DIY Vegan Energy Bars
Ingredients:
- 2 c. quick-cooking oats
- 1/2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 t. salt
- 1/4 c. raisins
- 1/4 c. vegan chocolate chips
- 1/2 c. nut butter
- 1/4 c. maple syrup
- 1/4 c. granular sweetener (she used NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend, which happens to be my favorite!)
- 2 T. ground flax seed + 6 T. water
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine flax and water. Set aside. Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
- Stir in raisins and chcolate chips. In separate bowl, combine syrup, sweetener and nut butter and mix until smooth. Combine nut butter mixture with flax/water mixture.
- Add wet to dry ingredients and mix well.
- The mixture will seem very dry, but just keep stirring.
- Press the mixture into an 8 x 8 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, or greased with Earth Balance.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Allow pan to cool slightly, then cut into bars and transfer to a cooling rack.
Don't these just sound so scrumptious? Not as simple as my beloved Larabars, but certainly cheaper and with a whole-grain punch. I'll probably substitute the chocolate chips with more dried fruit or nuts, the whole wheat pastry flour for stone-ground whole wheat flour, and the maple syrup for agave nectar. I can't wait to try these! Unfortunately, tomorrow will not be the day. I'll be spending the day at the Farm Sanctuary with all of the cute cows and piggies. Oink! I just love animals. So presh.
So this morning when I woke up, I happened to feel awfully groggy due to the late night I had - just love being a senior. I had my ritual decaf green tea and lots of organic, fresh fruit for breakfast. Then I was off to the farmer's market! It's my favorite Saturday morning spot. There are so many people bustling, but they're all so sweet. Especially the farmers. And, the Amish! Yes, the Amish sell baked goods at my farmer's market. It makes my day. They are just the sweetest, most humble people, and talking to them always makes me feel happier.
Then, I headed off to the gym to get in my first workout this week! Traveling makes it so hard, especially when you're visiting the Eastern Shore of Virginia (keep in mind that it's, say, 90 degrees by 10 am?). Sizzle. Too hot for my little body to try and get a run in. I did get to bike ride on that visit, and it was perfect. Ocean breeze, sunshine, cute boys...my sister and I were in heaven. Love the beach life. But now we're home, and the gym was calling! I got in an hour of elliptical-ing, which is a good starting point considering my body hasn't seen strenuous exercise in a whole week. Surprisingly, I haven't gained any weight. That's another plus of being a vegan...it's hard to gain weight. Unless, of course, you're a vegan who eats only junk food and desserts instead of something with real nutritional value like, say, a vegetable. Anyways, came home and perused the blogs. Dinner was leftovers and fresh farmer's market corn, which is ALWAYS delicious. Besides the fact that I hate leftovers (I forgot to halve the recipe last night..oopsie!), it was delicious. Quinoa with tomatoes and black beans is always good, especially when chilled and eaten outside on a balmy summer night. Yum! Add a glass of my favorite vanilla soymilk, and it couldn't have been better.
Later, I watched Fast Food Nation with my family. Talk about completely awkward. There's so much sex in a movie that's about food, I almost threw up my dinner knowing that my parents were right next to me. So. Weird. It was a good movie, and got the message of animal suffering across much more strongly than Food, Inc. The fact that they kept talking about shit in meat, though, was hilarious. And gross, but it got the point across. Eating meat is like eating shit. Literally. It has shit in it, and it's shitty for you. Plus, poop from any animal is gross. Okay, enough of my late-night rant. I have to get up extra-early for my run tomorrow morning so I can enjoy a day at the Farm Sanctuary! Goodnight lovlies, xoxox.
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