carrot cake•oatmeal

I'm in a bit of a rut.  Blog-wise (I'm just not feeling the inspiration lately, but I'm still hoping to get something new out once a week) and in other ways in which I don't feel like sharing with the general internet public...
Actually-- why not? 
I'm sure many of you reading this are parents, or have felt this way at some point for some other reason...  
And that is, simply, I'm getting burnt out.  I feel lately like I'm running in circles, getting nowhere but in a place with more laundry, more dirty house, more groceries to shop for, more dirty diapers to change, and more petty arguments with my incredibly strong-willed four-year old.
I know I should be better than this-- just generally feeling sorry for myself.  But I'm not-- not lately anyway.
And I know I'll get out of this rut eventually, but in the mean time, some comfort food might help.

And why not have this for dinner?  It's quick, nutritious, and cuts down on a bit of meal time bickering with Owen (breakfast for dinner is always seen as a treat at our house).

Hmm--  I think I'm starting to feel less sorry for myself already...


the veggies:

• 2 cups oats
• 6 cups water
• a pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 3/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for drizzling on top (optional)
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3 TBS flax meal
• cream cheese, for garnish
• about 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

the love:

1. Combine the oats, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  
2. Stir in the spices, syrup, carrots, and raisins and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until oats are a good consistency.
3. Stir in the flax meal, then dish out the oatmeal into bowls.
4. Top each serving with a dollop of cream cheese, a sprinkling of walnuts, and a drizzle of maple syrup, if you'd like.  And stop feeling sorry for yourself, already...

peanut butter•banana granola

I worry about Owen sometimes.
Who am I kidding?--I worry about my kids all the time...
But, this particular concern is one that's really been bothering me lately.
Because of this problem I worry he's not experiencing childhood like most other children (or like I did).
I am referring to the fact that Owen doesn't like peanut butter.  He used to tolerate it but now he flat out refuses it.  This just seems wrong somehow--I have a hard time watching his self-deprivation.
But, I'm learning that I need to let go of some of my worries and focus on the bigger problems (like the fact that Oliver refuses to eat spaghetti sauce).  
Let Owen eat cream cheese and jelly instead.
But, he's also missing out on this Peanut Butter-Banana Granola.

My first version, somewhat ironically, wasn't peanut buttery enough for Brock.  So, the next time I added even more peanut butter.  This granola has officially reached its peanut butter saturation point.

Owen won't touch it, but that just leaves more for the rest of us.

the veggies (or other stuff):

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 TBS vanilla
• 3 cups rolled oats (or 2 cups oats and 1 cup Grape Nuts)
• 1 cup puffed grains (like brown rice)
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup banana chips, chopped or broken if desired*

the love:

1. Preheat your oven to 325° and prep your biggest baking sheet (I line mine with parchment).
2. Whisk together the peanut butter, honey, water, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
3. Add the oats, puffs, flax and cinnamon and stir well.
4. Spread the granola on a baking sheet and bake about 30 minutes, stirring a few times during baking.
5. Remove from the oven, stir in the banana chips and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

notes:

*If you have access to a place that sells those gooey, chewy, whole dried bananas, try chopping those up and adding them to this granola instead of banana chips.  They have much more flavor than banana chips-- they're just a little hard to find.

chocolate•almond granola

Oliver's at the age (between about 20 months and 48 months), where it's best not to take him to the grocery store.  About half the time it goes just fine, and the other half it goes terribly wrong.  Once when Owen was Oliver's age he knocked over an entire (rickety) cardboard display of canned clams.  Of all things.  Who eats those anyway, and why do they need a whole display of them in the middle of the aisle?  Owen wasn't being bad-- just being your typical clumsy toddler.  I wasn't really mad at him-- just really embarrassed.  I was a little mad at Safeway, though, for trying so hard to sell canned clams.
When I do take Oliver to the store these days, I often belt him into one of those giant carts with the car on front (despite how hard they are to steer), and I usually even get him the free cookie from the bakery department.  This combination of strategies often works for about half my grocery list, then it gets difficult.  He's soon hanging out the side of his car, trying to wiggle out of his belt (why don't those things have five-point harnesses, like in real cars?), hollering "wanna walk!"  The only way to stop the hollering is to let him out of the cart.  But, as I learned with Owen and the clams, letting a toddler walk through the grocery store is not always a good idea...
So anyway, I usually try to go to the store either at the beginning of the week when both kids are in school, or on weekends when Brock's there to stay home with the kids (because Brock's almost as hard to take to the grocery store as my little boys).  But when we ran out of cereal (except for a box of Grape Nuts no one will eat) mid-week this week, I nearly panicked.  We are highly dependent upon cereal for breakfast.  
Then I remembered I used to make granola all the time.  And when I started making some this time I remembered how easy it is to make-- which is why I used to make it all the time.  This time I was feeling indulgent, so I made it chocolate.   It's really chocolatey, but not too sweet-- just how I like my chocolate.  Less than 24 hours after completing the batch, I've got about a serving left in the bottom of the jar.  I guess that means my guys liked it, too.

