Snack Attack

Goooood morning.  I'm not yet awake enough to give you exclammation points, but at least I'm not snarling.  That's something to be thankful for, right? :)

I'm in the throes of getting us out the door for a road trip to Orlando this weekend.  We're travelling for yet another wedding, and while I'm excited for Bo to see his enormous group of friends, I have exactly 84 thousand things to do before we leave.  And, of course, I volunteered to make the desserts for our neighbor's baby shower that happens to be this same weekend.  So, of course, I was up until midnight making these cake pops and then was up before the sun baking pound cake cupcakes.  (Sidenote:  I don't believe that there's anything more heavenly on this planet than pound cake batter.  Lord Almighty, I had to practice restraint.)  Moral of the story: A huge chunk of my current frenzy can be blamed on volunteering myself for treats when mayyyybe I might not have had the time to squeeze them into my schedule.  Lesson learned.

But speaking of treats, the real reason I'm here is that while I'm packing things up for our trip, I'm always tossing snacks into a bag.  I absolutely require snacks with me for road trips (and most of life, actually), because when my blood sugar drops, it's awful.  I go through my stages of "wilty" - getting quiet and withdrawn; then, having a hard time making decisions; then, feeling dizzy and about to cry at nothing; then, feeling faint with hot flashes.  I'm understanding enough to know that it's better for me to pack snacks than to ask Bo to pretty please stop for nourishment every 90 minutes. 

I fully intended to make these deee-licious fruit rollups and these amazing almost-a-cookie-but-not granola bars, but that bit about zero time got in my way, and I didn't get a chance to even glance at their recipes.  I did manage to whip up an addictive peanut butter Chex mix (I need to get permission before I can post the recipe for you!), so that with some apples and my new favorite crackers from Trader Joe's will have to suffice.

What I want to know from all you fabulous foodies is this - What do you pack for road trips to tide you over between meals?  Do you aim for healthy or let the roadtrip be your vacation from watching what you eat?  Do you have a favorite snack that you only eat on trips?  (I have such a weakness for Red Vines when we're travelling!)

Breakfast Cookies

When my kids aren't looking I've been known to make cookies breakfast for myself (or my favorite breakfast, brownies).  However, with this recipe, everyone can have cookies for breakfast!  This is perfect for those rushed mornings on the go. 


Ingredients:
Shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dried mixed fruit bits, dried cranberries, or cherries; rasins; or snipped dried apricots (I used a dried fruit mix plus some raisins)
1/2 cup dried banana chips, broken up
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, peanuts, pecans or almonds (I forgot to pick up nuts so I left these out)

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a cookie sheet with shortening.  Cut up the butter.

2.  Put butter in a large mixing bowl.  Beat with the electric mixer on medium speed about 30 seconds or until butter is creamy.  Stop mixer and add brown sugar.  Beat on medium speed until combined, occasionally scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.



3.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed until combined.  Put the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the small bowl.  Stir with the wooden spoon.  Stir flour mixture into egg mixture.  Stir in oats, mixed fruit, banana chips and nuts.



4.  Scoop the dough with a 1/4 cup measuring cup.  Drop the dough in mounds 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet.  Slightly flatten dough on cookie sheet.




5.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookie edges begin to brown.  Let cookies remain on cookie sheet for 1 minute.  Move cookies to cooling rack to let finish cooling.