It’s not that I’m enjoying aging macular degeneration (AMD) by any means, but it has made me reach out to try new foods and new recipes, all with the hope of preventing further eye damage. And since trying these new items and eating differently has shown me so many other healthy benefits, it’s gotten to be great fun in the kitchen once again.

For all those folks who are convinced they don’t like sardines, I’ve got another way to try them Just once. In the summer. How about getting them at the fish market and grilling them outside? Add a Grapefruit and Avocado Salad, and top it off with a Mango Sorbet and more than your eyes will say thank you!

Make the Mango Sorbet first, because it takes few hours in the freezer to get firm. It’s really easy with a food processor, particularly if you have some simple syrup in the refrig. If not, make the syrup: Combine equal parts water and sugar in a pan, stir to dissolve sugar and stir over heat bringing it to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Keep it in the refrigerator, it’ll keep for months.

OK, with syrup made, peel and chop 3 ripe mangoes and puree until smooth.

Add juice of a lime and 1 cup of simple syrup, pulse it a bit more. Put it all in a freezer container and freeze about six hours, until it sets and is firm. After dinner, scoop it into bowls, add a few blueberries for garnish, maybe a sprig of fresh mint, and voila! A feast truly for the eyes.

For the Grilled Sardines, figure two medium size fish, gutted from the market, for each person. To serve four, combine ¼ cup olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 T. chopped parsley and about the same of chopped thyme, some sea salt if you think sardines need any more, and some black pepper. Let the sardines rest in that in a covered dish in the refrigerator for about an hour to marinade well. When you’re ready to eat, put the grill about medium high, and grill each of the little treats 3 to 4 minutes on each side, brushing a little bit with the marinade and making the flesh flaky and the skin crispy.

For the Avocado and Grapefruit Salad, peel 4 grapefruit (pink are best if you can get them, full of lycopene which is good in preventing cell damage and reducing inflammation) and cut each of the segments into pieces over a bowl, saving the juice. Slice about a dozen celery stalks into strips, then cut two avocados in half, remove the pit, scoop out the meat in a single piece from each half, and slice.

Heat ¼ teaspoon cumin in a dry skillet until fragrant (shaking the pan so it doesn’t burn), then add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of honey. Take it off the heat, toss in some of that grapefruit juice you saved, mix and pour on the celery, fruit and avocado slices. Add a garnish if you think it needs something, I don’t. If you want to make this a couple of hours before serving, be sure to brush the avocado slices with some of the juice to prevent browning, cover with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator.

Add juice of a lime and 1 cup of simple syrup, pulse it a bit more. Put it all in a freezer container and freeze about six hours, until it sets and is firm. After dinner, scoop it into bowls, add a few blueberries for garnish, maybe a sprig of fresh mint, and voila! A feast truly for the eyes.

The Aging Macular Degeneration which was so horrifying and frightening to me nine months ago has definitely turned into my AMD Culinary Expedition. Today, it’s Radish Leaves!

Stopping at our local Farmers Market during New Jersey’s season when nothing can beat our tomatoes or blueberries, I was also attracted to some really big radishes on the farmers’ stand. There were about ten in the bunch and of course their leaves were still attached. At home, after I snipped the bottoms and the tops attached to the leaves, so I could put the spicy red and white roots in water in the refrigerator, I wondered why I had to throw out that two cups or so of delightful looking green on top? Does anybody eat radish greens, I wondered? And could they be any good for you? So searching I went.

Much to my delight, I found one more miracle of nature that’s especially good for the eyes. In fact, I learned that the radish greens are even more nutritional than the roots, the red and white things we’ve been eating forever. Seems the leaves are chock full of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as containing very generous supplies of iron, calcium and protein.

Armed with this new knowledge, I decided it was time to experiment. I thought of radish leaves as kale or cabbage, something a bit spicier than lettuce. Duly scrubbed and chopped, why not toss a bit in with my salad? When that went well, I tried adding some more and discovered the peppery taste was great, so long as I put less fresh pepper on the finished product.

Then I wondered about sautéing some leaves, but knowing while I like spinach, I like to add walnuts and feta to a sauté, I thought up something for the leaves. Why not slice some radishes and sauté them right along with it for a tangy mix. So I tried

Radish and Leaves Salad

1 bunch of radishes, washed, cut from leaves, sliced thin

1 T. olive oil

½ teaspoon thyme and 1 t. minced garlic

Sauté the radishes in the olive oil about 2 minutes, until soft; add thyme and garlic and sauté another 6 minutes or so.

