Knock-Off Kashi Granola Bars - guest post

Hi, my name is Riley. I am 10 years old. I like purple. My mom asked me to write to you about how we are eating different foods. We are eating different foods because it is healthier.  Some of the changes we are making are to not eat as many white flour products or white sugar products, and to eat more fruits and vegetables. We are also eating more fibre and Omega-3 fatty acids.  Mom is reading a book called “Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food;” that is where she got the idea of eating so healthy.

We eat oatmeal for breakfast most mornings. We put big, fat blueberries in the oatmeal, and it makes our oatmeal purple. One time, for lunch, we had salmon sandwiches. We are eating 1/2 cup of fruit every day, if we have fruit, and also 1/4 cup of pecans. Today we are making some Knock-Off Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars. Here is the recipe:

Knock-Off Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars

Ingredients
2 cups oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup honey
pinch pink Himalayan salt

Topping 
340 grams (3/4 lb) chopped dates
6 tbsp water
6 tbsp cocoa

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
2. Toast oats, pecans and coconut for 5-10 minutes until just starting to turn brown.
3. Combine oats mixture with flax seeds, honey, and salt.
4. Spread mixture evenly over parchment paper.  Pat down and bake for 10-15 minutes.
5. Combine the dates and water.  Microwave for about two minutes to soften dates.  Add cocoa and mix very well.
6. When oats are cool, spread date mixture over the top.  You may need to wet the spreading tool (spoon, knife) so the date topping doesn't stick. Over and over.  Just keep a bowl of water handy and keep wetting your spoon.

Makes 16 bars.

You can add chocolate chips to the granola bars if you want.  We didn't this time.  Instead we put 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter in the mixture.

So far, I like eating this way because Mom buys more fruit for us.  And did you know that blueberries are the healthiest fruit around?  That's why we have big, fat juicy blueberries in our oatmeal.

I hope you like our recipe.  We think it's very tasty.

Wise sayings

I tend to avoid overly-used, common proverbs, simply because I get tired of hearing them and I figured my kids would too.  So when my oldest spilled some milk just now, I shrugged and told him to just clean it up. Then, in a silly voice, I said, "There's no use crying over spilled milk."

"Have I ever said that to you before?" I asked.

"I don't think so."

"It's an old saying to help people understand that once the milk is spilled, there's not much point in crying about it because crying doesn't unspill it.  So, you might as well just get over it and clean it up."

My boy, nodding, "And that's just what I'm doing."

Thinking a bit more about wise sayings, my 11 year-old continued the conversation.  "You know, a wise man once said, 'What's for dinner?' Wise men don't always say wise things."

We don't have a drum set, so there was no rimshot.

He also pointed out that one could say to another, "Wise things!" and still not be incredibly wise.

I have quite the philosopher/comedian on my hands.

Every day, when I open my browser, my blog is looking back at me. I put it there to remind me to write. And most days, lately, I just stare back at my blog, not knowing if I have anything of value to write.

Between being busy with different activities, enjoying time with family and friends, and renovating our house, I don't feel like I have time to write, most days.

Our funny stories happen, pass us by, and go unrecorded.

Any spiritual insight that I'm able to glean from reading or discussing goes undocumented because I just don't take the time to flesh out my thoughts on the computer. (But remind me sometime to tell you about our "costumes"...  That's something to chew on.)

And, truth be told, I'm wrestling with a few different things.  I usually feel fairly put together, even when I'm bumbling around like a goofy-faced ignoramus. But not right now. I would really like to have a waffle-brain. To compartmentalize everything that's swimming around up here. Instead I just have a jumbled mess of material that tangles into the next thought and I can't always make sense of it.

That's it. Nothing clever to wrap it up. I'll weed out the junk and come back when there's something interesting to share.

Fun Moments

A couple snippets from the last couple days.  I want to write these down so we can remember them and laugh at the fun we had.

Geeks

Girl, looking over my shoulder at an article about "geeks": Mom, what's a geek?

Me: Um, well, someone who doesn't just do what society tells them to do. They do what's interesting to them.

Girl: Oh, okay!

May we all be geeks in this house.  (I don't think there's any fear that we won't be!)

Colonel Mustard

I was reading to the kids recently about the War of 1812. I read this phrase: "They mustered troops to defend the fort." My kids, listening, dissolved into fits of giggles as they imagined the yellow condiment being sprayed all over some British soldiers.

Of course, we paused for a vocabulary lesson.

For the Weary Mom

For me...

For me on those days when I struggle to keep my cool.
For me when I find myself yelling.
For me when I am being lazy.

Today I choose to be purposeful.
Today I will listen to each child.
Today I will listen to what is important to them.
Today I will pray and ask God for patience instead of retreating when I've had it up to here.

I will not yell... I will respond with kind words.

I will not bark demeaning words... I will build them up.

I will not ignore their words... I will listen, and really hear them.

I will show them that they matter to me.
I will show them that they are loved.
I will be the mom that they need me to be.

For them.

Today.

Start happy

Wise words from my eight-year-old today:

"I think we're going to have a good day today,

because when we start happy, we end happy."

Nothing new under the sun

The kids were reading the biographies of "kid reporters" on a news site that they visit. My daughter read one reporter's favourite movie, Dodgeball. "What's that movie about, Mom?

Her older brother jumped in with a grin and asked, "Is it a movie where we watch other people play Dodgeball for an hour and a half?"

I started explaining, "Well, this one group of people has a gym and another guy wants to take it from them and he has a lot of money so he can do that. So they have to enter a Dodgeball tournament to win the money to keep the gym."

My girl interrupted by stating authoritatively, "The Muppets."

"Huh?" I wasn't sure where that came from

"So... It's The Muppets, but about Dodgeball. Right?"

Yep, I guess so.

There really is nothing new under the sun.