chewy chocolate energy bites

The last few mornings, I've taken Carl for a walk. If you don't know who Carl is, he's my pet turtle. Just kidding, he's my huge 120 pound baby rottweiler! He's the cutest thing ever, despite the amount of toilet paper and other non edible objects he consumes on a daily basis. He's got quite the funny personality too. He loves to sit on people because he thinks he's approximately the size of a poodle. Carl's got identity issues.

Anyways, I think he has ADHD times a thousand, so we don't bring him for walks often {read: EVER}. That AND you know how the dogs are here… They bark at you like nobody's business and the owners just leave the gates open so that their dogs can so lovingly approach you. Or attack you. 

The last time we took him outside of the gate was probably at least 5 months ago. Poor guy, so anti-social like. That didn't go well… Our walk was like 5 feet long because he was going bonkers and decided he wanted to roll over and lay down in the middle of the road. Cool, Carl. Cool. 

You should see people's faces when they see us coming down the road. At one point in our walk the other morning, there were lots of people out walking. But when they saw Carl and I coming down the road, everyone moved to the other side. It was kinda hilarious. Because none of the dogs here are really taken care of let alone walked on a daily basis, we get some pretty funny and scared for their life looks. 

WELL! Turns out, his skills have improved over the months. I don't know HOW since he doesn't have much experience, but I'll take it. I took him on a route on a side of the neighborhood where the dogs are better behaved. Yah, the neighborhood is split up into areas of good dogs and bad dogs. But, he did WAY better than I expected. Baby boy didn't even bark the whole time and just kinda… Stared at the other dogs. "Yah, Look at me. I'm outside of the gate, suckers!" 

Towards the end of the walk, he's so pooped, so I decide to take advantage of it and run a little bit. First, he starts of walking and I'm pretty much dragging this dumb 120 pound dog down the road. But then, he gets little bursts of energy and pulls me with all his might. It's kinda like an "I pull you, you pull me." situation. So… my arms are pretty sore. 

In other news… I made you energy bites. They're chocolatey and healthy. Surprised? Perfect for a post-walk snack! Or any-time-of-the-day snack. 

chewy chocolate energy bites

makes 9 medium sized bites

1 1/4 c. dried pitted dates, finely chopped

3 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. oats

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the dates, honey, and vanilla. Add oats and cocoa and fold in dark chocolate chips. Roll dough into balls; about 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Place into an airtight container or plastic bag and store refrigerated. 

toast with smashed avocado & fried egg

Some of the best things in life are just so utterly simple.

This? It's one of those things. Who'd think that smashing an avocado on some toast and topping it off with an egg could bring a human so much happiness! Well let me tell you… 

It brought me loooooots have happiness. Lots. 

I find joy in the little things. 

This whole thing is more of an "idea" than an actual recipe. There's just a short little list of ingredients and no measurements. You just kinda throw in a little bit of this a little bit of that, and call it a day. 

It's SO GREAT!!! 

Anyways, I'm sure you've heard of this "idea" as we're calling it before. 

On my instagram feed I see someone eating this for some meal at least once a day. It's like a sickness or something. 

I'm surprised it took me, the avocado freakazoid that I am, so long to give it a shot. I'm late to the show… Like always. Ha. 

HOWEVER, it might be because I usually tend to stray away from savory rather than sweet breakfasts. But boy, I'm willing to part with my weird ways. I've definitely found my new favorite breakfast. or lunch. or dinner. or dessert. 

Just kidding on the last part by the way. 

First, you need some bread. That bread up there is my favoritest carb in all the land. It's what they call around these here parts "health bread". It's pretty much just wheat bread with some nuts and raisins thrown in there. AMAZING. 

Use something good… Because after all, this is the throne of the whole entire meal. You could use some french bread. Or maaaaaaaybe… Some ciabatta? Whoa. 

Next, you thrown on half an avocado. This is my favorite part, guys! You take a fork to the avo and squash it all up real nice. Top it off with your super weird looking fried egg and now we're cookin' with peanut oil (NAME THAT SHOW!!! If you don't know. It rhymes with Shmuck Shmynasty.) 

By the way… Not really sure if that's even a fried egg. It kinda fell apart when I made it, but I just decided to call it a fried egg because it sounds cooler that way. 

This is by FAR one of the best meals I've made. It's so simple and quick, delicious AAAAND healthy! For something more balanced, try throwing some veggies into the mix! Or maybe cheese. Cheese is always a good idea. 

toast with smashed avocado & fried egg

2 pieces of bread of choice, toasted

olive oil

2 eggs

1 avocado

salt & pepper, to taste

Grease a frying pan with olive oil on medium heat. Once heated, crack eggs into pan. Do not stir around! Let cook for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook for about another minute. Using a fork, smash half an avocado on each piece of bread. Place egg on top of toast. Season to taste and serve with veggies if desired. 

