Date and Pecan Bars

I'm always looking for a healthy snack to get me through the afternoon slump. These bars are perfect. They are slightly sweet, full of fiber and protein, and are incredibly portable. I have traveled with these by car and by plane (and back) and they are super sturdy.

It takes a little while to cut up all of the dates, I won't lie about that. It's worth it in the end! You can also buy them pre-chopped, but they are more moist when you buy them whole. You can let them sit in the rum, stirring them occasionally, for up to 4 hours. If you don't want to use rum, feel free to use water or coffee.

Toasting the pecans is a step that I highly recommend you do. I prefer to buy my nuts raw, so I can toast them or add salt as needed. In this case, it is best to toast them prior to adding them to the bars. When making something like granola, they get toasted while everything else is cooking, so it is much better to use them while still raw.

Date and Pecan Bars
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Yield: 16 2x2-inch bars

Ingredients:
8 oz dates (pitted), diced
1 1/2 tbsp dark rum (or water or coffee)
1 cup chopped pecans
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp hot water (from the tap is fine)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt

Directions:
Put the dates in a medium bowl and pour the rum on top. Stirring from time to time, let them sit for at least an hour, and up to 4 hours.

Line a 8x8 or 9x9 inch pyrex baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread out pecans in an even layer on a small baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until slightly darker and become fragrant. Keep an eye on them - they can burn quickly! Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs and sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla, butter and hot water, mixing quickly so the eggs don't cook.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir together gently until mostly combined. Add in the dates (and any extra liquid) and pecans, and fold everything until it is all evenly distributed. It will seem like you have too many dates and pecans for the amount of batter. I promise it will all bake up perfectly!

Pour into the prepared pan and level it off. It is very thick and sticky, so you will have to push it into the corners.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when put in the center. Let cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then remove it (using the foil to help lift) and let cool completely on a cooling rack. Wait until they have cooled completely to cut into 2x2 inch squares.

Store for up to 3 days at room temperature, and for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. They can be frozen for longer storage. 

Morning Glory Muffins

I started making Morning Glory Muffins so I would have a healthy snack on hand to get me through the day. I wanted something that tasted good but also had nutritional value. These muffins taste great, and really help get you through that afternoon slump without feeling like you just ruined your next meal.

There are a LOT of ingredients in these muffins! But don't let that scare you away. Once you have everything shredded and chopped, it'll be ready in less than 30 minutes. Pro tip - a food processor will make really quick work of the shredding. Just use your shredding attachment for the carrots and apple.

Don't feel limited by the specific ingredients I used. Don't like raisins? Use your favorite dried fruit instead! Don't have pecans and sunflower seeds? Replace them with 3/4-1 cup of your favorite nuts and seeds. The coconut can be omitted if that's not your thing. Make this recipe your own!

If you don't have two muffin tins, the last 3 muffins can be put into your favorite mini pan. I always put 3 oz by volume (or 6 tablespoons) of batter into each muffin cup - this fills the cup most of the way and gives a nicely domed muffin. Then I will either put the remaining 9 oz (18 tablespoons) of batter into a mini loaf pan, or put 4.5 oz (9 tablespoons) into two smaller cake pans. They will probably take a few extra minutes to cook. You could also go the opposite direction and make mini muffins with the remaining batter - they will take much less time to cook so keep an eye on them. I get 3 oz by using a a large ice cream scoop and a medium cookie scoop. If you don't have those tools, just fill up the muffin cup most of the way!

The muffins, regardless of shape or size, will be ready when they are lightly golden brown and spring back when pressed lightly.

* Note: Fun fact – the sunflower seeds may turn green in these muffins. This is just due to the chlorophyll in the seeds reacting with the baking soda in the recipe. It is perfectly safe to eat, just a little unsightly!

Ingredients:

½ cup raisins

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp salt

2 cups shredded carrots

1 medium apple, peeled and shredded

½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

½ cup chopped toasted pecans

1/3 cup sunflower seeds (shelled)

3 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz can of crushed pineapple in juice, NOT drained

Directions:

Cover raisins with hot water, let them soak while you are preparing everything else.

Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly grease muffin tins.

Mix sugars, flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a large bowl.

Stir together carrots, apple, coconut, pecans and sunflower seeds in a medium bowl.

Beat together eggs, oil, vanilla and pineapple in a medium bowl (easiest in a large liquid measuring cup with a spout). 

 

Add oil mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Drain the raisins well.

Fold in carrot mixture and raisins.

Evenly divide between 15 muffin cups (or 12 muffin cups and 1 mini loaf pan).

