So easy a kid could make them....Chewy Granola Bars

Hi all, we've been a bit hectic here with Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac preparations. Early in the weekend it was looking like we here in Florida would take a direct hit from Isaac so appropriate prep needed to be taken. We've learned around here to always take these things seriously, although there are still people who brush it off, we are not among them. In 2004 Hurricane Frances spawned tornadoes in my town that completely leveled my workplace, and many homes. Scary stuff. So Sunday we made sure we had plenty of water, restocked our dwindling flashlight supply (my grandson loves a flashlight and often squirrels them away) and picked up our yard chairs and various things. By Monday we knew that the hurricane would go more towards New Orleans, but that of course with these storms you still have to be on alert for all the other things, like the tornadoes. School was cancelled for Tuesday. Come Tuesday we really only had a few showers and no other effects. So that brings me to the post, my grandson spent the day here with me since he was out of school. He wanted to bake, so we decided on his favorite granola bars. I think I've mentioned in the past that I am always trying to substitute healthier options in his diet. He used to love those overly processed, overly sugared snack bars, but he now loves this version. Especially since he can almost make them by himself. He's not allowed to touch a stove (he's still only 7, even if in his mind he's an adult). These things are delicious, simple to make, require no baking, the only cooking involved is to heat the agave and peanut butter to mix it well and warm it. They are also easily adaptable to other tastes but these are the ones that appeal to my darling grandson and he eats them for snacks. I grind the almonds because he doesn't like nut pieces in his food, but I want him to have the health benefit of them, you of course can chop them. 

Kid Easy Granola Bars

1 3/4 cups Brown Rice Crisp Cereal

1 cup Rolled Oats (not the quick or instant stuff)

3/4 cups almonds ground up 

3 tbs flax seed ground

1/3 -1/2 cup agave (it kind of depends on how liquidy your peanut butter is)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, of course you can use a chunky also

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

And here's how to do it as demonstrated by the 7 year old.

Step 1. In a med/ large bowl, add first 4 ingredients, and mix them together.

 Step 2. In a small pan stir together the agave and peanut butter and heat until just warm and combined well. Add vanilla. Pour onto dry ingredients. This is the adults part of the job.

 Step 3. Mix slightly with a spoon and then using your hands mix all ingredients until well combined and all dry ingredients are well coated.

Step 4. Taste the product. I always tell my grandson to taste what is being cooked so you know if you have to make changes. My instruction to him is that his hands and his mouth are two of his best tools.

Step 5. Pour into an 8x8 pan that you've lined with wax paper (for easy removal). Using your hands, pat mixture down firmly and evenly. 

Step 6. Refrigerate well, at least 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator and pull out of pan.

Step 7. Also the adult's part. Slice into 6 strips, and then slice the strips in half, to make 12 bars. I wrap each in wax paper and then refrigerate until he's ready to grab one for a lunchbox or snack. 

And that's it. You've got kid friendly, kid easy, healthier, delicious, non processed granola bars. You've also just created kid memories by spending time with the child in your life in the kitchen. You've also created an opportunity to talk to that child about the food they put in their body without making it a lecture. A win all the way around. Brian and I hope you enjoy his favorite granola bar. 

Soup for Everyone....

I love soup!!! There, I said it. I would happily eat soup every single day of the week and twice on Sundays, or other days also. . It's a great meal with some bread on the side, or salad, it's a great snack. I'll even eat most soups barely heated. I just love soup. My favorite soups are the ones where I start with one idea and start adding other things as I find them in the refrigerator. I try to make a pot of soup once a week and will usually eat it all week. My favorite cooking pot for soup is my slow cooker. Whatever genius invented the slow cooker is one of my favorite people, whoever that is. This past Sunday I took out my trusty ancient slow cooker for a soup session. When I say ancient, I'm not kidding. I'm pretty sure it's from the 70's, and yet it still works wonderfully, and it's huge so I can make alot of soup. Anyway, I digress. I wanted a soup with some substance, so I knew I wanted it to have beans, of course lots of veg, and I was in the mood for some spiciness. Hence I put together this soup that we will call Spicy Black Bean Veggie Soup. It simmered all day and we've been eating it this week. On Monday it was dinner with a cornbread muffin and salad. The rest of the week it's been lunch and/or snack. It was such a big hit that it's actually gone. So sad. This made about 10 large servings but of course you can freeze some of it for later use. The good thing about this is that  around here it will likely always be a bit different because I tend to throw in things I have fresh from the garden, or as in this instance I had some fresh corn from the farmers that I had forgotten about and decided to put in. Soup is forgiving and hard to ruin. So while I was perusing the crisper, cupboard and such this is what I came up with. Blackbeans, potatoes, 2 sweet potatoes (from my garden), 3 ears corn on the cob, carrots, onion, garlic, okra from my garden, a quart of tomatoes I had canned from my garden. Yes this had the makings of a beautiful soup. Here's the recipe, but seriously use it as a guideline and throw in what you have, I promise it will be delicious.