Once radishes are soft, wash and chop all the leaves from the bunch (Strangely enough, it comes out about equal, about 2 Cups chopped red roots and 2 Cups chopped green leaves all come from a single bunch you buy)

Sauté leaves along with the radishes, adding a slight bit more olive oil if necessary, for another minute or two.

Serve as a unique and very pretty side dish.

Next time, I’m going to drop some chopped leaves in my already-made soup. If it comes out as good as I think it will, then Radish Leaf Soup will be on my cooking agenda.

Then, looking for another way to prepare the avocado I’m also certainly enjoying as a new vegetable on menus, again, only since learning how beneficial they are for the eyes, I happened on a recipe for Radish Leaves and Avocado Quiche! Another treasure. And with all the calories you’re saving by eating all these veggies, you can splurge on quiche shells from the market freezer and skip the work. Using the mini shells is fun and they make every very attractive hors d’ouerves or, with several together, a great breakfast dish.

1 package 12-15) mini quiche shells

1 Bunch radish leaves, washed, towel dried and chopped

1 Shallot or half an onion, diced,

1/2 tsp mustard

1 Avocado, dicing meat with few drops of lemon juice to keep from browning

1 egg

2Tbls. Sharp grated cheese Pecorino is good)

6 radishes, thinly sliced

Salt and Pepper if you must, not for me.

Heat over to 350 degrees. Preheat skillet and sauté shallot/onion and butter 1 minute

Increase heat, add leaves sauté for 30 seconds and drain any juice. Set aside to cool slightly.

Puree avocado and leaves, mix well with egg, cheese, mustard, milk/cream, salt and pepper. Spoon the filling into the shells, arrange radish slices on top, dot with butter cubes. Bake until the top slightly firm to touch, about 20 minutes.

Garnish with tomato bit, blueberry or both and serve warm

It’s because I have an ophthalmologist who has such a positive outlook on what he is doing for my macular degeneration, or perhaps it’s because I don’t want to disappoint him in his belief in my continuing eye health But I have completely changed my diet and now think that I too am contributing towards not only living with AMD but helping it from becoming worse.

Once I tried radish leaves in salads and started talking about it to friends, I learned others, with and without AMD, who have tried leaves of other root vegetables.

One friend gave me a recipe for eggplant that makes this purple vegetable that is so great for eye health, simply delicious even if you think you don’t like eggplant!

She also prepares her beet leaves like spinach, washing the leaves well, slicing them a bit, then sauteing them in olive oil until soft. I tried it with feta cheese mixed in, she added cranberries to hers. Both are great treats.

Beet leaves, like beets themselves, are full of fiber, great for glaucoma because they lower intraocular eye pressure, and cranberries are loaded with vitamins A and C and we already know they’re great. Both are also good in combating cataracts.

Now try this: Eggplant Bacon. Don’t make those faces, read the recipe first, try it once, You’ll end up smiling!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.

Cut 1 medium sized eggplant into quarters, Slice each quarter into long, thin strips. (A mandolin is perfect, even a vegetable peeler will work. It’s thin slices you really want to achieve.) Place strips on sheets.

In a bowl, mix Tbsp. olive oil, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp maple syrup, ½ t. paprika., Brush on both sides of the eggplant strips. Season with freshly ground pepper to your taste.

Bake about 45 minutes, or until strips get to the crispiness you like in bacon. (Mine is great at about 50 minutes.)

Eggplant is extremely great for eyesight. It’s a purple vegetable which means lot of lutein, an antioxidant, always a good thing. It has one of the two carotenoids which protect the color pigments of your eyes, and they’re the filters that protect them, so it’s all a pretty darn good thing, even worth developing a taste for eggplant…just once anyway!

I’m not a great cook since I became a widow 15 years ago and ended my cooking with a loved one that added so much to any lunch or dinner. But I’ve developed some great short cuts I really like.

For instance, if I don’t want to cook beets, or can’t get them out of season, I simply buy canned beets, drain and wash them. I save the juice from jars of pickles, and when the pickles are gone, simply dump the beets, either whole or sliced, into the pickle juice, refrigerate, and voila! Within a week, I have pickled beets! And yes, they get better the longer they sit!

