A Taste of Sparkle

I picked up a couple Promax bars from the organic section of my local grocery store while on a hunt to find some new protein bars to experiment with. My main use for protein bars is as a hefty snack to tide me over during classes between my breakfast (8 am) and my lunch (2 pm).

I was hesitant to try these at first because I really didn’t want to be eating something completely artificial, in both ingredients and taste. And to be honest, that’s what I expected when I unwrapped my first “Cookies ‘N Cream” flavor Promax bar. But when I took a bite, I realized…it tasted good!

This may or may not be due to the fact that recently, Promax started making all of their bars all-natural. In addition to this, Promax is phasing out the HFCS that is constantly used to sweeten sports drinks and protein bars. Currently they have three bars that contain NO HFCS: Cookies ‘n Cream, Double Fudge Brownie, and Chocolate Peanut Crunch. However, make sure that if you’re looking to buy a HFCS-free bar, the label says “No HFCS” because Promax is still phasing their “classic” formulas out and thus you still might encounter them in stores.

The only downside to these bars are that they are not vegan. They contain milk, soy, and wheat. Obviously, I would prefer them to be vegan, but it’s also important for me to get enough protein, and these bars pack a 20 gram punch!

Because I need a snack to hold me over for so long (6 hours!), I’m really glad that the bars have higher calories and protein contents than other bars on the market. I usually have half the bar sometime during my first class (10-11) and the other half sometime during my second (11-12:30). I have found that when I have one of these bars as a snack, I do not get the intense, dizzy hunger that I would get when having, say, a mini-ClifBar for a snack, but also, I am still hungry for lunch when I get out at 2.

I would definitely recommend Promax bars as a snack:

• when you need to go a long time in between meals.
• for a post-gym/run recovery mini-meal.
• for an evening snack (they’re almost like dessert!).
• broken in half for a regular between-meals snack.
• when you don’t have enough time to eat a good breakfast.

They come in 9 flavors: Black Forest Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Peanut Crunch, Cookies n’ Cream, Double Fudge Brownie, Honey Peanut, Lemon, Nutty Butter Crisp. My favorite is the Cookies n’ Cream – I love the yogurt coating on the outside!

Overall, I give them 4/5 stars.

Product Review #1: Flax Paks by Carrington Farms

I was so excited to find these because I do not have the time or kitchen machinery to buy whole flax seed and grind the amount I need each time I want some, and I don’t want to buy a huge bag of pre-ground flax and leave it in my fridge because I’ve read that this can lower the nutrient level. These Flax Paks are a great alternative!

I pour a packet of flax into my smoothies most days to give my body a source of healthy fat and to give my smoothies a slight nutty taste. The taste isn’t very noticeable, but it makes the smoothies a tiny bit less smooth. I personally don’t mind it though. I think that these packs would also be great mixed with oats, sprinkled on top of a salad, or with fruit and yogurt. The company says to make sure not to heat them above 120 degrees to retain their nutritional content.

Look at all the healthy fat! And 2 grams of protein too, in this tiny little pack!

This is how much flax is in the pack, poured into my blender in the GM-making process.

The final product! (1 banana, 1/2 c strawberries, 1 c soymilk, 3 c spinach, 1 Flax Pak, 8 ice cubes)

Product Review #2: Gardenburger GardenVegan burgers

First of all, the ingredient list: Bulgur Wheat, Water, Textured Wheat Protein, Cooked Brown Rice, Onions, Mushrooms, <2% Vegetable Gum, Wheat Gluten, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Garlic Powder, Salt, Natural Flavor, Spices, Annatto for color, Olive Oil, Caramel Color, Soy Lecithin.

While the list is longer than I’d prefer and has some things in it that I’m not crazy about (artificial coloring, ‘natural flavor’, soy lecithin), I think it’s pretty good for a vegan ‘burger’ alternative. I like that soy is last on the ingredient list because this makes this a non-soy protein food. I try to only eat soy protein (like tofu) for a meal two or three times a week.

Next, the nutritional lineup:

Now this is pretty great. 9 grams of protein!

These burgers can be cooked on the stove-top or in the microwave. I have been microwaving mine for two minutes. This results in a nice crisp gardenburger. I was afraid at first that it would be soggy and gross, but it was actually great! I could taste the brown rice. I love my garden burger with some garlic hummus!

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The Farmer’s Market was great! They didn’t have my kale though, so I had to pick some up at the Co-op. I had lots of splurges today: crepes, nutella, and pizza! They were yummy and worth it, but I’m going to make sure to get lots of greens in tomorrow!

I’m in the process of getting a contest together, so stay tuned!

Good night & wish me luck on my quiz tomorrow!

