Granola Muffins

What's cute and small? Sweet and crunchy? With a little bit of sass? 

Well me when I was 5! (minus the crunch!) But also these Granola Muffins!

They are a perfect little treat that can be customized to fit any taste palate. Not to mention easy to make... so easy you can even get the children you babysit involved for a fun way to pass the time!

First things first - get you dry ingredients all stirred together (this is a perfect job for little hands)

Then... while the little one(s) are doing that, you can melt up the wet-ish side of things...

When it's warm and all thoroughly mixed together, wait about 3-4 minutes after it starts simmering... then you are ready to pour it over the dry!

You'll mix them together really well and press into muffin tins. 

Then place in a 350* oven for 20ish minutes (sides will be golden brown)

And viola! 

Also a perfect on the go treat for you!

I threw these into the car as they were just cool enough to pack up before I went out and picked up the rest of the kids from school. 

It was a perfect in the car snack! This is due to these Granola Muffin's 3 qualities:

1. Healthy (so I can feel good about feeding them to children)

2. Delicious (so the kids actually want to eat them!)

and

3. More on the chewy side of things instead of crunchy ... aka-not a HUGE mess in my backseat!

:)

So here is the full out recipe-

Ingredients:

(wet)

-1 banana

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-1/4 cup honey

-2 TBSP. butter

-1 tsp. salt

(dry)

-1 1/2 cups oats

-1/2 cup flour

-1/2 cup cereal of choice

-1/2 cup coconut (or any nuts/cereal)

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/4 cup nuts (or any other mix-in... choco chips, raisins, etc.)

1. Mix dry together

2. Heat wet on stove, mashing banana and mixing well.

3. Let wet simmer on stove for 3-4 minutes, then remove and let cool a minute or two

4. Add to dry and mix well

5. Press big spoonfuls into muffin tin (greased)

6. Place in 350* oven for 20 minutes, sides of muffins should be golden

7. Cool, remove and ENJOY!

BREAD! Alpine Valley Bread #obsessed.

Ok, let's get some stuff straight...
1. I LOVE bread all carbs - but especially some good bread
2. I have dont some great product reviews in my short time blogging and am extremely grateful
3. I would much rather make my own homemade bread than eat bread from a company

And to further clarify: #1 still stands, #2 still stands, #3 is out. the. window.

Yes-I admit-I've found been blessed to have the best bread company EVER come into my life!

Alpine Valley Bread. It's the BEST bread company I have ever come across, not lying. Their bread is so delicious, healthy and smile-inducing. (yes, that is now an adjective)

I don't even know how to explain it - it's just soooo soooo.... ahh! Smile-inducing!

Alpine Valley Bread was generous enough to send me a few different loaves of breads. They arrived while I was away at college so my mother kindly kept them in the freezer until I got home (which was about 1 month). You'd think that would lower their taste... NOPE! Even after a month in the freezer this bread was the most amazing non-homemade bread I have ever had in my entire life. I have been home 5 days and already on loaf #3... little obsessed-maybe?!

Although my family is definitely helping me out though, which right there says a lot about how delicious this bread is because they would not eat something just because it is healthy. But, since we are on the subject, the bread is crazy healthy!

They have both all natural bread and organic bread. On average, one slice has about 60ish calories, 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein plus a little iron. It's very low in sodium (about 3%) and low in carbs as well.

The bread is soft and moist. Makes extremely great sandwiches, but also flavorful enough to just be eaten plain. They have so many varieties, I'm sure everyone will find one (or 20) that they just love. I know I have. Everything that goes into these loaves of bread is delicious and wholesome, and the end product is nothing short of delicious and wholesome itself.

Yum.

Yum.

Yum.

Their Multi-grain with Omega 3 toasted with some pears and Greek yogurt for a delicious breakfast

Some Spelt bread with a peanut butter & honey smoothie makes for one delightful bedtime snack!

So no matter who you are - if you are able to eat bread, GET ALPINE VALLEY BREAD! The sooner the better! Check this out to see where the closest place to pick up these little slices of heaven are to you!

