Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein Brownies: recipe bust

I found this post I started almost a year ago in my drafts!  I thought I would post it despite it being a while back!

I have been wanting to make my own protein bars for a while.  I searched the internet for some recipes.  I ended tweaking one of the recipes I found and this is what I came up with.

Before you run off to your kitchen and go to start preparing this deceiving little morsels, let me give you the low down. The name was deceiving.  The wonderful aroma that wafted in the kitchen was deceiving, I gotta be honest with you, they weren’t very good, at all.

So if I were to rate them on a five star scale it would go as follows:

Taste*

Texture*

Chocolaty goodness**

Energy Boost****

Although these bars were down right gross, I had to give them 4 stars for keeping my energy up and warding off hunger.  Often times I need a boost and I crave something sweet, but what I really need is a swift kick of energy to keep me going.  This nasty bar did it for me.  So rather than dump them all in the trash I have stashed them away in the fridge.  The recipe recommended cutting them up into 8 bars.  I could only stomach ½ a bar, and still was given the boost I needed.  The nutrition information is based upon 8 bars though.

One other problem I had with the recipe…. It recommended cooking the batter on waxed paper, which I did.  I could not remove the wax paper though.  I pulled what I could off, but there was no way this paper was coming off.  Maybe next time I will try parchment paper, or just spray the pan.

Please let me know if you try them out and have better luck!!  Or if you have a good protein bar recipe I would love to try it out. Thanks!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein Brownies

8 Servings

½ cup old fashion oats

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 ½ cup vanilla flavored protein powder or 6 scoops (I would have done chocolate, but I didn’t have enough)

½ cup dry unsweetened cocoa powder

2 egg whites

1 tbsp chocolate syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup natural peanut butter

½ cup-1cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Blend oats until flour.  Add remaining dry ingredients.  Mix egg whites, chocolate syrup, vanilla and peanut butter in large bowl.  Add dry ingredients.  Slowly add water until "gooey". (this does not turn into a batter; it is very thick in consistency).  Pour into 9x9 pan lined with wax paper.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on cooling rack.  Cut into 8 bars.  Refrigerate. 

211 calories per serving

18 grams of carbohydrates

10 grams of fat

26 grams of protein

3 grams of fiber

Keep in mind that nutritional content will change with brand of protein powder

Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge: Week 3

Initial: 189

Week 1: 187.3 (-1.7)

Week 2: 186.9 (-.4)

Week 3: 185.0 (-1.9)

Things are moving along this week.  I did not track, it was my little experiment.  I tried to eat as I would if I were tracking, being moderate.  I exercised four times at the gym and got in an additional walk.

I choose not to track my food, to get my mind off of food.  I have found when I am tracking I am constantly thinking about food.  I think it makes me more hungry.  I didn’t skimp on calories, so it is surprising I did lose weight at all.

One of the other reasons I didn’t want to track is I wanted to really focus on listening to what my body needs.  A few weeks ago I had all sorts of labs done at the doctor, cause for the last little while I have been feeling off.  The only thing that we have found deficient is my iron.  It has been running a little bit low.  It makes sense, I feel like it has been more than my blood sugar.

This week when I felt like things were getting low I made myself a green smoothie (water, milk, spinach, strawberries and protein powder). I guess that is another reason I didn’t want to count calories.  They aren’t the lowest calorie snack (266 calories), but they help me level out.  And hey, I still lost weight!  I am not going to worry about how many calories are in my green smoothies.  They help me keep my energy up and keep me from snacking too much between meals.

So here we are venturing off into the next week.  I will post some updates about my book a little later this week. I am at my in-laws for the weekend so things have been on hold.

Have a great week. Let's rock week 4!

