Homemade Granola Bars

I first saw the process of making homemade granola bars on Food Network one morning while making breakfast myself. Throughout my time eating more clean and maintaining a healthier lifestyle, I've learned that a lot of products we see on our shelves that claim that they are healthy and nutritious, are in fact not. What's hidden in the label is what goes unnoticed by the eye and also because those quick eat items seem like a good idea for when you're on the run.

I really have to owe the original idea and recipe to Food Network for this post, so here's the link to that recipe for Lolla Granola's original granola bar. These snack bars are seriously so easy to make and again, like everything else I've made and shared with you all thus far, they are easy to make your own! Use your favorite ingredients and you'll love this basic recipe so much more.

Add your old-fashioned rolled oats, raw almonds slivers, sunflower seeds, flaxseed meal, cinnamon and whatnot into a bowl and stir them together and pour them out on a dry sheet tray as pictured above. Toast these dry ingredients in the over for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees, keep a watchful eye as it may take a different amount of time for the cooking time. 

In the 10-15 minutes that those dry ingredients are toasting, we're going to add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, a 1/2 cup of honey, and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla. We're going to boil this mixture at a medium heat for about 10 minutes and set aside so we can grab that toasty mixture. 

Unfortunately I don't have a Vine video or a picture of this next process, but we're going to pour that toasty mixture into a big bowl and then pour out our honey liquid slowly into the granola, folding the toasty mixture every morsel is covered. And then, after everything is folded together and covered in the honey, the mix is transferred in a loaf pan that is lined with parchment paper beforehand. Covering the top with a piece of parchment, you press down hard so that the mix is pressed firmly together and flattened (so that it won't fall apart when the mixture is set and ready to cut). After this mixture cools down a bit, stick the loaf pan in the fridge so that it can set. 

After the mix has been in the fridge and cooled down, here it is! Ready for cutting and then to fall in love with. Incredibly healthy for you and such a versatile recipe to just make in a kitchen that's stocked with all these healthy ingredients. These ingredients were things that I had in my kitchen. It's great to have all these counterparts handy like the organic rolled oats, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds. I can't wait to gather more ingredients to put into my granola bars. Next up- pistachios and dark chocolate?!

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

2 cups of rolled oats

1/3 cup of sunflower seeds

1/4 cup of raw almonds

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup dried cranberries

My Store on Storenvy is opened!

THE CHEE$E, my Storenvy storefront for Karmesan Cheese has now opened up! For now, I'm simply reselling excellent condition items from my closet, but soon enough I will be releasing reconstructed vintage pieces, other vintage finds, and some art pieces.  I am hoping to create some other merch that I could have available for Karmesan Cheese soon, so stay tuned!

If you're looking for some Jeffrey Campbells and some OG streetwear pieces like an Obey crop top or Stussy hoodie, stop by the shop and have a look. I'll be adding more pieces throughout the week to the inventory. I wouldn't mind talking prices and I will accept an offer as long as it's fair. Feel free to reach out and contact me! 

Quinoa Bowls

I'm a HUGE fan of entrees that have a lot of variety in textures, tastes, and colors. The quinoa bowl is one of those dishes that covers all of those bases for me. I got the idea to create this recipe on my own after spending a lunch date with one of my friends at a new healthy food joint in Boston that we both haven't been to before- Freshii.

If you're a local and you're curious as to where that is, it's right in the Financial District on High St. It's very cute, casual and modern. They have these menus which allow you to create your own bowls without thinking you don't want to be that guy listing out a buttload of ingredients you'd like to add to your order. Instead you just fill out the mini sheet and hand it over to the cashier. I ordered the quinoa bowl with added grilled salmon, sweet corn, beets, shredded carrot, broccoli, edamame and cucumber dill sauce with a bottle of raw coconut water just to try it out. I didn't really do a good job with choosing the right sauce for the ingredients (sort of tasted bland), but overall I liked the concept of Freshii and Boston needs more healthy quick eats like this.

And that is where my inspiration to recreate my own recipe had sprouted. I remember having a similar healthy dish from Life Alive (vegan restaurant in Cambridge) and the ingredients that they had used. One ingredient that particularly stuck out in my mind were the toasted marcona almonds. Unfortunately, I didn't have any of those so you can always improvise! In this case, I used slivered almonds I had at home and toasted them to the perfection. I think the toasty bite really made this dish.