After I made the granola, it turned out I had to run to the store anyway to get some things for another recipe I'm working on for this blog.  This time I got lucky and the trip was uneventful.  But, I hope you're grateful I risked potential canned clam grocery store havoc for you...


the veggies (or other stuff):

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup Grape Nuts and/or puffed grains*
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup water**
• 1/2 cup craisins (optional)***

the love:

1. Preheat your oven to 325° and line your largest baking pan with parchment (or lightly grease).
2. In a bowl, combine the oats, Grape Nuts or puffed grains, almonds, cocoa, flax seed, and coconut (if using).
3. Add the oil, honey, extracts and water, and stir well until evenly combined.
4. Spread the oat mixture out evenly on your baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every five to ten minutes.  The oats will still be a little soft when you first remove them from the oven, but will turn crunchy as they cool.
5. Stir in the craisins, if you're using them.
6. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  This makes about eight cups.

notes:
*I was at the grocery store a while back looking for a different kind of healthy cereal, and momentarily forgetting that Grape Nuts are gross (on their own, anyway), bought a giant box of them.  It's been sitting around, not getting eaten and begging to be used in a recipe ever since.  It turns out this recipe is perfect-- they add a nice sturdy crunch to the granola.  If you don't want to buy Grape Nuts for this (and I don't blame you), I've also used puffed grains (such as brown rice or kamut) a lot in granola.  The puffs impart a lighter, chewier texture to granola.  Both are nice.
**I also think this recipe would be good with espresso or strong coffee instead of the water, but I didn't try it, figuring my kids did not need to be caffeinated...
***I didn't use craisins this time, only because I didn't have any.  They would definitely be tasty in this, though.

breakfast•bars

School day mornings are hectic.  I really don't make it easy on myself by staying in bed 'till the last possible minute, then trying to get myself ready in ten minutes while simultaneously trying to get both of my boys dressed.  But, I'm not a morning person.  
Neither is Oliver.  I often end up waking him up a little too late, and feeding him (and myself) breakfast when we return home after getting Owen to school.  But this doesn't cut it on mornings when he goes to school, too.
The other morning I ended up handing him a Kashi banana chocolate chip bar to nosh in the car.  I figured this made a fine in-a-pinch breakfast, but these bars are not cheap.  I made a vow to not make a habit of them. 
But that sure was handy...
Next I made another vow to come up with a recipe for a breakfast bar-- something with all kinds of healthy stuff in them that I could hand to the kids once they're strapped into their car seats, or as they're standing there trying to wake up, wondering why Mommy's always running around like a crazy woman first thing in the morning.  
These bars are my solution.  Bake them the day before, and they're just as handy as the Kashi ones.  I don't know for sure, but I'd suspect these have less sugar, too.  My bars are just barely sweet.  They're not one of those breakfast treats that could also pass as dessert (although maybe with a drizzle of maple frosting or topped with a scoop of ice cream...), but those things always leave a person feeling crappy an hour or two into the day, anyway.  My bars are a wholesome, hearty (yet still yummy) start to the day that will keep you feeling good 'till lunch (or maybe snack time when you go back for more).

