Maple Oat Breakfast Bites

These snack bites are tasty little guys that are great to have on hand in case your last meal wasn't quite enough to keep you full and satisfied until the next one. They're full of whole grains, healthy fats and sweetened naturally with maple syrup, all things that make me feel good about popping one (or two, or three...) into my mouth mid-afternoon. I made them tiny so depending on how hungry I am I can decide how many to eat. I didn't want to call these cookies, because I think doing so might disappoint some people. They aren't super sweet or tender, they're a little on the "dry" side in texture, and are slightly crumbly, but not fall-apart crumbly. Overall nutty and satisfying, but doesn't make you think you're eating dessert, a good compromise!

These little guys are super easy to make. Just throw everything into the food processor and let it do the work for you. If you want something a little extra special try adding some mini chocolate chips, or drizzling with melted chocolate. You can also play around with the type of nut butter you use; almond, PB, cashew, I'm sure sunflower seed butter would be good too. Overall, yum!

Maple Oat Breakfast Bites
Adapted from The Clever Carrot

• 2 cups (160 grams) old fashioned oats 
• 1 cup (120 grams) spelt or whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (55 grams) coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup (64 grams) almond butter
• 1/4 cup (75 grams) pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the oats, whole wheat flour, and baking soda to a food processor. Run the machine until the oats look like 'flour.' It's okay to have a few big pieces in the mix.

Add the egg, coconut oil, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Pulse until the mixture looks like cookie dough. If the dough is too wet or runny, just add a sprinkle of flour and pulse gently until it comes together, if it is too dry add a little extra coconut oil or maple syrup.

Shape the cookies into balls and place on lined baking sheets.

Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 24 cookies

Cranberry Walnut Granola Bars

As I believe I've said before, I'm always on the lookout for healthy, easy and delicious snacks that I can carry with me on busy days. Something that can keep hunger at bay when I have to postpone lunch for a little bit, but still need something to fill my stomach in the mean time. I've found that oat bars are my favorite. I feel good about eating them, there are so many different options out there that you don't have to make the same thing twice if you don't want to. These oats bars are a mash up of a couple of different recipes that I adapted to fit my needs. They turned out wonderfully!

There oats bars hold together GREAT!! Sometimes I have a problem with getting bars to hold together. I think this is because I don't like to fill my bars with tons of sugar, but sugar is often what holds them together. I've found that while you do need some sugar, both for structure and for flavor, if you add a little bit of flour and an egg or two this can also help firm things up. These bars are not super sweet, you could always add a bit more sugar if you'd like, but they were perfect for me. They were easy to keep in a little baggie in my purse, ready for whenever I needed them!

These bars are just a little crisp with some chew as well. They aren't hard, but not super chewy either, they're just the right mix! I put cranberries and walnuts in this time, a classic combination that never disappoints. If I'd had an orange laying around I would have thrown in a bit of orange zest as well to really take things over the top. But as is, they are a great bar to have on hand for when those snack attackts sneak up on you, but you want to keep things a little more on the nutritious side! Enjoy!

Cranberry Walnut Granola Bars
Adapted from My Humble Kitchen and Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) almond butter
• 1/3 cup (112 grams) honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 cups (160 grams) old fashion oats
• 1/3 cup (38 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12x9 inch or 8x8 inch pan, or line with a parchment paper sling, and set aside. 

Place the butter, and almond butter in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave until the butter melts. Stir until the well combined. Mix in the honey, vanilla and salt and give a good stir. Add the egg and stir the whole mixture until smooth and combined. 

Add the oats, whole wheat flour, cranberries and walnuts and stir everything together until well combined and there are no more dry pockets of flour. 

Transfer the mixture into the prepared  pan and pat down firmly into an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Yields: approximately 14 granola bars
Approximately 130 calories each

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars with Chocolate and Walnuts

We're halfway into October now, which means that for several weeks now, every food blog has been posting pumpkin recipes ad nauseam. Well, I don't want to miss out on all of the fun, so I thought I'd share these pumpkin oat breakfast bars today. I made this recipe twice in the couple of weeks and have been eating them for breakfast pretty much every day. I've been doing a pediatric rotation this month, and have to be at the hospital at 6:30 every day. I haven't been getting up early enough to eat breakfast at home before I head to work so these bars have been the perfect thing to throw into my lunch bag each morning. Then, whenever I get a few minutes (more like 30 seconds) to scarf something down, I can enjoy a little treat for a (very) quick breakfast. 