Spicy Black Bean Veggie Soup

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 carrots diced
2 med. potatoes, chopped, I leave the skin on you can do what you want
2 med sweet potatoes, chopped, again, I leave the skin on
3 ears fresh corn, kernels taken off the cob, if you don't have fresh and want corn, use frozen about 1 1/2 cups
1 cup sliced okra (I like okra in soups, and that's it, cooking it for a long time in a soup or stew takes away the sliminess)
1 cup butterbeans or lima beans (also from my garden)
1 can blackbeans drained and rinsed or 1 1/2 cups cooked
1 quart fresh canned tomatoes, or of course you can use regular canned, go for a 28oz can of crushed or diced
3-4 cups veggie broth
2 1/2 tsp roasted cumin
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 or 2 chipotle pepper, chopped *
*here's a chipotle pepper hint, I open a can and throw the whole thing in a blender and process until a paste, then I put it in an ice cube tray, abt 2 tsp per cube and freeze and then  place in a ziploc bag and return to the freezer, so whenever I need chipotle pepper I just pull out a cube, if I only need a little I can slice some off a cube, in this recipe I used one cube.

Instructions

1. Set slow cooker to high. Chop and prepare all your veggies.

2. Add all veggies into crockpot, top with beans, tomatoes, broth and all spices. Give it a stir.

3. Cook on high for about 4-5 hours or low for 8.

4. When ready to serve just dish it up in a bowl, squirt a slice of lime all over it and enjoy. If you want to freeze some just allow it to cool and then put in freezer containers and you'll have delicious soup whenever you want it. Of course, like most soups, it tastes even better reheated. Enjoy

Simplicity.....

Part of the title of this blog includes the words "and the road to a simple, happy life".  I have been shown by the universe (or whoever is out there), that a simple life is the one that brings me the most peace, and so my greatest happiness. I have more than once in my life, lost everything and yet those times directly afterward were the most serene, and also were the times I felt the most gratitude towards life. How can this be you ask? Those times taught me to be grateful for everything I did have and received, and so I was. Naturally what follows with such gratitude is that the universe gives you more and more to be grateful for. Not everyone remembers in times of such abundance to be as wholeheartedly grateful, I certainly am guilty of that. When I stop and take stock in my life, I know without a doubt how much I have, but at times those insecurities step in and I am afraid to lose it all again. I start to question, "what will happen if A occurs?" "what will I do if B occurs?" and of course, I, like most people, start wanting more, I think mostly it's a coping mechanism that tries to make me believe if I have more and more and more I will be safe. The truth is, I know no one is ever "safe", things happen, LIFE happens, and anyone can lose at anytime. So what to do about it? I can toss it around and around and around in my mind, worrying about what might happen down the road, and likely I'll bring that very thing to myself. Orrrrrr....I can just let it be, enjoy all that life brings me, and try to get back to that more simplistic life where I was grateful for everything. This of course is my challenge. When I first moved to this home, there were no gardens, no flowers, no outside plants except for a few trees, so we started from scratch. The first thing I did was make a small butterfly garden. Something I have wanted for years and years and years. I never had the space or money to do it, now I was faced with the space, although still not much money. I went to Lowe's, found 2 butterfly bushes that were near dead and marked down to 1.00 each. I bought them and put them in the little space I had created. then I got a couple more plants that had been marked down. Another time I splurged and paid full price for a hummingbird feeder. All in, by the time I was done, the little butterfly garden cost me a total of about $40. It has brought me immense joy for 2 years and probably will for alot more. The butterflies flock to it and in late afternoons it is covered in butterflies, and the two hummingbirds that frequent it every morning bring a smile to my face with their antics. I have since put many plants, flowers etc throughout the yard and have spent and respent alot of money doing so. None of it brings me as much joy as that little butterfly garden. I need to remember the lesson that has taught me, simple things done with so much joy mean the most. I don't need the most cooking utensils or the latest gadgets. I don't need to buy more and more books, I have a wonderful library 10 minutes away that provides very current books on many subjects. Do I love books? absolutely. Do I need to own them in my home? No, I just love to read, that's what brings me joy. I was reading a blog recently about paring down your wardrobe how much you actually wear of what you own and I started looking in my closet to see what I wear. The author was correct, I wear about 20% of what I own and some of the things in my closet I haven't worn in 2 years and let's not even start with the shoes. Crazy right? yet I was considering going to buy some new clothes just a few days ago. I've now decided to not buy anything new until I have cleared my closet of those things I do not and likely will not wear, including the shoes. Then maybe I'll pick up a couple things to supplement what I already own, we'll see. To tie this all up let me just bring up one other thing. When my children were young and we were out in stores, they would beg for this or that, and my question was always "do you NEED it, or do you WANT it?" and if it was something they really needed then we would discuss it, if it was something they wanted we would wait a week and see whether they still wanted it, most often they never brought the item up again, if they did then we would work out a plan on how they could save to get it. I need to remember that lesson.

