Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bites

Ryan had to work late this evening, so I wanted to surprise him with one of his favorite meals.

BBQ meatloaf!

(Side note: I loved looking back at the post where I made this recipe for the first time last year, on the night when we put our Christmas tree up! Hooray for the holidays!)

This meatloaf is really easy to make and the BBQ sauce makes it extra moist and flavorful.

 

Along with the meatloaf, we enjoyed broccoli and grape tomatoes for some added nutrition.

Ryan was quite the happy camper when he arrived home and smelled this cookin’ away in the oven!

We both gobbled down our meals rather quickly. 😀

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bites

While the meatloaf was cooking, I did some experimenting in the kitchen. I was in the mood to bake, but didn’t want bake goods chillin’ around out house since I’ve been known to polish off batch of cookies on my own in a week one day.

I decided to try my hands at creating a protein cookie and the result was pretty darn good!

Disclaimer: I would never say that these cookies are as good as full-fat, sugar-laden cookies, but for what they are (chock full of protein and whole grains), they’re pretty tasty!

To quote Ryan, “I’d eat ‘em again.” 😉

Ingredients

• 1 c. oats
• 1/2 c. flavored protein powder (I used All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup)
• 1/2 c. fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1/4 c. water

(Note: You may substitute one egg for the ground flax seeds and water)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together using a mixer. Place round spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Comparison Trap

Lunch today was fishy and fantastic!

I made myself a tuna salad bagelwich that included:

• 1 can tuna
• Chopped celery
• 1 1/2 tbsp. relish
• 1 1/2 tbsp. light Miracle Whip
• 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Fresh green pepper slices were the perfect addition to this yummy plate.

Delish!

And now onto a more serious discussion…

The Comparison Trap

By now we’re all well aware that the images we see in magazines or on billboards are often altered, Photoshopped and edited to a great extent.

Check out this video to see just how much editing goes into the images we see every day:

Even though we understand how much images are altered, it’s hard not to idolize these images as “perfection” and strive to mirror this unattainable look.

It can be so hard not to compare ourselves to others… Our friends, family members, actresses, models, another woman simply shopping in the grocery store. Comparisons can occur anywhere.

In my opinion, this is one of the most detrimental things we can do to our self esteem.

It can be so hard not to look at others and wish you had their legs, their hair, their blemish-free skin. But here’s the thing: Those things you lust after are theirs, not yours, and you have a billion other wonderful things to offer. Someone, somewhere is wishing they had something you have… Your health, a loving husband, strength to handle a family crisis, a smile that can light up any room.

Comparisons often cause us to feel bad about ourselves and make us overlook our own wonderful features.

A couple of weeks ago, Lisa posted this question on her blog:

If you were stranded on a deserted island and would never see anybody again, would you want to lose weight?

I thought this question was a great one that will hopefully make people look deeper into why they want to lose weight if they’re constantly dieting. Are you losing the weight for you or for others?

I loved Lisa’s reflections on this question: “I only want to lose weight and have a better body  when I’m comparing myself to others. To celebrities, to my friends, to wanting my boyfriend to have a ‘hot’ girlfriend. If I strictly compare myself to me and how I think I look and how I feel in my own body…then I think I’m perfect and don’t need to lose. I only want to lose when I compare MY body with someone else’s perfect body.”

Question of the Afternoon

I challenge you to answer the this question, if not in the comments section, in your own head.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and would never see anybody again, would you want to lose weight?

Strawberry Banana Bonanza

When it comes to hard candy, strawberry is always my flavor of choice. This works out really well for me and Ryan because he loves the yellow and green flavors and always leaves me the reds!

Today’s breakfast featured lots o’ strawberry flavor, but from healthy sources, not artificially delicious gummy candies.

This morning I woke up feeling not-so-hot and wanted to enjoy a breakfast that would be easy on my stomach but still tasty.

I made myself a super-easy strawberry banana bonanza breakfast.

Today’s meal included a bowl of freshly sliced strawberries, a large banana and a cup of strawberry banana Chobani yogurt.

It was super tasty, but I’m not sure how the yogurt feels in my belly. I think I may have been better off enjoying a simple piece of toast with some buttah?

Of Possible Interest

• Tips to Reduce Your Sugar Intake (FitSugar.com)
• 5 Foods to Remove From Your Diet Today (FitandFabLiving.com)
• Fat Blasting Breakfast (Health.com)

Question of the Morning

What foods or drinks do you feel like make you feel better when you’re sick?

Nothin’ makes me feel better than a cup of my mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup! I also think drinking ginger ale when I’m sick helps to ease my stomach.