Sweet and Spicy Granola Bars

OMG let me just start with one thing, these granola bars are off the hook. If you love homemade granola bars, which I know you do, you'll try these for sure.

Before I get in to the bars, I've been feeling stuck in a rut lately like there's not enough time in the day to get everything done I'd like to get done. Working all day then trekking through Long Island traffic to the gym is great and all, but getting home close to 8pm is not. Where's the "me" time?! You guessed it, there is none.

Solution = wake up at 6 am do 1 of 3 things every single morning: a) go for a run, b) do a workout on my back porch so I don't have to go after work, c) blog (like I'm doing now). If I do any one of these things before work that gives me time to do any one other item I choose including working on my freelance gigs, trying a new recipe, or lounging with Rich later in the evening.

Yesterday here's how it went. Wake up at 6 am. Put on my workout gear. Move all equipment I needed out to the back porch for a morning CrossFit WOD (I hate that acronym, I'd prefer to say workout). Then #getafterit is what I did. Though I was trying to be quiet as to not wake the neighbors from my box jumps or ball slams - I managed to make it work and I'm so glad I did. Rich even said he didn't hear a thing.

My plan is to get up early every day and get something done. Tomorrow I plan to get up for a run, Friday is either a morning workout or blog time, and saturday morning is another run since I won't be able to make it to CrossFit. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it! Now for the Granola bars...enjoy!

While at FNCE I stumbled upon the Magic Seasonings booth. They were sampling a handful of their salt-free/sugar-free seasonings and I fell in love with their "Sweet and Spicy" blend. Lucky for me they gave me a full bottle! So stoked! Last night it hit me, make granola bars with this stuff - so that's just what I did. With a little tip from thekitchn.com I tweaked my usual recipe and decided to try Brown Rice syrup as my binding/sweetening agent. It worked and these things are delish! Rich (my taste tester) says they taste like Pizza - I was like 'huh wth are you talking about,' then I tried them and said the same, lol. The chewy texture is my fav combined with the crunch of the nuts and sweet yet spiced flavor of the seasoning mix! Recipe for success! Ha! I won't be surprised if they are half gone when I get home tonight.

Question: Are you an early bird? What do you do before the sun rises?

Press firmly in to pan for a tighter bar.

Let cool completely before slicing in to 9 yummy bars.

Store in air tight container for at least 2 weeks.

Sweet and Spicy Granola Bars

prep time: 10 min. - cook time: 20-25 min. - makes 9 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats 1/2 cup total dried cranberries and raisins 1 1/2 cups total raw cashews, almonds and walnuts 1/2 cup brown rice syrup 2 teaspoons Magic Seasoning Sweet and Spicy blend

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 8 x 8" baking pan with parchment and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine oats, nuts and dried fruit. Pour syrup in microwave safe bowl, heat for 15-20 seconds. Mix seasoning blend in to syrup, then pour over dry ingredients. Mix well with a large spoon.

Pour batter in to baking pan. Press down firmly with wet paper towel or oiled hand.

Bake the bars for 20-25 minutes for a chewy bar. Bake for 30-35 minutes for a crunchy bar. When the bars come out of the oven, press them again using a wet paper towel. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before slicing. The bars will firm up as they cool. Remove the bars by pulling them out using the excess parchment paper. Place on cutting board and slice in to 9 bars. Store in air tight container or wrap them individually in saran wrap for a quick grab-n-go snack.

Nutrition Facts from Nutritiondata.com Calories 497, Calories from fat 294, Total fat 35g, Saturated fat 4g, Trans fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 34mg. Carbohydrate 41g, Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugar 16g, Protein 11g, Iron 2.8mg

Not Your Mom's Beef Brisket

Rich and I moved in together just a little over 4 months ago when he returned home from Air Force training. Before that I had my own place, and he had his. We’d try to spend as much time with each other as possible and considering that my apartment was a super small studio, much of that time was spent at Rich’s house. He’d cook me dinner, or I’d stop over for lunch during the week. It wasn’t until Rich and I moved in together that I finally had the chance to cook for him. I know, hard to believe considering I cooked for myself a few times a week when I lived alone. But for some reason, it just never happened. The first time I cooked for Rich I made him a staple in any Jewish holiday meal – Beef Brisket and potato Kugel (pronounced koo-gle). Like any other Jewish girl, my mom has the best beef brisket recipe around. But since I’m a bit neurotic when it comes to healthy eating, I decided to cut down the calories and make her brisket my own way. Rich loved it and so did I!

Now, I cook Brisket as often as I can. In fact, Saturday night was the perfect night to cook dinner for Rich because he had to be at work bright and early at the Air Force base for a drill weekend. This time I made a top secret Quinoa recipe as the side dish.

You'll have to snag a copy of the January 2013 issue of Oxygen magazine for that one. But for now, try my Beef Brisket, it falls apart in the pot and melts in your mouth.

What's your favorite dish to recreate from your childhood? Do you cut the calories or make it like mom?

Not Your Mom's Beef Brisket

Prep time: 10 minutes - Cook time: 2.5 to 3 hours - Makes 4 Tender Servings

Ingredients:

1:1:1 ratio of all ingredients - 1-2 packets of French Onion Mix 1 cup reduced sugar Ketchup (or regular) 1 cup diet Ginger Ale 1 Brisket of Beef

Note: the size Brisket you purchase will determine the amount of ingredients you'll need. The sauce should cover the brisket in the roasting pan. So if you have a large Brisket you may need to double all ingredients. Look for top cut or single cut brisket that has very little fat and marbling.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl combine wet and dry ingredients. Whisk together. Place brisket in large roasting dish, pour sauce over brisket making sure the sauce covers the entire piece of meat. Bake at 350 degrees, covered for 25 minutes.