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.

Remove muffins, and let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Homemade Marshmallows

This is my favorite time of year. The days are still slightly warm, getting up to 65-75 degrees, but the mornings and nights are crisp and refreshing. The air just feels different. It becomes socially acceptable to wear flannel shirts (seriously the most comfortable things ever) and leggings. Although maybe not together. Hot chocolate and spiced cider are the preferred beverages. And oh yes, it's time to make marshmallows.

I first started making this recipe several years ago. One of my good friends is allergic to corn syrup, and I was determined to find a way to make marshmallows that she could actually eat (and that didn't include really weird ingredients). It ended up being so much simpler than I thought it would, and no weird ingredients at all! Besides gelatin, which to be honest, is kind of a weird ingredient. With these marshmallows, we made the best s'mores I have ever tasted. In my life. We used thick graham crackers from Trader Joe's, and good quality dark chocolate.

Since then, I have only made these marshmallows a handful of times. I've made them for holiday gifts, and put pretty red/green sprinkles on top. I tried cutting them into fun shapes one year, but they were just too sticky for that to work.

These marshmallows can be used for so many things! Obviously, they are amazing in s'mores. I made them at the end of the summer, and they were a HUGE hit at the party I brought them to. Like I said, they make really cute gifts over the holidays. Include them with a package of good hot chocolate (or make your own mix), and your friends and family will love you forever. I haven't tried baking with these marshmallows, so I don't know how they would hold up in something like rice krispies treats. Honestly, I'd probably use regular store-bought marshmallows for those.

As a general warning - these are very different from marshmallows you buy in the store. They are so much fluffier, and a lot taller. You can probably pour them into a larger pan to make them less tall. They also melt a lot more under heat, so you have to be careful when making s'mores. It's hard to get them toasty on the outside before they start falling apart (but it is possible!) I think the best part is that even people who say they don't like marshmallows, love these.

Recipe: Homemade Marshmallows (WITHOUT Corn Syrup)
From: Sugar Plum
Yield: About 36 marshmallows, depending on how they are cut

Ingredients:
2 tbsp unflavored gelatin (2 Knox envelopes)
1/2 cup cold water
pinch salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
butter to grease the pan
powdered sugar to coat the pan

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water. Over medium heat, stir the sugar, salt and 3/4 cup water until dissolved. Once it comes to a boil, let it boil for 10-15 minutes, until it reaches 236 degrees F. This will depend on how hot your stove gets, so keep an eye on it.

Note: contrary to popular belief, you don't need a candy thermometer for this. I used a regular probe thermometer and it worked just fine. Make sure you are very careful when taking it in and out of the hot sugar, and that you run it under hot water after you take it out, to remove any sugar crystals.

Once the sugar syrup reaches 236 F, take it off the heat and slowly pour it into the mixing bowl. Have the mixer on low, with the whisk attachment. You want everything to be evenly mixed in, and you definitely want to avoid splatters. Add the vanilla. Turn the speed up to medium, and beat for 20 minutes. You want the mixture to be completely white (that change happens first), fluffy, and partially cooled. The mixture and the bowl will still feel warm to the touch. It's similar to making whipped cream, in that you want stiff, glossy peaks when you pull the whisk out of the mixture. If you don't get nice peaks, then it will never set up. On the other hand, if you overmix, it will be hard to pour into your prepared pan.

While the mixture is beating, prepare your pan. Use an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan (can use larger pan for less tall marshmallows), and line with parchment paper or wax paper. Butter the paper, and then dust really well with powdered sugar.

When the marshmallow fluff is ready, pour/spread it into the prepared pan. It might be difficult. A large offset spatula works really well to smooth out the top. Resist the temptation to use nonstick spray with the spatula - it will discolor your marshmallows. Instead, just put the spatula under hot water if it starts to have marshmallow stick to it. Dust the marshmallows with another layer of powdered sugar.

Now, you are basically done! Let it set completely before cutting - either put it in the fridge/freezer for a few hours, or sit out overnight. Use a sharp knife to cut, preferably one that is large, so you can cut a whole row with just one slice. The top and bottom of the marshmallows shouldn't be sticky, from the powdered sugar, but the sides will be extremely sticky. I like giving them a roll in a bowl of powdered sugar, so every side is evenly coated. You can be creative here, and use colored powdered sugar, or sprinkles. Cocoa powder could be a nice touch for a subtle chocolate flavor.

The marshmallow fluff has just been poured, and the top is nice and smooth. It is still shiny, which means it hasn't been dusted with powdered sugar yet. 

