Spring Lovin'

Oh sunny spring, how I love thee…

I love your warm, “sweatshirt weather” temperatures…

Mon                          Tues                      Wed
 

                                       
57°                             59                                61°

I love your bold beautiful colors…

I love the gentle heat of your sun on my face when I’m dining Al Fresco…

I love sipping on an iced soy misto with sugar free vanilla, while sitting outside of Target, wearing flip-flops and a sweatshirt and feeling perfectly, 100% content…

I even love a sharp spring wind…even when it involves wind-blown hair.

I love this girl (but that’s not exclusive to

spring ).

Spring, Spring…spring is here and I am

L-O-V-I-N it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my favorite homemade granola bar recipe ever!  I found it through Martha Stewart and lovingly tweaked it just a bit.  The original recipe called for spelt, but that’s not a kitchen staple in my house!  So I subbed oats for their chewy, delightful texture.   This recipe is very, very personable in that you can add or take away whichever ingredients to make it your own.  Sometimes I’ll throw in dark chocolate chips or coconut for a special treat.

• 1 T. olive oil + pam for spraying pan
• 1-1/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/4 c. ground flaxseeds
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/4 c. natural, chunky, salted peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray (or a round cake pan if you need to improvise .) Line bottom and two sides with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Spray with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, combine oats, raisins, flaxseeds and walnuts.  Set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, combine honey, peanut butter, oil, and vanilla. Cook over medium until melted.

3. Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; smooth top.

4. Bake until golden and edges pull away from sides of pan, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift bars out of pan. On a cutting board, cut into 8 pieces using a serrated knife. Store in an airtight container, separating pieces with wax or parchment paper, for one week.

I like to wrap them up individually in plasic saran wrap for a quick snack-to-go.  It hits the sweet tooth at the same time which is an extra bonus.

Question: What do you *love* about spring?

About these ads