Easy No-bake Puffed Wheat Bars

Want a healthy snack that isn't going to ruin your hard workout efforts?  Me too, so I came up with this semi-healthy puffed wheat bar recipe.  The flax seed adds a slightly nutty flavor, 4g of dietary fiber and essential fatty acids.

4 cups puffed wheat (or puffed rice or combo) cereal

2 tablespoons flaxseed

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup sugar-free maple syrup and honey (any combination to total the ½ cup, I do about half and half)

½ cup honey-peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 squares almond bark, melted

Lightly grease 9x9 inch pan. 

In large bowl, stir together the cereal and flax seed. 

In medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, syrup, and honey.  Bring to just a boil over medium heat.  Turn off the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until mixture is smooth.  Quickly pour over the cereal mixture and stir until completely combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and press down with wax paper to evenly distribute and even out top. Allow to cool, then drizzle melted almond bark over bars in diagonal pattern for presentation.  The 'white' almond bark creates eye-popping appeal!  Once drizzle has dried, cut into bars.  Enjoy!

Field Green Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

This is one of the prettiest salads that I've ever 'tossed' together.  A store bought mix of field greens becomes much more sophisticated once deep plum colored heirloom tomato wedges are added.  This field green salad mix included herbs like mint, which really added a freshness to the overall salad and an unexpected ingredient too.Not to mention, the colors compliment each other.

One package mixed field greens (or mixed herbs)
1 deep plum colored heirloom tomato (the color is important for presentation), wedged
1/2 half red onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
light creamy Caesar dressing on the side

Place field greens in a bowl and sprinkle chopped green bell pepper over on top.  Arrange tomato wedges and onion slices on top.  Sprinkle with shaved mozzarella.  Only dress on individual plates, not the entire bowl.  This will preserve presentation and allow guests to use an amount to their choosing.

Shaved Asparagus Salad

I admit that I 'stole' this recipe just recently at an Easter brunch.  I learned the three basic ingredients and then made it my own.  So go ahead and do the same with my version to make it your own!  This is great as a side salad or as a 'happy hour' style food.  Take note, it's definitely to be eaten with a fork and not the fingers (you'll soon also figure out that I'm a lover of etiquette).  My guests loved the freshness of the lemon and how chilled it was (I didn't expect that) so be sure to take it out of the fridge just before serving.

Asparagus stalks (one bunch, about 1 pound)
juice from one lemon
one tablespoon olive oil
freshly shaved Parmesan

Blanch the asparagus.  Then, with a vegetable peeler, 'shave' the asparagus into ribbons cutting any that are long in half.  Pile onto plate attractively.  Roll one lemon on counter (this gets the juices flowing) before halving it and then squeezing out all of the juice onto the asparagus.  Then, drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over asparagus.  Finally, with a hand held grater, shave (or shred, your preference) fresh block Parmesan onto the asparagus.  Cover and chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!