What I Ate Wednesday #131: White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bars {Recipe ReDux}

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on Monday’s post. As I said, I’m working on figuring out my balance with jobs and life and blogging. I had to post today to share my new protein bar recipe. It’s just too good to keep to myself. So why not jump back on the What I Ate Wednesday bandwagon?

[Pre-Workout]
It was 2 for Tuesday yesterday so rather than my usual energy bites, I whipped up a quick protein pancake with 1 scoop protein powder, 1/4 cup egg whites, and 1/4 cup cashew milk and spread a little almond butter on top. While it held me over pretty well for barre, I decided to pop 1/2 banana before I went over to the gym for some cardio.

[Breakfast]

I KNOW I said you don’t need to see another bowl of oatmeal. But this might have just been the best bowl of oatmeal ever. Or maybe I was just so hungry. Yep. Let’s go with the latter.

[Lunch]

I got the hugest bunches of kale and bag of carrots from the farmers’ market on Saturday. I sauteed a bunch of them up with some sugar snaps, turkey meatballs, and buffalo sauce, topped with avocado, quick-pickled beets, and ketchup. Legit. And so filling.

[Afternoon Snack]

HOLY YUM! I’ve been trying to figure out a good recipe to replace my favorite Quest bars and this month’s Recipe ReDux helped to inspire my bars.

Go through your pantry, cupboards, freezer, or fridge; what ‘treasures’ have you found? Pick an ingredient/spice/condiment that’s been hanging out for a while and give it the attention it needs. Share a healthy recipe made using your new-found pantry prize.

We’re pretty much the worst at ever finishing a jar of preserves so why not throw it into a bar? These are just the right amount of sweet and the best part? No baking! That said, if you do decide to broil or bake these babies, they are pretty reminiscent of a Quest bar. Success!

No-Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bars

Makes 6 bars

Ingredients
– 1/4 cup nut butter [I used Peanut Butter Co. The Bee’s Knees]
– 4 scoops vanilla protein powder [I used Optimum Nutrition]
– 1/4 cup coconut flour
– 4-6 tbsp water
– 2 tbsp white chocolate chips
– 1-2 tbsp raspberry preserves

Directions
In a medium bowl, melt the nut butter. Mix in the protein powder, coconut flour, and water. The amount of water used will depend on your other ingredients so add slowly. Mix these ingredients until everything comes together and is slightly sticky. Add in the white chocolate chips and 1 tbsp raspberry preserves.

Line a loaf pan with saran wrap and press the mixture into the pan. Top the mix with a little more raspberry preserves and place in the freezer for about an hour. Remove from the freezer and cut into 6 equal bars. Wrap each bar separately in saran wrap and store in the freezer.

Nutritional Information
Per 1 bar
208 Calories / 9g Fat / 15g Carbs / 3g Fiber / 10g Sugar / 20g Protein

[Dinner]

We can pretend that my dinner looked half as good as the real deal. In reality, I decided to not toss the balls in buffalo, skip the naan, and used cheddar instead of blue cheese. I think it would have turned out better if the falafel had been tossed in buffalo.. or if they were fried. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

[Evening Snack]
The apple and nut butter still live strong.

Don’t miss out on all of the other Recipe ReDux link ups!

Food for Thought

What treasure do you have in your pantry or fridge?

What I Ate Wednesday #101: Eat All the Food!

Have you entered my AMRAP giveaway yet?

The last couple of days for me have been some serious hungry days. You know the days when you haven’t even finished eating a meal and you’re already thinking about what you’re going to eat next? I just couldn’t get enough! In regards to getting better at the whole intuitive eating idea, I figured I should probably listen to my constant growling stomach and feed it. Makes sense, right? Good.

Pre-Workout

I love my morning bites and I like to think the coffee beans in these bites give me an extra kick 😉

Breakfast

Pretty much the same old protein oats, but I’ve decided to start stirring in the egg whites after the oats have cooked as opposed to cooking the eggs first, separately. The oats end up being creamier and fluffier.. it’s really hitting the spot these days.

