Adaptable Oat Bars and the Winners!

Top ‘o the week to ya! I’m sure you’re all eagerly awaiting the winners of last week’s Barney Butter and Jessie-Awesome-Gift contests, so we’ll get right to it.

The winner of two free jars of Barney Butter is:

Lauren @ Health on the Run! Congrats, Lauren! Send your address to thehappinessinhealth [AT] gmail [DOT] com and I’ll have your Barney Butters send out ASAP 🙂

Now, for the caption contest! Entries are below the picture:

Jessie: (with a British accent) “Hop along little fellow, there’s no need to stare! That’s quite rude you know!”
Peter: “What are YOU lookin’ at?”
(Christina @ Dinner at Christina’s)

Jessie: “Thanks for the delicious dinner honey, but after all this fried chicken I might as well start working out to burn the fat like, right now!”
Peter: “That’s what I get for being the husband of the THIH blogger…”
(Christa)

Jessie: “This meal just makes me want to dance!”
Peter: “Oh no, not the Muppet Dance”
(Samantha @ Bikini Birthday)

Jessie: “That was ONE awesome chocolate cake I just had. I think this deserves a happy dance.”
Peter: “I knew I shouldn’t have let you order the chocolate cake.”
(LeQuan @ luvtoeat)

Jessie: “Watch me subtly sneak into this picture”
Peter: “Did I just hear ‘click’?”
(Lele @ wild world)

Jessie: “Smile, Peter!”
Pete: “I’d rather be playing Heroscape.”
(Marie – love the inside joke!)

Peter: (yawn) “Say What!!!”
Jessie: “I said, now that we’ve finished that Fried Chicken, Noodles and Peas and the Skillet Scones, let’s go for a long run!”
(Aunt Joyce)

Peter: “I think that waiter is hitting on me.”
Jessie: “Aiya! not me!?” (@%$#$ in Chinese)
(Tanantha @ I Just Love My Apron)

Jessie: “Let’s do something fun, I will race to the door.”
Peter: “Oh dear god please help me.”
(Jodie @ Jodie Pilates)

Jessie: “I’m so excited for my meal, I could just dance all night!”
Peter: “Oh gosh, I hope she’s not in one of her dancing moods again…we’re never coming back here….”
(Gina @ The Candid RD)

Jessie: “Just dance!”
Peter: “What? You know you want to dance!”
(Azmina @ Lawyer Loves Lunch)

Jessie: “Didn’t I tell you this eatery would be worth your hard earned buckaroos!”
Peter (muttering): “Why is she always right”!?!
(Claudia @ Foodessa)

Jessie: “He’d better take the picture quick because I really have to go to the bathroom!”
Peter: “Is that a fly in my soup?”
(Joanne @ Eats Well With Others)

Jessie: “That sure was a great meal!”
Peter: *already planning the return trip*
(Min)

Peter: “Does she have to photograph everything we eat?”
Jessie: “I know I can get that shot right, just a quick 20 or 30 more shots!”
(Chef Dennis @ More Than a Mountfull)

Jessie: “And THIS my friends, is me after a 12-course almond butter feast!!!!! Teeheehee”
Peter: “Thank goodness this meal is on Jessie.”
(Michelle @ Lucky Taste Buds)

Guys, choosing was really, REALLY hard. You are all so funny and clever that I’ve been torn all day about what to do. I was all ready to throw in the towel and just choose randomly, but I figured that wouldn’t be fair to everyone who took the time to come up with a caption (and let’s face it, writing a caption takes effort!). So, after much deliberation with Peter, we decided to award the Awesome-Jessie-Prize to Gina @ The Candid RD! Congrats, Gina! Email your address to thehappinessinhealth [AT] gmail [DOT] com, and I’ll get the Awesome-Jessie-Prize out to you straightaway!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contests! I had so much fun reading all the captions, and it was great to hear from some of the lurkers out there 🙂 For those who wrote captions: your witty words are forever immortalized under the Caption Contests tab at the top of the page.

Before I leave you all, I’d like to share a recipe that I frequently prepare at this time of year when I’m craving something carb-y.

These adaptable oat bars are based on a Mama Pea recipe and have often found their way into my bag to await an afternoon munching. Simple, but packed full of all the ingredients I love and enough fiber and protein to last me the rest of the afternoon.

Fill-Me-Up Adaptable Oat Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flour of choice (I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used cherries, but cranberries, raisins, chopped apricots, etc. also work well)
1/4 chocolate chips
1/2 cup nut butter (such as, say, Barney Butter 😉 )
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
2 eggs, slightly beaten (use 1 egg if you like a more crumbly bar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together oats, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Mix together nut butter and maple syrup. Add beaten eggs.