…or is it “school interferes with Rock Band“? I went downstairs to get a glass of water and got lured to our Wii by the sound of music. When I looked at my watch, it was 10 p.m.! And I have work to get done! What can I say, sometimes this girl loves her video games!

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My school runs its own organic farm and this summer, they sold packages where, every week for eight weeks, they will deliver a fresh assortment of organic vegetables. Our first delivery came today and it was so fun to see everything we got! My definite favorite was the rainbow chard!

First of all, it was giant. And it’s so pretty! From TrueStar Health:

Chard’s leaves can be prepared like spinach, and its stalks like asparagus. In fact, its leaves serve as a good substitute for spinach in most recipes, but they will need to be cooked slightly longer.

Chard may be steamed, sautéed, or braised, and it can be added to soups, stews, and casseroles. The leaves and stems may be cooked and served together, or prepared separately as two different vegetables. The Italians make an egg frittata with chard.

For salads and sandwiches, it’s best to use young, tender leaves. For a simple side vegetable, leaves of medium size can be quickly sautéed—the stalks can be prepared this way, too. Older leaves and stalks are best steamed, boiled, or added to soups, as the stems require a longer cooking time to become tender than the leaves do.

Rainbow chard also is a good source of Vitamins A and C, and contains a huge amount of Vitamin K!

Tomorrow is Farmer’s Market day, which is perfect because I used my last leaf of kale today. I’m going to pick up some more kale and see what else I can find!

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My knees feel much better today. I’m glad I took a rest day, I think it was just what I needed. I’ll be back in my running shoes tomorrow I snacked on two mini ClifBars while babysitting. Nothing was sounding good to me for dinner, so I just went with PB & banana quesadillas. You can’t really go wrong there, at least in my book. I had a gala apple on the side. Later on, for dessert, I had a half cup of coconut milk ice cream with two mini gluten-free cookies.

Today’s exercise was yoga, yoga, and more yoga! I did half of this week’s YogaToday class in the morning and then this evening I restarted it and did the whole thing from beginning to end. Now, this was a tough class! It is an Anasura-inspired class, so it is very focused on opening the heart. There were a ton of front planks, side planks, downward dogs, and lowering from planks to the floor, so I know that my arms will be sore tomorrow! I didn’t get to the gym today because I figured that this yoga class would give my body a better workout than a few miles on the elliptical. My body is very used to the elliptical, but yoga always knows how to make it work.

The class also including a good amount of warrior poses, which was great. I love the Warrior set of poses. Warrior II is my favorite – I feel strong and beautiful in the pose, like I am a warrior who can take on anything!

Q: What’s you favorite yoga pose, and why?

Good night, everyone! I’m off to bed shortly too, right after I catch up on a bit of work.

1. Here’s what was hiding in the corner of my grocery goods:

Gerbera daisies! Settled in their vase atop of my desk. Every Sunday when I go grocery shopping, I treat myself to a couple of flowers. They always sit on my desk and whenever I’m stressed and swamped with work, I can always look up at them and smile. They just make me happy.

Q: What are the small things in life that make you happy?

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2. Easy-peasy-yummy-vegan PASTA time!

Ingredients:

• pre-marinated tofu (I buy mine already marinated, but you can marinate your own too)
• whole wheat rotini pasta
• crushed garlic (1-2 cloves)
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 c broccoli or other vegetables
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• mozzarella cheese (I use SoySations)

1. Boil water on the stove with a touch of salt. When boiling, add the pasta and boil for 8-10 minutes until tender.

DORM TIP: If you don’t have a stove, but have a microwave, you can still make pasta! Using a ratio of 1 c pasta to 1 quart water, cook on high power for about 20 minutes, checking every 5 minutes. More information here. This would have been helpful to know when I was living in the dorms!

2. While pasta is boiling, cut tofu into cubes and saute in a pan until light brown.

3. After tofu cooks for about 4-5 minutes, add a big handful of spinach to the pan to wilt.

4. A huge handful shrinks to this!

5. When pasta is cooked, drain and rinse, then pour back in the pot you cooked it in. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1-2 cloves crushed garlic, then mix in the tofu/spinach mixture. Add broccoli/other veggies and stir mixture for 3-5 minutes until veggies warm. Serve on a plate topped with mozzarella cheese!

That was my yummy dinner for tonight. Before dinner I snacked on a gala apple and a handful of Mary’s cracker with hummus. After dinner I snacked on 1/2 c of my chocolate coconut milk ice cream with the other half of my Vegan Nirvana cookie.

Now it’s off to bed because I have to be up early tomorrow – I have an appointment with a new nutritionist! I’m very nervous about it because I haven’t seen a nutritionist in a few weeks and I’ve never seen this particular nutritionist, but I’m trying to keep an open mind and breathe through the stress. Adi of this week’s free YogaToday video would be proud!

Have a lovely Sunday night!