Peanut Butter Batter Dip

What's better than peanut butter? Ok-silly question, nothing! But what is a close second? Cookie dough! So of course peanut butter cookie dough is probably the closest thing possible to being as delicious as peanut butter! But-it's not really all that healthy... ok, generally speaking, its main ingredient is sugar-so probably not the best way to fuel our bodies. Sad-I know! But I may have come up with a way to squash our craving for peanut butter cookie dough without causing a massive sugar crash and overload of calories! Peanut Butter Batter Dip-based off of this recipe for Banana Batter Dip.

This dip is ahhhhmazing on crackers or apple slices. Really good sandwiched between banana slices. Delectable slathered on whole wheat bagels. Lip smacking right off the floor because you tipped over your bowl and the peanut butter batter dip went everywhere! Alright-You get the point-it's pretty dang awesome on just about anything... (Disclaimer: I am in no way encouraging eating off the floor...I'm just saying-the 5 second rule is extended to a full 5 minutes for this dip!)

Ingredients:
-1 cup dry oats (separated)
-1/4 cup peanut butter
-1/4 cup applesauce
-1 can chickpeas
-1 tsp. salt
-1-2 TBSP. sugar (or sugar substitute) - to taste

Directions:
1. Rinse and drain chickpeas
2. In food processor (or high powered blender) grind chickpeas until smooth
3. Add 1/2 cup oats, peanut butter, applesauce, salt and sugar (if using) and mix until smooth
4. Fold in oats and refrigerate 2 hours to enhance flavors

As you can see in this post-I used Krema peanut butter...I'm crazy about it! It has such great flavor and no additives of any sort-just peanuts! Check out my full review and enter for your chance to win a couple jars of Krema Peanut Butter in my giveaway here

Krema Peanut Butter & Giveaway!!!

It's no secret on this blog that I love would MARRY peanut butter if I could! I'm not kidding... do you think that is allowed in any state? Probably not...maybe I should check into different countries...I hear Zimbabwe is nice... anyways-I'm obsessed! The smooth, rich and creamy-ness of a good tablespoon... jar of peanut butter is always welcomed by my taste buds! You can probably guess this since so many of my recipes have something to do with peanut butter... for example: Honey Nut Cheerio Bars, Peanut Butter Energy Bites, PB&J Pudding, Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies... the list could go on and on, but I think you get the point!


But are all peanut butters created equal? NO WAY! Did you know some peanut butter has 'things' in it?!? Other than just peanuts? And even stuff other than a little salt and sugar to aid in flavor! Some peanut butter companies go so far as to fill my precious, innocent peanut butter with colorings, chemical flavorings and hydrogenated oils that raise the saturated fat content and cause plaque build up in arteries (among other things)! Why would they do this?! For many companies...it is for two reasons: 1. to keep the oil in the peanut butter from separating; 2. because they're cheap and want to mask the flavor of their 'not so perfect-but cheaper' peanuts!


We are being robbed people! We all have the ability-or can sweet talk someone else-into mixing up our peanut butter so the oil gets reincorporated! We deserve a peanut butter that will deliver the sweet, satisfying taste with good for you fats and a healthy dose of protein WITHOUT giving us a day's worth of sodium and weird oils our body doesn't even know what to do with! So what do we do now? You know I'm not asking you to give up your peanut butter-that'd be an abomination! (anyone catch the Lilo & Stitch reference? Anyone? Well anyways...) All we need to do is be proactive about our peanut butter choices-there are many great 'natural' peanut butter companies out there that deliver a stand-up product at a reasonable choice and taste even better than those other varieties that are filled with (dare I say...) CRAP! But who you ask? Well let me tell you about one great little company in particular-Krema! I was given the opportunity to sample so of Krema's peanut butter so I'm going to give you my honest, unbiased opinion of this product.

The first kind I tried...smooth & creamy-and boy was it! :)

Krema peanut butter is made from...wait for it, wait for it... peanuts! Just peanuts! Only peanuts! That's it... no artificial anything. Amazing huh? Take a look at this comparison:





If you aren't familiar NuVal is a nutritional scoring systems that allows consumers to easily see how healthy a food really is. It takes into account all the food's ingredients, vitamins, minerals, fats, calories, etc. and then rates it on a scale from 1 (the unhealthiest) to 100 (pure love for your body!). Krema rates extremely well on this system-as you can see, no other peanut butters come even close to offering what Krema & Crazy Richard's (they are the same thing-one is the Midwest company and one is the East Coast company) does.


