Pumpkin in April

Pumpkin in April? I know, I know…pumpkin is best saved for fall, right? Getting off of work today and driving home, I drove right into a peaceful, beautiful snowfall. Umm, hello? Snow in April? Welcome to Colorado! Just last weekend I was planning my vegetable garden and prepping the back garden beds for wildflower seeds (I’m envisioning a cascade of colors!), and today we have a thick, wet snowfall! So, today, all I could think about was getting home, putting on snuggly clothes, grabbing a cup of tea, and snacking on something warm and sweet. So, right after dinner, I donned my yoga pants and giant pink Crocs, cranked up Mariah (Carey that is), and I got to work!

The kids rotated through taking showers, doing homework packets, and doing their nightly reading time (some nights it just goes so smoothly…others…well…), and I putzed—yes I said putzed—around the kitchen. I pulled out all of my pumpkin friendly spices and finally settled on a few of my faves—helloooo cinnamon and maple! Armed with pumpkin and spices, I settled on oatmeal squares which will be perfect for the kids to take for snack after I’ve had my turn 🙂 Seeing that these little treats aren’t just for my indulgence, I let my mommy-guilt kick in a notch and threw in some wheat germ and flax seeds—and then some mini chocolate chips. If they’re mini, then they’re not too bad for you, right? I actually had every intention of adding walnuts to the mix, but in my excitement over the mini chocolate chips, I completely forgot! So, in case you’re interested in adding them, I put them in the ingredient list below 🙂

I’m super excited to sit and watch my “programs” tonight while I snuggle on the couch with the hubs, my cup of hot tea, and my oat square…or two…or three! The kids are going to love their snacks at school!!

Pumpkin Spice Oat Squares

2 cups oats
3 TBSP wheat germ
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
Pinch allspice
Pinch cloves
½ tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup applesauce
3 TBSP maple syrup
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup mini chocolate chips or chopped walnuts (or both)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper that overhangs an edge (in order to lift the bars out of the pan)
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients—the oats, wheat germ, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients—the pumpkin, vanilla, applesauce, maple syrup, and brown sugar.
4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
5. Mix in the mini chocolate chips and/or walnuts.
6. Press the mixture into the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

So, what do you think? Can pumpkin be a spring treat too? 

Patterson’s Bars

Happy mid-week ya’ll!  I am super excited that today is Wednesday because it means I have one more sleep until I get back home to Aaron and the kids!!!  I’ve been gone since Sunday night on a recruiting trip for work in Michigan and now in Chicago—thank goodness for texting, picture messages, and FaceTime.  Lucky for this mommy, we’ve been so busy on our trip that there hasn’t been much time to sit and miss the family—I literally fall into bed each night, and I’m OUT.

Because I knew I’d be travelling this week (and because a friend asked me to come up with a yummy granola bar that she could make gluten free), and sometimes it can be a bit challenging to find some healthy, vegan, easy to grab foods along the way, I made up a batch of granola bars to bring along.  I don’t prefer crunchy granola bars, so I wanted to make something that was sweet, chewy, and packed a little health kick.

Since Mads “says” she doesn’t like things with peanut butter in them, I added some natural almond butter (gotta appease my taste testers ya know), which is great because you’re not adding a bunch of extra processed sugar this way.  Originally, I wanted to add some dried cranberries to the recipe, but we know Jax’s opinion on dried fruit, a.k.a. dead bugs.  I actually tried to trick him a little by convincing him to eat a craisin without showing it to him, but he’s a smartone, he is.  He wouldn’t fall for it—not even a little.  So I compromised and added some chopped apricots—and let me tell you—smelling them bake was dee-vinely scrumptious!  My mouth watered at that smell alone!  For added health factor, we threw in some chia seeds, and they just disappeared into the mix.  So, please add them, try them, start using them if you don’t already.  In fact, I may add more the next time I make these bars!

When buying your ingredients for this recipe, I sent Aaron out to the store, asking for some dates.  He did his best and brought back a bag of dried chopped dates.  These worked great, especially since they were a bit cheaper than the dates you find in the produce section.  If you opt for fresh dates, I would skip the rehydration process of soaking them in water.  When it came to “stirring” all of the ingredients together, I ended up going all handsy—squishing and squeezing.  If you note the spatula in the picture, that may have had something to do with it (see the cute little snowmen!).  Since I have issues with getting stuff on my hands, this really turned into a way to push myself—gotta love working on your issues while you create things!

I’ve been enjoying these bars, and most of the kids have been too—or so Aaron tells me!  Now, I’m off to listen to some sweet Chicago jazz tunes for the evening!

Sweet Granola Bars

1 cup dried chopped dates
1/3 cup dark maple syrup
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon almond butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups rolled oats, divided
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Spray with nonstick spray.

2. In a heat-safe bowl, cover the dates with hot water. Soak for 10 minutes. Drain and place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the syrup, brown sugar, almond butter, cinnamon, and vanilla. Process to form a thick paste, about 20 seconds (stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice with a rubber spatula). Add 2 cups of the oats and pulse 8 to 10 times, until the oats are coarsely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir/combing in the remaining 1/2 cup oats, apricots, nuts, chia and sunflower seeds.

3. Using slightly dampened hands, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Cool the dish for 15 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the freezer and chill until completely cooled (about 30 minutes). Cut into 10 or 12 bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.