Sunday, September 21, 2008

Beyond Bars

On my mountain climbing trip, I had to eat some things that just frankly shouldn't be eaten, because SCIENTIFICALLY they were required to keep my poor beaten body going. 

One day for lunch all I had to eat was a huge stick of pepperoni, a hunk of American cheese, and some stale crackers, and you had to eat every bit of it or you would simply not wake up in the morning. I'm used to creating elaborate lunches for myself, so this wasn't going to work out well. For instance, today I made linguini with fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden, fresh mozzarella, shrimp, extra-virgin olive oil (not the slutty kind) and Parmesan cheese. 
Yum.

One snack, however, was absolutely delicious and nutritious, and it wasn't just because I had woken up at 6 AM and plowed through snow and rock for a good five hours. They were called Beyond Bars, and I just made a batch last night. They're surprisingly easy to make, and they got me down a whole mountain, so here's the recipe for the culinary-inclined:

*3/4 c. peanut butter
*1/2 c. brown sugar
*1/2 c. white sugar
*1/2 c. oil or shortening
*1 egg
[combine ingredients]
*1/4  c. milk
*1/2 t. salt
*1/2 t. soda
*1 1/2 c. white flour
*1 1/2 c. oats
[at this point you can add whatever you want. The recipe calls for 1/2 c. shelled sunflower seeds, 3/4 c. raisins, and 3/4 c. chocolate chips. I leave out the raisins because they repulse me a little bit. Combine all the rest of the ingredients at the end.]

Spread 1-1.5" think in a greased pan, and cook at 275 f. for 35-40 minutes. Makes 9 bars. Now go climb a mountain. You can do it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

lol slutty oil
-mallory

Nonie said...

Raisins repulse me too. I had a friend that had a raisin glued in her kids baby book. I of course asked WHY? It was not a raisin at all. It was a 7 year old dried umbilical stump. You know the crusty part that falls off the kid? GROSS!

Maxine Perella said...

when i climbed mountains, i couldn't face another tracker bar for months afterwards. i think the best thing to eat is chocolate and salami. oh, and lots of water.

Anonymous said...

Your post made me smile :o) I have done a mountain walk - and it's true, you end up eating bizarre stuff. Have you heard of Kendal mint cake? Hill-walkers over here in the UK swear by it but believe me it is DISGUSTING. It's waxy and overly sweet - sort of mint flavoured. Yuughhhh! I guess it's the kind of thing you keep in the bottom of your backpack until you are stranded on a freezing mountaintop and desperate for food - any kind of food. So I guess it serves a purpose...

Anonymous said...

I feel like David wrote this entry with all the food talk