Tag: granola

Try This—Homemade Oatmeal Almond Power Bars

These power bars are packed with protein, healthy fats, and carbs giving you a much needed post workout boost, or midday snack. I’ve spent a small fortune on those Kind bars and Quest bars until I finally figured out that I could make these snacks at home with very little effort. Best part: I actually know what’s in them. No guess work, just a simple healthy snack that tastes great and stays fresh in the fridge and the freezer! Winning! You must try this!

Homemade Oatmeal Almond Power Bars

ingredients (makes about 12 bars)

  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 5 medjool dates
  • ½ cup cacao powder
  • 2 tbsp. boiling water

Directions

  • Place almonds and oats in food processor (I use my trusty Nutribullet) and blend until you have a coarse crumb.
  • Add cacao powder, cranberries, and dates and blend again.
  • Begin adding the boiling water, a little at a time and continue blending, until the mixture becomes well incorporated and forms a ball.
  • Press the dough into a baking tin lined with wax or parchment paper and place in the fridge for 3-4 hours before slicing into bars.
  • For grab and go storage, wrap each bar in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.

***Because all of the ingredients have a super long shelf life, you can store them on the counter top for several days, in the fridge for several weeks, and in the freezer for up to 6 months. Trust me when I say you’ll eat them all long before you run into any shelf life issues.

***Each bar contains about 200 calories.

Customize It!

This recipe is delicious, but there are so many ways to customize these energy bars. Check out this neat infographic to get you started!

Homemade Granola With Extra Clusters

I have a love/hate relationship with granola. I love the taste. Real talk, I can eat granola on top of yogurt or fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If I’m being completely honest, I really have done just that. But I absolutely do not love the price of store bought granola. It’s super expensive considering the price of the individual ingredients and how much granola those ingredients yield coupled with how easy it is to make. Most of all I ‘m not in love with the fact that as you make your way through a box or a bag of granola, all of the delicious granola clusters disappear and you’re left with half a bag of granola crumbs. Because I eat so much granola, I had to find a homemade recipe that didn’t skimp on the flavor, or the clusters. If you love granola clusters as much as I do, you must try this!

Homemade Granola

Makes 3 to 4 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups (1/2 pound) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) whole, raw almonds
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) whole, raw cashews
  • 1/3 cup (2 ounces) light brown (or unrefined) sugar
  • zest of 1 small orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 3 ounces (6 tablespoons / 3/4 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

  • Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325º F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Have a second rimmed baking sheet and piece of parchment ready.
  • Combine the oats, nuts, sugar, orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, melt together the butter, maple syrup and salt, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour over the oat mixture, tossing to combine thoroughly.
  • Dump the mixture onto the lined baking sheet, and spread it into a thin sheet no thicker than an almond. Ideally, the edges will be slightly thicker than the center as they will bake faster. Lay the second piece of parchment over the granola, and place the second sheet pan on top, right-side up, making a little granola sandwich.
  • Slide the whole thing into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate and continue baking another 10 to 20 minutes, peeking under the parchment to make sure the edges aren’t burning, until the granola is a rich golden brown. It will still be soft, but will crisp up as it cools.
  • Let the granola cool completely in the sheet pan sandwich, then break up and store in an airtight container for up to a month (or possibly more). Enjoy over fruit and yogurt for breakfast, alone for a crunchy snack, or over ice cream for a decadent dessert.

I use this double baking sheet trick for a variety of granola flavor combinations like maple brown butter, rum-kissed coconut, or cardamom honey! The clusters do not disappoint!

Source: Food52

Try This—Oatmeal Latte

So this happened. An Oatmeal Latte! I seriously can’t believe that I never thought to do this before. I love coffee and I love oatmeal. This recipe should’ve been a no-brainer. As it is, I only heard about it from a high school friend of mine who was back in New York on a short visit after living in Colorado for a long time. There’s a coffee shop in Breckenridge that has this on the menu. Gah! Yet another reason to visit Colorado! Anyway, this is delicious, you guys. Like D-E-licious…TRY THIS!!!
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Oatmeal Latte Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 (or 4!) shots of espresso
  • granola for topping

Directions:

Place the oats and 1 1/2 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine. In the meantime, froth or steam the remaining 1 cup of milk. Add about 3/4 cup of the steamed, frothed milk to the oats. Cook, stirring often, until the oats are super creamy and milky. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining milk. Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla extract.

***The measurements are slightly different, but honestly the measurements are only a suggestion. It all depends on what consistency and sweetness you prefer. I have replaced the whole milk with soy milk a couple of the times that I made this. I’ve left out the cinnamon once or twice. Whatever. Point is— Play with your food, y’all!!! This one is almost impossible to mess up.

Source: Oatmeal Latte | How Sweet It Is