While I am having so much fun trying all these new vegetables and ways to prepare them, I’m causing a bit of good-natured consternation with my daughter, who, of course, never saw any of this action at home when she was growing up. Her question these days, with artificial laughter and inquiry? “Who is this woman, and what have you done with my mother?” But, like my son, she’s thrilled with the change!

Found another great recipe that makes a great cooling dinner salad and is loaded with Vitamin A, calcium and just plain goodness.

Taking advantage of fruits and vegetables in season has so many benefits we don’t even realize. I found going to farmers’ markets has not only been fun but relaxing. Stopping to talk to the farmers and learning more about the fruits and vegetables they grow has been educational. Living in New Jersey, I’ve gotten an entirely new respect for why we are called the Garden State.

Mangos have never been a popular fruit in our home, probably because they’ve never been plentiful. Now however, I find them in markets and grocery stores in all sizes and shapes, and they are wonderful for eye health.

Cheeses of all kinds are a great source of calcium and lots of other vitamins and minerals, so you can’t ever go wrong with cheese….except for the cholesterol and fat levels, and for that, it’s usually still okay so long as it’s cheese in moderation. Blending it with other healthy foods kinds of stretches it and makes it easier to continue to get all those vitamins while watching out for fats. If you’re not a meat eater, cheese is also a great protein source.

So blending the two, mangos and feta cheese in a salad goes like this:

Mango and Feta Salad

Whisk together: 2 tsps. Balsamic vinegar and 1 Tbls. Olive oil in a large bowl.

Add 1 c sliced onion (I like red onion in this!) ,

2 Cups mango,

1 cup avocado,

1 cup cucumber,

a Cup tomato, each cut into bite size pieces, and

1/c cup radishes, sliced.

Toss them all together and you’re done!

Lay some lettuce leaves on each of two plates, spoon the salad on top, and top with ½ Cup cubed feta.

That’s all there is to it!

Perhaps if you want some starch, serve it with dinner rolls or pita bread;

if still think you’re not getting enough great health for your eyes, mix in 1/3 cup cranberries, or sprinkle with chopped walnuts!

This makes two very large servings! And it’s so low in calories you can add on carrot cake for dessert!

I just had the ninth injection in my right eye to help save my sight from aging macular degeneration and once again I realize how very fortunate I am and how skilled and understanding my ophthalmologist is.

I was diagnosed in December with wet AMD which had occurred literally overnight. That concerned me, but did not completely frighten, certainly not enough to demand, as I should have, an immediate appointment with an eye specialist. It was Covid time and appointments with any physicians were difficult to come by.

When I did get an appointment and was immediately directed to the doctor who specializes in AMD, he told me at my first appointment it was so severe he had no hope of doing much with it. I smiled and prayed when he said he would try to halt it from getting any worse and completely blinding me. But, he cautioned right from the beginning, that was all he thought he could do. Nevertheless, he definitely recommended I proceed with the injections. He also told me to start taking AREDS 2, an OTC capsule recommended for twice a day.

I left his office confused, a bit frightened, rather angry, but grateful I had a doctor who was honest and upfront.

I was confused and angry because nobody, in spite of regular visits to eye doctors, had ever said to take AREDs. Why? I wondered? It’s not really expensive, easy to get and didn’t seem to an easy medicine to take with few side effects, if any. Later research showed me AREDS is great for counteracting all AMD, wet and dry, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65. Wouldn’t you think my general practitioner, or certainly the eye doctor I saw regularly, would have the same information it took me five minutes to find on a computer. Wouldn’t you think some medical professional would have suggested I start taking it long before I was ever diagnosed with a sudden loss of vision overnight at age 84?

I was frightened because this doctor I was seeing for the first time told me he didn’t hold out much hope for improvement or even much stability. It was a sizeable degeneration.

But then gratitude overwhelmed the other feelings. I had a doctor who was honest, upfront, direct, did not believe in false promises, or false hope. I had researched his background as well and found his overwhelming educational and experience history superb, and his nearly four decades of specializing highly regarded and full of acclaim.

