Healthy Rice Krispie Treats

I scoured the web for a simple recipe for healthy Rice Krispie treats.  I found a bunch.  Some were very simple, requiring few ingredients and some were very complicated.  I combined several to come up with this easy one.

To be honest, they're ok. Not horrible but not quite right either. I think it's the peanut butter that just doesn't do it for me. If you're a peanut butter fan, you'll probably like them.  I'll keep trying till I get it right 'cause, well, I really like Rice Krispie treats.  Maybe I'll invest in some organic marshmallows and keep it really easy.  For now, this is what I ended up with.

Rice Krispie Treats
1/2 cup Brown Rice Syrup
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (optional)

1.  Put Rice Krispies in a large bowl.
2.  Grease a 8x8 pan.
3.  Put syrup in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat.
4.  Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
5.  Stir until peanut butter is melted and well mixed.
6.  Pour mixture over Rice Krispies and stir until mixed well.
7.  Pat mixture into prepared pan and push down a bit to make more solid bars.
8.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips if using.
8.  Refrigerate until firm and cut into squares. Or, if you're like me, just eat them while they are ooey-gooey.

Day 5 Sunday Sunday Sunday SUNDAY!

I woke up to a nice blanket of snow this morning.  We only got about an inch but it sure was pretty.  Yes, I'm one of those weird people who actually likes snow and cold weather.  Maybe it's because I was born in Chicago. 

Today was pretty low key.  Watched Despicable Me 2, which is hilarious.  I love the "kid" movies they make now.  Brave is one of my favorites and Up was fantastic.  My all time favorite is still and shall forever be Snow White.  She was the only dark haired Princess when I was growing up so I guess I related to her a bit more being a brunette myself. 

Let's see, I also got most the Yuletide decorations put away.  Things are back to normal.  Kinda sad to see them go but I'm kinda glad the holiday season is over too. 

Hubs brought back some goodies from his mom's yesterday.  As I said, I'm on a strict budget so I was happy to get them.  Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and the rest of her famous Beer Cheese Log.  Good stuff.

For breakfast today, I had a bowl of Rice Krispies with milk, blueberries and agave.  Was tasty.

Lunch was a small slice of leftover pizza and then some leftover noodles.

I was feeling a bit snacky today (that time of the month ya know) so I ate quite a lot of the kettle corn. 

Dinner was chicken enchiladas and Mexican rice using brown rice.  I was pleased with how the rice turned out.  It was fluffy and light.  I used this recipe and will definitely use it in the future with a few minor tweaks.  Both Hubs and I felt it needed a bit more flavor so next time, I will use more chicken broth than water and more tomato sauce as well.  I do know this.  I will definitely use the soak and toast method for plain brown rice too.  Hubs isn't a big fan of brown rice as it can be a bit heavy but using this technique really made a big difference.   

Got snack happy again after dinner and made *Rice Krispie treats with peanut butter, rice syrup and chocolate chips.  Ate 3 pieces.  I'm sure if I would have paid more attention to my Rainbow, I probably wouldn't have been craving stuff.  Lesson learned!

Eating the Rainbow:
Red: Tomato, red peppers,
Orange:  :(
Yellow:  :(
Green: Green pepper,
Blue: Blueberries, black olives
White:  Onions, garlic,

*See post for recipe.

Day 4-First Saturday of New Eating

It's kind of an unusual Saturday.  Normally, I'd have a little red-headed stepchild running about the place; however, since we've been sick, Hubs decided maybe this weekend, they'd spend the majority of their time at the In-Laws.  Can't say I don't blame him.  It's pretty germy in here.  Time to break out the tea tree oil and eucalyptus! 

So I'm on my own for all three meals today, which basically mean, I don't have to cook!  I've got lots of great leftovers in the fridge and freezer.  WOOHOO!  I'm still not quite 100% so I look forward to taking it easy today. 

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with chives, English muffin with a smear of butter, cranberry compote, and coffee. And yes, I like a little ketchup on my scrambled eggs.   I used my little microwave egg cooker-thingy so cooking was pretty minimal. 

Lunch and Supper rolled into one happy surprise.  A local friend called and said some of our friends from Wichita were coming down for the day.  I spent the day hanging out and socializing.  It was wonderful. These friends are people I consider family so yeah, good times. 

Dinner was homemade Mexican food.  Chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce, refried beans, rice, chips, salsa and some homemade nanner puddin'.  Yeah.  That's how I say it.  Nanner puddin'!  The food was delicious and of course, it was made with love so that made it even better. 

It wasn't all organic but it was all made with fresh produce and real food.  Nothing processed so I felt good about it.  Sometimes you just have to say 'Yes' to fun and not worry too much about the other stuff.  Today was definitely fun.

