Elvis Baked Quest Bar and Vacation Strategies

The recipe that I have for you today is so easy that it is hard to call it a recipe LOL But it tastes incredible. So good that I have been eating it everyday for weeks straight now. No lie!

But before we get to my recent food obsession recipe, I wanted to share with you some pics and thoughts from our recent vacation!

Pretty much all my favorite people in the world met up to spend the week in my in-laws cabin in the mountains where we skied, ate, drank, and/or did puzzles all day. My bestie Jenny and her son flew in, and both my sisters-in-law came with their whole families. We had a grand time! But old me would have been FREAKING out about how much fat I was gaining...

...The Venus veteran side of me was cool and collected though. No guilt because I had a GAME PLAN!

Vacation eating strategy revolves around timing for me. Left is breakfast, right is night ;) In 9 days, I ate once before noon. Coffee, water, and tea are all I want and need before lunch whether I am sitting around working puzzles all day or skiing for 7 hours. It saves a few calories when you are already probably going to hit maintenance or higher for the day. The only day I ate breakfast was because we went out to a restaurant and it is weird if you do not go along. (Don't be that guy!) Booze was plentiful but it makes me want to eat more so I saved it for 5 pm or later. Other than that, I ate what I wanted or was offered. It was not always "healthy" or "ideal" but that is OKAY! It is a a little over a WEEK, and in the scheme of things that is fine! I will fast a couple days this coming week and I am certain I will be back to where I left ;) even if I am up when I get home, it is mostly bloat. You cannot do a whole lot of damage in that little of time! Keep it sane ladies. Enjoy vacations, that is what it is for!

This is a group of us before running up the mountain, we only did 4 miles but I was croaking for air like a beached fish.

My workout strategy was aiming to do SOMETHING every day- whether it was a run, band/bodyweight workout, or skiing. One something every day.

I even did a 7 mile run with family and friends! Always plan to sneak in activity everyday. If someone is training for a run, join them even if you are not sure you can keep up ;) you might be surprised that you can! Certainly good to push your boundaries. Look at all that flat nothing in my hometown in the Texas Panhandle, you can see for miles!

My sis-in-law Erin and I doing a bodyweight/band workout at her house! Get other people involved if you can, it makes your workout more fun ;)

This is my "bag of bands" I throw in my carry-on bag: 2 mini bands, 2 Sprii super bands, and a tube band. I tried to get in a run or band workout in every day we didn't ski. I waited to eat until noon or later most days, and never drank alcohol before 5. Otherwise, I ate and drank what I wanted ;) easy peasy and stress-free! Hope my 3 pronged vacation strategy helps you whether it's a week or a month. Number 1 priority should be to enjoy yourself and relax!

Whelp made it home and was the exact same metrics I left at (and a pound down!). This is the day after I got home. Post-vacation bod, metrics were still bang on but my legs are holding water. It will clear in the next few days though! Feels SO nice to be back in my home gym! Does anyone else feel like a rainbow unicorn Jane Fonda with leg weights on? 😂 I totally dig them! Was doing loaded dead bugs then pranced about during rest time ;)

So onto my new recipe obession... my mother made me peanut butter and banana sandwiches growing up. An Elvis special, if you will! They taste like love to me and I ADORE that flavor and texture combination. Problem is that for about 400 calories, you get a ton of carbs and zero protein.
This is where my idea for this recipe came from. Do not skip baking the Quest bar, this is what MAKES the recipe! I have been having this for breakfast, snack, or dessert at least once a day for about a month now LOL

Elvis Baked Quest Bar

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Quest bar of choice (I have tried PBJ, Coconut cashew, and cinnamon Quest bars and all were great in this combo!)
• 1 tbsp peanut butter (I prefer creamy)
• 1 medium banana, sliced

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 and half a Quest bar. Place  halves on piece of foil or oven safe cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes and smash thinner with a fork, bake for 3 more minutes. Place baked halves on plate, top with 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 sliced banana 😍 soooo great!

Nutritional Info:

370 cals
25 g protein
56 g carbs
14 g fat

Sneaking Greens In

I think most mothers worry about their kids' nutrition. Kids getting in enough vegetables and/or protein seems like a universal concern. If you are like me, you are also concerned about your husband's intake of vegetables as well ;) so today I am sharing how I sneak greens into dishes without screaming, "HEY CHECK OUT THESE VEGETABLES!" Yep, you would never even know they are there. And in some cases, I am pretty sure the family likes them better WITH the addition of the vegetables!

