vegan no-bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars

I'm looking for foods that I can easily eat at work. I'm thinking that some different kinds of "bars" would be good...kind of like granola bars, because they're so handy. I've made muffins in the past but I make them really moist and end up having to eat them with a fork. (They're probably also so crumbly because I use almost all oatmeal and very little flour.) I found a recipe for vegan no bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars that I thought I'd try at some point. I'm posting it here so I remember where it is!

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1504166

Why is healthy food so expensive and junk food so cheap?

One thing I'm learning about work--I have to take food with me. And I'm talking a LOT of food. Whenever I'm there, I'm starving, and that keeps me from concentrating. I took some salad, but that wasn't much of a "meal." Problem is that I have no clue what to pack to take with me. I can't believe how expensive food is. And you know what makes me mad? You can get all kinds of junky food super cheap, but the most expensive foods are fruits and vegetables! What gives?

Chris bought a half-pound of lunch meat over the weekend. He got lean turkey, but I still kind of consider that junk food because of all of the processing and preservatives that goes into making that loaf that they slice up. I looked at the price--it was a little over $3 for that half pound bag, which equals a week's worth of lunches for him. I often buy strawberries to put into smoothies, but now that they're not local anymore, they're $3 for a one-pound container at the cheapest place I've found them! I get about two smoothies out of a pound of strawberries, but I also mix it with kale (yes, that green leafy stuff) and apples or bananas. (I also don't cut the leaves off the top of the strawberries--I blend them into my smoothie for even more greens :) So one of the healthiest things I could eat is also one of the most expensive things to eat. I shouldn't feel guilty about eating FRUIT, but it kills me to spend so much of our food budget on that stuff.

Community service

My Girl Talk group at school has done some nice community service projects. The two biggest projects were collecting shoes for a shoe drive and making bracelets for girls who are hospitalized. Next year I want to do more community service with the group, but it seems like most organizations just want money. While I can see the need for money, I wish that there were more that the girls can do that doesn't require them to raise money. Some of these girls come from homes that don't have much money, so it's tough to hold a fund raiser and then give all of the money away, knowing that some of the girls I work with are in need as well.

So if anyone reads this post and knows how a small group of junior high and high school girls might be able to help an organization, I'm open to any and all ideas!

This is the pile of shoes that "my girls" collected in February during our "Heart and Sole" shoe drive...

Last day of school

Today is the last day of school, and I kind of feel like crying. Every year I've been attached to the students, but this is a special class. Maybe it's because I've been with them for five years, and I've had longer to get to know them than past classes. But I think that part of it is the special bond I've formed with some of these remarkable students. They've gotten to know me and I've gotten to know them. They know my quirks and my passions. I was reminded today about how well they know me when I walked into my office and found the following gift on my desk:


It's going to be a rough day, but a happy day. The day ends with the seniors doing their "Senior Farewell Tour." They start upstairs and walk through the hallways up there, then come downstairs and walk through the halls on the first floor, and the juniors hand them a flower as they exit the building on their last day as high school seniors. Graduation and the awards ceremony are both very upbeat events, and no one really cries, but during the senior farewell tour, EVERYONE cries. Even me...