It is product day here at Country Kitchen Pantry, and today I’m going to tell you what I’ve been eating for breakfast every day lately.

Clif Bars are perfect for taking on a long hike, and eating in the woods. Alternatively, they’re great for a quick, nutritious breakfast when you’re in a hurry to blog then get ready for work. They are clean and neat to eat right at the computer keyboard. No crumbs! And they taste wonderful. At least I like them, especially my current favorite flavor, “Peanut Toffee Buzz”.

The buzz comes from a bit of green tea content. Not a lot, but it is a bit of a pick-me-up which I appreciate due to the fact I quit drinking coffee over a year ago. Green tea is much better for us than coffee. We all know that!

Here are the ingredients for the Clif Bar I ate this morning:

Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro: (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Malt Extract], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour), Organic Rolled Oats, Dry Roasted Peanuts, ClifCrunch: (Apple Fiber, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Psyllium), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Peanut Toffee (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Peanuts, Cocoa Butter, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Dry Roasted Peanuts, Natural Flavors, Salt, Soy Lecithin), Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Dry Roasted Peanuts, Salt), Icing (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Cocoa Butter, Soy Milk, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Peanut Flour, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt, Green Tea Extract (50mg caffeine equivalent).

There’s a warning for allergic people: Contains soy and peanuts. May contain traces of dairy and tree nuts. We source ingredients which do not contain wheat, dairy, and are not genetically engineered.

As you can see, Clif Bars use lots of organic ingredients. The label says, “70% Organic Ingredients”. I think that’s pretty good. Sure tastes good, anyhow.

There’s also a cute story on the label about how the founder of Clif Bars had an epiphany in 1990 when he was eating an energy bar, and realized he could make better energy bars at home. He experimented for two years in his mother’s kitchen. His business is an incredible success because his products are outstandingly good. If you haven’t tried a Clif Bar yet, maybe you will now that you’ve read about how much I’m enjoying them.

[Note: I'm not being paid for my recommendation. I don't do pay-per-post blogging.]

[Update, 12/5/08 - I just looked this post up as I intend to use it as a link on my page about Natural and Artificial Sweeteners because Clif Bars use Brown Rice Syrup to sweeten naturally. I noticed that the date on this post is from eighteen months ago, and I'm still eating Clif Bars for breakfast every day! I found some Clif Bars links on Amazon and am adding those here today.]

I’ve noticed several different brands of hummus in stores recently, and tried a few. This inspired me to pull out my old Hummus recipe. Making it is very easy, and I think it is more flavorful, being as it’s fresh.

Hummus is made from garbanzo beans, which are also known as chick peas. You can buy them in a bag and cook them, or buy two 16 ounce cans, which is what I usually do.

Drain the beans but keep about 1/2 cup of the liquid. Put the beans in a blender and add the 1/2 cup liquid. It will become a smooth paste soon enough. Add 1/2 cup tahini paste, the juice of one lemon, and two cloves of garlic. Blend well, then put in a bowl. On top drizzle a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

I like to spread this on bread but the traditional way to eat it is to dip pieces of bread into it, or vegetables of various types. Last week I got some spicy black bean chips from the natural foods section of our local grocery store, and ate those with hummus as a dip. That’s what I call good food.

I tried something new this week: Dreyers Fruit Bars, made with natural fruit. I bought a strawberry bar and it was so delicious, I had to tell you about it.

[Note: I am not being paid for this post. I don't do pay-per-post blogging.]

Normally I’d go for an ice cream bar instead but my boyfriend and I need to lose weight and he pointed out to me that the fruit bar would be better for us. It was not only better, it was outstanding.

Ingredients are: water, strawberries, sugar, carob bean gum, natural flavors, guar gum, citric acid, color from beet juice extract and tumeric, and ascorbic acid. I don’t see much there to complain about though one could cite the sugar… though it is hard to get completely away from in this civilization. There were only 120 calories and of course, there’s lots of Vitamin C as strawberries are known for that.

Do you ever like to visit food sites to see what’s there? I love looking them up. Dreyers has a section of their site devoted to their Fruit Bars… on the front page of the site it says “Fruit Bars: Taste what everyone’s talking about…” and here I am, talking about them. Hmmm…

It says these fruit bars are winners of the ‘Best Taste Award’ by the American Culinary ChefsBest. I don’t doubt it. The flavor I tried is truly delicious.

***
I was inspired to write this by JulieZS’s post, Food, Glorious Food at Create A Connection.

Submitted to The Vegetarian Blog Carnival.

Speaking of olives, I came across this recipe for a nutritious sandwich spread that I’d like to share with you:

1 cup chopped ripe olives
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped fine
1/4 cup almonds, chopped fine
1/4 cup sesame or sunflower seeds, ground
1/4 cup celery, chopped fine (optional)

Mix together with enough mayonnaise to make it the consistency desired for sandwiches or chips.

My favorite raw food supplier, Sunfood Nutrition, has these Raw Power Olives for sale. They say, “These delicious PITTED brownish/red, kalamata-style olives are packed in pure water, fresh garlic, fresh oregano, whole ripe cayenne pepper, and a dash of celtic sea salt. These are the olives promoted in the book Raw Power!“