What do you call a cross between a granola bar and a cookie?

I'm not really sure what you call it, but I think I baked it. When I made this recipe, I first thought "They shall be called Granookies!" My second thought was "This is how I'm going to make my millions!" One quick google search later and all my hopes were dashed. Somebody granookied me to it. Oh well, they are yummy and worth a share anyway. The recipe below is vegan and gluten free but you could easily substitute if you have no dietary restrictions. The nice thing about making a vegan recipe is that it keeps really well and there are no worries when eating the batter!

The process:

"Hi, I'm Flaxseed"

All the dry guys ready for the party

Cinnamon oat meadows with peanut butter mountains and an agave river :)

Lined up like little soldiers

Meg's Granola Cookie Bar Thingies - Vegan and Gluten Free!

1 3/4 C of Dry Oats (gluten free)

3/4 C Gluten Free Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill most of the time)

1/2 C Vegan and Gluten Free Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 C Sliced Almonds

1 T Cinnamon

1 T Vanilla

1/2 C Salted Peanut Butter

1/2 C Blue Agave Sweetener

2 T Flaxmeal

6 T Warm Water

Total Time: <30 min including bake time!

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix flaxmeal in warm water and set aside to gel (this makes the equivalent of 2 eggs)

3. Mix dry ingredients: oats, flour, chocolate chips, almonds and cinnamon together

4. Add wet ingredients: vanilla, peanut butter, sweetener and flaxmeal/water and mix well

5. Spread onto 9x9 cookie sheet

6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

And, since I like to know that I'm not putting crapola in my body...

Makes: 14 servings

Nutrition Information per Serving:

Calories - 220

Fat - 9.9 g

Sugar - 13.4 g

Fiber - 3.6 g

Protein - 6.5 g

In running life news, I ran the Trolley Run yesterday. I'll post a complete running update later this week, but I completed my goal of running 4mi in under 40 with no hip pain. I feel really good; so, now it's time to get down to business!

As always, I hope you are having a stellar week!

-M

Give me an F!

This past Friday had me doing a little cheer. There may have been some arms and legs flailing about, but don't worry no one got their eye poked out. Normally, I think the letter 'F' gets a bad rap unless, of course, it stands for the "Fever"... you know the "Spartan Fever". Or when it stands for Food Trucks and First Fridays!

In Kansas City, this all goes down in the Crossroads District the first Friday of every month (thank you Captain Obvious). If you live in the area and haven't been, you should get it on your calendar pronto! With all that cheering, I worked up an appetite. Lucky for me the food trucks now have a permanent parking lot at 21st and Wyandotte.

Where the magic happens...

So many trucks so little time!

Scott doesn't quite get my obsession since there isn't usually a whole lot I can eat (thank you Celiac Disease), but it's more about the atmosphere and the people watching! I had chicken tacos and Scott went with the meatball sliders - delish.

'Cluck Yeah' slider and Chicken Taco

Cute boy - I think I'll take him home.

Mid-eats

After stuffing our faces, we spent the evening walking around watching street performers and catching...

If you do venture down to the Crossroads and you like pottery, check out Archival Designs. It is one of my favorite spots.

'Mugshot' at Archival Designs

Kemper at the Crossroads always has unique exhibits. This is from Eric Fertman's 'Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry' and will be at the gallery through July.

 

Kemper at the Crossroads

18th and Wyandotte is fun anytime with a cafe and a few shops. Usually, you can find street dancers here on a First Friday. They are awesome!

18th and Wyandotte

I really like the one below and found it in the old Arts Incubator space. I think it is now the Todd Weiner Gallery (unfortunate last name).

Buy me this. It's only $2500.

Street band - not sure what's up with the masks?!

My ride home...gas is so expensive these days. I wonder if I can get one with a cup holder...

If you haven't been, there is so much more to see! So, pick a nice Friday night and head on down for food and fun. Oh, and remember, respect people's personal space! (SNL Spartans)

-M

In Bloom

 "Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'" - Robin Williams

And by party, I'm sure Mr. Williams meant the "Garden" variety ;-). One my favorite ways to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon is digging in the dirt. With the weather being unseasonably warm, Scott and I have spent the last couple of weekends doing just that!

