These whole grain protein sticks are every easy to prepare, give the right amount of protein, and are sweet without the sugar spike. To make this perfect after school snack, toast 1 slice of whole grain bread and cut the toast into strips. Spread the toast slices with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and slice 1/2 of a banana and place slices on top. If the kids insist, add a little extra sweetness by drizzling honey on top, although it doesn’t really need it.

This snack provides complete proteins with the peanut butter, whole grain bread, and banana combination. The amino acids that were missing from the peanut butter and bread were provided by the banana to create 12 grams of complete protein using all 9 essential amino acids. The banana slices and bread sticks together are low glycemic, meaning they are not going to spike your blood sugar, and provide 5 grams of fiber. You can also substitute bananas with strawberries for something sweeter and higher in vitamin C.

8 ounces, or 1 cup, of 2% milk adds even more complete protein and helps wash down the hardy peanut butter snack. The milk also provides 293 grams of calcium, which are important for growing kids.

Serving size: 1 slice whole grain bread, 1/2 banana, 2 tablespoons all natural peanut butter, 8 ounces 2% milk

Calories: 432

Protein: 22 grams

Fiber: 18 grams

Sugar: 24 grams

Calcium: 337 grams

Click here to find out more on making complete proteins from plant sources

I’ve been a major slacker lately so I apologize for the lack of posts. Life is crazy and I haven’t been in the kitchen much in the past week or so. Today I’ll quickly share a recipe for what I’m currently munching on…peanut butter cocoa popcorn. It’s super delicious! I was originally just going to make cocoa popcorn but then my sister had the brilliant idea of adding PB2, which is sort of like powdered peanut butter, and it turned out great! It only takes about 3 minutes and you’re done!

To make this scrumptious snack all you need are 4 ingredients!

3 Tbs Popcorn kernels
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp PB2

Just throw those ingredients into a large bowl, cover it with a lid, and pop it in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes! If you want a little extra yum, put an extra dusting of powdered sugar on when the popcorn comes out of the microwave.

So there you have it! Perfect for rainy days or to eat as an evening TV snack. Now it’s time for me to enjoy the yumminess and watch 4 Weddings with my sis! Thanks for checking in!

]]> http://spatulagoddess.com/2013/05/23/peanut-butter-blossoms-by-boyfriend/ Fri, 24 May 2013 00:38:57 +0000 essex121514 http://spatulagoddess.com/2013/05/23/peanut-butter-blossoms-by-boyfriend/

This recipe comes from BHG: New Cookbook: 12th edition which is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Time required: 1 hr

Yields: 54

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $48

Cost per cookie: 88 cents

Spring is in the air folks… The cats are acting like kittens, my allergies are flaring up in huge raging hives, and the bake sales at work have begun for another season.

I was asked if SpatulaGoddess could make something for the bake sale fundraiser for whichever cancer research thing was going on at the time, and I said “No. but I can make something for you.”, not offended by this but it seems my colleagues forget that I was baking my own goods before I met SpatulaGoddess.  I won’t say that I have ever made anything as exquisite as my lovely, but I have never served anything that lasted, and the compliments abound… maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve baked for them… BAH!!!

I love peanut butter cookies who doesn’t?   I know the ones I love are in the Red Checkered Cookbook that my mom used, and also got for me when I moved out, so I went looking there, my original plan was to make peanut butter ninjamen cookies, but once I found page 218 in that wonderful book my plans changed BIG TIME, beside the cookie recipe I was looking for I saw the recipe I used.  I changed the hershey kisses with Reese’s mini peanut butter cups… ENJOY.

