Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

March 14, 2013 By Laura

There is a saying I’m sure you’ve heard: “Never trust a skinny cook.”

I must call BS. Look at Giada – she resembles a bobble head and she makes a killer cheesecake!

Despite my best efforts, I’m probably not the largest cook around. But you can trust me. If you don’t trust me, you can certainly trust Lauren and Alicia, who both trusted my Spaghetti Squash Pie this week:

I’m especially excited to make a Mexican version of this one. I bought all of the stuff, but then went for Indian food last night. Whoops! It was tasty though. Maybe I should make a curry version…

In case you’re wondering what spaghetti pie has to do with the title of this post… well, I forgot… Skinny cooks… trusting me… tasty healthy oatmeal bars! Ok, I’m back with you.

Today’s Oatmeal Cookie Bars started out as cookies, hence the name. Months ago my trainer requested a protein oatmeal cookie. Unfortunately, the hard part about baking with protein powder is that is make the batter quite thin unless you add a lot of flour, which make them really high in carbs. This lesson presented itself to me ~~again~~ as I went to scoop my batter onto the baking sheet. Souper-runny.

No matter, that’s why I bought a bar baking pan. If you don’t have a bar pan a muffin tin will work just fine, or you can make one big cookie cake!

I added a little more flour, mixed the thing up again, and poured it into the pan. And by some pope-tacular miracle of God, it worked. And it was good.

These aren’t overly sweet, which was my goal. It is a deep oatmeal and cinnamon flavored bar, with bites of earthy chocolate from the carob chips.

Despite wanting cookies, I appreciated the moist, cake-like quality of these bars. It worked well with the oatmeal texture and at just 128 calories, you can slather a generous amount of nut butter on top of a warm bar as “icing.”

Not that I’ve been doing that. 😉

Pre-workout snack

The best part came when I took the fresh batch to the gym. Lee Haney (8x Mr. Olympia!) was there finishiing up a session and he took a bar to try… and he said they were DELICIOUS! I die.

In conclusion: If you don’t trust this cook, trust an 8x Mr Olympia and try these. 😉

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bars

1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter or Earth Balance, softened
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
2/3 C tagatose (or other sweetener)
1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water), or 1 regular egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp brown sugar extract (optional)
1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C protein powder (I used 1.5 scoops of Designer Whey White Chocolate)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C Scottish oats
1/4 C carob chips (or chocolate chips)
1/2 C walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, applesauce, sugar, egg, and extracts until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, protein powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, carob chips, and walnuts.

Scoop batter onto grease square tine (or muffin tin). Bake them for 10-12 mins, until golden. Let sit on baking sheet for ~5 mins before transferring to a rack to cool.

Makes 12 bars.

Approximate nutrition: 128 calories, 6.6g fat, 14.3g carbohydrates, 2.7g fiber, 2.2g sugar, 6.8g protein.

Note: These can easily be made vegan by using a vegan protein powder.

***

I am especially grateful to Lauren and Alicia because they gave me a pie to post about on Pi Day! 😉

Are you celebrating Pi Day?

Skinny cooks. Can you trust ’em?

2012’s Popularity Contest + WIAW

January 2, 2013 By Laura

2012 was a great year for discoveries.

I can’t believe I survived without some of these things before.

I feel like I’ve gotten to know so many inspiring people (like YOU). Becoming a member of the FitFluential community has been a huge game changer. The members of that community are constant sources of motivation and positive energy. I’ve discovered new blog, learned a lot, and been able to learn about new products (shameless plug: perfect example is my Polar HRM from h.h. gregg – check out the review/giveaway here).

Another amazing discovery was Instagram. It’s unbelievable how much it’s changed the way we interact. I love that when I can’t decide what to eat, I can just scroll through my feed. It has been a fun way to have conversations with people throughout the day! It’s basically Twitter with pictures and open comment threads! I also love seeing recipes people are interesting in. I forget that just because I make a certain snack every week doesn’t mean everyone else does!

I also have to give a holla to my morning cocktail. Apple Cider vinegar became an addiction in 2012. I drink it every morning with my Fitmixer Aminos (fruit punch flavor). It is delicious and has totally replaced my need for coffee in the morning. Love. It.

One last love. Peanut flour. I cannot imagine my life without it. I use it in savory sauces, smoothies, PB & Jegg-like creations, Elvis French Toast… to quote the Texas Pete lady: “I put that shit on everything.” You can order it online through iHerb.com. Use code USO924 to get $5 off your order!

