Healthy Oat Carrot Bars

Wishing all of you a Happy New 2014!

Have you made those lists yet? You know the ones, called resolutions. Yeah. I've been there a few times too. And sometimes I've been successful to cross January with it. But of late. I've come to realize until I make something a habit, they don't last. Fitness, healthy eating, good rest, etc are all best done if they are converted from resolutions to long lasting habits. Good luck to you with your plans for the new year. Make them habits and then it won't be too difficult to maintain them.

Starting off this year with a healthy breakfast bar recipe. Even though I call this a breakfast bar, this can really be had at any time of the day when you need a good boost of energy. With all healthy ingredients and no unnecessary fat or fillers, this is just what our bodies need for a good pick me up.

I tweaked the recipe a little bit from this Whole Foods recipe mainly because of the ingredients I had on hand. The end product is delicious. Each bite feels whole and hearty. The sweetness is just right. Not dessert sweet, but just sweet enough. A lot of sweetness comes from the carrots and raisins themselves. Not to mention this is an eggless recipe. So rejoice, all you eggless loving people.

Start off with pulsing some oats and nuts in a food processor. I used 1 cup of cook quicking oats and 1 cup of almonds and walnuts mixed. Don't fine grind it as little bites of almonds only increase the deliciousness of the bars.

Move the dry oat and nut mix to a bowl. Add 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour. Then add 2 tsps of baking powder and 1 tsp of baking soda. Add 1/2 tsp of salt.

Also add about 1 tsp each of ground cinnamon and ground ginger. You can also add fresh grated ginger for better taste. Mix everything together and set aside.

In another small bowl, add 2 cups of grated carrot. You can make this 1 cup of carrot and 1 cup of grated apples too. Add 1/2 cup of raisins or dried currants to this. Cranberries would also be a good substitute here.

Add 1 cup of maple syrup to the carrots. I reduced the maple a little bit and added agave nectar along it, both together equaling 1 cup. Add about 1/2 cup fresh grated or frozen coconut. (not the dried sweetened coconut). Finally add 1 tsp of vanilla essence. Mix everything well.

Add this moist carrot mixture to the oat and flour mix. Mix everything well until well incorporated.

Move to a greased pan and spread it flat. I topped off with some pecans before sending it off to the oven.

Bake at 350F for about 45 mins or so. If you do a toothpick test at about 25 or 30 mins, it will still come out clean but the batter would still be light. Let it go on for about 45 mins until you see the bars turn golden brown. That would be a good time to take them out.

Let them cool down a bit. Cut into squares and then, all you have left to do is eat.

Or you can just stare at your creation like I'm doing right now.

Who says healthy is boring. Live it up, you health nuts!

Ingredient List:

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup Quick cooking or Steel Cut Oats
1 cup whole nuts- almonds, walnuts, or any other nuts. Total quantity of nuts is 1 cup.
1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ginger powder

Moist Ingredients:
2 cups grated carrots (or a mix of carrots or apples)
1/2 cup of raisins, or dried cranberries or currants.
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1 cup maple syrup (you can even do 1/2 maple +1/2 agave nectar)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Prepare as explained above.



Enjoy. Peace Out.

Homemade Pomegranate & Strawberry Jam

Yes, you read it right.

I made jam.

I have a smile on my face that's as big as the bottle of jam I made. It seems to be there forever - almost looks like botox work on my face. Not that I need it - still have decades to get there. Really.

This is one other post where the key ingredient made it from the backyard into my pots and pans and finally into the fridge. And this time around, its actually from my neighbor's backyard. From their pomegranate tree.

Here are two wonderful pictures of my neighbors pom tree and also my persimmon tree. Do you see all the fruit there - this is actually after they plucked out most of the ripe fruit and she was sweet enough to share a whole bucket of them with me. Also, on my side of the yard, my persimmons are beginning to turn orange - some more time..and I'll have to make something interesting with it - maybe pie!

Here's the gorgeous fruit - up close and personal.

Actually there were a lot more seeds - but they disappeared somewhere while I was peeling the fruit. Hmm...I wonder where..Burp..

Before we get to the jam making process, here's a quick look into getting your jars ready to be filled with jam. Now, I did not follow the entire canning process - because really I don't think I need this to last more than 6 months - it would be a surprise if we go into the second month with leftover jam.

But if you would like to prepare a whole big huge batch of jam to store for months together, go here to this site and read all about the canning process. I even got the base recipe for the pomegranate jam from this site but modified it a little bit to match the quantities I have. This site 'PickYourown.org' is a great source for making jams and jellies - thanks to Blake who manages the very informative site! Eventually, I'll learn the canning process - and of course, you'll know when I do.

