Power Crunch Bars

I've tried a few of this kind (Power Crunch by BNRG) and I like all of them so far.  I like the wafer bar within because it makes it seem more like a candy bar.  However, you're also able to eat it much more quickly.  =)  This does contain some sugar though and I've found that I cannot eat more than one per day or I tend to gain.  




Cookies and Creme - I liked this.  My sister didn't care for it.  I don't really think the name accurately describes the flavor though.  To me, it seemed to taste more like microwave 'Kettle Corn'.  There wasn't much of a 'cookie' flavor to it...  it seemed more like a buttery vanilla cream flavor.  I would buy this again.


French Vanilla Creme


Peanut Butter Creme - I liked this.  The peanut butter flavor isn't overpowering but it does seem to be a 'creamy' peanut butter flavor...  if that makes sense.  =)  I would buy this again.


Peanut Butter Fudge - This is really good!!  Probably my favorite of the ones I've tried.  I will definitely buy this again.  =)


Triple Chocolate


Wild Berry Creme - This is pretty good...  if you like Fruit Loops cereal, this tastes quite a bit like that.  =)  I was never a huge fan of Fruit Loops but, like I said, this is pretty good.  I'd buy this again.

Think Thin Protein Bars

Another kind of protein bars I've come across are Think Thin (distributed by ThinkProducts dba Prime Health Dietary Supplements, Inc.)  Here are some flavors and reviews...


Brownie Crunch - not my favorite.  I don't think I'd buy it again.  The chocolate flavor wasn't very strong and I guess I prefer my 'chocolate' chocolate-ier...  =)


Chocolate Fudge - not bad.  I'd buy again if I was in dire need of something to eat and QuestBar or Optimum Nutrition bars were not available.  It was soft and chewy but I feel that it could have had more of a chocolate flavor.


Crunchy Peanut Butter - not horrible.  I don't think I'd buy this again though.  The flavor was somewhat 'chemical', although I definitely preferred it to the Optimum Nutrition Peanut Butter one.  That was disgusting!!  This was not quite as bad.  =)


White Chocolate - not bad.  I feel similarly about it as I did the Chocolate Fudge flavor.


Here's their website with their other flavors and information...
http://thinkproducts.com/thinkthin-high-protein-bars/

Optimum Nutrition Protein Bars

In my never-ending quest for awesome protein bars, I came across some made by Optimum Nutrition.  They're called Optimal Protein Diet.  Today I tried my first one.  These contain maltitol which can have a 'laxative' effect on some people...  =)  Here are some of the flavors I've found (and I will add my review of it once I've tried it.)


Chocolate Mint - This smells just like a York Peppermint Patty!!  However, the flavor seems to be mostly in the 'chocolate' coating and not so much in the actual bar (underneath / within the chocolate coating).  That being said, if I was craving a Peppermint Patty, I think I'd be willing to substitute this for that (for the most part).  One bar has 180 calories, 2.5 g of fat, 140 mg of sodium, 23 g of carbs (22 g of which are sugar alcohols...  so it basically only has 1 g of net carbs) and 20 g of protein.  I would buy this again, though it's not my first choice of protein bar.


Fudge Truffle - I didn't care for this.  It didn't gross me out quite as much as the Peanut Butter one did but it wasn't that good.  I only ate half of it and gave the rest to my sister to try.  =)  I would not buy this again.


Peanut Butter - Blech!  This grossed me out.  The peanut butter flavor was so chemical tasting!!  I couldn't even eat the whole bar.  I definitely preferred the Chocolate Mint flavor to this one.  I would *never* buy this flavor again.  Yuck!!


Toasted Coconut - This was actually fairly good.  I loved the coconut flavor...  granted, it did have a bit of a 'synthetic' taste to it and it would have been better if they had actually put a little real coconut in the ingredients but it wasn't bad.  This was probably my favorite of the four flavors from Optimum Nutrition.  I'd buy it again, though this is still not my first choice of protein bar.


Here is their website...
http://www.optimumnutrition.com/products/optimal-protein-diet-bar-p-211.html

Quest Protein Bars

A new favorite treat of mine is QuestBars.  They have a lot of protein, no sugars added and quite a lot of fiber as well.  They're also fairly low in calories (about 160-180 calories).  They're somewhat pricey but I've found that they're cheapest from LuckyVitamin.com (about $1.95 to $2.05 per bar).  You have to buy them individually from LuckyVitamin at the moment but they may sell the 12 bar boxes in the future.  They have a website but the bars are actually more expensive when you buy them directly from their site.  
I've only tried 4 different flavors so far but here are my reviews of them...  (if there's no review, then I haven't tried it yet but I plan to!!)


