Maggy and I are resolved. We’re going to shed a few pounds—the rest of her baby weight, the pounds I’ve slowly picked up since my last weight loss a decade ago.
It’s not a dramatic diet. We’re just setting up a few sustainable rules—no more than six ounces of wine a day—rough calorie counting, reasonable exercise, and becoming more mindful of what we put into our mouths.
We started our day with Egg Beaters scrambled with Parmesan cheese, kale, and roasted red peppers and a slice of toast. For lunch we’re making soup. This Peanut Butter-Chocolate Granola will be our afternoon treat—just a quarter cup, but it’s got all the things we crave—chocolate, fruit, and nuts. It’ll give us just what we need to tie over us until dinner.
We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, enjoy the extra light!
- 4 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup ground flax seed
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Mix oats, flax, cinnamon, salt, and peanuts in a large bowl. Heat syrup, oil, peanut butter, and water simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle over oat mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour mixture into large (12- by 18- inch) rimmed baking sheet coated with vegetable cooking spray. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in raisins. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Let cool and stir in chocolate chips. (Can be stored in an airtight tin for 1 month.)
Sounds perfect for an afternoon snack. I’m with you trying to shed a few. Thanks for keeping the great recipes coming.
How much flaxseed?
Hah! Good catch, Sandi. As you can see it’s 1 cup–not 1–flaxseed. Enjoy.
Man! This stuff is so good, I was eating it by the fistful last time I was home. Since I’m not a chocolate person, especially in the morning, this is more of an afternoon snack for me, too. If y’all can keep this around and not eat it all, you’ve got lots more will power than I do 🙂
This looks like an amazing batch of granola, YUM!!!
I love granola! I have yet to make it with peanut butter and chocolate, duh, why haven’t I done this? Two of my favorite things! I’ll be trying this soon! Thanks!