I'm on the Health & Wellness committee where I work, and we had a meeting coming up where we were all going to bring a "healthy or healthified" food dish.  I originally had plans on finding and creating some amazing, hearty dish that I would bring and wow them all.   Silly, typical me-  I forgot all about it until pretty much the late evening before.  Since it was my idea to do this, I figured it would be obnoxious if I showed up empty-handed, so I scoured Pinterest for something healthy and easy that I could do with items in my house. 

I had recently picked up the Snack Bar Maker from Pampered Chef, and figured that would be the perfect vessel to make something.  I knew I had to have the ingredients for some granola bars.  Then I came across this recipe for Vegan Chocolate Almond Protein Bars and knew it was the winner.  It seemed simple enough, it was quick, and I had everything I needed. 

This recipe as specified on the website has you process raw almonds into almond butter.  I was lazy, it was late, and well- I had almond butter on hand, so why not?   So I substituted about a cup of almond butter for the processed almonds.  I did crush up some raw almonds and press them into the tops of the bars for added flavor and a bit of crunch.

Let me tell you-   despite being horribly last minute-thrown together, these things still made a definite WOW factor at that meeting, and again when I brought them to a gathering at a friend's house just yesterday.  They come across unassuming.  They are extremely soft, so don't be alarmed by that.  They taste amazing!  The Snack Bar Maker was indeed the perfect product for this, allowing me to really press the mixture together in the wells, creating perfect sized, uniform bars.  Snap the lid on, and pop it in the freezer for a bit, and ta-da!  I'm seriously in love with this product!


I'll give you the recipe for how I put them together here, but please go check out the original recipe on PopSugar Fitness and take a look at her website.  There is a ton of great info there!

Vegan Chocolate Almond Protein Bars 


Ingredients:

3/4 - 1 cup almond butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 & 1/2 cups oats
1 scoop (about 5 oz) vanilla flavored protein powder
1/3 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)

Optional:
1/4 cup chocolate chips
and /or
1/4 cup crushed almonds


Directions:

Combine all the ingredients together (except for the optional ones).  The dough will be a bit hard to mix, but it will eventually combine.  Make sure it's combined well.

If using the Snack Bar Maker,:

1.  I found it easier to just grab a chunk of dough and press it into the well, then use the top of the mini spatula to press it into the corners and then smoosh the whole thing down into the well real good.  Continue until all wells are filled.  The recipe gave me just enough to do all 12 wells.

2. If using the crushed almonds, sprinkle a bit over the top of the bars and then press in with the mini spatula. 

3. Snap the top on and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

4.  If you want to add the chocolate, melt the chocolate chips, take the lid off the Snack Bar Maker and drizzle the chocolate all over the bars.  Don't worry about being "clean" about it.  The pan will clean up easy.  Pop back into the freezer without the lid for about 10 minutes or so.  Long enough for the chocolate to firm back up good. (you can probably add the chocolate before the first round in the freezer, but I like to let the bars set up first with the lid on it first.  You do whatever works for you!)

5. Once set, pop the bars out of the silicone base and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

If you don't have the Snack Bar Maker yet,

1.  Stop what you are doing, click the link up there, and go get yourself one.  Then, while you anxiously await your new kitchen toy:

2.. Grab an 8 x 8 inch pan and line it with parchment paper. 

3. Smoosh the dough into the pan with your hands, or the back of a spoon, or a spatula.  Whichever is easiest for you.  Try to get it as uniform as possible. 

4.  If using the crushed almonds, sprinkle across the top of the mixture, and press firmly into the mix.

5.  If using the chocolate, melt the chocolate and drizzle across the top. 

6. Put in the fridge or freezer until set, about 30 minutes.  Cut into bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.


Next time I do these, I'm going to try with natural peanut butter and peanuts, and maybe with cashew butter and cashews.   If you do your own variations, let me know how they come out! 

Fall has definitely made a grand entrance in my area of the Pacific Northwest.  It's the perfect weather for a nice bowl of hot soup, and some steaming grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches.  I had already made a couple loaves of Honey Oat Bread to make the sandwiches with, and just needed a good, hearty soup. 

While I was over at a friend's house a few weeks back, she had made a batch of this soup to share with all of us.  Now, I am not a fan of carrots ("gasp!!" , I know..), so was not expecting too much other than to be polite and have a small couple of bites.  I wound up eating three servings.  The potato really does a fantastic job of smoothing out the carrot flavor.  It's also thick and surprisingly filling (despite my goings back for more).   It is a perfect fall-time soup to put into your rotations.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium potato, diced
1 pound carrots, chopped
3 cups veggie stock
pinch of sugar
2/3 cup half & half
salt and pepper to taste.


Directions:

1. In a large pot melt butter.  Add onion, potato, and carrots. Cover and let simmer for ten minutes.
2. Add stock and sugar to pot.  Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until veggies are soft.
3. Place mixture into a food processor and mix on "puree" setting.  Meanwhile, clean the pot.
4. Return the mixture to the pot.  Stir in half & half, salt, and pepper. 
5. Serve warm.