Kitchen implements I used:

• Nemo the KitchenAid
• large baking sheet
• parchment paper

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• ½ C white shortening
• ½ C smooth peanut butter
• ½ C granulated white sugar
• ½ C golden brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1¾ C white flour
• ¼ C granulated sugar (reserved)
• 1 package of mini peanut butter cups

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 176°C / 350°F 

Flour, milk/egg/vanilla, sugars/baking powder/soda, shortening/peanut butter

1. Put shortening and peanut butter into mixing bowl.

2. Put the ½ cup of granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda, in a separate bowl.

3. Put milk, egg, and vanilla in a separate container.

4. Put flour in a separate bowl.

Nemo doing his thing

5. Beat “Step 1″ ingredients with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.

6. Add “Step 2″ ingredients and beat until combined, scraping the bowl.

7. Beat in “Step 3″ ingredients.

8. Beat in as much of “Step 4″ ingredient as you can, stir in the rest.  I am guessing this was written for those that do not have access to a Kitchen Aid… cuz Nemo KICKS ASSSSSS and has no issues mixing in almost 2 cups of flour.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Peanut butter balls in sugar.

9. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll them in the rest of the sugar.

10. Place balls 2 inches apart, (ballroom) am I right fellas?  Ahem.. anyways back to the topic at hand.  2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

11. Bake at 350°F for 10 – 12 mins or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned.

12. Immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into the middle of each cookie, and transfer to a wire rack and let cool

Cooling

Verdict:  As I said to my buddy from work whom I sent a pic of these to after making them… “I AM A MUTHER$&#*^$ GENIUS!!!”  These far exceeded my expectations, I was thrilled with how great these  turned out.  SpatulaGoddess was so impressed she wants me to make more… But isn’t willing to let me play with the centres.  I know there are other great things to stick in the middle of a peanut butter cookie.

Playlist: Godsmack, Disturbed, Slipknot, Random J-pop… that’s how I roll

Two of my favorite things: peanut butter and oatmeal. It really doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

So here’s the story, a while ago I decided to try out PB2 to see what all the hype was about. Well it turns out that I’m not a fan. I was cleaning out the cupboard the other day and found my full jar of PB2 pushed in the back, neglected. It expires next month and I don’t like wasting food so I figured I’d try it in as many things as I could to use it up.

I woke up this morning around 5 a.m. for no reason whatsoever. I was wide awake and ready to experiment. This is what I came up with.

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 heaping tablespoon PB2
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven (I use a toaster oven) to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and place in a small bowl or ramekin. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges brown.

You can top this with anything! I always go with honey. But peanut butter, almond butter, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, anything works! Use your creativity.

And there you have it. This recipe serves one, as a lot of my recipes do. My family doesn’t really enjoy the same type of food that I do. So I’m usually just cooking for myself. But you can easily double or triple this recipe!

Do you like PB2? If not, what is your “go to” peanut butter brand?

Quick Apple Snack

You will need…

1 Apple

1 miniature box of raisins

Peanut/almond butter

Directions: Cut the apple into this flat slices cutting out the core as you go along. Spread butter add raisins or chocolate chips or whatever the hell you want!

Muesli, soya milk

Lunch

Peanut and peach pitta bread, grapes, mini chilli crackers, flapjack

This is where the weird but delicious sandwich recipe comes in. Partly due to a shortage of sandwich ingredients, I decided to go for a peanut butter and peach pitta. I was slightly dubious as to how this would work and was fully prepared to find a soggy mess when I opened the Tupperware box at lunchtime. In fact though, the result was unexpectedly delicious. It had the great sweet/salty flavour of peanut butter and jam but felt a tiny bit healthier. To prepare, just lightly toast the pitta (this makes it a lot easier to cut) and add some vegan spread and peanut butter. Thinly slice some tinned peaches and place on top of the peanut butter as you would with e.g. slices of tomato.

Dinner

Falafel, vegan potato salad, pea shoot salad.

It’s easy to buy ready made falafel, although you can make it yourself.  I have to admit,  I’ve never tried making my own but have been happy with either the Tesco or Cauldron versions. Falafel makes a nice filling meal with a hearty salad, but can also be used as a vegan sandwich filling. Some falafel sandwiches annoyingly contain yogurt but the Costcutter and Tesco ones that I’ve tried seemed genuinely animal-free.

