pb2

My nutrition has been all over the place these past couple of days. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been a ravenous monster every evening. Quest bars have often been my go to at night, but they’re really expensive and have a lot of mystery ingredients that I don’t always feel the greatest about eating. So, when I was perusing instagram and stumbled upon a recipe for homemade protein bars with ingredients I had in my pantry, I just had to make them.

Homemade 5 Ingredient Protein Bars!

2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
4 TBSP peanut butter
2 TSP honey or agave syrup
1 TSP or so chocolate chips
4 TBSP water

Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon or spatula. Add water one TBSP at a time until the desired consistency is reached (you may not need all of it). Shape them into bars & put them the fridge for 30-45 minutes and voila! If you want, you can add some extra coconut flour to thicken up the batter.

Nutrition (4 servings): 155 calories, 10 carbs, 9g of fat, and 10g of protein.

This weekends workouts, unlike my nutrition, were on point. I have been trying to tone down my running a little bit because of some knee pain I had been experiencing, but I still decided (for no reason in particular) that it would be a good idea to run anyway on Saturday.

My run was surprisingly enjoyable. I felt no pain at all and felt weightless and in the zone. I can only hope every run is just like this one to be honest. I also began Week 11 of the Bikini Body Guide today and it was just as enjoyable as when I did the Leg session in Week 9. I’m feeling so much stronger these days and I am really just soaking up these last two weeks. I have decided that after I finish the guide, I will be taking a week off from any and all exercise. This will be a challenge, but I need a reset for my body and this will be the perfect time. After my brief hiatus, I will restart the guide again and I can’t wait to see how things have changed when I do the same circuits after building up all of this new strength and endurance.

If you give the protein bars a try, let me know what you think down in the comments!

-sj

How to run:

Step 1: Put one foot in front of the other

Step 2: Repeat and go as fast or as slow as you please.

One of the things I really enjoy about running is how individual it is. I get to choose how fast or slow I go on any given day. How long or short my run is. Whether I want to do it inside or outside. If I want to listen to music or tv or nothing at all. It’s my choice.

To learn how to run, you just have to decide that you want to. You need no equipment. It’s never easy when you start, but the more you work on it, the better you get and the better you feel. Every person who runs will tell you about the struggle of starting, but there is a reason that they stick with it. It can be therapeutic in a way that not many exercises can be. You can get lost in yourself, and that, my friends, is an amazing feeling.

Today’s run was strangely awesome. It was an incredibly dreary day outside so I decided to take my morning run over to the good ole treadmill.

My short planned run turned in to a 6.5 mile excursion. I decided to start out slow because my legs were really sore, but once I got in to the grove, I just didn’t want to stop. That feeling of never having to stop is something incredible. Your legs feel weightless and connected to the Earth in a way that is almost indescribable. I felt particularly humbled today because it is the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings which always makes me feel appreciative. One of my roommates in college/greatest people I’ve ever met/life-long inspiration was at the finish line watching her mom finish up the marathon minutes before the bomb went off. Luckily, she was on the other side of the finish line, but every time this date rolls around, I can’t help but think off the people effected and it lights a fire under my bum.

After my run, I headed home to whip up my new protein filled breakfast:

Peanut Butter Protein Oats!

1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of rolled oats (not the quick kind)
2 egg whites
dollop of PB2

Boil water. Add oats and reduce heat to medium and wait 3-4 minutes. Take oats off the heat and add egg whites stirring. Place back on the heat for a final minute. Pour in to a bowl and add as much or as little peanut butter as you would like. Cal: 220 Protein: 16g Fat: 4g.

It is sososo good. Especially when you add a little cinnamon and maybe an extra dollop or so of peanut butter for extra fun.

The rest of the day consisted of work and me taking the Boo-ster to the vet.

It would be careless to talk about running and not talk about my favorite running partner. Hope you all are having the best day yet!

-sj

Love & Lunge

homemade protein bars. 5 ingredients. let’s do this.

how to run.