In a search for something to do with my browning bananas yesterday, I came across this recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction.  The thing I love about her site is she takes some of the most unhealthy comfort foods, and makes them fit into a healthier lifestyle, so I can feel better about eating stuff like this when I get the craving.  These sounded perfect.  They use no butter or oil, so they are "healthier" than other variations.  The only alteration I made was substituting peanut butter chips in place of the chocolate chips, and oh my- am I glad I did!   They brought these to a whole other level of yum.  My kids have been gushing on them while they devour them. 

Ingredients:

3 large bananas
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup peanut butter chips (or chocolate chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers.
In a large bowl, mash bananas completely- no large lumps.  Stir in sugar, egg, and applesauce.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa,  salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Make sure to sift the cocoa so you do not get clumps.
Stir flour mix into wet ingredients until just combined.  Stir in chips.  Batter will be chunky.
Spoon into prepared muffin tins.  These do not really "puff" up, so go ahead and fill them all the way up.  If desired, sprinkle more chips on top.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until done in the center.  Cool completely.

   I got into a baking mood yesterday, but once again find myself tired of the same old things I always make in there.  Instead, I went browsing through my Pinterest boards looking for something new and tantalizing.   I found them here:  Two Peas & Their Pod.   I get a lot of recipes from this website.  I have never had one fail me.  In fact, they've probably been linked to in more than a few of my posts.  =) 

There they call them "Zucchini Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies".   I'm simply calling them "Autumn Cookies", because that is exactly what it tasted like I was biting into-  a delicious morsel of Fall.  I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand, so just omitted them.  Let me tell you, they are not necessary.  They were absolutely perfect, and I will be making these quite often, methinks!  Perfect for this time of year!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (next time I will try wheat flour, or half all-purpose, half wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini
2 cups oats
Chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. 
In  a larger bowl combine applesauce and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Stir in zucchini.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture.  Stir in oats and chocolate chips if using.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.  Let cool completely.

A while back, the library I work at had the fantastic idea of creating a cookie cookbook to help raise funds for our Friends of the Library group that helps finance some of the branch's activities, programs, etc.   They had everyone, patrons and coworkers alike, submit their favorite cookie recipes.  They then selected the favorites, and put them into a cookbook.  See it here:  Cookie Cookbook. 

Now, I know this isn't a cookie, but I sure am glad they included it in this cookbook.  My kids and I are in love with this brownie recipe.  It's super simple to make, and oh so yummy!   I have made a few adjustments here and there to suit my family's tastes.  I'll give the original recipe, and then put my adjustments in parentheses next to it.  The way I make them tends to have a denser end result.





Banana Brownies
as submitted by Laura Early:


Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter
6oz chocolate chips (I just use a 1-cup measuring cup)
3/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup sugar (I use brown sugar)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (hate walnuts, so omitted them)
1 small banana, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I eyeball it)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg


Directions:

Note:  I like to have all of my ingredients ready to just throw into the pan.  To prepare, I put the butter and chocolate chips straight into the pan. In a larger bowl, I combine all dry ingredients.  In a smaller bowl, I mash the bananas, and then beat in the egg and vanilla.  When the butter/chocolate mix is melted and ready, I add the banana mix first, then stir in the dry ingredients.  
 
1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.
2.  Spray a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. (I used a round one.. it's what was clean..)
3.   In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4.  Remove pan from heat and beat in the remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined.
5.  Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly (batter is thick).
6.   Bake for about 30 minutes, or until center is set.
7.  Cool completely.

 Now please-  go check the book out from the library.  The cookies are delicious, and there is something to suit everyone in there!

Yeah... you read that correctly.  Are you salivating yet?  I know I am.   I've got a batch of it in the oven right now, and I can't wait to devour it, probably still hot from the pan.  If it's anything like last time, I will be too impatient, and will try to get it out of the pan while it's still too hot.  This will cause it to fall apart, which will of course require me to immediately devour it.  I mean, its broken, so it must be eaten right away, right??

I got the original recipe here:  Southern Living's Cream Cheese Banana Bread .  Since I can't stand walnuts or pecans in bread, I omitted those.  It's a delicious bread all on its own.  After I got comfortable with the recipe I began to play with it just a smidge; mostly by experimenting with add-ins.  Chocolate chips was the obvious place to start, and the kids loved it when I added a bunch of mini chocolate chips to it.  Then one day I was in the grocery store and stumbled upon These Bad Boys .  It just so happened I had been planning on making banana bread when we got home, and I was in that particular aisle to get just plain ol' chocolate chips.  When my daughter and I saw these, we knew our banana bread experience was about to reach a whole new level.  I mean, everyone knows that chocolate, peanut butter, and banana is just a exquisite ménage a trois.   We were so right. 

This bread seriously doesn't last a day in this house.  