First, you would have to prepare the quinoa. I cooked one cup of quinoa, and it's enough for 3-4 servings for myself. To the quinoa, I add salt and garlic powder for taste. In the meantime while that pot of quinoa is cooking, I would go ahead and toast the almonds and cook up the corn and the broccoli/cabbage medley. The corn I used were the frozen kernels, but if you have fresh corn on the cob on hand- the fresher the better! For the broccoli/shredded cabbage medley, I cooked it with a teaspoon and a half of sesame oil for taste. Carrots are the last to prepare and simply need to be shredded. Grilled chicken is one ingredient I always prepare an abundance of so I can include them in different recipes. It's a versatile lean protein that you can incorporate into any and every meal. I also like to add a huge spoonful of feta (I looooove cheeeese!) After all the preppings of the ingredients separately, spoon whatever amount of each ingredient on top of a bed of quinoa and the mix together so you can get a spoonful of everything with each bite.

Quinoa Bowl Recipe/Instructions: 

Step 1: Cook the quinoa (instructions are typically on the package) and set aside. 

Step 2: Toast the almonds. I would only toast for 4 minutes or keep an eye on it. 

Step 3: Take a head of broccoli and break it down to bite size pieces. Chop up and shred a half a small head of cabbage. Head up the pan to a medium heat and drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil. Toss in the veggies together. While they are cooking for about 2 minutes or so, spoon in a teaspoon and a half of sesame oil for taste. I would either wait another 8 minutes for it to cook thoroughly or keep an eye on it for the color change and then set aside. 

Step 4: Defrost and cook the sweet corn. Set aside. 

Step 5: Shred the carrots. 

Step 6: Put about 1 cup of quinoa into a bowl or however much you would like. And spoon in all the ingredients that you've prepped to your desire. I top it off by putting in feta cheese but you can certainly put whatever cheese you'd like on top. Mix it up, and chow down. And that's it!

This is again another recipe that you can really make your own, and that's the best part. You can definitely work your magic with your culinary skills and see what you can come up with! For my next quinoa bowl, I'm going to incorporate some dried cranberries and kale. If you guys come up with anything great from playing with this recipe, let me know! I'd love to hear.

Who needs Chipotle?

This is again one of those recipes that you can really make your own and that's what I love about it. Of course there are those typical staples to this dish, such as the guac, some type of beans- however, it's really up to you whether or not you'd like to make those health-conscious substitutes for the other additions to this dish. One trick that you'll see here is my use of plain Chobani yogurt instead of sour cream. It's amazing how you don't even taste the difference! Also, I used a microwavable pack of organic quinoa and brown rice mix that cooks in 1 minute! I purchase a pack of these microwavable pouches from B.J.'s wholesale. It's quick AND healthy.
I honestly didn't make the salsa due to the lack of time, but it's a great little side project that I'll definitely touch upon later! The guacamole is homemade of course, and very simple to make in preparation for the burrito bowl. The chicken was also previously grilled on Sunday when I do my weekly meal preps. I like to grill a pack of chicken and store it for other uses throughout the week for salads, etc. This dish doesn't take long to make at all and it's perfect to sneak in those healthy ingredients without your kids or your family members noticing. Who really needs Chipotle when it's this easy? Not only will you save time but also $$$ and the calories. 

Homemade Burrito Bowl 
Guacamole 3 Avocados  1/4 of a minced onion 5 grape tomatoes chopped into quarters Pinch of salt & pepper for taste
Per Serving * 1/2 Pouch of Seeds of Change organic quinoa & brown rice with garlic * A small handful of cheddar jack cheese (You can use whatever cheese you'd like!) * 2 tablespoons of plain Chobani * 2 tablespoons of cooked black beans * 2 tablespoons of cooked corn kernels (seasoned with garlic powder)  * 3 tablespoons of guac * 2 tablespoons of salsa * 1 grilled chicken breast chopped up * 1 cup of shredded lettuce *** Add some hot sauce for a kick!

What's In My Bag?

Work Tote, Zara / Water bottle (I try really stick to the 8 cups of water per day rule!) / Rosebud Strawberry Lipbalm & Blistex Lip Medex (My absolute favorite. Perfect for harsh Boston winters.) / MAC Cremesheen in Creme d'Nude (One of the only lipstick I continuously repurchase.) / Brown rice green tea packets / Charliecard / Set of keys + Marc by Marc Jacobs key lanyard / Clutch wallet, Express (gift from my aunt a long time ago) / Mini sketchpad / Kleenex / iPhone 5 (with a sloth case!!!) + headphones / Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses / Purse organizer, Ebay (I hate when I have a bottomless pit of a bag. This helps a lot with organizing this large tote.)

I thought it'd be fun to do a post covering what was inside my bag at the moment. A girl's bag is a great way to get to know her- not suggesting any guys should rummage through a girl's bag though! This is actually more of my day-to-day work tote, so it contains more of my daily essentials than I would have in my weekend bags.