Double Chocolate Power Protein Bars

  Sooooo these are totally kid approved and a complete “experiment”  that turned out YUMMY! My boys ate a whole pan of these over 2 days. I was a little surprised because they aren’t completely sweet like some other treats I’ve made them. But then again, I don’t make very much anymore with processed sugar, usually it’s maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar and added protein, and these are no different. A word about protein. It is to weight control what black is to fashion. Simply, if you’re goal is to maintain a healthy weight or release weight, you must be putting in MORE protein daily. Take your weight and half it, that should be you’re daily intake goal, and higher if you’re weight training.  A couple things to understand about why making sure you’re getting enough is this: Protein satiates your appetite. It helps to normalize and regulate blood glucose levels, and when they bounce around and dip, make you feel like a hunger monster. Especially those suffering from adrenal fatigue (commonly have associated blood glucose dips), and O blood types, require more protein and less carbs. O blood types tend to pack on pounds more easily than the other blood types and crave carbs more than most. Now, a word about carbs. You REQUIRE them. This low to no carb nonsense–IS nonsense. Low to no carb diets lead to one thing- CRASHED METABOLISM. Unfortunately, the danger of dieting is completely screwing up your body. And that’s what diets do. If you WANT to rebound in weight gain. go no to low carb. Your body requires healthy whole carbs for energy and to also put the hunger hormones at bay. Starve it of carbs, and as soon as you go back to eating them, you will pack on the pounds and more. Aim for more protein, and personally I LOVE the 40/30/30 (Protein/carb/fat) ratio when it comes to macro’s. BUT, just a word about macro’s. If you’re eating the RIGHT types of foods, moderately exercising, and learn how to portion and eat WELL,  no one should be counting macro’s all day. You don’t require weighing food, counting calories, and low fat, low carb to release weight. Move more, eat RIGHT, and detox. Those are the KEYS to a lifetime of weight release and a body that will love you. OH. And a word about peanut butter and protein powder. First, if you’re suffering from inflammation issues, peanut butter isn’t your best choice. It’s highly inflammatory and another nut butter would be better for you. What is SUPER important is with peanuts you DO want to make sure your peanut butter is organic. They contain a lot of pesticides other wise. Second, I use only Zija’s XMProtein powder. Not all protein powders are alike and at some point I’ll write more on them. Mine contains only 6 pure ingredients. Most of the ones on the market contain so many synthetics, a ridiculous amount of nonabsorbable protein, and laxatives to push what isn’t absorbed through your gut. NOT healthy. Research your ingredients, be a label reader, and purchase from a trusted source.

For the INGREDIENTS I combined 😉

2 c Organic whole oats

1/2 c XMprotein powder in Dutch chocolate

1/2 c organic unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 c organic peanut butter

1/2 c ground flax (always store ground flax in the freezer)

1/2 c maple syrup or honey

1/2 c unsweetened almond milk

1/3 c dark chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli’s)

1 tbsp Chia seed

Line 13×9 baking dish with parchment paper (makes removal and nice bar slices easy) Mix ingredients and press contents into pan, these were fairly thin pieces as I made bite sizes for my boys. If you prefer thicker use an 8×8 pan and adjust your cooking time. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Pull out by parchment paper and let cool. Slice into bars or mini pieces. You can freeze, refrigerate or place mini bites into a jar. Enjoy!

Mini bites for my mini people:)

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Egg and veggie quiche cups to GO!

 These. Are. Supremely. SIMPLE.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

My ingredients: (You can vary as I will with different veggie combos)

12 fresh farm eggs

1 c chopped organic green pepper

1 whole red onion- chopped finely

1/2 c chopped sun dried tomatoes

1-2 tbsp (I prefer 2) coconut oil (this MAKES them- coconut oil TRANSFORMS eggs and mostly everything, and is a great fat to enhance the protein)

Optional: Add 3-5 drops of hot sauce into ingredients before baking.

Salt and pepper (I like garlic salt best)

Line muffin tins with parchment paper, Or simply use a nonstick spray or muffin liner. Fill each cup 3/4 full. This should make a full 12 quiches exactly. Bake for 10-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Store in a mason jar! 😉 You can also freeze these and reheat in a toaster oven. (We don’t talk about microwaves here. Radiating your food is NOT healthy. Buy a toaster oven)

Clean chicken zoodle soup: Gluten free

 Wow. We had this for dinner tonight and it was SCRUMPTIOUS! All veggies are chopped using a chop wizard, and the zucchini is spiralized.

Ingredients : 8-10 c chicken broth.  2 c carrots, 1 1/2 c onion. 2 c celery. 3 garlic cloves. 2 zucchini (spiralized). 3 c chopped chicken breast or thigh. 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped.  Fresh parsley. Salt. Garlic salt. Pepper.

I added to my Vitamix:

2 c chicken broth

2 carrots

2 celery sticks

1/2 c onion

1 tomato

3 garlic cloves

Purée together on high until warm. (Makes an “orange” broth. It will be frothy. It’s okay- it will disappear.

Combine puréed mixture into a soup pot and add 8 cups of chicken broth, 1 1/2 c carrots, 1 1/2 c celery, and 1 c chopped onion, remaining tomatoes with 3 cups chopped or shredded chicken (Use baked or grilled breast, thighs, whatever your preference is. For this I used a chicken I had baked, then boiled the rest for soup base.) Bring to boil and simmer on low until veggies are soft.

 I like my soups chunky and my veggies not overcooked!

Add a tsp of Himalayan sea salt, several grinds of a garlic salt mill and pepper to taste. I like to add some fresh parsley and the spiralized zucchini last so that it cooks only to just soft. And serve. Leftovers: store in a mason jar for freshness throughout the week.