 

I've started the process of cutting and rolling in powdered sugar. It makes a bit of a mess, and I find it to be a lot easier if you lift the whole thing out, and place the parchment paper or wax paper on a cutting board. I cut them kind of thin, so they would fit better on s'mores. 

I put some sheets of wax paper between the layers, to make sure they didn't stick together

We completely filled this container, and still had a bunch more!

Look how fluffy they are! They're almost a bit spongy. There are a few air pockets - you can probably prevent that by tapping the pan a few times before smoothing out the top. It won't affect anything besides appearance

Separate note - most of the recipes I post here are vegetarian, with the exception of anything with seafood (although you can usually just omit that and be okay). These are not strictly vegetarian - gelatin is an animal-derived product. Using gelatin in a recipe will definitely not be okay with anyone who is vegan, and is questionable for vegetarians, so make sure you check with anyone you will be making these for. In a separate note, gelatin is also not kosher under the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut. Here is a post about some alternatives to gelatin (that are still acceptable for kosher Jews and vegans alike). 

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bars

Granola bars are one of the best snack foods. They're portable, so it's easy to have one with you, no matter where you are. I like having them around when I'm traveling, and in my gym bag as a pre-workout snack (or post-workout snack!)

They're packed with lots of energy-rich food, like oats, nuts, and dried fruit. Best of all, when you make them yourself, you can decide what to put in them! Feel free to switch out any of these ingredients for your favorites - you can switch out peanut butter for any nut butter you prefer, and use your favorite nuts and dried fruit instead of those listed. Coconut would be a great addition. You can even add chocolate chips! However, if you are doing that, I would recommend waiting until everything has cooled slightly, so you don't melt all of the chocolate.

I know you might be wondering, well why would anything be hot if these are no-bake bars?? You do end up heating things - you heat the honey and peanut butter together, so they're liquid enough to coat everything well. And you toast the oats and nuts for better flavor. If you don't want to turn on your oven, you can skip that step, but I would recommend using pre-toasted ingredients if possible. For the part on the stove - well you can use your microwave if you really don't want to turn on the stove. These are called "no-bake," because you don't have to bake the bars once you press them out in the pan.

Recipe: Homemade No-Bake Granola Bars
Yield: 16 large bars or 24 small bars

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled (old fashioned) oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 3/4 cups seeds/nuts (we used 3/4 cup pecans, 3/4 cup almonds, and 1/4 cup of a sunflower/flax seed combo)
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup dried fruit (we used 1/2 cup chopped dried plums and 1/2 cup raisins)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F and line a large baking sheet with foil. Mix together the oats, wheat germ, and nuts, and spread out on the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn.

Line a glass 9x13 pan with wax paper, and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small pan (I like using a small nonstick frying pan to make it faster), mix the honey, peanut butter, salt and vanilla over low heat, until melted and well mixed.

Pour the toasted oats and nuts in a large bowl, and add the dried fruit.

Pour the melted honey and peanut butter over, and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Dump out into the prepared pan, and use an offset spatula to press down evenly. Make sure you press down really hard - this will prevent the bars from falling apart later.

Cool completely before cutting - it works best if you have refrigerated them first. The bars keep well in the fridge, since it prevents them from being sticky. If you would prefer to eat them at room temp, just pull them out of the fridge one or two at a time, about an hour before you want to eat them.

You can cut these into however many bars you would like. If you want them to be the typical "granola bar size," you can cut them into 16 bars (8x2). You can make them a bit smaller, and cut them into 24 bars also (6x4). I have included nutritional information for both sizes below. I find that it's easiest to lift up the wax paper, and put the whole thing on a cutting board. Use a large, sharp, non-serrated knife and press down firmly with each cut.

Nutrition (for 16 bars/for 24 bars):
247 calories/165 calories
12 g fat/8 g fat
32 g carbs/21 g carbs
4.5 g fiber/3 g fiber
6.8 g protein/4.5 g protein

The calories might be a bit high in the large bars, but they're packed with so much good stuff!

Nuts and oats, freshly toasted

Honey and peanut butter melted. 

Don't mind my dirty stove...

Nuts/oats in a large mixing bowl

Prunes/raisins on top, honey/peanut butter mixture ready to be poured

Action shot!

Start mixing everything together until it looks like the picture on the right

Press everything down REALLY firmly, so you have compact bars that don't fall apart

Finished product!