During our once a month visits, the doctor and I talked little other than exchanging pleasantries as he inspected my eyes, cleansed then, numbed my right eye, left the room while waiting for it to work, inserted needles, completed the procedure, and I was on my way to make my next appointment for the following month.

But he always answered all my questions. As a newspaper reporter, I always had some. He did not talk in highly professional terms or use all the proper words; rather, he talked at my level, gave examples of what he meant, then watched to see if I was comprehending.

And I learned more about him. I learned he is in medicine because he feels a strong need within himself to help others. “Isn’t it good to be able to help someone?” he asked me with a slight smile one day. I thought it was very humbling when he added, “I think that’s pretty much why all doctors go into medicine.” I learned he is conscientious and reviews every record carefully. I learned that in addition to the office in Holmdel, NJ where I see him, he sees patients in lots of other offices in the tri-state area. He is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut where he lives.

I saw his happiness every month when, contrary to all expectations, I began to show slight improvement. After six injections of Avastin, he told me he was thinking of trying Eylea for the seventh. It was almost like he was asking me if that would be okay with me. I was grateful he was giving me advance notice and was thinking ahead.

But my very favorite visit was when I had my eighth injection, the second with Eylea. My AMD had improved so much he was visibly stunned and re-checked and re-checked the screen before he shared the news with me. “I didn’t think in a million years I would ever see this,” he said. For a doctor who is always so well composed, so sure of himself, so confident in his ability and the power of medicine, and so calming, it came as a shock when I thanked him for the visit and he said, “ When I’m driving home on the thruway tonight, I’ll be smiling the whole way. And that’s because I’ll be thinking of you and what I saw happen today.” I am awed by a doctor who can take so much pleasure and happiness from seeing someone he doesn’t even know be well on the road to better vision when eight months earlier it didn’t seem possible at all.

So yes, I might not be grateful for AMD, but I am grateful for a doctor who truly cares, a doctor who wanted to proceed even when he didn’t think he could improve vision, but hoped he could prevent it from getting any worse. A doctor who could smile his way all the way from New Jersey to Connecticut because he had given an 84 year old woman literally a new look on life.

My doctor is Dr. Paul Guerriero, a board-certified Ophthalmic Surgeon specializing in Retina and Vitreous diseases and Uveitis. A doctor who earned his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center, completed has extensive clinical and surgical experience and residency in ophthalmology with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, was only a third year resident when he won the prestigious Louis Girard Award reserved for a graduating senior who has made a significant contribution to ophthalmic research, did more training in the field of retina in Atlanta, Georgia, all before he started his own practice….not in one city or state, but the tri-state area. He is one of a fleet of doctors and physicians with Atlantic Eye in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

I’m not an advocate of pushing any particular medicine or brand for that matter. But AREDS II seems like the only medicine on the market that’s so good for the eyes.

Discovered and researched by Bausch and Lomb, a company that long since has made its mark on the world with excellence, it has been recommended to be taken to counteract the leading cause of blindness in people over 60 aging macular degeneration (AMD.

In my research, I found the clinical trials on this were done over five years with government researchers at the National Eye Institute and its purpose was specifically to help people with AMD. The trial was carried out with people from the age of 55 through 80, some with, some without AMD. The study showed that about one of every five people in the group had a reduced risk of moderate vision loss, and about one in four of those with some level of AMD reduced their risk of further progression.

Then, five years after the first five year trial, the second trial showed continued improvements. They’re about to release the results of the ten year trial soon. At any rate, to my way of thinking, anything that has a chance of helping to prevent blindness is a good thing.

There are a couple of downsides the AREDS II for some people. It contains zeaxanthin and lutein, antioxidants that are yellow organic substances called carotenoids. They’re the things that give plants their color and they’re mostly found in leafy green vegetables and yellow fruits and veggies. Since the eyes are exposed to the air and light all day, they can develop oxygen free radicals, bad little things that damage the eyes. Those things that give plants color can neutralize, or quiet down those bad radicals before they get to damage your eyes.

Of courses any medication for the eyes would also have Vitamins C and E and AREDS II does.

