No Bake Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

I want to sign up for the cookie exchange at work but it stresses me to make dozens and dozens of cookies. My mother-in-law recommended peanut butter crispy balls-- a 1:1 ratio of rice cereal, peanut butter and powdered sugar rolled into a ball. 

Now I mixed in some Nutella and ended up with 2 parts rice to 1 part peanut butter and 1 part sugar.

And I rolled them lightly in powdered sugar.

And dipped them in chocolate.

Easy. Vegan if you dip in dark chocolate. And gluten-free.

Peanut butter banana smoothie for two

This peanut butter banana smoothie turned out to be a delight.

For two people, throw in the blender:

- two bananas

- about four ounces coconut water with pulp

- about two tablespoons peanut butter

- about one cup plain yogurt

- one packet carnation breakfast essentials vanilla

Peanut Sesame dressing

I had a Thai chicken salad from Wawa Friday which inspired me to make my own peanut sesame dressing.

I think I have decided on:

- 1 part extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

- 1 part pure sesame seed oil

- 1/2 part apple cider vinegar

- ginger

- 2 parts peanut butter

- sesame seeds and crushed red pepper for the actual salad

Chocolate PB banana smoothie

My daughter was cleaning her room this morning and I offered her a banana as a snack. She asked if she could have a smoothie instead.

We came up with this delicious concoction.

- two ripe bananas 

- two and a half tablespoons plain yogurt

- about two tablespoons peanut butter

- about 1 cup chocolate soy milk

- about two tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Into the blender it went...

Peanut butter, honey and cashew

Today I made a rather funky sandwich that I anticipate will taste great with th Pacific Foods soup (carrot cashew ginger bisque) that I'm making for lunch.

I started out with graham crackers as the bread and smeared them with peanut butter. I topped the peanut butter with ground roasted, unsalted cashews and drizzled with local raw honey before putting a graham cracker lid on.

Awesome peanut butter toast and parfaits

It's been a rough couple weeks. First I drowned my iPhone in a lovely solution of bleach and water. Then we ran into a rough patch financially. Then we received some medical bills and some bad news from the bank about our refinancing. 

In the middle of this, I picked up extra shifts at Target. Child went to resident camp for a week. 

Now the appraiser is coming to the house. I have a second interview with a local entity I really really like. I had a good report from the dentist (and when your teeth are broken like mine, that is always a relief). Husband is scheduled to work overtime next week.

But the stress has left me with bad eating habits and riddled with perpetual exhaustion.

I started the bad habits again this morning. Woke up and had a cup and a half of coffee and a glass of water.

Began cleaning like a fiend. At 9:30, I was exhausted because I hadn't eaten anything. 

We haven't gone grocery shopping in weeks so the "pickins" are slim. I found some store bought wheat sandwich bread, which I toasted, and mixed up commercial peanut butter 50/50 with local raw honey. I let the bread cool (I hate warm peanut butter) and sprinkled liberally with my homemade peanut butter.

To go with it, I made parfaits of frozen berries, thawed, YoPlait "protein" yogurt, a touch of homemade granola and honey roasted almonds from Trader Joe's. 

Washed it down with decaf chai.

Hearty food day

No real time for cooking so far today so when daughter requested leftover vegetarian baked beans and Morningstar breakfast patties for breakfast, I thought that would be a hearty, warm meal.

Then for lunch we had sandwiches: commercial peanut butter, homemade peanut butter and strawberry rhubarb jam we bought at the farmers' market. Sandwiches were on hot dog rolls.

Peanut butter protein snack

I started this morning with almost two cups of coffee, two blueberry pancakes and maple syrup. I cleaned the kitchen, fed and cleaned up after the cats, weeded the jungle... I mean garden... and then I carted clothes up and down from the attic.

I started to get shaky, even though I wasn't remotely hungry. I hopped in the shower while husband made huge salads of iceberg lettuce, shredded cabbage, carrots, a pinch of Parmesan cheese, sliced almonds, whole almonds, a couple of cranberries, and Annie's Goddess dressing. Beverage was a few ounces of Welch's white grape peach something 100% juice diluted with carbonated water  made in our SodaStream.

It was delicious.

But about 45 minutes later I didn't feel better. I needed more protein. I wanted to keep it healthy. So I asked husband to get a square of ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate, layer some commercial peanut butter on it, and then he sprinkled our thick and somewhat dry homemade peanut butter on it.

Scrumptious.

