My slightly healthy tweaked Mars Bar Slice Recipe

For those of you who like a piece of Mars Bar slice every now and then, here's a new version. The benefits of this recipe are two-fold (actually, if you were to list the benefits of this recipe you could be here all day long, but I'm highlighting two.) Firstly, portion control and secondly, added fibre.

I have reduced your standard recipe down to it's lowest common denominator - a single Mars Bar. If you just pick up one Mars Bar at the corner store, you can make enough for six (approx 100 calorie) portions in a loaf tin. Alternatively, use patty pans and scoop out enough to fill six.

Traditionally Mars Bar slice is made with rice bubbles, or the Nigella version is made with corn flakes. Neither of these breakfast cereals contain any fibre. By switching Sultana Bran with either of those, I have introduced 1 gram of fibre per serve. It doesn't sound like much,.... but compare it to your average morning tea sweet treat - cake, biscuits, crackers, none of them really have much fibre. So try this recipe. It's lightning fast and eases some of the guilt of similar snacky treats.

Ingredients:
1 Mars Bar (50-60 gram) roughly chopped
30 grams (1.5 tablespoons) butter (salted or unsalted according to preference, I like the salt.)
45 grams Sultana Bran

Slowly melt butter and chopped mars bar in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir regularly and DO NOT leave unattended. When the mars bar has completely melted and no lumps remain, add sultana bran and stir quickly until combined. Spread mixture over a greased loaf tin and refrigerate. Slice will be set in about 30 minutes.

To achieve the following nutritional quantities, cut mixture into 6 portions. For a nice presentation, cut slice into six (or more) portions after 5 - 10 minutes in the fridge, before the slice has set completely. If you don't, the bars will crumble and shatter as you attempt to slice them neatly. If you're making this for a 'do', perhaps the patty pan option is slightly more attractive. You could certainly spread the mix across 8 or 10 pans, I just calculated the nutritional information on six portions.

Per Serve:

Kilojoules = 449 (107 calories)
Fat = 6 grams (50% unsaturated)
Carbs = 11.8 grams
Fibre = 1 gram
Protein = 1.4 gram

I was inspired to do this after watching Oprah's episode on tweaking kids food so that they receive some invisible nutrition throughout their day. Refer to Jessica Seinfeld's book "Deceptively Delicious".

I can just imagine Gracey telling me "Mummy have invisible nutrition too!"

PS: This was a hit with toddler, husband and in-laws. All was demolished in one sitting. Delish. Reminds me of a soft caramelly flapjack. It has the chewiness of oat-based flapjacks without all the hard work.

Surprised? I am.

Thanks for asking. My first art class today went really well.

I surprised myself with how well my first few sketches came out. I think I've spent my entire life telling myself I couldn't draw. You know, 'I'm the writer, I can't draw' or 'My sister's the artist in the family, not me' etc etc. Imagine my surprise when I was able to translate a photo I took of a beautifully gnarled hibiscus bush with a gorgeous soft flower and bud nestled amongst deep green leaves and sparse dead branches into a recognisable detailed pencil sketch. Stay tuned for the colour version. It's one that I plan to develop into a painting on canvas. I'm not in a major rush to do that though. I want to spend a few weeks learning stuff and practising on paper before I buy a canvas.

It's a funny laid-back kind of art class. Every one just works on projects and Shane, the art teacher, helps them with constructive advice and suggestions on what technique or material would be best in their projects. Shane also presents lessons for part of the session.

Today's lesson was on colour temperature and colour blending. It was great to learn and, apart from anything else, handy to learn before I dish out $$$ on paints. Knowing how to mix true secondary colours may be a cost saver because you can spend more money on better quality primary colours instead. It's not all the paint required, but I learned that a good starting point is 3 warm primaries and 3 cool primaries. I'm really looking forward to getting paint on paper, but for now I'll enjoy doing pencil sketches and surprising myself.

What is Grace?

"Grace is that most marvelous, multifaceted gemstone that sparkles, glitters, and radiates the love of God in our lives. Grace -- the favor of God by which He blesses sinful human beings -- is given according to the measure of Christ's gift (the measure of infinite love for undeserving people)."

From WordTruth.com's online sermon "God's Church is Growing Up".

I think about this every single time I say my daughter's name. She might have an "ey" on the end from time to time,.... I am Australian, after all, but it is still Grace that I say a hundred times a day. God showed us great favour. I feel like one of the most blessed women in the world because He heard my cry, He gave me a precious promise to hold on to and then He worked miracles and tip-toed a fine line between life and death to bless us with Grace.

I feel sorry for people who say there is no God because I have looked Jesus in the face as he lifted me up off the doctor's table. I remember thinking that I wasn't scared at all, but I probably should be.

Duh! Who'd be scared when Jesus is beside you reminding you to hold on.

Sparkling, glittering, multi-faceted indeed,....

Freakin' technology!

At 35, I'm too old to keep learning knew tricks. I know, I know, once upon a time I used to be able to do so much with technology. I could pre-program my parents' VCR. I could use command lines in DOS and UNIX. I was an expert in Word Perfect 5.1 and could program macros in Lotus 123. But those days are long gone, my friend.

I swear, if I have to learn how to use another mobile phone I will scream! These days, I have more of a make do approach to technology. I learn the bare minimum to do the bare necessities. I answer calls, send txt, save numbers in the contacts book.

Imagine my dismay last night when I tried to work out Face Book. At first I thought it wouldn't let me see anyone's profile unless I had in them in my profile as friends. But then, to my surprise, I was able to see my friend Phil's profile before inviting him as a friend. So, that theory was thrown out. Then, I realised that you can specify your own privacy setting so some people probably allow all to see their profile, while others only allow 'friends'. So I'm learning.

