Wednesday, March 19, 2008

It's Official

It started with the cloth diapers. Then the chickens. Some have hinted to the fact that maybe, I was becoming a granola bar...a closet tree hugger.

Well, yesterday, I made my own Granola Bars! And they are good! I've been on the quest for more "whole" food...unprocessed. And, may I say, it's hard on the budget! So, the store bought granola bars without preservatives, hydrogenated soybean oil, and high fructose corn syrup, cost about $3.50 for 6 little granola bars! Ouch. Can't do that, at the rate my darlings consume the things, so I set out to make my own. And, since I got such a phenomenal deal awhile back on Quaker Old Fashioned oats...I happen to have enough oatmeal to make like, 10,000 granola bars!

It only took about 30 minutes, from mixing ingredients to coming out of the oven. And it made about 18 granola bars, and I'm sure cost much less (I had all the ingredients in the cupboard).

Here's the recipe:
2 1/2 C rolled or steel cut oats (just not the "quick cooking" kind)
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C flax sead meal (optional-but adds a ton of fiber)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C dried mixed berries/raisins (coarsly chopped)
1/4 C mini semi sweet morsels (I chopped up regular ones)
1/2 C + 2tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 C water
2 tsp vanilla
2 large egg whites
1/4 C packed brown sugar


Mix vanilla, eggs, water,brown sugar and peanut butter with mixer.

In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients.

Wet your hands and press mixture into greased baking sheet (9x13 size)

Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.

Turn out onto cutting board (should come out in one big peice). Cut into squares or bars as you wish...I made 18 bars. Yummy! Not as sweet as store bought ones, but my kids love them! (and so do i)


In other news, the Preschooler dumped an ENTIRE bottle of baby powder all over the boys room yesterday. There is ALOT of powder in one bottle! Oh, wait, let me back up. The day before that...he got ahold of a can of hairspray. Hubby and I were making dinner, when he said, "Do you smell hairspray?"

I went to see, and sure enough, preschooler was spraying away, like it was Febreeze. All over the toddlers head, all over the room. I couldn't even see all the places he sprayed it, UNTIL, there was a nice dusting of powder to reveal it. On the dresser, on the carpet...everywhere. Including toddlers head, which I had not yet bathed. So the powder caked onto everything!! So, really, he was helping me to see, where the hairspray was right? At least baby powder smells good. Good thing, it will be puffing out of the mattress every time he lays down until he's sixteen.


i was beyond angry, but I had to take a picture of pasty toddler.

7 comments:

the kicker is... said...

oh. my. word. that's a riot.

(i'm the auntie, remember? the one who gets to get the kids riled up, sugared up, and then send them home. so I get to giggle at things like this)

:)

nice chronicling!!!

Trish said...

hehehe!! the hairspray and babypowder is not funny, yet still funny!! did you stand there and repeat over and over "this too shall pass, this too shall pass"

the granola bars look yummy and good for you for embracing your inner tree hugger self.

Julie D. said...

so stinkin hilarious! I was laughing out loud. way to go on your granola bars!

Lee Ann said...

I was excited when I saw your granola bars on the other site. I think I'll try them tonight.

Erica said...

That is really funny! I hope that down the road, you can get a great laugh over it!!! I'm glad you took the picture!!! Cute kids!!!

jigdog said...

if he starts using a can of wd40 for starting the fire he didn't learn that from me ,honest.i think Zak did it.

ashley said...

mmmm those granola bars look great! i'll have to try making them. thanks for sharing!

i am interested to read about how the cloth diapers are working out for you. when i have kids i plan on using them.