What's The Deal With Protein Bars?

One of the more common questions I get asked is "can I have a protein bar instead of a protein shake?" My answer is usually no. Unless you are in a pinch or in an extreme time crunch store bought protein bars are slightly better than eating fast food or other assorted junk food. What's wrong with store bought protein bars? The simple fact is that the majority of protein bars out there are glorified candy bars. They contain high amounts of fructose corn syrup and other forms of sugars,low quality as well as, low amounts of protein and lots of artificial ingredients. This is why they "taste good" but tasting good and being good for you are two very different things. This does not mean that healthy things can not taste good though.
Below are a few recipes for homemade protein bars I got from Dr. John Berardi and Coach Mike Mahler. These bars not only taste great and are easy to make but also way healthier than anything you can buy in a store.

Vanilla Almond Protein Bar

4 scoops whey or rice protein, vanilla

2 T almond butter

2 T ground flax seed

1 and 1/2 cup of water

1 T ground ginger

1 T ground cinnamon

1 T pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon of stevia

Preheat oven to 425. Mix everything in a bowl with a spoon until a thick paste forms. Divide into four parts, roll into balls, then shape into bars. Place on cookie sheets and bake 12-15 minutes.

Nutrition:

calories 540
protein 70 gr
carb ~20 gr
fat ~20 gr

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar

2 scoops whey or rice protein, chocolate

2 T natural peanut butter

2 T ground flax seed

1 T ground cinnamon

1/2 cup almond milk

Mix everything in a bowl, stirring with a spoon until a thick paste forms. Divide in two, wrapping each bar in aluminum foil. Place the bars in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, you'll have two delicious bars, ready for breakfast or whenever you want a snack.

Nutrition

calories 365
protein 27 gr
carb 17 gr
fat 21 gr

Chocolate Pecan Bars

3 scoops Sun Warrior or whey protein, chocolate

1 T ground cinnamon

1/4 cup pecans

2 T ground flaxseed

2 T raw almond butter

1 T non-dairy/gluten-free brownie mix

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Mix everything in a bowl, stirring with a spoon until a thick paste forms. Divide into 6 balls and place in the refrigerator for two hours. Preheat oven to 425. Place the six balls on a cookie sheet, flattening slightly with a fork, and bake for 12-15 minutes. These are delicious. Have three bars as a snack and the other three for dessert later.

There you have it 3 simple and great tasting recipes that are easy to make!
Make up a batch and wrap them in plastic and keep them in the refrigerator. Take them when you are on the go and want to have a good quality source of protein available!

Success Part 1: What Do You Want?

What do you want? It seems like a very simple question. Unfortunately, for too many people they truly don't know. I can hear it now from most people. "I know what I want. I want to run a 4.5 second 40 yard dash. I want a division I scholarship. I want to make a lot of money. etc. etc. "These are definitely wishes but just saying you want something is not good enough. Not if you ever hope to achieve what you want that is. The purpose of this post is to help you take the first steps toward what ever you hope to achieve and in part 2 I will explain how you get it!

The following list are the first 3 steps.

Step 1) Making vague statements such as, "I want to lose 20 pounds" isn't going to help you lose 20 pounds. The first step to achieving what you want is first finding out exactly what that is? Now, when I say exactly I mean exactly! Yes you need to be as specific as possible! So don't just say I want to lose 20 pounds. Rather say " I am going to lose 20 pounds of body fat and gain 10 pounds of lean muscle in the next 3 months! Once you have an idea of what you want you must first write it down in as much detail as possible. Writing it down is important because until you do it is just another vague idea passing through your brain! Writing it down makes it real and achievable. After you have it written down hang it up somewhere you can see it and read it everyday.

Step 2) Choose a starting date that you will begin your quest for whatever it is that you want. Without setting a specific starting date you will most likely procrastinate and never achieve anything. Pick a date and on that date START! Two great quotes about procrastination are "The best way to get something done is to begin." Author Unknown and "Don't wait, the time will never be just right." Napolean Hill.

Step 3) Set a deadline! If you don't have a deadline then you will not have any pressure to work hard to accomplish your goals! Deadlines work plain and simple. Think about all the times in your life you've had them. You got what you needed to do done didn't you? More then likely you did and if you didn't it is time to step up to the stage and perform or you will never get what you want. To further sum it up "What can be done at any time is never done at all." ~English Proverb

So there it is. Pretty simple huh? So get up off your butt and figure out what it is that you want? Write it down. Read it everyday. Set a start date. Set a deadline to achieve your goal. START! Here's to your success. See you in part 2.