Thanks Alpine Valley Bread Co. for an amazing, delicious product that I am now obsessed with! *These opinions are all my own, the only thing I received from Alpine Vally Bread was their samples. 

Peanut Butter Honey Bars

If you can't tell, I'm a little extremely obsessed with granola and its various forms... Granola bars, granola chunks, alright-I though I could come up with a lot more forms of granol when I first started writing... but uh-I've got nothing. 

However, that does not diminish that amount of love I have for granola bars and just plan ole granola people! I LOVE it! ...does the bolding of the word love make it more convincing? 

Right beside granola in my heart, is (as we all know) peanut butter! Well...actually ice cream may be right in between them-but they're pretty close in proximity! 

New flavors and combinations that I can throw in a granola bar are constantly going through my brain.... it's a curse really-I should probably maybe definitely be using my time so oh...I don't know... study for my next Chemistry 109 exam... but what fun is that?!

The newest edition to the granola bar family in my cookbook is Peanut Butter + Honey. Not a new combo by any means-but certainly a delicious classic!

These bars are sweet and crunchy with just a small hint of salt from the peanut butter that leaves you craving more...

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup rice krispies

3/4 cup puffed rice (if you don't have this, feel free to use more oats or cereal)

1 cup dry oats

2 tablespoons flaxseed meal

2 TBSP. nuts (any kind-I used cashews but whatever you want!)

2 TBSP. flour

2 TBSP. soy nuts

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Mix together all dry ingredients & grease a small cake pan (say 8x10 or something around there-doesn't really matter, however thick you want them)

2. Heat honey and peanut butter on the stove (or in microwave if you must... :)

3. Bring to a very low boil and immediately remove from heat 

4. Stir in vanilla extract 

5. Add heated honey/peanut butter mixture to dry ingredients and mix well

6. Place a piece of wax paper/parchment paper over the granola bars in your pan and press down very hard! *

7. Place in frig for a few hours

8. Cut into desired sizes - I made 12 good sized bars

9. Wrap in plastic wrap, or just eat! 

~Bars will stay good for about a week - or you can keep them in the freezer and take out when ready to enjoy. (they will thaw in about 1/2 hour)

*To really make these bars stick together I highly highly recommend jumping stepping on top of your pan to really press the mixture together - you could also get a small child to help you out with this! 

Time to make more!

p.s. - go check out this product review of Beanitos chips and sign up for the giveaway! Who doesn't love free chips?!

Somersault Snacks

I've almost positive all of us have tried sunflower seeds sometime in our life. It's pretty American to chew some sunflower seeds while watching a baseball game in the middle of June... 

But-if we are going to tell the truth I HATE chewing sunflower seeds. I'm just not good at it! It probably sounds odd-"how can she be bad at eating sunflower seeds?" Well-I can't seem to figure out how to break apart the seeds and spit out the shells without spitting out the seed too! So I pretty much just suck off all the flavor and spit the whole thing out- lame huh? 

This is a shame though! Because sunflower seeds are FULL of nutrition. Like what you say? Why I'm glad you asked! Sunflower seeds are power packed with antioxidants, protein, vitamin E, minerals and healthy fats. In fact, one serving of these seeds have more antioxidants than blueberries, twice as much protein than almonds, six times more vitamin E than peanuts and more fiber than an apple. 

For more in depth information check out Somersault Snack Co.'s webpage about it here

So if you haven't caught on already, this post is all about Somersault Snacks! They are a unique little snack that is the first of its kind. Their quest for a perfect little snack led them to the sunflower seed and some sesame seeds. The Somersault Snack is a crunchy little nugget (in a variety of flavors) that is made out of sunflower and sesame seeds, whole wheat flour, sunflower oil and a bunch of other amazing ingredients that not only taste great-but are great for your body! If you want to check them out-check this out.

Speaking of their variety of flavors-they currently make 5! Both sweet and salty! 

-pacific sea salt

-dutch cocoa

-cinnamon crunch

-sante fe salsa

-salty pepper

...Sound delicious huh? You're telling me! When I first received my sample package I couldn't decide which flavor to try first! 