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day (with fiber adjustment)

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

Week 5: 193.2 (-.5) Total loss 8.1   

Week 6: 193.3 (+.1) Total loss 8.0   

Week 7: 190.3 (-3) Total loss 11.0

Week 8: 191.7 (+1.4) Total loss 9.6

Week 9: 189.4 (-2.3) Total loss 11.9

Week 10: 188.3 (-1.1) Total loss 13

Week 11: 189.7 (+1.4) Total loss 11.6

(20.3 loss since I began my journey in January)

This week I have a gain, but I am grateful it is only 1.4lbs.  Could be worse.  I am pretty sure it is water weight anyway.  I feel bloated.

I started last week gung ho and excited to be moving!  On Monday I started Jillian’s 30 Day Shred.  It was easier than I anticipated.  I also went to the gym so I can meet my 45-60 minute goal.  I got to day four of the shred and my body was beginning to crash.  By Thursday I felt completely exhausted and I knew if I didn’t listen to my body and slow down I would be in trouble.

I only got in four workouts.  I was bummed to break my perfect exercise streak this summer of getting in my five+ workouts a week. Especially since there is only one week of the challenge left! Saturday I crashed for three hours not long after getting out of bed that morning.  My body has been fighting a bug for several weeks now and it has all caught up with me. So the rest was welcomed and needed.

I am feeling better today after taking four days off.  I decided to modify my goals a little bit starting next week.  I still want to get in 5 workouts a week, but I am modifying the time so on days that I just want to do the 30 day shred, I will limit my workout to just that if I am feeling too exhausted.

Food: carb count with fiber adjustment

Monday: 191

Tuesday: 170

Wednesday:214

Thursday:243

Friday: 138

Saturday: didn’t track, but slept most of the day, didn’t eat much.

Sunday: didn’t track ,but not a terrible day

Wow! After running the numbers I am lucky I didn’t gain more than a pound. I was in the red pretty much all week.  I had pasta on Monday and Tuesday and it is nearly impossible to not go over on carbs with pasta.  Then Wednesday and Thursday between the two days I ate a whole bag of peanut M&M’s.  They were Easter M&M’s I had tucked away.  I figured I had waited long enough to eat them.  I just could have used better judgment and not eaten them all!!!  That could have been what topped off my exhaustion, sending me whirling into a sugar coma!!

This week I am going to have a week with no sweets or goodies.  I am still allowing my protein shakes and fruit, but I have got to cut back on the goodies (my kids animal crackers, a jelly belly here and there, cookies, etc.) I am hoping it will get me back on track!

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com. 

Profile name: ambreee

Water Intake:

Did fine on water this week.

For all of those participating in Slimmer this Summer, Kudos!!  Hope you have a great final week!

Getting Specific...

When I created this blog I thought I would use if for reflection and as a tool for me to overcome my love of sugar.  I haven’t done much of that, but decided to do a little reflectingo today.  Please bear with me.

Since life is busy with two little ones at home I have blogged at a minimum this summer.  I was so happy to find the Slimmer this Summer Challenge.  So my blogging for the most part has just been my weekly check in for the challenge.

Some days I have little conversations with myself, like today for instance.  I saw a picture of me from the 4^th of July and I still cringe.  Even though I am losing weight, I still to me feel like I have such a long way to go.  My highest ever prior to children was 170lbs.  I worked really hard to stay down in the 150-160 range.  I always wanted to be around 130-140, no matter how hard I tried I have had difficulty return below 150.  Right now I am at 188 and it still feels so far away.  Enough of the pity party…. Moving on.

Like I have a dozen times (and probably will a few dozen more).  I have decided to buckle down even more.  I have goals and rewards for each ten pounds lost, but I decided I need to be even more specific. I was a special education teacher, prior to becoming a stay at home mom.  Something that I dealt with on a daily basis was goals.  It was drilled in my brain over and over how to write a “proper” goal.  It must be specific, measureable, attainable, action oriented, result oriented, and given a time frame.  Some people use the acronym SMAART.  But in the classroom our goals looked more like this:

IEP Goal/Objective Example:

From a baseline of  ___, the student will....

