Busy Day! And It’s PB Granola Time!

Hello, hello

Today has been a very busy, productive day!  I arrived home from Austria around 8 last night (2am European time) and felt like I had a lot of catching up to do.  So naturally I couldn’t sleep and was up and at it this morning!

Breakfast

I started my day with peach flavored greek yogurt and topped it with GoLean cereal and chopped pineapples slices (that’s basically all we had in the kitchen)  The combination of flavors was delicious!

Lunch

Around noon I was starving for lunch so I re-heated leftovers from Mike’s dinner.  Annie’s mac & cheese, steamed broccoli, and sausage.  Another great meal today (I’m 2 for 2!)

Peanut Butter Granola

As much as I like GoLean cereal on my greek yogurt, it’s nothing compared to home-made granola.  So I decided to whip up a quick batch this afternoon and used my peanut butter granola recipe found here.  I also added sunflower seeds to the mix and baked it longer than the last time (about 35 minutes).  This recipe is super easy and most of the ingredients you probably already have in your cabinets at home.

This granola doesn’t come out as crunchy as some other granola recipes but it’s still tastes amazing!  Any suggestions on how to make it more crunchy or clumpy?  Another perk about pb granola is that it instantly makes your entire place smell like peanut butter! 😀

 

I tried to be a little festive and use a Christmas tin for storing the granola in the fridge.  Mike and I have about 4 Christmas decorations so I might as well use them, right?  Actually now that I think about it, this might be my mom’s tin that I “borrowed”….  Guess it’s time to stop at Christmas Tree Shop to stock up and really decorate my place this year.

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Btw can we quickly talk about how Rocky went from being a semi-normal cat just baskin’ in the sun….

To a freak within seconds….

Ha, what a weirdo!

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Have you decorated for the Holiday’s yet?

Do you make granola?  What’s your favorite?

Trail Mix Energy Bars

My coworker made these a couple of months ago and I was soon addicted.  I finally made my own version today and they also turned out delicious!  These bars require no baking and prep time is only about 15 minutes.  It’s such an easy recipe and are probably healthier than most store-bought granola bars. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (or any chopped nut)
• 2 cups dried fruit (I used 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries and 1/2 cup dried blueberries)
• 1/3 cup ground flax-seed
• 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• A little pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter
• 1/2 cup pure honey
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Combine oats, peanuts, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, cereal, pumpkin pie spice, & ground flax-seed in a large bowl.

2) In a medium-size microwave safe bowl, combine: peanut butter, honey, light brown sugar, & vanilla extract.  Microwave for 1 minute.

3) Pour the peanut butter mixture onto the dry ingredients and stir well.

4) Evenly pour the mix onto a 9×13 inch baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.  Make sure to press the mixture firmly.  Wait 1 hour before cutting into pieces.  The bars can be stored at room temperature, in the fridge, or in the freezer.  Enjoy!

Yum, so good!  These bars taste amazing crumbled in a bowl of greek yogurt or as pre-workout fuel.  I think next time I’ll even add dark chocolate chips and eat them as an afternoon snack. So many options! 😀

Peanut Butter Granola

I’m back in Boston!  I arrived last night so it was a super quick trip to Germany but well worth it! 🙂

I know I was only gone for 3 days but I still came back feeling a lil’ bloated and frumpy.  Do you guys feel that way every time you travel??  So today I tried to eat healthy meals and snacks to help me feel a little bit better. 

Dont’ worry, I didn’t take pic’s of everything I ate today but I did take pictures of dinner!

Dinner

I stopped at Whole Food’s to pick up my favorite thing……   the Mediterranean Herb ToFu!  I also had steamed broccoli, home-made sweet potato fries, and a glass of wine with the tofu.

Mike’s away tonight but I still bought enough food so I could pack leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  Leftovers = da bomb since my lunch is usually pretty boring!

Granola

Right before prepping dinner, I decided to make a batch of peanut butter granola.  I worked with what I had in the kitchen and quickly came up with the following delicious recipe: 

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2) Microwave the peanut butter for 20-25 seconds (until warm and creamy).

3) Pour the oats, peanut butter, brown sugar, olive oil, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix until combined (I used my hands to mix it more thoroughly.)

4) Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

5) Spread the granola mixture on a cookie sheet and make sure it’s even layered. 

6) Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Remove when the granola is light brown and toasted. 

7) Let it cool completely then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

How have I never made peanut butter granola before?!  It’s tastes amazing!  (well anything with pb tastes amazing to me.)  It’s not as “clumpy” as other granola’s I’ve made but the pb flavor makes up for it.  I can’t wait to have a bowl of pb granola, greek yogurt, and strawberries in the morning. 😀

Have a good night, everyone!