Chocolate-Cherry Power Bars

Love chocolate? These brownie-like bars have protein, nutrition and a great chocolate-y taste! They are perfect to pack for your next adventure.

Chocolate Energy Bars

• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup dry non-fat milk
• ¼ cup ground flax
• ¼ cup toasted wheat germ
• ¼ cup soy flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup Egg beaters or egg whites (4)
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup chopped dried cherries (add more if you love them)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in a microwavable dish, in a microwave oven. It may take 45 seconds or more. Blend well and set aside. Combine dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl: oats through walnuts and mix well. In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg whites and add the sugar and vanilla and beat. Stir in the flour mixture and chocolate mixture and fold in the chopped dried cherries. Pour chocolate mixture into an 8 x 8-inch pan that has been lightly sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. This recipe makes an even dozen. (They can be deliciously fudgy, but you may wish to cut them and chill in the refrigerator to make a little more neat & pack-able.)

It’s that time of year for holiday baking and why not make something special to share with family, friends, neighbors and your local bike shop employees who can use some December cheer?

These cookies are especially delicious–I promise!

Read more…

Chciken Noodle Soup helps keep the cold at bay!

When our family is fighting off colds, we make this soup—it helps those who have colds feel better—and I’m not saying this is a cure for the common cold—but somehow, the remainder of the family stays healthy. The chicken soup remedy is a common one, but we add garlic, which also has cold-fighting properties, and chili, which definitely clears out the sinuses.

Garlic Chicken- Noodle Soup

2 quarts of Chicken Stock (see below) or chicken broth

1½ cups diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

2 cloves garlic, minced (or more if desired)

2½ cups wide egg noodles

2 cups shredded (leftover) cooked chicken

Soy sauce to taste

Sliced green onions (opt.)

1-2 teaspoons Chili-Garlic Sauce (or to taste, spiciness varies by brand)

Bring the chicken stock to a steady simmer in a large soup pot. Add the diced carrots, celery and garlic and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the noodles and chicken and cook until noodles are almost tender. (Times vary by brand—one package cooks in 7 minutes, but the type I like takes over 20 minutes—in that case add it earlier so the vegetables aren’t overcooked.) Before serving, add a little soy sauce to taste and stir in some chili-garlic sauce. Sprinkle with chopped green onions if desired. Place a container of chili-garlic sauce on the table so diners may add more according to their taste. Soup should be pleasantly spicy.

Chicken Stock with Garlic

I usually make some chicken stock with the carcass left from a roasted chicken. I try to remove all the good meat that I can from the bones and put the meat into a container to refrigerate. Place the chicken carcass into a pot with a sliced onion, 3-4 whole garlic cloves, 6 peppercorns, one large carrot, peeled and cut into two-inch chunks, 2 teaspoons salt and a bay leaf. I add cold water to barely cover (about 2 quarts) and bring it to a slow simmer and cook over very low heat over night. (Use a simmer plate if your stove won’t keep it at a low simmer and there is risk of it boiling dry—or merely cook during the day and keep your eye on it.)

Salmon makes a great high protein meal for your family. It is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fast that are essential for life. Omega 3’s are helpful in preventing heart disease, promoting healthy skin and joints and are essential to proper neurological development in unborn babies and young children.

Salmon Cake Recipe

We often realize that we need to get more fish in our diets and those of our family. What is one to do if the kids aren’t really very excited about eating fish? You might try this recipe for Salmon Cakes—it is delicious! You can just serve them with a squeeze of lemon juice or try this dill sauce which we first discovered when we lived on Whidbey Island in the San Juan Islands. My son and I have made a few changes to it over the years and it is perfect now. Try it with grilled salmon too!

Salmon Cakes

–A great way to use leftover salmon!

1½ lbs. salmon, cooked, skin and bones removed*

1¼ cups Panko breadcrumbs** or plain, dried breadcrumbs

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ finely minced onion

1½ tablespoons, finely minced parsley or dill

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

A few tablespoons of vegetable oil

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the salmon well with a fork. Gently mix into the salmon ¼ cup of breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, onion, parsley, lemon juice and salt until it forms a nice cohesive mixture. Take about  about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the salmon mixture and form into little cakes about 2½ inches wide. You should get about 8-10 little cakes. Place on a small cookie sheet lined with wax paper and place in freezer about 25 minutes until the salmon cakes feel firm.

Into three separate shallow dishes, place the flour, the beaten eggs and the cup of breadcrumbs. Take one cake at a time, dredge first in flour, then dip in egg and finally coat with breadcrumbs, pressing to make sure the crumbs adhere well. Lay the little cakes on a clean plate.

Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the salmon cakes about 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned, cooking in batches as needed. Drain the cakes briefly on paper towels before serving. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice or with sour cream dill sauce.

*Canned salmon would probably be fine for this; just drain well.

**I love the results I get with Panko, a type of Japanese bread crumbs. It can be found in many grocery stores.

Sour Cream Dill Sauce

¾ cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1½ teaspoons lemon or lime juice

1 teaspoon dill weed (fresh is best—and you would use more)

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed.

Combine all ingredients. Chill until served.

“100 calories can power a cyclist for three miles; 100 calories can power a car for 280 feet.”

 

Pumpkin Energy Bars

 

Fall has the perfect weather for cycling: temperate weather that is neither too hot, nor too cold. These are the perfect weeks to go out for a long weekend ride on your bicycle. Should you bring along a little food to sustain your energy? A general rule of thumb is that for a ride of at least 2 hours, you’ll need to bring some food: perhaps a banana, PB & J sandwich or an “energy bar” to avoiding “bonking” (i.e. totally running out of energy.) Don’t forget to bring a full water bottle to stay hydrated!

Yes, you can make your own energy bars for your next long ride! Here is one made just for a golden autumn afternoon bicycle ride!

½ cup canned pumpkin

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

½ cup flour

¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup rolled oats or quick-cooking oatmeal

¼ cup ground milled flaxseed**

¼ cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla and egg. Gradually add flour, spice, salt, oatmeal, flaxseed, and nuts and stir until well blended. Spoon into an 8 x 8-inch square pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes.

Cool completely on wire rack Cut into bars. If you cut them into 9 bars, each bar will be less than 200 calories and have nearly 4 grams of protein. They keep for several days if well wrapped and actually taste better the next day.

*A substitute for the pumpkin pie spice: ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon ginger.

**If you don’t have ground flax seed you can substitute oatmeal. The protein count won’t be as high.

Homemade Pumpkin Energy Bars