Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That

Carrots + Cake = Oats + Peanut Butter

Riddle #1:  How did carrots + cake yield oats + peanut butter?  Well duh!  The genius behind Carrots and Cake came up with a recipe for Peanut Buttery Bars with oats and I just had to try them!  I haven’t had many sweets around the house aside from fruit and I’ve really been cravin’ something with a cake-like texture so this totally did the trick!  Here’s the recipe with a few alterations I made per my taste:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) smooth peanut butter — 400 calories, 30 g fat, 4 g fiber, 18 g protein
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) smooth almond butter — 380 calories, 36 g fat, 6 g fiber, 16 g protein
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder — 20 calories, 0.5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour — 200 calories, 1 g fat, 6 g fiber, 8 g protein
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) agave nectar — 240 calories, o g fat, o g fiber, 0 g protein
• 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk — 5 calories, 0.38 g fat, 0.13 g fiber, 0.13 g protein
• 1.5 cups oats — 450 calories, 9 g fat, 12 g fiber, 15 g protein
• 1 egg — 74 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 6.3 g protein
• Total nutritional value of entire pan =1,769 calories, 81.88 g fat, 29.13 g fiber, 64.43 g protein
  
• One serving (12 servings) = 147.42 calories, 6.82 g fat, 2.43 g fiber, 5.37 g protein

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray Pam in a 8×11 square pan
• Mix ingredients, place in pan (the mixture was a bit dry, so I used my hands to spread it out — it was fun!)
• Cook for 15 minutes

These came out deliciously!  They are very subtly sweet, so if you like something more “bam! I’m suhweet!” than I’d recommend adding a bit more agave syrup.  Or, if you’re in a saucy, not too stringent on the calorie/fat content, mood, you could always do what my twin did and add some white chocolate chips to the top and nuke it in the microwave:

The bars dry out a bit and taste best when nuked in the microwave.  Do you like that I keep using the word “nuked”? hehe Makes using the microwave sound very appetizing — sorry!   TGIF pals!  What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter, almond butter, etc.?

Beauty

Riddle #2 — How is it that some of the most beautiful people in the world look in the mirror and see anything but that beauty?  Or, the question I’ve pondered before (and find kind of funny) is: how is it that someone you once deem beautiful can later seem to be the ugliest site on Earth (and vice versa)?  I guess it has a lot to do with beauty being a fluid and dynamic identity.  There are so many larger issues that fit into the equation of one’s perception of beauty that it would take a dissertation’s worth of research just to touch the surface.  No matter what, I hope we realize how in control of our own beauty we are and it doesn’t come from time spent in the gym or in counting your calories.  Go check out Caitlin’s blog on Operation Beautiful.  And don’t forget — feeling “beautiful” is not just limited to chicks.  Go tell your husbands, boyfriends, guy pals, brothers, fathers, etc., how beautiful they are.

I left this at the gym last night:

“‘The Greatest Treasures Are Those Invisible to the Eye’ Thank you 4 being you!”

Wish I could’ve left it in the boys’ locker room too … Maybe next time if it seems all clear!

Tags: beauty, calories, Carrots and Cake, nutritional content, operation beautiful, peanut butter bars, peanut butter recipes