Snacking with Granola

I love snacks. Sometimes I enjoy having a snack more than an actual meal. I carry snack with me everywhere I go, even before I became a mom, you're sure to find a granola bar, cheese stick, crackers, trail mix, or a few cookies in my purse. I'm definitively not capable of waiting for y next big meal- I need a snack in between, or I'm super cranky!

At home I like to have cheese and crackers, fruit, toast with peanut butter and banana, sliced apples with peanut, and yogurt as a snack. My favorite snack at home is yogurt, or a yogurt bowl, as I like to call it. I empty out a container of yogurt and add granola, chocolate chips, honey or agave, and fruit. 

I was thrilled to be contacted by Ladera Granola to taste their product. There granola is "made from all natural ingredients" and it is roasted "at low temperatures to preserve the full-bodied flavor".

Honestly, I can really taste the difference. It really does taste like a batch of fresh homemade granola; I was so impressed from the moment I opened the bag to when I tasted it all on its own. It's good stuff! It smells heavenly too, with all that cinnamon. My favorite thing about this granola? The pecans! Huge pecans that have been roasted to bring out their flavor. They're almost like candy, I could sit and shift through the bag just to eat the pecans.

I'm so glad more and more companies are trying to keep their products natural, ingredient list down, and looking for ways to be energy efficient. Ladera Granola's packaging is 100% recyclable. I'm going to be so disappointed when this bag runs out, it really is my new favorite granola. 

I was given a product to test from Ladera Granola, however all opinions are my own. 

Easy Homemade Granola

 In between meals, I love to snack.

I try to keep my snacks on the healthy side. Occasionally I'll have something like Nutella with graham crackers, but usually, I'll have fruit, string cheese, cheese and crackers, or yogurt. Yogurt is by far my favorite snack. It's so versatile and I change it up based on what I'm in the mood for. I don't like to eat it plain, so I might chop up strawberries or bananas, add a drizzle of honey, or pour in granola. I LOVE granola. My favorite mixes to buy are Nature's Best pumpkin granola or Love Crunch. I love the dark chocolate chunks and dried raspberries.

Recently I wanted to try making my own granola. I have in the past, but I didn't like it as much as my store bought brands. However, this granola does the trick. Cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla extract is in this recipe and I love the hint of cinnamon in the background. As it roasts in the oven, your kitchen will smell heavenly. The nuts are added at the very end just to toast them and enhance their flavor. Have you tried toasted hazelnuts or almonds before? They are SO good.    

I added dried cranberries to mine, but you can add whatever you like. Raisins, cherries, dried blueberries or bananas. Whatever you have on hand!

Source: slightly adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
Servings: 1 pound

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup whole hazelnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and use to hands to combine.

Using your hands, grab fistfuls of the mixture, so you'll have a couple of clumps for texture. Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread it out, leaving a few clumps here and there.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven to flip the granola with a spatula. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return to the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven again and flip. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the granola. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Sprinkle the cranberries over the granola and use your hands to transfer it to an airtight container. Granola will keep for 1 week.

What We Ate Wednesday

Today I'm participating in What I Ate Wednesday, a link up I've always wanted to try. I'm always looking for new ideas on what to eat, I get bored easily, especially with breakfast and lunch! I took a different take on it and decided to show you what Miss A and I ate one day. Here we go!

Breakfast: 8:15 am

I ate: frozen waffles with sliced bananas, granola, and honey

 Miss A: toast with applesauce and slices of banana (which she poked at and fed to the dog)

Morning snack: 10:30 am

Miss A: Strawberry yogurt and a couple of Mum Mum's

I ate: A Kashi cookie spread with peanut butter and a couple graham crackers dipped in peanut butter

Lunch: 12:30pm

 I ate: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a sliced apple (it was a peanut butter kind of day!)

 Miss A: A whole wheat tortilla ham and cheese melt

Afternoon Snack: 3:00pm

I ate: Greek yogurt with sliced bananas, granola, chocolate chips...and a swirl of peanut butter!

Miss A: toddler cookies and watermelon 

Dinner: 6:30pm

I ate: garlic roast chicken, rice pilaf, and cesar salad. So good!