The recipe is simple, and not fancy at all. Oats, pumpkin, a little sweetener and some spices. That's the bulk of it. Plenty of room to switch things up as you see fit. Add more chocolate, add less; try some dried fruit and/or your favorite nut instead. Swap out the spices if you don't care for all those warm fall flavors. Whatever you decide, you should end up with a hearty breakfast bar, sturdy enough to carry in your purse and eat out of hand whenever you have a chance. If you have a few extra minutes, do what I've been doing, and top the bar with a little bit of almond or peanut butter for a little extra protein boost. This is my favorite way to enjoy these bars. I hope you enjoy them too!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars with Chocolate and Walnuts
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 2.5 cups (200 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (160 grams) canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons (40 grams) molasses
• 2 tablespoons (40 grams) maple syrup
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup (26 grams) chocolate chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly spray 8 x 8 square baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add in the vanilla, pumpkin, milk, egg, molasses and maple syrup. Mix together until evenly combined. Stir in walnuts and chocolate.

Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes-30 minutes, or until baked through in the center. Allow to cool and cut into bars.
 

Gratin of Zucchini, Rice and Corn with Cheese

I was browsing through my Instagram feed earlier last week when I came across a photo for a zucchini rice casserole that for whatever reason just called to me. I went online to find the recipe and was happy to see that it was a very simple and a very healthy recipe. So when I went to the farmer's market on Saturday I picked up two large zucchini so I could whip this dish up over the weekend. I am a huge zucchini fan and usually end up just slicing it up into rounds or spears and grilling it. I liked that this dish gave me something else that I could do with zucchini if I am feeling ambitious. Not that it's a difficult dish by any means, but it's slightly more involved than slicing and grilling!

Of course, I couldn't leave the recipe alone so I decided to add my own twist and add in some freshly picked sweet corn that I also picked up at the farmer's market. I think zucchini + corn is one of the best late summer combos so I couldn't pass it up. I think it was a brilliant addition to the gratin! The tender zucchini mixed with the juicy and sweet corn is fantastic along with some salty parmesan and a couple little pats of butter. Fresh, healthy and delicious, this is a great late-summer winner!

On the blog where I got the recipe she used brown rice in this gratin as opposed to the white rice which is what the original recipe that she used called for. I went with the brown rice as well and parboiled it for 8 minutes as she said. I found that in the finished dish the rice was not quite tender so I would recommend upping the length of the parboil to 10-12 minutes, or alternatively, baking the casserole longer overall. I ended up baking it for 35 minutes and there was still quite a bit of liquid left over when I dug in. This extra liquid did not detract from the delicious flavors, but if you are looking for a finished product with less moisture I would bake it longer and/or add less liquid prior to baking.

Gratin of Zucchini, Rice and Corn with Cheese
Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds zucchini or other summer squash
• 2 ears corn
• 1/2 cup short grain brown rice 
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• about 2 1/2 cups warm zucchini juices
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Shred the zucchini in a food processor or with a box grater, toss with a heaping teaspoon of salt and drain in a colander. Reserving the juices. Meanwhile drop the rice into boiling salted water, bring rapidly back to a boil for 10-12 minutes; drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400'.

Cut the kernels off of the ears of corn. In a large oven-proof frying pan melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the corn, salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat until starting to brown. Remove corn from pan and set aside. 

Return the frying pan to heat. Add the 2 tablespoon olive oil and cook the onions with a little salt for 15-20 minutes, or longer, until tender and translucent and starting to brown. Stir in the grated and dried zucchini and the garlic. Let sit without stirring for a few minutes to start browning some of the zucchini. Then, toss for about 5 minutes until the zucchini is almost tender. Add the corn back to the pan. Sprinkle in the flour, stir over moderate heat for a minute and remove from the heat. 

Gradually stir in the 2-2 1/2 cups warm liquid (zucchini juices). Put the pan over moderately high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Remove from the heat again, stir in the blanched rice, 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Taste carefully for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. 

Transfer frying pan to oven. Bake until the gratin is bubbling, top is browned and appears most of the liquid has absorbed, approximately 35-40 minutes, sprinkling with additional parmesan in the last 5 minutes if desired.

Date and Almond Breakfast Bars

Quick post this week. You may or may not have noticed my love for snack bars. Usually oat based, hearty, filling and on the healthier side. Well, here's another winner! These bars are soft, but not chewy, more of a sandy texture. They are slightly sweet, just enough for me, and a little salty (which I love!). The dates add a nice natural sweetness without being an overwhelming flavor. They bars bake up pretty firm and hold together unless it's really warm out, or they sit in a hot car for a while! Whoops!! 

