A Delightful Breakfast

This was a lovely breakfast I had yesterday. One of my favorite things of all time is peanut butter and jelly. It's practically the only thing I ate from approximately ages 3-12. I was a really picky eater as a kid; I don't know how my mom put up with me. If I had kids, they'd eat what I fixed them. The end. 

Thankfully, I grew out of the "trying new things is gross!" phase, and like almost everything now (except most meat, which is why, with new people, I just say I'm a vegetarian for simplicity's sake). I think the only vegetables I don't like are jicama and raw fennel.

Anyhoo, the point is, I still love PBJ, and a lot of times I have PBJ oatmeal. Yesterday I had whole wheat English muffins, so I did PBJ on each half.

But this ain't no regular jelly; it's my mother-in-law's homemade boysenberry jam. Oh my, is it good.

Alongside the English muffin, I had about a quarter each of an apple and banana, which I cooked in the microwave to break down the fruit and make it all warm, sugary and squishy. There was also a bit of plain yogurt and a crumbled bran muffin on the fruit (which was what I made for Cookie Monster's breakfast--I just swiped a little of it). Mmmmm!

All this, paired with the mandatory coffee (note the Ducks 1995  Rose Bowl mug. I have been a Ducks fan for a while), was a delightful and healthy breakfast. 

Greek Yogurt is Good. Especially in Brownies.

Who wants a free trip to a spa? Me! Me! I do! I'm entering this contest that Stonyfield Farm is hosting. The winner receives an all-expense trip to Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health.

 In my daily perusal of health food blogs, I stumbled upon this contest. It's open to all bloggers.  To enter, you can do one of three things:

 *Share a brief story about why you need to relax and say “ohm.”
*Share a recipe you create or tip using Oikos yogurt
*Post a photo of you doing yoga in a toga 
 All entries (your post is your entry) must include a link to the Oikos Facebook fan page and be emailed to oikos@360publicrelations.com by November 30, 2009.

My entry shall be: Peanut Butter Chocolate Oat Bran Bars (ok, the name sucks, but that's what's in them and I couldn't figure out a way to shorten it).
And yes, this one requires an actual recipe, but don't worry--it's still my speed. You simply dump all the ingredients together, stir and forget about them in the oven for a while.
Ok, here's the stuff you'll need:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons oat bran
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey, if you don't have agave)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (use Oikos!)
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 capful vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips or whatever kind of chips you like

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except for the chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons oat bran, stirring just until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir chocolate chips with the remaining oat bran until they're all coated. This keeps the chips from sinking to the bottom. Thanks, Ina Garten, for the tip! Stir the chocolate chips into the batter.
(I used a combination of chocolate chips and caramel pieces leftover from Halloween.)

Spread batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish.

Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes until they're cooked all the way through.

These are actually just a little underdone. But when they're just a bit undercooked, the peanut butter makes an awesome texture that's sortof like a cross between cookie dough and the insides of those ridiculous homemade peanut butter cups, wherein peanut butter is mixed with butter and powdered sugar. So good!

I served mine with a dollop of Trader Joe's chocolate soy cream. Awesome!