Dumbbell snatch - super, duper full-body exercise but love for #bouldershoulders especially! I did 3 sets of 10 snatches per side. Inspired by #crossfit #17point1

28 days in February = 28 different workouts
✔16 strength training days
✔12 runs
 #nodaysoff
Rewards? Are those new lines I see?! (it's better further down but that was just too scandalous lol) Alas, I have vacation coming up next week so I will be breaking my no days off streak. I am fine with that, I cannot keep that kind of schedule indefinitely. Rest is good too!

Chopped turkey patty and quinoa veggie bowl drizzled with Sriracha (really leftovers thrown in a bowl with fresh veggies I had on hand for volume, but the other name sounded better 😂)

So people like you and me WILL EAT the above plate, we actually ENJOY it ;)

My family is not quite the same however. They pick and choose what they like. My kids like Brussels sprouts, everyone likes asparagus, my husband likes onions... you get the picture and I am sure you can relate. Sometimes, I just feel like they can do better!

I sneak greens into my own oatmeal or quinoa at breakfast. I use my sweet friend Anne's Emerald Spoon Garden Greens blend. Buy HERE.  Between a teaspoon to a tablespoon depending on what else is going into my bowl. If you need to cover the slight green tinge to feed your kids or husband, dark cocoa powder and/or chocolate protein powder works marvelous! I like to top that combo with berries and PB myself! I you do not want to invest in a greens powder, you can blend a handful of spinach and/or kale with the amount of water needed to cook your oats or qunioa. You can also do this for protein shakes, I swear you cannot taste it!

The other places I like to sneak greens into are meat and soups. Yep. Ground beef just soaks it up, you cannot tell at ALL. I almost always use greens powder in my taco meat or meatballs. I am almost certain my family prefers it too, I notice when I add it, they eat more. So I want to share my favorite taco meat recipe with you, and how I bulk it up for me, but easily make something for the whole family to enjoy!

Sneaking Greens In Tacos!

Serves 5

Ingredients:
1.25 lbs lean ground beef
4 tbsp Emerald Spoon Mexi Medley Greens  Buy HERE
Tortillas of choice (my family likes regular flour tortillas, I prefer small corn tortillas or Flat Out wraps)
Cabbage, shredded
Salsa
Other toppings as desired: cheese, avocado, sour cream, etc.

Directions: 
Brown the ground beef with the Emerald Spoon Mexi Medley Greens powder. Drain fat and keep warm in another bowl. Warm up tortillas and get out salsa.  From there, the kids and husband are ready to eat ;)

Using the same skillet over high heat, saute your cabbage until it is wilted and slightly crunchy (about 3 minutes). I use about 3 cups for myself. Then top with about 4 oz of cooked ground beef, topped with 2 tbsp salsa. This time, I served alongside 3 corn tortillas.

Tortilla options- fam likes the ready to cook flour tortillas, I prefer the nutrition of the corn tortillas or Flat Out wraps

Nutritional info 

(3 cups cabbage, 4 oz lean ground beef with greens powder, 2 tbsp salsa, 3 corn tortillas)

453 cals
28 g protein
44 g carbs
20 g fat

Green Protein Oats

This recipe morphed from an old one I posted over a year ago. I still eat it almost every day for my first meal, whenever it falls between 10 AM -2 PMish. Yeah, I sorta get into these "food loops" where I eat and crave the same thing daily LOL Do you do that?

What I love about this recipe is that it literally ticks all the boxes. Greens. Check. Protein. Check. Good carbs. Check. Lots of polyphenol-filled berries. Check. Peanut butter. CHECK!

Plus I can make it in no time flat. Minutes. So even though the finished product is not cute (as in no snapchat filter can fix this kind of ugly), promise me to give it a try ;)

Brad Pilon over at ESE has been putting out some very interesting research findings on polyphenols and gut health lately in two of his products- Good Belly, Bad Belly along with his email subscription, The Advocate. Berries happen to have one of the highest polyphenol ratios of almost any food on earth. (If you are an ESE member, you can check those out in your portal. If you are not, you can grab those at eatstopeat.com/gbbb or eatstopeat.com/add-advocate)

Pounding the water today as I did my normal weekly Eat Stop Eat 24h fast until dinner on Monday :) since I work for ESE part time now, I feel like I need to know the program front to back. My sis-in-law, and fellow Venus, Erin got me this AWESOME glass Zulu water bottle for Christmas. I just adore it! Also went for a little 4 mile beach run with my sweet pup Olive Marie. The ocean was smooth as glass, have never seen it this calm! I try to do cardio the morning of my fast days, and prefer to save lifting for non-fasting days as a general rule  enjoying this weather %! 

