Hey guys — I am a big advocate for making food yourself, whenever possible. If time was unlimited, I think I’d bake my own bread, make my own cheese, and probably spend more time in the kitchen…
For now, I’ll settle for making things from scratch every now and again to realize something: it doesn’t really take that much time so I don’t really like settling for the “I don’t have enough time” excuse.
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
I am aware they were talking about bigger things than making your own granola bars, but that’s kind of where I think people need to realize something: you are going to eat every day for the rest of your life. If you want to feel good, take the time to eat well. If you want to be ignorant and eat whatever you want, don’t complain about it. Don’t use lack of time or energy or money really as an excuse to be an idiot. Yes, that’s harsh, but I really think you can control the things you choose to eat and that you should.
Example, I’ve wanted to make this rant for a while…I am still going to carry my leather purse despite the fact that I think eating beef is a pretty big strain on the environment/doesn’t agree with me right now because of where that meat would come from … not carrying my purse every day vs. not eating that steak or burger on a regular basis — which one is going to have a bigger impact? People might attack vegetarians for not being 100% veg or something stupid like that–but eating is a personal choice and attacking someone personally is wrong, in my mind. Educate them instead, if you have something worth saying. Eating should never be all or nothing.
Enough of my opinion, onto the recipe you’ve been waiting for…which was inspired by Kath’s Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars.
Homemade/I Don’t Wanna Look At Another Clif Bar Oat Bars
Ingredients:
Dry:
1 1/2 c oats
2 tbsp cocoa powder
sprinkle of salt
1/3 c shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/4 c flaxseeds
1/4 c almonds
Wet:
1 egg
1 c milk or milk substitute*
1/2 c water
1 tsp vanilla
Toppings:
mini chocolate chips
2 tbsp shredded coconut (unsweetened)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine wet ingredients in large bowl.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry to wet, stirring ’til moist.
Place mixture into a 9×9 baking pan lined with parchment paper (or sprayed), pressing down and into corners.
Sprinkle toppings on top.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or til set and browned.
Remove, cool, and slice into 9 squares (a pizza cutter works well, as Kath suggested).
Store in fridge or freezer, or ENJOY!
*I used vanilla soy milk
I literally made these while most of my classmates were probably hitting snooze. I mixed them up after breakfast in about 5 minutes, threw them in the oven, and by the time I was done getting dressed/ready for the day, they were coming out of the oven!
So simple.
So tasty!
Have you ever made something from scratch just to prove you could?
Do you feel like you have time (make time) to cook?
What’s your fav clif bar flavour?
Hey lady!
This recipe looks great! Definitely trying it this weekend! Not gonna lie, I check out your blog all the time– it’s wonderful! It inspired mento try green monster smoothies and niw i literally make one daily!
Seems like youre doing well! Keep up the great blogging!
Holy typos… I’m on my phone haha
Do you have a link to the green monster smoothie recipe? Would love to try it!! ~Thanks
I’m with you! I hate when people talk about the cost of eating healthy. Well, yeah, it’s a little bit more, but you know how to help counter-balance that? Make it yourself, instead of buying it pre-made, pre-packaged! “Oh, I don’t have the time for that”. *blink*.
omg, LOVE THIS. I legit can’t wait to make these after I take a lil trip to the store this afternoon!!
And you’re right – if you want to eat healthy, you’ll find a way, not an excuse. Always makes me think of the Biggest Loser theme this season, “No Excuses” – it really is true, if you really really wanna do something, then you can find a way, you can find time. I love to prepare my own foods, and I’m loving that I now have the time and the means! In college, I might have been able to make time every now and then, but the resources ($$ for the ingredients, transportation to the store, a kitchen etc) were hard to come by at times. Do what you can though, right? And yeah….the whole all-or-nothing thing…it doesn’t work like that.EVERY little thing you do counts! And the meat industry is a bigger & more important target than the leather industry, just sayin lol.
ooh, these look delicious! Is there anything better than chocolate+coconut?
These look so good! Definitely bookmarking this recipe.
I totally agree with what you said about not making time an excuse. Eating nutritious foods is important and people should MAKE time for it. By not making time for it, it’s like they’re saying that their health isn’t important to them.
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What a great recipe! Found it through Chelsea’s blog
Love what you said about using time as an excuse. This probably isn’t the best example, but I remember when Jamie Oliver did an experiment to prove we can make a pizza quicker than the time it takes one to get delivered.
Oh thanks for popping by! And it’s so true–it doesn’t take much time to cook, especially if you have a plan and an appetite!
We’ve made our own cheese, bread, peanut butter and ramen noodles. We always make our cookies from scratch. It takes less time for me to grab the ingredients and bake than to get in the car and buy a premade/premises cookie and bake it. I blows my mind that people actually buy that crap! I love trying to make things ourselves! Can’t wait to try these!! Thanks for posting!!
Whoah! I need to pull up my socks and start living my word!
Amy Wilson, I make a monster smoothie every day for my wife, We call it chump juice. I start with about a cup of Gravensteins apple juice, two carrots, one banana, one apple, a tablespoon of honey, or two, 1 tablespoon of soy protein powder, about 3 handfuls of spinach , 2 or 3 slices of pineapple , and some ice. Once you get over the greenness it’s really delicious . Sometimes I’ll throw in some cranberries for good measure. Albert Daniel, De Pescadero .
Oh my gosh, that looks deadly.
do they have to be in the fridge? I want to make some for my husband to take on a business trip?
I kept mine in the fridge because I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d eat them. Since they’re cooked, you’re good to leave em out. I think though, judging by some of the feedback, they stay a bit tastier if they’re in the fridge. Enjoy