to walk the dogs on Fridays. Hurry, hurry, hurry!

On Saturdays, we joke that I am a short order cook; I often make three different breakfasts... something different for everyone. Today, Ron had ham and over easy eggs. Zach had "home fries" and a bacon and cheese omelet.  As for me, I whipped up some pancakes.  The recipe yielded 18 pancakes so this will be my breakfasts for the week.  I had Hungry Jack Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix (the kind where you just add water) in the cupboard and two ridiculously over ripe bananas on the counter top.  I wanted to add toasted pecans or walnuts to the mix but by the time I was making breakfast #3 for the morning, I was getting tired of making breakfast, so I decided to toss in the really old granola which was sitting on the counter top.  It all came together nicely and made for some really good pancakes.  Why did I not try this sooner!

Easy Banana Granola Pancakes

2 very ripe bananas
2 cups Hungry Jack Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix
1 1/2 cups water or a little less
a glug of vanilla (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon)
1/4 cup granola

Mash bananas with a fork in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Add in the pancake mix and most of the water.  My bananas were kind of dry so I used almost all of the 1 1/2 cups water. You want the batter to be runny enough so the pancakes spread out.  Also as the batter sits, I've noticed it sets up a bit (gets less runny).  If the batter is too think, it may be difficult to get the pancakes to cook through.  Stir well with a whisk until the consistency is good and then stir in the vanilla and granola.

Preheat a griddle pan to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray griddle pan with non-stick cooking spray and spoon batter onto griddle.  My recipe yielded 18 pancakes.  Do not under cook the pancakes.  My first batch was a little underdone.  I cooked the subsequent batches a bit longer.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free: Broccoli, Kale, and Brussels Sprout Slaw Salad

Broccoli, Kale, and Brussels Sprout Slaw Salad

 

Just before Christmas, my coworkers, boss, and I had a little potluck.

 

Everything was DELICIOUS!

 

My coworker, Jay, brought a bagged salad from Costco.  And I loved it... and I haven't stop thinking about that salad since the potluck.  It was that good! 

 

I was determined to make a version of this salad at home.  The bagged Costco salad contained broccoli (the stalks, not the florets), Brussels sprouts, kale, green cabbage, and chicory (some sort of red lettuce???).  The dressing was a sweet poppy seed dressing that reminded me of coleslaw dressing.  The bagged salad had a small pouch of roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) and dried sweetened cranberries (Craisins).

 

I strayed a bit from the original recipe, but I am pretty happy with my version.  Since I want to make this salad up each time I have a serving (as opposed to mixing it all up ahead of time and having it wilt in the dressing), I put the individual ingredients in zip close plastic bags with a little bit of paper towel (one bag of finely sliced Brussels sprouts, one bag of finely chopped kale, and I also put the broccoli slaw in it's own bag with paper towel since I noticed there was some unwanted moisture in my broccoli slaw bag from the store). I tried to get all the ingredients as dry as possible before I bagged them up.  For this salad I used:

 

• 10 to 12 Brussels sprouts, finely sliced, stem ends removed 
• 1/2 to 3/4 bunch of organic kale, finely chopped, woody stalks removed
• 1 bag of broccoli slaw (12 ounce size), pre-washed, which includes shredded broccoli stalks, carrots, and red cabbage
• Ken's Steak House brand "Lite Poppy Seed" dressing
• Craisins (dried sweetened cranberries)
• roasted sunflower seeds (I would have preferred toasted finely sliced almonds, but I was lazy)
• optional: I added in a bit of chopped grilled chicken 

 

I don't have exact measurements for my salad. I used more broccoli slaw than anything else and a bit of kale and Brussels sprouts. I kept the salad from being soppy wet by just adding a bit of dressing until it looked coated but not drippy with dressing (like these technical cooking terms and precise measurements!? Sorry!).  I think you could use any nuts in this salad but I think finely sliced almonds which have been toasted in a dry skillet or in the oven would be the best choice.  I used the sunflower seeds since I had them on hand. I think any nuts would be good (pepitas, pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds) but I recommend toasting them first.

Enjoy!  

Trail Mix Cereal Bars

Trail Mix Cereal Bars with Cranberries,

Almonds, and Chocolate

I was making chocolate chip cookies yesterday and noticed I had extra chocolate chips and corn syrup in my pantry.  I noticed Anna was playing around with the Scotcheroo recipe over on her blog called Cookie Madness, so I think I had Scotcheroos on my brain. 

Scotcheroos sounded really good but I had no Rice Crispies (cereal) on hand.  It got me to thinking of the store-bought Trail Mix Granola Bars I like which include ingredients such as almonds, dried cranberries, and are sometimes topped with a bit of chocolate.  In my mind, I was justifying making a sweet treat (that I did not need) by making them "healthy" by adding in some wholesome ingredients. I went the extra mile and toasted the raw almonds before I chopped them.   At the last minute, I decided to add in some quick oats to make it "more healthy".  I debated between putting the chocolate chips in the bars or melting the chocolate and spreading it on top of the bars.  I opted for the latter as you will see. 

This recipe makes a ton and I am probably the only one in my family who will eat them.  I took half of the recipe and wrapped them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and we'll see how well they freeze. I put the other bars in little snack size plastic bags and I plan to bring them to work to share on Monday.  This recipe could easily be cut in half for a smaller batch.  One could also use a little less chocolate to make these tasty treats less sweet and rich. I suppose the chocolate topping could be omitted but I like the chocolate/cranberry combination.  Also, next time I make this recipe, I think I might try to make them in a jelly roll pan I have which I think measures 15x10x1inches.

Trail Mix Cereal Bars

1 cup whole raw almonds 

6 cups Cheerios (or similar oat ring cereal) 

1 cup quick cooking oats 

1 cup Craisins (dried sweetened cranberries) 

1 cup granulated sugar 

1 cup corn syrup 

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky) 

2 cups Tollhouse semi-sweet morsels (chocolate chips) 

Lightly spray a 9x13x2 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray (such as PAM).

In a skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds, stirring frequently, until the almonds are fragrant and slightly browned. Should take about 4 or 5 minutes. Set aside to cool and then coarsely chop.

In a large bowl, combine the Cheerios, oats, almonds, and cranberries. Set aside.

In a large pot, combine the sugar and corn syrup; heat over medium to medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the peanut butter until it's melted and well combined. Add in the Cheerios/oats/almonds/cranberries. Quickly stir all ingredients together until coated and then transfer it all to the prepared 9x13x2 pan. Mash the ingredients into an even layer. Mashing the ingredients will help the bars stick together well... so mash away.

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high power (100%) for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, stopping every 30 to 45 seconds to stir. When chocolate is all melted and smooth, spread the chocolate over the cereal mixture in the pan and smooth in an even layer. Allow to cool and cut into bars. Store in plastic bags with zip closure or in plastic storage container with tight fitting lid.