Colors and Chocolate

These couple weeks have just gotten away from me.  I've been doing a bit of cooking, but no picture taking.  With that said I do have a couple thoughts to share with you today.

I was eating lunch today, which was a plateful of vegetables, including butternut squash.  I found myself wondering at the bright orange color of the squash and admiring it.  I had lots of color on my plate and that was good.  That led me to think about my new watch!  For those of you making fun of me for not being able to make a decision on a watch I wanted a year ago, you should know I decided and have a watch!  I wanted a watch for the outdoors, something sturdy, water resistant, and comfortable for backpacking, skiing, and rowing.  I often do these activities without a watch, but as I learn more about safety and first aid, I think there is a good chance I might want a watch to take a pulse or something.  It was time.  You can see why the beautiful orange squash reminded me of my watch!  I am the happy owner of this basic Momentum Atlas watch.  So far it does seem sturdy.

So let's revisit sugar.   As you know after over a year on the no sugar wagon I fell off and I'm officially blaming the cake decorating class! :)  Even though I'm now giving into ice cream and sweets a bit more, I still don't want to eat unnecessary sugar, it should be worth it - not something I'm eating just because it's in front of me.  Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs is one of a handful of cereals I've been able to find without sugar or any sweetener in.  It's cereal, I don't need anything sweet in my cereal!  But I digress, my most recent box had a recipe on the side for Puffs and Pretzels Cereal that I've looked at a few times and I realized it's a great base recipe that can be adjusted based on likes and what's in the cupboard.

Below is the recipe and how I changed it around.  It really is a great way to take care of a sweet craving and enjoy a little chocolate, along with some protein and fiber depending on what you include in the recipe, and there is no cooking involved!

Puffs & Pretzels Haystacks
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups Kashi Puffs
     1cup shredded coconut
     1 cup broken pretzel sticks
   2/3 cup coarsely chopped almonds
    12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
    1/2 cup smooth natural almond butter

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cereal, coconut, pretzel pieces and almonds.
2. Place chocolate chips in a small microwave bowl and microwave for 20-second intervals, stirring until melted.
3. Add almond butter for the last 20 seconds, then stir until smooth.
4. Pour melted mixture over cereal mixture and stir until well coated.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto waxed paper.
6. Refrigerate until firm and serve, or store in the refrigerator.

My Haystacks:  I used Kashi Puffs cereal, unsweetened coconut flakes, almonds and peanuts and I mixed it with peanut butter instead of almond butter, because that is what was in my cupboard. 

In my next haystacks, I will use dark chocolate chips and almond butter, in addition I think unsweetened dried cherries and  plain popcorn might be good adds!  What will your haystacks include?