I cut back slightly on the honey in these bars, just by 1 tablespoon. They may have been slightly firmer with that additional tablespoon, but I didn't mind them at all the way they turned out. While the title of this recipe is "breakfast bar" I really found them to be more of a homemade granola bar. But in the end it doesn't really matter what they are called. I just know I enjoyed them!

Date and Almond Breakfast Bars
Adapted from Donuts, Dresses and Dirt
Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (90-100 grams) chopped dates
• 1 1/4 cup (110 grams) old fashioned oats
• 3 tablespoons (22 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup (20 grams) wheat germ
• 1/3 cup (35 grams) chopped almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (65 grams) almond butter
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) olive oil
• 3 tablespoons (63 grams) honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and spray with oil. Set aside. 

Combine the dates, oats, flour, wheat germ, almonds, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond butter, olive oil, honey, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry mixture, and stir together until evenly combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, pressing the mixture firmly onto the bottom, edges and corners.

Bake the bars for 30-35 minutes, until they are golden brown all over. Cool the bars completely in the pan on a cooling rack. When mostly cool, transfer to the fridge and let them chill for a few hours. This will make it easier to cut into neat bars.  Remove from fridge and cut into bars.

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken

It may be Mother's Day today, but this year my family celebrated mom last week. Mom decided that she wanted to head to Indiana with a friend to spend time at Conner Prairie, a living history museum where people recreate what life was like in Indiana in the 19th century. My mom is a big Civil War reenacter,  and loves all of these kind of things so this is her favorite kind of weekend, and her top choice for where to spend her Mother's Day this year. Her friend's daughter works at Conner Prairie so they are going to dress up in the historically accurate clothes and have a blast. Hope you're having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend mom!

Even though mom was not going to be home on Mother's day this year I still wanted to make her a special meal, as a thank you for being such a great mom. So instead of celebrating today, we got together last weekend for a Mother's Day meal starring this Rosemary Lemon Chicken. It's a simple recipe, but so full of flavor that everyone loved it. I can't think of much else that goes so well with chicken as lemon and rosemary do. The whole thing can be prepped the night before so all you have to do the day you want to make it is stick it in the oven. If you're craving some delicious chicken, but want to make life easy for yourself, this is the recipe you want to make. 

I was inspired to make this recipe after coming back from Paris. One morning there I was walking down the street and passed a butcher who had a big rotisserie outside his shop with a dozen chickens slowly turning on spits. Below the chickens was a big pile of red potatoes, soaking in the juices of the chickens that were dripping down as they roasted. It looked and smelled amazing and I knew I wanted to recreate it at home. Since I don't have a rotisserie, a good roasted chicken was going to have to do instead. Roasting the chicken over a bed of red-skinned potatoes allowed the chicken juices to permeate and flavor the potatoes as everything cooked. While this prevents the potatoes from getting crispy and brown, it does make them flavorful and creamy. 

I love rosemary with my chicken and potatoes, so I threw a lot of chopped rosemary in this dish as well as some chopped fresh thyme because I had some in the fridge, but you can always use whichever herbs you like best, it doesn't have to be rosemary. Don't skip the lemon however. It permeates the chicken and potatoes, brightening everything with its tart acidity. The perfect pairing with the earthy rosemary. This one is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Impress your guests this weekend with this simply amazing roast chicken. 

Happy Mother's Day to the best mother around!!

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken
Adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine
Ingredients

• 2 whole chickens, cut into pieces, bone-in, skin-on
• 2-3 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (do not use bottled lemon juice, it must be freshly squeezed)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds of small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon sliced in ⅛-inch slices

Directions
The night before you plan on roasting the chicken, or early on the day of, mix the rosemary, thyme, garlic, 5 teaspoons salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil together in a small bowl. 

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Pour the oil-herb mixture onto the chicken and use your hands to mix the chicken and the oil mixture together, rubbing it into the chicken and under the skin, coating everything evenly. Cover bowl and place in the fridge at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. 

The next day, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease one or two sheet pans with oil. Combine potatoes, olive oil, the 1-2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium-size bowl. Toss to coat. Turn potatoes out onto prepared sheet pans in an even layer. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Remove pans from oven and add the chicken breasts to the pans, skin side up in between the potatoes. Tuck lemons around chicken and potatoes. Roast for about 30-45 minutes longer, or until the breasts reach 160˚F in the thickest part. (If breasts vary greatly in size, you may need to remove the smaller ones 5 minutes before the larger ones.) My chicken took about 38 minutes. 

