First, here is a pic:
Homemade energy bar
Second, I think I failed to mention earlier, pricewise, that I had a few ingredients already in the house, and also left out some stuff that I didn’t want to buy (mainly wheatgerm), or didn’t want in the bar (dates. yuck). So, the price of course will vary.
And on a side note, a couple of days later, stored in tupperware, the energy bars are holding up. A much better snack than the Christmas cookies I had grown so fond of.
Happy New Year!
A few weeks ago the husband and I were at Whole Foods where I normally stock up on inexpensive energy bars (yes, Whole Paycheck was one of the few stores that sold Luna Bars on a regular basis for $.99). Imagine my surprise when the price had gone up 20 cents, to a whopping $1.19. The husband noticed the same thing happen to their canned beans (believe it or not, you can find good deals at Whole Foods, especially with their 365 brand, and on organic foods). So, as our once regular trips to WF have dwindled, I realized maybe it was finally time to stop wasting money on something like Luna Bars, when I could easily create a homemade concotion that served the same function, mainly fuel replenishment after a workout.
Now, at this point, the husband would say, “Yeah, it’s called a banana, yogurt and almonds”. But who remembers to pack all that stuff in a gym bag? And the yogurt needs refrigeration. And lots of bananas, yogurt and almonds adds up wallet-wise. The economy is in the toilet, so let’s find something that won’t break the bank.
Enter the homemade energy bar. I found a recipe on FoodNetwork.com, from Ellie Krieger, whose show “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger” I’ve only seen once, and it was by accident. Today, decided to try it out.
The results are in … This was a worthwhile venture. First, the numbers. I used the “Toasted Nut ‘n’ Cranberries” Luna Bar as my comparison. This is one of the small handful of Luna flavors that I ate, and the only one with out the drizzled chocolate or whatever stuff, so it seemed a pretty decent comparison.
Luna Bar: 180 calories
Fat grams: 4 (saturated fat .5g)
Carbs 26
Fiber 4
Protein 10 g
Ellie’s Energy Bars: 133 calories
fat grams: 5 (saturated fat .6g)
Carbs 20
Fiber 2.5
Protein 5g
So … Luna wins out in the higher Fiber and Protein count. Then again, since it is also higher in calories, I could double the serving size (which, come to think of it, soon becomes about the size of a Luna bar), and for a few more calories I would be receiving an equivalent amount of protein and fiber.
Taste-wise … well these homemade versions certainly aren’t going to win any awards. And Luna/Clif certainly don’t have to worry about the competition. However, as homemade energy bars go, they aren’t bad. The best thing they have going for them is that they are not overly sweet, which is my preference for a pre-workout or post-workout snack. I don’t want anything that makes me crave for something more, the way sweets often do for me. The first bite seemed a bit dry, but I could bake them for less time and that would probably fix the problem.
Price. Ah, the fun part. I went to the bulk section of PCC to purchase the ingredients, and spent $4.62. (I heart Bulk! Quick Rolled Oats! $0.24! Sunflower Seeds! $0.36!) Since I’m doubling the serving size to equate one Luna Bar, price per bar/serving is $0.46. This price is 61% lower than the Whole Foods Luna Bar price. Keep in mind that WF (and maybe TJ’s still does it, too, I haven’t been there in a while) offers these bars at the lowest price I can find (not on sale). You’ll find them at other stores for between $1.25 to $1.39 or more). Not too shabby.
But, wait, Chattycha. What if you were to purchase a case of Lunas from Costco? Okay. You’ve got me. I haven’t priced these suckers at Costco. And I bet if I bought a case I’d get them for a cheaper price. But I don’t have a membership to Costco (which is what, $40 a year? Seriously. I have no idea), and the closest one is who even knows where so don’t forget to include all that driving time and gas and mileage. PCC, on the other hand, is walking distance from my house. Come to think of it, we are PCC Co-op members and since we used our 10% coupon today, technically the ingredients only cost $4.16. Besides, in the amount of time it would take me to drive to Costco, purchase said Luna Bars (and probably $100 worth of other stuff), I could bake these babies, cool them down and slice them up. So, you do the math. Oh, wait, I already did.
