Pumpkin and Spice

  A while back, I received a package in the mail, thanks both to the folks at Foodbuzz and Quaker, with an assortment of Quaker's newest granola bars. Called Quaker True Delights, these certainly aren't like the granola bars your mom used to tuck in your lunch as a kid! These are grown-up granola bars- rich, chunky and decadent. With no high fructose corn syrup, and only 140 calories each, these would be the perfect snack when you get that mid-afternoon candy craving.

I got two each of their three flavors, so I sent some to Kyle, who decided to be a good guy and share with his friends at work.

Here are my thoughts on the bars:

Now that it's fall, I've been craving some good pumpkin recipes. So, I've bought a couple cans of pumpkin puree and have been playing around in the kitchen with them. I have some recipes for pumpkin muffins, pies and bread, but I decided to try something new and tinker around to make pumpkiny versions of some of my favorite treats.

These are a pumpkin-spice version of my oatmeal cookies. Obviously, I added pumpkin and tweaked the spices, but I also used some whole wheat flour and cut out the butter to make these cookies a little bit healthier. Bonus!

Tonight Kyle and I are heading into Orlando. We booked a room at a hotel near the airport to make tomorrow morning a little less heinous. Our flight leaves at 6:30a, which means even staying close to the airport, I'm going to have to wake up at a quarter til way too freaking early. One of the (many) things I hate about waking up early is that it throws off my eating for most of the day. I have to eat breakfast early, which then means I'm ready for lunch at about 8:00a, which then makes me sad because I know lunch is still four hours away... And when traveling that means I probably eat fast food for breakfast, and then I'll eat whatever the stewardesses toss at me on the plane (gross peanuts, pretzels, weird cookie-biscuit things, SkyMall magazine...) and I'll probably still buy a snack at our destination. All before lunch. Not really a good plan.

I decided this time to think ahead and get some healthy snacks to bring in my carry-on. I got enough for the plane, but also for our sightseeing day in Dodge City (so excited! Eeep!) so I won't have to rely on the stewardesses, gas stations and vending machines for nourishment.
I bought: