http://www.wciu.com/videos/youandme/check-out-the-new-plan-from-weight-watchers

Yesterday,  I was on WCIU, The U, morning show You & Me.  I meant to write a post to share the info with you before I went on, instead of after so you could tune in. Alas, some days there just isn’t enough time to fit it all in!!  Sorry about that!

March is National Nutrition Month and I shared a few tips on how to savor the flavor of eating healthy. If you want to see the segment, the link is at the very, very top of this post, above the photo. If you click on the link, it should take you directly to it.

Below is the recipe from weightwatchers.com for the Chock-Full-Of-Goodness Bars that I made (with some help from my Mom….thanks Mom!) and talked about on the show.  The recipe requires a food processor, so they are a little time consuming to prepare (at least by my cooking-time-comfort-level-in-the -kitchen standards!) but my family and I agreed, it’s worth it because they are delicious and packed with nutrition. They taste like a really fresh combo of granola bar and Fig Newton . Very “homemade” tasting…not processed at all.  They taste healthy in a good way!!  Yummy!

Also want to take a second to say thanks  for following my posts!!  I really appreciate hearing from so many of you in comments on the site and personal emails. Doing what it takes to stay healthy…mind, body & soul….is more fun when we share ideas and support each other. We are not alone in our journey and reminding both myself and you of that fact is my motivation for writing as often as time permits. Hope it’s helpful to you too 🙂

It’s Friday….let’s make it fantastic!!!
All is well❤️

Terra😄

Chock-Full-of-Goodness Bar Cookies

Yields 1 bar per serving.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quick oats

1⁄2 cup toasted wheat germ

1⁄4 cup white whole wheat flour

1⁄2 cup dried apricot halves

4 oz dried fig, stems removed (1/4 cup)

1⁄2 cup raisins

1⁄2 cup almonds, whole, unblanched variety

1⁄4 cup dry-roasted salted sunflower seeds

1⁄4 cup dried cranberries

3⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon

1⁄8 tsp table salt

1⁄2 cup regular liquid egg substitute

1⁄3 cup maple syrup

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil, allowing the excess foil to extend over the rim of the pan by 2 inches. Lightly spray the foil with nonstick spray.

2. Combine the oats, wheat germ, flour, apricots, figs, raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor, in batches if necessary, and process until finely chopped. Add the egg substitute and maple syrup; pulse until the mixture is well blended.

3. Spoon the fruit mixture into the prepared pan and press to form an even layer. Bake until firm and browned along the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Lift the bars from the pan using the foil as handles. Cut into 24 bars. Yields 1 bar per serving.

Notes

We only have a small food processor, so we chopped the ingredients in batches, then put all of the mixture into the blender to mix in the syrup & egg white.  One extra dish to wash, but it worked great and saved us since we don’t have a large food processor.

White whole-wheat flour can be found in large supermarkets and in specialty-foods stores. I found it easily at Jewel. It is finely milled from a special strain of wheat known as hard white spring wheat.