Apple Pie - Yum!!  This tastes pretty much as good as an apple pie.  It actually has bits of apple in it even!!  It's a little salty / sweet but it tasted great!!  I plan to buy more!!


Chocolate Brownie - one of my favorites!!  It really is like a brownie (albeit, sugar free...) and it's somewhat firm / crunchy.  It's hard to explain but it's one of the best chocolate flavored protein bars that I've tried so far.


Chocolate Peanut Butter - another favorite!!  I wouldn't say it tastes like Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (because it doesn't) but it's still really good.  And if you need to eat more calories, you could always melt a little peanut butter and drizzle it over the top of the bar or something.  I may try that next time!! =)


Cinnamon Roll - one of my other favorites!!  It has awesome flavor!!  I'm definitely buying this again!!


Coconut Cashew - 


Lemon Cream Pie  -  this wasn't bad but not my favorite either.  It didn't taste like 'lemon cream pie' but it did have a somewhat faint lemon flavor.  Unless it was the only one they made or if I was really craving lemon, I probably wouldn't buy it again.


Mixed Berry Bliss -  I was surprised that I liked this.  The name didn't really appeal to me but it was really good!!  It was like the 'jelly' part of the Peanut Butter & Jelly bar (which was really good too!!)  I will definitely buy this again!!  It even had real freeze-dried blueberries and strawberries in it!!


Peanut Butter & Jelly - I don't know how they did it but this really does taste like Peanut Butter and Jelly!!  I really liked it and I'd buy it again!!  =)


Peanut Butter Supreme - This was good but I actually like the Peanut Butter & Jelly bar better...  and the Chocolate Peanut Butter bar better too.  I suppose if you're just craving peanut butter and nothing else, this will probably quench that desire but I liked the mixed ones best.  I'll still buy more of these too though!!  =)


Strawberry Cheesecake - This was pretty good!!  It actually had small bits of freeze-dried strawberries in it!!  I'd buy this again!!


Vanilla Almond Crunch - this wasn't bad but not my favorite.  The flavor isn't very strong and I guess I like stronger flavors.  =)  I might buy it again.


I'll add my review of each once I've tried them.  If you've tried any of them, please leave a comment with your thoughts about the ones you've tried!!  =)


Here's their website...
http://www.questproteinbar.com/

Snickerdoodles

OMG!  I made the Snickerdoodle recipe from Deanna's blog and they are uh-may-zing!!  They sort of 'melt in your mouth'.  Even if you're not on HCG, you should try this recipe!!  I'd also like to try almond extract at some point, in place of the vanilla extract.  The dough reminded me a bit of Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies (which I love!!) but the almond flour wasn't as almondy once they were baked.  But they were still awesome and my parents (who are not on diets) loved them, as did my sister who claims to hate splenda.  =)

Snicker doodles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups almond flour 1 cup artificial sweetener (Splenda) 1 egg (I used 3 Tbsp. All Whites - Egg Whites) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 2 tablespoons artificial sweetener 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Directions: Preheat oven to 350* F. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add about half the flour, the 1 cup splenda (I have never used anything other than splenda for this and have heard others do not work), the egg, vanilla, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Beat until thoroughly combined.  Beat in the remaining flour.  Cover and chill for 1 hour (at least!  If you can refrigerate overnight, that's probably best as the dough is very moist and refrigeration seems to make the dough easier to work with.) Combine the 2 Tbsp Splenda and the cinnamon in a small bowl.  Shape dough into 1 inch (approx.) balls.  Roll balls in the cinnamon/splenda mix and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Nutritionals:(12 cookies in batch)Using Almond Flour: Cals-113, Carbs-5, Fat-11, Protein-3, sodium-33 -----------------If using peanut flour:Cals-114, Carbs-7, Fat-8, Protein-10, sodium 87, potassium 57

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars with Peanut Flour Crust

Filling Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) container  Neufchatel Cheese - 1/3 Less Fat Than Cream Cheese
4 Tbsp. Butter
7-9 Tbsp. Coconut Secret - Raw Coconut Flour
4 Large Eggs - Egg
1/4 cup Lemon juice (if you want more of a lemon / zing flavor, add more lemon juice!)
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetner - Granulated for Cooking & Baking
Peanut Crust Ingredients:
1/2 cup Protein Plus Peanut Flour
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetner - Granulated for Cooking & Baking


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350* F.
Combine the first 6 ingredients and blend thoroughly.  You may want to use butter at room temperature or melted.
For the Peanut Flour Crust, combine the last 3 ingredients.  You may want to use butter at room temperature or melted.
Spray bottom of square (8' x 8') pan with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray.
Push crust mixture into bottom of pan.  This is a thin crust and requires quite a bit of spreading.  If you want to increase your calories, you can double the recipe for the crust.
Once crust is in place, pour the filling on top and smooth the top as you like.
Bake for 20-30 minutes (or until the center seems solid to you).

