In the last twelve days we have experienced the first day of school, two swim meets (one where that boy of mine shattered all of his personal best records & is on a fast track to qualifying for state!), high school football kick-off (live on ESPN where one of my girls performed with the guard during pre-game & half-time), two softball games, Audley has already travel to Nebraska & Iowa (traveling  again next week), and tomorrow I will run my first ever 5K (with my youngest daughter) as a victory dance to all of the goals I have been working to meet.

To say our lives are crazy busy is a total understatement at this point.

But I do love it!

First Day of School Picture … it’s a tradition!

 

There was a point just 15 months ago where I would have been stressing and crying over all the things I couldn’t keep up with.  And NEVER in 100 years would I have seen myself playing softball again or running a 5K.

Change is good.It’s been so good for our family, especially for our children as I can fully enjoy all of the things they do as well.

I am not the only one who has made changes over the last year or so.  My kiddos have as well.  Gone are the days of soda and potato chips (except on rare occasions) to drag them down and they make plenty of healthy choices for themselves.  I’ve even received phone calls from the girls while they are dinning out with friends asking for the best options from choices on the menu.

Yes, change is very good.

I’ve always had my kids pack a lunch for school.  There are many reasons behind it, but the two main factors are school food is gross (a quote from my children), and now I have a teenage boy that can’t seem to get enough to eat (duel sports of swimming & wrestling will do that to you), so one lunch does not begin to fill him up!

We have gotten creative packing their lunches.  While we still fix good old fashioned peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (using homemade completely organic jam & all natural PB on whole wheat bread), I have made things like veggie roll-ups (flour tortillas spread with cream cheese and topped with chopped cucumber, broccoli, carrots, etc… and rolled up), homemade chicken salad (using super fresh and organic ingredients), and what has become their favorite snack, granola bars!Have you ever read the ingredients on the package of any granola bar?  There are probably ten items listed and 75% of them can’t be pronounced!

These granola bars are simple to make (so simple that even my girls can whip these up in five minutes) and have only three basic ingredients, all of which you can pronounce.

3 cups Organic Oatmeal
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup honey (chose a mild flavored honey)

I use honey from my brother-in-law who raises bees.  Hit the farmers market to find your own fresh honey. Nothing can beat that flavor!

{I told you these were simple}

Combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.  If you would like you can add miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped nuts.

Press the granola bar mixture in a 9×9 pan (I actually used a tart pan), cover and refrigerate overnight.  When ready to serve, slice with a pizza cutter and pack for lunch.

These granola bars are chewy.  While they do firm up a bit, they do not harden like the ones you purchase at the store, so don’t be disappointed when they squish in a lunch box.  My kids put their’s in a small tupperware bowl to protect them.

These have become such a hit in our house that even Audley looks forward to me making them, which I am more than happy to make these since they are so delicious and wholesome!

Linking up with Foodie Friday this week.