Happy back to school time.
For lots of us, this week signals the end of the summer and the beginning of a much more scheduled and structured day. And I am so ready for it this year. This summer has been both an emotional one, with the loss of my beautiful mom, and a hectic one with an attempt to try to fit in all the summer things we had wanted to do into a short period of time.
But alas, we are back to a bit of a schedule and I must admit it feels pretty good. The days are structured, the house is semi-clean and my thoughts are moving toward the fall and the goals I have for the rest of the year.
If you are like me, those thoughts often turn to your health and fitness as well as work goals. For me, it is a bittersweet moment, for the summer hasn’t been very good for my overall health. I ate (and drank) a little more than I should, worked out a little less than I should, spent little time on self-care and in general just didn’t take care of myself the way I like to.
Mostly for me, that can live and die with the word “preparation”.
Being prepared for me means:
- planning my workouts.
- planning my food.
Whenever I get busy or distracted from these 2 things, my life can become haphazard. I will just “get a workout in” instead of being intentional about what I am doing. I will “eat lunch” instead of fuel my body. I will grab a snack, whatever is there and readily available. And often this summer, I didn’t make the best choices. But I am telling myself this:
Don’t beat yourself up. I repeat: Don’t beat yourself up!
Just get Back on Track!
That feels wonderful and empowering. And makes me feel like I can do anything! Including sharing one of my favorite recipes with you! I think it will quickly become one of your go-to recipes as well!
One of my favorite things to have on hand is something I can grab for a quick snack that I know is healthy and filling. It keeps me from grabbing those shelf stable bars or a snack that comes in a bag and is crunchy ( you know what I mean!)
TADA: This workout bar recipe! I love having homemade snacks that are readily available AND I know exactly what is in them! AND they fill me up and get rid of all of my cravings!
My daughter and I discovered these a few years ago and she has tweaked them to perfection. They have quickly become our most asked for recipe. We make a batch and wrap them into individual servings and keep them in the freezer to grab for a quick snack. We have played around with a number of interesting additions in the past few years from cranberries to almond butter and they have all been quite delicious.
Full of peanut butter, oats, chia seeds and some high quality protein powder ( We use IDLife Protein), these bars are packed full of good carbs, good fats and protein!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups gluten free oats
- 1/2 cup protein powder ( We use IDLife Vanilla Protein)
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1 cup peanut butter (The kind we use is from a local store and is only ground peanuts) or almond butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 raw local honey
Instructions
- In a large bowl ( or mixer), combine the almond milk, peanut butter, protein powder and honey until thick and creamy.
- Stir in the oats, chia seed and chocolate chips until well incorporated.
- Grease a 9x9 inch pan with a thin coating of coconut oil or cooking spray.
- Spread the mixture into a 9*9 inch square pan. Press the mixture down and cover.
- Store in the refrigerator overnight, or until the bars harden somewhat. Cut into 12 bars ( or smaller if you would rather) and store in the refrigerator or wrap them individually and store them in your freezer
- Feel free to add in any additional goodness. We have tried adding cranberries, cocoa powder, flax seeds, almond butter.... All have been amazing additions.
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
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