Category Archives: life

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Berry Oatmeal Bars

Posted on by
Reply

A few weeks ago a friend of mine shared a recipe on Facebook that caught my eye. The recipe was for Ree Drummond’s Strawberry Oatmeal Bars. If you don’t know who Ree Drummond is, check out her blog called The Pioneer Woman. Her recipes are showcased with step-by-step photos that will leave drool on your keyboard – seriously! Obviously I couldn’t make the recipe as written because it wasn’t gluten or dairy-free, but I could modify it so that we could enjoy our own little piece of heaven. 

Surprisingly I had everything I needed on hand. Here are some of the substitutions I made and the recipe with the changes I made will follow. 

IMG 0763

Bakery on Main Happy Quick Oats & Enjoy Life All-Purpose Flour

IMG 0765

Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Sticks

IMG 0766

Crofter’s Berry Harvest Organic Premium Fruit Spread

IMG 0774

The finished bars. Holy guacamole were these good! Not only were they amazing when they were still warm, but once chilled in the refrigerator, which is where I stored them. Jon ate these for breakfast every day until they were gone. He loved them and asked that I make them again really soon!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Berry Oatmeal Bars

*Modified from the original recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman – Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

  • 1 3/4 sticks cold Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Sticks
  • 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 Bakery on Main Happy Quick Oats
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 10-12 ounces Crofter’s Berry Harvest Organic Premium Fruit Spread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 or 8 x 10 baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. Mix together dry ingredients.

3. Cut in the Earth Balance with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

4. Sprinkle half of the mixture into the pan and press down lightly to pack it down.

5. Spoon the Crofter’s spread over the mixture and use a spoon or butter knife to spread evenly.

6. Sprinkle the other half of the mixture evenly over the top and press down lightly. 

7. Bake until the top is light golden brown. This took me about 40-45 minutes, but I started checking it at 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan. Once cool, slice into squares and enjoy!

Have a great day! 

~ Kim

Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes – Gluten & Dairy-Free

Posted on by
Reply

A few years ago a dear friend made me a gluten-free birthday cake from the King Arthur GF Chocolate Cake Mix. The cake was one of the best I have ever tasted, gluten-free or not gluten-free. When I was thinking about what to bring to a get together last week, I knew I had to make cupcakes with that mix. 

After verifying that the mix is indeed dairy-free in addition to gluten-free, I began to read through the comments on the King Arthur product page. The first comment suggested using red wine in place of the water the mix suggested and olive oil in place of the vegetable oil. I love wine, and the get together was wine-themed, so I made the cupcakes with those substitutions. 

IMG 0541

Hannah helped me bake them and made sure to arrange the cupcake liners so that we had an even amount of each color. After the cupcakes cooled, I frosted them with homemade chocolate frosting based on the recipe on the side of the Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa can. 

Dark Chocolate Frosting

Gluten and dairy-free

1. Combine Earth Balance and cocoa with mixer until blended. 

2. Alternatively add powdered sugar (about a cup at a time) and almond milk until desired consistency is reached. 

3. Add vanilla and blend well. 

4. Frost cupcakes and enjoy! 

*Leftover frosting can be frozen. 

IMG 0558

These cupcakes were a huge hit! So much so that Hannah was still raving about them three days later when she finished off the last one. This comes from our uber picky eater that typically balks at anything gluten and/or dairy-free. 

If you try these, please check back and let me know how you liked them!

Happy Baking!

Zing Bar Introduces 100-Calorie Snack Bars

Posted on by
Reply

I can’t believe it has been over 6 years since I first reviewed Zing Bars. Zing Bars have now added a 100-calorie bar that is perfect for snacking, dessert, or packing in your school lunch boxes. I received complementary samples to review here on the blog a couple of months back. The smaller size is perfect for smaller children, to hold you over until your next meal, or satisfy a sweet tooth in place of a candy bar. 

Zing

More about Zing Bars:

Zing’s ‘clean energy’ snacks are not the typical nutrition bar.  The nutrition and energy bar industry was originally founded to address the needs of athletes.   These recipes relied on high glycemic carbs that could be burned quickly by athletes during exercise.    Zing has reformulated the nutrition bar recipe for real people, not athletes. The Zing formula is deeply rooted in ‘nutrition science’ around blood sugar— by turning the calories regular people eat into useable energy without the spikes and crashes, the low energy, the cravings, and the buildup of body fat.  All Zing Bars are wheat and soy free, gluten-free and kosher-certified. Nine of the twelve SKUs are Vegan and verified non-GMO.

Known for their great taste, Zing Bars have a nut or seed butter base and contain real dark chocolate, as opposed to the more commonly used compound chocolates. The new 22g-25g mini Zing Bars have between 90 and 110 calories each and come in six popular flavors: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Coconut, Coconut Cashew Crisp, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Mint and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

There isn’t a variety of Zing Bars that I didn’t like. I am a huge fan of chocolate, so I am loving the dairy-free/vegan chocolate bars! I think my favorite is the Dark Chocolate Mint or the Coconut Cashew Crisp. 

Zing Bars mini are sold in packages of 6 or 18 and are roughly $1.29/each. Look for the bars in select stores across the US or shop online. 

If you haven’t had a chance to try Zing Bars, put them on your grocery list today!

Dear Younger Me

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever looked back on things you did in the past and wish you hadn’t done something or wish had done it differently? Those things are part of who you are today. They helped shape you into the person you are today, yet often times those things are painful, not only at the time of occurrence, but as we grow older. 

Even though I know changing anything I did in the past would make me a different person today, possibly one without the people I love, there are times I really struggle and wonder…what if?

IMG 3246

A couple of months back I went to the MercyMe concert with a couple of close friends. They played a song from their new album that really spoke to me. I was instantly drawn to this song and the important reminders within it.

“Dear Younger Me” – MercyMe

Dear younger me

Where do I start

If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far

Then you could be

One step ahead

Of all the painful memories still running thru my head

I wonder how much different things would be

Dear younger me

 

Dear younger me

I cannot decide

Do I give some speech about how to get the most out of your life

Or do I go deep

And try to change

The choices that you’ll make cuz they’re choices that made me

Even though I love this crazy life

Sometimes I wish it was a smoother ride

Dear younger me

Dear younger me

 

Oh, If I knew then what I know now

Condemnation would’ve had no power

My joy my pain would’ve never been my worth

If I knew then what I know now

Would’ve not been hard to figure out

What I would’ve changed if I had heard

 

Dear younger me

It’s not your fault

You were never meant to carry this beyond the cross

Dear younger me

 

You are holy

You are righteous

You are one of the redeemed

Set apart a brand new heart

Oh You are free indeed

Every mountain every valley

Thru each heartache you will see

Every moment brings you closer

To who you were meant to be

Dear younger me, dear younger me

 

You are holy

You are righteous

You are one of the redeemed

Set apart a brand new heart

Oh You are free indeed

 

You are holy

You are righteous

You are one of the redeemed

Set apart a brand new heart

Oh You are free indeed

 

You are holy

You are righteous

You are one of the redeemed

Set apart a brand new heart

Oh You are free indeed

 

We are loved just as we are. Today, tomorrow, always. 

Two of the most important reasons I wouldn’t change a thing…

Photo

Related Posts with Thumbnails