In my house, the back-to-school season means a lot of things. It means checking off every item of the endless lists of mandatory supplies. It means going shopping for new jeans, hoping they’ll last at least the first semester. It means cleaning up the house, because we all know that if it doesn’t get cleaned during the summer, there’s no way anyone will have time during the school year. 
But, along with all the boring stuff, it means baking. Cookies for back-to-school cookouts, brownies for the first club meetings, and cupcakes for everything else. Plus, everyone needs something nice to pack in their lunch sacks, right? Other than just the regular overly-sweet and super artificial prepackaged snacks. 

Cookies, of course, are the standard item. They’re the easiest to package, easiest to make, easiest to store. And if you don’t have a classic oatmeal chocolate chip recipe in your repertoire, you need to add this one to it right now.  (more…)

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been experimenting with different kinds of peanut butter cookie recipes. Pretty much all my life I’ve been using the same, classic peanut butter cookie recipe where you refrigerate the dough and smash it with a fork so it has a grid pattern on top. 

I decided that it was time to try something new: how about just a regular drop cookie that doesn’t need to be refrigerated beforehand? I decided to start off my hunt for other peanut butter cookie recipes with this one: it’s a crunchy, chunky cookie made with oatmeal and chopped peanut bits. Optionally, you can drizzle some chocolate on top.

These cookies are just the right amount of salty and sweet and are reminiscent of chocolate-covered peanuts when you add the chocolate drizzle.  (more…)

My family loves granola bars. It’s a super quick snack, relatively mess-free, and there are so many flavors, there’s always something to please everyone. 

A lot of times though, the fancier granola bars (like Cliff – I guess this is actually an energy bar, but it’s the same idea) are more expensive, more than a dollar per bar. Plus, the list of ingredients on some of those bars are so long, it’s hard to tell what you’re actually eating. 

So, I decided I would start experimenting with different granola bar recipes and see how they compare to store-bought bars. I tried making granola bars a couple times before I was able to come up with something that my family actually enjoyed. These are not your typical bars as these are soft due to the bananas they contain. They still hold their shape just fine, but they’re not hard like those Nature Valley bars that come in the green box. I guess their texture more closely resembles those Nutrigrain bars with fruit fillings (but these taste nothing like those; I’m not a huge fan of Nutrigrain!).  (more…)

Have you ever made pancakes in a blender before? Turns out, this is actually a much easier method than the typical bowl-and-spoon mixing that you’re probably used too. Plus, pouring the batter into the pan is made much cleaner when there’s a spout on your blender. 

And this recipe is great because the pancakes are soft and neither too thick nor too thin; they have a sweet, hearty oat-and-wheat taste to them, without having a grainy oat feel. 

They are sweetened and flavored with bananas and blueberries, and of course taste great served with added berries, whipped cream, syrup, or whatever other toppings you decide to add!  (more…)

At my house, weekday mornings start early and are rushed, so breakfasts involve something quick and, normally, a bit boring: cereal, instant oatmeal, frozen waffles, omelets… 

Weekend mornings are a totally different story. Weekend mornings involve sleeping in at least until the sun has risen. Weekend mornings involve waking up to delicious smells (well, everyone else wakes up this way – I’m normally the one preparing the aromatic meal) and a hot cup of coffee. 

Weekend mornings often involve eating something hearty, sweet, delicious, and refreshing. That’s exactly why I chose to make this delightful Sunny Pineapple Oatmeal last weekend. It’s a very simple breakfast meal that can be made with little effort but has an amazing salty sweet taste. It has a combination of textures: soft, cooked oatmeal; crunchy sunflower seeds; juicy pineapple chunks.  (more…)

Crunchy and delicious cookies made with oatmeal, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and, if you like, macadamia nuts as well! 

These were simply amazing cookies that were quickly eaten by all.  (more…)

Want a healthy way to make fancy your simple breakfast? Then you must try out this recipe for baked apple pie oatmeal!!

I am a huge oatmeal fan, and some mornings I simply mix slices of apples into my bowl of already-cooked oats, but that does not compare at all to this amazing recipe! 

Out of the oven, you get a smooth, milky, creamy bowl of oats, amazingly crunchy and soft apples, and, with this recipe, tasteful spices. (more…)

Shredded coconut and candied pineapples packed into a delicious (and healthy) oatmeal cookie. 

These are amazingly scrumptious cookies that pack a lot of flavor. 

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This has been my long-time go-to recipe whenever I’m not sure what to make my family for breakfast. These pancakes are pretty simple, calling only for basic ingredients (nothing fancy). 

They are also very healthy, with whole wheat and oatmeal. They’re readily adaptable: replace the oatmeal with more flour for a thicker pancake, add chocolate chips for a sweet treat, or change the amount of milk for varying thickness.  (more…)

cinnamon, lavender, and plumeria soaps

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