Lunch #1

On the rare days that I get to sit on my butt during the day, I tend to go for a snack-style lunch. I sauteed up a jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s, loaded up on some veggies, and my new favorite eggplant hummus. The way I’ve been going through that stuff, I’m thinking it’s time I whip up my own version at home.

Lunch #2

I gave it a good 30 minutes or so before deciding I was still hungry for real. Cajun chicken and ketchup? Why not?! I’ve also been having a love affair with ketchup lately. Don’t ask.. ha!

Afternoon Snacks

I truly believe having healthy food in the house is key and when I need a little sweet treat, having a few flavors of bites in the freezer helps. Carrot cake after lunch it is!

And some homemade kombucha! I came back from Baltimore to a gallon of kombucha ready to drink and I’ve been loving it. It’s not so bubbly this time around, but hey, it’s only my first try! I bought some ginger to add to it but I’ve really been enjoying the plain flavor.

A couple hours later, the monster was back and growling again. I mixed a little Vega vanilla protein powder and cinnamon into some Greek yogurt, added a dollop of almond butter, and dug into some granola on the side. That should hold me over for another 20 minutes..

Dinner

The plan was for buffalo tenders but seeing as how I couldn’t find any good buffalo sauce, I made the quinoa crusted chicken strips and Tieghan’s new hot wing sauce. As Nathan said, if we can’t do buffalo, a good spicy Asian sauce hits the spot! I also made some spiralized baked “curly fries” for Nathan. It was a darn good dinner!

Evening Snack
The SweeTangos are out! This apple is a hybrid of Honeycrisp and Zestar; it’s always crisp and not too sweet [I find Honeycrisp to be too sweet for me]. I’m usually not a fan of anything other than Fuji but these hit the spot!

Hopefully I’ve taken care of my bottomless pit of a stomach for at least a few days!

Food for Thought

How do you deal with your bottomless pit days?

What I Ate Wednesday #98: It’s In the Bowl!

I’m afraid to say this “out loud” but I feel like I’ve gotten into a good swing with foods that are consistently keeping me satisfied and satiated. It seems every time I say I’ve figured it out, my mind plays tricks on me and I suddenly seem to be changing it up. Change is good though. One of the best and most important things I’ve learned as of late, though still working on it daily, is how to listen to my body and its cravings. Some days I very clearly need more food than others, but these main meals and snacks have really worked for me lately.

[Pre-Workout]

I like to pretend the coffee beans in these bites are giving me extra energy at the gym 😉 Really though, they’re just freaking delicious!

[Breakfast]

Egg white oats are still going strong! Clearly running low on nut butters though [what a disaster!].. I only have coconut cashew peanut butter and macadamia cashew butter right now. I just bought a ton of almonds and am trying to figure out what to make next!

[Lunch]

Packed up my usual “throw it all into a bowl” salad for lunch at work and topped it with Monday night’s leftover panko oat chicken. It was a delicious shake-n-bake kinda recipe that I’ll be sharing soon. It’s Nathan-approved and he’s a picky chicken eater 😉

[Afternoon Snack]
Unpictured creamy peanut butter ThinkThin bar.. sometimes you’re just too hungry for pictures!

[Dinner]

This sloppy joe bowl ended up being a hit on Instagram! I love when people ask for a recipe that’s just basically the contents of my fridge ha! I did actually plan this out, but it would work with whatever veggies you have. Mind included carrots, bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and mushrooms. I also added lots of garlic, 1 lb ground turkey, and a combo of apricot bbq sauce and Trader Joe’s all natural bbq sauce.

Underneath all of that goodness is was grilled corn salad with more bell pepper, tomato, and jalapeno. Topped it off with avocado and spicy gouda cheese and I was good to go! This isn’t exactly what you think of for a summer dinner but let’s be real here, the bay area isn’t exactly known for its hot summers.

[Evening Snack]

Love ending my nights with a nice crispy, crunchy apple and a super chocolatey bite!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite snack? Healthy or otherwise 😉

What I Ate Wednesday #95: Killer Sweet Tooth

Don’t forget to enter my Swanson Vitamins giveaway!

It’s all in the title. I’m telling you, my sweet tooth has been out of control lately. Especially at night!

