This Bar Saves Lives

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour

4 flax eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sliced roasted almonds

pinch of salt

3 This Bar Saves Lives Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter bars (blended up with a food processor until fine)

1/2 cup walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Blend you bars in a food processor

In a large bowl combine the flax eggs, flour, vanilla extract, salt, and sugar

With wooden spoon, mix in almonds, blended bar mixture, and walnuts

Fold whites in flour and nut mixture.

Divide dough in half. Place each half on the cookie sheet, shaping into a log.

Bake for approximately 15 - 20 minutes

Transfer to cutting board and wait 5 minutes

Using a serrated knife, slice cookies about ⅛ inch thick

Place the slices on the baking sheets, and bake for about another 12 minutes

For our monthly volunteer day, the This Bar Team ventured out to Watts, a community in South Central L.A., to help out at San Miguel Catholic School. Serving primarily Spanish-speaking families from transitional Kindergarten-8th grade, San Miguel opened in 1966 with a spiritually-focused curriculum. This neighborhood school may not have AC or even a regular janitorial staff, but the school is considered to be a tight-knit family full of love and support!

After meeting the awesome, super sweet principal, Ms. Reynoso, we split into groups, and tackled cleaning and organizing classrooms. (mopping, putting up bulletin boards, decorating, and cleaning bathrooms)

Letter stuffing to welcome back the kids!

How are we doing today? Killin’ it with our organizational skills!

Chloe and Leah are the dream team...

While most of the kids were still on summer break, a little 2nd grade nugget named Kathy tagged along to keep us entertained and on task!

The San Miguel students are a fun-loving group and can be found playing soccer at lunch, bursting into dance-offs, and munching on Hot Cheeto nachos after school. Couldn’t think of better kiddos to enjoy our Kids Bars!

What are some of the best things to eat for breakfast you may ask? According to Franziska Spritzler, Registered Dietician and Diabetes Educator, some of the best foods to eat in the morning are oats, fruits, and nuts, which happen to be key ingredients in our bars. 

Oats promote feelings of fullness, reduce cholesterol, and are rich in antioxidants. 

Fruit is high in fiber, low in calories, and can reduce inflammation. 

Nuts prevent weight gain and have been shown to reduce heart disease risks. 

So why not grab one of our wild blueberry pistachio bars for breakfast? Yes, we are all extremely busy and find it easy to skip out on a morning meal, but you are already making the trip to Starbucks for your morning cup of joe, why not start the day with a convenient, healthy, and life-saving breakfast as well?

Medical News Today reports associations between eating blueberries and maintaining healthy bones and digestion, lowering blood pressure, and decreased prevalence of wrinkles. And if that isn't enough to say “sign me up” for a lifetime supply of our Blueberry Pistachio bars, studies report that Vitamins A and C packed into blueberries function as antioxidants that bolster your body’s defense against cancer-causing free radicals. Plus, there’s fiber and a lack of cholesterol in the little guys, which lowers risk of heart disease.

But blueberries don’t get all the glory here. Cherries are comin’ in hot with their own talents. Like blueberries, cherries are filled with antioxidants, even more so than blueberries, so you can give dangerous free radicals as well as premature aging the boot every time you grab a handful (or better yet, a Dark Chocolate Cherry bar). Also, according to Livestrong, cherries often contain melatonin, which everyone knows as one of the key players in getting you on a regular, healthy sleep schedule. Consuming cherries can help in avoiding those sleepless nights spent staring at the ceiling counting how many hours of sleep you’d get if you fell asleep right now, and now...and now.

And the best news is, despite some slight nutritional differences between dried berries and fresh berries, things like antioxidant and vitamin content remain largely unchanged between the two. Meaning, you can reap the loads of health benefits whether you’re snacking at a fresh fruit stand or unwrapping a This Bar. As you’ve probably noticed, we at Team This Bar are big fans of summertime, so what’s a better way to celebrate longer, warmer days, than with healthy fruits that are in season and ready to give your body the nourishment and protection it loves?

Lawn/Plant Watering  Eco-experts agree -- watering your garden with collected rainwater, or literally the free-falling drops, are the safest ways to keep your yard green. That’s all fine and dandy unless you’re like us Southern Californians, where it really hasn't rained since this past, truly bizarre winter (we’re still confused). Don’t sweat it, though. You can still use your hose in the yard, but try only watering in the early morning or evening. That way, the hot mid-day sun won’t speed up evaporation, sucking up all the watering you just did (which totally negates your effort, and wastes water).

Laundry Speaking of evaporation, there are ways to use it to your advantage. Take the dryer out of your summer laundry routine, and hang dry your clothes outside, old school style. Saves energy, gives your house that shabby-chic look. Win-win.

Electricity + A/C Open your shades, and your windows, and get light and air circulation from outside. First, it’s a total no brainer. Who doesn’t love a light breeze cruising through their house?! And second, it saves tons of power, since you won’t need to reach for the light switch or the A/C knob as often when you tap into some natural goodness instead. (PS - this little trick can cut utility bills in half. We like that.)  

Power-hungry Chores If only household chores didn’t exist in the summer. But since, for some cruel reason, they do, you can make doing them a little more bearable knowing you’re being kind to the earth using this subtle routine adjustment. Push your use of the stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, and vacuum to evening hours as much as you can. Why, you ask? These particular appliances suck up a ton of energy as it is, but using them in the nighttime, aka not peak use hours, will also keep your energy bill low (you’re welcome), and avoid rooms like the kitchen and laundry room getting overheated (which makes you run to turn the A/C up, and now your home is an energy-hungry monster). Pro-tip - use this eco-friendly tip as a motivator to finally make meal prep a thing in your life (hi, summer bod).