• perform a specific skill
• a specified number of times
• under specified conditions
• at a specified level of achievement
• for a specific length of time.

So how does that apply on my weigh loss journey today??? That is what I am trying to figure out.  I knew going into this summer challenge that losing 2lbs a week was attainable, but given my love of sweet things, and how I choose to conduct myself, it really isn’t happening.  An average of a pound a week is really more realistic with my sweet lifestyle.

So I turned to the numbers (Why does my brain have to be obsessed about numbers???).  I will be 34 years old in the first week of March.  That is 29 weeks from now.  Somewhere in my head I got the idea of getting down to 134lbs by my 34^th Birthday.  So as of today I would need to lose 54lbs in 29 weeks. 1.86lbs a week, so basically 2lbs a week.

Since the beginning of this challenge I have only lost 13lbs in 10 weeks.  So my average is running at 1.3lbs a week.  If I continue at this rate I will have lost 37.7lbs by my Birthday week.  Heck lets round it up to 38lbs, to make it a round 150lbs.  That would be great still, but not my 134 by 34.

I know I can lose an average of 2lbs a week, I just would have to give up sweets, or at least some sweets.  If any of you have ever glanced at my food diary at MFP, you will notice I have not given up all things sweet like many of you.  I eat something of a sweet nature every day. I know if I gave up even half of my sweets I would lose more rapidly.  For goodness sake.  I workout 5-6 times a week for 40-60 minutes.  I do this so I can eat sweets and still lose at a slow rate.  Hence my addiction to sugary goodness.

So here I am brainstorming at to how committed I am to getting down to 134 by 34.  Cutting back on all things sweet, is the key to kick things into gear.  I hesitate for two reasons.  1. I have done it before and I do lose more quickly.  When I go back to eating sweet things I gain so fast it isn’t even funny. Right now in my life I am not willing to give it up for good.  2.  I love sugary goodness!

My thoughts were to keep sweet things here and there and work hard on my workouts and lose at a slow pace.  I was hoping the slow pace would be closer to 2lbs a week.  So here I go again.  I am going to re-commit.  I am going to write a specific, measureable goal in hopes that I can pin this one!

Here we go:

By March 6^th 2012 I will weigh 134lbs.  This will be achieved by tracking my calories and carbs on MFP aiming for 1500 calories and under 165 grams of carbohydrates/day taking into account my fiber adjustments and eating my exercise calories if I choose to do so.  I will also work out 5 times a week for 40-60 minutes each session.  I will also be able to run a 10 minute mile with ease.

Benchmarks:

Lose 18lbs by Halloween: 170lbs

Lose 33lbs by Christmas: 155lbs

Lose 54lbs by Birthday: 134lbs

I guess I already did this when I wrote my original goals on my sidebar.  I just needed to add dates to clarify my vision.

I feel like I need to add something about sugar, but I am not sure what I am willing to commit to at this point.  I am thinking about going strict no sugary sweets every other week.  Maybe that will trick my system and I will be able to enjoy sweets occasionally and boost my weight loss.  I think I will give it a try and reevaluate in a month or so.

So feedback time:

How have you given up your favorite things/habits/addictions?  What works for you?

Thanks for being so awesome and supportive!

Five Week Update: Slimmer This Summer

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

Week 5: 193.2 (-.5) Total loss 8.1        

(16.8 loss since I began my journey in January)

Daily Carb Count:

(out of 165g carbs with adjusted fiber intake)

Monday: Didn’t track, but I did okay for being a holiday

Tuesday: Didn’t track, couldn’t access the internet

Wednesday: 222 –fiber points 86 136 adjusted (29 under)

Thursday: 202 –fiber points 46 156 adjusted (9 under)

Friday: Didn’t track, was out late with the fam.

Saturday: 179 –fiber points 37.5 141.5 adjusted(23.5 under)

Sunday: 226 –fiber points 58 168 adjusted (3 over)

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com. 