Thanks for reading and let me know any of your strategies to keep your life simple and joyful.

Score one for the grandmother....

For many years I have struggled with getting my darling grandson, who recently turned 7, to eat a bit healthier and to try new foods. Mostly to little avail. I'm proud to report that yesterday afternoon I felt like I had won the lottery with him. Yesterday was the first day of school, he started 2nd grade, which is pretty exciting. He spends most afternoons at my house once school is out, so he was here. Now, here's the thing, I love my daughter-in-law (well, ex daughter-in-law actually), and I think she does a great job, except when it comes to food. Due to the fact that she has the worst eating habits of anyone I've ever met in my entire life, my grandson has inherited those habits. I am constantly at war with trying to change his eating patterns, and we have made headway. So back to yesterday. I was getting his snack for school today ready, (I try to do that so I can get him to eat a healthier snack), and yesterday when I asked him what he'd like for snack, he said "I don't care grammy, just pick a healthy snack. Woo hoo. So I did, we made a bowl of fresh green and red grapes and filled his bottle with water (his choice). Then he said he would like to take lunch to school instead of getting it in the cafeteria. So together we made a peanut butter and strawberry jam (homemade, no sugar) on whole grain bread, cut some pears and he picked a LaraBar for his treat. I was incredibly proud of his choices and reminded him of what all those choices would do for his body. He went home and all was great. This morning his mom had to go to work early, so I got him off to school. As soon as his mom left, he said, "grammy, momma  added another snack to my bag and I told her that you already made my snack, but she didn't listen, so can you just take it out", so I looked in his bag and she had added a bottle of Hawaiian Punch and a snack cake. Sugar and more sugar. Not wanting to go against his mom I asked him if he was sure he didn't want that, he said no just take it out, I don't feel good at school when I eat that. So I took it out. Tell me why, anyone would rather a child eat sugar laden snacks and drinks than the healthier things that he clearly wanted? Can anyone explain this? I don't want to get into power struggles with her, but I want my grandson to have the healthiest chance he can at life. His mom is severely overweight and I don't want that for him. It's not that I'm completely against treats for my grandson, because I'm definitely not. I just think they need to be treats and not habit, and I think they need to be thought out and not just processed sugar filled junk. I'm so proud of him that he today he made great choices and I try to reinforce those behaviors. Whenever I try to discuss his eating with his mom she says "well it's better than eating nothing at all, and it's all he will eat"....I've tried to tell her that he will eat other things, especially if there is no option, but for some reason she will not listen. Does anyone else out there have these struggles, and if so, how do you deal with it? For now I will just continue to talk to my grandson about what different foods do for the body and the benefits of healthier foods vs. the problems with processed, sugary foods. For one day at least, we succeeded, now on to the next.

Working on healthy, whole food living....and how this one gal deals with stress.

There are times when life just seems to move along so quickly, you blink, and another day, week or month have passed by. This is the way it seems of late. So many things happening, end of summer, getting my grandson ready for a new school year, and plenty of family drama. Most of it, I can deal with in an easy manner, family drama on the other hand seems to just suck the life out of me. Especially when it's the type of which you are not in control and can do nothing for the people you love who are hurting. What I tend to do in these situations is try to move out of my head, which for me involves creating...whether it be cooking, crocheting, art, it doesn't matter, as long as I can forget the world for a short time. And now on to other things...

I have been working on ridding my life, body and world of processed things. A couple years ago I tackled my diet coke addiction, and now I only have one every once in a great while. Most often I don't even think much about it. What I replaced it with however is Crystal Light Lemon Tea. Maybe not as detrimental to the body as soda, but still, it is a processed, manufactured imitation sweetener, and I know those artificial sweeteners are not good for you. So, this past weekend, after reading a blog about real food (seriously, I read an entire years worth of blog posts on the matter), I decided to kick the Crystal Light. I have replaced it with water to which I add lemon and lime slices if I want it flavored, and I also made a pitcher of homemade Chai Tea Latte using almond milk and a bit of agave to sweeten it. So far it's been easy sailing. I do find myself wanting the other a couple times a day, but I just pour myself the Chai and sit and savor it and it seems to do the trick. Considering I was drinking 2 quarts of Crystal Light a day, I'd say that's pretty awesome. The other things I am working on is processed vegan faux items. These things are really no better for anyone than processed everything else. I would rather see someone eating the vegetarian versions than the nasty meat stuff, but for me, I want to be eating natural foods. This morning I made my own "meat"balls, using chickpeas, mushrooms, seasonings...it's a recipe I have been using for awhile and it's really great. I use the same base items to make a "meat"loaf that is delicious, especially for sandwiches. I feel better about myself when I am making my food from whole foods and I know what is in it. I've made a vow to myself that I will use what I already have on hand but any purchases made going forward have to be whole food items, or contain 5 ingredients or less and I have to be able to pronounce and understand what each of the ingredients are. It made my grocery shopping this weekend take quite a bit longer as I searched through items but it was great knowing that I was doing good things for my body.

One other thing, which basically combines the two previous things I talked about, creating and whole foods. I dug up the first sweet potatoes from my garden on Sunday. It was one of the greatest feelings. I love gardening, I love growing food, and this is the first sweet potato patch I've ever done. Here are my two beauties:

These are the first two sweet potatoes fresh out of the ground, dirt still attached.

Seriously, this potato was huge, it's larger than my hand, and I don't have petite hands. It fed two of us, no problem.

My babies, all cleaned up and ready to be baked. Momma's so proud.

Deliciously baked, needing nothing to adorn it. The outside was rubbed with a bit of olive oil and salt before baking.

So friends, that's the latest. I hope you also have ways to deal with the stressful days of your life, whatever that is. Here's till next time.

Red Velvet Pancakes on a leisurely Sunday Morning....followed by crazy Mondays

Around here, I strive to make Sundays a quiet, leisurely experience, sometimes it doesn't always work out as planned, but this past weekend included the perfect Sunday. Often, any perfect day has to include perfect food, and this one was no exception. Red Velvet Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup was the definition of perfection. Earlier in the week, while doing things around the house while my grandson watched cartoons, I happened to catch the latest IHOP commercial, they were hawking their latest pancake, Red Velvet. This of course made me want them desperately. Knowing I couldn't go get them, we don't have an IHOP around here, and they definitely are not vegan, I tucked the thought away. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case turned out, the thought didn't want to stay tucked, so after a couple days thinking about that beautiful stack of red pancakes, I calmed myself with the thought that I would attempt to make my own on Sunday. Well, Sunday rolled around, and while I was lazily enjoying the paper and my coffee, I remembered the pancakes. After a look through the kitchen, I decided I definitely had everything to make these glorious beauties, and set to the task. The result was everything that the name Red Velvet should conjure up, fluffy, light chocolate flavor, tangy deliciousness. Any person worth their Red Velvet knows that it must, must, MUST be accompanied by cream cheese, which I luckily had half a container of Toffuti Cream Cheese left, so I mixed it up with some syrup and almond milk to make a delicious syrup. The recipe is below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I plan for it to be on my Sunday morning breakfast menu regularly.

Red Velvet Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs sugar
1 1/4 cups soy milk
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs red food color

1. In measuring cup or bowl, mix together the soy milk and vinegar and set aside.

2. In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and sugar.

3. To the soy milk mixture add the oil, vanilla and food color. Mix well.

4. Spray a skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat. Pour batter by ladle full or 1/4 cup measure onto griddle and cook until bubbles begin to pop. Flip over and cook an additional 2 minutes. Keep warm in oven at 200 degrees until all are cooked.

Maple Cream Cheese Syrup

4 oz. toffuti better than cream cheese
1/2-3/4 cup pure maple syrup
almond milk as needed

1. With a mixer at high blend the cream cheese until fluffy, add the syrup and mix well. Add almond milk until you get the consistency you like. It should be pourable but not too thin.

Seriously, try these. They are just so good.