{skinny} chocolate peanut butter pie

One my bestest friends' birthdays was about a month or so ago, and at her party {with 2 friends. I feel so honored.}, along with a humungo chocolate laden cake, there was a cute little peanut butter pie. I opted for the pie because gosh dang it, I love my peanut butter! I took a bite, took a few more, and then seconds, and maaaaaaybe thirds. When she told me that it was healthy, the angels started singing. "How in the what is this healthy?", I thought to myself. Well apparently the crust was made from dates and the pie part was peanut butter and bananas.  Thank goodness it was healthy though, because that made up for the fact that I ate like a quarter of the pie by myself. No shame. 

Anyways, since that glorious day of discovery so long ago, I've been thinking about this pie. Non. Stop. Almost every day. ALMOST. As you can tell, my thoughts are mostly consumed of sprinkles and pretty pastries and brownies and healthy pies.  It's kinda weird. I seriously have no idea why I've waited so long to make this pie. It's SO quick and easy and you TOTALLY can't tell it's healthy, I promise! Pinky promise! If I never even found out that it was healthy, I'd still say it's the best peanut butter based dessert I've ever tasted. I'm not joshing here, people. 

I'd have to say, I think the healthy chocolate crust is my favorite part of the pie. It's made with dates, honey, cocoa powder, and cookie crumbs. I know that sounds rather unappetizing, but it results in a super chewy, chocolaty crust- the perfect base for… PEANUT BUTAAAAAAAAAH! The pie part is  SUPER easy. If you feel like leaving the crust off, I'm sure you could, and you could have this ready in just a couple minutes. The filling is made of pureed bernerners, honey, peanut butter, vanilla, and a little bit of powdered sugar. Pour that into the crust, plop it in the freezer, and wait for a few hours. I know. It sucks to wait. But if you don't freeze it, you'd be left with a gooey gloppy peanut buttery mess. Which aaaaaaaactually doesn't sound too shabby. 

Just be classy and freeze it.

This pie is GREAT to just make ahead and keep in the freezer for when you get those cravings for something sweet. It makes it easier to have something healthy on hand instead of caving in and eating a package of cookies or something NOT healthy. The best part is, you can eat like half the thing if you're feeling real crazy. Yah, be like me. 

{skinny} chocolate peanut butter

crust: 

1 c. dates

1 c. cookie crumbs/graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c. cocoa 

1/2 c. honey

filling: 

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp. powdered sugar

To make the crust, combine the dates, cookie crumbs, cocoa, and honey in a food processor or blender. Press into a round pie dish and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, peanut butter, and honey. Add in the powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate for 2+ hours or until firm. 

oats 'n honey granola bars {Nature Valley copycat}

I'm excited right now! For multiple reasons actually… because a) it's the weekend. and I have done absotootly nothing. b) I hear thunder. c) 2 of todays' meals consisted of avocado. and Deeeeeeeeee) This is my last post. Wait, that came out wrong. If this was my last post, I'd be bawling my eyes out and shoving my face with brownies. No. You see, I somehow, over the last month(s), have accumulated posts. I'm talking like… 6 drafts all written up at once. And this is the last one! Other than some weird randomness that I made back in January. But I'll save those for when I need something last minute. For emergencies or something… Look at me, thinking ahead! Anyways, it feels good to be on track again. From now on, my posts shall go like this… Bake. Eat. Photograph. Eat more. Write. Post. Boom. 

… So. Granola bars. 

I always have, always will, and still do adore granola bars. If you've followed MHP for awhile, I think I've made that more than apparent. The Oats 'N Honey ones from Nature Valley were seriously my absolute favorite. I used to eat those things like it was my j-o-b! The only way it would have been better is if I actually got paid for shoving my face with Happy Bars. I ate them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night snack, after swimming lessons, before karate, during break at dance class… As you can tell, they were my jelly.

I think copycat is the wrong adjective to describe these bars... Identical is more like it. Seriously, I need to find some green aluminum wrappers to wrap them in, and BOOM! Exact. I almost feel bad that I'm sharing this recipe because I'm pretty sure once you try it, you'll never ever buy a box of those things again and then the company will run out of money because HEY nobody's buying their stuff anymore. Their ex-customers are all at home whipping up a homemade batch that tastes identical or maybe even… better. GASP.

