Health & Well Being

Protein Bar Recipe with Nutrient Rich Insights

My good friend Michele Katz and I recently attended a nutrition seminar at a local Tai Quan Do facility for athletes. The seminar was put on by a local graduate of the Center for Integrated Nutrition, Rebecca Johns. Rebecca is a certified Nutrition and Wellness Coach.

I’d just finished a great bike ride and was all set to be motivated by Rebecca’s expertise, when she surprised us with samples of her homemade Protein Bites. Delicious!

I’d like to share Rebecca’s recipe with you as this is a fabulous health protein bar. It’s certainly not a junk bar promoted as being healthy!

Rebecca’s Protein Bites

Ingredients

• 2c raw oatmeal
• 1c protein powder
• 1/2c ground flax seed
• 1/2c wheat germ
• 2c trail mix – almonds, cashews, dried fruit etc
• 1/2c ground walnuts
• 1/2c coconut
• 1c honey
• 2c peanut butter

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together and press into a baking pan.
2. Cut into 24 bars

Index:
Calories: 310
Carbs: 31g
Fibre: 4.2g
Protein: 11g

Insights from Rebecca’s seminar

Below are some of the nutrient rich insights confirmed at Rebecca’s event as described by me, John Allen Mollenhauer.

1. Read food labels
It always pays to read the nutrition data on labels to understand exactly what you’re eating. By simply looking at the ingredients in Rebecca’s recipe you can quickly see you’re eating nutrient rich food. The clear information provided on calories, carbs, fibre and protein is also particularly straight forward.

Be aware of nutrition data labels which list ingredients you can’t spell or decipher. Terms such as net carbs, real carbs, serving sizes, calories, sodium, and types of fat often mean the data has been manipulated. The amount of data manipulation carried out is mind boggling.

To learn how to effectively read nutrition labels take a look at Jeff Novick’s article on the National Health Association website, www.healthscience.org.

2. Are you eating predominantly nutrient rich calories or nutrient poor calories?
The effects on your body of eating nutrient rich calories or nutrient poor calories can be significant; not just in terms of weight, but in terms of your health, your ability to function, and your ability to perform well.

To compare the differences between nutrient-rich foods and nutrient poor foods see the Food Class System on nutrientrich.com. And remember, it’s not just the calories that count; it’s not even just the nutrients that count, it’s the quality of the nutrients that count!

3. Are you eating health promoting protein, real food carbohydrates, essential fat…?
What’s the point of eating whey protein, huge amounts of animal protein, or synthetic vitamins if these sources of nutrients are of a poor quality?

Despite the nutrition data provided on labels, poor quality nutrients can have a negative impact on your body if eaten in significant quantities.

4. Pre workout and post workout meals
Because Rebecca’s audience was predominately athletes I found her expertise particularly valuable. The following points sum up Rebecca’s main messages:

1. It’s not just the nutrition data that matters; it’s the quality of ingredients.
2. Be aware of how you feel when you eat one food versus another.
3. You can feel and perform significantly better when eating ‘real food’ and food that promotes your health in an optimal way. You’ll quickly experience this once you make the transition.
4. Hydration comes from water, but also from the food you eat. By eating plenty of fruit and vegetables you’ll effectively be drinking all day.
5. Coconut water is one of nature’s best rehydrants.
6. Managing your energy levels is particularly important when looking after yourself and achieving optimal performance. This includes your food energy and vital energy.
7. Rebecca played the following video, Food Matters, which shows you how to Detox, Lose Weight, Reverse Diabetes, Conquer Cancer, Beat Heart Disease, Ditch Depression and more using a nutritional approach. It’s not as hard as you think! This video can be viewed online.
8. Make the Protein Bites above!

It’s exciting to see the Nutrient Rich food revolution taking shape; from the mainstream through to martial arts dojangs! One of the most powerful lessons in this revolution is: food quality is everything. Nutrition data must start with food quality first. If the food quality is there, you can be sure the nutrition data is actually true.

Nutrient Rich is not a specific diet you have to stick to; it’s a quality standard you maintain; there will be more on this in my next post.

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JAM is the founder of Nutrient Rich – the most successful way to eat for health, high performance and natural weight loss.