Granola Muffins!

Breakfast if my favorite meal. Its the best part of the day. I get to wake up and eat. What more could a girl want?! ok, so I can think of a few things, a puppy to cuddle, beach front views, a rich husband... I'll have to be content with food and coffee for now.

I also do my Bible reading in the morning with my coffee and breakfast. I'm still working through the Bible in a year. I'm behind of course but still working on it. I have been reading from 2 Chronicles and it includes a record of Solomon and his work to build the temple. He was wise and rich. God granted his request for wisdom when Solomon could have asked for riches or great power. Through receiving this great wisdom, he did receive massive wealth and had great power. 

You probably know the sad end of his story. He lost focus. He turned to pleasure because he saw his earthly life as empty, knowing it would all pass away. His wealth wouldn't follow him in death and possessions won't follow me either. I see that as a positive; my lack of wealth will be left behind! 

My focus ought to be on the eternal and using my time and possessions to glorify God. I don't want to waste my time here. 

So the food. 

I have made these granola bars multiple times and I love them!  They are healthy and easy to make. I have changed the recipe enough that I consider them my own. There are loads of granola bar recipes floating out in the food blog world so if you don't like these keep looking, there is a recipe for you.

Yes, I had to have one with a latte once they came out of the oven. I got to have breakfast twice today!

All the ingredients fit in one bowl, which I love. Less mess.

Showing a little love for Trader Joe's as about half of these items are from there. The original recipe calls for ground flax but I didn't have any so I went with chia seeds. They add your fiber and omega-3! 

Oats, rice crispies, and coconut flakes. sorry for the false advertising, but there are 2 1/2 cups of oats. this just looked pretty.

All the dry ingredients together. There are different add-ins that you can choose from to suit your taste. I choose almonds, pecans and dark chocolate chips for this batch because it's what I had on hand. I love throwing in dried fruits because they add a flavor contrast. 

Now the wet stuff, or glue, of the granola bar. Honey, natural peanut butter, vanilla, and an egg. Sweetness and protein! wonderful stuff

This is where I did things a little differently than normal and I love the change.

I would normally put them in a 9x9 pan and bake them for 18-20 min. They are nice and thick that way but tend to fall apart and you'll end up using a fork.

This way allowed me to make a few more as I usually only get 9 bars. These brown all around and are much easier to hold on to. I'd still advise a place to catch the crumbles. 

If only I was Mary Poppins. I'd jump in the picture and have breakfast here.

and there you have it, granola muffins!

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups quick rolled oats

1/2 cup Rice Krispies

1/4 cup coconut (shredded or flakes)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts of choice

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat muffin tin with oil (I use coconut). In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until well combined. Fill muffin tin and press down. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool in tin to hold shape.

Have fun with your own substitutes!