Remove brisket from pan and place on grooved cutting board (to catch the juices). Slice meat thinly against the grain then place back in the pan making sure all slices of beef are surrounded by the sauce. Cover and put back in the oven. Cook for 1 hour covered.

After an hour has passed, remove the cover from the pan and cook for another hour. Check to see if the meat is tender; if the meat falls apart easily then it's done. If the brisket is not tender enough, cook it longer.

Note: brisket is best if it's slow cooked. And if you're short on time you can easily begin the cooking process the night before. After the first hour and a half of cooking, take out the brisket, let it cool; cover it and place in the fridge. The following night heat the oven to 325 or 350 and continue cooking for the final hour. If dinner is not until later in the evening, lower the heat to 250 and leave the brisket in the oven until you're ready to eat.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving Calories 234, Calories from fat 49, Total Fat 5g, Sat. fat 2g, Trans fat 0g, Cholesterol 27mg, Sodium 2916mg, Total Carbohydrate 18g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 9g, Protein 22g, Iron 1.9mg Source: nutritiondata.com

Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes

Your mom probably told you as a kid that breakfast is the most important  meal of the day and you better believe she was right. Waking up to a hearty healthy breakfast will get your metabolism revving and give you energy for the day. It's a proven fact kids are smarter if they eat breakfast, therefore adults should be too (or at least you'd think so). For me, breakfast is the one meal I go to sleep looking forward to. Often times I think to myself, I can't wait to wake up so I can eat breakfast! It's kinda funny though, as a kid I was not really in to breakfast foods. Sometimes I ate cereal, but that's about it. Nowadays, my most common cravings are big fluffy pancakes with butter and syrup, gigantic muffins loaded with nuts and dried fruit, waffles with all the toppings, and good old bagels with Nova and cream cheese.

People are creatures of habit - I know I sure am! Usually I eat the same thing every morning for breakfast, even on the weekends. Sometimes I'll go through phases where for 3-4 months I'll eat one thing, then one day I will switch it up for a few months and eat something completely different. Right now (and for a while) my go-to breakfast is Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes. This recipe is by no means mine completely. It was revised from my friend Wendy's recipe. When I took a trip to Wyoming in February to snowboard and visit, Wendy made me these amazing pancakes. We topped them with peanut butter and I was hooked!

I've put anything I could think of on top of these suckers - from slivered almonds and sugar-free maple syrup, to cashew butter, to almond butter, to spray butter. What I top them with regularly is crunchy Peanut Butter and Sugar-free Strawberry Preserves. Be forewarned, these pancakes are hearty, you'll need a nice glass of Almond milk or mug of coffee to wash them down. Enjoy!

What's your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  

Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes

Prep time: 7 minutes - cook time: 3-4 min. - makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1 bloop half n'half or unsweetened almond
• milk dash of sea salt dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites lightly.  Add milk, salt and cinnamon; whisk until evenly combined.  Remove whisk, wash and put away.  Next, add oat bran and whey protein.  Mix with spatula until smooth.  If batter is too thick, add a splash of milk or water.
2. Pour batter in to a small greased skillet over medium-high heat.  Let cook for 1-2 minutes.  Flip over and cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and top with whatever toppings are your favorite.

Nutrition facts for Pancakes without toppings (via nutritiondata.com) Calories: 190, Calories from fat: 24; Total fat: 3g; Trans Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 314 mg; Total Carbohydrate: 24g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 1g; Protein: 30g; Iron: 2.0mg

Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars

Sometimes you just want a nostalgic treat without the calories.  When I was a kid my mother made the most amazing Banana Nut Bread that I'll never forget.  There's nothing like slicing a piece of fresh Banana Bread straight out of the oven and topping it with creamy Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  Nowadays tasty treats like the ones my mom made as a kid are found less than occasionally in my house.  Rich and I are both super nutty (you see what I did there, haha) about nutrition and eat the same clean foods every single day.

But after seeing a recipe online for Banana Nut Bread, I was inspired.  Why not make a healthy version that Rich and I can eat without feeling guilty.  Enter Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars.

These things were awesome.  Of course they weren't as moist as Mom's original, but they were just as tasty.  We kept them in the fridge for a quick snack.  I kept finding Rich red-handed grabbing a taste with Trader Joe's Almond Butter.  What makes these even better is that they're grain free (which then makes them Gluten Free) and sugar free!

What's your favorite thing to top on your banana bread?  

Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars

Prep time: 15 min. - Cook time: 20 minutes - Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 mashed banana
• 2 egg whites
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 scoops vanilla whey protein powder of your choice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp. light coconut milk (I used Trader Joe's)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients (banana, eggs, egg whites, coconut milk and vanilla extract) until smooth.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the wet mixture and combine well.
4. Pour batter in to a greased or lined baking pan (I used a 9 x 11 cake pan). Spread batter with spatula making sure it's distributed evenly in the pan.
5. Bake for ~20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the center.
6. Cut in to 6 squares and let cool on rack. Wrap individually for a quick grab-n-go snack. Best stored in the fridge.
 

Nutrition Information for Paleo Banana Nut Protein Bars via nutritiondata.com