Now, for me, energy bars are really intended to fuel the body following a good lifting workout. Or, I’d eat half of one before rowing practice in the morning to wake up the body and get it going. I’m not really exercising right now, unless you count the 30-minute treadmill walk and 15-minute recumbent bike exercise (HR at a nice steady 100 bpm because anything higher and things start to hurt). So consider this a test run for when I return to my regular programming, sometime in the new year. Not sure when exactly, but I know it’s coming.
Pics to come. I’m just a bit too lazy to download the images onto the PC. Hey. I’m 36 weeks pregnant. I can’t be expected to run up and down the stairs simply for some blog artwork.
Got a quick an easy energy bar recipe I should try? Send it on.
This was the lede for the NWMonday section of the now VERY lame Seattle Times newspaper (the print version, that is. I still know folks who work on the Web site, which I find to be informative and easy to navigate and nice job all you NM folks):
“Holidays are no picnic for those grossed out by potlucks”
No comment on whether I am a taster or not. But now I’ve got to think twice before digging in to the next potluck. Thanks, anal retentive eaters. Thanks a lot.
My other project this past week as been to finish this baby kimono. The pattern is from Lion Brand Yarn. It is the first sweater I’ve tried to knit, and I feel like I cheated a bit, because it is essentially five different pieces, but then sewn together.
Baby kimono sweater
Not quite like the impressive and adorable sweater that my pal Marcie knit for little baby.
By the way, I think I discovered while researching some different stitches online, that I’m actually knitting incorrectly. I knit through the back loop, whereas I guess you’re supposed to knit through the front. Unfortunately I can’t find my “Teach Yourself to Knit” booklet to doublecheck. With the sister arrives in January, I’m going to have to have her bring her knitting book with her (the one I gave her for Christmas … the gift that keeps on giving), to double-check what I probably already know to be true. Oh well, what are you going to do.
So, we didn’t make it to Christmas dinner on Christmas day. Lousy weather, bad road conditions, and a trip up to the Sammamish Plateau was quite unappealing. Ditto for Christmas Eve. So yesterday we combined the two events into one and headed to Claire’s for presents and dinner.
But first, our Christmas, on Christmas Day.
Christmas Day with Max
He’s quite good at opening gifts. In fact, he was snooping around this gift (he sniffed it out) a few days early so I had to hide it until Christmas morning. Max. He is so tricky.
Dinner at Claire’s was excellent: Prime rib, potatoes, creamy pearl onions, creamed spinach, and a family tradition of Yorkshire Pudding. I had never had Yorkshire Pudding until I met the husband and his family. Yorkshire pudding, especially, the family recipe, is such a treat. Granted, there were a LOT of things I’d never heard of or tried before I met the husband and his family. It’s just what happens with families meld, isn’t it? I am fairly certain the husband had never heard of or seen a thousand-year-old egg before he met me. So, it goes back and forth.
Christmas dinner
The chef of the evening revealed that the recipes from the evening’s dinner came straight from Tyler Florence of all places. For dessert, Claire made a french treat, called something I can’t remember. Cafluti? Sweetened cherries surrounded by an egg custard. Very tasty, but no pic, sorry. I brought along lemon bars to share. And, as I’ve done quite a bit of baking this past week (what else are you going to do when you’re stuck at home), I made a point to leave them there. Before packing them up I taste-tested one of them. Pretty good. I should do these more often.
Lemon bars
Of course, we didn’t go home empty-handed. In addition to the generous gifts we received from the in-laws, the mother-in-law also sent us home with a tiered-plate of Christmas cookies (tea cakes, shortbreads, bourbon balls, jam thumbprints, sugar cookies, oh my); plus what she calls “nuts and bolts” but what I’ve always known as Chex Mix. Tasty.
And I’m sure my doctor will wonder how it is possible for one person to gain 20 pounds in one week. I should just refer her to chattycha.com.
Hope you are enjoying the holidays.
Our Christmas tree
Peace.