I have to say, at first, I was a bit skeptical of this recipe. It looked a little too dry when I pressed it into the pan and there weren't many ingredients in there. How does that work? Oh, it works. And it works well. I think I've found my new favorite granola bar recipe! I'll definitely be making these again super soon. Like yesterday. The only thing I'm going to do differently next time is double the batch because 6 small bars isn't going to last long in this household. I know it. 

What's your favorite granola bar? Storebought or homemade? Links are welcome :) 

oats 'n honey granola bars {Nature Valley Copycat} 

recipe from Half Baked Harvest

1 1/2 cup rolled oats (use gluten free oats for a gluten free version)

1/2 cup rice crispies cereal

3 tablespoons cornmeal

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons canola oil 

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 9x9 inch square pyrex dish with parchment paper.

Combine the oats, rice crispies, cornmeal, salt and baking soda in a medium size mixing bowl. In a glass measuring cup or microwave safe bowl mix the honey and canola oil. Place in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then add the vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk to combine and then mix the wet with the dry ingredients. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pyrex dish that is lined with parchment paper, and press down hard. 

Place in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The bars will be golden on top. Let the bars cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove from the pan and let sit another 20 minutes or so before cutting. Store in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrap.

salted peanut & butterscotch puppy chow popcorn

There's some foods that I can just have a bite of or even totally pass up {emphasis on SOME. Not many. At all. But SOME.}. And THEN there's things that I make and can't seem to stop eating. Like there's a magnet constantly attracting my hand to the bowl and I have no self control whatsoever. It's like... involuntary. Isn't there a name for that? Uhh. This goodness is one of those things. Awhile ago, the sugar angels of above {my brain.} sent me a vision of morphing puppy chow and popcorn into one super addicting snack that turned out to be one of the most popular recipes on the blog. Ahhmahhgahhh that was good. I've made that stuff countless times and my love continued to grow, BUT I was getting ready to switch it up. 

I'd have to say, aside from the obvious chocolate and peanut butter, butterscotch and peanut butter are up there on the awesome scale. It's the perfect combo of sweet and salty... My favorite! Add some salted peanuts and powdered sugar into the mix and HOLY GOSH, you're toast, man. In a good way. Please, just prepare yourself to lose all control of your eating habits when you get within, oh... 10 feet of this popcorn. 

This snack is way quick and easy! You can have it from microwave to mouth in about 5 minutes, especially if you use microwave popcorn instead of stovetop. Whatever floats your boat! Combine some butterscotch chips and peanut butter in a mug, pop it in the microwave, and stir it up until it's all smooth and creamy and dreamy. Abstain from dipping your face in it. We don't want to make a mess here. Pour that greatness on top of the popcorn, throw in some peanuts and powdered sugar, toss it around in a big 'ol bowl, and prepare to be amazed. 

The end. 

salted peanut & butterscotch puppy chow popcorn

9 c. prepared popcorn {microwave or stovetop is fine}
1 c. butterscotch chips
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. salted peanuts
3/4 c. powdered sugar

In a microwave safe bowl or mug, microwave the peanut butter and butterscotch chips until just melted; stir until smooth. In a large bowl, pour the peanut butter/butterscotch mixture over popcorn. Add in salted peanuts and powdered sugar. Toss to combine.

banana oatmeal dark chocolate muffins

Quiet Saturday mornings, home alone, are totally the best thing ever. With our crazy hectic weeks, it's rare for me to have the house to myself. And when I do, I take full advantage of it, soaking up the tranquility of it all. Usually, I crank up my music and bake in the morning. But this week, I decided to really have some peace to myself. No music. No baking. No TV. I woke up to a grey sky and the smell of rain drifting in through my window. Of course with this horrible drought that Namibia is going through, it looks like it's going to rain but doesn't. It's like a trick. Like showing me a chocolate brownie and then taking it away. Not fair. The streets were so quiet and perfect, with no hustle or bustle like during the week when the town is getting to work and school. So I left the windows open, sipped my coffee, and read a good book, letting my imagination wander. Ya know, it's hard to let your imagination wander when there's loud children catching chameleons and running around your house 24/7. Again, I love quiet Saturday mornings. I savored my breakfast without feeling rushed to go for my run or get started on school. Love it!