So I just decided to try them all! Hey! Don't judge-a girl's gotta do what a girl's blogger's gotta do! The pain I go through for my lovely readers :) 

It's time for my big 3! 

Taste: Alright, the first time I tried these-I tried Dutch Cocoa, and if I'm going to be honest (which I always am in my product reviews) ...I wasn't crazy about them. They were good, but I wasn't head over heels.. they just didn't seem to have enough flavor for me. But I finished off the bowl I filled, and a few minutes later I was craving some more... so I filled up another bowl... and then another... and another! And before long-all I saw was the bottom of the bag! :O I'm not really sure what happened-they just got so addicting! The subtle flavor started showing through more and more. So at first I probably would have given a 2/5 but that jumped straight up to a final: 4/5

Texture: Awesome! They were crunchy and crispy! I loved how they reminded me of a crispy cookie mixed with a  cracker and little bit of a chip-like consistency! Another: 4/5

Nutrition: You all saw how many good things these have going for them! They are made out of great-for-you ingredients. Just check this out-it's for 1 ounce serving (about 14 nuggets)

Really yummy mixed into my Peanut Buster Shake! Try it-I dare you! 

 Overall: 4/5. These are a great little snack. Yummy and healthy! The one and ONLY thing I would change if I had too would be to have a stronger flavor, but that is so so so soooo minor!

The Dutch Cocoa-my favorite! Even though I'm not a huge chocolate fan! :O

So go check out these little gold nuggets! I assure you-you won't be sorry!

YouBar

I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people that like to be unique! I think everyone was made by Our Awesome Creator in a special way and we should embrace our uniqueness. Just look at this Bible verse: "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ..." -Roman's 12:4-5. I think it proves my point quite nicely don't you? :) 


I'm so big on individuality-I actually get a little peeved when someone has the same shoes, or hobbies as me sometimes! ...I know, something I need to work on :P But don't get me wrong-I love when I find something in common with another human being! 


Alright, you're probably wondering what any of this has to do with a product review aren't you? Well, I was lucky enough to find a couple wonderful people that have the same passion for individuality as I do-meet Ava Bise and her son Anthony Flynn. In 2006, this mother-son duo launched their company "YouBar".


ABC News said it perfectly, "You Bars offer made-to-order goodness." Can I get an AMEN?!


Ava and Anthony started out creating custom protein bars at home to meet their taste, healthy and allergy needs. They figured there would be a HUGE market for customized protein bars made fresh for each consumer-and boy were they right! It's such a wonderful idea! I'm a little jealous I didn't think of it to be honest :) As stated on their website, "You are what you eat-so choose!"

I was nervous to try my first You Bar-I wanted soooo badly for it to taste good, because it is such a great idea! Don't worry-I wasn't let down :) Phew! It was DELISH!

p.s. -Please don't think I'm bald! This was taken immediately from getting home for work at the pool, I just couldn't wait to open my package and dig in!

With You Bar:
-You choose the ingredients and bar size (want a meal replacement? Go for it! Want a little snack? Do it!)
-You view the nutrition facts of your customized bar as you are making it! (Need some extra carbs? Extra protein? BOTH?!)
-You box is hand made fresh-to-order and shipped to your door step with a satisfaction guarantee-they say, "If you don't love your custom protein bars, you'll get a new box free of charge" (But let's just get some things straight: 1. As you are creating your bar they give you hints to create a delectable bar, 2. Since they advise you and you are creating it-are you really going to admit you created something crappy? 3. I've tried A BUNCH of bars and loved them all-pretty sure it isn't possible to come out with something under par!)

See those bars up there? Yes-I loved them all!!!

-Your customized nutrition facts and your chosen protein bar name are printed on each individual protein bar package. (Oh My Goodness! I've always wanted to create the "Kristen is the coolest person in the world and deserves her own protein bar" bar!)
-Friendly telephone customer support is available to answer questions and provide helpful recommendations (and here we are back to the fact that it is pretty hard to screw up your bar!)

