♣ Friday Five ♣ 9-14-2018

♣ Friday Five ♣ 9-14-2018

by | Sep 14, 2018 | Favorites, Home, Life, Personal Development

Hey friends!  It’s time for another Friday Five.  I’m not always that consistent with my blog but I am trying to change that!  What sort of content do you enjoy seeing?  I like variety so you can continue to expect that from me.  As for now, let’s get into the Friday Five!

Forager Project Organic Pressed Vegetable Chips

Crunchy snacks aren’t usually my thing but that was before I tasted these gluten-free chips!  No, they don’t taste like vegetables the way those fake veggie straws do.  You’ll actually want to eat these!  I love the chips on their own, dipped into vegan cream cheese!  They are also my choice for easy skillet nachos (see this post on my Instagram).  Sometimes I even crumble them on top of my salads like a boss.  I’ve tried the original and the cheesy variety, so far, and both are SO GOOD!

skillet nachos via instagram

Atlanta

If you asked me what the last show I’d be interested in watching is, besides Master of None (read this post for clarification), I’d say Atlanta.  I kind of have a genre of TV shows that I lean towards.  If it’s not on The CW, is it even worth watching?  Jk.  Though, I have been rapidly expanding my interests and this show is so different from anything else I watch. 

friday five atlanta

It’s about a group of guys from poverty-ridden Atlanta—one of the guys being Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), who plays a manager for his rap artist cousin, Paper Boi—trying to make a buck and make it big in the rap music scene.  The show portrays the socio-cultural challenges they face as Paper Boi gains exposure.  It also addresses very real instances of discrimination with shock, humor, and finesse.  Freaking Hulu decided to take season 2 of Atlanta off their site so, if you know where I can find it, help a sister out!

vegan pb cookie dough stuffed brownies

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough-Stuffed Brownies

Do you ever go to the “explore food” part of Instagram and see these wild photos of decadent eats?  Usually it’s something covered in puddles of chocolate or a big doughnut oozing peanut butter filling!  Oh, or maybe that stuff just appears in my feed (???).  Anyway, the idea of cookie dough stuffed in between a brownie sounds real extravagant but I found a way to get my fix without killing my waistline.  I also snuck some peanut butter Tone it Up protein in there.  Yupp, yupp, yupp!  I’ll be shouting “hooray!” while dunking one of these bad boys in some almond milk.  😎 You can find the recipe for these over at FoodFitnessFaith!

the power of now

The Power of Now

Do ya’ll remember when I started my blog, I loved doing book reviews?  Throwback moment!  I am contemplating reviewing The Power of Now but, at this time, I’ll just say that it is brilliant.  The text contained in the book does not involve words unheard of but, rather, an illumination to a pattern of disconnect we all partake in.  In our day and age, it can be difficult to be present but the benefits are quite a fascinating discovery.  Presence allows us to tap into a state of inner peace and separates us from the pain we may have learned to associate with.

Binaural beats meditation

Binaural music is produced to provide a listener with music that, when listened through headphones, comes in at two different frequencies.  When the brain receives these two frequencies of sound, it initially wants to interpret them but is soon encouraged to drop the analyzing and just accept it. 

Similarly, the same can occur for your thoughts.  That’s why I like using it for meditation music when I want to release my grip on certain thoughts.  There is a greater and more detailed explanation on the different frequencies over on this article.  You can also find some great meditation music, including the binaural beats variety, on YouTube, and one of my favorites is this one: 

Thanks for reading!  I hope you all are having a lovely Friday and are off to a great weekend!  Let me know what you’re going to be up to in the comments or over on Instagram!

Xoxo!

Creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate Crisp Bars

Creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate Crisp Bars

by | Jul 12, 2017 | Health, Home, Recipes

Today I’m bringing you guys some magical Creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate Crisp Bars made with Erewhon Organic’s Cinnamon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal.