(I got this recipe from Deanna Kerick's blog....  http://keepmethin.blogspot.com/2012/04/lemon-cream-cheese-bars-with-peanut.html )

My Weekend...

Saturday I slept in some and when I woke up I took my HCG, weighed myself and found that I hadn't gained or lost any weight since my previous weigh-in the day before, had some coffee and a piece of fruit. That was sort of late in the day, so I decided to skip lunch.  I took some HCG around 4 or 5pm, just to be safe.  We had some carrots in the refrigerator that were starting to grow again (seriously.  Some of them were sprouting roots and where the green leaves had been, they were starting to grow back!).  My sister said to throw them out but I said they could be used (even though I knew I couldn't eat them, as carrots are not one of the "approved" HCG vegetables) so I boiled them up and mashed them with a hand potato masher, I added some spices and stuff.  Then I took some more HCG before dinner and I had my recommended amount of everything (not extra, which I debated about doing since I had skipped one meal).  My family had rice, pork chops and the carrot soup I had made.  I had a piece of chicken and some fresh baby spinach which I had microwaved and added garlic powder, curry powder and dijon mustard to.  It was good.  My family was impressed with my made up carrot soup.  It seemed more like a lentil stew or something.  I was pretty impressed with it too (I tried a couple spoonfuls of the broth) and I would have really liked to have had some of it.  Oh, well.  It was easy to make and I can make it again some other time.  =)

Sunday I weighed myself and I had gained 4/10ths of a pound!!  =(  So depressing.  I came to the conclusion that it was either because I had skipped a meal (probably that!) or because I'd had an apple, which I've read can effect some people differently, even though it is an "approved" HCG fruit.  I really think it was the skipping of lunch though.  I suppose it could have been the couple spoonfuls of carrot soup broth too...  Later in the day I made some microwave dog biscuits that I found a recipe for on food.com.  I changed things up a little in it.  I'll maybe post the recipe sometime.  Anyway, my dog and my Dad's dog didn't eat any of them but my sister's dog loves them.  At least someone does.  =(  I tried to make them somewhat healthy and instead of adding salt, I added Bragg Liquid Aminos.  I also added some flax seed meal.  I gave some to my other sister for her to take home and give to her three dogs.  I don't know if they liked them or not because she hasn't told me.  They were easy to make though.  The recipe called for them to be in the microwave for ten minutes but the first batch started smoking after 5 minutes and then the smoke detector went off.  Needless to say, the first batch was ruined.  The other batches came out fine.  I put them in for 3 minutes and that seemed to be enough time.

Anyway, my Mom and Dad left Sunday to go to Canada to visit my Mom's brother.  So my sister and I are here and fending for ourselves.  =)  Last night I had more chicken and spinach.  That seems to be my "go-to" meal.

Today I weighed myself and I lose about 2 and a half pounds, so Yay!!  I'm so glad!!  I was getting worried - even though it was only one day of no gain/loss and one day of a small gain.  I'm going to really try not to ever skip a meal again.  =)  For lunch today I grilled a piece of tilapia (fish) from Schwan's on the George Foreman grill.  It was frozen and took only about 15 minutes.  Easy peasy!!  =)  It was good too.  I added some garlic powder and some curry powder to it.  =)  I also had my spinach staple with it.

Tonight I cut up three chicken breasts that my Mom got.  I found out that one of those giant chicken breasts can be divided in half in order to equal 3.5oz (on average).  So, I'll be having one of those pieces for dinner tonight.  The others I put in individual snack-size ziplock bags and added spices to each one.  Here's the spices (if you were wondering):
1.  Bragg Liquid Aminos, Dijon Mustard, Curry Powder, Garlic Powder  (you knew that would be in there!!)
2.  Bragg Liquid Aminos, Miami Spice Chicken Seasoning
3.  Grace's Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
4.  Curry Powder, Garlic Powder
5.  Bragg Liquid Aminos, Mrs. Dash
That leaves the other one for tonight which I've seasoned with Grace's Jamaican Jerk Seasoning and Garlic Powder and I'll grill it on the George Foreman Grill.

If you were also wondering, I still have my period.  It's still pretty heavy.  Definitely heavier than it has been in the past.  It seems to be heavier during the day rather than at night.  I also seem to have cramps every other day (on average) that hurt enough to require me to take some Advil.  I wish that it would all just go away.  Grrr.