Breakfast is my absolute FAVORITE meal of the day, in case you haven't been able to tell with all the granola and muesli recipes I've been whipping out lately. It's also really important when I exercise every morning to have a good breakfast that will strengthen the muscles I worked and keep my mind focused for school. I made a batch of super healthy muffins to have on hand that I can grab for a quick, nutritious breakfast with some fruit and yogurt on the side. Since I made these specifically for breakfasts, I made them as healthy as possible. No butter, refined sugar, or flour! The best part is that they really honestly don't taste healthy at all. They taste like a normal banana muffin without all the added junk!

banana oatmeal dark chocolate muffins

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 3/4 c. plain yogurt 

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. honey

1 1/4 c. wholewheat flour

1 1/4 c. oats

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. dark chocolate chips 

In a large bowl, combine the bananas, yogurt, honey, vanilla, and egg. Stir until smooth. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, and cinnamon. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and stir until combined. Spoon mixture into a greased or lined muffin tin, filling each 3/4 full. Bake at 400ºF for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and cool on a wire rack. 

And there's dark chocolate. Hellooooooooooooo.

4 layer s'mores bars

I think I am in love brownies... In mugs, skinny ones, stuffed up the wazoo with snickers, smothered in peanut butter frosting, baked into cupcakes or just plain and dusted with powdered sugar. That is the stuff.  NOW I present you with s'mores. Made with 4 layers of joy and happiness. Uh huh... Honestly, when it comes to baking, I'm not much of a rebel. I typically stick to the simple, classic recipes and shy away anything crazy like filling ice cream cones with frosting or shoving cake into fudge. Don't dig. But I kinda just threw those reservations out the window when I layered graham cracker crust, fudgey and thick brownies, gooey marshmallows, and a crunchy chocolate shell. Best decision of my life. 

Rarely does an occasion occur when I am ASKED to bake something. Sure my family loves my baking and gobbles up a plate of anything covered in chocolate, but usually, I just bake because I feel like it or really want sugar. {This happens often.} But last week, my mom asked me to make something chocolatey because we had some visitors from the states and they loooooove their chocolate. I braved the challenge, grabbed a heck load of chocolate, more chocolate, graham crackers, brick 'a butter, marshmallows, and went to town. The result was glorious. << understatement. 

Let's start from the bottom, shall we? Like your typical s'mores the base is graham cracker crust. Nothing fancy, just graham crackers {or tea biscuits which is what I used} and butter, baked for a few minutes until light brown and buttery. Next up is the brownie layer. For this layer I adapted a recipe from Averie Cooks. I have a brownie recipe that I use for everything but decided to try a new one that looked just as good if not better. {Obviously, I was in a rebellious mood this given day. Yeesh.} The brownie turned out great- super dense and fudgey and really sink-your-teeth-into-it-able. 

Next up, marshmallows! Or as a little munchkin I used to babysit calls them- MARSHAMOOOOOWS! Not much to explain here. Pretty much grab a handful or fifty seven of marshmallows, sprinkle 'em on top of the brownie layer, and watch them bake to golden brown, puffy perfection. Resist the urge to eat the melty marshmallows right off the top with a spoon. RESIST! After the 3 layers are done baking and melding together, and as if you couldn't get any more sinful, you top it off with a layer of melted chocolate. AGAIN, resist the temptation to drown your sorrows in drippy chocolate. I'm sorry these brownies require WAAAAY a lot of self-discipline which I kinda sorta lack. I also may or may not have taken a bite from the pan right out of the oven and burned the crap out of the roof of my mouth. Thanks to my self-discipline and lack there of, I wasn't able to fully enjoy my cup of coffee the next morning. Learn from my mistakes, dear one. 

These bars are definitely one of my favorites recipes and they were a hit with everyone. My mom went so far as to say the best bars I've EVER made. Which, not to toot my own horn or anything, is quite impressive. These bars of joy are SO dense and chewy. There's a million different textures and flavors going on, but they come together to form one stinking delicious dessert I know you'll love. 

4 layer s'mores bars

Graham Cracker Layer:
14 tea biscuits {or 7 graham crackers} crushed
4 tbsp. butter, melted

Brownie Layer: {adapted from Averie Cooks}

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
3/4 c. cake flour

Topping: 
3 c. marshmallows
1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chunks, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside. Start off by preparing your graham cracker layer. Combine the melted butter and crushed cookies. Press into prepared pan. Now prepare the brownie layer. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, sugar, cocoa, and heat on high power to melt, about 45 seconds. Stop to stir, and heat in 10-second bursts until mixture has melted and can be stirred smooth. Batter will be very granular. Add the vanilla, eggs, and stir vigorously until batter is thick, shiny, and well blended. Add the flour and stir. Pour batter evenly into the prepared baked crust. Sprinkle with marshmallows. Bake until a toothpick in the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Once slightly cooled, top with melted chocolate. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight until firmed up. Cut into squares and serve.