Nut butter party

So after dinner we had a nut butter party. I found it odd that we have five different types of nut butters in the house right now:
- crunchy almond butter
- peanut butter
- extra crunchy peanut butter
- mocha cappuccino hazelnut spread
- white chocolate peanut butter

We passed them around with spoons and crackers. It was fun.

Peanut butter banana frozen dessert

I cook with an eight and a half year old. This dessert has two ingredients:
Equal parts ripe bananas & peanut butter

I had one ripe banana in the freezer and an almost ripe banana on the counter. So we heated the ripe banana and combined it with the fresh one and mashed them with a potato masher.

Then we took the banana and the peanut butter and placed it all in the blender with just a splash of water to lubricate it.

It tasted how I remember the filling in a "funny bone" cupcake to taste.

We put it in the ice cream machine and since it took forever to get the sticky mess out of the blender we ended up with a thick layer that was just like peanut butter ripple in commercial ice cream and a creamier filling on top.

I got it all out and mixed it well before I transferred it to the freezer.

No sugar.
No dairy.
No soy.

Peanut Butter Evaluation

We have no food in the house but vegetables, noodles, rice and dried beans. I was hoping to make it to payday before grocery shopping, but after having snow peas for lunch and dinner, it became apparent that wasn't going to work.

I don't have much in the checkbook, and I worked 12:30 to 5 yesterday. So at noon, I went to Target to try and find non-perishables for dinner. Because I knew at 5, I'd simply want to go home.

So... I got breakfast for dinner.

- Archer Farm Apple Fritter breakfast bread, $3.99
- Peanut Butter and Company Natural No-Stir White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, $3.74
- Market Pantry blueberry crunch cold cereal (it's supposed to taste like blueberry muffins), $2.54
- Market Pantry cinnamon toast cereal, $2.54

We had unsweetened soy milk at home for extra protein.

And that was dinner.

The child loved it because we rarely eat cold cereal.

While in the store, I noticed we had Better Oats oatmeal on sale. That's the instant oatmeal I prefer based on nutrition and ingredients. It was on sale for $1 a box. That's 20 cents a serving before my employee and REDcard discounts! I bought six boxes.

A note on the peanut butter:
The ingredients are peanuts, evaporated cane juice, vanilla, cocoa butter, palm fruit oil, lecithin from sunflowers, and salt.

Nutritionally, it matches JIF, but has less salt and 11 grams of carbs per serving versus 7 for JIF.

Apple fun breakfast

We're in a hurry this morning because child is taking three times longer than usual to do everything. Sigh.

Her breakfast this morning is "fun apples."

Slice an apple and serve with:
- a small dipping bowl of cinnamon sugar
- a butter knife and peanut butter
- raisins

Monday breakfast

Child's breakfast is an unusual one:
- fresh strawberries
- Very Vanilla soy milk
- peanut butter on Graham crackers
(and the naughty part)
- half a donut from Dunkin Donuts

Peanut butter and honey

While my daughter was struggling to recover from her ear infections, I fed her some peanut butter and local raw honey sandwiches. She fell in love with peanut butter and honey, which we mix at a 50/50 ratio. Peanut butter and honey was a trick I learned from my college roommate. We've had several recent breakfasts of peanut butter and honey on Archer Farms breakfast bread-- like the blueberry streusel or apple fritter.

Peanut butter muffins

Yesterday I adapted this recipe for breakfast:

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=461#

First, I doubled the recipe. I replaced the sugar with honey, replaced the milk with 1 cup vanilla Silk, replaced about 1.5 cups of the flour with oats. I used 2 eggs and replaced the other eggs with applesauce.

Easter Chocolate Smoothie

This is what happens when you finally crack and say "I don't care if I can chew I have to have some of my mother-in-law's Easter chocolate."

In the blender:
- 6 peanut butter eggs (small ones, I would say three if they're Reese's)
- 1 HUGE heaping tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 cup very vanilla silk soy milk
- 1.5 cups coffee
- 1 vanilla carnation instant breakfast
- 1 tablespoon caramel

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milk

Today was one of those hectic Monday mornings... And I had a quiet vision of how the morning would go. My homemade oatmeal bars for breakfast, a big mid-morning cup of tea. I had a sore throat and was worried I was getting sick. Maybe I am and that's why I fell...

I fell on the sidewalk and broke 4 teeth and needed three stitches in my chin. Oral surgeon tomorrow. Liquid diet for a while.

