Susie homemaker ... Homemade Granola Bars!

Lately I have felt like Little Miss Susie Homemaker ... Here are a few of my favorite projects!

Homemade Granola Bars!  My friend Trina passed this recipe along and I LOVE IT!  As has everyone that I have passed the recipe on to ...

YUM!

All the yummy goodness lies in the add-in's!

Homemade Granola Bars

1/2 cup + 2 T honey (don't skimp on this b/c they won't stick together well - learned the hard way)
1/2 cup brown sugar (can get away with 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup of natural peanut butter (Always AVOID using PB with hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.  Strive to find a peanut butter that only has peanuts and salt.  These by far are the healthiest and best for your body!)
2 cups oats
2 cups natural rice krispies (I like the Trader Joes Crisp Rice b/c it doesn't have BHT as a preservative).
1/4 cup flaxseeds (I use 1/8 cup flaxseeds and 1/8 cup chia seeds).
1/2 cup choc chips (love the dark choc chips from trader joes!) -- optional ingredient - well, when is chocolate really optional?  Ha!
1 cup total of mix-ins (pretzils, peanuts, almond slices, other crunchy cereal).

1. Combine oats, krispies, flax/chia seeds in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2. Prepare mix-ins.  Set aside
3. Melt brown sugar and honey on stove-top until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and add in PB.
4. Mix into mixture, then add mix-ins.
5. Add the chocolate chips last so they don't melt.
6. Place in a 9x13 pan with wax paper (avoid clean up this way).  Smash down really hard so they don't fall apart.
7. Place in fridge to set up for 20 min!

Seriously, these are SO easy to make and SO amazing!  You MUST try them!!  MUST MUST MUST!

However, I have a challenge for you ... I have yet to live up to ... try not to eat the whole pan (mostly yourself) in 3 days!

My other project has been a "twirly" skirt for Sophia.   I have had THIS pinned on Pinterest for a long time.  I wanted to give it a "whirl," but always ran out of time.  I even bought clearanced fabric at Walmart just in case I messed up!!   The blog had an AWESOME demo, pictures, and instructions!  I made a few mistakes, but was able to cover them up!!  Ha!!  I plan to make a matching one for Hannah!  

The finished project ... ready for an adorable almost 4 year old to take it for a spin!

My first serger project ... I need help figuring out the tension, but this is close enough!

Even put an elastic waistband on the top! 

And you can watch her take it for a "spin" ...

Another project ... a minky blanket for Jackson.  My mother-in-law found this adorable crib sheet for me, but it was too small to fit on the crib!  Sad!  I decided I would re-purpose it and make a blanket!  I LOVE the feel of the minky fabric, but it is very hard to sew with!  

Burp clothes and Taggie blankets!

Birthday apron for Sophia's friend Alivia

I can not get this picture to flip ... sorry!

Any thoughts on the next project I should tackle?  I should probably look at my Pinterest board and see all the projects I have pinned!

Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes

I love trying out new gluten-free recipes!  It's always fun combining different flours to create a masterpiece full of nutrients and of taste!!  I also love trying out new recipes to use up the 10 lbs of Michigan blueberries we purchased at the farmer's market on the way home from MI!

I found THIS recipe over at one of my favorite gluten-free blogs, The Gluten-Free Goddess!  Of all the recipes I have made, she has YET to disappoint!  Her GF pancake recipe was no different.  Karina has perfected GF cooking and baking!!

I did however make a few substitutions to further increase the nutritional value! (Shocker huh?)

Love me some Michigan blueberries, Butler Bulldogs, and  REAL maple syrup!

Here is the recipe that I used:

1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup millet (ground into powder)
1/4 cup buckwheat (ground into powder)
1/4 cup almond flour/meal
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 heaping tbsp brewer's/nutritional yeast (ground into fine powder)

1 1/4 cup dairy-free milk (I used coconut milk)
1 cup water
2 eggs
4 tsp coconut oil (LOVE THIS STUFF!)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pure almond extract

I stirred in blueberries and of course topped them off with a few Trader Joes dark chocolate chips!

For the directions for preparation, click HERE

The recipe made about 14-15 pancakes!!

What do you think, gonna give it a try??


Other highlights from this weekend ... Jackson's very WEIRD and uncomfortable napping position!  I had to snap a picture! :)

How does he do this??

