Daniel Fast Banana Bread Granola Bars

I just took these out of the oven and they smell SOOOOO GOOD!!  After I let them cool, I discovered that these aren't really crunch granola bars, they slightly resemble banana bread, but they have a very good sweet flavor!  
 
3 RIPE bananas
1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup nuts (I used a mix of chopped almonds and walnuts) 
1/4 cup olive oil (scant)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
sprinkle of dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds
sprinkle of cinnamon
a little sprinkle of water if needed

 

1. Mash the bananas, leaving them slightly lumpy.
2. mix in the raisins and oil, then the rest of the ingredients.
3. Let stand for about 10 minutes or more (this is where I sprinkled the water to moisten it a bit and sprinkled a little cinnamon in)
4. I dumped the granola out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and shaped it into a thin flat square.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until slightly browned on bottom. 

I took them out and cut them while they were still soft and put them back in for about 7 minutes.  Then took them out, separated them, flipped them, and cooked for another 10 minutes or so on the other side.

Daniel Fast ~ Day Four

I had the day off today, and I wish I really could have enjoyed it, but sadly enough I had to spend about two hours in the chair at the dentist's office.  booo.  We woke up and got the kids to school.  We had decided yesterday to join a small little gym here in Rockport.  So as if having a dentist drill on my teeth was not enough pain, I ran a mile on the treadmill and did the eliptical for 15 minutes!  It felt really good to work out, and I took it easy knowing that I would be sore in other places that did not involve muscles.  My rash on my face and chest seems to be clearing a little, and what's best of all.... no headache at all today!! 

Because I had the day off, we decided to go to the grocery store and stock up to make several recipes.  Here's what we had today:

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with dried apricots, raisins, walnuts, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  We really had to shake it up a little because the plain oatmeal was getting pretty dull.

Lunch:  I actually skipped lunch today because I was so sore in the mouth.  sad face.

Dinner:  I made two things for dinner tonight because I was not sure how either would taste.  I wanted something soft for my sore teeth, so I made Chipotle Bean Chili, which was fabulous!  I also made Spinach Artichoke Whole Grain Pasta. 

For snacks today:  We bought a bag of baked Tostitos and had chips and salsa!!  Chris really wanted this, but it was a little hard for me to eat after the dentist.  But did you know Baked Tostitos only have three ingredients??  Our son made fruit smoothies, and we also had spinach artichoke dip with tofu.  I was skeptical... but we both gave it a thumbs up! I also made some Granola Bars for tomorrow which are in the oven baking right now and smell wonderful!! 

Daniel Fast ~ Day Three

Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.  ~ Psalm 72:19

Day Three seemed to go pretty well.  This was my first day with students, and I was a little afraid I would be a cranky teacher without my coffee, but it really seemed to fly by quickly!  Chris came up today and brought me lunch, and we really had a great talk about the reasons why we are fasting.  We both had a little bit of a headache all day, but our energy was better.  When I woke up this morning, my face and chest had broken out with a rash - probably from all of the yucky processed food trying to eek itself out of my pores.  My skin felt pretty icky all day - very oily, like I had lots of lotion.  Weird!

So here are the three meals that we had today:
Breakfast:  Our yummy staple of oatmeal and blueberries.  Getting a little old.
Lunch:  Sante Fe Stuffed Bell Peppers.  To die for delish!  I'll put the recipe up soon!
Dinner:  Lemon Garlic Brussel Sprouts and a cinnamon sweet potato.  We usually fix our brussel sprouts with bacon and parmesan cheese, so I was really afraid I was not going to like them, but they were amazing!  
For snacks today, we had hummus and fruit/vegetable juice from our juicer, and lots of dried fruit, with mixed nuts.  

Chris and I also started bible study tonight, and I have to tell you the amazing story of what happened.  I'm in the middle of writing about it, so come back to read all about it!  It is truly an amazing "God Thing"!!

Daniel Fast ~ Day Two

You shall have no other gods before me.  ~ Exodus 20:3


Yesterday was a little rough.  Not as bad as I thought... but just a little, um... different.  No coffee, no tea, no milk, no meat.... And I tried to really focus on the yummy food that we COULD have, but it was hard.  My husband and I have never fasted before, so this is a new road we are taking together.  We did not have students at school yesterday, and we do not have students at school today - so that made today a little easier.  What was hard was trying to explain to my coworkers why I was choosing to fast.  More on that here.  Today, I still had somewhat of a headache most of the day. 


Our devotion today started out with this sentence:  "I'm being stalked by a guy named Abraham."  And the author talks about how God is trying to get her attention, using the story of Abraham to do it.  The devotion focused on not having any idols - and how Abraham loved Isaac a little toooo much.  I got the point right away... I surely think that some food and drink *coughs*chocolate and coffee*coughs* were becoming a little too high on my priority list.  Especially finding out how hard it is for me to go without them! 


But that's not what stuck with me.  The first line stuck with me.  Because I surely as I live an breathe feel like I am being stalked by the word "sift".  I know.  Call me crazy.  I can't get away from it.  I see this word and feel a deep resonance inside of me.  I see it in other devotionals, I feel God telling me to prepare to BE sifted.  I feel God telling me that this is my word for the moment, and that he wants to use this fast and other things in my life to sift some things out that maybe I have been placing as idols that I have not even realized.  I'm not sure what is in store, but I'm hanging on!! 


Here are the meals we had today:


Breakfast:  Oatmeal with blueberries (I can see this getting old really quick!)
Lunch:  Brown rice and quinoa with zucchini and yellow squash.
Dinner:  Sante Fe stuffed bell peppers (these were AMAZING!) and sweet potatoes.

Daniel Fast - Day One

My husband and I have decided to go through the Daniel Fast together.  More on this later.  Today was our first day, and I have to admit... It was not as bad as I thought.  Although not having my morning coffee was probably the biggest sacrifice. 

Breakfast - Oatmeal with Blueberries
Morning Snack - banana, and carrots/celery with Hummus
Lunch - Brown Rice, zucchini and yellow squash, and a salad with homemade Italian Dressing
Dinner - Potatoes and Onions with leftover rice and a salad

I also snacked on almonds most of the day and had a fruit/vegetable juice that we made with our juicer.

High:  We made it through the day without cheating... despite the baby shower cake and leftover chocolate in my classroom!
Low:  I had a headache and took 2 advil in the morning and 2 in the afternoon.  We both felt very tired and sluggish. In fact, I am going to bed very soon... and it is 8:00pm.