So, this morning, I had these around to hand to the kiddos amidst the craziness.  They're easier for them to handle (and therefore a little less messy) than a muffin, but they gobble them up as if they were their favorite muffins.  So, breakfast was taken care of.  Next was to get Oliver's lunch packed, gather Owen's snow clothes, get everybody dressed, fix everyone's hair...  
I always manage to get my act together, but I usually get Owen to school somewhere between five and fifteen minutes behind schedule.  But really, is it reasonable to expect a preschooler to be at school at 7:30 in the morning (or to expect his morning-challenged mother to be able to get him there by that time)?
If I can manage to (at least sort of) meet this crazy expectation, my reward is some quiet time with a cappuccino and a breakfast bar when I return home.  
Whew!

the veggies:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder*
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1 1/4 cups almond milk (or whatever kind of milk you have on hand, divided)
• 1 really ripe banana
• 1 cup shredded sweet potato
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped dates
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (or other nuts, chopped)

the love:

1. Preheat your oven to 375° and oil a 10 by 15 inch baking pan.**
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder and salt.
3. In a blender, blend together the flax meal and 1/4 cup milk for about a minute, until gooey. 
4. Scrape down the sides of the blender pitcher, then add the banana, sweet potatoes, 1 cup milk, canola oil, maple syrup and vanilla and blend until smooth.
5. Add the oats to the blender and pulse a couple times, until most of the oats are mixed in.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir until just incorporated (batter will be pretty thick).
7. Fold in the dates and almonds.
8. Spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan, and bake about 25 minutes, or until firm in the center.
9. Cool slightly before cutting into bars,*** and cool completely before storing in an airtight container until breakfast.

tips:
*Double the baking powder if you're at low altitude.
**A slightly larger or smaller pan would also work fine with these, but would obviously affect the thickness and texture.  My theory: thicker bars would be more muffin-like, and thinner ones would be chewier and possibly less messy in the car.
***I like to cut them widthwise into four, then lengthwise into four to make 16 big rectangles.

carrot-nut-raisin•breakfast-snack-dessert cookies

I don't get much alone time with Owen these days.  So it was perfect timing today when he woke up early from nap (while Oliver was still sleeping).  I happened to be making cookies, and once they were done we brewed some blueberry tea and had our own personal tea party.  Owen was thrilled.  I'm not sure if it was because he was getting special alone time with his mama, because I was letting him pour his own tea using his own tea set, or because I was letting him eat cookies in the middle of the afternoon.

While eating his treat he said to me "I wish we had a cookie tree in our yard so I could go out and eat cookies whenever I want".  I didn't tell him that even if someone miraculously bred a tree that grew cookies on it there's still no way it would grow in our hardiness zone (but maybe at Nana and Papa's in Florida?).  
In any case, it was a sweet few moments.  Owen got to eat a cookie for snack, and I got some time with my big boy.  I didn't tell him that these cookies are so full of healthy goodness (and vegan, to boot, if you care about that sort of thing) that I would consider letting him eat one whenever he wanted if he asked nicely enough.  Instead, we'll have them again as dessert after dinner.  And if there are any left, I'll probably have one for breakfast with my coffee...

The veggies (etc):

• 3/4 cup margarine, softened (I like Earth Balance)
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 TBS ground flaxseeds
• 3 TBS water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder*
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup grated carrots (about one large carrot)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

The love:

1. Preheat your oven to 375°, and prep a couple cookie sheets (I line mine with parchment).
2. In a big bowl, beat together margarine and syrup until well incorporated (the mixture will look pretty strange at this point-- almost curdy).
3. Beat in the flaxseeds, water and vanilla.
4. On top of that, add the oats, then flours, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon.  Mix the dry ingredients together as best you can before stirring into the wet.**
5. Fold in the carrots, raisins and nuts.
6. Drop the dough onto your cookie sheets (I do about 1/3 cup-size scoops for about 16 really big cookies) a couple inches apart.
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cookies are just a little firm to the touch in the middle, and a little golden on the edges.
8. Cool the cookies on the pan for a couple minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.  Eat them in the afternoon with blueberry tea on a tiny plastic tea set or whenever, really.

Tips:
*This recipe is adapted to the ridiculously high altitude at which we live.  If you live at a more reasonable height above sea level, you might want to double the baking powder and soda.
**I'll give the same disclaimer I gave with my pancake recipe: Most recipes will tell you to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, then stir them together-- this is to prevent clumping and ensure even mixing.  I'm lazy and don't like getting out and washing an extra bowl, so I do it all in one bowl.  To make up for it I try to mix the dry ingredients together on top of the wet before I really stir it into the the wet stuff.  If this is offensive to you, by all means, get out another bowl.


Where credit is due:

Beyond the Moon Cookbook, by Ginny Callan, has been on my shelf for many, many years.  I especially love her baked goods, which are heartier and healthier than most and often contain whole wheat and honey.  My cookie recipe is a veganized and further-fortified version of one of hers.