All About Those Bars - Homemade Protein Bars

Oh fitness...how I love and loathe thee.  Trying to get back in shape after baby #2 is a tough thing to do, mainly because you are running after baby #1 while tending to baby #2, working, keeping household stuff under control and still managing to find time to shower!  So I try and squeeze workouts when I can and make good eating choices as often as possible so I can get back into fighting shape as soon as I can :)

As a mom of 2 kids under 2, it's all about planning and making the most of meal prep days.  So I try and cook up a ton of stuff for the week, portion out my meals, and make easy grab and go options, like these bars.  The recipe is from Jamie Eason and if you haven't had a chance, look her up on FB or on bodybuilding.com.  Her recipes are great and her LiveFit Trainer program has a really great success rate....and it's free!  No sign-ups, no videos, nothing to sell you.  Just free fitness.

The recipe is easy to make and uses some ingredients you will find easily at the local grocery stores.  One ingredient is baby food....and before you roll your eyes, remind yourself that this should be food in its purest form since its to be fed to new tummies.  If you are uncomfortable buying a jar of organic pureed baby food, then by all means, peel, cook and puree your carrots...but I am up for the short cut.  I used sweetener in these, but with the super sweet protein powders on the market today, you probably could cut that out all together.  The protein powder I used was Pure Protein, but not one I recommend.  I bought it as a have-to and would definitely gravitate towards a different brand given more time/options.  I could do a whole blog post on just protein powders honestly.

Jamie Eason's Carrot Cake Protein Bars

• 1 cup of oat flour (do not buy this...use regular rolled oats and run it through a blender or food processor to make your own!)
• 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp each allspice and nutmeg (alternative - use pumpkin pie spice)
• 4 egg whites
• 3/4 cup Splenda, Stevia in the Raw or sweetener of your choice
• 8 oz baby food carrots
• 4 oz water

Directions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees
2. Mix dry ingredients - flour, whey protein, spices, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl - egg whites, sweetener, carrots, and water.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix.
5. Spray a glass baking dish with non-stick spray.  (I have used both a 11x7 and a 8x8 dish.  Both work well)
6. Pour mixture into dish and bake for 20-30 minutes or until toothpick/cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the middle.  **Note these won't be typical protein bars and dense and chewy.  They are airy and cakey in texture**

The Zoo Crew

We decided to take the A Team to the zoo in Nashville, TN for a day of family fun and I thought it would be nice for families considering a day trip there to get a little review.

First, the zoo recommends coming Mon-Thurs due to packed houses on the weekend days, and I agree with this.  It was packed to the brim on the Saturday that we went.  So if you don't want to feel rushed or crowded, I recommend taking a day off from work if you can and visiting during the week so the kids can see better and you can get better photos without feeling insanely rushed.

You can bring your own stroller or rent one (prices were $8 for a single, $10 for a double - and they hold a photo ID for collateral).  I would recommend bringing your own if you go on a crowded day, as they are first-come, first-serve and do not take reservations to secure one.  So you can leave yours in the car and chance it, but I wouldn't want to leave it at home and chance it.

Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 2 -12 (free for members).  Children under 2 are free.  Not there is also a $5 parking charge if you are a non-zoo member.  I think the membership would be great if you live close by, but since we don't, the $35 for a one day excursion was fine.  Train rides, carousel rides and feeding the lorikeets are all additional charges.

So things we loved while inside - the food was pretty good and while a little pricey as at most places like zoos or theme parks, I was pretty impressed that it was called out to be fresh and farm-to-table when possible with options like locally sourced salads, meats, etc.  I mean don't expect perfectly healthy options all the way around, but it was nice to be able to get a salad that tasted fresh or a sandwich with real flavor, as opposed to just frozen chicken tenders (which of course were also available).  The free animal encounters were great for the kids.  They could pet goats and run around on a path with free roaming kangaroo and cockatoos.  A1 lost his mind over these!  Overall cleanliness was big here too.  You didn't see much over-flowing garbage, etc which was surprisingly considering how crowded it was.  The atmosphere was pretty awesome too.  It felt more natural, like you were walking in the forest than some other places we have visited.  You could also bring in your own food and coolers to help cut down the cost of feeding a hungry family (just no glass).