The vegan potato salad is quick and delicious. It’s also a  good option for people who don’t like mayonnaise as it’s ‘creamy’ but there’s no vinegar. Soya cream is just such a useful ingredient for making great sauces. You can get it in medium to large supermarkets, but the Alpro cartons are only small so I’d suggest stocking up. The potato salad I made today was actually a bit of an inferior version as I had no parsley or lemon and just used basil and soya cream. It still tasted pretty good though, even if not up to optimum standard!

Ingredients for lemon and parsley potato salad (serves 3):

- 3 large potatoes

- 1 small carton of soya cream

- A good handful of parsley

- Zest of 3 lemons

Method:

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes.

2. Simmer the potatoes until tender. Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley.

3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and run some cold water over them to cool them down.

4. Stir in the soya cream, parsley and lemon zest and enjoy!

I used to avoid pea shoots as they were one of those pine nut type items that are ridiculously pricey for a tiny amount. Like pine nuts though, they are almost worth the expense. On a trip to Sainsbury’s today, I found some pea shoots nestling amongst the other packet salads and although they were still expensive (£1 for a smallish bag) they were no more so than most of the other packaged greenery. If you can get them for a reasonable price, pea shoots are great in salads or sandwiches. Today I just combined the shoots with a sliced tomato and some sunflower seeds which tasted great. Olive oil would be a good addition for a bit of an Italian taste.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m just being a prick. It’s a nice, locally-owned chain with a quality product. If you’re ever in the area, try it out.

I figure I’ll get some pictures of the place and do another article about the atmosphere.

Oh yes, we’re going there. If you’re a familiar face, my weirdo culinary antics will come at no surprise. I eat strange-core.

I’m excited to finally participate in Laura’s Strange But Good link up. Go check out what the other weirdos are doing every Friday.

(If you want.)

I’ve confessed my love for the Peanut Butter, lettuce and mayo sandwich before. Now I’d like to show you how it’s really done.

I introduce you to the (P)BLT & Nayo.

Like a BLT but with Peanut Butter instead of bacon. Add bacon if you’re into it for sure. So good.

Assemble Ingredients:

Note: this is not a (P)BLT sandwich in the traditional sense because bread is so 2008 is complicated for me. I use lettuce “buns.” It’s like a salad you can eat with your hands!

To make a good lettuce bun you lob a bit off the side of the head and cut down following the natural curve. 
 

The next part is hard to explain. Balance some of the larger leaves and some of the smaller leaves for each half.

Whatever.. you’ll get it.

Then it’s Captain Obvious time.

Peanut Butter, tomatoes and Vegenaise OR regular mayo (Those are your only two options.. none of that nayonaise nastiness. Ugh.)

You could stop there… but why?

I add onions and half sour pickles, of course.

Because Pickles and Peanut Butter.

BOOM. There you have it.
Now go play!
Put it between bread or in a wrap. Add meat if you want. Leave out the mayo (jealous mayo haterz).

Basically what I am saying is this:
Peanut Butter on your sandwich. It’s not just for Jelly anymore.

*I capitalize Peanut Butter (and Jelly) out of principal and personal doctrine.

Don’t forget to go over to Laura’s blog for SBG Friday (and then subscribe!)

• Lay it on me! You know I love the honesty. Will you would you try it? Did I gross you out? Mildly intrigued? Feeling queasy?
  
• What is something you eat that would be considered strange but good?
  
• What do you use as the plural of tomato (and potato)?

I still work in VBS at our church each year.  We don’t cook with the kids, but I have as much fun as they do. Now, over 30 years later, we are very careful about serving peanut butter or anything with high fructose corn syrup to the children. But I suspect our family will never stop making this treat. Recently our youngest son invited us to join him and his wife for a Saturday night dinner.  This was the dessert he asked me to bring!

