For a girl that’s dating a video game lover, I’m really bad at video games. My DB grew up playing with every console and every popular video game he could get his hands on. Sure, I played my fair share of Playstation one games (Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Rayman, PaRappa the Rapper, Rampage, and Cool Boarders 2, just to name a few), but none of them were first person shooter. The games I played had bubbly characters, unlimited lives, and happy endings.
When I found out that The Walking Dead came out with a video game, I wanted to try it immediately. We’re big Walking Dead fans (heck, sign us up for anything zombie related), so naturally, playing my own story and being able to choose my own fate appealed to me. It’s one of those games where you have different situations and sayings you can choose from. Every decision you make in the game affects your storyline.
Remember those Goosebumps books? The “Reader Beware… Choose Your Own Scare!”? It’s like that, but on the television. The only difference is that you can’t cheat and read all the outcomes ahead of time before choosing which path you want to take.
I started playing The Walking Dead, but it just wasn’t the game for me. I didn’t know the Xbox controller well enough to quickly press the button when it pops on the screen. That means I couldn’t block when a zombie was lunging at my face. Let’s just say I didn’t last very long playing. Frustrated, I handed the controller back to my DB after a tough ten minutes.
Still, the storyline intrigued me. The Walking Dead has received many “game of the year” awards, so I knew it was going to be good. I watched my DB play and told him which phrases I would have chosen to say or what actions I would have done. That got too tiring, so I eventually let him play the game and I merely watched.
We’re currently on the last episode and I’m addicted. The story is so. so. good. If you don’t play video games, have someone else do the dirty work and just watch the story. It’s like being able to watch another season of The Walking Dead while it’s on break.
Pretty sure we’ll finish this final episode by tonight, but it’s okay because The Walking Dead comes back on air in a couple of weeks. There’s always a way to get your zombie fix.
Not that I’m saying zombies are a good thing. I’d be the first one dead in a zombie apocalypse. My DB, on the other hand, has trained for it pretty much his whole life. Did I ever tell you guys that when he was little, he used to shower with googles on? That way, no one could attack him when he was the most vulnerable and he could keep his eyes open the entire time. Who does that?
That’s okay, though… because until the zombie apocalypse comes, I’ll be baking my little heart away. Chocolate chip granola bars, anyone? There’s no baking required! No heat, no oven time, and no waiting in front of the oven.
These are easy to whip up and can be easily adjusted. Don’t want chocolate? Throw in some nuts. Want something healthier? Add in some flaxseeds. My DB even loved these granola bars more than the ones from the store, which is saying a lot.
If you don’t have a small jelly pan as the recipe calls for, you can use a large one and flatten them onto one half. Problem solved.
From Lauren’s Latest
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!}
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Directions
- Line a small jelly roll pan (12x8x1) with wax paper.
- In a large bowl, stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it begins to bubble. Turn the heat down to low and cook for an additional 2 minutes, constantly stirring.
- Once done, stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and gently fold until evenly coated.
- Pour the entire mixture into half of the pan, pressing down in between. You want the bars to be about 3/4 inch thick. Make sure you pack the mixture tightly on top and the sides.
- Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool to room temperature (about 2 hours) before cutting.
- To store, wrap in plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.
I love making homemade granola bars, they’re so much better than storebought and i like knowing what’s in them too! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I just made these. It was so easy to do. Im not sure if my family will eat them though. They don’t really like the taste of honey. I was hoping that when it was mixed with the other ingredients it wouldn’t be noticable, but it is. Do you think I could use aguave instead?
yes you can use agave if you like the taste of that better. whatever you use, the taste of it will be pretty strong since these aren’t baked. hope that helps!
Do they store and/ or ship well? I’m thinking of making these for our college kid care package club.
I made these today. the taste is delicious (totally kid approved) but they came apart super easily! do yours break up too? I followed the recipe to a tee and no substitutions.
mine didn’t break up, but that could be because you didn’t press them into the pan hard enough? i really flattened and squeezed them together after pouring the mixture into the pan. i also let them sit for a while before i cut them. if that still doesn’t help, try lessening the amount of honey. hope that helps!!
thank you!
Could have done without the gaming story wow ! All I wanted was the recipe lol
then you simply scroll down and get the recipe- some people (like me) enjoy reading about the gaming story.
Hi can I mold them into balls instead of bars? I wanted to make them into easy and chewable snacks for my friends 🙂
by all means!
whats the reason for using quick oats? rolled oats are much better for you? just wondering if youve tried it and just didnt like the result. i may try with regular ones 😉
no reason– that’s just what i had on hand. feel free to use rolled! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! I made them yesterday and they’re delicious. For some reason, my family’s been on a granola bar kick so these are perfect!