This has been one crazy week, to say the least! I left New Zealand on Tuesday to return to New York City and I was feeling a range of different emotions. Even though my Mum has made an amazing recovery in the past 7 months, I still worry about her a lot and it was very hard to leave her. For now, we will have to make do with phone calls and video chats. It eases my mind somewhat to know she has a great support system around her. We really made the most of our last few weeks together, including a trip down to Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. The beaches down there are among my favourites, and we took her dog Jessie with us, and she was loving all the bush and beach walks.
After two flights (19 hours total), I’m finally back in the city. My jet-lag was much worse this time, maybe it gets worse with age?! I woke up to snow, which was so pretty to see. The snowflakes fell for the entire day, and I took a long walk to clear my head. We don’t get snow at all in Auckland, so it was fun to be amongst it. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things here, and to catch up with everyone.
Now onto the treats! As a child, I remember eating rice crispy treats, made with marshmallow (and lots of butter). I loved the crunch of them and they were a regular feature on birthday tables; along with cocktail sausages, Mallow-puffs and fairy bread. Today, I’m sharing a healthy version of this popular treat that requires only 4 ingredients: puffed rice, peanut butter, honey and dark chocolate. Since I wanted to make these healthy, I had to find puffed rice that wasn’t laden with sugar. So that meant no Rice Bubbles. Then I found Ceres rice puffs at Bin Inn, which contain zero sugar or sodium. These are the perfect treats when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and you don’t want to use the oven. You simply melt the peanut butter and honey on the stove, then stir through the rice puffs. Place in a greased pan, drizzle with the melted chocolate and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then cut and serve. It doesn’t get any easier than that! And these bars won’t leave you with a with a sugar crash after eating them. Peanut butter and honey were definitely made for each other.
4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Yield: 16 small bars
Ingredients:
3 cups rice puffs cereal (natural)
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup honey (can substitute brown rice syrup)
Dark chocolate for drizzling
Method:
- Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the rice puffs in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the peanut butter and honey together and stir well.
- Remove from heat and pour over the puffed rice. Mix well. If you feel the puffed rice isn’t sticky enough, add a dash more honey.
- Pour the mixture into the baking pan and press firmly in place. Drizzle with melted dark chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up, before cutting into squares.
Notes: Rice crispy treats can be kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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