Now on to Monday. This morning my grandson had an early dentist appointment so he spent the night last night. About 10 p.m. we were having a very loud thunder and lightening storm, and I heard his come running down the hall, he isn't real fond of thunder. So he had to spend the night in my room. The boy just wouldn't shut up, he talked and talked and talked. Nervousness I guess. I learned all about the grand piano he saw at the music store and thinks I should buy, the fact that he would really really love an electric guitar like his dad's, and numerous other things. Finally he fell asleep sometime around midnight. We woke early to more thunder and lots of rain, got ready and headed out to the dentist. Only to find that papa had taken the only umbrella to work with him. Well, just great. So we got a bit soggy running to the truck. Got to the dentist, No Cavities!!! hooray, that was the good news, the bad news was that the back right molar that was coming in 6 months ago has made no progress so we had to have even more (i.e. lots more money) x-rays, and finally Dr. Ben came to the conclusion that he would give it until November and if it was still impacted, it would have to be rectified (i.e. oral surgery, which of course means lots more money). The dentist bill was $140 dollars MORE than what I thought it would be, which required a trip to the bank to transfer money to checking after Dr. Ben. On arriving home, wet and really cold, we discovered a very large puddle of water on the stove top. I'm assuming it came through the stove top vent, but can't completely confirm that. We spent the rest of the day huddled inside, waiting for the day to end it's Monday blahs. Here's looking forward to a Terrific Tuesday. Hope your Monday was a good one.

Boiled Peanuts, Driving the Roads and taking a "YOU" Break...

Do you ever stop in the middle of your busy life and take a "you" break? By a "you" break, I mean something that is just for you, that gives you joy, peace etc... I know it can be difficult with all that goes on around us to take advantage of those opportunities. It's something I have been working very hard at this year. Stopping and really enjoying life and doing things that might not be for other people, it's just what makes me happy. All that brings me to this, my recent "me" break. I live in Florida, northern Florida, the panhandle area to be more precise. It's a stunningly beautiful area, lots of green areas, blue skies, farm land. I haven't always lived here, I spent the first 30 years of my life up north, Rhode Island and Maine. As a transplant I was slow to adapt some of the more interesting cultural ideas of the South. Like boiling peanuts. The first time someone offered me a boiled peanut, the only thought that went through my head was, "why would anyone boil a peanut". I didn't try it, and it took me at least a year before I would try it. Once I did however, I understood why someone would do such a thing, IT'S FREAKING DELICIOUS!!! ok, so back to my "me" break. Yesterday I needed some quiet time, some recharging time. When I want this I generally want to go for a ride, music playing, cold drink handy. I decided to drive to the other side of the county, I picked up a bag of hot boiled peanuts at my favorite roadside stand, a cold diet coke, and drove the roads. It's peaceful, other than the music which recharges my soul, and calming. Truly, a perfect treat. Here are a couple photos I took along the way.

I love seeing the road stretched out before me, beckoning me.

A bag of perfect boiled peanuts, slightly salty, hot, soft.

These little babies are nirvana.

Two great tastes that go great together. I rarely drink soda anymore (it used to be my addiction), but when I have these peanuts they just cry out for an ice cold Diet Coke. I stopped along the road to enjoy my snack.

However you choose to take time for yourself is up to you, but do it. You won't be sorry, and you may just be asking yourself why you don't do it more often. You deserve to be as good to yourself as you are to everyone else in your world. Take a little "you" break today.

Red Velvet Berry Cobbler...the perfect dessert for anytime.

Good morning! As promised, albeit a day late, here is the Red Velvet Berry Cobbler. This is adapted from Southern Living Magazine July issue. You will most definitely want to try this during fresh berry season.

Without further ado, I bring you this yummy treat.

Red Velvet Berry Cobbler

1 tbs cornstarch

1 ¼ cups sugar, divided

6 cups assorted fresh berries ( I used blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)

½ cup vegan margarine

½ cup vegan yogurt (plain or vanilla)

2 tbs red food color

1 tsp vanilla

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp baking soda

Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

11.  Preheat oven to 350. Stir together cornstarch and ½ cup sugar. Toss berries with cornstarch mixture and spoon into a 11x7 baking dish that’s been sprayed with nonstick spray.

22.  In a small bowl or glass measuring cup combine soy milk, vinegar and baking soda, it will bubble a bit, set aside. Beat margarine with mixer until fluffy, gradually add remaining ¾ cup sugar, beating well. Add yogurt and beat until just blended. Stir in food color and vanilla and mix until blended.

33.  Combine flour, cocoa and salt. Add flour mixture to margarine mixture in mixing bowl, adding alternately with soy milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Spoon batter over berries.

44. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake topping comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before serving

55. To serve, I layered mine in a glass in this order. A large spoon of cobbler on the bottom, a small scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, a few fresh berries, a scoop of cobbler, scoop of ice cream, and top with a few fresh berries.

I hope your Thursday is a fantastic one and you can find the joy in your day.