True Story

haveyourcakeandbefittoo: No-Bake Protein Bars 2.0 (with superfood ingredient!) By Oxygen Staff  Kirstyn Brown, Assistant Editor Meet one of my favorite clean products on the planet: organic raw coconut butter. Coconut butter is different from the clean eater cooking staple coconut oil because it’s made from the whole flesh of the coconut and packs a much richer, sweeter flavor. Add a tablespoon to protein shakes, oatmeal, or yogurt or spread it on toast or pancakes and voila! You’re in tropical, high-fiber heaven. And, the medium chain triglycerides – a rare, healthy saturated fat – in coconut can help lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and even rev your metabolism! If you love coconut and you’ve never tried this product, make a trip to your local health food store to pick some up, or grab a jar online. Just a heads up, when you open your brand new jar of coconut butter, you’ll discover that a) it’s solid, not buttery and b) there’s a layer of separated oil hardened on top. Just pop it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, or run the jar under hot water, then stir to combine. Your second warning: you may instantly fall in love with coconut butter and as the saying goes, love makes us blind. But it’s important not to turn a blind eye to the high fat and calorie content – as healthy as they may be. Just like the healthy fats in avocados and walnuts, you still need to watch your intake of these medium chain fatty acids. So, try to keep your consumption to a tablespoon or two. Recently, I was experimenting with the recipe for no-bake protein bars our nutrition editor Helen Vong posted last month. Trying to satisfy my craving for dessert, I swapped the peanut butter for coconut butter and the vanilla protein powder for chocolate.  Mix, freeze, bite… and I’m addicted. These scrumptious squares are packed with protein and taste just like a Bounty chocolate bar (or a macaroon, depending which taste-tester you ask). They were super easy to whip up, and a huge hit at my gym and with the Oxygen staff. So by popular demand, here’s the recipe! We hope you love them as much as we did! Chocolate Coconut No-Bake Protein Bars Makes 8 large bars or 12-14 snack-size squares Ingredients 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats 1/2 cup softened coconut butter 3-4 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder 3/4 - 1 cup water NOTE: If you are using quick oats instead of old fashioned, you will require less water Directions Line a square baking dish with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add water to 3/4 cup of water to the oats, stir, and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so the oats absorb the water. Add the protein powder and coconut butter to the mixture. With clean hands, kneed the batter until all the ingredients are well combined and the mixture becomes moist and doughy. (I found it helps to roll it all into a big, solid ball). If the powder is not dissolving into the mixture, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Press the mixture into the square dish evenly. Flatten out the top with a spatula until smooth and even. Pop in the freezer for 30 min. The mixture should be firm and cool but not frozen solid. Lift the paper out of the dish onto a cutting board and cut into desired squares. Topping tips: Feel free to add other ingredients to the mix like mashed banana, almonds, ground flax seed, anything goes! You may even want to top the squares with a sprinkling of unsweetened, shredded coconut, or slivered almonds before freezing. Nutritional info: For 8 bars: Calories: 250 Carbs: 21 g Protein: 20 g Fat: 20 g For 12-14 snack-size squares: Calories: 154 Carbs: 13 g Protein: 14 g Fat: 13 g *Nutritional info will vary slightly depending on the type of whey protein you use – Kirstyn Follow me on Twitter @MagGirlKB [Source: Oxygen Staff Blog]

haveyourcakeandbefittoo:

No-Bake Protein Bars 2.0 (with superfood ingredient!)

By Oxygen Staff 

Kirstyn Brown, Assistant Editor


Meet one of my favorite clean products on the planet: organic raw coconut butter.

Coconut butter is different from the clean eater cooking staple coconut oil because it’s made from the whole flesh of the coconut and packs a much richer, sweeter flavor. Add a tablespoon to protein shakes, oatmeal, or yogurt or spread it on toast or pancakes and voila! You’re in tropical, high-fiber heaven. And, the medium chain triglycerides – a rare, healthy saturated fat – in coconut can help lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and even rev your metabolism!