I did clean and sterilize the jars that I bought - which btw, with all my enthu, I ended up buying a 12 jar pack from Target. So, I do have 10 left. Now I'll have to come up with more ideas to fill those later! I sterilized about 3 jars - but did not even get that much jam. I was able to fill a couple of jars to the top. And then had almost enough to fill a third jar - but all of a sudden, there were a few kids surrounding me and they all wanted fresh toast with fresh jam! So that quantity became even less - and I just put the remaining hot jam in a container and handed it over to my neighbor - so she could enjoy the jam from her fruits!

To sterilize the jars, just wash them clean with soap and water and then rinse them in boiling water for about 3-4 mins each. You don't need fancy equipment to do this - our traditional Indian 'pakad' works great! Just take them out carefully, empty all the water and place upside down on a paper towel so that all the water drips out and the jar is clean.

Also sterilize the lids and screw tops similarly.

There, these are now ready to be filled.

So, let's get to the real stuff!

Just throw in all the pomegranate seeds into a blender- do not add any water. Just blend them well to a juice.

In order to strain the juice, place a colander over the pan you will be using to make the jam. And place a muslin cloth on top of the colander. Once again, no fancy equipment needed.

Now pour the juice in here and strain it well. Since this is a thick juice, you might have to lift up the muslin cloth and give it a couple of squeezes to strain out all the juice.

Now, I needed about 4 cups of juice. But, could get only about 2 1/2 cups from the fresh pomegranates. Hence, here's what I used with it - Strawberries!! Fresh from my farmers' market!

Same procedure - wash, cut, remove the green stem, and then add to a blender and make a juice out of the fresh fruit.

I just realized that this looks like there a lot of juice in here - actually there's only about 1 1/2 cup in here- the picture is taken while the blender is in action - hence you see the juice all the way up - its actually whirring inside there. Next time, I'll remember to take picture after the action is done!

Pour that too along with the pomegranate juice.

Mix gently with a spatula - this will also strain more juice to the pan below. Squeeze out all the remaining juice with the muslin cloth - it's ok if its a little thick.

There - all done! Love the color here..

Measure out the sugar amount exactly. How would you know how much sugar? Next step please..

Here - this is the magic ingredient. Pectin. This is what turns the fruit into jam. These are little inexpensive packs - about 2 bucks at Target. At the back of the box, there will be the exact measurements required for both the juice and the sugar. So, check there.

So, for this quantity of 4 cups juice, I needed 4 cups of sugar and 1 box of pectin. This is the amount mentioned for cooked jam - it does vary depending on the pectin too. So, do check for sure.

Now, take about a couple of tbsps of sugar and mix it dry with the pectin powder. You'll need to use the whole pack of pectin powder.

Now, mix the sugar-pectin dry powder to the juice in the pan and stir well so that no lumps are formed. Remember there is no heat yet - do this before you switch on the stove.

Once that's mixed well, switch on the stove and start boiling this juice. And I mean, boiling.

Like this. A complete rolling boil. Big boil. Huge Boil. whatever you want to call it boil.

Let it rise as high it can get boiling.

And then add the rest of the sugar. I know its way too much sugar. But, we talking jam here. Not salads. So, sulk but still do it. Remember, you'll eat one spoon at a time - so sulk less and still do it.

Enjoy the instant change of color - from gorgeous to super gorgeous. Oh..I want to dance!!

Let this come to just one boil. If you're too picky and want a super clear jam, you can skim the bubbles off the top. Not me. I just left them there. It was still very pretty...you'll see. Switch off the stove now.

And pour immediately into the clean jars while its still liquidy - which won't be for long. If not, you'll regret having to break it. In just about 4-5 mins, you'll see that its begins to thicken up and turn into jam.

How do I know? Because I'm shameless. I scraped off the little bit sticking to the sides with my own piece of toast. You know..just to test.

And can you along with me, see how this is jelling up pretty? And no, I did not add the next picture where my pan is spanking clean even before it hits the sink! I know you'll judge me then!

Quick, close your eyes and scroll down slowly...

My friends, I present to you....

More taste testing going on all around the house and the streets!

You know I'm obssesed by now....

Want a bite?

Here are my two jars of delicious home made Pomegranate and Strawberry Jam...hopefully will last me a couple of days...jus kidding!

Of course, I have to show off...

Enjoy. Peace Out!