Things we didn't love - where are the lions, tigers, and bears? (oh my?)  Ok so there was 1 tiger.  No lions.  No bears (although they had a sign that said coming soon). No hippos.  No rhinos.  I felt like big animals were lacking, outside the 1 tiger and the elephants.  If you were looking for a wide variety of animals, this was not the place to find it.  The train was only a tiny train that didn't go around the zoo, but cost the same as those that do.  Definitely could benefit with a playground type area for kids to burn off the mounds of sugar readily available in the form of ice cream, chocolate covered bananas, etc.  I didn't even see a splash pad for the summer (maybe I missed it?)

All in all it was a great place, but there were a few things I didn't love.  But I have an overwhelming love for Nashville, so I would not only recommend the zoo but the city as a whole.  It has a little bit of everything for everybody from cowboy to hipster.  You just can't go wrong with Nashville :)

Recipe Trial - Southwestern Sausage Quiche

If you know me, you know I have a love for Plain Chicken.  If you haven't heard of her, then head over plainchicken.com and I think you will love her as much as I do.  Her food is outstanding and although she roots for the enemy (she's all in for Auburn and ya'll know I bleed Crimson, White and a little houndstooth), she is where it is at for fun-loving tailgate food and other comfort must have's.  This week I tried out her Southwestern Sausage Quiche, with a few tweaks.  Not only did I love it, but the family did too.  A1 devoured it, while A2 stared at my plate longingly wondering when her bottle would be replaced with a plate of cheesy goodness. 


Warning - this is a rich dish.  I lightened it up in some aspects, but by now means is this going to get you swimsuit ready!  But when its raining and yucky outside, it sure is yummy!


Recommendations - use a deep dish pie crust, or if you can't find one, don't fill it to the brim.  And let it set up after cooking, maybe even 15 minutes (original recipe says 5-10).  (Wanna know a secret - we were hungry and didn't want and just ate a big pile of mess with some crust under it.  Tastes the same :P)  And I didn't have regular milk, but plain almond milk works just fine.



Adapted from Plain Chicken


3/4 pound turkey sausage (original called for 1/2 pound but we are carnivores)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (10 oz) mild Rotel tomatoes (pulsed in food processor - I didn't drain mine)
2 eggs
1/4 cup light Ranch dressing
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/3 cup unsweetened original almond milk (I normally would use skim but this is what we had)
1 9-inch unbaked deep dish pie shell



Preheat oven to 350.



In a large skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink. Drain and set to the side. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, ranch dressing, sour cream and milk. Add sausage, cheese and Rotel to the egg mixture. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into pie crust.



Bake 1 hour. Allow quiche to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

The girl is back in town...

So it's been a while...like a whole other baby later!  That's right, God blessed us with a sweet baby girl in February of this year without even the tiniest struggle to have her.  We couldn't be happier to be a family of 4!  Which is what led to the renaming of this blog.  You knew it before as "Making of the Sims 3."  Well that didn't exactly make sense anymore since we've gone from 2 to 3 to 4!  So since both kiddos have names that start with the letter A, Captain of the A Team was born.  You can still find all the old archive posts from our struggle and attempts at adoption and then finally having our sweet baby boy, but going forward I figure the name should be a little more accurate.


So now the blog will take on the shape of my many trials at different recipes I find online, on Pinterest, or ones that I revamp to be a little healthier.  I will probably also occasionally post on fitness to act like I am in shape or something (lumpy is the new toned in case you hadn't heard).  Food.  And there will be the occasional DIY projects that I either destroy or actually turns out ok.  Food.  And yes...there will be posts on my amazing family, because they are awesome.  And did I mention food?  So basically this blog is going to be a big hot mess of stuff, which perfectly represents its author :) 


So sit back and enjoy the ride and let's have a snack along the way :)