Tag: chia seeds

Almond Granola Bars

Sadie2 Comments

I spend a lot of idle time scrolling through Pinterest or Food Gawker admiring all manner of food, but we all know it’s the desserts that really catch my eye. These days, though, I’m always curious to see the newest iteration of granola bars (or oatmeal cookies, or energy balls, what have you).

Even though there are a lot of common themes and flavor profiles, there always seems to be a new twist or formation that makes the next recipe healthier or tastier. When I visit my parents’ house, I often try a new variation that I’ve found for my family to snack on all weekend.

I try to find recipes that have some purposeful ingredients or “super foods” but are still tasty. I came across a recipe for these Almond Energy Bars on one of my favorite blogs: Carrots ‘N Cake, so I wanted to give it a try.

snack time

She was posting on behalf of an almond company so she used almond flour, but I used AP flour instead. I didn’t want to buy an ingredient that I wouldn’t use regularly. Plus she used brown rice cereal to make it gluten free, but I went traditional with normal rice cereal, because the flour choice already killed my gluten free dreams.

These bars are a little on the crumbly side (even though I did my best to pack down the batter before baking), and not too sweet. But I like the idea that I’m not snacking on too much sugar, but I’m still getting some nutrients from almonds, cranberries, chia seeds, etc.

The next time you need something to munch on between meals, give these a try!

Almond Granola Bars

Yields about 9-16 small squares, Adapted from Carrots ‘N Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup AP flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbs chia seeds (I added a little more)
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Method

batter up

  1. Preheat oven to 325. Line an 8×8 baking pan (or a pan with an equivalent area) with parchment paper (it’s just easier that way).
  2. Combine everything in a mixing bowl, and make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
  3. Pack the batter into the parchment lines baking pan. Press down to ensure bars hold together.
  4. Bake 25 minutes until top is lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely before you slice.

yum

 

Food Trends in My Kitchen: Chia Seeds

Sadie2 Comments

As you may or may not know, I am a rather picky eater. That was just the understatement of the century. I’m the pickiest eater I know. I’ll own it, I know it’s obnoxious and annoying and within my control. There are always improvements to be made.

Anywho, that tangent was supposed to bring us to the idea that I’m not the most receptive eater when it comes to new ingredients. This month, however, in the spirit of the new year, I’ve tried to incorporate a couple new/different foods into my regular routine. One of my new faves: chia seeds.

chia seeds

I know, I’m late to get on this bandwagon, but better late than never! I’ve dabbled with them previously, but I’m definitely starting to eat them on the regular these days.

Chia seeds are a funny thing. I have thrown them into granola bar recipes in the past, and they came out quite well. I flipped on the TV while I was getting dressed for work the other day, and the first thing I saw was Dr. Oz telling me to put a tablespoon of chia seeds into water for a quick snack to satisfy hunger. I am always hungry so this intrigued me. Then later that same day, I saw a quick video on the internet about several super foods and their benefits, and chia seeds were first on the list because they help burn fat. Sign me up!

So that was a long way to say that I bought some chia seeds and have started adding them to my oatmeal, or putting them in water for a quick afternoon snack to hold me over to dinner. They get a slightly weird gelatinous texture when they are submerged in water, but they have no taste so you can add them to anything really. Since I’ve only started eating them regularly a couple weeks ago, so I can’t brag about any specific ways they have changed my life, but I’ll keep you posted!

Here’s the play by play of my oatmeal assembly:

Chia seeds on top, mixed in, then some almond butter and walnuts and it's a meal!
Chia seeds on top, mixed in, then some almond butter and walnuts and it’s a meal!

What new/different food has found it’s way into your pantry lately?

Testing a Super Food

Sadie3 Comments

I don’t know about you but I’ve been hearing about chia seeds a lot over the past couple years.  They’re always on super food lists in magazines or in healthy food bloggers’ smoothies or oatmeal concoctions.  They are supposed to have numerous health benefits like all the other seeds and crazy whole grains that are popular among the Whole Foods crowd.

I’m always game to try a new health food as long as it’s not too crazy, and while my initial reaction to idea of chia seeds reverts to a particularly catchy commercial jingle, I figured that all of this hype had to be for a reason.  I have heard that they don’t really add much flavor beyond maybe a slight nuttiness when added food, so how bad could they be?

In my travels on the internet I found a no-bake granola bar recipe that seemed like the perfect venue to add some chia seeds.  I took the basic recipe made a few tweaks to make it a little more exciting.  Not only did the granola bars turn out great, since they were no-bake, it was also minimal effort!  Besides the miniscule black dots in the bars you don’t even notice the chia seeds.  They’re working for me so far, maybe I’ll throw the leftover seeds in my next protein shake…

No-Bake Granola Bars

Yields about 20 squares depending on size, Adapted quite a bit from Lauren’s Latest

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2/3-3/4 cup honey (depending on if you need more binding liquid)
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 cups instant oats (not old fashioned rolled)
  • 2 cups puffed rice cereal (Rice Krispies)
  • 1/3 cup black chia seeds
  • 3/4 dried cranberries
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 10 oz bag white chocolate chips

Method

  1. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment for easy removal.
  2. Melt butter, honey, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat (I started with 2/3 cup of honey and added a dash more later when I needed more liquid).  Let it bubble for about 2 minutes before removing it from the heat and adding the vanilla.
  3. Add rice cereal, oats, and chia seeds to the wet mixture.  Mix well to combine.
  4. Add dried cranberries, almonds, and half of the white chocolate.  The chocolate will melt so you want to save some to put on top of the bars in the pan.
  5. Once the mixture is uniform, press it into the lined pan and sprinkle on more white chocolate chips (I didn’t end up using the whole bag, but pretty close).
  6. Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy!