If your Pinterest feed is anything like mine, you’ve seen protein and energy bites all over it for months. Kelly made a haystack version of them and my fiancé even got an email from Golf Digest with a recipe for some. As usual, I’m behind …
As baking bloggers, we struggle with finding a balance between eating dessert and being healthy. We try to incorporate some exercise into our visits together, like hot yoga to detox after a New Year’s in Boise or a hike in Portland to counteract countless scoops …
I have a hard time buying granola bars at the store. I think it’s because they’re somewhat expensive for such a little snack, they’re never as healthy as they appear, and half the time they don’t fill you up anyways!
Growing up, my mom made us homemade granola bars. They were individually wrapped in foil, waiting in the freezer whenever you needed a snack or something to pack in your lunch. So it got me thinking, why don’t I just make my own too!
Obviously the base of granola bars is granola, but the rice krispies really help to keep the bars light and add a nice little crunch. To try and combat the afternoon munchies, I wanted plenty of protein. I chose almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds for that. I threw in some chia seeds just because I had them and everyone says they’re so healthy. For the fruity contrast I went with dried cranberries and dried cherries. I added some coconut because, why not, and chocolate chips because we can’t have these tasting toooo healthy.
The original recipe mentioned waiting for the peanut butter to cool before mixing in, otherwise the chocolate chips will melt. As you can see in my pictures, I didn’t listen well enough to instructions. Oops! They will taste the same, but if you want yours more like traditional granola bars with individual chocolate chips as opposed to melted chocolate throughout, just make sure to give your peanut butter time to cool off a bit.
If you’ve ever been tempted to make your own granola bars, just do it! It was so quick and easy, and they are so customizable. Choose whatever nuts or fruits you like or play with different flavor combinations for endless options. The best part is they can be kept frozen, so you’ll have a perfect snack option for months! If they last that long…
When Kelly and I went to Portland last year for her birthday, we went to the most amazing Mediterranean restaurant. We order every appetizer on the menu and stuffed ourselves full of hummus and olives and fresh, hot, homemade pita bread. The bread was unlimited, …
Do you ever struggle deciding what to bring to a party or potluck? My instinct says to bring dessert, but you know there are always plenty of sweets. You could bring chips and dip, but again, there’s bound to be at least one variation of …
Two weeks ago I drove through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, helping my boyfriend fiance (still not used to saying this!) move.
Last week, I was in Phoenix, Arizona at a high school friends’ wedding.
And now? Back in Boise.
I do pretty well on car rides for the most part. I don’t (usually) get overly grumpy or irritated, and try not to ask “Are we there yet?!” too many times. I try to be prepared with new music and an audio book, this time Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (the author of Gone Girl), and it was a great distraction for the last two days of the drive.
But I do always, always want snacks. And trust me, I need my snacks. You do NOT want to see me hangry.
I threw together this trail mix for us to eat during our cross country adventure, and we ate almost the entire thing in the 3 days! I poured the mix into one of those plastic cereal containers and it made it super convenient and mess free during the ride.
You start to feel gross enough after eating fast food 3 meals a day…it’s nice when you can have a snack that is at least a little healthy. Consisting of mostly nuts and dried fruits, this trail mix is a much better snack option than gas station candy bars or one more side order of fries.
What do you guys eat in the car? My mom and I will be making the trek to Louisiana again in a few weeks to move my stuff down…I’d love any snack, music, book suggestions!
~Stephanie
Road Trip Trail Mix
3 c rice chex cereal
2 c pretzels
1 1/2 c raisins
1 c peanuts
1 c almonds
1 c dried banana chips
1 c m&m’s
Combine all ingredients and store in airtight container.
Remember last week I confessed my love of cheesy carbs? It’s a real thing. Case in point: two cheesy snacks back to back. Cheeze-its. Goldfish. Cheddar Bunnies. I love them all. They’re the kind of snacks someone will have to physically take out of my …
Once I finally made my own homemade granola and saw how easy and delicious it was…I knew there was no going back. I’ve had ideas in my head for all different kinds of mix ins and variations of granola, just waiting to finish up each …
Pop quiz time: which two states grow the most garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)?
Answer: Idaho and Washington. The Palouse region, to be specific.
Which, fun fact, is where I grew up! When Mom gave me a bag of dried garbanzo beans grown in my hometown of Colfax, I knew I needed to make something delicious out of them. Sadly…that was probably close to 5 years ago. Sorry Moms!
Don’t worry though, I finally got around to doing something with these garbs (Garbanzo beans. Chickpeas. Same thing). Hummus!
Kelly has already made us a traditional hummus recipe, and now I’m giving you Jalapeño Hummus! It made an appearance at our Super Bowl party and is sure to be a new go-to party dish. And this recipe makes enough for a whole party…so be prepared!
The only difference between using dried garbanzo beans and canned is time. With the dried garbs you need to soak them overnight and cook them before blending. Nothing difficult, you just need to plan ahead a little more.
In Portland last year Kelly and I ate at an AMAZING greek restaurant with the best hummus. And all different kinds! Jalapeño, Cilantro…even baba ganoush, which is essentially eggplant hummus. It’s been almost a year since our trip, but better late than never to recreate the recipes, right??
Place dried garbanzo beans in a medium sized bowl and fill with water, so water completely covers beans. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (If using canned beans, skip steps 1-3)
Drain beans and place with new water, baking soda and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil and let boil 45-60 minutes, until beans are soft enough to be squished between fingers.
Drain beans and let sit until room temperature.
Place beans, garlic, jalapeño, tahini paste and lemon juice in food processor and pulse until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly pour in olive oil.
Add salt and pepper to taste. If needed, add more olive oil or water to reach desired consistency.
Serve in shallow dish and sprinkle with paprika and drizzle of olive oil.
If I could live on pasta salad, I would. I practically do in the summer. There are weeks when I eat it for lunch, dinner and all the snacks in between. Sometimes even without a bowl, just straight from the fridge with a fork. It’s …