Hello all!

I rarely come here and blog and when I do...it's about fashion - my passion.

I'm doing great. Walking and monitoring what I eat.

I've never felt better. Fortunately, I don't have any health problems (knocking on wood) with the exception of high estrogen (but new ob/gyn) has me on Prometrium and it appears to be working. Maybe I will even procreate again (that's a whole "nuther" story).

I eat lean meats, fresh veggies and hold the carbs down - I do the good carbs and I turn heads! I always have but now it's amazing.

I made some changes and choose to leave some things behind me that were not good for me and I really see and feel the difference.

We have a new bakery in our building and they sell these amazing granola bars. One drawback - they are $4.00 a bar. Wow...pricey. I went on the quest for the perfect granola bar and my girl smittenkitchen (at smittenkitchen.com) didn't let me down. They were amazing. I am going to post the recipe and tell you that I tweaked them the many times I made them. Playing around with corn syrup, agave syrup and even honey until I made the perfect bar. My new friend Charlene devoured them. She and her husband Erne, came to visit us and I made them a batch to take back home (simply repaying her favor of the most awesome chewy cookie/brownie/shortbread thingy she made us to eat on the road back home after spending a lovely New Years with them).

I leave you with a great recipe for "energy" bars - courtesy of SmittenKitchen.com:

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (use more for a sweetness akin to most purchased bars; use less for a mildly sweet bar)
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces)*
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter (I used almond butter) (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, namely because I was not convinced that the flavor came through)
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (see Note above)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.

Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted butter or oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry (and peanut butter, if you’re using it) until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on the back of it.)

Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.

Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)

Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. [Updating to note, as many had crumbling issues:] If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.

I used dried sweet and sour cherries, flaxseed, unsweetened coconut, rice krispies for crunch, almonds, pecans, dark chocolate chunks and wheat germ - not the kind you get in the jar at the grocery store but from Fresh Market and it tasted quite different - good but different. Even the texture is finer.

SmittenKitchen Suggestions: Dried cranberries, apricots, pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut, walnuts, sesame seeds, pepitas, dried Apples or even chocolate chips. My mix: 1/2 cup wheat germ, 1 cup dried cherries, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes. Because my pieces were all pretty coarse, I pulsed them in the food processor a few times to break it up a little, though this isn’t necessary if you don’t mind yours chunkier.

Enjoy!!!!