Home Made Protein Bars!

We were out grocery shopping a couple weeks ago and picked up some protein bars to try.  These were one of the healthier bars on the market with no soy!  The downside was they were expensive at almost $3.00 per bar.  So we thought "We can make these!"  It took some trial and error but I think we hit on a recipe that is pretty good!  This recipe will make about 6 bars.  You can double or triple the recipe but I found that if you do you will need to adjust the "wet" ingredients a little by adding a touch more.  Here it is!

In one bowl mix the dry ingredients:

1/2 cup Oat Flour

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1/3 cup Xylitol Sweetener

Dash of Cinnamon

1/2 cup Chocolate Protein Whey

1/8th cup Cocoa

1/4 cup crushed Almonds

In another bowl add:

1/4 cup Organic Peanut Butter

1/8th cup Almond Milk

1/8th cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Put the wet ingredients in the microwave for appox 40 seconds, then wire wisk it until you have a good consistency.

Now add this mixture to the dry ingredients.  At first it's sticky and you will think it's too dry.  Don't add anymore liquid at this time!  Keep working it (I use my hand ) until it get solid and thick.  If it is still crumbly and not sticking together simply wet your hand a little and keep kneading the batter.  Don't add liquid directly to the bowl or it will get too wet.  When it's mixed and solid put on wax paper sprayed with cooking spray and flatten out to about a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.  Set in Refrigerator for about 30 min or so until firm.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

Turkey Chili

Looking for a healthy chili recipe?  Here it is!  

1 Lb. Ground turkey (93/7 lean)

3 – 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes (no salt added preferable)

1 yellow sweet pepper (diced)

1 sweet onion 3 in diameter (diced)

1/8^th cup chili powder - or to taste

¼ cup oregano – or to taste

¼ cup Basil – or to taste

1clove garlic or to taste

Brown the ground turkey in a pan.  In a blender, put the 3 cans of the diced tomatoes in and hit the pulse or ice chop button to just chop them a little more.  I don’t fully “puree” them.  Put tomatoes into pan with turkey.  Add sweet pepper, onion, oregano, basil, Chili powder, and garlic.  Cook with top on for about 15 minutes.  Take top off and cook down for another 5 to 10 minutes or until chili looks like it’s the right consistency. 

Top with a low fat type cheese like mozzarella, or parmesan.

Makes approx 6 cups of chili (about 4 servings)

Nutrition Per serving:

Calories:  350

Total Fat: 9.2gr    (Sat Fat: 2.5gr)

Protein: 27.4gr

Carbs: 35.4gr   (Dietary Fiber 3.4gr)

Protein Packed Pancakes!

Here's a GREAT recipe for some pancakes we came up with that are healthy too!  Here's what you will need:

2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup quick oats
1 1/2 scoops (45gr) of vanilla or unflavored Whey protein
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs cinnamon (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp stevia
1 tsp baking powder

Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat.  In a blender add the oats and chop them up until they are close to a powder in consistency.  Add eggs, whey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, stevia, olive oil baking powder.  If the consistency is too thick you can thin it with a little water or skim milk until it's pour-able.  Pour onto pan in 4 to 5 inch diameter size and cook.  Makes about eight 4 to 5 inch pancakes.  Finish off with some spray butter, sugar free syrup or better yet...add some berries or bananas on top!

Nutrition breakdown is as follows per pancake:

Calories: 95
Fat: 3.7gr
Sat Fat:  .75gr
Poly Fat:  .6gr
Mono Fat:  2gr
Carbs:  7.1gr
Fiber: 1gr
Protein:  8.4gr

Macronutrients?

What are "Macronutrients" and how do they play a role in our daily diet?  Well, simply put, macronutrients are the nutrients that provide our calories and energy.  The three primary macronutrients we all know and consume daily are proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  Now, how much of each are a good or bad thing?  That depends?  What are your goals?  Do you need to lose weight?  Do you need to build muscle?  Are you training for a marathon and so on.  After determining how many calories you need to consume in a day based on your activity level (see "Calculate the calories you need per day" link to the right under links ) you need the then decide what your goals are and adjust your macronutrients accordingly.

As an example, We try to always keep out fat to below 20% of our daily intake throughout the year.  The fat we consume is what many consider "good fats" like what you get from flaxseed, almonds lean chicken, fish and turkey.  In the summer, when we are doing triathlons and running events, we tend to "up" our carbohydrates a little, especially the week prior to an event.  The Carbohydrates we eat are of the "complex type" like whole wheat pasta, wild rice, and whole oats in addition to the large quantities of vegetables and fruit we eat.  In the cooler months when we are in the gym more we tend to up our protein intake to help muscle building and recovery.  Greek yogurt, chicken, tuna, fat free cottage cheese and protein whey hakes are some of the better sources of protein that we consume a lot of.

Here's a sample of what I eat on a daily basis.

Meal one - 1/2 oats with flaxseed and 7 egg whites

Meal two - 1 cup fat free yogurt and 1/4 cup almonds

Meal three - 1/2 cup oats with 1 scoop of egg protein powder mixed in (equals about 6 to 7 egg whites)

Meal four - 1 can of tuna with 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, 1/2 cup wild rice and 1 cup broccoli

Apple or banana during workout

Post workout Protein whey shake

Meal five - 5 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup wild rice, spinach salad or 1 cup broccoli

Meal 6 - 1 cup yogurt with some blueberries

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese right before bed

Now, not saying you should do what I do, but this is what is working for us (Ann is consuming similar food except just a little less of it to keep her calories lower ).  Play around and have fun with your meals and be sure to enter what you eat into fitfday.com or a similar type site to keep track of how much fat, carbs and protein you are consuming each day!

Chris