Breakfast

The usual. Oatmeal, egg whites, banana, nut butters, coffee. It’s pretty much heaven.

Lunch

My lunch spread. On the floor of the break room at work haha. I mixed up some tuna with apricot bbq sauce and kefir to spread on a rice cake and had some leftover bbq mix for veggie dipping. It was delish.

Afternoon Snack

I came home to a box of Cookies & Cream Quest Bars [from my Swanson order.. don’t forget to enter the giveaway!] so obviously I popped one in the oven right away. Holy moly I forgot how good these things are!

Dinner

Another new take on the baked turkey meatballs with zucchini noodles, no-cook tomato sauce, and freshly shredded parm. It was SO good! I used half turkey italian sausage and half regular ground turkey for extra flavor. This version is a keeper, for sure!

Let the dessert games begin!

Up first, a fig with almond butter. Because everything is better with nut butter!

Followed by a bunch of peaches and plums.

And finished off with salted caramel brownie brittle with peanut butter. No time for pictures of this.. just eating. It’s too delicious! But who am I to turn down chocolate, peanut butter, and salted caramel? I mean, really! I’m actually glad that the bag of brownie brittle is almost gone so I can control myself again! Ha!

Food for Thought

What food is your biggest weakness?

What I Ate Wednesday #94: Can’t Stop Me Now

Because if you’re hungry, eat! Ironically enough, I wasn’t all that hungry throughout the day but when the sun set, it was all I could do to keep my hands off of more food!

Breakfast

A normal start to the day. The best protein-packed oatmeal and nut butters. Also, homemade cold-brewed coffee is too easy. Do it.

Lunch

Use your imagination.. this was really my salad from yesterday but Monday’s salad was pretty close. Tuna has been my bff lately, it’s just so easy to throw on a salad when I’m running around like a nut. Which is most days right now! I also had a few Rosemary Black Pepper almonds. Because they’re amazing.

Afternoon Snack

I’m usually starving by the time I get off of work, but Monday I was just feeling something light. I just bought some kefir to try out and while I’m not a huge fan of it on its own, I do like going half and half with some greek yogurt. Of course I added some peanut flour to make a little PB&J parfait.

Dinner

Love love love this feta chicken recipe! I’d highly recommend it but definitely go for the fresh rosemary over dried; I’ve done both and fresh really makes it pop.

Evening Snack[s]
Let the games begin! I started with a couple little pieces of pineapple and an apple. And then…..

..a cinnamon toast rice cake with peanut butter. Eaten just like this.. standing in the kitchen, broken into pieces. Because that’s normal.

And because 2 snacks just didn’t suffice..

..this stuff is delicious! And it finally filled me up. Success!

I always try to practice what I preach. Even though I wasn’t very hungry throughout the day, my body was clearly telling me I didn’t eat enough and it caught up to me by the end of the night. So just because it was after 10 pm [GASP!], I continued to eat healthy snacks until I was comfortably full. Going to bed hungry is the worst!

Don’t forget to enter my Bob’s Red Mill giveaway?

Food for Thought

Do you have a cut-off time for when you stop eating each night?

A Weekend in Instagram

Happy birthday, Mom!!

She’s a party animal 😉

Soon enough, my parents will be out here visiting us and we’ll be having just as much fun, right? 😉

This past weekend was nutso! Our furniture was delivered early Friday afternoon and after spending a full 2 days of unpacking, I still decided it was a good idea to go run the Hot Chocolate 5K. Obviously I’m glad I did though! So for you, I have lots of pictures to recap an otherwise uneventful weekend.

Started my weekend with a large almond milk latte. READY TO UNPACK!

Obviously the first beer we bought in California had to be the first beer we drank in our new place!

Salmon melt on ACME bread at The Bureau 510. Had to refuel big time after a long day!

Breakfast of Champions from Liba Falafel at the farmers’ market. There’s a poached egg in there.. and the rosemary peanuts and brussels slaw were ridiculous.

I was entirely too excited to finally get some dino kale from the farmers’ market. And this salad was crazy good! I missed my big bowls.

Spicy Pork Bibimbop, no rice, extra veg at Spoon. Definitely getting it this way every time.

