I’m about to have a real problem on my hands…

I still have leftover matcha bars in my kitchen and I have two more desserts planned for testing next week. Crossing my fingers and hoping that every piece of this strawberry almond bark gets eaten this Easter weekend so that I don’t end up with 4 desserts in my house, because I will eat them all if there’s no one there to stop me. It’s a mathematical certainty.

I LOVE sweets. I try my best to answer my cravings with fruit, but oftentimes I’ll finish my apple or grapefruit or what-have-you and be left thinking, “Well that was good, but it sure wasn’t cake. I wish it would have been cake.” If it’s not a cookie or worse, my body just does not consider it sugar. Does anyone else have this problem?

I like to think that eating a little sliver of this strawberry almond bark, with it’s creamy white chocolate base and tart little berry bits, is better than downing two slices of birthday cake (which I totally did this weekend.) It has fruit on it, so it’s healthy right? Haha. My brain can talk me into anything.

Strawberry almond bark

A pink and pretty strawberry almond candy that's quick and easy to whip up.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 (11oz.) bag of white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries

Cooking Directions

1. Pour white chocolate chips into a heat-safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 20 second intervals until white chocolate is fully melted.
2. Crush half of the freeze dried strawberries into the white chocolate and mix through, then pour the mixture onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and spread evenly with a spatula.
3. Sprinkle over the sliced almonds and remaining strawberries and gently pat into the chocolate.
4. Refrigerate or freeze until hardened, then slice into irregular pieces. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

I’m taking the last of this bark to Easter lunch with family to try to unload it. There will be more birthday cake there, wish me luck.

Do you have an unbridled lust for sugar that cannot be tamed?

April 1, 2013 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 9 comments

I was a little nervous to buy this Odwalla bar because I’ve had one of their bars before that I was not a fan of. This one though was from their line of “chewy nut bars” that I hadn’t heard of, so I figured I could give Odwalla one more shot.

I will however, continue to be totally creeped out by Odwalla’s weird bird mascot. He looks like a soulless man-eating daggar-beaked pterodactyl sent straight from hell to poke my eyes out.  Seriously, look at how recklessly he rides that bike downhill with those face protrusions pointed straight toward certain calamity! Think of the children! 😉

I couldn’t get a good shot of the ingredients or nutritional information because the font was white on an orange background, very hard to read.

It has 220 calories, perfect for a satisfying snack. Only 8 grams of sugar in this one which is fantastic. I’m pretty happy with the size of this bar too, it really fills up every inch of the packaging it comes in so you know exactly what you’re getting.

Appearance: As you can see, there are tons of whole oats and large pieces of almond all glued together with a shiny golden lacquer.

Texture: You’d think it would be crunchy with the candy-like coating and huge almond pieces, but it is actually chewy as advertised. It’s flexible and bendy and not too sticky in your hand.

Taste: If I had to describe this flavor in one word I would choose “golden.” It has a buttery, honeyed, freshly baked sweet dinner roll kind of flavor. It reminds me a lot of caramel popcorn with it’s balance of sweet and salty. The almonds are roasted and flavorful and taste like those hot candied almonds you can buy at fairs. Incredible.

Overall, I am so impressed with this bar. It tastes pretty sinful for being full of such wholesome ingredients. This is one I’m sure I’ll buy again, especially since Odwalla bars are very affordable.

Do you prefer chewy or crunchy bars?

July 27, 2011 Alayna Discussion 6 comments

Awesome breakfast concoction this morning!

I made my own cereal (which I consider a different thing entirely from muesli, because it’s more light and airy) out of a new product I stumbled upon yesterday at the grocery store.

I was looking all up and down the healthy cereal aisle for a cereal that was low on sugar but had great texture. All of those cereals were too sugary and too expensive though, but I did find this little gem for about $2…

I used to love cereals like Smack’s growing up, so I thought I could recreate something like that by adding a touch of honey to this Arrowhead Mills puffed wheat.

I bulked it up with some puffed amaranth, toasted buckwheat, raw pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, and a topping of fresh blueberries. With a drizzle of honey and vanilla almond milk, it really did remind me of those sweet cereals of my childhood, but without all the extra sugar.

Puffed wheat cereal

A healthy cereal for a fraction of the cost of the boxed stuff.

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup puffed wheat
• 2 tbsp. puffed amaranth
• 1 tbsp. toasted buckwheat
• sprinkle of slivered almonds
• sprinkle of raw pumpkin seeds
• drizzle of honey

Cooking Directions

1. Combine everything in a bowl, top with your favorite fresh fruit, and serve with your favorite milk or nut milk.

Just look at that honey drizzle!

This made for a light breakfast, perfect for a warm morning when I don’t want anything too heavy. Now if I could only find a way to make Fruity Pebbles healthy….

What was your favorite cereal as a child?

July 19, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 3 comments