So obviously I'm giving Krema peanut butter a 5/5 on nutrition! Let's move on to taste and texture!


Ahhhhhmazing! I was a little worried since the peanut butter I usually consume does have added salt & sugar (shhh! Don't tell!) I wouldn't like the taste of Krema's. Boy oh boy was I wrong! They really must choose only the finest of peanuts to grind for their product because their peanut butter was so delicious! It had a rich, robust peanutty flavor that eliminated any need for salt or sugar! And the texture-while it did require some mixing to reincorporate the oils-it was well worth it! I give it a 5/5 on taste and texture!


So now what? Well go out and buy yourself some of this amazing peanut butter! Duh! For information on where you can find it check this out. Or to buy online-click here. Either way you won't be sorry!


I have a great recipe that uses peanut butter and is delicious with Krema peanut butter! It's Peanut Butter Batter Dip! Check it out!


But wait! Just for being the awesome blog-followers that you are-Krema has decided to be extremely generous and arrange for me to do a give-a-way! 2 lucky winners will receive a couple free jars of Krema peanut butter! Believe me-you want these jars of peanut butter!!! :) So what's the catch? Umm...there isn't one! All you have to do to be entered is become a follower of my blog! Easy huh? But if you'd like a second entry (to up your chances of winning!) You can:


-'Pin' any of my recipes to your pinterest page
- Leave a comment saying your favorite way to enjoy peanut butter
- Link to my site on either/or your Twitter or Facebook account


Easy enough right? So what are you waiting for? Let's get you guys some free, delicious, healthy peanut butter!


~Give-a-way ends August 1st. Good luck! *Be sure to subscribe to email under the comments section so I can notify you if you win!*


UPDATE: The winner is Linda! Please email me your contact info so I can get you your peanut butter! Thanks everyone for participating! :)

Mix1

Let's face it-there are a LOT of impostors in the health food world out there! Ya know who I'm talking about-those companies that want to be hip and trendy and seem all healthy but really their list of ingredients and nutritional stats don't live up to their hype. Like those protein bars that have more sugar than a batch of cookies, or the granola that contains more fat than a steak! (For a healthy granola recipe click here) Sometimes, it can seem impossible to try and pick the right 'heath' food! Sometimes it just seems easier to grab a Snickers in the first place (after all, at least it is being up front with the fact that it is a junk food and not trying to fool you!) 

But... I may have found something that actually lives up to its reputation. I was given the opportunity to review an All Natural Nutritional Shake - Mix1. Mix1 claims: their products contain only the highest-quality, all-natural ingredients including whey protein, carbohydrates, antioxidants, soluble fiber and healthy fat. They use the right balance of these ingredients, at efficacious levels, to provide the maximum benefit to your body before a workout, after a workout, or throughout your day. 

So do they really? Or are they just blowing hot air? Well-let's find out! First, let's talk about their ingredients...  Purified Water, Whey Protein Isolate, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Maltodextrin, Juice Concentrate (blueberry, apple), Extra Light Olive Oil, Citric Acid, Pectin, Natural Flavor, Elderberry Concentrate (color), Lactic Acid - Alright, pretty legit-the ingredients they use are all natural just as they said and nothing in there is really of any concern health wise-good job Mix1! :) 

Let's move on to the actual nutritional content of these shakes- There are two different types of shakes: All Natural Nutritional Shakes & Lean Performance Shakes. 

Here is the nutritional stats of the Lean Performance Shakes:

chocolate and vanilla shakes (Lean Performance) 

Serving Size

11 fl oz (325 mL)

Servings Per Container

1

Amount Per Serving

11 fl oz (325 mL)

Calories

90

Calories from Fat

5

Total Fat	.5g	1%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Trans Fat	0g	0%
Sodium	320mg	13%
Potassium	0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate	14g	5%
Dietary Fiber	3g	12%
Sugars	9g
Protein	9g
Calcium		20%

Not a significant source of vitamin A, vitamin C and Iron

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~Not too bad-has a nice amount of fiber, very low in fat, and a good source of protein! All for about 90 calories...not to shabby!

