Protein Granola Bars

So, here I am, without much to do, and I decide I want to cook something. I'm really running out of space in my fridge and freezer, so I may have to hold off for a few days... or weeks! When you have such a small stomach pouch, anything you make or order (at a restaurant) lasts forever. Seriously... I've had cooked chicken in my fridge for almost a month! Good, airtight containers are my new best friends! So, I'm supposed to get 60 grams of protein a day, which is hard. But today, I decided to make some homemade protein bars! I have to say, they turned out pretty good! I didn't add any sugar or sugar substitute, so you may want to add in your own for taste. I would recommend honey (for those of you who can have it - that is still a no-no on my diet this soon after surgery) and for those, who like me, need a substitute, I would either use stevia or splenda.

Now, I hate it when I see a recipe online, but I have to scroll, scroll, scroll to get to the stupid recipe because of all the pictures! SO... I am going to put a picture of the final product, then the recipe, and THEN pictures for the step-by-step. Let me know what you think... if you hate it, I'll try to modify. Maybe. I tend to be stubborn. ;)

2 ½ cups oats*
1 cup unflavored protein powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

½ cup peanut butter
3 mashed bananas
¾ cup milk**
1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup almonds (or other nuts)
1/3 cup dried berries, raisins, etc.
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

In medium bowl, mix together the oats, protein powder, salt, and cinnamon. In large bowl, mix the peanut butter, mashed bananas, milk, and vanilla together. This mixture does not need to be smooth. Next, mix in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Once the ingredients have been combined, fold in the nuts, berries, and chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into a 13x9 pan. I sprayed the pan with cooking spray to make it easier to remove the bars. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. It should be golden brown around the edges and have firmed up. Cut into bars and store in airtight container or baggies.

Since the most important things I must look at in my food is (1) protein, (2) calories, (3) fat, and (4) suger, I have nutritional information for those things. If you cut this into 16 bars, the nutritional information for 1 bar is:

Protein: 8.4 grams Calories: 164 Fat: 7.3 grams Sugar: 8.1 grams

When I try these again, I will probably use less bananas for less sugar. I think I might use unsweetened applesauce in place of bananas, and see how that turns out. The peanut butter added to the calorie count, but the protein gained is so good, so I’ll probably leave that alone.

*I used Quick Oats for this recipe **I used skim milk

Note: For the chocolate chips, I used 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips by Ghirardelli©. They are lower in sugar than most, but if you don’t like dark chocolate, subsitute any chocolate chips you like, but note that the nutritional info will change. Also, I used blueberries that I dried myself, so there was no added sugar there. Using Craisins© or raisins will also change the nutritional data.

Mix together the dry ingredients: oats, protein powder, salt and cinnamon.

Combine all the wet ingredients: peanut butter, mashed bananas, milk, and vanilla.

Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together.

Fold in nuts, berries, and chocolate chips

I hope you enjoy this!

In medias res

Anyone familiar with literary terms, knows that this post title, In medias res, means "in the middle of things". Let me explain. I decided to write a blog about my journey these past 5 months, one which will continue for the rest of my life. But, since it started several months ago, and I'm just starting this blog now... you get the title! On December 14, 2011, I had surgery. I went through what is called a Sleeve Gastrectomy (thus the "sleeve" in "be(sleeve)ing" in the Blog Title!). It's also called a Gastric Sleeve. I will explain that procedure in a different post a bit later. Anyway, my new life involves finding foods that are healthier, have TONS of protein, and still taste good. It also entails maintaining a new, active lifestyle. So, I wanted to document my experiences and share recipes with anyone else who may want healthier recipes, whether you've had bariatric surgery or not!

I have to say, it is weird to see pictures from a year ago and see the difference. I'm still not where I want to be, but I feel so much better already. The hard part is recognizing how well I've done. I've programmed myself to be unhappy with how I look for so long, it's difficult to praise myself. I know I have lost a lot, and I look and FEEL so much better. I have to learn how to recognize the hard work I have done. That is one of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog. So... what can you find here? Recipes. Advice. A personal journey. And someone learning to love herself.