KIND Bars

I warned you.

Crumble a Be KIND [to your body] Bar over 2% Fage and you’ll be blown away by every creamy, crunchy, chewy mouthful – mmm. Now I’m outta Greek and I’ve got half a batch of bars to go – what’s a girl to do?

Today was a rather uneventful Thursday [cue to close your browser]. I woke up fully rested after 9+ solid hours of sleep, considered making pancakes for brunch, but the strong runner up of a double batch of steel cut oats with fresh summer fruit bribed me with its ‘staying power’. Steel cut oats… if you haven’t tried them, pleaseee do.

What’s your favorite type of hot cereal?

(a) Rolled Oats.

(b) Quick Oats.

(d) Oat Bran.

(e) Multigrain.

(f) Other.

* * *

I went to Target today on a mission to find a can opener, and I left with my friend, Giada [plus a quality $2 can opener]. Somehow my May goal of limiting the lattes easily slipped my mind the past three weeks. I thought if I restocked my pantry with a fresh pound of beans, I’d be less tempted to visit Starbucks and perhaps revive my bank account from the deep ditch I’ve dug.

Giada De Laurentiis. Espresso Roast. Chocolate-like finish. On sale. Sold. I wish it were fair-trade, organic, and/or local, but you can’t have it all. I would be lying if I didn’t say that the celebrity name wasn’t the determining purchasing factor. The power of advertising – isn’t it crazy? Giada’s my culinary idol. Her huge smile makes me smile. You know when you were little [a.k.a. 14-years-old] and wanted to grow up to be like so and so, well Miss Giada was that so and so… she still is.

Who do you idolize?

Rainy weather = running on the ‘mill round 2.

40 minutes @ 1.0 incline [4.5 mi.]

10 minutes [6 min. @ 6.4/4 min. @ 6.8]
10 minutes [2 min. @ 8.0/8 min. @ 6.6]

Repeat set. Add in a few pull-ups, abdominal exercises and stretches. Then return home sweaty + refreshed.

Now the proud owner of a can opener, I was able to finally open my can of Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato Bisque. To go along with, a gourmet grilled cheese.

028

Comfort Food for a College Kid

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Whole Wheat Toast, Chevre, Roasted Red & Yellow Peppers & Organic Baby Spinach

Now the reason it’s taken me forever to push publish on this post is because the 2-hour season premier of So You Think You Can Dance highly distracted me. Most of you know about my obsession with the show from mentioning it all fall. Well, you best be prepared to hear me rave about it for the rest of the summer : ) Dance played a huge roll in my childhood [and Kath’s too!], and although I’ll never be able to move like those individuals on the show, their talent touches me like nothing else. To me, dance is the most beautiful art form. It raises the hairs on my arms. It captivates my soul.

What inspires you?

Dancing to Fame at KAR Regional Dance Competition circa 2004

Early morning tomorrow. Happy longgg weekend!

Hillary

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Waffle Wednesday around here. It was OIAJ Day. An empty almond butter jar is just too hard too resist, don’t you agree? It was screaming for some oat lovin’.

Into the oatmeal pan [you know you have a designated pot for oats too]:

1 c. water
1/3 c. rolled oats
1 itty bitty banana
later [to avoid browning]… a dash of cinnamon

Bubble. Whip. Bubble. Fluff.

Into the empty jar it went with ~1T of creamy salted almond buttah remnants. I’m so glad I acquired a taste for oats + nut butter – what was I thinking?

This 160z. jar of nut butter disappeared rather quickly – oopsie.

Decreased Weight of Oats = Increased Creaminess of Oatmeal

* * *

Rewind to yesterday, Tuesday 5.25.10: I had a lot of fun with Molly and her boyfriend. It was awesome to catch up with her while having no other responsibilities – school, work, etc. Even though the wet weather put a bit of a damper on our day, but we still had a great time together… strolling around town, watching movies, and EATING! Although somewhat alike, Molly and I do not have the same appetite/diet – never have, never will. Nor do I have the metabolism of her 6’4” boyfriend; that being said, by the night’s end, I was less than happy about my day’s eats. It didn’t help that I had the Case of the Mondays the day before, resulting in two days of zero exercise.

What do you do when you can’t completely control what you eat? Do your friends’ unhealthy appetites affect you?

Today was a new day though, a new day to gobble up my greens. For lunch, leftover roasted potatoes and a colorful salad.

Organic Lettuce, Strawberries, BIG Blueberries +

A Drizzle of Honey, Olive Oil, Balsamic & Fresh Black Pepper

I was in the mood to bake this afternoon – oh, the freedom of summer – so I decided to finally cross Mama Pea’s KIND Bars off my To-Bake List.

VS.

There’s no competition whatsoever. Mama P’s recipe has the win in the bag! Have you had a KIND Bar? Don’t bother… instead, make these!

Be KIND [to your body] Bars

1 c. organic almonds
1 c. unsweetened coconut
1/2 c. chopped dried apricots
1/4 c. agave-honey blend
1/4 c. brown rice syrup
2T ground flax
salt

Preheat oven to 350*. Toast almonds until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Then coarsely chop. Add to a medium bowl with coconut and chopped apricots. In a smaller bowl, mix together sweetener, flax and salt. Pour over fruit ‘n’ nut mixture – combine thoroughly. Pat into an 8×8 in. square pat that’s been coated with [chlorofluorocarbon-free] canola oil spray. Bake for ~18 minutes, or until golden brown and edges are slightly crisp. Let cool before ~~digging in with hungry hands~~ cutting into bars.

Goodness, Mama Pea – these aren’t going to be so kind to my waistline after eating the entire batch.

They may be a bit crumbly, but I promise that won’t phase ya. Crumble over 2% Fage and you’ll be one happy snacker. Then nibble on one after dinner as a dessert. I didn’t do this; it’s just a suggestion ; )

After my ~~kind~~ high-fat snack, I finally got in much-needed movement at the g.y.m.

60 minutes elliptical

10 min. @ 10 [resistance: 3/6]
10 min. @ 15 [resistance: 6]
10 min. @ 5 [resistance: 6] – reverse stride

repeat set.

20 minutes treadmill [1.0 incline]

5 min.@ 4.2mph
10 min. @ 6.2mph
5 min. @ 4.2mph

It was either an 80-minute workout, or 8 more KIND Bars.

I would write about my protein-packed dinner of quinoa – it’s love – and edamame , but my word bank is almost spent for the day, and the pictures aren’t so pretty. Here are a couple bonus items in lue of my abrupt closure.

1. My first post as a CL intern is UP: Spring Clean Your College Lifestyle Diet

2. … as is my Profile of a Healthy Eater interview @ YourNutritionista.com

Night, friends!

Hillary