Now let's look at the All Natural Nutritional Shakes:

chocolate and vanilla shakes (All Natural Nutritional Shakes) 

11 fl oz (325 mL)

Amount Per Serving

Calories

200

Calories from Fat

20

Total Fat	2.5g	4%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Trans Fat	0g	0%
Sodium	125mg	5%
Potassium	370mg	11%
Total Carbohydrate	29g	10%
Dietary Fiber	3g	12%
Sugars	22g
Protein	15g

Vitamin A	25%	Vitamin C	25%
Calcium	20%	Iron	10%
Vitamin D	25%	Vitamin E	15%
Molybdenum	25%	Thiamin	25%
Riboflavin	25%	Naicin	25%
Vitamin B6	25%	Folic Acid	25%
Vitamin B12	25%	Pantothenic Acid	25%
Iodine	15%	Magnesium	20%
Zinc	20%	Selenium	25%
Manganese	25%	Chromium	25%
Biotin	10%

~Has about 100 more calories but a ton more vitamins and minerals. 6 more grams of protein with the same amount of fiber; it also has more carbs, fat and calories from fat-but less sodium. Still very low in sugar though!

Overall-both of the shake options are great for a supplement beverage. It not only bumps up your protein intake but also gives you a nice dose of fiber as well! And-the All Natural Nutritional Shakes are rich in an abundance of vitamins and minerals! I give the All Natural Nutritional Shakes a 4/5 for nutrition and the Lean Performance Shakes a 4/5 as well - what they loose in a lack of vitamins and minerals they make up for in their lower calorie/fat count and equal amount of protein and fiber. 

Now on to convenience...  Were these something I could actually incorporate into my lifestyle? They say a picture is worth a thousand words-so I'll let them do the talking...

I had a busy week and didn't really have time to make a substantial breakfast so I decided I'd give my Mix1s a try!

It was perfect to grab and take with me on my way to work with a granola bar and some apple slices!

After my morning run, I only have about 20 minutes before I have to jump in my car and head to swimming lessons-which I'm at all morning before life-guarding all afternoon-I need a breakfast that is quick, portable, filling-but not heavy, energizing (running + teaching 20-some 5 year old's how to swim + sitting in the sun & watching children swim all afternoon can really wear a person out!) and can aid in recovery (my muscles need all the help they can get!)

With a container full of Oatmeal Squares and Crunchy Corn Bran and my Mix1 I was good to go!

To answer the question of convenience-YES! These shakes were perfect to grab out of the frig and sip on while I drove to work. They filled me up without weighing me down and kept me full all morning-thank you protein/fiber combo!

Last (and most importantly in my opinion), we need to talk about taste. I was given a sample of both chocolate and vanilla flavors in both the Lean and the All Natural Shakes. I think I can sum up how each was in one word... DELICIOUS! Now... let's just get it out there that I am not the biggest fan when it comes to anything chocolate, and truth be told - I hate drinking straight up plain milk (which is what I figured the vanilla would taste like). Boy oh boy was I wrong! The chocolate flavor had almost a malt-like taste to it! It was very creamy and rich-without being overpowering. The vanilla was sweet and also had a bit of a malt-like flavor about it. Neither flavor was gritty or chalky which is always a worry of mine when it comes to protein/nutritional shakes. Mix1 shakes are creamy and flavorful! I give them both a 5/5 on taste!

Overall- 5/5 ...these shakes ROCKED! I loved the flavor and convenience of an already mixed shake. It was great for breakfast on the go and provided me with a jump start on my fiber and protein needs (as well as vitamin/mineral needs with the All Natural Shakes). There are a ton of athletes already hooked on these shakes and now I know why. I love that they use natural ingredients! Mix1 also has a wide variety of fruit flavors as well: peach, strawberry-banana, mix-berry, blueberry-vanilla and mango (in original) and blueberry, acai-promagranate, and strawberry-banana (in Lean). I am definitely going to have to give these a try as well! 

So where can we find these little beauties? 

To find a store nearest you click here. Or, to order online click here. Either way-you won't be sorry! These shakes are a great choice in nutrition, convenience and taste! 

LesserEvil

It's no secret-America loves LOVES ...LIVES FOR snack food! All kinds-pretzels, peanuts, crackers, but I'm going to guess that the most beloved American snack food of all time is (anyone? anyone?) ...CHIPS! And when I say ..ehh type chips I am meaning the all encompassing 'chip world' (this includes those chip-relatives, i.e. the -itos family: Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos) So why am I rambling on and on about American's love for chips that everyone and their dog already knew? Well-because I was given an amazing opportunity to review a sample of a snack company that is setting out to change the way we snack. 

Lesser Evil Snack Co.'s goal is to provide us snackers with a delicious snack that is made from good-for-you ingredients. Now-even the pickiest of snackers don't have to choose between good tasting snacks and good for you snacks! These snacks are the PERFECT alternative to fried-greasy chips. If you substitute them in place of your usual bag of chips or buttery popcorn, you (and your waistline) won't be sorry! I promise!!! 

