When I was in college there was a student in several of my creative writing classes who was, well, eccentric. Among several oddities that I won't bother to list, he wore a Civil-War style confederate uniform jacket whenever he had writers block.
You know what? Call me immature, but I mocked him with my friends because, well, it was funny. But let me tell you, I wish I had one of those jackets right now because for some reason, whenever I sit down at my computer I can't make my fingers dance across the keys to produce words, but rather I start searching for the Facebook photo album of a friend I haven't talked to in ten years, or I automatically open my Google reader for the tenth time in an hour to see what Lisa and Angie have shared today.
While I can blame my writers block for my lack of posting, there is also that issue of finding time to blog. I'm a believer that no matter how busy we are, we can usually make time to do the things we want to do (yes, I'm saying this as a person without children). And despite what has been a pretty packed schedule since I moved to Chicago I have managed to find the time to do a little cooking.
And baking.
Because why bother cooking when you can eat baked goods for dinner?
This past weekend I attended an oatmeal festival with a client for work and part of the festival included an oatmeal baking contest. Let's just say I couldn't NOT bake with oatmeal when I came home. Being that the gym is still packed with New Years resolutioners and everyone is still all healthy-healthy, it seemed logical that I should make something low in fat.
Low-Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tablespoons skim milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups of old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg whites, milk, vanilla and salt. Beat with an electric mixer (or paddle attachment of your stand mixer) on medium speed until the mixture resembles caramel sauce and the sugars have dissolved.
2. In a separate bowl, combine old-fashioned oats, flour, baking soda and chocolate chips. Stir until just combined. Add to liquid mixture. Transfer to a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking pan.
3. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool until firm. Cut into squares and store tightly covered for up to 5 days.
All those bars look delicious. I'll definitely have to give them a try.
Posted by: Tasty chocos | February 08, 2010 at 07:03 AM
An oatmeal fest is such a good idea! And I want those.
Posted by: Susan | January 15, 2010 at 07:25 PM
I love the idea of a writer's block outfit. I'm going to put one together because, let's face it, we all have writer's block from time to time.
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | January 15, 2010 at 03:59 PM
I decided to have oatmeal for lunch, and thought to myself I really should bake something with oatmeal. I then checked your blog. I guess I know what I will be baking! It's great to have you back...missed your posts!
Posted by: Rachel | January 15, 2010 at 12:38 PM
Great minds think alike! I am just writing up my post for my vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! I love oatmeal chocolate chip anything, I can't wait to give your version a try!
Posted by: Sonja @ ActiveFoodie | January 15, 2010 at 12:55 AM
Dessert for dinner sounds like the perfect cure for writers block, or at least it can make you feel better about it. Rest assured, we all go through it
Posted by: Jackie | January 15, 2010 at 12:47 AM
Yummy bars!
I never heard of oatmeal festival. Sounds pretty interesting.
Posted by: elra | January 15, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Those? Look amazing! I'll definitely have to give them a try.
And isn't it funny remembering all those eccentric people from college? I wish we all had something like that jacket to help us through writer's block.
Posted by: E.P. | January 14, 2010 at 09:08 PM
An OATMEAL FESTIVAL!? Ding dang, why didn't someone invite me?! ;) These sound delicious.
PS. I'm glad you appear to have stopped doing partial feeds in GR. :)
Posted by: ErinsFoodFiles | January 14, 2010 at 06:19 PM
Great healthy treat! Glad you are back:)
Posted by: Maria | January 14, 2010 at 05:24 PM
I must tell you those bars look delicious. I really did miss your posts as well so unblock that block and get cracking!
Posted by: Daryl Callahan | January 14, 2010 at 01:25 PM
You do exist! Welcome back, your posts have been missed. And these bars sound amazing. And an oatmeal fest? How did I miss that?!?
Posted by: Sarah Caron | January 14, 2010 at 01:03 PM