Sleepy Mom Super Snacks

You know those moments when you look at your child and wish for time to stand still? When you realize that every minute forward is one less minute in the perfection of the present? When your succulent little bon bon of a child is so delicious you just want to eat her?! Sigh.

I love those moments.

Love Bath.

Me & Cookie, May 2014

But sometimes, life with kids isn't so delectable. Or I'm too tired to notice. For those moments, I have food. Here is the list of my favorite super food comfort snacks to bring me back to life (also known as it's time to ingest coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, or all of the above at once)...

Click on title to go directly to author's recipe. 
P.S. I try to avoid sugar, you may wish to add it.

Homemade Cappuccino LaraBar (serves 1)

3 dates, soaked until soft

2T raw almonds

1.5T raw cashews

splash of vanilla extract

Coffee - either 1/4tsp instant or 1T or so brewed (cooled). 

Combine all in a food processor and shape into bars.

If you use brewed coffee, refrigerate your bars to form them, as they will be quite moist 

Green Coffee Smoothie (serves 1)

1/2 cup almond milk, or milk of choice

1 ripe banana
2 handfuls organic spinach or 1 handful destemmed kale leaves
1 tablespoon chia seeds OR ground flax
1 date, soaked until soft
1/2 cup brewed coffee 
2-4 ice cubes, as desired

Blend until smooth.

Frappuccino Oatmeal (serves 1)

1/3 cup rolled oats 

2/3 cup brewed coffee

1/4 tsp salt (important to add before cooking)

sweetener of choice (I used some leftover dates that had blended with coffee, woo!)

Combine all ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, until oats are soft and fluffy.

Power balls (10-12 balls)

1 cup peanut butter 

3 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)

1 cup finely chopped dried fruit 

Rice crisp cereal, crushed nuts, granola cereal or unsweetened coconut

Form them into balls. Serve or refrigerate. The variations on these are endless! 

No Bake Protein Bars (12 bars)

1.5 cups rolled oats, blended into a flour
1/2 cup unsweetened/unflavoured protein powder
1/2 cup rice crisp cereal
1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste
1/2 cup natural peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips 
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with a piece of parchment paper. Mix the oat flour, protein powder, rice crisp, and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Add in the nut/seed butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir well to combine. If the mixture is a bit dry, add a splash of non-dairy milk and mix again.
3. Press into pan and roll out with a pastry roller until smooth. Pop into the freezer.
4. Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a small pot over low heat. When half of the chips have melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth.
5. After freezing the bars for about 5-10 minutes, remove from freezer and slice into bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate and freeze again until set. Store in the freezer for a week or longer in an air-tight freezer bag or container.