It’s still strawberry and rhubarb season! (Woohoo!). I thought that, since this season can be so brief, I should take advantage of it by making more strawberry rhubarb baked goods. Mmmmm. These bars also include fresh ginger, along with other delicious spices, to make these bars not only sweet and tangy, but a little spicy as well, in that saucy way that ginger has. As with most things I make, I passed some over the fence to my neighbor and her kidlets thoroughly approved.
“What in the world are Car Bars?” you might be asking about now. Well, car bars are something I just made up. My dog and I were about to head out on a long road trip to see my mom, and I decided I needed a treat for the road. Road trips and airports are just dangerous for me because my brain has decided that those two things mean that I get a free pass to eat all the bad road food that I usually don’t consume. By road food I mean frosties, cinnabon, dunking donuts, twizzlers etc.
In order to keep myself from going hog wild during my two day drive (one way), I decided to make myself a treat that was satisfying enough to calm the junk food cravings, but still somewhat healthy. Ergo: car bars. I started from a hermit bar concept and adapted it so there was a lot more of the good stuff and much less of the bad. The end product was a mildly sweet, molassesey bar with a texture somewhere between a cakey brownie and a quick bread. As intended, they are filling and tasty. A nice little bite for when the hunger starts rumbling during a long drive or when the urge to consume large quantities of Roy Rogers chicken* becomes overwhelming.
I’ve been getting in to smoothies lately. The more I make them in the morning, the more I enjoy them. I recently found myself drinking much more coffee than I used to. While not a coffee fiend, I really enjoyed the morning ritual of making a latte and was drinking it more for that routine than any drive for the coffee itself. So I decided that I really did not need to be drinking that much caffeine and have started making smoothies in the morning instead. Since then, the smoothie has pretty much replaced that morning coffee ritual. I find the routine of making the smoothie satisfying and it provides me with a filling, healthy breakfast that tastes pretty darn good! I also like the fact that I can sneak some veggies in to help me make my daily veg quota.
A couple of notes: I really like Barlean’s Omega Swirl Fish Oil. It doesn’t taste like fish oil and doesn’t leave you with any of that oily feeling. Therefore, I add it to my smoothies. I also add flax or chia seeds. If using flax seeds, make sure to store them whole and grind them shortly before using. If you grind them too far in advance they lose all that good nutritional stuff that they provide. My preferred protein powder is Bio Trust Low Carb. It’s natural and tastes pretty decent.