If you love coconut and you’ve never tried this product, make a trip to your local health food store to pick some up, or grab a jar online. Just a heads up, when you open your brand new jar of coconut butter, you’ll discover that a) it’s solid, not buttery and b) there’s a layer of separated oil hardened on top. Just pop it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, or run the jar under hot water, then stir to combine.


Your second warning: you may instantly fall in love with coconut butter and as the saying goes, love makes us blind. But it’s important not to turn a blind eye to the high fat and calorie content – as healthy as they may be. Just like the healthy fats in avocados and walnuts, you still need to watch your intake of these medium chain fatty acids. So, try to keep your consumption to a tablespoon or two.

Recently, I was experimenting with the recipe for no-bake protein bars our nutrition editor Helen Vong posted last month. Trying to satisfy my craving for dessert, I swapped the peanut butter for coconut butter and the vanilla protein powder for chocolate.  Mix, freeze, bite… and I’m addicted.

These scrumptious squares are packed with protein and taste just like a Bounty chocolate bar (or a macaroon, depending which taste-tester you ask). They were super easy to whip up, and a huge hit at my gym and with the Oxygen staff. So by popular demand, here’s the recipe! We hope you love them as much as we did!

Chocolate Coconut No-Bake Protein Bars
Makes 8 large bars or 12-14 snack-size squares

Ingredients

  • 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup softened coconut butter
  • 3-4 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder
  • 3/4 - 1 cup water


NOTE: If you are using quick oats instead of old fashioned, you will require less water

Directions

  1. Line a square baking dish with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, add water to 3/4 cup of water to the oats, stir, and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so the oats absorb the water.
  3. Add the protein powder and coconut butter to the mixture. With clean hands, kneed the batter until all the ingredients are well combined and the mixture becomes moist and doughy. (I found it helps to roll it all into a big, solid ball). If the powder is not dissolving into the mixture, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.
  4. Press the mixture into the square dish evenly. Flatten out the top with a spatula until smooth and even.
  5. Pop in the freezer for 30 min. The mixture should be firm and cool but not frozen solid. Lift the paper out of the dish onto a cutting board and cut into desired squares.


Topping tips: Feel free to add other ingredients to the mix like mashed banana, almonds, ground flax seed, anything goes! You may even want to top the squares with a sprinkling of unsweetened, shredded coconut, or slivered almonds before freezing.

Nutritional info:
For 8 bars:
Calories: 250
Carbs: 21 g
Protein: 20 g
Fat: 20 g

For 12-14 snack-size squares:
Calories: 154
Carbs: 13 g
Protein: 14 g
Fat: 13 g

*Nutritional info will vary slightly depending on the type of whey protein you use

– Kirstyn
Follow me on Twitter @MagGirlKB

[Source: Oxygen Staff Blog]

This Afternoon’s Workout:

backonpointe:

  • 20 jumping jacks
  • 10 goblet squats (with a 10 pound dumbbell)
  • 10 side lunges
  • 5 kneeling push-ups
  • 30 Russian twists
  • 20 vertical leg crunches
  • 5 bench dips
  • :20 Superman
  • 10 shoulder presses (with two 5 pound dumbbells)

Did the whole set twice through.

“It’s crazy becasue it happened naturally,” he said. “It wasn’t like the label was like, ‘We need to get a Taylor Swift feature.’ It was really like she hit me up and invited me to come on her set, and I couldn’t make it because I wasn’t in Atlanta at the time, but she actually arranged for me to come to Dallas and she brought me out and I played her the song, she liked it and it naturally happened. That is an element that you don’t see too much, too often in the industry. So I’m glad it happened naturally like that.

“She hit me up and was like, ‘Hey! I’m in Atlanta,’” he continued. “I didn’t think she was going to like the song, but she loved it. It turned out tremendous.”

—B.o.B on “Both of Us” collaboration with Taylor Swift (via ohsoswiftly)

(Source: hiphopdx.com, via tswiftdaily)

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