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Peanut Butter Protein Granola Squares

Posted on August 3, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

Woo hoo…we made it to Friday!

Now before you get your weekend going into full swing, I’ve got a recipe you may want to try!

I had a few people asking about adding/subbing protein powder in to the
Almond Butter Granola Bars
that I posted earlier this week…and well, you guys totally beat me to the punch because that’s what I had in mind all along!

But once I got in the kitchen today to start experimenting, I kinda maybe sort of came up with a completely different recipe!

You know what they say…cinnamon* variety is the spice of life! 😉
*Is it just me or are we food bloggers totally addicted to cinnamon?

I used peanut butter in this recipe and also experimented with brown rice syrup. Feel free to sub in ANY nut butter for this and if you don’t have access to brown rice syrup, maple syrup or honey would work just fine. If you want to try subbing agave, you may have to add a bit more dry ingredients to make up for the runnier consistency.

Ok, with all that being said…onto the recipe!

Tally Ho!*
*I’ve always wanted to say that! 😉

Peanut Butter Protein Granola Squares

By: Heather Powers

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients (12 squares)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup vanilla flavored protein powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup brown rice syrup (or other preferred sweetener)
1/4 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine oats, flour, protein powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine mashed banana, peanut butter, brown rice syrup, and vanilla.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
5. If using, stir in chocolate chips
6. Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn brown and your kitchen smells like Heaven.
7. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing.
8. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.

Nutritional stats WITH chocolate chips:

And WITHOUT:

The perfect little snack to tide you over between meals…and not so calorically high that you can’t have a piece of fruit or something to go along with it…I know I’ll most definitely be eating these babies alongside some crisp apple slices in the days to come!

I am absolutely IN LOVE with the chewy texture of these bars and I thought they were perfectly sweet with the addition of the chocolate chips. If you chose to leave them out, you may want to bump up the amount of sweetener you use OR try adding a little stevia!

But really, how could you deny the combo of…

Chocolate chips and

PEANUT BUTTER!?

They were meant to be people!

Meant.to.be!

Do you (like me) add cinnamon to almost everything?
I swear I don’t even know why I keep it in the cupboard when I should just leave it on the kitchen table!

Any requests for future granola/snack bars?
I’m officially hooked and welcome any and all ideas!

Have a GREAT weekend everybody!

Posted in Desserts, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged bars, chocolate, oats, peanut butter, protein powder, recipe, Stevia, whole wheat pastry flour | 23 Comments

Sprinting with Broccoli

Posted on August 2, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey loves!

How is everybody doing this fine Thursday evening?

Why do I seem to be in such an exceptionally good mood, you ask? Well, this week
(if you subtract out the hours I was imprisoned behind the four walls of the hospital)
has been FABULOUS!

And I can’t wait to tell you why!

So I won’t! 😉

This week has been FULL of excitement…in the way of manicures, Bodypump, hot protein cocoa, CHOCOLATE Egg White Oats (told you I was becoming a convert), mail surprises, and reaching for my Almond Butter Granola Bars like they’re going out of style (crumbled over a bowl of my two favorite GNC powders)…FYI, they went “out of style” about an hour ago when I devoured the last one! 🙁

And for the record, the newest Bodypump (track 82) is KILLER! If they offer it at your gym, you HAVE to try it…you’re legs will be burrrrrrrning!

What’s that? You wanna know what came in the mail?

Oh well, I just HAPPEN to have a pic 😉

When Chobani contacted me a few weeks ago telling me about their new 16 oz TUBS of yogurt and offering to send me some, you have to know I ~~jumped up and down, did my best version of the Carlton dance and then~~ promptly returned their email with an ever grateful “yes, please, and thank you”! And how exciting (slash coincidental) that my Cho showed up on the EXACT same day as my loot of Lifestyles Granola that I won from Sarah over at Snixy Kitchen!

Yeah, I’m sure this should last me at LEAST a week or two! 😉

And if that couldn’t get any better, my Netrition order finally came in today:

1. Doctor Kracker’s Apple Oat Crunch Chips – just had to get some more when I ran out of my bag from TJ Maxx
2. Ms. Kay’s Protein Cereal – super tasty AND Diva Approved 😉
3. Whey Crisps – new to me, but I can’t wait to experiment with them in some new bars for some added CRUNCH!
4. Fruit Punch Nectar Whey – my favorite brand protein powder…so excited to have a non milk-based flavor for those super sweaty workouts where the thought of something creamy afterwards induces nausea 😉
5. PEANUT FLOUR!!! – two bags of my regular brand (Protein Plus) plus a new one with raspberry flavor (curiosity got the best of me)
6. Wheat Grass Juice Powder – hoping to use this for extra energy when I need it on the night shift instead of reaching for a second cup of coffee
7. Lavender essential oil – which will meet with some water and be my new pillow spray!
8. Capella drops – I’ve tried some of these before, but after hearing Laura from Sprint 2 the Table RAVE over the cake batter and butter flavors, I couldn’t resist! And I sure as heck wasn’t passing up the apple pie and cheesecake flavors!
9. And finally, my “FREE” t-shirt – hey, it’s the LEAST they could do for the money I slapped down on this order! 😉

And it fits pretty well too! Forgive the wet hair, I had just gotten back from swimming at the gym.

Speaking of Laura…I guess I should explain the title of this post, huh?

You ever get on those pinning/drooling sprees when you’re catching up on blog posts? You know, where after an hour, you’ve got enough recipes saved to feed starving African babies for the next 6 months?

C’mon, you can’t say you haven’t done it!

But tell me, just HOW MANY of those recipes do you ever actually get to making?

EXACTLY!

