Healthy Energy Bars

When I was younger I was very active. I was on the swim team, I danced and I competed in marathons. All of my free time involved doing something physical. After having kids all my free time started being eaten up by spending time with my kids (which don't get me wrong I love!). Taking them to t-ball practice, play-dates, and school activities. My workouts have been delegated to workout videos and yoga. While my type of workouts have changed I am still very active. I hardly ever sit down and I am always looking for something to eat to keep my energy levels up. As I was looking through the pages of the July/August issue of EatingWell Magazine I noticed a recipe for Energy Bars which looked perfect for my busy workout and life schedule.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 1 1/4 hours of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 12 bars. I chose to double this recipe. My boys have been known to eat the majority of any granola bar recipe that I make so in order to actually have enough energy bars I figured I should double the recipe. I was unable to find straight pumpkin seeds, so instead I used a combination of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Instead of using light corn syrup I went to the health food store and bought brown rice syrup. For the rolled oats I used old-fashioned since that is what I already had at home. I also bought the crispy brown rice cereal at my local health food store. I tried my regular local grocery store and wasn't able to find it at all. Instead of following the recipe to press the bars before going into the oven I modified to make it easier. I sprayed a spatula with non-stick cooking spray and pressed as hard as I could with my body weight. This method worked well and was easier than the written instructions. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I wasn't sure if my two boys would eat these energy bars. They aren't overly sweet from the brown rice syrup, which I liked, but with kids it can be hit or miss. I was very happy when my oldest told me they were delicious. My two boys ended up eating more than half the batch. I liked that these bars are filling, not overly sweet and have a great taste. They were perfect after one of my workouts and I would definitely make these again.

For the recipe go to Energy Bars.

Sunflower and Flaxseed Bread

I make a lot of homemade bread! Before having kids I had never tried making a loaf of bread, much less baking a loaf or more a week. Now that I have two very active and growing boys we go through a lot of bread, so both to save money and for the taste (not to mention the health aspects), I bake all my own bread. I always thought that baking homemade bread would be very difficult. Don't get me wrong, I went through a number of bread recipes that didn't rise and I had to throw away or start over from scratch. After learning what recipes work and how to modify recipes to my needs I have found that making bread from scratch can be both relaxing and enjoyable. One of my favorite ingredients to add to bread are seeds. They are a great way to add protein and nutrients to bread and best of all they are great in toast. About a year ago I started using flaxseeds in my bread. Flaxseeds are full of essential fats and fiber and create a delicious nutty flavor to breads. The following is my recipe for Sunflower and Flaxseed and Bread.

• 1 1/4 cups Water
• 2 Tbsp. Honey
• 2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
• 2 cups Bread Flour
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/3 cup Flaxseed
• 2 Tbsp. Sunflower Seeds
• 2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast

Combine water, honey and canola oil. Stir yeast into flours and then add flour and remaining ingredients to water mixture. Either using a mixer with a dough hook or by hand knead the bread for 6-8 minutes. Grease a large bowl and add dough, turning to coat, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (approximately one hour). Punch dough down either roll out into a rectangle, roll up jelly roll style and pinch seems or form into a loaf and place into a greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until one inch above the top of the pan. Place dough into a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 35-40 minutes. Check after 25 minutes and if browning too quickly tent with foil. To ensure the bread is fully done temp to 200 degrees in the center. Let cool on a wire rack.

That's it! Flaxseeds are great in bread and everyone in my house loves this bread toasted. It's great with jam or melted butter.


Adapted from a recipe on the back of the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed package.