"I'll take one of everything please and thanks!"

Potential!

This will be our third season using the square foot gardening method. We use the mix listed here  and we loosely follow the other rules (you know 'cause we like to live on the wild side). What could be better than a garden that requires no weeding?! If you've been thinking about giving gardening a try, this is a good way to start.

One day maybe we will have space for a bigger garden, but this works great for the two of us. Our strawberry plants are full of blooms right now. I'm hoping I can keep the squirrels away!

Some other spring loves...

• Fresh salads

 

•  Murray's Ice Cream and Cookies 

• Trolley Run

• GOTR Run

• Weekend hikes

My sweet little turd nugget...

• First Friday's

• Outdoor concert venues

Grinders

I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting...

What are some of your favorite springtime activities?

It's Wednesday folks and we are over halfway to the weekend! Sweet.

-M  

Rocky Mountain High

Recent reports about the wildfires near Denver got me reminiscing about our recent visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. A beautiful place and one of my favorites. A few pictures from our weekend...

"First 48" pose or "Scott needs to work on his jazz hands" pose

Sending prayers for family, friends, and strangers dealing with the fires.

-M

My Running Journey...

The first race I ever ran was a marathon. How does one get the 'bright' idea to run a marathon without ever running a race before? Well, I guess there could be plenty of reasons. For me, it was my divorce.  That was over four years ago and, what seems like, a lifetime away. At the time, I felt like my whole world had fallen apart. All those plans just crumbling, leaving me holding the pieces trying to figure out what to do next. In those moments, it felt like I could either completely self-destruct or try to turn a bad situation into something positive. About that same time, a good friend talked to me about running with Team in Training (TNT).  The more I thought and researched TNT, it felt like the right decision. Raise money for a great organization, meet new people and, oh yeah, run. I'm not going to say that during that time there weren't moments of self-destruction, but one can't get too wild and crazy with a 16 mile training run looming over them.

Those of you who know me know that I am not athletic by any stretch of the imagination. The closest I got to sports in high school was one uncoordinated year of tennis.  Thank God running doesn't involve any fancy equipment or I'd be screwed. Team in Training was a great experience overall. In just 4 short months, I went from a couple miles here and there to 26.2 freakin' miles. It took me almost 6 hours, but I did it! In hindsight, I should have stuck with the half marathon as I started to unravel around miles 16-18. I chalk it up to inexperience. Will I ever run the 26.2 distance again? Yes, but I have some work to do before then. :)


That was early 2009 and since then I have run:
Half:
Olathe 1/2 Marathon
Flying Pig 1/2 Marathon - PR 2.07. 34
Indianapolis 1/2 Marathon
Rock the Parkway 1/2 Marathon

15 K:
Cerner

10K:
Hospital Hill
Catalina

4mi and 5K:
Trolley Run
Girls on the Run 5K x3
Some others I can't remember...

Admittedly, my training for these events was mediocre at best. I've operated under the complete not compete assumption. I complete the training runs but don't usually time myself. I'm a true runner's nightmare. Last fall after completing a race with minimal training, I began having trouble with my left hip. A couple doctors and one very talented chiropractor later, I'm back walk-running smaller distances.


As we say in our house, "You better check yourself before you wreck yourself....girl."

The injury forced me to stop and evaluate my running over the last couple of years. I missed being able to lace up and hit the pavement once I no longer had that option. Now that I'm starting to get back to it, I feel like I need to take a step back, return to completing smaller distances, and work on my conditioning. Tempo runs, easy runs, and interval training, ready or not, here I come (first step is figuring out what all of that means)! It's probably going to be a bumpy ride (knowing me this is almost a definite), but I think it's important if I want to be a runner that lasts. More importantly, I need to not lose sight of the reasons I love to run. 

In a recent issue of Runner's World, there is an article about running with the Amish. In his article Bart Yasso quotes one of the runners:
"I love the serenity of running alone as well as the fellowship of running with a group," one of the runners wrote to me in an e-mail. "I realize that every step, every breath, and every PR is a gift from God." 

