Easy homemade fruit & nut bars

My food processor is kaput. I need a new one, but rather than purchase another cheapo that will probably break quickly again, I’m contemplating on buying a more expensive model. But I also need new running shoes and would love a food dehydrator and a Garmin GPS running watch…so I’m prioritizing and doing without the food processor for now. By the way, have I mentioned that I decided I’m going to run a half marathon in the spring?

With these early morning training runs -okay, it’s actually like 9 or 10 am, but I am not a morning person- I need a healthy breakfast that I can just grab and go, and it has to be light enough that it won’t give me a stomachache while running. A friend sent me a link to some homemade Larabars recipe. I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand to make those, but the concept seems the same in each recipe -fruit and nuts. So I decided to wing it. I had a container of mixed nuts from Target and a baggie of dates from a local Lebanese grocery store, and that’s what I used. By the way, I think these taste better than actual Larabars!

My Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dates
  • 1 cup mixed nuts

Step One:

If your dates aren’t already pitted, cut them in half and dig the pits out. Soak your dates in water for at least 5 minutes, so they’ll soften.

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Step Two:

While the dates are soaking, crush your nuts. =D If you have a food processor, you’ll want to grind the nuts up into fine pieces. If you’re like me, try using a pastry blender (cutter).

Tip: I discovered that peanuts and cashew halves are the easiest to crush by hand, so you could go with a cup of those instead of mixed nuts.

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Step Three:

Crush the dates into the nuts. You can toss them in your food processor at this point, if you have one. I used an immersion blender. Not going to lie, it was a bit laborious. I’d get one or two dates crushed/blended, and then I’d have to stop the blender and use a fork to clean off the gunked up blades before starting again.

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Step Four:

Put a piece of wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap in a loaf pan. Use some oil to grease the top of the paper/wrap. Add your date and nut mixture. Then use an additional piece of paper or wrap over top. Flatten the mixture. Put the pan into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Step Five:

Take your mixture out of the fridge and place on a cutting board. Carefully peel the wax paper off the top of the mixture. Flip over and pull the other piece off. Then cut the bars into the size you want. You can individually wrap them at this point to grab while on the go.

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Fruit & Nut Bars- My Life: A Work in Progress

Voila! Enjoy your bars.

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Review: Wexy eco-friendly snack bags

*I received a complimentary pack of Wexy snack bags to review.*

Reusable snack bags are a great idea, but sometimes you need something you can toss. Maybe your child needs a “brown bag” lunch for a field trip. Maybe you’re sending your baby to a church nursery or daycare, and there’s a possibility your reusable bag may get misplaced. There’s also the cleaning issue. Have you noticed that reusable snack bags often pick up a soapy smell and taste, whether they’re washed by hand, washing machine, or dishwasher?

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About:

Moms Carie and Tracey created Wexy after realizing children with a gluten intolerance or food allergies often feel left out by the bright packaging on many kids’ food products ins tores. Wexy eco-friendly snack bags feature four “monsters.” Sammy the Surfer is gluten and dairy-free. Bailey the Bubble Maker loves organic foods. Scout the Soccer Player makes healthy snacks, and Dusty the Diver loves raw foods.

These BPA-free bags can be reused, but they are also biodegradable. They’re even made with 100 percent recycled materials, and they’re made in the USA!

Our Experiences:

No complaints here! I like the monsters on the bags. They’re really cute and fun, and they do attract Baby J’s attention. He’s immediately curious to see what’s in the bag. The bags hold plenty of snacks. Definitely enough for two snack servings for Baby J.

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The bags feel thin and a little fragile (I’m guessing because they’re biodegradable?), but I haven’t had one break on me yet. I’ve had bags getting squashed around inside a diaper bag, but, again, no breakage.

I’d love to hear from someone who has put these bags in their composter! I’m curious to know how quickly and well they biodegrade.

Buy three packs of Wexy bags (28 bags in each) on Amazon for $12.99. Or purchase a single box of 28 for $3.99 on the Wexy website. To learn more about Wexy, click HERE.

Note: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Review: Simply Snackin jerky


Simply Snackin sent me an assorted mix of their jerky to enjoy.

 photo SimplySnackin_zps1e097139.jpg About:

Simply Snackin makes gourmet dried meat snacks or “jerky.” While high on protein, these snacks are low-calorie and paired with ingredients like mangos, apples, and blueberries for an unconventional jerky flavor.

Flavors include:

  • Beef Sirloin with cranberries & blueberries
  • Beef Sirloin with apples & cherries
  • Teriyaki Beef Sirloin with pineapples
  • Chicken Breast with black bean salsa
  • Italian Chicken Breast with romano cheese
  • Teriyaki Chicken Breast with mangoes & papayas
My Experiences:

I have to confess, I ate all the jerky in one sitting. All six pieces. It was that good. Hubby was at sea, so he didn’t get any. Yes, I feel a little guilty for not saving him some! Anyway, the beef was more tender than the chicken. My guess would be it has something to do with how the meat reacts to the drying process? But both were still very good.

My favorite flavor was the “teriyaki chicken breast with mangoes & papayas.” I love teriyaki flavored jerky, and I love mangoes. The pairing of the two was just sweet and delicious. The “chicken breast with black bean salsa” was good but quite spicy, so I wouldn’t recommend trying that one unless you like heat. My least favorite was the “Italian chicken breast with Romano cheese.” I could smell the cheese on it, because it was quite strong. It was fine…I just didn’t like it as much as the others.

Here’s a list of the flavors, in the order that I liked them, with the mango being my favorite and Italian the least. As you can see, I preferred the fruit/meat combinations.

  • Teriyaki Chicken Breast with mangoes & papayas
  • Teriyaki Beef Sirloin with pineapples
  • Beef Sirloin with cranberries & blueberries
  • Beef Sirloin with apples & cherries
  • Chicken Breast with black bean salsa
  • Italian Chicken Breast with romano cheese

When I first viewed the Simply Snackin website, the prices threw me off a little. I thought they were expensive, but I’ve since learned I was wrong. Apparently I’ve never paid much attention before when I’ve grabbed a bag of jerky in the store! I did a search on Amazon and discovered that most of the different jerky brands are being sold for $1.05-1.85 an ounce, depending on the quality. Simply Snackin sells 12 pieces for $1.44 an ounce, so their prices are well within the middle of that range. The more you buy from Simply Snackin, the cheaper it is per ounce. For example, you can buy 150 pieces at $1.29 an ounce. Simply Snackin is currently not sold in stores, so you will have to take shipping into account. Orders of 12 or 18 pieces ship for $4.95 anywhere in the 48 continuous states. Any other size packages will ship $6.95 and up. I really enjoyed this jerky, and I’m hoping they’ll start offering it in local stores soon, so it’s easier to get. This stuff is seriously tasty!

Visit Simply Snackin on the web for more information on their products and to purchase. You can also find them on Facebook.

Note: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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