Nutty Rhubarb Muffins

Hello there! Thanks for coming back!
I hope you guys are enjoying my posts so far, I know I am enjoying sharing them!

Anyway, the topic of this post is rhubarb. And I HATE rhubarb...so I thought. One of our family friends with a BEAUTIFUL garden is away until Sunday and invited me to pick from her garden so it didn't go to waste. And that I did. I came home with a handful of raspberries, a couple small onions, a BUNCH of gorgeous leaf lettuce, and a couple stalks of rhubarb, just to try!

When I got home I started to look for rhubarb recipe inspiration, and combined ideas from a few muffin recipes to create this beaut. To my surprise, I actually like them! They may need a little more sweetener...maybe a tablespoon or so of honey. Just a suggestion! But otherwise they taste like blueberry muffins with a few sour blueberries mixed in...my favorite!

Here's the recipe!

2 cups Chopped Rhubarb
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
1 t lemon/lime juice
1/2 c Canola Oil
2 t Stevia + 2 T Molasses (or 2 cups Brown Sugar)

2 1/4 c Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Oats
1 t Baking Soda
1 t Salt
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts
1/4 cup Ground Flax

Mix all the dry ingredients and all the wet ingredients in separate bowls, minus the rhubarb.
Create a well in the dry ingredients and pout the wet ones in. I suggest mixing with a whisk.
*IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT OVER MIX THESE MUFFINS!!
Once it is almost all mixed together, add your rhubarb and get it mixed in just enough.

The batter is almost more of a dough, so don't freak out if you think it's too sticky.
Portion into 12 full-size muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes at 350.

You should try to chop your rhubarb as finely as possible to avoid that weird celery-textured crunch. You get plenty of crunch from the walnuts! I used a hand-chopper from Pampered Chef.

Uhh..yeah I told you the "batter" looked nasty. It looks like the turkey burger I made for supper last night. I promise, it's worth it!

Finished product! They are some interesting muffins, but are a nice, savory option for breakfast. They would probably be really good warmed up with a little honey to get that extra sweetness they kinda need. 

Enjoy! And I'm always open to recipe improvements!

Heart Bracelet Pattern

One of my other favorite (of many) de-stressers is making friendship bracelets. I learned the basics at Girl Scout camp, and since then I have graduated to making some really intricate tribal looking designs, bracelets with words in them, and heart bracelets like in this post.

I like to take string with me when I babysit and teach the kids to make some simple bracelets. It keeps them busy, and I get to do something I enjoy too!

I was working on this bracelet at my last babysitting job, and the little girl fell in love with it, so now I have to finish it for her so I can surprise her with it next week!

Onto the pattern...first of all, being able to make a chevron bracelet is kind of a prereq to this pattern, so if you don't know how, I would definitely try to do that first!

The first step is to pick two colors. One for the background, and one for the heart. You'll need four 3-foot strands of the heart color, and four 3-foot strands of the background color. Tie a knot about 3 inches from the top of all the strings when they're lined up, then arrange them so on each side the strings are H-BG-H-BG. Two of the background-color strings should be in the middle.

Start with a chevron of each color.

*For the third row, tie a left-facing 4-knot with the 2nd string on the left side (BG) over the first string on the same side (H). Remember to tie twice! Repeat that on the other side, but with a right-facing knot.

It should look like this!

Next, to finish the third row, start with the outer-most H string on each side, and make a chevron.

Now, if you look closely, the pattern has reversed from the start pattern, which makes sense, because row four is the exact opposite of row three. Tie the backwards knots with the H string, and the chevron with the BG string.

Almost there! Now, for row 5, and to finish the heart, tie a complete chevron, with no backwards knots, with the two outer-most H strings.

After the H chevron, tie a BG chevron to separate the hearts from one-another.

Continue the bracelet from *row 3-6.

Homemade Granola Bars

Just like my oatmeal bites, these are snacks I love to take to work or school! Granola bars are one of the easiest snacks ever, but all the store-bought ones are filled with so much junk that I can hardly put them in my mouth.

These, on the other hand, are very simple, and are easily made with almost all whole ingredients. They only take about 10 minutes to make + cooling time, and are nearly effortless. (Unless you get granola with un-wanted raisins...then it's a little more time consuming!)

These bars actually come with a funny story for me...my boyfriend often creeps on my Pinterest to find present ideas for me, so for my birthday last fall he saw that I pinned a recipe similar to this. So, instead of bringing me a cupcake or something of the sort, he brought me a big pan of granola bars! He knows me so well. :)

Since then I have modified the recipe to make it a little healthier, but if you don't want to go out and dig for the weird ingredients, I'll add the simpler version as well.

Recipe:

1 cup brown rice cereal/Rice Crispies
2 cups natural granola/homemade granola/box granola
4 T coconut oil/butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown rice syrup/brown sugar
chocolate chips to taste (I like a lot!)

Heat the brown sugar/syrup + honey +butter/coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Bring to a boil (stirring constantly), reduce heat, and stir until sugar dissolves.
Add granola and cereal into the saucepan gradually, and stir until coated.
Press firmly into two 9x5 loaf pans, or a 9x13 cake pan. (I used a cake pan, but I didn't spread it all the way so they would stay thicker.)
Sprinkle chocolate chips over the bars and press them down immediately.
Let cool for an hour+ before cutting.

 

I just finished making them, and couldn't wait until they were cut to share them with you guys!

**IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PRESS THEM DOWN FIRMLY! THEY FALL APART VERY EASILY!

Confession: I'm A Bookworm

Not only is this a great place to share my book recommendations with other book-lovers, but also a great place to store my "to read" list! So, we'll start off with my recommendations...