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This popularity contest is my first WIAW post of 2013… What I Ate in 2012! Below are the Top 10 Sprint 2 the Table posts of 2012 (based on page views). Click on titles to link to the recipe.

Check out the Top 10 below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how other started out their 2013.

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Most Poplar Recipes of 2012

1. Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These take the prize for my favorite veggie sneak. If you tasted these, you would have NO idea they have zucchini. OR that they are basically sugar-free.

2. Banana Creme Brownie Parfait

What’s better than brownies? Brownies with (healthy) icing.

3. Raspberry Baked Oatmeal To-Go

Seeing this recipe pop up in the top 10 made me realize I’ve been making new versions and not sharing. I’ve share a new twist on this soon! I always have a few in the freezer for quick breakfast or snack.

4. Peanut Butter & Jeggs

I would like to vote this my favorite invention – and worst pic – of 2012!

5. 150 Calorie Chocolate Protein Cake

I’m actually eating one as I draft this post. This cake is my most repeated dish of 2012!

6. Vegan Goat Cheese Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

I made these for a French-themed book club while I was eating vegan. The meat-eating crowd ate them with no problems!

7. Chewy Granola Cookies

Otherwise known as “the ones that mom likes.” She requests them. 🙂

8. Sprouting Chickpeas

It shocked me to learn how easy sprouting is!

9. PB & Aggs (Peanut Butter and Apple-Eggs) and Carrot Cake Protein Batter

I don’t know which of these made this post popular… but I eat both ~~almost~~ weekly.

10. Basic Protein Shake Recipe and Protein Powder Review

This is one of my favorites because it’s the post where I announced I was training for my first figure competition!

***

I’m so excited to start Junk-Free January! My sister came over for dinner last night, and we enjoyed a tasty kombucha cocktail over out collards and black-eyed peas.

What was your favorite recipe last year?

Did you have any group/social platform discoveries on 2012?

Strange But Good Holidays

December 28, 2012 By Laura

Christmas Eve traditions are special.

That doesn’t mean the tradition can’t be #strangebutgood!

Every year we have family friends over for desserts and drinks after dinner. And every year I make a different dessert and drink.

Exhibit 1:

In my version of heaven, cookies have the nutritional merits of spinach. My German Chocolate Chip Cookies do not qualify as spinach, but they do have a few redeeming qualities. I’m declaring these #strangebutgood because they are a cake-turned-cookie, and it’s a little strange for a holiday cake-cookie to be sort-of healthy.

The most important lesson I have learned when you are trying to make a dessert a little healthier is not to go too far. You’ll see here that while I made some subs, I still left some “real” flour and sugar in. This is important if you’re going to be sharing with people who aren’t used to eating like a blogger.

The healthier subs were spelt flour and NuNaturals’ new Tagatose sweetener as a sugar alternative for some of the sweet. The most important redeeming quality is that they taste delicious… which they were.

Like the cake, these cookies are a combination of chocolate and coconut. I loved the chewy bits of coconut against the melt-y chocolate chips. That with the crunch from the nuts made the texture in this cookie fantastic. I used macadamia nuts because they are my mom’s favorite, but almonds or cashews would go well here too.

My healthy changes went undetected. In fact, I never told anyone they are healthy-ish. Don’t be afraid to sneak a little #strangebutgood healthiness into your cookies!

German Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C butter, softened
1 C packed dark brown sugar
1/2 C NuNaturals Presweet Tagatose
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
2 eggs
1 C flour
3/4 C spelt flour
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 T cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C chopped macadamia nuts
1.5 C unsweetened coconut flakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into the butter mixture, until fully incorporated.

Fold in chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut.

Spoon batter on to parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 mins.

Exhibit 2:

As much as I like to try new things, my favorite cocktail is a classic Manhattan. It’s one of the oldest cocktails. It’s a simple mix of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters. With a marinated cherry (don’t forget – it’s the best part!). With my favorite drink in mind, this year I created Christmas in Manhattan.

A week before Christmas Eve, I poured a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon into an empty ACV bottle (typical blogger…) and added 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 cups of fresh cranberries, sliced in half. I took another 1/2 C of the cranberries, stabbed a hole in them, and covered them with Gran Marnier. Both mixtures were then stored in a cool place for the week.