Remove from oven and cover chicken loosely with foil. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-10

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

As I type this, the sun is streaming in the window, blinding me as I sit. I love spring. :) The birds are singing, the buds are just starting to burst out in light green leaves, and the flowering trees are gracing gardens and yards with fragrant and beautiful blooms. Morning runs are warming up, making it easier for me to haul myself out of bed and out the door into the not quite as frigid conditions. Thankfully I can stop worrying about sliding around on icy sidewalks for many months. 

While I'm on the topic of things I love, I also love banana bread; almost as exciting as spring! For these banana muffins I adapted my favorite Greek yogurt banana bread , turning them into muffins with the scrumptious addition of some nice dark chocolate chips.  They baked up tall and fluffy with a moist and tender crumb. Easy to whip up on a lovely spring morning to enjoy with a cup of steaming coffee on your sunny porch. Happy baking!

Like I said, I took one of my favorite banana bread recipes and turned them into muffins. I started by cutting the recipe in half because I just wanted a small batch, so the final recipe makes 6 nice muffins. I increased the oven temperature to 375 degrees and baked them for 18 minutes. For a little extra flavor and fun I added some cardamom along with the chocolate chips, but you could also try adding a little cinnamon for that extra spice. A light and delicious breakfast muffin, perfect for spring!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Adapted from Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 very ripe bananas (approximately 7.5 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) plain Greek yogurt
• 2-3 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour, or a mix of all purpose and whole wheat flours
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I did 35 grams, but you can do a bit more if you like your muffins bursting with chocolate!)

Directions
In a large bowl, mash bananas with a whisk. Add butter, yogurt and sugar and whisk until combined and somewhat smooth. If it's still a little chunky, don't worry. Add the vanilla and egg and stir until combined.

Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and flour and stir just until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips mix until just combined (don’t overmix).

Spoon batter evenly into 6 muffin cups that are either greased or lined with muffin liners. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack. 

Peanut Butter and Oat Snack Bars

I've been on a search for some time now for my perfect go-to granola/snack bar. I do have a fantastic  already on this site, a recipe that is far and away the most popular recipe I've ever posted. While I love these granola bars, and have made them many, many times, I'm on the hunt for something different. I want a bar I can feel good about eating any time, day or night, one that has a modest amount of sugar and fat, and comes together easily using ingredients I will always have on hand. I also want bars that really hold together well. Something I can just throw into a bag in the morning and take with me that won't fall to pieces, or crumble everywhere, making a mess when I want to eat it. 

Throughout the last few months I've been looking at tons of different recipes and trying some out here and there. Part of my problem is that since I live alone, I find it difficult to eat what I make quickly, so this has been a slow process, but a fun one still. I want to share one of the bars I made recently. While it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it turned out to be a wonderful recipe that hit almost all my requirements. I started with a fairly healthy cookie recipe and adapted it to bars. They baked up beautifully! The end result was a very sturdy, pretty nutritious, tasty bar that will be wonderful for a quick breakfast or satisfying mid-afternoon snack. 

You may wonder why they were not exactly what I was looking for. Really the only thing I would like to be slightly different is the texture of the bar. Because they do have 1/2 cup of flour in them, they turned out a little cakier than I would like. The flour did help them hold together very well, but it also made them feel a little more cookie-bar-like than granola-bar-like. Regardless, this is a great recipe that I will definitely keep in the rotation.  

The flavor of these bars is very nice. Just enough sweetness to make them delicious without making them feel like dessert, and the peanut flavor really shines through, nice and toasty. Lots of good oaty chew helps create a nice, hearty texture. This is a versatile recipe that you can certainly adapt to your preference. If you don't like or can't have peanut butter, use almond butter or another favorite nut or seed butter, and you can throw in whatever mix-ins you like. Any dried fruit, nut, seed or chocolate would be wonderful. 

Peanut Butter and Oat Snack Bars
Adapted from The Kitchn
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (128 grams) natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup (112 grams) honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup (100 grams) old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (64 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup mix-ins (I used 10 grams pumpkin seeds, 10 grams sunflower seeds, 20 grams raw walnuts, 20 grams dried cranberries)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking 8x12 or similar sized pan with parchment paper that you spray with cooking spray.

In a medium pot over medium heat, melt together the nut butter and honey until smooth. Remove from heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the cinnamon, salt and vanilla. 

Once the mixture has cooled a little, add in the egg and mix well. 

Add the oats, flour, baking powder and mix-ins to the pot and stir together until combined. The mixture will be quite thick. Transfer dough to prepared pan, spreading evenly all the way to the edges, pressing down to firmly. 

Place pan in oven and bake until golden brown on the edges, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pan and cutting into bars. 

Yields: 14 bars
Nutrition: Approximately 150 calories each