Close up - you can see what a great job Joey did of cutting them

Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins with Greek Yogurt

These are my new favorite muffins. They pack in a TON of blueberries and have a delightful scone-like texture. They are a lighter version of the muffin from your favorite bakery, since they are made with greek yogurt and are topped with raw sugar instead of a crumb topping. These really can be made year-round, with either fresh or frozen blueberries, but they're fantastic this time of year with in-season blueberries (especially when you find them at the grocery store for $1.99/pint!!) If you don't have raw sugar at home, just grab a few packets the next time you're at a coffee shop!

They get their scone-like texture from the extremely thick batter. It is seriously thick - I got a little concerned when I was making them, and was afraid I would end up with muffin-shaped cookies. In the end, they turn out perfectly! They are light and fluffy, but break open like a scone, while still being moist inside. They are delicious straight out of the oven, and store really well for several days. During the summer,  I like storing moist baked goods in the fridge since I'm afraid everything will get moldy. Then I just stick them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. If you're going to keep them for longer than a few days, I would recommend wrapping them well and freezing.

Recipe: Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins with Greek Yogurt
Adapted slightly from Food-Mouth
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 pint blueberries (2 cups), fresh or frozen
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (non-fat or low-fat)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Raw sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F and grease a standard muffin tin with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
Measure flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix egg, egg yolk, sugar and Greek yogurt until well combined. Add melted butter slowly while mixing, so you don't curdle the eggs.
Add the blueberries to the flour mixture, folding in gently as to not burst fresh berries.
Pour half of the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold in. Pour remaining liquid and mix until just combined. It will be VERY thick.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin - each will be almost full. Sprinkle each muffin top with raw sugar.
Bake at 425 F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let muffins cool slightly before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm and enjoy!

Nutrition:
237 calories
6.5 g fat
40.4 g carbs
1.5 g fiber
5.4 g protein (a protein boost from the yogurt!)

Pre-baked, very stiff dough

Post-baking, with a lightly browned top

Look how pretty those sugar crystals are

I took like 25 pictures trying to capture the steam coming out of the freshly cut into muffin. Do you see that tiny wisp?

Homemade Trail Mix - A great pre-running (or anytime) snack

When I was in Salt Lake City with Joey and his family, his mom had bought two packages of trail mix to snack on during the day. They were both good, but one of them just disappeared, we all liked it so much. It has dried cherries, dried cranberries, almonds, peanuts, cashews, and dark chocolate chunks. The combination worked really well together.

Once we got home, we decided we wanted to try making our own trail mix. We went to Whole Foods, and went crazy in their bulk food section. We bought roasted (unsalted) peanuts, roasted (salted) cashews, pistachios, dried cranberries, banana chips, and Joey got a medley just for snacking on its own. Joey found some fantastic cinnamon almonds from Walmart, and bought some dried cherries at Trader Joe's. Lastly, we found dark chocolate chunks at Kroger, in the baking section. Since then, we used up the cashews, banana chips, cranberries and almonds, and bought all but the cranberries (got those at Kroger) at Trader Joe's. Surprisingly, the cinnamon almonds were better from Walmart.

I've just been making up a bag each day to bring in, and haven't been weighing or measuring anything. I'm sure some days I get much more than others, just based on the small handful I take of each ingredient. Last night, I was curious to see how much I was actually taking, and how many calories that equaled.

So, here it is:

Dark Chocolate Chunks

 

Dry Roasted & Salted Cashews

Cinnamon Almonds (still good, but not as good as Walmart's)

Organic Banana Chips

 

Dried Tart Cherries

Craisins (Original)

Dry Roasted (no salt added) Peanuts

I weighed each ingredient out as I added (in grams), creating the following:

 

Finished product!

In case you don't feel like reading the small numbers in the pictures, this is what I added:
15g dark chocolate chunks (1 serving)
14g cashews (~1/2 serving)
13g cinnamon almonds (~1/2 serving)
10g banana chips (1/3 serving)
10g dried cherries (~1/4 serving)
8g dried cranberries (1/5 serving)
13g peanuts (~1/2 serving)

The amount I created here had the following nutrition:
406 calories
8.7 g protein
6.0 g fiber
25.9 g fat

While this is relatively high in calories and pretty high in fat, it's all good fat (from the nuts). It's also pretty high in protein, and really high in fiber, so it'll keep you full for hours. This was probably a pretty large version, and I could easily shave off some calories and fat by making it a bit smaller, or not using all of the nuts. This version has roughly 1.5 servings of nuts, 1 serving of chocolate, and 3/4 serving of dried fruit. I love that I can customize it to include whatever I want that day, and that I can eat it before running, without worrying about how it's going to affect my stomach. Best of all, it's so much less expensive than buying the prepackaged versions!