What resulted on Christmas Eve was a cinnamon-laced, festive, #strangebutgood interpretation of my favorite classic.

Christmas in Manhattan

2 oz. Cranberry-Cinnamon infused bourbon
1 oz. Domaine De Canton (ginger liqueur)
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
3-4 drops orange bitters
Gran Marnier-soaked cranberry, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker add all ingredients and shake vigorously.

Pour into a martini glass (or short glass). Add a Gran Marnier-soaked cranberry for garnish and serve.

Makes 1 drink.

Note: I like this drink straight up, but you could add a splash of water or serve over ice if you prefer.

Want to Join?

All you need to do to join this link up is create a concoction that is Strange But Good, post it with the Strange But Good logo, and link up to your recipe. (See below for code.) In the Strange But Good post each week, you’ll see a link to add your own recipe and picture at the bottom of the page. I’d prefer you use a new strange but good dish, but if you realllly have a good previous one you can add it.

Not a blogger? You can play too! Send me an email with a picture of your food and a brief description by noon on Thursday and I’ll include it in Friday’s post (too late this week, obv… but next week it’s on!).

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instragrams of your creations. 🙂

***

This is the last dessert or drink thing I post for a while. I swear.

Do your families/friends mind if you make a healthier versions of foods?

What are some of your tricks for lightening up recipes?

Brandied Baked French Toast

December 26, 2012 By Laura

What didn’t I eat Wednesday may be a more appropriate title.

I may have over-done it on the sweets…

Do you look forward to the holidays being over? After I left my mom’s last night, I was sad to be going home alone, but at the same time a little relieved to get back into a normal routine.

I do hate leaving this beautiful scene though!

Today I was going to take another “break” from blogging. Then I realized a) I don’t really have anything else to do and b) this would be a fun way to shock myself into going cold turkey on the sugar. I didn’t get pictures of it all, and we slept in so it is kind of a random slew of snack rather than meals. You’ve been warned.

We didn’t totally fail at Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme this month… but it could have been ~~better~~ less sugar-filled:

Check out my Christmas eats, and then be sure to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons and see what everyone else ate on this most wonderful day of the year!

Meal 1:

I didn’t have Fitmixer Aminos at my mom’s, but I did have my ACV and water first thing

Christmas Eve I prepared an overnight baked french toast to be ready to pop in the oven Christmas morning (almost afternoon… we didn’t eat until 11a). We open presents while it baked. Before the toast, we started out with a Christmas tradition: mimosas!

The french toast was served with an easy cranberry sauce. I soaked fresh cranberries in Gran Mariner (orange liqueur), and placed it all in a small sauce pan with some vanilla liquid stevia and cinnamon. I let that simmer on low heat while we opened presents, adding a little water as needed.

The Brandied Baked French Toast recipe is below. It will look like it has a lot of booze in it, but it really isn’t strong once you bake it. Most of the booze cooks out. I tried to keep it a little lighter using unsweetened almond milk rather than a traditional cream or whole milk. Making that simple change save a lot on calories and fat, but you don’t loose any flavor. This resulted in a flavorful, surprisingly light, fluffy French toast… it may have to happen once more on New Years Day.

Also on our breakfast table was French-pressed coffee, ambrosia (my mom and sister’s favorite… I passed), and fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto.

Meal 2:

Popcorn. We devoured a bag of Smart Food’s Parmesan & Herb Popcorn while watching Elf.

I grazed some more on almonds, random sweets, an extra bite (or 5) of breakfast… but we really enjoyed sea salt-breadcrumb dark chocolate by Chuao that Santa brought me:

Meal 3:

I don’t know if this counts as a meal… but we snacked on more prosciutto with Trader Joes’ Raisin Rosemary Crisps (like the Raincoat crisps sold at WF, but much cheaper), cream cheese with strawberry-champagne jam, hummus, carrots, and celery while dinner cooked. With a pear cider cocktail (pear cider + brandy, ginger liqueur, and lime juice).

Meal 4:

This meal was probably unnecessary after all of that. In my family, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas brunch are a bigger deal than Christmas night, so we didn’t do anything too fancy.

I kept my plate small, but everything was delicious. We made a quick salad, wild rice with pomegranate and kale, roasted sweet potatoes, and grilled lamb chops. All drizzled with a thick balsamic. There was also an unpictured glass of Alamos Malbec… ~~did I mention the return of Sober January?~~

Also unnecessary was dessert… which I happily enjoyed. German Chocolate Cookies, coming to you Friday!