Then, I had a "Teachers" moment. I'm friendless. [sigh] Andrew Lincoln plays a grade 11 school teacher who confiscates a mobile phone from a student. During his cigarette break he flicks through the contacts in the phone and is horrified to learn that this student has more than a hundred phone numbers. Being overly melodramatic (as only Teachers can) he compares this student's life to his own. Andrew has 25 numbers in his phone, subtract two for people with mobile and landline numbers in there, subtract one for Mr Tandoori and you're left with a pretty lame guy with no life.

[This post has been interrupted to push my nose up against the glass on the back door. As I squish my nose to the glass, I get an outside glass kiss from Grace. Oh yes, that's right. I'm a mummy now. I get to fill my phone contacts up with other mummy's numbers from playgroup. I get to watch/ignore Maisy mouse 26 times a day. sigh. As you were....]

So my point? Hurry up and make friends with me so this technology doesn't continue to make me feel lame and uncool - as much as we know it's true.

PS: I seriously considered being like one of the cool people and putting an image on my profile that doesn't look like me/doesn't contain me at all. But, in the end, the whole reason I'm attracted to Facebook is the chance to catch up with some special people that I haven't seen or heard from in years. If I don't put my face on my profile, considering my name has changed, they won't know it's me. Wouldn't that be a shame?

BTW: I managed to work out how to feed my blog via Facebook so you read this via www.annaharris.com or my Facebook profile. Cooleo.

My first Christmas without Nanna

I have to grow up this year.
I have to be strong and independent.
My Nanna is gone,
I lost her this year.
I said "Goodbye" as my male cousins and uncles
carried her down the aisle
of Kyogle Presbyterian Church
and away into eternity with Jesus.

Hallelujah.
I know she is well cared for there,
and loved beyond measure.

But if she were here today,
I'd hold her hand,
even though I'm all grown up.
I'd hold her hand
like she held mine
on my wedding day when she
wanted to remind me that she cared.


I'd try not to waste time
apologising for all those times
when I wasn't around.
I'd remind her of all the wonderful
things she baked in her kitchen,
the stilted songs I played
on her Hammond organ,
the nude watercolour my Grandad painted
that hangs behind the door,
her little Jack Russell Terrier,
the only dog on the farm allowed indoors,...

And I'd tell her stories of our Gracey,
her miraculous great-granddaughter
who makes our days joyful
and our sun shine.
I imagine meeting my Nanna
as a little bundle of joy.
I'm sure my mum was proud
to show me off.
I'm sure Nanna was too.

I can only imagine her joy
as she tucked that pink teddy bear
into my crib,
stroked my bubble-gum cheek,
so fragile and perfect.
I'm sure she gave me her finger
with lovely long nail
and I gripped it tightly,
as only a baby can
until my knuckles were white.

If Nan was here today,
I'd hold her hand.

As good as my writing gets,...

Over the past few months I have been writing articles on Helium. One article I wrote addressed the topic "Is it okay for a woman to shave her face?" For some reason, that topic brought out all the pain and angst of 20 years of PCOS. All the pain and frustration of having to shave my face only moments before Grace was born came rushing back. If you read nothing else I have ever written, please read this article?.

I poured my heart and soul into it. It used to be ranked number 1 on the topic. I can't understand how two short sweet soul-less articles managed to outrank me. One day soon I'll try and leapfrog them,... but in my heart I know that I couldn't do any better than I already have. This is as good as my writing gets,...

[sigh]

Inability to focus = a blurry life

My lack of focus is particularly frustrating lately. I have always flitted from one thing to another in life, Scott will attest to that. But, frankly, I would really love to get one thing right and stick to it and focus on it and make it work. Writing is that one thing and I know it. I always come back to it over and over again,... it's just I get bored with it and find myself attracted to other things. Big projects are too much for me, they're daunting, overwhelming,... that's why I adore writing greeting cards. They're short, sweet, sentimental and pretty - unlike me,... my height is decidedly average and I don't look anywhere as cute as a greeting card,... the only day anyone could ever have accused me of looking pretty was my wedding day and that was because I had a team of stylists 'working on my look'.

[sigh]

I do qualify on the sweet and sentimental aspects, though. When I studied floristry (many moons ago) everyone in the class could always pick my arrangements out of a roomful because mine would be the one with the bow in it. For some reason I could never arrange flowers without placing a bow in there somewhere, just as I can never give a gift without tying it in ribbon. If there's no card, it's naked. These are just standards I place on myself,... I have never expected this from others.

I got on this computer today wanting to pour my heart out and sort out my thoughts. Unfortunately, I'm back to the struggle I have every time I write at the computer and not by hand,.... I get stuck sitting staring at the screen. My ideas come out stilted and awkward. There is no flow. Frankly, the flow is the one thing I love about writing. I find myself sitting there, my breathing slow and relaxed, my mind a thousand miles away, composing words of beauty while my hand and my critical left brain are busy forming letters on the page. It's a strategy to engage the critic, to distract it,.... but typing on the computer doesn't do it for me. For a start, I type fast enough to keep up with most of my thoughts, so my critic doesn't need to sit there telling me to dot my i's and lower case j's. So it interferes with my thought processes and I might as well be standing in front of my grade nine classroom naked, citing Shakespeare and shaking like jelly. This is not the literary escapism I fell in love with about that same time. Ugh.

I'm going to rant to my notebook. If you're lucky you'll read a polished edit of it one day,... but then again, maybe not.

[sigh]

Stupid computer.