"Happy Accident" Bars

There are times in the morning when I don't feel like messing around with all the bags of ingredients...especially if I'm not in the mood for our apple cereal, or I'm feeling extremely lazy, and think that drinking coffee as breakfast is a good idea (it's not).

These bars happened by accident. It was a day when the apple cereal wasn't chopped up in the fridge already, and I figured I'd mix up a small bowl of ingredients for myself.  I had already mixed the dry ingredients, and added the milk when I realized we were out of apples (figures!). 

Instead of throwing it out (sorry that costs too much to pitch!), I put the mixture on a piece of foil and stuck it in the fridge. About an hour later I thought maybe I'd just add the blob to some yogurt and call it a day. But when I retrieved the blob from the fridge, I noticed it basically resembled a "bar" like consistency, since the dry ingredients absorbed the almond milk. So I mixed up more, and realized I had just figured out a way of making a portable version of our usual apple breakfast that required several bags of different ingredients. 

They hold up very well in the fridge in a container, but since they're kind of "wet" they will go bad (after maybe a week or so?), and they are NOT something you can take on a run (unless you don't mind a pocket full of mush). 

But if you're going on vacation, and don't want to travel with a ton of small bags of Bobs Red Mill products, this is a great alternative, and makes creating a healthy breakfast quick and easy. 

When I make these, I break one up in a mug with Greek yogurt, or add to some chopped fruit and slivered almonds. If I'm in a real hurry, I'll eat the bar on its own...but that's not the best tasting option, believe me...It does give you the nutrition you're looking for, though. 

Something tells me, on our journey to Wisconsin for my husbands upcoming Ironman competition, that these bars will be on the list of foods that travel with us.  God knows we'll be packing a ton...

 

"Happy Accident" Breakfast Bars

1c oats

1/2c ground flaxseed meal

1c shredded, unsweetened coconut 

1/2c hemp protein powder

1/4c sesame seeds

1/4c agave syrup

1c unsweetened almond milk

Mix together all ingredients (you can also put in whatever amount of "add-ins" you like, like chapped dates, mini choc chips, pulsed almonds). Flatten on piece of foil on cookie sheet or large plate.  Place in fridge, to set up for about an hour. 

Cut into bars as a "serving size". Makes about 36, 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" big. 

Mix them with....whatever!  Experiment with the add-ins, the recipe is what I make, but I'm sure they would be just fine to add, and still stick together :)

Enjoy❤

Have a great day!

 

{Jenn}

 

PS-I linked to Bob's Red Mill because I love the products, I'm not affiliated with them at all...just a favorite.

Breakfast "Cereal"

Good Morning!

Ok, you have heard me talk about the Thrive books ~ here is the first recipe I tried as I began to include those new pantry ingredients in my everyday life. 

At first you might feel like you are swimming in muddy waters, because you will have to pick up some new ingredients that you may not have in your pantry yet~but that is okay.  Change is good.  This is not painful...just go to the store with a list, and you will be fine.  There are people working in the store who are nice...they will help you find your stuff.  Promise.  Once you start eating more in the "new way", it will become old hat, and you won't feel weird buying hemp anymore...you know, the legal stuff......

Every morning, during the week, my husband and I eat the same thing {sometimes on the weekends we have eggs or something...}.  There can be slight variations, of course, but sticking to a "no-brainer" kind of meal for breakfast is key for me.  I don't want to think about much in the morning~I'm trying to deal with 3 kids, and that's enough.  If I don't plan in advance, I will make a crummy choice or not eat at all.  Both options are just not good, and will leave me hunting for chocolate...

Routine = no thinking {good}

Making choices with my eyes closed while trying to think in the morning = {bad}



Routine is good.  Do yourself a favor, and plan.  Below is our breakfast cereal, adapted from Brendan Brazier's book, THRIVE The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life.  We don't always have every ingredient on hand, but we do have definite staples in our pantry now, so I will give you what we have created from the original recipe in the book.  This is what we have come up with from the book recipe,  "Ginger Pear Cereal". 

Once you understand the general components of putting this together, you can add/delete ingredients easily, as we have, and enjoy the benefits of a supercharged breakfast.  The protein, fiber and energy will keep you going, and you won't feel hungry in an hour. 

Another thing...you are not going to want to chop up this stuff every morning...don't add something else to your morning list.  My husband and I make a 5 pound container of this, and keep it all chopped up and ready to go in the fridge.  It keeps beautifully~all you have to do is scoop it out into your bowl, and pour a little almond milk on it, and eat it. 

See?  No thinking for like 2 weeks.  Then you will need to make it again....

Morning Apple Cereal

• 1~5pound bag of gala apples {or pears} chopped

• 1c Organic ground flax seed
• 1c Hemp protein powder
• 1/2c Carob powder {or cocoa powder} *carob is optional, give a nice taste, though
• 22 {approximately} Medjool dates, chopped
• 1c sliced almonds {or whatever kind of nut you like}

Step 1: Chop everything up...apples, dates..

Step 2: Mix everything else into bowl with the chopped apples and dates.

Step 3: Stick it in the fridge and stop thinking about breakfast for about two weeks.  Yes, it's a big container, but if you don't want to make as much as we do, just chop a few apples, a few dates, and sprinkle on a few Tbs of each of the dry ingredients to get the same result.  Add milk, and enjoy!

Give it a try...you will love it!

Have a great day!

{Jenn}