Tag Archives: easy dessert

Cherry Blueberry Oat Bars

Cherry Blueberry Oat Bars

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Last weekend I made it to the farm, barely, to the last day of cherry picking of the season. The large farm was almost picked clean.

Thankfully I am nearly 6 feet tall and could reach the higher branches of the cherry trees, and my 6’1″ hubby was there to help.  Two of the four varieties were left, but I didn’t care because every cherry was plump and delicious. 

When I got home with the 5 pounds of organic fresh picked cherries the big question became, now what? I scoured through the pages of Pinterest and found a ton of yummy ideas.

With a little tweaking of a cherry bar, I came up with this yummy cherry blueberry oat bar recipe using fresh fruit. 

Cherry Blueberry Oat Bar

Ingredients

  • 3 cups pitted fresh cherries
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • package of lemon or yellow cake mix
  • 2 1/2 cups quick oats
  • 1 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • (optional use 1 can of cherry pie filling instead of fresh fruit)

Instructions 

Filling

  1. Place pitted cherries and blueberries in a medium saucepan on medium heat covered until they release their juice. Then turn down to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  Stir often.
  2. Mix together the cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl.  Stir into cherry mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce is thickened (about 2-3 minutes).  Let cool until just warm.

Oat Bars

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish.
  2. Combine oats and cake mix in a large bowl. Add melted butter and stir until crumbly.
  3. Take half of the mixture and press down in the bottom of the baking dish. (This is the bottom layer of your bar.)
  4. Spread the homemade blueberry cherry pie filling (or 1 can of cherry pie filling) carefully over the oat mixture. Take care to make a nice flat surface covering all of the oats.
  5. Pour the rest of the oat mixture on top and gently spread evenly over the pie filling. Gently press down as if you are sealing it.
  6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown. 
  7. Let cool or enjoy warm.  Cut into bars. Enjoy!

This is my new favorite treat! It makes about 18-24 bars depending on how large you cut them.  We served them warm with small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Comment Below:  What’s your favorite cherry treat?

 

ice cream

Healthy 3-Ingredient Ice Cream

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Being a virtual health and fitness coach I usually don’t recommend eating ice cream to my clients. But, it’s one of those things that usually are at the top of their list of indulgences.

So what’s a coach to do?

Give them what they want!

I believe in not giving up the things we love, but instead figuring out healthier ways to enjoy them.

When I have a client who just “can’t live without ice cream”, this is the recipe I give them.

Oh and if you can’t have diary you’re in luck! It’s dairy free. :)

3-Ingredient Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • Ripe Banana
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups ice

In a very good blender (like a Blentec or Vitamix) put all of the ingredients inside. Blend on the ice cream setting or blend until you have the texture of ice cream. 

(If you’d like to level out your blood sugar level you can sprinkle a few sliced almonds on top). Sometimes I add strawberries or blueberries to it as well. Enjoy!

For more easy recipes and fitness tips you can visit me at Fit Moms Fit Kids Club.

 

fudge

Oh Fudge – it’s super easy!

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Who doesn’t like the rich, creamy, chocolatey taste of homemade fudge?

It’s a great gift to give away to friends and family members for any occasion.

We like to give hostess gifts when we are invited to parties, this is a quick and easy gift to make. Another great time to give away fudge is when you have someone new that moves into your neighborhood.

This recipe has only 5 ingredients! It takes no time to prep.  Someone may just have to hold you back while it chills in the fridge (so you won’t eat it)!

Super Simple Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups of semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

dash of salt

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. In a heavy saucepan over low heat add the first 3 ingredients. Gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the ingredients are well combined. Next, add the nuts (optional) and vanilla, stirring until combined.

2. Pour onto a well greased 8×8″ glass dish (or line it with wax paper). Refrigerate until set or firm (about 2 hours).

ENJOY!