Sophia also decided she liked to eat her mac and cheese leftovers and turkey meat with chopsticks!  She was inspired by last night's dinner at Noodles and Company!  For a almost 4-year old American, she did really well with chopsticks!  She told me she wants to start using them for EVERY meal!  Ha!

Have a great start to the week .... 

Run, run as fast as you can ...

... you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

Well, ok, maybe the pilsbury dough boy but this post still includes gingerbread men!!

Love my sweet boy!!

People say they see Sophia in him ... do u agree?

Last Tuesday evening, my in-laws came over along with my sister-in-law Rhoda, and we decorated gingerbread men cookies!!  Sophia has really been interested in the story of the gingerbread man this year.  She loves to recite the little jingle too!! :) 

Very excited to get started ...

After this picture, this gingerbread man lost his head ... ahhh!!

I think the girl ate more mini m&m's than made it on her cookies.  She has never had more than 5 m&m's at once, so with a full dish in front of her, she just couldn't stop!!

She also tasted a red hot for the first time ... she said, mommy, I NEED water, too spicey, then proceeded to keep eating them!

The sugar is kicking in ... craziness I tell ya, craziness!! Plus icing on the nose!

All of Sophia's decorated men and women .. some for the family, some for the neighbors!!

Sophia just had a blast this whole evening!  She and Aunt Rhoda were giggling all the time!! What a fun tradition that will continue along the Long Family side!  Plus, Grandma Long's gingerbread men are the BEST I have ever tasted!! Yum Yum!!  Did you notice in the picture above she even has a gingerbread apron that Grandma Long passed down from when Cousin Lexi decorated cookies all those years ago??

What fun holiday traditions do you have with your family?

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes

As most of you know, I have a passion for cooking and eating healthy!  We strive to eat whole, natural, and raw foods as much as possible!  I am always looking for ways to incorporate healthy (gluten-free) grains in our foods that have far more rich nutritional profiles compared to brown rice flour.

I found this recipe for homemade pumpkin pancakes and decided to get a little creative!!  Instead of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour, I ground up some fresh buckwheat and millet flour.  I didn't have any fresh pumpkin on hand (I had just used up my 8 cups of fresh pumpkin the week before), so I substituted pureed sweet potatoes!  (You couldn't tell)!  You might be thinking to yourself, Buckwheat and Millet?  What in the world are those????  Well, I did a little research to share with you all the benefits of these amazing grains (seeds)!

Feel free to click on this image to make the recipe larger and easier to read!

  

Buckwheat actually isn’t a cereal grain (like many think), but it is a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel.  It is also gluten free!

Health Benefits of Buckwheat Flour
- Associated with a lower LDL and higher HDL
- High in flavonoids (phytonutrients that protect against disease)
- Help maintain blood flow, keep platelets from clotting excessively
- Protect LDL from free radical oxidation into potentially harmful cholesterol oxides
- Super high in magnesium, manganese, fiber (4.5 gm in 1 cup), and tryptophan
- Help with blood sugar control
- Help to avoid gallstones

Millet is also another gluten free option.  It is technically a seed and not a grain.  It is a common staple food in Africa.

Health Benefits of Millet
- Excellent source of magnesium (which can reduce serverity of asthma and decrease freq of Migraine HA’s, decrease BP.  1 C = 26.4% of your daily value for magnesium)
- High in phosphorus (which plays a role in the structure of every cell in the body)
- Linked to lower risk of heart disease and certain cancers
- Help prevent gallstones
- Help with blood sugar control

The buckwheat is at the back of the eggs on the left, the millet to the right of the buckwheat!

I know a lot of people are scared to use different grains!  It can be very intimidating!! Why not use just good old fashioned flour?  Well, to be honest, there is hardly any nutritional value to it!  Isn't it a good challenge to find grains that will benefit your family and taste yummy?  Once you get all of the other ingredients added in, you can't even taste the difference!  You can find buckwheat and millet (and tons of other grains) at health food stores.  If you buy in bulk, it is so much cheaper!!!

To turn the buckwheat groats and millet seeds into flour, just measure out the appropriate amount, then put them in a coffee grinder (food processor)!  Boom ... easy as that!!

Yummy!!  My next skill will be making Elmo Pancakes! HA!!

Our favorite and healthiest toppings for pancakes!

Do you have any favorite, "health-ified" recipes?  Please share!!

 PS> One recipe note ... it does suggest separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites till peaks form ... this makes the pancakes SUPER light and fluffy!  You would be amazed at the difference.  A small extra step with huge benefits!