Lunch was Pacific Foods Cream of Tomato Soup. Snack was Stonyfield Yo Baby Banana drinkable yogurt.

Dinner made me drool with anticipation. My husband made tiny elbow noodles with tomato sauce and velveeta and browned hamburger in tiny pieces. Trying to eat it revealed 3 things:
- I can't chew. At all.
- I have limited range of motion in my jaw
- sucking on food hurts

I couldn't do it, as hungry as I am, I can't do it.


Complicating the issue is the fact that my daughter wants to share everything I can eat. Like a good mom, I share.

So, I made a carnation instant breakfast drink in the blender.

- about 8 ounces plain soy milk
- two heaping teaspoons peanut butter
- two heaping teaspoons almond butter
- 1 teaspoon Nutella
- 1 packet dark chocolate Carnation instant breakfast

We loved it

Rice Krispies Treats

My daughter has discovered mass produced rice krispies treats for sale in the school cafeteria for 75 cents each. She likes them. At six, she doesn't quite get that they are not free and that they suck all the money out of her lunch account, especially when she buys them without my permission. One day she may go hungry because she wasted all her lunch money.

I told her we could make real rice krispie treats if she stopped buying them in the cafeteria and she said okay.

I don't like the plain ones, I prefer the peanut butter. So, I needed the recipe. And we disconnected the internet at home so I'm now in the library on the Rice Krispies web site.

Rice Krispies treats from the official Rice Krispies site

Summary of the original recipe:
3 tablespoons   butter or margarine
1 package   (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
- OR -
4 cups  miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup  peanut butter
6 cups   Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until melted. 2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

For best results, use fresh marshmallows.
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.
Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.
Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container. To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.


Comments from others that I took to heart:
-There's always a weak peanut butter flavor. So I usually add just a tad bit more. 1/4 cup or so, or I add some peanut butter chips to liven up that taste!
- I made this recipe with Nutella instead of peanut butter

so we'll see what daughter and I do after school!

Monday morning update

It's amazing how fun meal planning is when you have food in the house.

My family had yogurt and homemade granola at 7 a.m.

I had my breakfast at 10:30 and made a second breakfast for daughter Bug. We eat had half a peanut butter and blackberry jam sandwich on Target's Archer Farms Honey Wheat bread. And the last of the dates, 2 each. Apple juice for her. A second cup of coffee for me. (We both had a full water bottle during our bike trek.)

Carbohydrates. Not including the jam for the PB&J, two of the items in this morning's meals have lots of carbs. Bread, that's obvious. And yogurt, may not seem so obvious. When I had gestational diabetes, I was allotted 3 servings of carbs with my lunch, not including one fruit, and 4 with my dinner.

That's why to this day I make half-sandwiches instead of whole. Because each slice of bread counts as 1 serving, and 13 doritoes/potato chips etc is also 1 serving. If I wanted the chips, I usually skimped on the bread. And I learned that a half-sandwich is just as filling, and depending what's on it can end up tasting really thick, as if you put double meat or cheese on it. I still don't miss that extra slice.

Compare this to yogurt. Because yogurt is made with milk and lactose is a sugar, and then our American palate likes it sweet so we add MORE sugar... A low-fat yogurt that has that thick creamy pudding-like taste had 2-3 servings of carbohydrates. That's an entire lunch worth. For a diabetic pregnant woman (who, by the way, gets more food than your everyday diabetic). And fat free yogurt sweetened with asparatame STILL has 1 full serving of carbs. With that choice, I'd rather opt for a low-fat oatmeal cookie. Probably leave me more emotionally satisfied.

So that's my rant.

For lunch we will probably have leftover spaghetti and sausage my husband made over the weekend with grated romano from Calandra's cheese in Nazareth.

Trail Matzo

Gayle suggested slathering my leftover matzo with butter, adding chocolate and walnuts and baking it in the oven for a Girl Scout style trail snack.

I made a sauce of 3.5 ounces intense dark chocolate, 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, one stick butter, and one cup peanut butter. I added about 3 tablespoons dried strawberries and about half a cup candied ginger, torn into chunks.

I put the matzo on cookie sheets and added the chocolate, then I added walnuts and baked at 350 for five minutes.

I should have sprinkled the strawberries and ginger on top with the walnuts instead of in the sauce. I didn't use enough. If I did it in the sauce thinking it would allow the ginger to blend into the chocolate. We'll see.

It worked well, but next time, I'm going to spread the chocolate and the goodies more evenly.