"brownies" aka protein bars.

Okay you need to try this recipe. I think I actually have my kids convinced that they are real brownies. We eat them for breakfast with a banana. So when my kids tell you I gave them brownies for breakfast, Don't think I've gone off the deep end. They freeze GREAT and you can take them with you if you are looking for healthy snacks that travel well. Seriously... make them.

Thank you Jamie Eason, as if she weren't my hero already!

She's five two, and about 110 pounds. But she is an animal in the weight room! I mean, 40 pound overhead shoulder presses... Yeah that's one handed with a dumbbell. And she can do 50 with a spotter! She writes a column for Oxygen magazine every month. And Ashlar and I have a woman crush on her. 
She writes...

"Unfortunately my stint as an NFL cheerleader ended prematurely. I found a suspicious lump in my breast which had characteristics of early stage cancer. Soon after, I had the neoplasm removed which took me out of the limelight and put me back behind a desk. It was not long before I noticed that my inactive lifestyle and poor nutrition were taking a toll on my body. In an attempt to shape up I joined a local gym and began going a few times a week. I would lift heavy, just as I did in college, but wasn’t getting the results I had previously gotten.

I longed for that toned athletic look but had no clue how to truly obtain it. It was not until I hired a personal trainer and visited a nutritionist that I ventured down my current path. They taught me the importance of exercise diversity and clean eating. Within a few disciplined months, my body began to transform. I felt amazing! I felt physically fit and emotionally, I had a true sense of accomplishment and well being.

This is your life. If you are not who you want to be, change it! It won’t be easy and it may take some time, but surround yourself with people who love and support you and go for it! No regrets! Only you dwell on your failures. Good luck and remember the inner strength you’ll achieve from adopting a healthy lifestyle far supersedes anything physical."

Chocolate Protein Bars

Calories:  96

Fat:  1.4 grams

Carbs:  12 grams

Protein: 10 grams

Ingredients:

1 cup Oat Flour (I use 1 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats, & put them in the blender to make oat flour)

4 Egg Whites

2 scoops Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

½ cup Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal (truvia bakes up the best)

½ tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

8oz Berry flavored Baby Food (I use applesauce)

3 tbsp Baking Cocoa

4oz Water

2 tea. vanilla extract

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Mix dry ingredients (oat flower, vanilla whey protein, baking soda, salt, baking cocoa) together in a large bowl.

3.     Mix wet ingredients (egg whites, Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal, Berry flavored Baby Food,Water) together in a medium sized bowl.

4.     Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.

5.     Spray cooking dish with a non stick butter spray and add batter to dish.

6.     Bake 20-30 minutes in oven.

Makes 16 squares, serving size=2 bars. 

Baking time is tricky, in my oven its 28 minutes, and I take them out while just the center is a tiny bit gooey still and not all the way baked. They finish cooking in the pan while they cool, as long as you don't take them out too early.  

You can also go here for some other yummy healthy recipes.