My friend and I enjoyed LesserEvil Krinkle Sticks while watching the Bachelorette-it was the perfect snack food to munch on while drooling over Sean...

oh...if she doesn't pick him I may cry!!! <3 (sigh...) ...Where was I? Oh yes-LesserEvil!

According to Lesser Evil -They started in 2004 with their all-natural kettle corn and since then have expanded into creating Krinkle Sticks (a puffed potato/vegetable snack). Kettle Corn comes in two flavors: Classic & Black and White (a cocoa/original mix). Krinkle Sticks come in four flavors: Original Sea Salt, Veggie, White Cheddar, and Sour Cream & Onion. 

Lesser Evil is the most fitting name for this amazing company! According to Lesser Evil- They believe that life is about balance, and don't believe in being perfect. LesserEvil vows to continue its mission to fight bad snacking with a little goodness- In my humble opinion that is exactly what they have done with this snack line! Is the snack a perfect superfood? No... 

But, is it made from delicious wholesome ingredients? Yes! -I can honestly say I recognize and can pronounce every single ingredient listed on all the snacks which I love! 

Are they low in fat and calories? Yes! Each snack has 120 calories or under in a serving (and I know what you're thinking...well the serving is probably tiny... WRONG!) A serving is 35 Krinkle Sticks or 1 cup of popcorn! That is a lower amount of calories than 1 cup of most breakfast cereal! (and the popcorn probably has a lower amount of sugar than that cereal as well). 

Do they crush my craving for something crunchy and crispy? Heck Yes!!! 

So you're probably thinking "Woah! This company is AMAZING!" ...and well-if you aren't thinking that-what's wrong with you?! But anyways... you're also probably wondering if LesserEvil could get any better... Well then can DID! I have saved the absolute best part of this company for last. According to Lesser Evil- LesserEvil is thrilled to take our Buy it Forward initiative to the next level. We are announcing a new partnership with Autism Speaks, and will be donating 10% of our profits to help spread their message of Autism Awareness.

Isn't that awesome!? Here at Blissful Baking-you know, I'm all about things that bring 'bliss'. Healthy food, easy recipes, family, faith and fun! I think LesserEvil definitely brings it on the 'bliss' factor! How more blissful could you get than a healthy/wholesome snack food that doesn't break the calorie bank AND donates 10% of all their profits to an amazing organization such as Autism Speaks?

So now for the three key points to any food review:

Texture: 5/5 Amazing! Crispy and crunchy!

Taste: 5/5 Again-AMAZING! The flavor of all the Krinkle Sticks and Kettle Corn varieties were to.die.for. I loved the 'Veggie' Krinkle Sticks especially-they tasted so much like Ranch (which I am a fanatic of!)

Nutritional Stats: 4/5 Pretty great for a snack food! Low in fat and calories... and NO trans fat in any of their products! They weren't very high in fiber (1 gram) but did have a couple grams of protein in each variety which rocks. 

Overall:5/5 

On a scale from 1-Bliss, I give LesserEvil Snacks a full BLISS!

So what are you waiting for? Head straight over to LesserEvil and order yourself some of this Blissful Snacks ASAP!

Let me know-what's your favorite 'guilty pleasure' snack that you wish was healthy?

Sweet Potato Hash

I love hash! Just saying the word makes me smile... but maybe that is due to the fact that it is such a funny word, especially for a meal...but nonetheless-hash is one of my favorite meals! It can be done in so many ways... In fact, when I was in elementary school we had a breakfast hash every once in a while and I would be soooo excited for days leading up to it! It was dreamingly delicious! But back to the sweet potato hash...

I came up with this recipe due to the overwhelming amount of leftovers in my frig and no desire to eat them as-is. I also had some coconut oil from Tropical Traditions that I wanted to experiment with. A clean frig, 20 minutes and one saucepan later-I was greeted with an amazing new meal that is going to have to find its place in my meal time rotation!

I love how versatile this recipe is-depending on your mood, time of year and leftovers in the frig-you can make many different types of hash... Let my recipe just be your guide-use your creativity and let your imagination flow! And then let me know what great hash variations you have created!

