Cooking Ahead and Homemade Oatmeal Energy Bars!

I have a weakness for energy bars. I know they're overpriced and that many are basically glorified candy bars and provide far more vitamins and minerals than I probably need from a snack, but when in unfamiliar territory (like a road trip) with no snacks in my purse, I'm very apt to reach for a Clif Bar when my stomach starts growling. I actually don't buy them that often, but that's because I try to always have something to eat with me.

Now that classes have started again, I have to get back in the habit of carrying around food to get me through eight-and-ten-hour stretches. For better or worse, this requires some planning—and cooking!—ahead. Yesterday I had a few free hours, so I decided to make my own damn energy bars.

Here is the recipe I came up with, based on various other recipes I saw online. They're pretty moist, and intentionally so. If that's not your thing, you can cook them a little longer or use a tiny bit less milk. Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal Energy Bars

Ingredients
• 1.5 cups rolled oats (I used 1 cup rolled oats and 1/2 cup steel-cut oats)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nut)
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots, ¼ cup chopped dried dates, and ¼ cup raisins)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups skim or soy milk
• 1 egg or egg substitute (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Mix wet ingredients.
4. Pour wet into dry. Stir to combine.
5. Pour into a 9×9 baking dish either coated in cooking spray or lined with parchment.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Cut into 9 squares.

Makes 9 servings . Each bar is about 125 calories with 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.

Notes:
• If you want it sweeter, you can add ¼ cup brown sugar, maple syrup, honey or molasses, but I thought the mellow sweetness from the fruit was plenty.
• You also might want to add a scoop or two of protein powder to the mix for extra energy!


I also made a big pot of zucchini, eggplant and chickpeas in tomato sauce last night along with some whole wheat couscous. It travels well and tastes good and provides a lot of protein, fiber, and some veggies, among other necessities. Good stuff.

Snacks Now Account for a Quarter of Daily Calories

Ask pretty much anybody, and they'll likely tell you that they snack between meals. I know I do.

This study, which examined snacking trends between 1977 and 2006, found that not only are more people eating more snacks but that today's snacks are more calorically dense than they were in 1970's.

In 2006, 97% of people reported consuming snacks on a regular basis, up from 71% in the 1970's. The total contribution of the snacks to daily calorie consumption also rose from 18% to 24% during that time. That means the average American now gets about a quarter of their calories from snacks.

Given the popularity of the "six small meals" eating pattern a lot of people say they adhere to, that's not a surprising figure. However, it's safe to assume that something's a little off, since people overall are consuming more calories per day. It seems that many forget about the operative word: small. Instead of eating snacks in place of meals, a lot of people are eating three regular-sized meals and snacks. No wonder there's an two-thirds of the population is overweight. It's hard to ignore food when it's shoved in your face 24/7.

It's really all about balance, but it's hard to tune in to your personal hunger cues when there are tons of opportunities to eat stuff you don't need in places that weren't thought of as appropriate places to eat thirty years ago. Would your grandmother have eaten in a store? Make sure you carve out some time for yourself every day to sit down for even just a couple minutes and focus simply on eating. Enjoy it. Though it might often feel like we're expected to be running around on all cylinders all the time, it really is important to slow down and take care of ourselves.

These Are Just Wrong

Dude, sunflower seeds are not supposed to taste like nachos. Alas, nacho-cheese-flavored sunflower seeds exist. Why?

The Law of Attraction Works Again!

Do you guys believe that by putting forth thoughts into the universe, you can manifest your desires?

Hah, that's some seriously hippie-dippie vocab I just pulled, but I mean it! Since I started being more mindful of what I send out into the void, I've noticed that I usually do get what I wish for, for better or worse.

This morning, it was definitely for better. Even though I had a very filling breakfast, I got a tiny bit hungry around 11. Go figure, about five minutes later, this thing arrived—a thank you from a patient who just had a baby. Talk about sweet!