Imagine a crunchy snack that satisfies your sweet tooth, is totally organic and sugar free and provides the equivalent of three servings of fruit in each snack sized bag.  Now imagine you could pick it up at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or Amazon…for around $2 a bag.

So I guess this must be a dream come true, right?

I liked this stuff.  I really felt kinda sad when I gave the bags to the kids after I did my initial tasting for the review.  I mean I love my kids and all, but…

I really did not expect to like these a whole lot.  I think dried fruit is o.k. but the whole chewy leathery thing can put me off unless I am backpacking.  Since I don’t normally back pack in the house I leave the dried fruit for the kids.

The difference with this is that it is freeze dried.  So instead of leathery you get crisp and crunchy and the flavors are bright and natural.  According to the information I got with the packages the freeze drying process preserves more of the nutrients than just plain old drying.  And check it out, the apple still has a peel on it!

My kids scarfed them down.  Seriously, you could not have gotten those packages away from them with a handful of M&Ms to lure them…and M&Ms are the lure of choice around here.  In fact, since each one of my children were three weeks (yes, three weeks) late (except Erin, she was on time due to an impatient mom, a concerned doctor, and an armful of pitocin) Marc and I often joked about holding a bag of M&Ms on my lap to see if it would get labor to kick in…

But I digress, terribly.  The truth is these snacks are really good, and they are really different.  Great lunch box items.

Funky Monkey comes in four flavors:

Purple Funk- Crunchy banana and acai flavored snack sweet with a tangy aftertaste.  I liked this but not as much as some of the others.  It may be because I think that acai is the Paris Hilton of the fruit world.  A little too over promoted for what it delivers.  My kids didn’t care for these at all.

Carnaval Mix-Banana, pineapple, apple, papaya, and raisins  Nice mix, sweet and crunchy with the occasional texture variation of the chewy raisins.  This was delicious, but predictable.

JiveALime- Pineapple and lime.  Very sweet ripe pineapple with tangy lime.  Sort of like that candy that you have to suck the sour off to get to the sweet part.  My kids love that stuff! If you have an Airhead addict at your house this may tempt them away.  These were my kids favorites.

Bananamon- My favorite.  Sweet banana and cinnamon.  I could eat the entire bag.  When I was a kid I used to eat corn flakes with bananas in it and cinnamon toast on the side.  This is sorta like that.  Only not.  If I was really going to treat myself I would add about 1/4 cup pecans to the mix.

Anyway, great stuff.  Highly recommended.

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Of all of the types of bread that I have made over the years there are a few that are classic. A few that i make over and over and over just because they are perfect. This is one of them.

Oatmeal bread makes a hearty and filling bread that is full of good things like fiber and B vitamins. It just tastes like a country morning. When toasted it is crisper than other toast, I think, and the nutty oatmeal flavor is more pronounced. We like it a lot as a sandwich bread, and it handles ham especially well.

If you like add chopped nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, dried blueberries, or other dried fruits in any combination that equals about 1 1/2- 2 cups. I don’t measure anymore.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Bread

•   2 packages active dry yeast
•   2 cups warm water
•   1/3 peanut oil or other delicate flavored oil..or butter
•   2 teaspoons salt
•   1/2 cup brown sugar
•   2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
•   2 1/2 to 3 cups whole wheat flour
•   2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• dried fruits and nuts as desired

Soften the yeast in 1/2 c warm water for 5 minutes.  Add the sugar, 1 c of the flour, 1 c of the whole wheat flour and the rest of  the water.  Mix well and allow to stand for fifteen minutes.

Mix in the salt, the oil, the oats, and the rest of the flour until a soft dough is formed.  Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Dough will be sticky. Knead in dried fruit and nuts if desired.

Place in an oiled bowl, turning to oil all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or so, until doubled in bulk.

Punch down and form into 2 or 3 loaves. Place in oiled pans and allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Brush with egg yolk wash if desired (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp. water) and sprinkle oats over the top.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes

Images: (c) Marye Audet, Apron Strings and Simmering Things

Content (c) Marye Audet for Baking Delights 

Post from: Baking Delights

This bread is good made in a loaf shape and sliced for sandwiches (try a chicken salad, or peanut butter) or made in a cloche or oval.  It makes great french toast, too!

You can use any grain combination that you like but if you don’t use at least 1/2 white flour then use at least 1 cup of wheat gluten to give the dough elasticity.  I used white flour, whole wheat and (dry) oatmeal in this one..but have used soy, rye, bran, cracked wheat and other combinations in the past.

1 3/4 cups warm (105 F. to 115 degrees F.) water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups (about) whole wheat flour or combination of whole wheat and other flours

1 cup shelled roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds

1 c raisins, currants, dried apricots, dried apples or a mixture of dried fruit
1/4 c melted unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, beaten to blend

Place warm water in a large bowl.

Sprinkle yeast and then honey over and stir to dissolve. 

Gradually mix in 2 cups unbleached flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour ( or 1 cup of your mixed flours).

Stir.

Cover yeast mixture with tea towel and  let stand 30 minutes.

Stir shelled sunflower seeds, fruit, butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into yeast mixture.

 Gradually stir in enough remaining whole wheat flour to form soft dough.

Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more whole wheat flour if dough is sticky, about 10-15 minutes.
Grease clean large bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat completely.

Cover with tea towel.

Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled and dough does not spring back when 2 fingers are pressed into side, 2 hours.

Punch dough down.

Let stand 10 minutes.

 Grease pans.  Shape dough into desired shapes and place in pans.

 Cover with tea towel.

Let loaf rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

 Brush top of loaf with egg or dust with flour or cornmeal. Bake until golden brown, about 1 hour 5 minutes.

Cool bread slightly.

Serve bread warm or at room temperature.  Makes 1 or 2 loaves, depending on shape.

Post from: Baking Delights