Day 8, stuck here at the house. We ventured out yesterday to First Hill for a doctor’s appointment. While the freeways were clear of any snow, slush nor ice, the roads to and from the freeway were a far different story. First Hill being, you know, hilly, there were several main roads that were closed, so we went the most circuitous route possible to get to Madison and Minor. And, if you think it would make sense for the city of Seattle to, at the very least, plow the streets leading up to oh, I don’t know, a HOSPITAL, well ho ho ho are you way off-base. At least, I was when I said to the husband, “Surely Madison will be clear of snow.” The ride to the doctor’s was bumpy bumpy bumpy. Baby was not fond of the ride, so far as I can tell. We thankfully have a 4Runner with 4WD that got us to our destination, but boy was I nervous about all of the OTHER cars on the roads, like the lame Toyota Corolla in front of us trying to get to Capitol Hill, or the insane Honda Civic that thought it could bypass a “Street Closed” sign on Boren but then fishtailed and ran into the curb. Some great driving going on.
And, I’m not the only one complaining about the poor job the city has done with clearing the streets.
So, that was our only jaunt of the week (not including a two-mile round trip to UVillage over the weekend). Needless to say, we’re staying home as much as possible. As you might have guessed, I’ve been a little stir crazy. I baked cookies last week, intending to give them to some co-workers. Being as how I never made it back to the office, the work cookies soon became neighbor cookies. I made a batch of chocolate chip and a batch of sugar cut-outs, and frosted them with this lame icing from the BHG cookbook. I wasn’t crazy about the cookie dough, either, so I decided to try again.
For this batch, which I finished today, I used the Best Rolled Out Sugar Cookies. Seriously, that’s what they call them at allrecipes.com. I also found a frosting recipe from allrecipes. It is my go-to site for simple recipes and all-american cooking (i.e green bean casserole).
I had quite a bit of fun frosting these. The frosting is way better than what I used from BHG. BHG was basically powdered sugar and milk. Blech. I sent the husband out for food coloring and added it to the new version, made of powdered sugar, milk and butter (the original recipe called for shortening but I declined. I’m not sure what shortening does to frosting that butter doesn’t)
The toppings I got from Williams Sonoma, on sale. I’m hoping we make it to the in-laws tomorrow for Christmas, so I can give these cookies away. Otherwise I am going to come out of this snowstorm one roly-poly cookie-eating chica.
See more cookie pics on my flickr photostream.
BTW, I am not so clever as to have invented the title of this post. I have to give credit to Cupcake Royale.
Speaking of cupcakes, I imagine this frosting would be incredible on a nice chocolate cupcake. Yeah!
I was doing a little upgrading and nearly lost access to the backend of this here blog. It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally learned (the hard way) how important BACKING UP is. So, I’m quite pleased that I had my wp-config.php file backed up.
So, I’m back.
Snow on the deck
I’ve worked from home the past three days due to snow. Day 1, there wasn’t actually any snow. But the threat of snow had several people staying home. Day 2, indeed there was snow. Day 3, the aftermath of snow falling. Here is a big difference between snow in Seattle and snow in other (normal) cities.
SEATTLE:
CHICAGO and WEST HARTFORD (Conn.):
So, there you go. A quick little recap of the week. Monday is my last day in the office (assuming I make it into the office, as the forecast calls for snow on Sunday night and you know what that means …) before the end of the year.
Happy Snow!
Who needs a fancy work party at the Westin? We’ve got a hot potluck in the big conference room.
Everyone loves a good potluck, right? Especially when one gets awards. I didn’t go for the award this year, actually. Too much other stuff going on to spend time dreaming up the “best original dish”. But, take a look at the best original dish, prepared by Alejandro. Chicken Empanada:
MSN Empanada. Now that's team spirit.
I brought a pasta salad. Made with tri-color rotini, marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. I forgot the olives and ditched the capers. An easy dish that took all of 20ish minutes to make the night before. Maybe next year I’ll be up for the competition again.
Good fun was had by all.
Baby has a very cute sweater, knit by my friend, Marcie:
baby sweater
Super cute shoes from Cheryl & Katie:
mouse shoes. they match the cute outfit that came with it.
Tasty baby shower food … Eggs with dill and other fancy herbs. Egg quiche. Tasty little puff pastries with savory fillings. One was sweet potato and bacon. The other was … mashed potatoes? Embarrasingly enough now I can’t remember. Regardless, the puffs and eggs were courtesy of JB. The quiche from I think Marcie.
baby shower food
Fun was had by all. Hooray!