So this week, I decided to go for it…and at the risk of looking like I have a total girl crush going on (ok, so maybe I do…but that’s ok, because we’re going to prom, right Laura?), I thought I’d share what I made this week!

PB&J Zeggs: My take on her Peanut Butter & Jeggs, only I just HAD to put my little spin on it and add zucchini…it was like having PB&J on zucchini bread!
Paleo N’oatmeal: I’ve seen this one going around blog world forever now but I knew I had to try Laura’s version! It was SO good…and actually tasted like a bowl of creamy oatbran!
Blueberry Protein Parfait: I made a few changes with this one since I was out of peanut flour (hence the two VERY large packages I just bought). I added a bit of coconut flour to the “crust” and also a little to the topping and it was fabulous!
Oatmeal Cookie Dough Shake: This was actually the first recipe of hers that I tried and followed the recipe to a TEE…although I didn’t really like the flavor that the nutritional yeast added to it, I thought it had a great texture and thickness and will definitely be making it again without the nooch.

But out of everything that I tried, nothing beats what I had for lunch the other day!

Prepare yourself friends…

As in, grab a napkin to wipe your chin, because this one is a doozy!

Tiramisu…

Protein…

Parfait!

As a person who’s not really a fan of tiramisu (I think I’ve just never had one done the right way), I was intrigued with this rendition of hers…and with a huge bowl of fresh cherries in the fridge, how could I say no to her “melted cherries” topping?

OMG!!!!!!!!

There are not enough exclamation points in the world to put at the end of that!

By far the BEST thing I’ve eaten all week!

The cold chocolatey oats with a hint of coffee flavor, the sweet and creamy flavor of the layers of “cream” and THOSE MELTED CHERRIES!!!

The only complaint I have?

It was gone TOO soon!

Do you have a habit of saving/printing/pinning recipes without ever actually making them?

What’s the last new recipe you’ve tried?

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Shopping, Thursday Things, Workouts | Tagged blends, Chobani, granola, Greek yogurt, mail, oats, parfait, peanut flour, protein | 26 Comments

WIAW: Summer Staples

Posted on July 31, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!!

Wow, so this weekend and past couple of days have just FLOWN by, right? Ugh, if only I didn’t have to work and could just stay at home making variations of
Almond Butter Granola Bars! 😉

Who knows, maybe I’ll win the lottery someday*
*Highly unlikely since I’ve never ever purchased a lottery ticket! Lol

But annnnywho…

Who out there is excited for the new What I Ate Wednesday theme?!

Jenn is absolutely BRILLIANT with these themes! Be sure to head over to Peas & Crayons and let her know how much we all appreciate the awesomeness she puts into this shindig each and every week!

As an outdoorsy-type person living in the south, I’m not exactly a fan of summer, but as a FOODIE…I’m all about it! And thanks to the new “Summer Staples” theme, I can show you guys how this summer’s seasonals have been popping their way into my eats!

So let’s get staplin’! 😉

I had a bit of energy when I got off my night shift Monday so I took advantage of it and hit the gym (I know, after a 1o hour night shift…who am I?). When I got home I knew exactly what I wanted…

CHEESY EGGS!

But I needed something more…I needed a bit of sweet to go with my savory…

Hey, if cheese and JAM work, why not cheese and berries?

For the record, it most certainly DOES…especially when you use grated pesto jack cheese.

Seriously, I’m drooling all over again!

And of course, I know Jenn has my back when I say, WHAT would summer be without salads?!

I’ve actually had the SAME salad for three days in a row now and I STILL can’t get enough!

Wanna know the secret to a KILLER summer salad?

Well, first…and most importantly…is the bowl/plate you choose…

You should choose a nice deep bowl or an extra wide plate for the best salads…

Preferably something about the size of your face…or larger! 😉

Then, it’s just a matter of steps:

Step 1: Greens
Steep 2: Beans/Grains
Step 3: Protein
Step 4: VEGGIESSSSSS!
Step 5: Sprouts…because let’s face it, a salad’s just not a salad without sprouts!
Step 6: Dressing

You could get all fancy with vinegars, oils, and spices, but me? I’m a minimalist kinda gal…

You just can’t go wrong with salsa, hummus, or especially this kalamata olive bruschetta.
And it’s EVEN better if you stir it up with a little nutritional yeast!

I never met a salad I didn’t like!

But what I love most about the summer months when it comes to food isn’t the sweet summer berries, or the amazingly crisp squash, peppers, and okra…

No, what I love most is a big spoonful of cool and creamy!

And lucky for YOU, I just happen to have a recipe for a delicious chocolate treat!

Dark Chocolate Brownie Protein Pudding

By: Heather Powers

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: N/A

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 frozen banana, sliced
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cocoa bean extract
5-7 drops NuNaturals Orange NuStevia (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional but helps with thickening)
Orange zest and mini chocolate chips for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve immediately or freeze for 4-6 hours.
3. Top with orange zest and mini chocolate chips.

********

Yesterday afternoon, I was craving something cold after a super sweaty workout…my first thought was my Cake Batter Protein Pudding, but something stirred in me when I spotted an orange (leftover from Sunday’s pancake diaster) lying on the counter.

Remember when I said there are only few exceptions that will lead me to choosing chocolate over vanilla? Well, I’ve decided to add the orange and chocolate to that list too!

If you love the combo of citrus and chocolate too but don’t have access to the orange Stevia liquid, try subbing in orange extract or a bit of orange zest (+ sweetener of choice) and then blend with the other ingredients.

I also realize not everyone may have a bottle of this lusciousness lying around, but never fear, I believe it will come out JUST fine without it…and if you feel you need a little something more, just have a little “whoops” when you top with your chocolate chips! 😉