Miss A: pieces of chicken and a few bites of rice, she usually eats whatever we're having for dinner

Happy Wednesday! What did you eat today?

Raspberry Oat Bars

I've got a new obsession.

Anything that can be turned into a bar.

I've pinned all sorts of bar treats lately (which is also a new obsession of mine- pinning. What can I say, I was late to the game). For example, I really want to make these blondies. And these smore's bars. And these brownies. I need helppp.

But these bars...these bars, I had to make immediately. They had my name written all over them. I didn't think any other "granola" bar could come close to topping my favorite, but these come pretty darn close. I love how simplistic they are. They've got a crunchy, buttery crust and subtle sweetness from the jam. All you need is some butter, oats, brown sugar, and a fruity jam. It's a snack you can enjoy any time of the year.

I had to stop myself from eating them in two days. Perfection in a bar.

Source: Beloved Green
Servings: 15-20 bars

1 1/4 cups flour ( half whole wheat flour and half white flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
2 cups oats
1 cup berry jam of your choice (I used raspberry)

Start by pre-heating the oven to 375°F.  In a mixing bowl pour in the wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon and do a quick mix.  Cut the butter into thin slices and add into the bowl.  With a mixer on medium, mix until it starts to form a more solid dough.  Pour in the old-fashioned oats and kneed them in until all the oats have found a home in the dough.

Take 1/3 cup of oats and set them to the side.  Grease a 13x9inch pan.  Place the remainder of the dough into the pan and smash it flat until it is even across the base.  Next layer in the jam.  Finally take the 1/3 cup of oats that were set aside and sprinkle them over top.

Put the pan in the oven for about 25 minutes until the top of the oats start to turn a golden brown color.  Pull them out and allow them to cool.  Can be stored in a container out on the counter or in the refrigerator.

The Rumble of Thunder

Have you heard? Borders is going out of business. This saddens me to such a severe degree. Are you a reader? What have you read recently? Why do you think people don't read anymore?

I ran to the one my house and bought three books: Sarah's Key, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. Love. These are just a few books off my Must-Read-Soon list. Especially Sarah's Key. I bought the one with the movie poster on the cover. I didn't even know it was going to be a movie! Which brings me to The Help. Has anyone read that book? I can't wait for the movie!

Booknerd. That's me.

Now I'm home, it has started to pour, and thunder is rumbling in the background. Love. So I thought I'd show you my new favorite snack.

I go through phases with my snacks. My most recent one was grapes. Grapes, grapes, grapes, every day, after work, with lunch, cheese and crackers on the side. Now it's Stonyfield vanilla yogurt, Granny's Apple Granola from Trader Joe's (swoon), strawberries, and chocolate chips. The perfect yogurt bowl!

Love.

Goodness I'm chatty today.

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars

Making these babies required me to make a new tag- snacks! We don't have very many snacks in the house, unless you count the two ginormous bags of chips (they're the "healthy" kind...), but other than that, not so much.  We try our best to eat healthy. Obviously I am no health addict, as you can see here and here, but we eat lots of whole grains, fruits, veggies, and lean protein. Granted we could do less with the sweets, but then who would I be? Not me. That's who.

Homemade granola bars, who would've thought they'd be so good. I sure didn't. I felt no shame eating three of these after they cooled out of the oven. 

I will never buy granola bars from the store again.

Thick, chewy, sweet, chocolaty...nutritious! Maybe? Yes, I think so. You can change up these bars every time you make them with whatever fillings you like or have on hand. The possibilities are endless! Dried cranberries, pecans, and chocolate chips were in my pantry, hence the title of this post.

Go see what you have in yours!

Source: Stephanie Cooks

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats 

1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar, depending on how sweet you want them

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 to 2 cups dried fruit and nuts

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons melted butter 

1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup (I used honey)

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 X 8 pan with nonstick spray. Over low heat melt the butter. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and the nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter/peanut butter mix, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly.

Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly. Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they're brown around the edges.They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. Cut with a serrated knife and wrap each in plastic wrap.

What's your favorite healthy snack?