This is how I felt when I ran for TNT and it's how I feel now that I'm coming back from injury, but somewhere in between I lost sight of it. I hope future writings about my running will help keep me honest. Lucky you. 

I know I have good running friends out there...any training tips? Such as how do I get my butt out of bed to run at 5:30am with the time change - Ugh.

Now that I have managed to reference Ice Cube AND the Amish in the same post - my work here is done. 

-M

Let's Twist Again...

Whenever I see a recipe that calls for yeast I usually run like hell.  The stress of pouring that little packet in warm water and waiting makes me crazy. I'm terrible at waiting. Is the water too cold? Is the water too hot?? Is it foaming up yet?? Did I just kill all those little boogers??!! Gah! Basically, it takes pretty tasty looking pictures to convince me to risk it. Enter Alton Brown's recipe for Soft Pretzels and a little of this....

Ms. Liquid Encouragement says, "You got this girrlll!" <finger snap>

I find that everything gets better with a good glass of wine (or mediocre $10 wine from TJ's). So, with that, the Ms. and I got our BAKE ON.

Sometimes you just gotta punch dough in the face...

I followed Alton's recipe but substituted with gluten free flour (Bob's Red Mill), Earth Balance (instead of butter), and Olive Oil (instead of egg). I imagine they would be great made with whole wheat flour as well. If you've never seen Alton Brown on TV before, he's a little mad scientist meets chef.  Just the kind of kookiness I find endearing.

I thoroughly enjoyed dropping these babies in boiling, baking soda water before popping them in the oven. Fifteen minutes later I had these...

The Ms. and I do good work.

Whether paired with a yummy dip or just eaten plain, these were delicious!

On a more serious note, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Scott's mom has been through a couple surgeries and my uncle passed away Tuesday night. If you pray, meditate or send out the good juju daily, would you add our families to your list? It would be much appreciated. I hope you all get in some good family and friend time this weekend...maybe even some extra X's and O's. 
-M

Easy Peasy...Sometimes Cheesy

Ohm...nom...nom...nom...nom.

True Story - my mom made me breakfast and packed my lunch until I graduated high school. I offered to pack my own, but each time she would shake her head and tell me it was easier to just pack them all at once. I don't know that I truly appreciated it back then. There were days when I subbed that hand packed lunch for the baked potato topped with cheese from the cafeteria. That's cheese from a can in case you're wondering (gag). All these years later, I now realize how lucky I am to have a mom that was able to stay home and make sure I got to school with a good lunch. Although, with all that special treatment, it is a wonder I ever made it in the real world ;).

Nowadays, I pack my lunch for work. My office doesn't have a cafeteria and I try to only eat out on occasion. I am always looking for new, easy, nutritious ideas to cook for the work week. Lately, I have been making 'mixes' on Sunday nights that I can use for lunch during the week. This has worked really well since I don't want to spend a bunch of time in the mornings preparing my lunch.

I have been using quinoa as a base lately. Fun fact: Quinoa is not a true grain (even though it looks like one), and is most closely related to leafy greens like spinach. It is a good source of amino acids (protein), magnesium, and folate. In addition to the quinoa, I mix up some type of protein and vegetables. This week I used steamed lentils, tomatoes, spinach, peppers, and onion. The 'mix' possibilities are really endless.

I made eight servings for just under 10 dollars. That averages out to around $1.25 per serving. How does the nutrition stack up? Well, I am glad you asked :)

Serving = 1c. cooked Quinoa + 1/2 c. Mix (lentils, tomatoes, peppers, onion, spinach)
Calories:  280
Fat: 3g
Carbohydrates: 50g
Fiber: 9g
Sodium: 195mg
Protein: 13g

I also like to top mine with plain greek yogurt or a little cheese (extra fat and protein). Add a small salad and/or a piece of fruit on the side and you have an easy, cheap, nutritious, delicious lunch! One that would even make your mom proud.

-M

***Note that serving size will depend on an individual's nutritional needs. The serving I chose was to be used as a frame of reference. Thanks!***