Food Friday: Chewy Peanut Butter Granola

So Lauren found this recipe about a year ago here on Pinterest* and the granola part has become a staple in her kitchen, my dad's kitchen and my kitchen. Since then we have made some variations to the recipe. If you like peanut butter, oats and honey, you are going to love this simple granola. It's good alone as a snack or my favorite over Greek yogurt with honey and fresh strawberries. Here is the recipe along with some variations we have tried.

Chewy Peanut Butter Granola

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey (I usually don't fill the cup to the rim)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9X13 pan by greasing it with Pam.

Put honey, peanut butter and vanilla into a medium, microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds until the peanut butter is slightly melted. Wisk together until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to mix in the oats, making sure the oats are thoroughly coated in the peanut butter/honey mixture. Spread the granola into the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.

Let cool completely before you crumble any large chunks into bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks - yeah right it will be long gone by then!

Here are some variations that we have tried. My dad has used almond butter instead of peanut butter and adds dried cherries or raisins before cooking and swears it's better than the original. If you want more of a dessert, try adding chocolate chips before baking. Once I added a handful of milk chocolate chips. I don't know if that was a good idea or a bad idea because I ended up eating most of the batch by that night! And because I am trying my hand at clean eating, this is a very simple recipe to convert. Simply use all-natural peanut butter (you know the kind you have to stir before eating) instead of your typical peanut butter.

*The Pinterest recipe is for a parfait.

**One of the first times my dad made this recipe, he accidently grabbed peppermint extract. We do not recommend this. It tasted awful, but we got a good laugh out of it so maybe it was worth it!

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

A Life Style Change: Clean Eating, Exercise & Time Management

I have always considered myself to be, for the most part, healthy. I don't eat out a lot and I cook most of the food I eat, but recently I realized several things, 1) just because I cook doesn't mean it's good for me, 2) I need to manage my time better, 3) I need to start exercising again, and 4) just because I am thin does not mean I am healthy!

I am not sure why I started realizing these things. It could be that I will be 29 this year. It could be that I have two kids and a secret fear they could get diabetes or childhood obesity (I know this is unlikely but it's always lingering in the back of my mind). It could be that I have seen several people on Facebook embrace a healthy life style and I want to follow suit. Or it could be the fact that my mom passed away at a young age and life is too precious to waste. I really don't know, but I do know that things have to change. I know this will be a huge adjustment for me and my family, but I am ready to take on the challenge.

Some things I will be trying out include Clean Eating, exercise DVD's, and cleaning and purging my house.

Wish me luck and stay with me on this new chapter!