Brandied Baked French Toast

1 loaf Ciabatta bread in 1-inch slices
3 C unsweetned vanilla almond milk
3 eggs
1 T brown sugar
1 packet Stevia (can replace with more sugar)
1 T cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 T Cointreau
3 T Frangelico
1 T brandy
Optional: 1/2 grated apple

Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish (I used Pam).

Place bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan. If you use the apple or other fillings (any fruit or nut would work), sprinkle them between the layers.

Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, spices, and booze together in a large bowl. Pour mixture over the bread. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb the milk mixture overnight.

Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until fluffed and golden brown.

Cut into squares and serve with fruit, syrup, or any other favorite breakfast topping.

Serves 6-8.

Notes: If you don’t like the alcohols, you may use a couple of teaspoons of vanilla or other extract. You could also experiment with other liqueurs like Irish cream, Gran Mariner, Kahlua, rum, etc.

***

The gluttony will stop after this week… I swear. I have one more cookie recipe to share, and it’s slightly lightened up!

How were your holiday meals? What was the winner?

Are you a little relieved when the festivities end?

Winter Weigh In + Ginger Molasses Cookies

December 24, 2012 By Laura

I don’t do yoga.

I don’t have the patience/attention span.

There is one thing I do like about yoga: the clothes. Like this top I received from Yogi:

I wore this shirt (click here for better pics of shirt on their site) while braving the mall over the weekend. And then I wore it to the gym. I love a versatile outfit! Impossibly soft, breathable, and loose. During the winter months there is NO way I’m going to be rocking teeny tops. It’s a too cold… and I tend to eat a couple of cookies. They also sent yoga pants, but they are SO long – like an extra 6 inches of fabric – I need to get them hemmed before wearing them out.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review (other than the free clothes). Opinions are my own… I could never keep my opinion to myself. 😉

Some people may beat themselves up over these winter indulgences, but I like my friend Lindsay’s perspective. The holiday season only comes once a year. Why not enjoy a few of your favorite things (like warm woolen mittens)? Don’t go nuts, but don’t feel like you have to sit in the corner with a salad while everyone else is having pie. Winter is bulking season, after all!

In one more week, things will be back to normal, nutrition plans will be followed more strictly, and – while I’ll still wear my yoga tops – the thought of those tighter gym shirts won’t made me squirm.

Now that we’ve gotten that established, here ~~is how I photograph~~ are the cookies!

Last week my concierge mentioned that he wanted molasses cookies. I’d never made them before, but I thought it would be nice to make him a Christmas treat.

I don’t know that I’ve ever had a molasses cookie, so I don’t have anything to compare these too. They remind me of a gingerbread cookie; however, these are chewier and have a deeper, more subtle sweetness thanks to the Blackstrap molasses.

I used a bit of almond flour, but you could use all regular flour. Your cookies will just be a little cakier. These are also a good candidate for whole wheat flour (I ran out), and you could replace the oil with applesauce if 1/2 C of butter is enough fat for you. 😉

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1.5 C flour
1/2 C almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 C salted butter, softened
1 C dark brown sugar
2 T canola oil
1/4 C Blackstrap molasses
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl whisk together flours, baking soda, and spices.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add oil, molasses, egg, and vanilla and beat to incorporate. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill until firm (at least 2 hours, preferably overnight).

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll chilled dough into ~1 inch balls. Place on baking sheet, leaving ~2 inches of space between. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly.

Bake for 10-12 mins.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

***

I’m taking tomorrow (and probably Wednesday) “off.” Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

Do you allow yourself to indulge a little over the holiday season?

What is your favorite Christmas cookie? Who will you be enjoying them with tomorrow?

Work It Out: Kitchen Edition

November 27, 2012 By Laura

You can’t out crunch a bad diet.

Where’s the chocolate-lovers ab diet?!

Today’s Work It Out post is a little different. Usually I feature a new workout technique, but this post-Thanksgiving week I’m being a little selfish. I need to Work It Out in the Kitchen. Like many others, I indulged throughout the Thanksgiving holiday. No regrets – it was fantastic – but now I need to reset and not let that sweet tooth take over all the way into the new year.

