No Bake Dessert Bars

When it's hot outside, I hate turning on the oven.  Thankfully, in the summer, I can get my homemade chocolate fix with these easy bars.  The recipe is one that my mother has made for years.  In fact, I remember the day she got the recipe.  It was 1967 and we were on our way home from Montreal, where we had been to the world's fair.

We were camping in Lake Placid, NY and my mother came into the trailer all excited about this recipe the lady next door had given her.  That was the beginning of scotcheroos for our family.  Since then, my mother has brought them to every family reunion.  I, in turn, introduced them to my husband's family, and  now I have the burden of bringing them to every family gathering.  My nephew, Joe, even made them for a class in high school where he needed to do a demonstration.  He calls them "Aunt Mindy's Scotcheroos".  They are so easy and so good.  Enjoy!

Scotcheroos

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice cereal
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Measure cereal into a large mixing bowl.  Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter.  Pour over cereal and mix.  Press into a greased 9x13-inch pan.

Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a double boiler over hot water, stirring to blend well.  Spread over the peanut butter mixture.  Cut into bars.  Let stand until firm.

A few notes from my past mistakes:
Do not use natural peanut butter.  It will not blend well.  I made this mistake and put it back on the stove to try and get the peanut butter to blend.  The scotcheroos came out so chewy, they could have been used to remove loose teeth.
That brings me to the next point.  Once the sugar and corn syrup comes to a boil, remove it from the heat right away.  Again, if it is left to boil too long, they will be hard to chew.  
Last point, cut them into bars right away while they are still warm.  If you let them cool first, it's more difficult.  And if you've ignored the other two points, you will need a crow bar.

Signs of Cardiovascular Fitness

One of the easiest ways to know if your cardiovascular health is improving is to check your resting heart rate.  It will get lower as your heart gets in better shape.

Your heart is a muscle thats gets stronger the more you work it.  As your heart gets stronger, it pumps more blood with each stroke.  This is called stroke volume (SV).   As your stroke volume increases, fewer heart beats (HR) are required to achieve the cardiac output (CO) needed to meet your body's demands.  The formula is as follows:  SV x HR = CO

For instance, if you are dehydrated, your blood volume is lower and therefore your stroke volume is lower.  Your heart rate needs to increase to keep your cardiac output stable.

All this is to say, check your resting heart rate when you have been sitting or resting for awhile.  Count your heart rate for a full minute.  This is your resting heart rate.  Check it periodically to see if it is going down.  If it is (and you're not on any medications that lower heart rate, i.e. beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and others), your cardiovascular health is improving.

I was checking mine last night and it was the lowest I've ever had--42 bpm.  It tends to vary and at times is over 50, depending on different factors (caffeine, stress, and who knows what).  I'm sure my husband thinks it goes up when he's around.  We'll let him hang on to that thought.

Must Have Kitchen Gadgets: Part 4

If you like apples, you need this handy little gadget.  It slices and cores an apple in 2 secs.  Just center the slicer on your apple and push down.  Also, it's easy to clean--just throw it in the dishwasher.  Since I have an apple on my oatmeal every morning, I was hoping it would help me be more on time for work.  I have been arriving earlier, but I could do better.  (I'm waiting for a transporter to be invented where I can just say, "Beam me up, Scotty.")

Reality Stinks

For the past ten years, our town has hosted the Unity Music Festival, a four-day contemporary Christian music event.  It's an outdoor event overlooking Muskegon Lake--a really pretty venue.  I love going to see my favorite Christian artists all in one place.  Some of the bands that played this past week were Switchfoot, Kutless, The Newsboys, Barlow Girl, and more.  I had tickets for Saturday night and thankfully, (since my husband with his tinnitus doesn't enjoy concerts) my daughter Anne, was willing to go with me .

The thunderstorms cleared out just in time.