Ingredients:

-1 small sweet potato

-1 small onion

-2 tsp. coconut oil

-a few stalks of asparagus

-a handful of chopped carrots and snap peas

-around 4 ounces of cooked steak

Directions:

1. Melt coconut oil in a small sauce pan

2. Chop all your veggies/protein into small chunks or julienne (peppers and onions)
3. Saute your onions and potatoes (and peppers if using)
4. When those have browned to your liking add the rest of the veggies and protein pieces and cook until all is warm (veggies should be crisp tender)

5. Can be eaten as is or in a variety of creative ways-my favorite is in a whole wheat wrap!

So let me know-what is your favorite leftovers to make into a new meal? I'm always looking for double duty meals with leftovers! :)

Banana Granola

Oh granola... how I hate... love... am confused by you!

Granola-sounds so sweet, so innocent, so healthy... but it LIES! I'm not sure what granola's story is... maybe it started out as a healthy concoction but over time has transformed into a sugar bomb... or maybe secret agent spies were strategically placed around America in hopes to confuse the general public into thinking granola was healthy when it never really was... or maybe-just maybe granola tastes sooo freakishly amazing that we all started lying to ourselves and telling ourselves it was good for us! 

No matter how the granola = healthy equation ever got started-the truth is beginning to come out: (generally speaking) granola was not, is not, cannot be healthy! (Until now-that 'cannot' is going to be changed!)

Most granola starts out with great ingredients-oats, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, etc. but then the fat fairy (ya know-the same one that created Cold Stone Cake Batter Ice Cream and Applebee's Spinach Artichoke dip) came along and dumped in more sugar and oil than you should consume in a week! Now-don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great granola companies out there that supply us with great tasting, healthy granola...but most boxes of granola that line our grocery store shelves are not acceptable to the health conscious individual. 

Pop quiz! What has over 400 calories, 10 grams of fat and 26 grams of sugar? A doughnut? No... Snickers? Nope... If you guessed 1 cup of granola from one of the most popular cereal companies in America (yes-Quaker) you would be correct! That old man on the front of the package may look innocent-but I know he has a secret agenda to make us all chubby!

face of love? I think not!

So what's a granola lovin' girl to do? Make her own healthy/low calorie/high fiber/high protein granola of course! And that's exactly what I did! This granola will blow the roof off your store bought variety (both in taste and nutritional stats!) You can customize it to fit your personal taste buds and my tried and true method is basically fool-proof!

Here we go!

If you want-you can change this up by adding different flavorings/extracts or adding in 1/4 cup nut butter (I really like adding caramel flavoring!)

You can use any mixture of 6 cups of dry components-coconut, fiber one cereal, oats, etc.

Ingredients:
-1 ripe banana

-1 egg white

-1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup

-1/2 cup sugar (or any sugar substitute)

-1 TBSP. flavoring of choice (vanilla, almond, caramel-the sugar free coffee syrups work amazing!)

-Total of 6 cups dry ingredients

Directions:
1. Blend all wet ingredients in a blender/food processor 

2. Add them to dry ingredients and stir until all is wet

3. Add to a cookie sheet and bake on 200* stirring every 20 minutes (will take about 2 hours for a crispy granola)

4. Enjoy on top of yogurt, with smoothies, as a quick snack or even in a bowl covered in milk!

This granola is full of big clusters - not those little crumbles that some other granola is full of! 

Seed Bread

The name of this recipe might be a little bit of a turnoff for some people... In all honesty-I don't really love the vibe the name "Seed Bread" gives off. It kinda sounds like something you'd feed to birds, but don't judge this recipe by the name! I promise you-if you give this recipe an honest try you won't be sorry! 

This bread is very easy to make (thank you 21st century invention-the bread machine!). All you have to do is throw everything in the bread machine and let it do the work for you!

It's also extremely healthy! It uses some of the world's most amazing superfoods- flax seed and sunflower seeds. I'm always trying to find ways to use flax seed-it is full of healthy fats which I always find hard to get enough of! However, sometimes just sprinkling flax seed into yogurt or mixing with peanut butter gets old... and let's be honest-flax is not the most delicious treats in the world. But this bread recipe is! It is so moist and hearty, you can't even taste the flax seed in it (but your body will know the nutrients are there!)

So what are we waiting for?! Let's get down to the recipe so we can all enjoy this soft and scrumptious bread!

Ingredients:

-1 3/4 cup warm water

-3 TBSP. honey

-2 TBSP. butter

-1 tsp. salt

-1/2 cup flax seeds

-2 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

-4 tsp. vital wheat gluten

-1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)

-1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to bread machine in order listed (you can wait and add the seeds at the 'mix-in' stage if you bread machine has one, but if not don't worry-the bread will still turn out fine if you add all ingredients at beginning!)

2. Place machine on 'whole wheat' setting and let it do its magic!

3. Enjoy slowly with a drizzle of honey