No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

So maybe we are kind of obsessed with our Chocolate Chunk Protein Bars and we ran out of oat flour. We order our oat flour from Amazon's Subscribe and Save and get a box each month but this month I used a lot more than normal for some recipes that were major fails (bummer!). We definitely could have just gone without them but since we were leaving to go out of town in a few days I didn't want to make a bunch of food that we wouldn't be able to finish before leaving. Enter a random concoction of stuff I put together... These are similar to our four ingredient protein bars but I actually prefer these now! They have a few more ingredients but are just as simple to make.

Clean Eat Recipe: No Bake {Gluten Free} Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup gluten free quick cooking oats
• 2 packets chocolate protein powder **If you are interested in ordering this protein powder and would like a FREE Shake & Bake Recipe eBook, please email us first at thegang@heandsheeatclean.com.
• 3/4 cup liquid egg whites (pasteurized carton)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• dash of sea salt

Directions:

1. Line a 8X8 dish (we use Pyrex) with wax or parchment paper
2. Mix all ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl using your hands and/or a fork
3. Press mixture down into dish using a spatula to flatten
4. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Cut into four bars.

Yields 4 Servings

Macros (per serving):

• Calories: 335
• Carbs: 16 g
• Fat: 17 g
• Protein: 25 g
• Sugar: 3 g
• Fiber: 5 g

Hiking Blood Mountain - Being KIND to Ourselves + the World

We are often asked about healthy snacks for "on the go" and one of our favorites is KIND bars. We take them when we travel, when we go hiking, and I always have at least one in my purse in case hunger strikes. There are many bars on the market but many of them are basically candy bars with a little bit of added protein. We are pretty particular about the bars that we consume, especially when hiking. We look for something that will give us the energy we need but without all the junk. We fell in love with the STRONG & KIND line of bars a few years ago once we spotted the honey mustard flavor. We've since turned many people onto the bars! My favorite is the Honey Mustard and Scott's favorite is Jalapeno.

We can't just stop at putting good food into our bodies, it's also important to be KIND to our bodies through exercise and KIND to our communities and world around us. We are KIND to our bodies through exercise. As we've mentioned before, we don't live in the gym. Any chance we get we are on a trail somewhere! We love our weight training routine but also love getting out into fresh air! Not only is hiking exercise for us but it's also a way to escape the daily grind and rejuvenate at the same time.

A few weekends ago we hiked Blood Mountain (which is on the Appalachian Trail) with some friends. We always take a plastic bag to pick up trash as we hike and we were pleasantly surprised to have only found about four pieces of trash on our six mile hike. Maybe the cold weather scared some people off (the trail was even still icy!) or people are being more conscience about their actions.

Once we reached the summit of Blood Mountain we took a short break (short because it was so windy and cold that we didn't want to stop long!) to fuel up with KIND bars before the hike back down.

After getting off the trail we ate lunch at a restaurant in Dahlonega, GA. Although, the fried foods and desserts looked great we opted for a salad with grilled chicken on top. It was SO good! It also had cranberries, apples, and blue cheese. Nourishing your body with quality foods after exercise is an important factor in recovery! We do indulge in our treats but we usually make those ourselves at home or enjoy some dark chocolate, like we did when we got home after the hike.

After our hike we started thinking more about being KIND to our communities, Scott and I decided we would spend a little bit of time the next day picking up trash along the road in front of our neighborhood. There's been a HUGE box on the side of the road for weeks that I have wanted to pick up. We decided to get it and also take some extra trash bags to pick up the litter around it. Only covering 1/8 of a mile we filled the entire empty box that was already out there and another large trash bag! We've decided that we are going to spend a few minutes each weekend and pick up trash around our community.

How do you plan to "Live KIND. every day™"? What will you do to be KIND to your body, taste buds, and world? Check out the kindsnacks.com blog to get some ideas from the KIND team to see how they Live KIND. every day™.

P.S. You must try the Blueberry Vanilla & Cashew KIND bar! It tastes like a blueberry muffin!

Connect with KIND (#LiveKIND):

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of KIND.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Kenzie's back with another awesome recipe! Remember her Apple Pie Protein Bars? If you haven't tried those yet, you should! We've had so many people contact us about how good they were! But back to these Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars, they are part of our BRAND NEW eCookbook, Baby Eats Clean (and toddlers too!)! We wanted to give you a sneak peak at one of the recipes in the book.

P.S. As a side note, don't forget to take on our Fitness AND Finance Challenges for 2016!

Baby Eats Clean

This e-cookbook is filled with delicious recipes and tons of information. We know feeding a little one can be overwhelming and there is so much to consider...What is the most efficient way to make homemade baby food? What are the benefits of making it yourself? When can you introduce new foods? What foods should a baby never eat? These are just a few of the topics we discuss in our latest e-cookbook for clean eating baby & toddler foods. The book includes recipes for every stage, beginning with infancy and ending with preschoolers. The layout makes it easy to navigate and breaks down your child's eating schedule into simple stages. If you want your kids to eat healthy and thrive but also enjoy food, this cookbook is a must have!

And, just for fun, here's another picture of us after hiking Mount Yonah when she was visiting Georgia.

Clean Eat Recipe: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pure peanut butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ½ cup date sugar, coconut sugar, or 1 tsp liquid stevia
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 cups oat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup jelly
• ¼ cup raw unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x9 baking dish, set aside.
2. Stir peanut butter, vanilla, greek yogurt, sugar, and salt together in a medium size mixing bowl.
3. In a separate small bowl, stir flour and baking powder together. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. It should look like a crumble.
4. Scoop out ½ a cup of the peanut butter crumble and stir the peanuts in for topping later, set aside.
5. Pour the peanut butter dough into the greased baking dish pressing it down flat & evenly. Spread the jelly evenly over the top of the peanut butter bars, then crumble the peanut butter & nut topping over the jelly.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yields: 16 bars

Store in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. 

Be sure to subscribe to Kenzie's email updates and catch up with her on the web, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!