Alright-so this wouldn't be a Blissful review with my fast 3-Taste, Texture, Nutrition.... but the thing is-since every bar is custom made they will all have a completely different taste, texture and nutritional value...

Goji Macadamia-yum! My mom (who usually HATES granola/protein bars loved this! In fact, she kept sneaking off chunks of mine...child abuse? I think so!)

That being said-after sampling many of their bars, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that every bar will have AMAZING taste and texture. In addition, they use all good, wholesome foods with amazing nutritional qualities to make your bars with - so each bar has to be pretty high on the nutritional totem pole!

So what are you waiting for?! Go build yourself some snack-age! ...if you are still nervous, check out this how it works page. You can also just buy the already created bars and such if you don't want to make your own just yet-I strongly recommend the 'Cookie Dough' or 'Goji Macadamia' bars. They also keep your custom bar's recipe on file so if you become addicted (which I'm guessing you will!) you can reorder at any time and not have to worry about the remembering the exact recipe-this is very nice for those of us...alright, for me who seems to have problems remembering anything!

I almost forgot! The people at You Bar are sooo amazingly kind and loving-they have agreed to let my wonderful readers (aka-you guys!) receive a coupon code for 10% off your order of You Bars! All you have to do is use the code, "blissful" when checking out and you'll get 10% off! How awesome is that?! All I ask, is that you become a follower of my site if you haven't already- Thanks You Bar!

Honey Nut Cheerio Bars

If you have read any of my blog posts you can easily see that I like, no love, no am obsessed with peanut butter! I love all things made with peanut butter or that closely resembles peanut butter... smoothies, cookies, bread, wraps, anything!

Peanut butter cheerio bars have always been a favorite of mine, but with the no nutritional value of corn syrup something had to be done to make these treats at least a little bit healthier so I don't feel quite so guilty when eating an entire pan! With a few simple substitutions and additions I've made these bars at least a 'tad' bit better for you.

The addition of the honey gives the bars some antioxidant power, the nuts add additional protein, fiber and vitamins. All in all, these bars are not too nutritionally void! Heck, if you really try-you could even talk yourself into believing these bars are healthy! (I'm pretty good at convincing myself!)

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/2 cup honey

-1 cup peanut butter

-6 cups cheerios

-1/2 cup peanuts

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray

Melt honey and sugar in microwave for 2-3 minutes-until sugar is dissolved

Add peanut butter and stir to melt

Add cheerios and peanuts

Press into pan and allow to cool completely (about 2 hours) and cut!

This recipe makes about 20 bars

Nutritional Info:

Sweet Vanilla Compost

Want a healthier heart? Lower cholesterol? More energy?
I have your answer right here! NUTS!
Eating nuts are a simple way to improve your health-and with this recipe you will enjoy doing it! Who would think something so sweet and so addictive could also be so good for you?!

These sweet little treats are extremely easy to make and smell divine! :) The entire house will smell like vanilla-y goodness, you will hardly be able to wait for them to come out of the oven...but don't I repeat DO NOT eat them as soon as you take them out of the extremely hot oven! It will burn your mouth so badly you will not be able to enjoy these little beauties. Also, be aware that when you take them out of the oven they will not be crispy and crunchy...just give them a few minutes to cool-they will crisp up nicely and be absolutely delectable! Enjoy! :)

Ingredients:
-1 egg white
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup sugar substitute
-1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
-4 cups nuts (Here I used 3 cups almonds, 1 cup pecans-but any variation will work)

Directions:

 Step One:

-Preheat oven to 350*

-Beat the egg white and vanilla extract

Step Two:

-Add almonds to wet mixture and stir to coat

-Slowly sprinkle in the coconut and be sure it gets fully covered with egg white mixture as well

Step Three:

-Combine the cinnamon, salt, and sugars

Step Four:
-Combine with wet almond mixture

Step Five:

-Spread on a greased/parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer

Step Six:

-Bake for 20 minutes

Nutritional Information (Makes 18- heaping 1/4 cup servings):