Pumpkin Protein Bars and getting back to food prep

Well my 10-day stay-cation from school is almost coming to a close.  It was an amazingly stress free time that I thoroughly needed to decompress.  I accomplished almost everything on my to-do list:

I got my hair done.  Matt and I had a couple's massage followed by Hibachi Grill for lunch and dessert at Chili's (a complete cheat day!).  We went on a little mountain bike ride and both got our fleur de lys tattoos.  For anyone who really knows us, knows this has nothing to do with the Saints or NOLA.  We took the kids to the local carnival in Highland Falls and it was perfect for Brody.  We opted to not see a Broadway show or go to the city b/c well I go to the city every day for school so staying home sounded like much more fun.  I spent that day instead cleaning the house, and it was a blast!!!  We visited some extended family in NJ and went to the Jersey Shore.  Brody collected huge sea shells and Bryn loved the water.  So all in all, successful stay-cation.

Oh, and I did workout a lot.  Almost every day (by every day I mean week day, I don't usually workout on the weekends).  Working out consisted of standard lifting, a Crossfit workout or two, some olympic lifting, a sprint triathlon (PR'd my 5K @ 22:48!), and some interval training. My eating was awful.

So now it's time to get back on track.  A new semester starts on Tuesday and I have to start with a bang.  I have to have meals planned and ready to go.  That is the only way I will stay on track.  So today I meal prepped after grocery shopping.  It's so easy to grocery shop now that I really only shop from the perimeter.  I'm in and out in no time.  My cart usually consists of meats, fruits (only to be eaten early in the morning or post-workout), veggies, almond milk, regular milk for the kids, greek yogurt, egg, egg whites, just to name a few.

I baked chicken in bulk for lunches this week.  I seasoned it with:

• Mrs Dash
• Pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Lime juice

Bake on 350 for about 50 minutes.  After it was cooked, I weighed out portions: 6 ounces for me and 8 ounces for Matt, cut up and packaged in containers for the week.  More than likely I will take mine to school with me to throw on top of a salad that I will have packed with me too.  If all else fails, I will at least eat the chicken by itself, although I hate to eat it like that.  I DO NOT use 'salad dressing.' I use either lime juice, balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar and season with Mrs. Dash.  I also like to put avocados and mild banana peppers on my salad.  Mmmmm.  I need to keep my carbs lower and eat them earlier in the day.

One of my six meals each day is always some form of homemade protein bars (none of the recipes I make myself...I cannot take the credit).  Since Fall is upon us, I made Pumpkin Protein bars today.  These are sinfully delicious.  You must must must must make these.  So delicious and so good for you.  Baked with NO sugar!!!!  I promise you will love them!

Pumpkin Protein Bars http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-pumpkin-protein-bars.html

• ½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal)
• 1 - 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. ground clove
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 - 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin
• 2 C oat flour
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
• ½ cup almond milk
• ½ C chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
3. Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
4. Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
5. Makes 24 squares.

Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

I consume 4 bars as a meal option.  I always eat meals 2-4 with a bag of raw veggies.  I aim to have around 20 grams of protein each meal.  These are higher in carbs, so I will keep this meal earlier in the day and it will likely be my M2 (meal 2).  

Eat clean, train dirty.  Time to lean out!