Day 1

Day 1 is the hardest.  Sort of like getting out of first gear.  I think it's just out of the norm for us as we are used to spending pretty much whatever, whenever we want - but if we want to have room to play in terms of finding "the" house in "the" location, we have to make sacrifices.  So, I'm averaging 1 money saving tip per day should cover our tracks (at least hopefully).  So what did I save on today?? Well energy bars of course!! These are my all time favorite, and most of the ingredients are on hand and they are pretty simple to make and sugar free (bonus!) and delicious (double bonus!) I got the recipe from Sunset Magazine years ago and have adapted it a few times here and there with other dried fruit, nuts, etc. so play with it, they're sooo good and a much better deal than paying $1 - $2 per energy bar.  Might even entice me to get out for a run....ok probably not.

Cranberry Go-go Bars

Ingredients

• Cooking-oil spray
• 1 cup regular rolled oats
• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 3 tablespoons flax seeds
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried Mission figs
• 3/4 cup natural chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-fat milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup honey
• Finely shredded zest from 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

• 1. Line a 9- by 13-in. pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on the 9-in. sides, and coat with cooking-oil spray. In a large bowl, stir together oats, oat bran, flax seeds, flour, baking powder, salt, peanuts, cranberries, and figs until well blended.
• 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together peanut butter, milk, egg, honey, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well blended.
• 3. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and beat until completely blended. Scrape dough into pan and, with wet fingers or a rubber spatula, pat to fill pan completely and evenly (dough is sticky, so you may need to wash your hands a few times). Chill dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
• 4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300°. Invert pan onto a work surface, lift off pan, and peel off plastic. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut straight down lengthwise through middle, then crosswise to make 16 bars, each 1 1/2 in. wide. Place bars about 1 in. apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
• 5. Bake bars until lightly browned and somewhat firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
• Make ahead: Store airtight up to 2 weeks or freeze.