Semi-Homemade Cho Brownies // Important LAB Announcement

Today I headed back to work to get down to business…  “Let’s get down to business, to defeat the Huns!”  Haha sorry, every time I hear that phrase I cannot help but think of the movie Mulan 😛

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Business over the weekend had a whole different meaning.  Puppy business such as taking Charlie outside to do his business.  Household business such as cleaning the apartment and going grocery shopping.  Tasty business such as making pancake bowls and baking brownies.  And personal business such as watching movies and getting sweaty at the gym.  If only weekend business could be everyday business…

Speaking of tasty business, I thought I’d share yesterday’s new-to-me brownie recipe.  Over the weekend I picked up a package of brownie mix at TJ’s and originally planned to make Peanut Butter Cup brownies but after eating handful after handful of Peanut Butter Puffins, I decided to do my own thing.

Semi-Homemade Cho Brownies

1 box brownie mix [TJ’s mix is 16 ounces]

2/3 cup plain Chobani

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon stevia

Optional: Peanut Butter Puffins cereal

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a cupcake tin with non-stick cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together the dry brownie mix, Chobani, water, vanilla extract, and stevia.  Mix on medium speed until all the ingredients are combined and there are no lumps.

3.  Evenly distribute the brownie mixture among the cupcake tin to make 12 brownies.

4.  Top the brownies with your desired toppings, I chose Peanut Butter Puffins.

5.  Cook the brownies for approximately 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

6.  Remove the brownies from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Notes:

-A regular rectangular or square baking pan would also work, but the cooking time may need to be adjusted.
-Next time I would crush the cereal before adding it on top for an a more even distribution.
-Other tasty add-in’s or toppings: candy, cereal, chocolate chips, cinnamon, coconut, dried fruit, peanut butter, nuts, or pretzels.

In the past I have baked with applesauce as a substitute for butter and oil, but this was my first time baking with yogurt…  I was delightfully surprised with the result!

And last but not least, blog business…  After weeks of work, I think it’s time to launch the new and improved LAB site [plus a couple of new pages]!  I am super nervous so please bear with me the next few days if there are any technical glitches.  Depending upon when you’re reading this post, the new site may already be up and running but if not, it should be the next time you check-in!

***IMPORTANT:  Despite the fact that my domain name will not change, you will need to resubscribe to my new feed as I will be self-hosted and no longer on WordPress.com.  If you have any confusion or trouble, feel free to send me an email at lifesabowlblog@gmail.com or use the “Contact” page on the new site.  Thanks 😀***

XOXO,

Allison

Question:  Have you ever watched the movie Mulan?

Question:  What’s your favorite brownie mix-in or topping?

Recent Eats & October Foodie Penpal Treats

I’d like to say ghoulddd morning but Halloween has come and gone so it’s back to the plain old gooddd morning!  Before I catch y’all up on some of my recent eats and tasty Foodie Penpal treats, I want to fill y’all in on my latest [and possibly greatest] breakfast experiment…  Cereal pancakes!  Seriously, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, they are f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s. 🙂  Ever since I made the Grape Nuts pancakes earlier this week I’ve been inspired to try other cereals.

Yesterday I used TJ’s High Fiber Cereal…

toppings: cottage cheese + unsweetened coconut + dried dates + maple syrup

And today I used Whole Food’s Peanut Butter Balls…

toppings: plain Chobani sweetened with stevia + pistachios + apple butter + dried dates

THESE. WERE. SERIOUSLY. AWESOME!

I definitely will be making these again and getting a bit nuttier with the mix-ins and toppings!  Potential substitutions that I think would be tasty: half whole wheat flour + half peanut flour, adding crushed peanuts to the batter, topping them with a dollop of peanut butter, or even adding a touch of chocolate…

Moving onto some of my recent eats.  I’ve already shared some of them like these waffles and this post workout dinner, these Saturday morning pancakes, this birthday fro-yo treat, these marvelous eats, and these Grape Nuts pancakes, but I still have a few more…

Van’s waffles + cinnamon Chobani + homemade applesauce & a runny egg

chocolate mudslide ‘cakes + slivered almonds

cinnamon raisin oat pancakes + plain Chobani + slivered almonds

snacks: Luna protein bar, cereal yogurt bowl, grapefruit, & Chobani

roasted acorn squash *first time trying*

apple slices, veggie burger salad,  & mashed acorn squash + cottage cheese + cinnamon

mile high Teet turkey sandwich

baked sweet potato + cottage cheese + chocolate peanut butter + cinnamon

TJ’s Chicken & Veggie Dumplings

plain Chobani + stevia + peanut butter filled pretzels

pumpkin spice bran eggie cups + plain Chobani + frozen berries

And a few recent Whole Foods finds that I spotted and would like to try…

Last but not least, my October Foodie Penpal package…

This month I was paired up with Mary who was so kind to bake me a couple of pumpkin treats, as well as send me two of my favorites: chocolate and coffee!

Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean started Foodie Penpals in September of 2011 and over the past year participation has skyrocketed!  One of the coolest things about the program is that it’s open to both bloggers and non-bloggers, aka anyone and everyone can participate…  If you’re interested in joining, click here for more info.  Who knows, maybe we’ll get matched-up one time?!

XOXO,

Allison

Question:  Have you ever tried mixing cereal into your pancake batter?

Question:  What’s one of your tastiest recent eats?

So Long Sandy // Grape Nuts Pancakes

So long Sandy, you were one heck of a storm!  Thankfully, we never lost power, no trees or branches fell on our house or cars, and we didn’t have any flooding…  We were very lucky.  Unfortunately, not everyone else was as lucky and there’s lots of clean-up to be done.  My thoughts and warm wishes go out to everyone on the east coast that was affected by Sandy.

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On a sweeter note, I woke up this morning in the mood for pancakes.  Surprising, right?!

For some unexplained reason, I’ve always thought of Grape Nuts as the cereal for grandparents.  Was there ever a commercial with older people eating Grape Nuts?!  I don’t know…  Maybe it’s because of the high fiber content?  Or because of the small pebble-like “nuts” that don’t require much chewing?  Again, I don’t know…

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What I do know is that my nutty idea to combine pancakes + cereal was a hit 🙂 These ‘cakes are fluffy, hearty, full of fiber, packed with protein, and will keep your belly full until lunch!

Grape Nuts Pancakes

¼ cup white whole wheat flour

¼ cup Grape Nuts cereal

1 teaspoon stevia

a few shakes of cinnamon [as much or as little as you’d like, I like a lot]

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg [or 2 egg whites]

¼ cup water

1. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients. 
2. Whisk the ingredients together until combined.  Note: There will be some lumps because of the Grape Nuts.
3. Spray a medium-sized skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place over medium heat.
4. For each pancake, spoon 2 generous tablespoons of batter into the pan. 
5. Cook each pancake until a few bubbles form and burst, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. 
6. Flip the pancake and cook until browned on the underside, about 1 to 2 more minutes.
7. Serve the stack of ‘cakes with your favorite toppings!

toppings: coconut Chobani + maple syrup + chopped dates

XOXO,

Allison

Question:  Do you ever relate food with age?

Question:  Have you ever tried Grape Nuts?  I think they’d be a tasty yogurt or ice cream topping!