No Oven? No Problem!

So about two weeks ago, the gas in my apartment  was turned off…and it will remain off for another week until the dang gas company heads out here to fix it (ugh!)
You can only imagine how irritated I have been to not have use of a stove or oven! Not to mention, my co-workers have been hinting about how they would just love to have some goodies in our office – yeah, I got the hint..
Well when life throws you some curve balls, you learn to adapt and find alternatives, and creating goodies that do not require baking!

I found this recipe on the Dr. Oz show not too long ago (thank you Hungry Poodle for posting the recipe!!) and decided to add in a few of my own things to make it more of my own. This is a clean, no-sugar added energy square  – yum yum  yum!

Ingredients:

The only thing I forgot to add in this picture is the honey…oops!

1 C Rolled Oats
1/2 C natural unsalted peanut butter
3 TBSP Natural Honey
1/4 C Organic raisins from one of my favorite farmers market stands (there are no preservatives or sugar added into these little suckers!)
2TSP Stevia
1 TSP Cinnamon

Line an 8×8 pan with wax paper. Mix the oats, stevia, and cinnamon together. Add in the peanut butter and honey, and ix together. Fold in the raisins. Spread everything into the 8×8 pan and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, and ENJOY!

Set and ready to unleash it’s energizing powers!! 🙂

Simple as that 🙂

Here are a few things why this is such an ideal mid-day treat. The oats are a complex carbohydrate, which is slowly digested allowing you to feel fuller longer. Uncooked rolled oats also have a low glycemic index, meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar – which is what causes that “food coma” feeling. Cinnamon is a wonder spice. Not only does it enhance the taste of everything I put it on but it can also help control our blood sugar, cholesterol  levels, and can help alleviate arthritis symptoms. Honey can have anti-bacterial/anti-fungal effects, it aides in digestions and helps alleviate symptoms of ulcers, and like cinnamon can help regular our blood sugar levels. Natural peanut butter is a healthy fat, which is excellent for our heart and keeping our hair and skin smooth. Additionally, fats are slowly used as a fuel source, so it will keep us satisfied for much longer, and hold us over during that busy afternoon! I sure know this will be perfect for when we have a huge rush of patients at work to keep me going and going in the afternoon!!

**UPDATE!**
So at the last minute before bringing this yummy treat in for my coworkers, I decided to add a little more sweetness…dark chocolate!
I just took about 1/3 C of semisweet chocolate chips (the darkest I had was 65% but do your best to use 80% — the darker the better!) and melted them in the microwave, pour over and allow to cool. YUM 😀

I snatched a pic after we began digging in 😉