Off the subject: This reminds me of another concert my husband wouldn't go to and I had to recruit Annie.  Years ago, Barry Manilow was coming to Grand Rapids.  I really wanted to see him, but my husband refused.  I asked Annie if she wanted to go (she was about 14 years old at the time) and she asked, "Who's Barry Manilow?"  She reluctantly agreed to accompany me and by the end of the concert, she was yelling, "I love you, Barry!"

 Nothing like a little kettle corn to enhance an event.

We took off about 5:30 with chairs and tickets in hand.  The final three acts were Francesca Battistelli, Matthew West, and Michael W. Smith.  To put this in perspective, I've been a fan of Michael W. Smith for over 25 years.  He's about the same age as me and quite nice to look at.  I haven't seen him since the last time he was at Unity, maybe 8-9 years ago.  Of course, there were big screens at the concert, so we could see the artists up close and personal.  When he came out, I noticed he had a few more gray hairs and crows feet than before, but, hey, don't we all.  More importantly, he still had a youthful exuberance as he sang, played the keyboard and entertained the crowd.
 

Michael W. Smith via the jumbo screen

Great sunset

This morning, as I was reading the local newspaper's review of the concert, they made reference to MWS as an "aging rocker".   Since he's my age, does that make me an aging person, too?  I don't feel like an aging person--at least, most some days I don't.
 

Summertime Temptations

Some things just go together....Fourth of July and fireworks....baseball and hotdogs....movies and popcorn....summer and ice cream.

Recently, we met some friends at a local ice cream stand.  This is the place to go for a summer treat.  They have everything.  They've even added a drive-through window, so you don't have to get out of your car and walk up to the window.  (There goes that calorie burning activity.)

 Can you sense the anticipation of those waiting for their order?

 So many choices, so little time.

 You even have a choice of what kind of waffle cone--

plain, chocolate coated with nuts or sprinkles, and more.

 My hubby waiting patiently for his turn.

 I wish I still had little ones that could play on the cool jungle gym.

They even have ice cream cones for your dog.  I once saw a man let his dog lick the cone and then he proceeded to lick it, too.

(Has anyone ever really proven the theory that dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans'?)

Post-Workout Recovery Drink

On my days off, I like to do a longer workout which usually consists of an hour of weight training and 30+ minutes of aerobic training.  I'm usually hungry by the time I finish and head for the kitchen.  My favorite thing to grab for a quick fix is chocolate soy milk.

I recently read an article that validated my choice. A study was done on recovery drinks by Physiologist Joel Stager at Indiana University (my husband's alma mater).  He says the perfect recovery drink after a long workout is chocolate milk.  It has double the carbohydrate and protein content than most sports drinks and is perfect for replenishing tired muscles.  Its high water content replaces fluids lost while sweating and it has calcium, sodium and sugar which helps an athlete retain water and regain energy.  While water is okay to replenish fluids, it has no nutritional value.  Chocolate milk is so much more.

Be sure to assess your workout level before you indulge.  Chocolate milk is most helpful for high endurance levels of exercise.  If you are only exercising for 60 minutes or less, you probably don't need it.  Also, choose the low-fat variety over whole milk.  It has the same nutritional content minus the fat.  And one more thing, cow's milk has more protein than soy milk and thus, is probably a better choice.  (I just like soy milk as it helps with menopause symptoms.)

 Need a little motivation to work out longer?  Now you've got it.

Joy of Blueberries

The onset of blueberry season brings many wonderful things--antioxidants, delicious treats, and a smile to my face.  My husband and I eat a ten pound box of blueberries every week for the 4-5 weeks they are in season.  As you can imagine, it's a bit a of a shock to our digestive systems.  As I was complaining about this to my daughter, she mentioned a possible solution--"The Better Marriage Blanket." 

I got to thinking about this and thought to myself, "Why stop with a blanket?  Why not make car seat covers, furniture slip covers, or best of all, UNDERWEAR?"

I think I'm on to something here.