Editorial
Front Page - Friday, June 18, 2010
Kay's Cooking Corner
Kay Bona
Don and I are still on our health kick. I know it doesn’t sound like much to most of you, but for us, it is a big deal! We are quite proud of ourselves.
I have really ramped up my walking. I have been walking about 4 miles a day. I usually skip one day somewhere in the week, but I have been walking six days a week. Don is working on his exercise as much as his recuperation will allow.
We have also cut out our late-night snacking – a terrible habit we had worked into our evening around ten or so. It started out simple enough – a bag of fat-free popcorn occasionally. However, it went from that to ice cream, then a helping of Tiramisu from one of our favorite Italian restaurants…it just kept going. Cheesecake….
I blame it on the Golden Girls. Really. We watch them at night after ten and they are always pulling out that cheesecake! How can you watch them do that and not want something yourself? At first it doesn’t bother you much, but night after night of watching them scarf down cheesecake really starts playing on your senses. And they aren’t gaining any weight. So, hey – why not?
We quickly learned, though, that if we were going to watch the Golden Girls then we had to start ignoring their late night dessert binges. WE gained weight. But, of course, you already know that!
This healthy lifestyle quest has me in search of healthy recipes. Not log ago, my son’s fiancé, Jessica, got me started on eating Kellogg’s Special K, 90-calorie Cereal Bars. She carries one or two in her purse so when she gets hungry, she can have a little pick-me-up without a lot of calories. So I started eating them also. I mean, she weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, so she is doing something right!
These little bars are quite good; I like the Blueberry best. And they are nice and handy for carrying around when you are out shopping and running errands. In fact, they can be a little too handy, if you know what I mean!
I found a recipe for some snack bars that are great for giving you that little burst of energy, and they are great! These bars are a great pre-workout snack on mornings when you don’t have time for breakfast, and your kids will love them. They are carbohydrate-rich, full of nuts, seeds, fruit and oats, and also include a little protein.
I don’t know how handy they would be while running errands and such because they don’t have the preservatives and “stuff” in them, but they are healthy, and fun to make! And good for you!
Peanut Energy Bars
1/2 cup dry-roasted,
salted Peanuts
1/2 cup roasted Sunflower
Seeds
2 cups dried Cherries,
(or other chopped dried
fruit)
2 cups rolled Oats,
quick-cooking
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/4 cup toasted Wheat
Germ
1/2 cup crunchy Peanut
Butter
1/2 cup packed Brown
Sugar
1/2 cup light Corn Syrup
or Honey
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Coat an 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Combine peanuts, sunflower seeds, cherries (or other dried fruit), oats, cereal and wheat germ in a large bowl. Combine peanut butter, brown sugar and corn syrup or honey in a large microwaveable bowl; microwave on High until bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla and stir until blended. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Press down firmly. (It helps to coat your fingers with cooking spray.) Let stand for about 1 hour to harden. Cut
into bars.
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