Peanut... peanut butter! (no jelly)

The local coffee shop, Z's Divine, has great peanut butter bars. They are dense and packed with peanut butter. And it's no secret that PB is a staple in our diets. Again, kind of like eggs get a bad rap because of the cholesterol issue, nuts get a bad rap sometimes because of the fat issue. And, like cholesterol, there is good and bad. In my opinion, peanut butter = good.

Back to the PB bars, I'd love to have a go-to recipe that might come close to the taste and consistency of the ones from the coffee shop. I found this recipe and decided to give it a whirl. Snacks are a biggie for us - I am constantly searching for new recipes and/or creations that are not-processed, easy to make from scratch, and will give the girls that little "something" between meals that will tide them over without requiring the consumption of large quantities. We're definitely talking quality here, not quantity. I'd much rather feed them a nice, little peanut butter bar than a bowlful of goldfish crackers (which we've never purchased) that will leave them thirsty from the salt and hungry in 27 minutes. Back to the recipe...

Peanut Butter Bars

• 1/2 C organic whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C ground flaxseed
• 1 C organic oats
• 1 tsp baking soda (I felt like I could taste the baking soda, so I think I'll reduce to 1/2 tsp next time)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 C organic brown sugar
• 3/4 C organic peanut butter (no salt added)
• 1 T organic vanilla extract
• 1/2 C organic 2% milk
• 1/3 C mini chocolate chips
• 350° oven
• Combine PB and sugar (I mixed it by hand); add vanilla
• Add flour, flaxseed, oats, baking soda, salt
• Mix in milk; add chocolate chips last
• Squish into an 8x8 pan (I buttered the pan)
• Bake 15-18 minutes

This really is a nice recipe - and in terms of ingredients, it has no eggs and no butter. I might experiment with replacing the sugar with honey and/or sorghum (shocker!) but would I blog about something that I didn't find worth sharing???

Or, if you're feeling a little peanut butter crazy... this was one of last week's post-nap snacks. The girls found them hilarious and named them "crazy man", as in "Momma, you make this crazy man for me to eat again?". Yes, part-Yoda, part-cavechild. Momma make this for you again, I will.

Cheer-up Cheerio!

What happens when you open the cabinet to discover that you already have one box of cheerios (yes, I believe great things come in pairs, but this is a lot of cheerios...):

Well, naturally you combine the abundance of cereal with other delicious ingredients:

Cheer-up Cheerios Bars

• 3 C cheerios
• 1/2 C organic peanut butter
• 1/4 C local honey
• 1/4 C organic sorghum
• 1/4 C organic pure cane sugar
• Dried organic cherries
• Organic dark chocolate chips
• Combine honey, sorghum, sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves
• Add peanut butter
• Mix cheerios and cherries in a bowl; add warm wet ingredients and mix
• Press into 8x8 glass pan
• Optional: I covered the top of half of the bars with chocolate chips and placed under the broiler on low until soft, then spread with a knife

Peanut butter and Picasso

It is no secret that I'm proud of my girls. It is, however, rather amazing to me what they are capable of accomplishing. Their stories, their independence, their care and concern for one another (with an occasional push here or hair-pull there), and lately their drawings. Oh, their drawings! Yes, I am totally and 100% bragging. But I cannot hide my sheer astonishment with how quickly we have reached milestones like these:

Abby's "queen", with a crown on top 

Elise's person, with "cheeks" and a "chin"

Clearly that covers the "Picasso" portion of this post. Now onto the "peanut butter'. While trying to figure out something to do with leftover powdered milk from my holiday homemade hot chocolate, I stumbled across this recipe on Allrecipes for "Moonbeams". What a nice little toddler snack - easy for little hands to measure, pour, mix, and eat:

No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls:

• Not quite 1/2 C organic peanut butter
• 1/4 C Wheat germ
• 1/4 C unsweetened organic coconut
• 1/4 C powdered dry milk
• 1/4 C total local honey and organic agave combined (it may have been about 1/8 C of each)
• Mix all together
• Roll into balls
• Roll in wheat germ or coconut
• Next time: I think I'll do less honey/agave as they are plenty sweet AND I'm thinking these would be a delish adult snack covered in chocolate???

Toddler snack... take 2!

My previous "toddler snack" post was a wheat germ ball, that requires baking. This little doozy is a no-bake ball of y-u-m-m-y! And the best part - no measuring required! Just take the ingredients, mix, and roll together. Add a little more of this or that if it's too dry or mushy.

• Organic peanut butter
• Local honey
• Organic puffed millet cereal
• Shredded organic carrots
• Organic raisins
• Handful of granola
• Mix, squish, roll, chill in fridge
• EAT!!!

Snack idea: apple sandwiches

As some of you read this, you might be thinking "that's not a recipe!" or "what's so creative about that?". And you're right - a lot of the things I love are simple. fast. easy. Like this:

Finely slice an apple. Use a cookie cutter for a fun shape, if desired. Mix the following to spread between the apple slices:

- 2 T. peanut butter

- 1 T. honey

- 2 T. finely shredded carrots

- 1 T. ground flax seed

Can you beat it? Fresh fruit, omega 3s, protein, veggies, and some local bee pollen to help combat allergies! Apple sandwiches get 4 thumbs up in our house!!!!