Six-Seed Soda Bread (don't worry- no soft drinks here!)

Wow! I found and AWESOME bread recipe at a new-to-me blog, 101 Cookbooks. I love seeds and the prospect of a non-rising bread with lots of them intrigued me! I am not going to repost the recipe here, because I only made a few changes. I did not have spelt flour (thought I did, but I guess that was one of the few odd types that I haven't bought yet) so I use some organic whole wheat sprouted flour. Sprouted flour is thought to be more nutritious and is in the Ezekiel brand bread products. I bought mine at Sonnewald Natural Foods. I also did not have pumpkin or sesame seeds so I just used more of each of the other kinds. For buttermilk I made my own with low fat milk and lemon juice. This was also my first time using fennel seeds in a recipe, and I could definitely taste their flavor and while not totally objectionable, I would personally leave them out next time. I love that this bread is fast and got done a few minutes ahead of schedule. I'll be honest, I ate two pieces and could have easily eaten more! I will be looking to try other variations on this bread as well, since the abundance of seeds scared some members of the family away from even trying it! Oh well, more for me!

Chocolate Fix

Well, tonight I NEEDED chocolate, so much so that I ALMOST dug into some mini chocolate bars, but thankfully I was also in the mood to bake (imagine that?) so I decided to give myself a healthier, fair trade, organic chocolate fix. This recipe is altered from one I used to make years ago, and I cut it in half since it was still an experiment, so feel free to double! I think I could alter it a little more to make it even more healthy, and I'll note that in the recipe. I could barely wait for the cookie to cool, it smelled so good, and it was one of the most delicious! Calorie-counters beware, this is not really a low-cal dessert, although it does have LOTS of fiber and good for you stuff in it, and keep in mind that a big chunk of the calories come from the olive oil, so it's not all bad!

Choc-Oat Bars (aka chocolate heaven!)

1 egg
1/4 c Sun Crystals
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c olive oil
vanilla (a splash, as noted before, I never measure vanilla)
1/4 c each whole wheat pastry flour, barley flour, raw wheat germ, whole wheat flour (after comparing calories, the barley flour has 15-35 LESS calories per 1/3 cup than the others, so I will try to incorporate more next time, perhaps in place of the whole wheat flour)
1/2 c steel cut oats (This was the best surprise! They are a much different texture than rolled oats and add a great texture and nutty flavor. I can't wait to try them as a warm breakfast cereal!)
baking powder, soda (I really didn't measure, just dumped a little of each in)
cinnamon (to taste, I put more in than most people would, but I like the flavor it adds)
dash salt
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (organic, fair trade- there are less chips in these bags than in a "traditional" chocolate chip package, so if you use traditional chips you may only need 1/3 of a bag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 8x8 glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Cream together the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add rest of the ingredients except for the chips and combine, then stir in the chips. Place in baking dish and bake 20-25 minutes. Cool, cut, enjoy!