If you’ve been following my A Day of FLO Living posts, then you’ll know I enjoy eating food that is nourishing for me and my cycle.  Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that chocolate-topped peanut butter crisp bars are “health food” but I’ll say they come close.  During my ovulatory phase I was craving sweets LIKE CRAZY—specifically chocolate.  Lucky for me, chocolate is on the list of WomanCode approved foods for ovulatory phase.  Yippee!

peanut butter chocolate dream bars

So, I went into the kitchen, with a bit of guidance from Angela Liddons’ Oh She Glows Everyday Cookbook, and got experimenting.  I used Angela’s recipe for Nut-Free Dream Bars as a base but I tinkered with the sweetener, salt, and, of course, the nut butter.  For me, what makes these bars awesome is the pairing of protein and fat, both of which lessen the sugar punch and make these bars satiating.  Of course, macronutrients aside, the chocolate-peanut butter combination is also a huge appeal!

The result is a large number of bars that are:

Creamy,

Fatty (eh-hem, I mean rich!),

Peanut buttery,

And crunchy from the peanuts and crispy brown rice cereal crust.

They require a small amount of prep but NO BAKING.  This is a freezer treat at its finest.  Plus, once made, they will last forever in the freezer!  Just let them defrost for a few minutes before biting into them.  If you can exercise restraint, let them defrost for five to ten minutes and the peanut butter filling gets extra creamy and oozy.  In fact, the filling contrasts so nicely in that state with the crisp crust and solid chocolate topping.  Together, the three layers make for one delightfully decadent and delicious dessert or snack.

peanut butter chocolate dream bars

Let me know if you give these bars a try!  Just writing this post makes me crave one so I’ll be at my freezer if you need me!  👋

Creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate Crisp Bars
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Melanie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 18-20 bars
These rich and creamy no-bake bars, adapted from Angela Liddon’s recipe, make for a satisfying dessert or snack when those chocolate peanut butter cravings kick in! The combination of crispiness from the crust and creaminess from the bars just can’t be beat!
Ingredients
  • Crust Ingredients:
  • 1 ½ tbsp melted virgin coconut oil
  • 1 ½ cups Erewhon Organic Cinnamon Brown Rice Cereal
  • 2 tbsp cacao powder or cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • a pinch of salt
  • Filling Ingredients:
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup melted virgin coconut oil
  • ¼ to ½ tsp salt, depending on the saltiness of the peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Chocolate Topping Ingredients:
  • 1/3 cup melted virgin coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup cacao or cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped, for topping
  • Sea salt, for topping, optional
Instructions
  1. Line a large loaf tin (see notes) with parchment paper and lightly grease with coconut oil.
  2. In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients for the crust. With a rubber spatula, mash up the cereal until it looks crumby and thoroughly coated. Then, press the crust down into the bottom of the loaf tin. Place it in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
  3. In the same bowl, rinsed and wiped clean, combine the next five ingredients. As a precaution, make sure the ingredients for the filling are all room temperature. If the maple syrup or peanut butter are cold then that will make the coconut oil seize up. The mixture should be smooth. Adjust salt to taste.
  4. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling on top. Gently swivel the pan so that the filling covers the crust completely and so that the top is flat and even. Now, the filling will set in the freezer for an hour before the final topping.
  5. After waiting the appropriate amount of time for the filling to solidify, begin making the chocolate topping. Whisk together melted coconut oil, cacao powder, and maple syrup until no clumps remain. Chop the peanuts and keep them at the ready.
  6. Remove the loaf tin from the freezer and pour the chocolate over the filling. Be warned: it freezes almost instantaneously! While the chocolate is still wet, throw on the peanuts and a sprinkle of sea salt. The chocolate layer will soon solidify from the cold from the loaf tin.
  7. You may then remove the bars, using the parchment paper to lift them out. Move them to a cutting board and slowly cut into 18-20 squares. If the bars seem melty in any way, do put them back into the freezer for 10 minutes or so. They may fall apart if you try cutting them while soft.
  8. The peanut butter chocolate dream bars are best stored in the freezer. Pull one out when you want to enjoy a bar and let it sit at room temperature for up to 3-5 minutes. They will soften to an easier-to-bite state. Wait a little longer and the peanut butter filling gets extra oozy and delicious!
Notes
My baking tin is 9.5 x 5 inches though Angela’s recipe uses a 10 x 6 inch pan. I believe that a standard 9 x 5 loaf tin could work, too but your bars will just be a bit thicker.[br]Cooking time also reflects freezing time in this recipe.

Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows Everyday Cookbook Nut-Free Dream Bars.

Thank you to Attune Foods for providing me with Erewhon Organic Cinnamon Brown Rice Cereal to make this recipe possible.

peanut butter chocolate dream bars