Banana Pecan Muffins

Here's a little history between Bananas and Me.

I hate them. Plain hate. No love. Only hate. My immediate and my extended family including aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors everyone knows this fact. When I was getting married, my cousins teased me that I will have to eat a piece of banana during the ceremony. I almost skipped my own wedding. I would not even touch a banana - I mean touch like literally put my fingers on them. No. I would not do that till about 5 years back.

Then, my daughter was born. And when she was 6 months old, I started to feed her bananas. And that was the only thing she loved most at that age. So, every morning her breakfast was a banana. I had to hold the banana in my hand, peel it and smash it with my own fingers and feed her. Arrgh.. I used to hold it away from my body so that I don't smell it by mistake!

5 years and many many bananas later, I'm ok with them staying on my counter top.

And then yesterday happened.

There were about 4 overriped bananas on the counter and it was one of those few minutes when my mind had no control over my tongue and my tongue spitted out these words - "Maybe I'll make banana nut muffins using these ripe bananas instead of throwing them" - What? What? Are you insane...but it was too late. The whole family had heard what I spoke - now, there's no going back. Damn! Damn!

And so then I did the one thing I do best - Googled. The first hit was a recipe that Tyler Florence had made on Food TV. The recipe seemed simple and it used Pecans. I had Pecans at home and did not have Walnuts which is usually used to make Banana Nut muffins. So, perfect - let me try this.

So I started to get the ingredients out and started the whole muffin making process. My mother in law was a little sad that I was going to use eggs in them as they don't eat eggs. So, at the spur of the moment I decided I will make another set of eggless muffins! That story is my next post.

And so here come the Banana Pecan Muffins. If you've read my story this far, don't miss to read what happened in the end after the muffins were done.

Here is the original Tyler Florence Recipe.

All ingredients assembled here - you can see how ripe the bananas were - the black culprits! I melted the butter in a bowl before I started.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside. Pre heat your oven to 375 degrees.

All Purpose Flour - 2 cups

1 1/2 tsp baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt.

 

Get your little sous chef to line the muffin pans with paper liners. Tell them they have to earn their muffins! 

 

In a small bowl or a flat plate, mash two of the ripe bananas with a fork. Press them down completely. Set aside.

 

In a mixing bowl, add the other 2 ripe bananas and add 1 cup of brown sugar. Beat it all well. This step gave me intense saddistic pleasure - I was beating the hell out of the my arch enemy! Beat it well for about 3 mins - Oh yeah!

 

Now, to the beaten mixture, add the melted butter (3/4 cup - 1 1/2 sticks), add 2 eggs, and a tsp of vanilla extract. You can also add Almond extract if you like the flavor. 

 

Beat it all together well until combined.

 

When the wet mixture is well combined, add the dry flour mix to this a little at a time and keep mixing.

 

Wet and dry ...yin and yang.. Do not beat this too much. Just enough to combine well.

 

When all are combined together, it looks like this.

 

Now, add the two bananas that you pressed down with a fork in here and add about 1 cup of pecans.  Just use a spatula and fold together well until combined.

 

Fill the paper lined muffin tray with the batter. Fill 3/4 of the paper cups.

 

When all the cups are filled, just hold the tray and give it a couple of smacks on the counter to let out the air bubbles. Yeah...some more smacking. Oh..I actually like doing this!

 

Bake it in the pre heated oven for about 15- 18 mins or until they pass the toothpick test.

 

There they are - nice and golden!

 

A close up shot of one.

 

This one wants its portrait published too!  It cried for attention. Poor thing.

 

Look at me all open..

 

Now, look at me closely...what can you see??

 

Here is the end of the story I promised before.

So, these things came out of the oven. You know when you are working with butter and sugar and pecans...your mind is very relaxed. When these things bake and you just remove them out of the oven, the wafting smell of the butter and sugar and everything else just surrounds you. Making your brain even more weaker.

And then I cut it open to take a picture. That small little cloud of hot flavorful steam hit my face - my brain died for a few mins and then I did the unthinkable - I picked up a piece and put it in my mouth. NOOOO...still brain dead - I picked up the other piece and put it in my mouth. That's it - it was the end of my dignity. I had no shame. I was messed with by a banana. A damn yellow and black banana. Crap! I even tried to brush, floss and clean my tongue - but nothing worked. Nothing I do ever could turn back time. I have to give in. Its a sad day for me. A happy day for a banana!

Good bye, my friends. The old Anu is gone - here is a new one that has eaten a banana!