Eating the Rainbow:
Red:Cranberries, red peppers
Orange:  Nope :(
Yellow:  Bananas,
Green: Tomatillos, cilantro
Blue:  Nope :(
White: Onions, tomatoes

Day 3 TGIF!

I snoozed in today.  I've been fighting a really nasty bug the past week so I guess my body needed a bit  more rest.  Nothing wrong with that.  As a matter of fact, if you're feeling bad, you should take some time and rest.  I think as Americans, we tend to think we need to keep moving no matter what.  Not healthy at all.  Sometimes, you just have to rest so your body can repair itself.

 

Brunch today was my version of Huevos Rancheros but in this case it was just one huevo. I left out the sugar from my original recipe. Since I like super spicy sauce, I paired this with a nice mocha latte to help counter the heat a bit.  I was happily surprised to see my chocolate syrup didn't have any nasty stuff in it.  It even claims to use 'natural' sugar.  I think I'll see if I can find a homemade version so I can tweak it to make sure it really is 'natural'. 

I got hungry around 2:00 pm so I had about 1/2 cup or so veggie soup leftover from yesterday.  I figured that would get my veggie count up and tide me over until dinner.  Between this and the salsa, I'd say I got a full serving of a few veggies.

Supper tonight was two slices of my homemade pizza with black olives, onions and green peppers. I make the crust and the sauce myself.  Heck, I've even made the mozzarella before too!

If you like pizza and are looking for a reliable, delicious recipe, I think you'll be very satisfied with this one.  Hubs and I are now spoiled and never eat pizza out anymore. Not to toot my own horn but my pizza puts the others to shame.  One nice thing is the dough is very versatile so it lends itself well to either thin or thick crust.  Also, I have slowly been using more whole wheat and less white flour.  I hope to eventually be using 100% whole wheat.  I'm getting Hubs used to the flavor differences.

Evening snack was homemade kettle corn.  So easy and deee-licious!  It's just 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 brown or white sugar, 1/2 cup popcorn & a sprinkle of salt.  That makes 5 servings.  It's just sweet enough to satisfy a sweet tooth without a ton of sugar. 

Today's Rainbow Count:
Red: Tomatoes, Apple
Orange: Carrots
Yellow:  Corn
Green: Green beans, peas, green peppers, celery
Blue:  Black olives
White: Onions

Day 2 Real Food Recipes

Spinach Nest Eggs
Leftover cooked Spinach
Eggs (Use 1 egg per serving)
Salt
Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (if you like things spicy)

Grease a small pan and add spinach and heat over medium heat until warmed.

Make a small indention in the center and crack an egg into it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Cover pan with lid.

Let the egg steam until the white is set and the yolk is hot & as cooked as you like it.

Mixed Berry Sorbet
1 cup frozen mixed Berries (mine was strawberries, raspberries and blackberries)
Agave Nectar, to taste (it depends on the sweetness of the berries)
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
Water as needed

Put frozen berries in food processor, blender or Magic Bullet.

Add agave, vanilla and water.

Blend until a smooth consistency, adding water as needed.  You're looking for the consistency of sherbet. 
Put in freezer until ready to eat.

Day 2-The Joys of Real Food

As I previously stated, not only am I working on losing weight, I'm also working on becoming healthier.  One very obvious change is the actual food we eat.  'We' includes myself, Hubs and my 6 year-old stepson. 

I, like every other working person out there, have relied on convenience foods a lot.  They're cheap and easy.  I mean, with a box of "Ground Beef Assistant", one can have a hot meal on the table in about 15 minutes.  But easy and cheap has a down side.  That box of cheeseburger macaroni is filled with so many chemicals even a scientist would be amazed.  Cheap meat is filled with hormones, antibiotics and let's face it, cheap meat comes from animals who are treated very poorly.  Not exactly what I'd call healthy.

Healthy also doesn't mean being a slave to some crazy diet.  No carb, low carb, low fat, high protein, count every morsel you eat, count calories, eat 3 meals a day, eat 6 meals a day, !  Whew!  I'm exhausted just thinking about all that!  It seems like an obsessive way of thinking, which, again, doesn't seem very healthy to me.

Real food is the key to real heath. I am 100% convinced of this.  We've gotten so far away from real food that we have forgotten what it is, much less what it taste like.  I have a great example. 

Last year, I started going to the local farmer's market.  I discovered a local organic dairy so I bought a gallon of their milk.  It was from organic, grass-fed, pasture raised cows.  The cream had not been taken out and OMG!  This stuff was amazing!  Sure, it was more expensive than the milk from the grocery store but was worth every single penny.  It was delicious and me, a lifelong non-milk drinker, was converted.

Another good example is the humble egg.  I showed my Hubs the difference between a regular store-bought egg and eggs from chickens who were raised in the sunshine, eating organic feed, greens, and bugs.  He was very surprised to see that the real eggs had yolks that were a beautiful dark orange and the whites were thick compared to light yellow yolks and runny whites.  Lesson learned.

