by Eating Bird Food on May 5, 2011
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I celebrated by hitting up the gym this morning. I was going to do another strength training workout but I’m sore from the two I’ve done at home this week so I stuck with some stretching, abs and the elliptical.
To refuel, I whipped up this quick smoothie. It’s flavored with citrus, banana and coconut making it quite the festive treat.
Cinco de Mayo Smoothie
Into the blender:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 navel orange
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (sunwarrior)
- 1 scoop mila (optional)
- 1 T dried coconut
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- dash of cinnamon and vanilla extract
Fiesta for the mouth! I loved the texture of the coconut bits.
After work I’ll be celebrating a friend’s birthday and hopefully consuming some guacamole – my favorite Mexican food. 
What are your plans for the day?
by Eating Bird Food on March 14, 2011
This past weekend was a total blast!
The bachlorette party was amazing- complete with dinner, drinks and bachlorette bingo! And on Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting up with a blog reader for coffee (Hi Alisa!!) before heading home to Richmond. The rest of day was spent unpacking, cleaning and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather.
I also prepped food for the week including some hard boiled eggs and Fruit and Nut Bars. I used my standard recipe but changed a few things around by testing it out with whole wheat flour and adding some sweetness with the high quality dark chocolate I was sent to try out as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, Pure Dark 70% Cocoa Slab.
The bars turned out amazing! I hate to admit it, but this version might be better than the original. Then again, I should have known. (Dark) chocolate does make everything better!
Fruit and Nut Bars with Chocolate
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- ½ cup pitted prunes (around 11 prunes)
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup dried apricots
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/6 cup chopped dark chocolate pieces (i used Pure Dark 70% Cocoa Slab)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup water
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Cover an 8-inch x 8-inch pan with parchment paper or a non-stick silicone baking sheet.
- Place prunes, raisins and apricots in a mini-chopper or food processor and pulse until well chopped. Remove the dried fruit mixture and chop the dark chocolate bar into small chunks.
- Combine oats, chopped fruit mixture, almonds in a large bowl and knead with your hands until well combined. Add flour and water and knead until a ball of dough forms. (Add a little more water if the mixture is too dry.)
- Add chopped dark chocolate.
- Press dough firmly and evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes, until baked through but still soft (don’t overbake them or the bars will be dry and tough).
- Let cool for 5 minutes. Cut into squares with a sharp knife and then let the bars cool completely (about 30 minutes).
- Store bars in an airtight container.
Enjoy your Monday and if you need a little chocolate, whip up a batch of these delicious bars. I promise you won’t regret it. 
PS- I’ll be posting the winner of the Alo Clothing giveaway later today!
Brittany Mullins, HHC