Special K Crunch

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

Bring to a boil and add:

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

4 cups Special K cereal

Mix well and quickly spread in buttered 9 inch square pan.  Cool and cut into squares.

Ingredients:

1 splash milk of choice (I use unsweetened almond milk)

2 large spoonfuls plain Greek yogurt

1 spoonful unsweetened peanut butter

1 frozen banana

1 tsp natural raw honey

Method:

In a blender, blend until everything is mixed consistently and has a creamy texture. Add small amounts of almond milk as needed if it’s too thick.

Here’s a peanut butter cookie that’s been jazzed up — adult-style — with jelly! Not just any jelly — fig preserves! But you could add whatever flavor of jam or preserves you want with these Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies. You won’t feel like much of a grown-up when you mix in the preserves with your hands — it gets really messy. Just channel your inner child long enough to mix them up and get them into the oven. Then enjoy with a mug of coffee!

Peanut butter banana! It’s creamy and delicious. I added a little bit of cinnamon, which really punched up the flavor.

Peanut butter banana smoothie:

1 banana

1 cup of ice

½ cup of plain or vanilla yogurt

¼ cup of rolled oats

2-3 Tbs. Peanut butter

¼ cup of almonds

½ cup of milk or coconut water

1 tsp. cinnamon

-Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth and enjoy!

Cherry vanilla. This one turned out to be my favorite because you can really taste the cherry and I didn’t have to add any sweetener like agave or honey.

 Cherry vanilla smoothie:

1 cup of frozen cherries

1 banana

½ cup of vanilla yogurt

1 cup of ice

¼ cup of almonds

½ cup of milk or coconut water

1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

-Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth and enjoy!

Peaches and cream. The peaches will either make or break this smoothie. I think fresh peaches would be better because the frozen ones are to watery tasting. So in this case do as I say and not as I do.

 Peaches and cream smoothie:

1 cup FRESH sliced peaches

1 FROZEN sliced banana

1 cup of ice

½ cup plain or vanilla yogurt

¼ cup rolled oats

¼ cup almonds

½ cup milk, minus 2 Tbs.

2 Tbs. vanilla creamer

-Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth and enjoy!

I hope these inspire you to make your own wonderful smoothie creations!

As if the title wasn’t a giveaway, yes, we’re talking about a chocolate cake…with peanut butter buttercream frosting… and ice cream.

I used this recipe for the base and buttercream, and went with my gut for the rest.

Our sweet, chocolate base

I chopped up some salted, roasted pistachios and mixed them with a few tablespoons of chopped peanuts and threw em into the softened ice cream. Any flavor ice cream will do, but you can always rely on the sweet taste of good old vanilla. Sometimes, a little contrast in the dish goes a long way. Make sure the ice cream’s not so soft that it is completely absorbed by the cake.

Spread a thick layer of ice cream along the base of the cake and top it off with the second layer. I used a spring-form pan to bind it together in the freezer –  pretty much anything else will work. Just as long as the base and the sides are covered.

Pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours and let the cake and the ice cream have the chance to marry one another, and form a delicious bond, later to emerge as one.

Before serving, spread the butter cream across the cake as if you were showering it with  love… and soft, soft velvet. Top the cake with a medley of chopped pistachios, peanuts (go easy on them), and some chocolate chips. Just to really accentuate the type of the cake. So there is no confusion on what lies beneath. And the greatness and glory which ensues the first bite.

ENJOY!

xx

1. My name is derived from a bag of Lay’s potato chips!!! My mother craved these chips the entire 9 months of her pregnancy, and after she delivered she went down the alphabet until she came across Sha-lay. She dropped the “y” and added an “e” so my name is spelled Shalae. I feel I should receive some type of endorsement from Lay’s….what do you think?

2. I have to watch Golden Girls everynight before going to bed!! I love watching these gray hair women argue about life, men, and they dress so darn cute!!!

3. I am a prankster!!! I get a kick out of putting baby powder in my soldiers pillows or turning the shower knob to cold while someone is showering!!