Mix wet and dry ingredients. The mixture will be dry, but keep at it! It’s the perfect workout for those T-Rex arms.

Press into a greased or parchment paper-lined 8″ x 8″ pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until top is starting to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

I like to freeze these and take them out one at a time for a snack. They freeze well and defrost quickly. Even better, they’re Maddie-approved!

Okay, okay, I didn’t ACTUALLY give Maddie any of these bars – what kind of dog owner do you think I am?? I let her lick the stirring spoon instead.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Q: What’s your go-to snack when you need a boost of energy?

21 Comments

  1. Congrats to your winners! I really enjoyed reading all those captions too. Thanks for coming up with that fun game. There were some pretty funny ones. I would’ve hated to be in yours and Peter’s shoes. I think I’d have a hard time choosing the winner.

    Your bar looks so professional. Sounds really healthy and yummy too. Lucky Maddie! For a boost of energy, I enjoy snacking on really great and refreshing fruits. although, I have to admit, I used to snack on chocolate bars for a boost of energy, you know, sugar highs. The problem with that is that it was just a sugar high and will lead to a real energy boost. Hope you had a super weekend, Jessie!

  2. Congrats to the winners! All the captions were quite quite lovely 🙂

    My go-to snack is a fruit, typically a banana, or a juice, like orange, but I also eat sweets for a pick-me-up, yeah not good I know, but I am trying to reduce that to a minimumm 😀 But usually it’s just orange juice… it’s supposed to help your brain, or something…

  3. Yay!! Oh my gosh Jessie — you totally made my Monday!! (ok, who am I kidding — you made my WEEK!!). Thank you so so much! I will send you my address 🙂 Can’t wait to try the Barney Butter!! (As a side note: I had to read that paragraph like 20 times to make sure I really did win and wasn’t imagining it haha)

    Those bars look absolutely delicious — and professionally made. I will definitely be making these with my new Barney Butter.

    And I actually wouldn’t have blamed you if you gave some to Maddie. I mean, how can you resist that face?? I think I give my pup far too many treats that he probably shouldn’t be eating.

    1. Not exactly – they’re less sweet than cookies and not as crumbly. I prefer them to cookies because I don’t like sweet that much.

  4. HILARIOUS captions! I was chuckling while reading. Those oat bars look AWESOME. I am absolutely going to make some. And, that is a beautiful picture of Maddie at the end there. 🙂

  5. YEAH!!! I loved reading all of the others, but I’m so happy you guys chose mine 🙂 This was so fun! We have a section in our local newspaper where people can send in their idea for a comic, based on a picture with blank captions. My mom and I have sent in a few, but never won 🙁 It’s fun though!

    The bars sound great, and look delicious. I’m currently working on a raw granola bar that I will hopefully sell one day. So far I’ve tested them with several people and they are a huge hit!

  6. If it weren’t for the dried raisins and chocolate…these bars would be perfect for Maddie ;o)

    Enjoyed reading the captions and I could only imagine the united fun you and Peter had reading them…great initiative Jessie.

    Ciao for now and congrats to the winners.
    Falvourful wishes,
    Claudia

  7. Those captions definitely made my morning. Fo realz yo.

    And dogs like PB! And it’s good for them! So as long as the spoon had no chocolate on it, I say let maddie go to town! Those bars look awesome.

  8. wellll those beat my energy boosting snack out of the water….. pure protein bars were my favorite…before I saw this post haha

  9. The captions were all fun! Congratulations to the winners..

    I’m going to try those oat bars this afternoon. I have been looking for some healthy snacks for the grandchildren, these look perfect!

    Thanks!

  10. Congrats to the winners! I loved reading the captions, too funny…

    Yum! The oat bars look like a fantastic way to get in your morning oats! I’m going to give these a go on Saturday morning…can’t wait! 🙂

  11. Love the captions. And LOVE Maddie!!! AWWWW. Thanks for posting this great recipe, have a good day.

  12. I’m a huge fan of granola bars (especially when I can make my own!) These look so delicious. And I loved seeing the results from the caption contest. So cute! Thank you for sharing with me today. I appreciate you and your creative spirit!

  13. Reading all the captions was sooo much fun! Congrats to Gina!

    I think I’ll have to make some oat bars soon….

  14. Oh my…how did I miss this, so much fun! Congrats to the winner, they were all hilarious 🙂 And these oat bars sound terrific 🙂

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