Profile name: ambreee

So not the greatest loss. I went off track a few times this week. I know I can lose weight faster if I were more disciplined in my eating.  One thing that is important to me is that I keep the weight off.  I would rather lose slowly than to lose big quickly and have the weight return once again.  There is always room for improvement.  This week I am going to do better in my eating!!

Exercise:

My goal is to get in 5 workouts (45-60 minutes) a week.  I am proud to report I have done just this!  In fact most weeks I get in 6 work outs.  I have failed to report my exercise last week.

Water Intake:

Doing well.  I make my goal of 80oz. most days.  Some days I do fall a bit short, but not by much, a few ounces here and there.

Measurements:

In the past week I lost a ½ inch on all of my mid section including: ribs, waist, belly and hips!  Since I have started the challenge I have lost the following:

Weight	201.3	193.2	8.1 lbs
Neck	13.5	13.5	0
Chest	43.5	43	-.5
Ribs	39	36.5	-2.5
Waist	41	40	-1
Belly	46	44.5	-1.5
Hips	45.5	44.5	-1
Calf	16	16	0
Arm	15	14.75	-.25
	6/6/11	7/11/11

 On to week six!! 

Week 4 Results for Slimmer This Summer

My Goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes GOAL MET!

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss 4.4 lbs

Week 4: 193.9 (-3) Total loss 7.4

(16.1 loss since I began my journey in January)

Daily Carb Count

(out of 165g carbs and adjusted for fiber intake)

Monday: 161 (4 under)

Tuesday: 204 adjused after fiber 174 (9 over)

Wednesday: 157 (8 under)

Thursday: 183-56 fiber bonus 127 adjusted (38 under)

Friday: 156 (9 under)

Saturday:172-39 fiber points 133 adjusted (32 under)

Sunday: 108 (57 under)

To view my food diary, visit myfitnesspal.com.  Profile name: ambreee

Measurements:

No big changes on my measurements. I lost a ½ inch off my chest and gained an inch on my waist.  I am sure I am retaining water due to my period. So hopefully I will see a greater change next week!

Here are the weekly goals I was working on:

-Get in two 40 minute runs

Accomplished!  I even reached my 5k in under 40 minutes!!  I ran 3.05 miles on Monday in 40 minutes and on Saturday I did a whole 5k (3.2 miles) in 39.17 minutes.  I will continue to work on improving my time.  I may sign up for a 5k in September.  I am looking for someone to join me.

-quit thinking about caloric intake, and focus on carb intake instead.  Counting calories is messing me up and I end up eating more.  I know backwards, but I am going to try it this week and see where it gets me.

It helped for me to focus on my carbs instead of calories.  I actually was much better about my eating overall, because I was able to keep my blood sugar under control.  I ate more fiber this week too, which is also helpful on my blood sugar.  And Heck, I lost 3lbs, so I am happy!!

-Start taking my vitamins and minerals again.  Many of these I quit taking when I was pregnant (as I was advised to), and it is time to get back into the swing of things for the sake of my mood, energy and blood sugar.

Big oops!  I still have not been doing this.  I always think about it at the wrong time.  I have to take them when my daughter is not around, because she thinks she can take what ever I am having.  I am going to shoot for this one again this week.

Yeah for Week Five!  Happy Fourth of July!

Week 3 results for Slimmer This Summer

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change

Week 3: 196.9 (-1.7) Total loss -4.4 lbs

Daily Carb Count (out of 165g carbs)

Monday: 138 (27 under)

Tuesday: 203 (38 over)

Wednesday: 162 (3 under)

Thursday: 189 (24 over)

Friday: 184 (19 over)

Saturday: didn’t track, but wasn’t bad day

Sunday: (28 under)

Measurements: Loss a ½ inch off my ribs. Other measurements remained the same.

