tasty tuesday's

i've made this recipe several times and it never seems to fail me.

it's delicious, healthy, and exactly what i need in the mornings.

now before i tell you what it is, just let me preface by saying any preconceived ideas you have about this specific product, throw it out the window!

if you, in fact, already love this product...
then prepare yourself to be amazed. 

today i'm sharing a recipe for protein bars.

that's right, you heard me.

these are delicious, yummy, very NON-bricklike protein bars.

i must admit, i have a major bit of a sweet tooth. especially at breakfast time.

pancakes, waffles, french toast, cinnamon rolls, you name it, if it's sweet i'll eat it.

SO GOOD.

so when i started eating healthier, let's just say it's hard to eat these things and be um....thin.

so a lot of eggs were consumed while i racked my brain and pinterest for a yummy and healthy recipe to try.

lo and behold, i found this blog:

thegraciouspantry.com.

the blogger, Tiffany, is known for her clean eating recipes that are delicious. and might i add, simple.

i find it so frustrating when healthy recipes are consisted of crazy ingredients you never have on hand.

while she does have some of those kind of recipes, mostly it's just good, regular clean food. 

including these delicacies.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Protein Bars

now i don't know about you, but the only protein bars i've ever tried are gross.

they are too dense, too artificially sweet, not sweet enough, to tough, too something.

but when her recipe looked delicious and was only 300 calories per serving with LOTS of healthy things in it, i said why not give it a try?

and man am i glad i did!

what you need:

2 cups of oats 

1 cup (NOT scoop) whey protein powder

 (regular or vanilla flavored)

1 cup of peanut butter 

(the organic, no sugar added kind)

1/2 cup of agave nectar (or honey)

1/2 applesauce (unsweetened)

2 tbsp grain sweetened chocolate chips

(i have been unable to find these so 

i'll show you what i use instead)

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

here's a pic of some of the more "obscure" items:

- i use trader joe's vanilla whey protein powder.

it's good, it's cheap, it's easy to get. done and done.

- thick & rough oatmeal. it has more texture than other oatmeals and i think makes for a tastier bar. use what you can find or looks good to you (but not gross, processed oatmeal!)

- agave nectar. this happens to be blue agave nectar. i bought this from costco. you can also find it at most major grocery stores in the health food aisle. it looks just like honey or maple syrup. it doesn't have to be blue btdubs.

- now for the chocolate chips i haven't been able to find what she uses, but i use the ghirardelli 60% cacao chips.

they are yummy and low in calories. plus made with mostly dark chocolate so you get all of the good antioxidants from it!

- chia seeds. if you don't know what these are they can be found at most health food stores. i get mine from the dekalb farmers market. up close they look like this.

don't get hung up on all black, all white, organic...blah blah blah. just get basic chia seeds. they are amazing no matter what form they are in!

the rest of the ingredients are pretty self explanitory. 

publix brand all the way baby!

what you do:

preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

put your two cups of oats on a cookie sheet and let them roast by themselves for about 10-15 minutes in the oven. 

you'll start to smell them and know they are done. :)

while they are cooling, dump all the other ingredients in a bowl. 

after the oats have COMPLETELY cooled 

(you don't want to prematurely melt your chips!)

dump in the oats and go to town on combining everything.

make sure you wash your hands because a spoon won't help you here. you'll need to mix everything with your hands.

it's quite.....gloopy...? i think i just made that word up.

but once you make this you'll see what i mean.

next put it all in a half cookie sheet and smooth it out. 

these will be cut into bars so do your best to make them as "uniform" as possible.

bake them for about 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown. and what you get is...delish.

mmmm.....

this will be like a tasty treat!

i eat one for breakfast every morning.

it satisfies my sweet tooth while being healthy and giving me enough energy for my workout and last me until lunch!

it makes about 15 bars and i store them in 

an airtight container. 

breakfasts for two weeks that is simple, cheap AND delicious?! 

uh, you're welcome.

enjoy!

xoxo,

heather