Chocolate Cherry Chunk Bars #RecipeRedux

Question, what do you feed a mob of hungry kids at 3:17 p.m. after "working really hard all day long at school"?

Answer:  Home made Chocolate Cherry Chunk Bars served with a big glass of ice cold milk and sealed with a kiss.  Love mom.

You all know by know that store bought granola bars are not health food right? Right. Well, anything made in Mystery, Who Knows Where and packaged in a box with an ingredient list only chemists can decipher is probably not something we should be eating, however convenient it may be. I hate that excuse. Sure it can be argued that there are a few healthier varieties of packaged snacks out there but the whole year or more shelf life thing of a granola bar disturbs me.


I literally tossed a handful of ingredients in a bowl, mixed, pressed into a baking dish and bam. My house smells like toasted, cinnamony oats and nuts and warm cherries. Oh, they were really yummy too.


Snack emergency, solved.

The best part, you can use whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you have in your pantry. Substitute almond butter for sunflower seed butter if there is a nut allergy issue. Pureed dates or maple syrup can be used instead of honey. The possibilities are endless.

Chocolate Cherry Chunk Oat, Nut and Seed Bars

TIME     30 MINUTES        YIELDS     14-16 BARS

You Will Need:

1 1/2 cups of whole grain oats
1 1/2 cup chopped almonds, cashews or other nuts
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup local, Organic honey
*1/4 cup hemp hearts (optional)
1 cup almond or sunflower butter
1 teaspoon ground (Saigon) cinnamon
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
parchment paper or coconut oil for brushing pan 

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare an 8 x 11 baking dish with parchment or brush with coconut oil. 

Coarsely chop nuts. Add them and remaining ingredients except chocolate chips to a large bowl and mix to combine. 

Press the mixture into the prepared pan using your hands or a spatula. Cook for 15 minutes then pull out of oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips, cook for another 15 minutes. Yes, you can just mix them into the batter if you please. We thought they looked fun and had more chocolate 'power' with them scattered on top. 

notes

Hemp Hearts are full of protein with 10 grams of complete plant-based protein per 30 gram (3 tablespoons) serving size. Hemp Hearts are also a great way to add omegas or EFAs (essential fatty acids) to your diet. Hemp Hearts contain more protein and Omega-6 & 3 and less carbs than a similar serving of Chia or Flax.

You can eat them right out of the bag and add them to baked goods, yogurt, smoothies, salads and more.



I love Coaches Oats which are much healthier than quick cooking varieties yet faster than steel cut.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tart Cherry and Vanilla Yogurt Breakfast Cakes {Recipe Redux}

Get out of your boring breakfast rut with these deliciously healthy Tart Cherry and Vanilla Yogurt Individual Breakfast Cakes. Served Piping hot who can resist warm tart cherries in a healthy, whole grain cake? This cake is moist and delicious, sweetened naturally with creamy vanilla yogurt and 

 a bit of brown sugar. 

“By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by National Dairy Council and the Quaker Oats Center of Excellence and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

Don't start your day off with sugary cereals, this healthy breakfast will keep you feeling satisfied and guilt free. Kids and adults alike need a healthy, whole grain and protein packed breakfast to keep energy levels high and the brain functioning and it's best. This breakfast has it all nutritionally speaking and is delicious too! 

More than 75% of Americans are calcium deficient. Calcium deficiency is not only responsible for loss in bone density but plays a role in nearly 150 different degenerative diseases, including obesity, arthritis, fibromyalgia, acid reflux, high cholesterol, hypertension, allergies, cancer, and others.

Calcium plays a very important role in the body to neutralize acidic blood. When we eat acidic foods, like red meat, or we drink carbonated drinks, like sodas or alcohol, our bodies become more acidic. This causes Calcium to be leached from our bones and teeth.

Kids Health

"Calcium deficiency is the major dietary deficiency in America's children today,"  Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 86 percent of teenage girls and 64 percent of teenage boys are "calcium deficient"; in other words, they lack the recommended daily amount (RDA) of calcium, which is 1,300 milligrams, the equivalent of about four 8-ounce glasses of milk a day.

Carbs have gotten a bad rap in the last several years and there are so many 'fad' diets that tell you to completely eliminate them from your diet. However, some studies suggest that up to 95% of Americans are eating refined carbs! The fact of the matter is that whole grains are a very important part of your diet and prevent numerous health problems. 

Most of us are busy people and try our best to eat healthy but often pick up packaged foods claiming to contain grains.  I like to us a Multi Grain Cereal such as Quaker for baking muffins and cereals. 

Healthy,  whole-grain foods  include the whole kernel and have not been processed. Research shows they can protect you from ticker trouble, diabetes, colon cancer, and possibly asthma and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Simple Ingredients thrown together for a quick, get you moving and being healthy day.