What a week!  It is true, as the summer is coming in full swing, it is getting harder to stay on top of my goals and to keep motivated.  It is like I start out the week alright and by the time the weekend hits I am struggling.

I am getting in my exercise and I am drinking enough water, so I am accomplishing some of my goals.  But changing my eating habits is hard.  This truly is a challenge for me.

I am trying not to get down on myself about not reaching my food goals, because I am not giving up.  My focus really has been on working out and getting a burn.  The past couple of weeks I have worked hard and have gotten a good burn.

I got another run in this week.  I have improved my 40 minute run by a tenth of a mile, technically I hit 3 miles before I hit 41 minutes, so I am getting closer to my goal of running a 5k in under 40 minutes.  I am going to try to get in two runs next week. 

**Update: I ran this morning and I have even greater improvement.  In 40 minutes I made it 3.05 miles**

When I run I get a lot of pain in my shoulders and neck.  I have been working with a chiropractor for a month and a half to “fix” an old problem.  It is helping, but the pain is still is great when I run.  There are many exercises I can do that don’t hurt my neck and shoulders as much.  I just don’t feel like I burn the same amount of calories.  I may have to resort to those other things to keep from popping the Tylenol.

Because I need to, here are my weekly goals in addition to my challenge goals above.

-Get in two 40 minute runs

-quit thinking about caloric intake, and focus on carb intake instead.  Counting calories is messing me up and I end up eating more.  I know backwards, but I am going to try it this week and see where it gets me.

-Start taking my vitamins and minerals again.  Many of these I quit taking when I was pregnant (as I was advised to), and it is time to get back into the swing of things for the sake of my mood, energy and blood sugar.

Cheers and here is to a great Week four!  My oh my where has the time gone.

6/23/11 40 minutes 2.98 miles

6/27/11 40 minutes 3.05 miles

Week 2 Results: Slimmer This Summer

My goals:

-Journal my meals

-Be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day

-Exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes

-10 glasses of water a day

-Run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes

-Build a support network

-lose an average of 2 lbs/week, 24lbs total

Beginning Weight: 201.3

Week 1: 198.6 (-2.7)

Week 2: 198.6 (0) No change L Bummer

I took my weekly measurements and since last Monday I lost one inch from my waist, ½ inch from both my belly and my hips.  I also lost ¼ inch from my arms.

Sorry no pictures this week. I pretty much look the same as last week. :)

Let’s start with the good news. I rocked it on working out.  I got in some really challenging work outs including: weight training, bike riding, the elliptical, a few walks and the stationary bike.  My goal is 5 work outs and I got in 6, and of those 6, 3 were really challenging!!!  I really pushed myself this week.  I didn’t run at all this week since I was focusing on getting in my weights/circuit training.  Hopefully I will get a run or two in this week.

The not so good news, the food!  I Saturday I busted my butt at the gym.  No matter what I ate, I was still hungry.  I could not get my blood sugar to even out.  I even passed out and took a nap in the evening.  Since I was so frustrated with my blood sugar I pigged out on four cookies.  Not little cookies either.  The large Peppridge Farm cookies.  And it was good.  Sugar doesn’t make me hyper or give me energy, and man did I sleep deep that night.

Sunday part of our Father’s Day celebration I made brownies for my husband and our guests.  I didn’t track my carbs knowing I was going to be over.  I planned on this and made a very clear decision about enjoying the rich treat I had made.

Don’t worry, I paid for it this morning when I was working out. I usually try to get in an hour of cardio and today 45 minutes was about to push me over the edge.  That is the price I get to pay when I eat sweets.

Daily Carb Count:

Monday: 162 (3 under)

Tuesday: 147 (18 under)

Wednesday: 208 (43 over)

Thursday: 143 (22 under)

Friday: 167 (2 over)

Saturday: 200+ carbs (35+ over)

Sunday: Didn’t count today.  I had brownies so I know I went way over! (35+ over)

I have shown improvement in the water department.  I got in the 10 glasses of water all but two days.