Zinc and copper are the other main ingredients, and they are minerals that are always in the body. Zinc has been found particularly good for eye deficiencies, including AMD. Too much zinc can be dangerous because it eliminates copper, hence the importance of taking both together. Zinc can cause some gastrointestinal side effects including diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps, that recede on their own. These possibilities can be eliminated in many cases simply by taking the capsules with food. It’s important to follow the prescribed directions for anything you’re taking into your body, so a supplement like AREDS II should only be taking twice a day, one capsule each time. More might cause problems you don’t need, and wouldn’t help your eyesight any better.

https://www.nei.nih.gov/research/clinical-trials/age-related-eye-disease-studies-aredsareds2/aredsareds2-frequently-asked-questions

It’s certainly comfortable having an ophthalmologist who not only is professional, capable, careful and precise in his injections and everything else concerning eye care, but to be fortunate enough as I am to have one who will take the time to answer all your questions and actually have a calming conversation is a blessing beyond measure.

We talked the other day, just prior to getting Eyela injected, about the reactions of people with AMD and how they react to the minor side effects of the injection.

Yes, he explained, many times you will have broken blood vessels in your eye. That’s a very vascular organ, he went on to say, and a doctor cannot tell precisely whether a vessel will break. It happens. It isn’t serious. It goes away in a day or so. Yes, he conceded, not unkindly, sometimes he has seen a patient complain they had a wedding to go to, an event to attend, something important happening where they wouldn’t look their very best because of a bloodshot eye. But if they looked at it from another way, if they looked at the long term vision possibilities and the short term esthetic result, perhaps they wouldn’t feel so bad.

It’s the same with headaches, he said. Some people might get a headache after an injection, be it from stress, or fear, or simply something different happening in their body. But they too go away, yet the result of injections might be powerful and sight saving.

Some do get pain in their eye, he conceded, but measuring it against the results might help ease the pain or at least make a patient understand it.

We talked, he got up and began to prepare my eye for the injection. I was comfortable, I kept on talking as he placed the spacers in my eye that would keep it open for him to see precisely where he was going to inject the needle.

I’m animated when I talk and all the nerves in my face move. Even those in my cheeks. They move enough and disturb my eye enough that one spacer the doctor had placed, just seconds before injecting the needle, popped out and fell on the floor.

He didn’t get excited he didn’t yell; he didn’t even look disturbed. He simply carefully put the needle down on an antiseptic cloth, took another cloth, cleaned my eye and my cheek carefully. He ensured his hands were clean, took out another sterilized spacer, inserted it, then picked up the needle and began again.

This is why we don’t like the patient to talk when we’re working, he told me calmly and matter-of-factly. It is so easy for an infection to get into the eye, we don’t like to take any chances on anything.

It’s the politest way I have ever heard telling me to keep my mouth shut! And he said it with professional dignity and courtesy, simply making a declaratory statement, not an accusation or a reprimand! I didn’t say a word!

When we finished, he handed me a small bottle of Refresh, a lubricating eyedrop. Put one drop in your eye every hour before your next appointment, he said. Sometimes the hydration from the drop soothes and relieves burning or irritation before the injection, and you might not feel discomfort when you come for your next injection. But I don’t ever feel any discomfort or dryness ,” I explained. He smiled and said simply, “Then don’t use it. But it’s there if you want it.”

Cucumbers! Who would think this inexpensive vegetable can be so good for eyesight in so many ways? They’re really kind of fascinating, when it gets right down to it.

Once they’re in brine, they’re pickles. But fresh off the vine and scrubbed, not even peeled, they’re terrific.

They grow on a creeping vine and grow up trellises, or without some support, they’ll spread out along the ground. The leaves of the plant are big, and protect the cuke while’s it’s growing.

There are several varieties but we here in the United States are most used to the cylindrical ones, with slightly tapered ends, about 8 to 15 inches or so in length and about 2 to 4 inches wide.

They’re 95 per cent water which makes them healthy to begin with, and that’s the reason why they‘re good for use outside the body as well as consumption. They’re full of Vitamins, notably A,C and E and also have collagen, all of which means they’re sensational for cutting down on wrinkles, providing moisturizer for the body, and getting rid of dark circles and puffiness.

If you’re subject to redness or swelling or puffiness around the eyes, simply slice a couple of pieces off a well scrubbed, unpeeled cucumber, lie down for 15 minrtes rest, and place a slice over each closed eye. Since swelling is usually called by water retention, the cukes have caffeic acid that helps reduce the vessel dilation that causes it.