Sunscreen We can’t say this enough: use it use it use it. You don’t need us telling you how necessary it is to protect yourself and your loved ones from the strong summer sun. But think about what’s in your sunscreen too. Tons of the sunscreens on today’s market contain some pretty nasty ingredients, whose toxicity can contribute to coral bleaching when it rubs off into the ocean waters while you’re perfecting your in-water handstand. Cue biodegradable or organic alternatives. These are always favorable to conventional options, but it’s important to go that extra mile when browsing the sunscreen aisle. The PADI Diving Blog suggests that you take a quick look at the ingredient list before you buy, to make sure gross substances like oxybenzone, butylparaben, octinoxate and 4-methylbenzylidine camphor didn’t make the cut. (Can’t remember those sci-fi ingredient names? Pull this blog post up on your phone while you’re shopping, we won’t judge). Additionally, actually take the directions on the back of sunscreen bottles seriously and lather up 15 - 20 minutes before hitting the water. This allows your skin to soak up all the protection it needs, allowing less to come off in the water, and making it less likely for you to leave the beach looking like a lobster.

Grocery Shopping  An age-old suggestion that is worth reiterating every damn summer. It is so easy to eat local during the summer, with the thriving farmer’s markets that we know you pass somewhere on your commute. Make them a once-a-week pit-stop as you head home after work or running errands. And stores like Whole Foods, and of course local specialty shops, shine this season, so check out the signs throughout their produce and meat sections, where they almost always tell you where products are from (and they’re almost always just a short drive away). Less energy was expended getting food to stores from a local producer, as opposed to one halfway across the country, and you throw some cash into the pockets of your neighboring farmers. Another win-win.

Gardening If just eating local at the store is too B-team for you, impress everyone and start your own backyard garden, no matter the size. Herb gardens are a super manageable start for gardening novices looking to go green (Gardening Know-How has the skinny here) but you can grow an entire salad, from lettuce to peppers, in the comfort of your own backyard, while avoiding partaking in the energy consumption required to harvest, transport, and sell mass amounts of food. Aaand then you can host a trendy summer dinner party where you feature said backyard salad, bragging rights included.

Electronics Super simple, effortless change that can trigger a little bit of energy savings. When you’re not using your phone or laptop chargers, don’t forget to unplug the charging cords from the wall sockets. Believe it or not, leaving these in, even sans device, can drain a little power, so do your earth a favor and skip it!

These ideas are simple, and we don’t doubt you’ve heard some of them before, but we think it’s SO important to constantly reinvigorate your efforts to be as kind to our planet as you can (we know how easy it can be to forget from time to time). There’s no time like the present to get going on a eco-friendlier life, and thank god the present is summer. So toss some beers on ice, dust off the beach umbrella, and get out into our beautiful world. We’ll see you there.

Unicorn Frozen Yogurt Bark Ingredients: 1 cup Greek yogurt, plain or vanilla 2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey 2 'This Kid Saves Lives' Wild Berries Bars All-Natural Food Coloring Powder (*I used McCormick Color Nature Food Colors in Berry & Sky Blue, which are tasteless and free of artificial dyes.) Recipe: 1. Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper (roughly 8x10") and set aside. 2. In two small mixing bowls, mix together 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp. maple syrup, and a dash of pink food coloring powder (approximately 1/2 tsp). 3. Repeat with blue food coloring. 4. Pour each yogurt mixture onto either side of the cooking sheet. Use a spatula to spread evenly, swirling in the center to create a purple blend. Your yogurt bark should be about 1/4" thick. 5. Crumble up snack bars and sprinkle evenly on top of yogurt mixture. 6. Freeze for 2-4 hours. Break into bite size pieces and enjoy! 

Jameson and his mother, Guilène, arrived at Second Mile Haiti on July 4, 2016 from a small village 45 minutes away. At 6 years old, Jameson weighed just 21 pounds - the average weight of a 1 year old American child. His body was swollen, he had very little energy, and he refused to eat. He needed immediate help.

To help him gain the weight and provide him with the nutrients he desperately needed, the team at Second Mile Haiti started Jameson on a regimen of Plumpy’Nut®. Plumpy’Nut® is a specially formulated food aid to help children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Jameson began his journey to recovery with Plumpy’Nut® produced by our partner Meds and Food for Kids and donated to Second Mile Haiti thanks to YOU.

Jameson began receiving 4 packets of Plumpy’Nut® a day and soon the life returned to his eyes. When he was admitted to Second Mile Haiti, Jameson refused to speak and had almost no energy. By his fourth week at the facility, Jameson was telling jokes and playing soccer with his new friends. Meanwhile, his mother received an empowering education in health, nutrition, and entrepreneurship, eventually learning how to start her own small business.

In 5 weeks, Jameson gained nearly 30% of his initial body weight and was discharged from Second Mile Haiti weighing 27 pounds. Today, he is happy, healthy, and continues to grow strong. Thanks to your love and support, Jameson has the opportunity to be a kid again, and Guilène is putting the lessons she learned at Second Mile Haiti to use with her business selling cooking utensils.