Just an FYI that the new Diet Pepsi blend is now aspartame free. Usually, I prefer a Diet Coke, but it is a good idea to rotate your sweeteners if you choose to use them. I will now be rotating between Diet Pepsi/Diet Coke for this reason. I generally have one can of diet soda per day, and 2 cups of coffee with stevia. A few times per week, I have acesulfame in my whey protein powdee. I eat sugar occassionally at events (once per month-ish). Sweeteners effect everyone differently, and the best plan is always to reduce and rotate so that you are not over consuming any one. Look at everything you eat from start to finish in a day and try to see how you can reduce and/or vary the sweeteners.  Just how I do things, and what keeps me sane ;)

#flexfriday au natural this week. Busy getting stuff done all week (and weekend). Physical strength begets mental fortitude. Making time for fitness while trying to keep your head above water at work/home is always worth it 💪you have to take care of yourself before you can care for others!

Standing Banded Hip Thrusts - something new for the truly glute obsessed to try  basically you put your giant band across your power rack, I used a purple Spri band. Then you grab the front supports, and walk your feet up so it looks like you are preparing to slingshot yourself  squeeze those glutes as you thrust forward. It took a couple of rounds until I could really get the feel.

Green Protein Oats

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats (I use old-fashioned or quick cooking, but use what you want and adjust cooking time.)
• 1 cup greens, fresh or frozen (I use fresh spinach, baby kale, or a blend. Can use powder, just reduce amount.)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 mixed berries, fresh or frozen (I use frozen berry blend, but can use whatever berries on hand.)
• 1 scoop whey protein (I use chocolate from Optimum Nutrition in Gold Standard Whey.)
• 1 tbsp PB2 (or peanut powder of choice) plus water (You can omit and use regular pb here too.)
• 1 tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

Place uncooked oats into large bowl. Blend greens with oat water, and pour over. Place berries on top. Microwave for 2:30 or until oats are cooked. Stir in whey protein. Mix PB2 with water as directed, then stir in regular peanut butter (saves cals). Spread over oats and enjoy!

Nutritional Facts per serving:

Enjoy! X-Liss

Greek Yogurt Berry Bark

I saw a video on Facebook of someone making a variation this Greek yogurt bark and thought to myself, "How clever!" They called it breakfast bark, but I love eating my Greek yogurt for dessert at night. Just have never thought about it in a bark format. When I made this the other day, the interesting thing about it was that all that chewing -- or something -- made me fuller than normal. I could not even finish it! And normally, unfrozen, these amounts would be a normal dessert for me, Interesting, huh?

Trying to figure out a way to do back extensions in your home or gym without a glute-ham device? This is the only way I have figured out how to rig something similar in my home gym. Not perfect, but better than nothing ;)

Got out and pounded the pavement on foot to see my new neighborhood. Getting outside to exercise is good for more reasons than you might think. Air quality indoors in notoriously higher in carbon dioxide and other pollutants (indoor plants help, try for 1-2 per room). So while you are out there, be sure to take some DEEP breaths! Secondly, being in sunlight helps your body with vitamin D production. Some reports say that up to 2/3 of women are deficient! It will also help you get in your 10K steps per day, and usually walking will reduce your appetite! 

Our Christmas palm tree; we thought it appropriate 🕆 😎🌴❤🌲🍭🎄🎁🕆

So here is the super easy recipe! I can think of so many other variations I need to try, namely something with peanut butter LOL

Greek Yogurt Berry Bark

Serves 1 (or 2 normal eaters)

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt, divided
• 1 tbsp cocoa power, I used dark cocoa
• 4 tbsp stevia powder, or sweetener of choice, divided
• 1/2 mixed berries, I used frozen
• 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
• 10 almonds, chopped

Directions:

Line a plate or small serving dish with foil or parchment paper, spray with nonstick spray to be safe. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt with 2 tbsp stevia. Drop onto foil. Put the remaining Greek yogurt in the bowl and stir in cocoa power and remaining stevia. Drop onto foil and spread evenly. Drag your spatula through it like a hashmark to marble it.  Top with berries, coconut, and almonds. Place in freezer for approx 2 hours until frozen. Pull the foil out of the pan, and allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Use a pizza cutter or break into pieces. Enjoy!

Nutritional Facts per Serving

262 cals

27 g protein

24 g carbs

8 g fat