So yes, healthy food is real food.  Here is an excellent website to help you understand the concepts.  It also has some yummy looking recipes that I cannot wait to try out!

Today's breakfast was Spinach Nest Eggs* with a slice of  honey oatmeal toast, a bit of butter, and some homemade cranberry compote I made last week.  Delicious!  It used up some leftover from supper last night, which always excites me because I hate, hate, hate throwing away perfectly good food.

Lunch was Veggie Soup and some mixed berry sorbet* for dessert.  Soup is so comforting on a cold winter day.  I made it from scratch a few weeks ago and was smart enough to stash some in the freezer. 

One way to keep a nice supply of veggie soup is to save every scrape of veggie leftovers in a container.  Once a week, cook up some broth, throw in the veggies, (supplement with more if needed), add some herbs and spices and tada! Soup!  I tend to throw in some meat as well and use the same flavor of broth to compliment the meat.  Throw in leftover rice, pasta, potatoes or grains too.  You'll be amazed at the wonderful combinations you come up with. Healthy, nutritious and it saves you money too!

I got hungry this afternoon so I had a snack.  Once slice honey oatmeal bread cut in half,  mayo, sliced onions and a bit of chicken.  It was good and definitely satisfied my hunger. I think I didn't get enough protein at lunch.  Will have to pay attention to that.  Oh, and I did sneak a few toasted pecans when I was making the Waldorf salad.  And yes, I made the mayo myself but used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.  So easy to do and tastes great. 

Dinner tonight was "Beefy" Pasta., basically, homemade Hamburger Helper.  I used ground turkey seasoned with beef base, whole wheat noodles, mushrooms, beef stock gravy and seasoning.  Turned out great.  Served it with steamed broccoli and Waldorf salad.  And no, I didn't eat all that pasta.  I ended up eating about half.  I put the other half in a container to eat tomorrow.

Today's Rainbow Count:
Red: Tomatoes, strawberries; raspberries, apple
Orange: Carrots
Yellow:  Corn
Green: Spinach, celery, peas, green beans, broccoli.
Blue:  Blackberries
White: Garlic, potatoes, onions

*See other posts for recipes.

Eat The Rainbow & I ain't talking Skittles Here!

Believe it or not, both Hubs and I were asleep at the stroke of midnight.  Well, mostly asleep.  The fireworks woke us briefly.  We did, however, wake early enough to greet the New Year sunrise.  It was golden and beautiful.  We shared a hug and kiss and Hubs went back to bed.  LOL

While he rested, I took a tour in the pantry.  I was amazed to find a few things I had shoved to the back and forgotten.  Fortunate, really.  I found agave syrup, rice syrup, molasses, organic long grain and wild rice, barley, bulgur, farro, brown rice and 7-grain cereal!  Imagine that!  What a way to start the year off right!

I also found a great seasonal 'Eat the Rainbow' chart after a little investigation online yesterday.  I hope it helps you as much as it does me!

So, for breakfast today, I made what I am lovingly calling Blue Goo.  It's 7-grain cereal, blueberries, flax seeds & wild pecans (Thank you Mom!) with a spoonful of local honey and a small pat of butter.  It was very tasty and let me tell you, one serving of this stuff kept me completely satisfied until lunch.  I also had a cup of coffee but instead of my normal white sugar, I used the agave syrup.  A little bit of this stuff goes a long way.  It's very sweet but didn't give my coffee a funky taste.  All in all, delicious breakfast.

Lunch was homemade split pea soup with a slice of toasted homemade honey oatmeal bread with a  smidge of butter.  Again, filling, nutritious and completely satisfying.  The recipes are in the links. 

As you can see, I like to cook so it'll be easier for me to stick to the Clean Eating.  Hubs is onboard too and even agreed to going meatless a few nights a week.  I see falafel and eggplant parmesan in our future! Yum!

Dinner tonight was Spicy Chicken Pinwheels with garlic sautéed spinach.  The only modifications I made to the recipe was to use agave nectar instead of white sugar.  It was a great way to use up some of the leftover chicken I had.  I had one pinwheel and a large amount of spinach.  Hubs ate three pinwheels and requested one be packed up for his lunch tomorrow.  Winner winner, chicken dinner!

So, how did I do eating Roy G. Biv today?  Let's see.  Red tomatoes. Orange carrots secretly hidden in the pea soup. Yellow mushrooms & onions?  Green spinach and peas.  Indigo and violet blueberries and black olives.  WOOHOO!  I did it! 

I did have a small snack this evening. It's very cold and windy and I was seriously craving hot chocolate.  I busted out the cocoa powder, stevia, whole milk (yes, we drink real whole milk here), pinch of salt and vanilla and enjoyed my cuppa  chocolaty goodness.  It was so satisfying.