You Will Need 

1 1/2 cups Multi Grain Oats
1/2 cup oat flour (ground oats, preferably whole grain or steel cut)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup real butter
2 eggs (free range of course)
1 1/2 cups fat free vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen tart cherries
2 tablespoons coconut oil for brushing ramekins


Preheat oven to 350F.  Brush 6 small ramekins lightly with coconut oil.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with cookie paddle attachment, add sugar, butter, eggs and yogurt, mix on speed 5-6 till smooth. Add dry ingredients; oats, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix on low speed to combine. Add cherries and chopped nuts and gently fold into the batter.
Pour evenly into the prepared ramekins 1/4" from the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

An InLinkz Link-up

Processed Free America

Organic Gardening

Banana Split Popsicles {sugar free & healthy}

Inspiration for today's post comes from the fact that is 113F out and getting. even. hotter. The fact that it doesn't rain here in Phoenix makes me wonder how the hell so many idiots people decided to make this their home. It's a mystery..... and I'm Native..... idiot.






To make matters even more miserable, I work in the Operating Room aka meat locker (that didn't come out right). Meaning that we keep the AC around 59F-62F at all times and complain when it reaches 66.7F.  We are a strange group us medical people. So when I leave the perfectly normal frigid temps of the O.R. and walk outside into the blinding desert sun (no windows in surgery, could be an apocalypse and we'd never know) my internal body temperature starts to boil in exactly 13.2 seconds. Which is exactly how long it takes me to get to my car, open the door and step right into HELL, at 125+ degrees F.



Leather seats, wearing shorts, with no window shade, no parking garage, in Phoenix, in July. I'm all kinds of smart.

Eating a Banana Split on a stick = Very, very smart.

What I do have going for me are Popsicles. Granted I've seriously considered rubbing them all over my overheated face and body on more than one occasion. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Typically, light and fruity Popsicles or even frozen fruit are our only source of snacking and desserts here during the summer months but seeing as that it's a Major Holiday in July I decided to step dessert up a level.




What's even better than a big Ooooey Goooey Banana Split? A Banana Split that is combined together, layer by layer and then frozen on a stick to slowly enjoy while you sit waist deep in your pebble tech, salt water pool. With your big, ridiculous floppy hat of course.

Strawberry, coconut puree, frozen bananas blended with vanilla almond milk and fresh cherries and pineapple in every bite. Drizzle with chocolate and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. 

Summer just got better. 

I learned a few things while making these Banana Split Popsicles,

1. Making and attempting to photograph popsicles in July in Phoenix is a feat worthy of serious admiration. 
2. Banana Splits in popsicle form are sheer genius that you can eat single handedly while sitting in the pool, no spoon required.
3. I need a cherry pitter thingy-ma-jig.
4. My mom just called me a lazy bum because I want a cherry pitter thingy-ma-jig. She's mean. 
5. It's perfectly acceptable to dip fresh cherries and pineapple into melted chocolate before dinner while you are waiting 3-5 minutes in between popsicle layers to freeze. 

You will need

A ZOKU popsicle maker or other popsicle mold
2 cups fresh strawberries, greens removed, or not (I leave them on, lots of nutrients!)
1/2 cup coconut milk (in a can)
* tablespoon monk fruit in the raw
2 fresh bananas
1/2 cup vanilla (or plain) almond milk)
*1 tablespoon monk fruit in the raw
1 handful fresh cherries, pitted and cut in half
1 handful of pineapple tidbits
1 cup semi sweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

To Make

In a blender, combine strawberries, coconut milk and monk fruit in the raw. Blend until smooth. Carefully pour into popsicle molds 1/4 deep. If using a ZOKU, wait 3 minutes till frozen then pour in the banana mixture. If using old fashioned popsicle molds, put in freezer until frozen, about 2 hours.
Rinse out strawberry puree from blender and then add bananas, almond milk and monk fruit in the raw. Blend until smooth. Drop a few cherries and pineapple tidbits into popsicle molds then carefully pour in banana mixture. If using a ZOKU, let freeze for a few minutes then remove and drizzle melted chocolate on top and sprinkle with chopped nuts. 

Need some more summer worthy snacks? I've seen some pretty delicious and perfectly picnic/4th of July worthy recipes from my blogging buddies such as:





Boozy (or not) Watermelon Stars

Red White and Blueberry Yogurt Pops from The View from the Great Island

Something super simple

These Fire Cracker Berry Margarita Floats from Half Baked Harvest!

And of course PIE! I know Apple Pie is an American Symbol of summer and picnics and even the 4th of July but I happen to l.o.v.e.  home made Cherry Pie the most.


Loaded Cherry Pie from Joanna at Eats Well with Others