When I start with the sweet tooth and ~~red wine~~ other indulgences it quickly becomes a habit. At one point I was eating dessert after every meal… including breakfast. What works for me is to go cold turkey (pun intended) to reset myself. I’ve done this in the past through my favorite cleanse, but I haven’t gotten to the “emergency” point yet. This time around I’m going back to the basics.

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Leading up to Christmas I’m going to be doing a Kitchen Workout in addition to my normal routine. This isn’t about weight loss (my new diet is actually focused on gaining – more on that tomorrow). The Kitchen Workout is about eating to fuel your body properly. Eating clean makes me feel energized, keeps my skin clear, and improves my ability to focus.

The following guidelines are what works for me. For example, I know that I can’t have just a little sugar and stop. Therefore, I’m cutting it out. I also know that I can’t be too strict on myself or I’ll go full-speed in the opposite direction. A Saturday “cheat day” will be employed. 🙂

The Kitchen Workout

Eat clean – minimize processed foods
Cut out the sugar (except fruit)
Limited dining out
Keep sodium to a minimum
No drinking on “school nights”
Stick to complex carbs
Eat small meals throughout the day
Take in plenty of protein to feel full and build muscle
Incorporate vegetables into each meal

Who else wants to join in the Kitchen Workout?

A good support/accountability network is a big part of staying on track! Feel free to steal the #KitchenWorkout graphic and show your clean eating pride! I’ll be sharing some new recipes, as well as more tips for holiday survival.

To get started, check out these posts for more ideas on eating clean:

For some initial food ideas? Here are a few clean recipes that won’t leave you feeling like you’re missing anything:

Maple TVP “Oatmeal”

Crab Eggs Benedict, Lightened Up

Grilled PB&J with Tofu Peanut Butter

Tzatziki Chickpea Tuna Salad

Mexican Crustless Chickpea (Vegan) Quiche

Fig and Edamame Kamut Berries with Sriracha-Lime Vinaigrette

150 Calorie Microwave Chocolate Protein Cake

Chewy Granola Cookies

***

The holidays have begun! I’ve been invited to a cookie swap… I’m taking my granola cookies so I know I have a healthier option. Can’t wait to see if anyone knows they are better for you!

Did anyone try the bicep moves Jody shared last week?

Are you making an effort to keep it clean over the holiday season?

Microwave Protein Cookie + WIAW

September 19, 2012 By Laura

Lifting weights will not make you bulky.

It drives me NUTS when I hear women say they don’t want to lift because they are scared they’ll get bulky or look “manly.” Women don’t have the hormone levels men do, so it’s just not possible to gain like a dude. It takes a TON of work to significantly grow muscle. I should know.

It is especially important for women to have a strength training program.

A few of the benefits include:

Body Fat Reduction – As you increase lean muscle, so does resting metabolism. This means that you burn more calories all day long. Studies have shown that for each pound of muscle you gain, you burn 35-50 more calories each day. That’s as much as 18,250 calories in a year!
Decreased Risk of Osteoporosis and Heart Disease – Women are at an especially high risk of suffering from this disease. Weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density, and – combined with adequate calcium – can be one of the best defenses against osteoporosis. Cardio is important in heart health; however, lifting can help to lower “bad” (LDL) cholesterol, increase “good” (HDL) cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.
Improved Athletic Performance – Research continually proves that strength training improves athletic ability. It enables you to increase endurance, improve technique, and decrease the risk of injury.
Improved Mood and Fights Depression – A Harvard study found that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling did! Strength training often helps women feel more confident and capable, both important factors in fighting depression.
Physical Strength – This may sound obvious, but strength training is important for daily activities – chores, chasing after kids, carrying groceries… basic, daily tasks will be much easier. And how nice is it to be able to open ajar unassisted?

Strength training isn’t the only factor though. I’m trying my best to gain as much as possible before my November competition. Just as important as lifting is diet. Healthy fats, complex carbs, and a lot of protein are key to gaining mass. As much as I’m taking in, I’m still not She-ra…. but I am making gains!

A few people have asked for progress pics. I wish I’d done a better job to tracking and taking pics from the same angles, but here’s the best bicep progress pic I have:

Still a ~~really~~ long way to go, but I think there are some changes!

Speaking of strength training (nice transition, right?), this fall’s What I Ate Wednesday theme: “Fall Into Good Habits.”

Check out my healthy fall fuel below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get ideas from others’ fall eats!