My favorite thing about summer is definitely the beach, so when this started happening on Sunday morning:
I was kind of bummed. Fun beach plans with some lady friends were nixed, and all of a sudden I had a whole day open to do non-outdoorsy things. First up, a no-bake recipe.
Since my air conditioning unit is meant for a small room and not an entire apartment, I’m not a huge fan of baking in the summer because it gets quite toasty in my little abode. So I searched for some simple no-bake recipes and found this one for chocolate oatmeal bars. Sounded simple, easy and delicious.
And I had all of the ingredients
Since I always feel the need to tweak slash healthify recipes, I substituted applesauce for some of the oil and added Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter to the mix.
The recipe just requires mixing all ingredients together (except for the oats) on a stovetop and boiling for a few minutes.
And then mixing in the oats, pouring into a pan and refrigerating until totally cooled
So easy! However, the finished product was a little “meh.”
And by “meh” I mean mushy. Which I attribute to the applesauce and me being impatient and not waiting until the bars had set in the fridge overnight to try them. They still taste delicious though, very chocolately, and are completely vegan. So while they’re not exactly bar-like and kind of messy, they’ll be a delicious addition to my Greek yogurt for the next week or so.
Here’s the recipe with my tweaks (and this includes less applesauce than I used, hopefully to reduce mushy-ness)
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars (source)
Ingredients:
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup almond milk
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter (or any peanut butter!)
Instructions:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the oil, applesauce, almond milk, sugar, peanut butter and cocoa powder. Stir to combine thoroughly. Once the mixture is boiling, let it continue boiling for about two minutes. Then combine with the oats and pour into a greased baking pan. Let the pan cool overnight in the fridge or in the freezer for a few hours. Once cooled, cut into bars and enjoy!
The rest of the rainy day involved reading, a movie (I finally saw Bridesmaids! Hilarious.) and relaxing.
I also outlined a first draft of my NYC Marathon training plan – hooray! My main focus is to get in quality speedwork every week, along with the usual weekend long runs and some mid-week long runs. I’ll post the plan later this week – I’d love some thoughts from my running friends!
I was pretty productive on Sunday because of the rain, but welcomed the sun and a 4th of July picnic in Central Park on Monday.
Sofia organized a delicious potluck spread, including homemade apple pie with vanilla gelato from Screme Gelato Bar. NOM. Though I’d recommend eating it off a plate next time, rather than a napkin…
Catching up with the gals was a perfect way to spend the warm holiday afternoon.
And now it’s back to the grind! Hope everyone had a great long weekend!
Question: Favorite rainy day activity? Got any good no bake recipes?
That’s my paper towel!!
HA. They were actually quite strong. Must’ve been the organic-ness…
rainy day = TV and/or reading and/or napping. If I have the option and am not at work.
i baked on our rained out beach day, too! except i used the oven, which wasn’t the best of ideas because i too only have an AC in my bedroom. whoops.
great to see you, as always. would love to run with you one of these days, even if that means waking up super early!
oh for sure! I’ll email you and we can have a running date
Those sound like the no bake cookies my mom would make (sans applesauce). Sorry they didn’t turn out so hot.
I’d tell you to make scotcheroos… all you need is a stovetop!
scotcheroos sound exciting – maybe I’ll have to get the recipe from you!
Love a good rainy day nap. Rainy Saturdays are my favorite because you can just read and watch movies and never get dressed out of pjs or leave the couch. I saw the crappy weather Sunday and felt sad for everyone at the beach.
Favorite rainy day activity? Movies! Definitely. I love being able to curl up in a blanket and just be a bum for a few hours.
I’m still not sure why we thought eating apple pie AND gelato off paper towels would be a good idea, hmm…
So glad I was able to see you this holiday weekend even if our beach plans fell through!
ah those are to die for! so yummy! i bet chocolate almond butter would work too! eating off paper towels can be fun- no dishes to clean up!
fav rainy day activity- Napping. 🙂 Dancing around the apartment – Dance Central is my new favorite thing! I can pop n lock like nobody
i’m a sucker for no-bake treats in the summer. i may have to play around with these the next rainy, crummy day.
and i second bhealthy above — LOVE naps in the rain… preferably big t-storms.
I’ve never tried a no-bake recipe but I feel like it could be the saving grace to my distaste for baking. I always screw it up somehow and hate feeling the pressure of checking things to see if they’ve risen or if the toothpick comes out clean… every now and then I get inspired but this…this seems like much more my speed. 🙂
At least you made something delicious in spite of all that rain! Monsoon season is supposed to start any day now in Arizona… I’m kind of not looking forward to that.
I like baking on rainy days too 🙂 Always a good pick-me-up. Any recipe with chocolate and peanut butter is a winner in my book!
Oooh thank you for the no-bake recipe! I’m too hot to turn on the oven.
awww that looks so cute!! and that gelato bar? definitely need to get there.
-courtney
Exciting re: NYC marathon!!!
Re: your chocolate PB Oatmeal bars….you say, meh, but..they look great!
Recently I wanted to substitute apple sauce into one of my recipes (actually, it was Mama Pea’s) but I didn’t have any, so…I had to make my own! Boiled applies and smashed them. Turned out pretty good!
ooh that is so ambitious of you! I love making applesauce – haven’t done it in a while though
Favorite rainy day activity would have to be reading. But this Sunday I vegged in front of the television and watched tons of movies on demand. Another great rainy day pastime of mine!
I love no-bake cookies! There is something so delicious about their mushiness 🙂 My favorite rainy day activities are pretty similar – baking or reading or watching a movie. Sometimes, on rare occasions, I’ll catch the cleaning bug and clean the apartment from top to bottom. But that’s not very often. 🙂
I just did no bake chocolate chip cookie dough bites on my blog! So good!
I always tell myself I’m going to do a no-bake chocolate recipe and never seem to do.
How about pudding, berries, and nilla wafers? That’s no bake..not really a recipe but a great sweet treat!
oh – that sounds really good and easy! Thanks 🙂
I’m a big fan of icebox cakes, not exactly healthy, but maybe you could spruce them up? Zebra cake only needs two ingredients: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/zebra-cake-2/detail.aspx
YUM! thank you!!
I’ve never tried a no bake recipe…but yours look delicious! Might have to give it a shot this weekend 🙂 Rainy day activities typically include being lazy on the couch watching chick flicks or reading. If I’m feeling motivated…mayyybbbeeee hit the treadmill to keep myself moving 🙂
It was SO nice to finally meet you Monday!!! We should definitely go running sometime soon together:)
[…] Comments « Rain and a Recipe […]