Update 11/11/2024:  I usually make these as muffins now, so I'm adding the instructions for those.  Same ingredients and quantities. My family loves these, and they are often requested for get-togethers and potlucks.  I have even had them requested in lieu of a birthday cake!

*See the notes after the recipe for variations I use. 

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread

makes: 2 loaves or 24(+) regular-sized muffins. 

time: a little over 1 hour for the loaves, and about 20-30 minutes for the muffins, plus cooling time

Ingredients:

3 cups flour 

1/2 teaspoonful baking soda
1/2 teaspoonful baking powder
1/2 teaspoonful salt
3/4 cup butter (or 1&1/2 sticks), softened
8oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar 
2 large eggs
1&1/2 cups mashed banana 
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla
11oz bag of chocolate and peanut butter chips, or whatever add-in floats your fancy.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.   Prepare two loaf pans by spraying them with cooking spray, or oiling and flouring them. 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.
3 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese.  Mix until creamy.  Add in the sugar and mix until well combined and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly.   Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.  The dough will get a bit thick here.   

3/4 cup (or 1&1/2 sticks) butter, 8oz cream cheese, 2 cups sugar, 2 eggs

Add in bananas and vanilla.  Dump in the entire bag of chocolate peanut butter chips (and / or whatever add-ins you chose) and mix until well combined. 
,mashed banana, 1/2 tsp vanilla, bag of peanut butter & chocolate chips 

For bread: Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans and bake for one hour. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the pan. It should come out with very little wet dough, and the edges will be a bit browned. I have to let mine completely cool before removing them from the pan, otherwise they fall apart.  As mentioned before, this just gives me good excuse to start devouring it right away.  However, if you are wanting a prettier presentation, you may want to wait.  =) 

For muffins:  Follow directions above, but instead of using the loaf pan, lightly spay 2 regular size muffin pans with baking spray, or line with cupcake holders.   Divide the batter between the two pans, filling the tins approximately 3/4 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes, and then check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into one of the muffins toward the middle of the pan. It should come out with very little wet dough, and the edges will be a bit browned.   Remove pans from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing muffins to a cooling rack.  These can still be a bit crumbly if you remove them from the pan too soon, so try to let them cool completely.  

Enjoy!

Notes: 

I encourage you to play with this recipe to make it all your own, like I did.  Here is what I do / have done to give you an idea. 

Flour- I usually use a combination of 2 cups white all-purpose flour and 1 cup wheat flour. However, I've been known to switch those quantities up, or just use all white flour or all wheat flour.  

*I have never tried this with any sort of gluten-free flour, so I have no idea how that would turn out.  If you try it, let me know the results! 

Sugar- just like the flour, I usually divide this up as 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar.  However, you can use all white sugar with delicious results.

*I have never tried this recipe using all brown sugar, or any sort of sugar alternative.  If you try it- let me know the results!

Banana- Feel free to adjust the amount of banana here. There is not a set amount needed. I typically just use whatever I have that is starting to get too ripe, usually around 2-3 bananas. Using more than 4 medium sized bananas may cause the dough to become a little too wet, so you may need to adjust the cooking time, or the amount of flour. 

Add-ins- as the title suggests, my go-to for this recipe is a bag of chocolate & peanut butter chips.  However, I've also used just chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips.  Just add it until the batter looks like it has enough.  I also imagine you could stir in some nuts if you like that.  Follow your taste buds!

  Ok.  I can't say that this is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth, as the title suggests.  That's what I've just heard it called.   It's pretty damn good, though!  The blog I adapted it from calls it Parmesan Crusted Chicken.   However, since I didn't use just Parmesan cheese, I felt that was misleading, so kept with the OMG. It's more eye-catchy anyway.  =)

  This chicken is super simple- using only 4 ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and cupboards.  It's moist, uber cheesy, with a hint of crispness.   Overall, I think it's fabulous, and it will definitely be making it into the rotations often. I rarely actual measure things, so the amounts are approximated.  I think one of the lovely things about this recipe is the ability to kind of mix it up a bit and make it however suits your palate.  Play with the mayo part; I think Miracle Whip would work really well with this.  Try different types of cheeses.  

  I served it with a basic side salad and pasta. 


Ingredients: 

4-6 chicken breast halves
approximately 1 & 1/2 cups mayo, plain yogurt, sour cream, etc.   ( I used regular mayo)
1 bag cheese (the original recipe calls for just Parmesan.  I used a Italian six-cheese blend)
Italian style bread crumbs


Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*F.   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this part is optional, but it sure makes clean up a lot easier!). Place chicken breasts on prepared pan.

In a bowl, combine the mayo and cheese.  Adjust the cheese amounts to your cheesy preferences.  I, personally, think the cheesier the better.  =) 

Spread cheese mixture evenly over the top of the chicken.  Use all of it.  The thicker the better. =)

Sprinkle a liberal amount of breadcrumbs over top of the cheese mixture. 

Bake in heated oven for 20 minutes.