My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
I have read all of Chelsea's books, and I have to say I think this was my favorite. It was an easy read because of it's structure, but it was hilarious, and so far-fetched that I never wanted to put it down.

Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
See above for my thoughts on Chelsea Handler.

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Ditto.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
This is an awesome novel about a family who is affected by a nuclear bombing in the U.S. The father has prepared for the bombing by creating a compound home underground for the family that survives to live in. Their life underground is sad, dramatic, and exclusive, and they all are affected. There is a huge plot twist that you'll just have to read to find out about. BONUS* The author originally lived about 30 miles from me in a neighboring town, and visited my school to talk about the book! How cool is that?!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The book of which the recent movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio was based off of, The Great Gatsby is a classic. It introduces Nick, a young mid-western man who moves to NYC for a fresh start. He soon discovers his neighbor to be The Great Gatsby, who befriends Nick to help him fulfill his fantasy love. Throughout their quest there is romance, parties, drama, and death. It is a challenging read because of its age, but worth it in the end.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American cervical cancer patient from Maryland in the 60's is told throughout this book. She was the host of what is now considered HeLa, a cell culture that was taken from her cervix during a procedure without her knowledge. HeLa has contributed to huge scientific discoveries, of which nor Henrietta or her family has gotten any glory for. The author explores civil rights and medical rights as she embarks on a journey to learn about Henrietta through her family.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
If I Stay is a narrative by a young girl who was tragically injured in a car accident which left her parents dead and her brother in a condition in which she is unaware. The girl, Mia, is in a coma and has an out-of-body experience in which she observes her family and friends grieving. Ultimately, she has to choose from this state whether to live or die. The book is a very easy, short read and never gets boring. Mia is a very unique girl with many stories to tell along the way.

Someone to Love by Addison Moore
This book is your typical, college girl romance novel. It tells the story of a college age girl who has had bad luck with relationships, and how she inadvertently trains a playboy into being a loyal lover. The story is slightly erotic at times, but always very romantic.

Now, onto my book bucket list!
I talked in my first post about stress, and how it can keep you from the body and fitness level you want. Well, books are one of my de-stressers that I plan to use A LOT in school, so I am always on the hunt for new books to add to my list. But, this is what I have so far...

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
This I Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowen
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Serena by Ron Rash
The Spectacular Now By Tim Tharp
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight 

I am soooo excited to get started on my list! If anyone has read these and has thoughts on them I would love to hear them!

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookie Dough Energy Bites

Since I've entered the real world this summer and got a job, I need some stuff to keep in the fridge that I can just throw in my lunch bag.
I also like it when the stuff tastes good.
So, these little "cookie dough" balls are perfect for that!

***TRICK: personally, I think they're better when they've been in the fridge for a week, the favors really sink into the oatmeal and blend well.

I would definitely suggest melting the peanut butter a little too before trying to mix it, otherwise they stay really dry.
I also prefer them with old fashioned/rolled oats, but quick will work as well.

Recipe:
 1 C Oats
1/2 C Natural Peanut Butter
1/3 C Honey (local if you can find it!)
1/3 Coconut Flakes (raw or toasted)
1/2 C Chocolate Chips (mini tend to mil a little better)
1/2 C Ground Flax Meal
1 t Vanilla

Not only are these little guys one of  the easiest thing to pack in a lunch, they are nearly effortless to make!
Just mix all the ingredients together really well, and refrigerate the dough for a half hour or so.
After the dough is chilled and stiff, roll it into about 1 inch balls.
Keep in the refrigerator for as long as they last...I can almost promise it won't be long. My 8 year old brother eats likes is every half hour. I typically have to hide them.

Another great combo if you're not into chocolate (you crazy fool!) would be to throw in a dash of cinnamon and sub raisins for the chocolate chips.

Skinny Spinach Dip

This is the dip featured in my beer bread recipe!
I was soooo frustrated because I could not find a healthy-ish dip recipe to save my life, so I googled it, and made some changes. I came up with a cottage cheese-parmesan-spinach-garlic dip.
And let me tell you, it is TO DIE FOR!
It doesn't even taste healthy!
It is great with my beer bread, but also just on crackers or pretzels!

Recipe:
1 1/4 C Cottage Cheese
1 C Shredded Parmesan
2 C Spinach Leaves, chopped after measuring
Dash of each: pepper, salt, garlic powder (to taste)

Mix all ingredients will, the dip should be slightly green and kind of look like a chunky mashed avocado.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

I got this recipe last fall from my would-be mother in law you could say (boyfriend's mom). She is an AMAZING cook/baker, so my bread doesn't even come close to hers, but it's still good! It's a little sweeter than your typical beer bread because of the honey, but you could easily omit that if you are looking for it to be more hearty.

Any type of beer will work, tonight I used Miller 64. However, I'm curious how something like an apple ale would work flavor-wise? If you try it, comment and let me know how it works! 

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 C AP Flour

1 1/2 C WW Flour

4 1/2 t Baking Powder

1 t Salt

1/3 C Brown Sugar

12 oz Beer of Choice

1+ T Honey

Mix all the dry ingredients, then add the beer and honey. 

Mix well, but don't over mix. 

Bake in a 9x5 loaf pan at 350 for 40-60 minutes. The top should be very crispy and light brown. 

It is fantastic served warm with a little honey, or served any time with my Skinny Spinach Dip!

Enjoy! 

Bread with Skinny Spinach Dip!