I have read several blogs and am loving all the support and comments.

I have a question for all of you readers who have been on the weight loss journey for a while.  When I have a really challenging work out and get a great burn, how do I keep from starvation mode?  How much should I adjust in my eating for the really good work outs?  There have been some days where I am soo hungry!  Any tips or suggestions.  I am getting in plenty of protein, but for some reason it just isn’t cutting it!

I know I haven’t lost a lot of weight yet, but I can already feel my pants getting looser and my measurements are showing that as well.

On to week three!

What A Way To Start Week 2....

Summer is in full swing, and so are the moods of my kids.

To put it in the simplest terms, today was exhausting.  I didn’t make the best choice for breakfast, and my bad choice left me exhausted and moody the remainder of the day. 

I ate one graham cracker, 2Tbs of peanut butter and a banana.  I knew it wasn’t the best choice, but I didn’t think it was a terrible choice.  After I plugged the food into my log on myfitnesspal.com, I had already exceeded the daily recommended amount of sugar with those three items.  I was shocked.

Today and yesterday I have had a terrible time getting my blood sugar in a normal range.  It has been dipping low and I am tired and hungry.  It has made it more difficult to ward off the sweets.  I have resisted for the most part, but not with out a challenge.

My seven month old boy is cutting four teeth right now.  He has pretty much been miserable all day too.  And my two year old has been her normal, energetic two year old self.  Her normal wears me out.  She is a sweet girl, but she has tantrums many times through the day and eventually it takes its toll on me, which today took place about 8am.

Despite my challenges with cranky kids.  I have gotten my exercise in.  Yesterday I got in an hour at the gym, doing strength training and cardio.  Today I didn’t make it to the gym, but I did get in a 45 minute brisk walk with the kids in the stroller.

STS Mid-Week Report

Re-cap of the week thus far.  Things are going good.  Not perfect, but good.  My goal is to be under 165g of Carbohydrates/day, exercise 5 times a week for 45-60 minutes, and to have 10 glasses of water a day. Oh yes.... and to run/walk a 5K in under 40 minutes.  I do not have a caloric goal, but I am keeping track anyhow.

When I am able to work out on the treadmill I am going for 40 minutes and seeing how far I can go.  My goal is to increase my distance each time.  Saturday I went 2.6 miles and Tuesday I went 2.88 miles.  I know I will accomplish my goal of a 5K I under 40 minutes before the challenge is over.  In that case, I will set a new time goal.

Monday: Carbs:144 (21 under) Calories: 1514 Water: 10 glasses

Exercise: 45 minutes Elliptical and Bike

Tuesday: Carbs:157 (8 carbs under)Calories: 1840 Water: 8 glasses

Exercise: 40 minutes walk/jog 2.88 miles 20 minutes strength training

Wednesday: Carbs:176 (11 carbs over) Calories: 1974 Water: 9 glasses

Exercise: 50 minutes elliptical and bike

70 minutes ice skating

Wednesday my husband: The Chocolate Lover and I celebrated our wedding anniversary so I splurged on a super rich Magnum ice cream bar, and a late night trip to Taco Bell following our Ice Skating date.  I did go over on my carbs, but not ridiculously high.  Had I not splurged I would have been wayyy under.

Getting the water in is challenging for me.  I have to remind myself to keep drinking.  I imagine as the weather warms up I will be drinking more.  Today it is a balmy 57 degrees here in Boise, Idaho.  I also should bring two water bottles when I am working out.  I could easily drink another bottle when I am working out.  I always run out of water and I am beet-red in the face for an hour or two after running.  Maybe if I get in more water my body will learn to cool itself down more efficiently.

I haven’t been posting my food journal on my blog, but if you are curious or interested in seeing what I am eating here is the link to my food journal@ Myfitnesspal.com

Have a great day!  It is fast approaching the weekend. Yeah!!