These are no bake energy bars. Quick, easy, delicious, cost saving and they work!

1/2 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts

1/ cup of roasted sunflower seeds or other chopped nuts

1 cup of raisins, cranberries or other chopped dried fruit

1 cup chopped Michigan cherries ( I used dried cherries)

2 cups rolled or instant oats

2 cups toasted rice cereal ( Rice Krispies)

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy natural peanut butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Coat a 9x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Combine peanuts, sunflower seeds ( or other nuts), raisins ( or other dried fruit), cherries, oats and rice cereal in a large bowl. In a second microwave safe bowl, combine peanut butter, brown sugar and corn syrup; microwave on high until bubbling, one to two minutes. Add vanilla and stir until blended. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Coat your fingers with cooking spray and then press down firmly. Let stand for about one hour to harden. Cut into 16 bars.

Individually wrap bars in plastic and keep at room temperature for up to one week or freeze for up to one month. Thaw at room temperature.

We eat one of these for a pre run meal. If you try these or create your own, please leave feedback! Enjoy~

Nutrition info per bar;

300 calories; 10 g fat; 48 g carb ( 4 g fiber, 22 g sugar); 8 g protein, 72 mg sodium

Vegatable Rotini Caesar

1 pkg.Ronzoni healthy harvest rotini whole wheat pasta
4 cups ( total) of chopped veggies ( I used squash, zucchini, onions & tomatoes)
fresh basil & oregano
1 cup of Cardinis light Caesar dressing
shredded Parmesan cheese to taste
cracked pepper to taste
olive oil

Cook pasta, drain and put in bowl
Saute veggies & herbs in Olive oil till tender
add the Caesar dressing to the pasta
mix in the sauteed veggies
add cheese and pepper to taste
Enjoy~ we loved this. Eat as a meal or a side dish.

Garden Days~

Here are just a few pictures from my garden so far this year. This will be my 3rd year to garden and I absolutely love it. Much more than I had anticipated. We have already harvested spinach and red onions, and several herbs. The tomatoes, squash and zucchini are growing like crazy! Can't wait for those to be ready. Growing our own veggies & herbs has saved lots of money and tastes so much better. Many of the recipes on this blog have the garden foods in them.

I just loved the way these 2 pictures came out with the bees~

Mocha Madness vs.Frozen Vanilla Yogurt

At our house, a few of us found this new ice cream "Mocha Madness". You can tell by it's name that it is just going to be bad for you if you are watching calories :(
So, I decided to come up with a better alternative after reading labels to discover that in ONE cup of Madness there are 420 calories. For my walkers and runners that = 3 to 4+ miles for that one cup!
My alternative is Blue Bell fat free homemade vanilla frozen yogurt, 1 cup = 180 calories. Add some of your favorite fresh berries and enjoy a cool treat and healthy alternative this summer.

Creamy Pasta Bake

This meal can be split into two dinners for freezing.

1 jar ( 30 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 pkg ( 16 oz) whole wheat rotini, cooked, drained
1 1/2 cups light sour cream
1 pkg. frozen, chopped, spinach, thawed, drained
1 cup chopped mushrooms ( optional)
1/2 cup 100% grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375
Mix all ingredients. Spoon into 13x 9 inch baking dish
Bake 25 min.

Try this instead~ Strawberry Shortcake

This has become a family favorite for birthdays instead of cake and ice cream. It is lighter, healthier and with much less calories. Be good to yourself and ask for this for your next birthday!

Shortcake~ cake, cups or square
light cool whip
sliced strawberries

Through out the iceberg lettuce!

Here are a couple of our favorite salads. Tastes great and very nutritious.

Baby spinach leaves with sliced strawberries, feta cheese, slivered almonds and Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette.

Mixed baby romaine lettuce with cranberries,walnuts & feta cheese.

Fruit salad ~ cut and mix up just about any fruit you have. Use lemon juice on the apples and bananas to keep them from browning.

These are all great for spring & summer!