4. I am allergic to eggs, bananas, and catfish!!

5. I love peanut butter!!! I eat peanut butter on everything…..seriously it would freak you out if I listed the stuff I eat peanut butter on.

6. I cannot dance to save my life!!!

7. I have never shaved my legs! I was told if you shave the hair grows back thicker and faster so I never did it.

8. I never thought I would marry my husband!!! My husband was very desperate in college. Bless his heart!! For Christmas I gave my whole class cards with my number in them just in case they got lonely over the holiday season. My husband is the only ONE who called repeatedly!! He even texted me a whole song! Year after year I kept denying him, because I felt he wasn’t my type! Eventually his persistence won, because we are going on two years strong!

9. I used to think putting butter (margarine) on my breast would make them grow! I was an avid Oprah viewer, and once she had a lady with the largest breast in the world on her show.The lady explained her breast grew by putting butter on them at night. As a young naive flat chested teenager I was willing to try anything…so every night I would put it on. Well my mother caught me, and boy was I in trouble!! Let’s just say that was my last experimentation with food.

10. I almost failed the second grade because I couldnt speak English!! The first language I learned was German, and once we returned to the states I had to learn English. I cannot speak German at all now smh

If there is anything you would like my feedback or personal advice on, whether it’s relationships, church, friends, shopping or whatever, please feel free to send me an email at themylaefoundation@gmail.com. Thanks!!

I found this amazing recipe for peanut blossom cookies that were pink and zebra—two of my favorite things–so decided to make them. Unfortunately, when purchasing the ingredients for the cookies, I could not find the black and white (zebra-print-looking) Hersey’s Hugs chocolates. Therefore, I just decided to make regular peanut butter blossoms that did not have any coloring.

I must say that this recipe went very well. I followed the recipe exactly and things came out great. The only real dilemma I encountered was the fact that I lacked some cooking utensils. When my siblings and I moved in with my dad after my mom passed away this summer,we had to leave some things, like most of her cooking utensils. She loved to cook and had multiples of everything, plus some crazy utensils that we barely used. We did not bring the automatic egg-beater (I think that’s what they are called… My home-economics teacher, Ms. Jamison, would be very disappointed that I forgot the names of the cooking utensils she quizzed us on if she knew!) So, I had to beat everything by hand, which definitely made my arm ache.

Since the recipe was pretty simple, after a few batches of the peanut butter blossoms, I thought it would be a good idea to add color—after I already made the cookie dough. Not a good idea because the food coloring dyed my hands more than the cookies! I kept adding more colors—first red, then more red, some yellow, blue—then the whole dough turned out into a black ball of disaster. (Bad idea!) I ended up making my brother eat all of the ugly-colored cookies.

The peanut butter blossom cookies had positive reflections. My family enjoyed them; my father continuously commented on the appearance of them and how good they looked. I am pretty satisfied with the fact that I baked homemade cookies from scratch and they came out alright—all by myself, too. The only downside was that I used so many dishes and made a big mess trying to do everything perfect that I was dubbed with kitchen duty and had to do the dishes. How wonderful…

Balls!  Bites! Orbs! Truffles!  Call ‘em what you like.  They are all good.  Sometimes they are just what you need to feel like you are having a sweet treat.  Except this sweet treat is guilt free.  I’ve said it before – you can add anything you like to these but if you are looking for a bit of inspiration, give this recipe a try.