If you don’t want to put plain slices over your eyes, try crushing a few pieces and squeezing out the juice. Soak cotton balls or cotton pads in the juice, and once again, take a 15 minute break and place the pads over your closed ayes.

Always remember to be sure both the cukes and your hands are clean before going anywhere near your eyes. Infections are dangerous.

It’s a simple vegetable to prepare to eat as well, either in a sandwich or in any salad, be it tossed, cuke and onion, cuke and tomato or any combination of green vegetables.

On a sandwich, slices with a touch of salt are great on their own. If you want something fancier, or want hors d’oeuvres, simply get French bread, slice it, and make a mixture of:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ Cup mayonnaise

1 package Italian dressing

Mix well and refrigerate, it’ll keep for weeks.

When ready, spread the mixture on the bread slices, top with a cucumber slice, perhaps sprinkle on a bit of dill and voila! Healthy hors’do’oeuvres or sandwiches.

Or, for fun, how about a Cucumber Martini? Fun to try just once!

Crush 3 slices of cucumber in a cocktail shaker, toss in 2.5 ounces vodka, ½ oz vermouth and 1 cup ice.

Shake them all together first to bring out the cucumber flavor, then shake at least 30 seconds, to be sure the ice melts a bit and picks up the taste. Garnish with another slice, or a slice of lemon.

You might gain better skin color, fewer wrinkles, restful eyes, healthy eye care and a new respect for this little green vegetable.

There are all kinds of benefits to adding beans of any kind to any diet, and black beans, which have been a stable for thousands of years, can be prepared in many ways. Also called turtle beans or frijoles negros, they’re mild, a bit sweet, and are loaded with lots of nutrients and little fat and sugar.

That makes them great for all kinds of good things for your body, but pretty outstanding for protection against AMD as well as cataracts. That’s because of all the antioxidants in beans, things like fiber, protein and carbohydrates.

They are also filled with a high amount of Vitamin C especially black beans, and that’s a vitamin that many say may slow growth in cataracts already present, or may even delay an immediate need for surgery.

At any rate, we also know that tomatoes are great for vision, and cilantro is loaded with Vitamin A. Corn has plenty of lutein and zeaxanthin as do all those other yellow and orange veggies and fruits, and both are wonderful health aids for this very important sensory organ.

So let’s combine all of them in a quick and easy to make salad that will make you think you’re in the southwest United States.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Chop a handful of cilantro, or about a .5 oz package from the market. Halve 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, and drain and rinse 2 cans of corn (15 oz size.) Mix in two of the same size two cans of black beans, and about a tablespoon of chili powder. Mi them all together and that’s it! An easy salad as a side dish or serve with some Nachos for scooping and enjoy as an appetizer or hors d’ oeuvre.

If you’re more in tune with thinking Greek, here’s another possibility for a quick salad.

Greek Salad with Cucumber

Cut 4 plum tomatoes into wedges, slice 1 cucumber in half lengthwise, cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Add 1 cup or feta cheese cut into chunks, and if you want, a 3 oz jar of capers, drained. Mix then all together, and toss with a ¼ cup Greek dressing. Sprinkle some feta on top and enjoy.

It’s important to do things that make you happy, cause you to grin a bit during the day, or just make you want to sit down and giggle out loud for a minute or two.

Aging Macula Degeneration is a disease that can just as easily cause depression and anger, if you let it, so keeping happy things a part of your life is enriching.

That being said, just for fun, try a banana split for breakfast! One that is truly good for the eyes, quick and easy to make, and should leave you with a big grin on your face!

Spite 1 banana in half lengthwise. Place on plate cut side up.

Grate an ounce of dark chocolate and sprinkle on top.

Spoon over that 3 to 4 tablespoons Greek yogurt

Sprinkle with 1 /4 cup granola or chopped walnuts. (or a mixture!)

That’s it! Eat and Grin!

If you like making your own granola bars, here’s a recipe for chewy bars that will make 24 pieces.

Chewy Granola Bars

4 Cups quick oats, uncooked

1 ½ cups walnuts

3/4 Cup butter, softened

½ cup honey

1 tsp./ vanilla

¼ tsp salt (if you must! Fine without it.)

Preheat over to 375 degrees and grease 9X13” pan.

Mix all ingredients together, pour into pan.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until browned

Cool completely before slicing and enjoying!.