Because my time is often at the whimsy of the baby, there are times when I just don’t have the time to make a decent breakfast, lunch, or snack. I need something that’s satisfying and of course, tasty, so I thought I’d try to make some oatmeal bars. I searched online for an easy recipe that also didn’t include any dairy (since I seem to have retained a bit of lactose intolerance from my pregnancy). Below is the recipe that I plan on going with:

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats, either quick cooking or old fashioned
• 1 cup whole spelt or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup packed natural brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup expeller pressed canola oil
• 5 tablespoons orange juice, divided
• 1/2 cup fruit sweetened black cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, sunflower seeds and cherries in a large bowl. Add oil and 3 tablespoons orange juice, mixing well until all ingredients are fully combined. Reserve a half cup and press the rest into a lightly oiled 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice with the cherry preserves and spread evenly over the oat mixture in the pan. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture over the top and press down lightly with fingers. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool in the pan on a wire rack then cut into bars or squares. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 16 bars.

Nutrition Info
Per serving (1 bar/47g-wt.): 190 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 3g protein, 26g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 14g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 60mg sodium

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Saw this pass through the Inbox this morning. Looks interesting, so I’m saving it here. (From: iVillage)

Spaghetti Pie
Georgia family recipe

Serving: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
6 oz spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
2 well-beaten eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
8 oz can (1 cup) tomatoes, cut up, with juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain (should be about 3 cups). Stir butter into hot noodles and add eggs and Parmesan. Form this mixture into a crust in a buttered 10-inch pie plate. Spread cottage cheese over bottom of crust. In a skillet, brown beef. Add onions and green peppers and cook until tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt. Heat well. Pour mixture into spagetti crust. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for another 5 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Based on individual serving.
Calories: 455
Total Fat: 22 g
Carbohydrates: 33 g
Protein: 31 g

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I came across this recipe today when The Daily Green e-mail hit my inbox. I’m excited about trying a whole wheat, more nutritious cookie recipe, but I have the little “no dairy and no soy diet” problem. (I don’t think I explained the story here, but basically, due to possible allergies, in order to continue giving my son mama’s milk, I have to cut out daily and soy from my diet.)

So I was checking out the recipe for this cookie and wondered about butter substitutes. After a quick Google search, I came across a site called Living Without Milk. Perfect! On their site they give a bit of advice on how (and what) to substitute for butter or margarine. One suggestion is combination of applesauce and shortening, both of which I already have handy in my pantry.

Looks like I’ll be baking this weekend!

SERVINGS
Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened*
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts, chopped **

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or cover with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream the butter with the brown sugar until light in color, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg until well incorporated. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and nuts.

3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until brown. Cool on a wire rack.

* to be replaced with 7 and 1/2 tablespoons of applesauce and 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of shortening.

** I will most likely omit the nuts due to the high allergen probability.

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