Guilt-Free Globes of Goodness

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Chia (black or white)
• 1 cup Dates
• Boiling Water
• 1/4 cup No-Sugar Added Peanut Butter
• 2 Tbsp Rice Syrup
• 1/4 cup Coconut Oil, liquified
• 1 cup No-Fruit Muesli or Oatmeal
• 1 cup Puffed Cereal (corn or rice)
• 1/2 cup Almond Meal + extra for rolling
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• pinch sea salt

Directions:

• Place chia and dates in a small bowl or glass measuring cup.  Add boiling water to cover.  Let sit.
• Place coconut oil in a dish over the boiling water to liquify it.
• Microwave the peanut butter and rice syrup for 30 seconds.  Add the liquified coconut oil and mix well.
• Whiz the dates & chia with a stick blender or regular blender, along with the water, to make a runny paste.  You can add more water if needed.  (Don’t worry, it’s not an exacting science)
• Pour the date mixture and peanut butter mixture into a large mixing bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Add extra almond meal if needed in order for the mixture to hold it’s shape.
• Use a small ice cream scoop or spoon of mixture and roll into Globes of Goodness!
• Roll the globes in almond meal (this will make them less sticky as you shovel them into your gob!)
• Place in individual patty papers if desired.

“Baking Out Loud: Fun Desserts with Big Flavors” (Clarkson Potter, 2012) by Hedy Goldsmith is filled with recipes that will remind you of childhood flavors. But don’t be fooled: Goldsmith gives each one a sophisticated and indulgent adult edge. If you’re headed to a get-together this holiday weekend, take Overstuffed Nutters and wait for the rave reviews.

I hope you have all had a great week so far. We’re almost to the weekend!

(source)

Warning: this post is full of randomness. I just have a lot of thoughts!

(source)

Randomness number 1: 

I was finally able to run outside yesterday! Well, I tried at least. My road is almost exactly 1 mile and I live right in the middle, so it’s easy to track my distance. My goal was a 3 mile jog, but it was so hot and humid, and I had cramps, blah blah blah. It wasn’t a good run.

I made it a little over 2 miles (stopping after each 1/2 mile to stay hydrated) before I heard thunder, so I took it inside and used the exercise bike.

On the bright side, it felt great to have some fitness in my life again!

(source)

Randomness number 2:

I want to show you all some nice pictures from yesterday!

The storm monsoon:

That’s a small waterfall flowing off the roof.

The rain lasted for about an hour, and it was so dark outside I felt like it was 9:00pm!

But once the rain cleared up, it got sunny and everything was beautiful again!

The wild mint seems happy!

And just for fun…

Anyways…

Finally the point of this post!

Today, I’m feeling saucy. And by saucy, I mean I want to share with you all my favorite sauces and dips!

Favorite #1:

Hummus!

Hummus holds a special place in my heart. I just can’t live without it!

I’ll eat it with:

• Veggie sticks
• Pita bread
• Salads
• Sandwiches
• Crackers/ pretzels
• A spoon

My favorite flavor of hummus is definitely garlic. I also like pine nut! Not a fan of red pepper hummus though.

On occasion, I’ll make my own hummus. I really like it chunky instead of smooth, and I’ve never seen chunky hummus in stores before!

Favorite #2:

Pesto

I’ve only ever had two types of pesto; the regular (basil) kind, and pesto made from garlic scapes!

I love pesto over pasta and with bread!

Confession: I’ve never actually made pesto. Maybe I should put that on my summer bucket list!

Favorite #3:

Strawberry jam

Okay, so strawberry jam isn’t exactly a sauce or dip, but the jam I made last summer was soupy enough to be one!

I love homemade jam on:

Oatmeal

Toast

Cereal

Favorite #4:

Peanut sauce

Last summer I really got into cold noodles with peanut sauce. It’s so simple to make and helps fuel my peanut butter addiction. 

This was last nights dinner. Soba noodles with peanut sauce, kale, edamame, and avocado! Recipe for the peanut sauce here!

Favorite #5:

Chocolate sauce

Aka melted chocolate.

Need I say more?

When I want chocolate chip cookies (but am too lazy to make some), chocolate sauce is a great substitute!

Last night was the first time I tried it on a banana. I think I’m in love.

I’m off for more job hunting (again) and then unpacking from school and repacking to leave for California tomorrow!

I have a lot of work to do…

I’ll be sure to tell you all about it! (California, not cleaning my room…)

What are your favorite sauces and dips?