bars and sunshine

Well, by the time I am writing this, we HAD sunshine. It is once again overcast. Boo.

While we lived it up a few days ago Mark was arrested for driving under the influence of being 4 …

He was humiliated…

And Susie was very troubled over the tiniest bits of dirt that make their way into her boots…

She decided it might be easier to go without… until one tiny pebble stuck to her foot and she comes to me grabbing her foot saying, “Ow. Ow. Ow.” She says that when tiny grains of sand get in her boots too. That or, “Eeeew.”

These are not eeeew….

I found them to be super delicious and filling enough for breakfast with a cup of joe. Got the recipe from Darby but will list it here…

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

1 C peanut butter* {or sunflower butter}
2/3 C honey
1/2 C coconut oil**
2 C oats
2 total cups of a combination of coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, & pumpkin seeds*** {or your own combination of nuts & dried fruit}
mini chocolate chips to sprinkle on top

In medium size sauce pan melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.

Remove from heat and add oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and coconut. Stir well.

Press mixture into pan {I used my “Perfect Brownie” pan that is 11″ x 7″}, if you use a 9 x 13″ you don’t have to fill it all the way, just spread to your desired thickness and sprinkle {while still warm} with chocolate chips. Chill for 2 hours in fridge and cut into bars.

* My friend tried with natural peanut butter but they didn’t set up well… I think un-natural peanut butter {you know, like Jif} is the way go in this recipe.
**I found coconut oil at Publix, it’s hard {almost like wax} I think it’s kinda important to the consistency of the bars, let me know if you have success with another oil.
*** I found my sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds in the bulk bins in the Publix produce section. I love that you don’t have to buy a ton and I think their prices are great… and I LOVE their dried cherries!

And you can also cut this recipe in half, which is what I did originally but wished I had doubled, so I went ahead and doubled it for you!

Okay, even though she specifically says her friend tried natural PB and it didn’t work, I still want to try it. These are a great alternative to store bought, sugar filled Chewy bars that don’t fill me up at all, but I would feel better if I weren’t eating a bunch of Jiff. Delicious, though. Might have to be a rebel and try the natural stuff. For the combination portion I just used half coconut flakes, half salted sunflower seeds. Oh, and I think their Publix might be our Fred Meyer – that is where I found my coconut oil, in the Nutrition Center.

That’s all I got! Peace!