Oh, you don’t eat oatmeal in your car before a race?

FINISHER! Time to eat entirely too much sugar. Worth it. It was no PR, but having not run in a few weeks, I’ll take a sub-25 min 5K.

Love meeting up with the SF Tone It Up girls! Great run yesterday 🙂

Ingested 100 lbs of sugar? Let’s have some veggies for lunch..

At this point, we’re almost totally unpacked and trying to make everything fit. If you have any creative storage tips, PLEASE share! I’ve been Pinterest-ing like a mad woman and am always open to more suggestions.

Food for Thought

Have you ever run a Hot Chocolate race?
What are your favorite creative storage tips?

Riding Out the Storm

It’s National Oatmeal Day and other than a snow storm, I don’t think there’s better weather to celebrate! Welcome, Sandy!

If you’re a North Eastern-er, grab yourself a nice hot cup of coffee (or tea), a big bowl of oatmeal, and hunker down. Speaking of hunkering down, I think I’ve heard the newscasters say that approximately 10 times in the last hour. Sounds like a drinking game if I’ve ever heard one..

A few of my favorite go-to oatmeal recipes are below. Not only are they super filling, they’re also chock full of protein (about 20g per bowl!) which makes them a great pre- or post-workout meal.

Chocolate Protein Oats

Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

And what else is there to do when you’re stuck inside all day but cook and bake? I did plenty of that yesterday for my Barr Bites clients so I wanted to share a few recipes that I’ve made recently that would be great for a rainy day.. or week.

Baked Pasta with Sausage & Spinach via SkinnyTaste.com

This is a new recipe for this week’s menu, but with tons of leftovers, I’ve been able to taste it and can confirm that it’s fantastic! I love Gina’s recipes; they’re delicious and healthy and are always sure to be crowd pleasers.

Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side via SkinnyTaste.com

The Cajun Chicken Pasta is a recipe I’ve been making for a while now. It’s a big hit in my house and I was so excited when it went over just as well for Barr Bites.

Mayan Harvest Bake via Eating Bird Food

Finally, another deliciously comforting dish that was a big hit was Brittany’s copycat version of Kashi’s Mayan Harvest Bake. Having these hearty vegetables over top of a bulgar wheat and quinoa combo makes it a great stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal without being too heavy. I’ll definitely be making this one for myself soon!

Food for Thought

Are you stuck inside as Sandy passes? What are you doing to pass the time?

Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

Lately I’ve been noticing one or two pumpkin recipes popping up on Pinterest. And by one or two, I mean approximately 500. I guess that means fall is here so I’ll just on the bandwagon and embrace the delicious pumpkin-ness that is happening all around me.

Of course, one of my favorite pumpkin treats is the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, though I have yet to get one this season as this is the first week out of the 90° temps yet! But when I saw a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte oatmeal, I knew I had to try it because, as clearly stated in my last post, I’m oatmeal obsessed.

I put my own spin on the recipe and made it into a protein oatmeal, known, from here on out, as proatmeal. Learn it. Love it. Eat it.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

Serves 1
Adapted from The Oatmeal Artist

Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I use Almond Breeze)
1/2 banana, mashed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup oatmeal (I use Coach’s Oats)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Optional Toppings
Sliced almonds
Walnuts
Nut butter (Earth Balance Chunky Coconut Peanut Spread is my favorite!)
Cinnamon
Pumpkin pie spice

Directions
Scramble your 3 egg whites over medium-high heat and put into a bowl off to the side. Add your coffee, almond milk, mashed banana, cinnamon, and oatmeal to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the oats have absorbed almost all of the liquid.

Once your oats are at that point, add the egg whites back in, along with the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix everything to combine and let the oats finish cooking to your desired thickness.

Top with your favorite add-ins and enjoy!

Nutritional Stats
Per serving

316 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  50g Carbs  /  11g Fiber  /  10g Sugar  /  20g Protein

Foodie Friday Fun!

Foodie Friday is my way of sharing some of my favorite recipes from the week for those of you that want to try them out over the weekend and I want you to share yours too! Post your favorite recipe that you made this week and share it with me! Click the link below to add yours.