Happy Friday, frands! How was your week? Nothing too remarkable planned for the weekend, but I’m about as homebody as they come so always appreciate the relatively slower pace of the weekend to catch up, love on spoil Deac, prep for the upcoming week, play in the kitchen and move - inside, outside, weights, sprints, walk… whatever.

And, yes. Sometimes it’s just walks and that’s okay. It need not, in fact should not be all intense, all the time. It’s neither healthy nor sustainable and the lower intensity stuff actually helps the higher intensity stuff to work; it keeps the metabolism responsive.

Anywho, the subject of tonight’s post: PROTEIN BARS (+ a workout)! Because, snacks. #snacklifebestlife 

While I’ve reduced my protein bar intake drastically over the last 1.5 years in the name of some health-related dietary switches, I still eat bars. In fact, I love them but they are not a trigger food for me. #doyou Ideal, perhaps not, but so important to have cleanER convenience options on hand for those times when real food is not an option. The caveat? Be a protein bar snob. Bars are often my go-to work week snack and I do try to keep them to that (Mon-Thurs), but also don’t stress if I grab one on-the-go, while I GSD or wake up wanting one as a first meal with my coffee. It’s just food, it’s only eating and such a small rock in the grand scheme of a much bigger picture. I keep it tight with real, whole food nutrition 90% of the time and leave myself that 10% zero stress wiggle room, for things like bars, built right in.

So last week, I was out running errands, got lost (yes, I’ve been here 8 months, still use GPS and do not know names of roads besides 76 and 476 #noshame) and found my way into a Vitamin Shoppe. Funny how that happens. #silverlining Frustrated with the unintended detour, I figured I’d do a quick walk-through to see if anything caught my fitfoodie eye. I left with these:

#obsessed

I am no stranger to D’s Naturals - love that they’re plant-based, delicious, don’t mess with my stomach and satisfy the Metabolic Effect Label Rule: Total Carbs - Fiber - Sugar Alcohols - Protein should be less than 10, negative numbers are best for fat loss; also fat <15g. Texture, flavor and label on point! #emapproved 

I love the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip from the original line (which also include mint, blueberry and raspberry truffle), but was pleasantly surprised by all though I tend not to go for fruity or chocolatey flavors. Nonetheless, I was excited to try their newest line (in no particular order) and so picked them up for office snacks this week: Chocolate Banana Bread, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Lemon Meringue and Dark Raspberry Truffle. 

The verdict? Love! The texture and label really haven’t changed much, if at all, but these new flavors?! Holy yum! Lemon Meringue was my favorite hands down (kinda reminds me of those lemon Girl Scout cookies I used to eat and sell #throwback), but followed closely by Chocolate Banana Bread, which probably would’ve taken the top slot if it weren’t chocolate-based. I did like that the Chocolate Fudge Brownie was not too sweet (I tend to choose savory over sweet on any given day; the more bitter the chocolate, the better) and, as for the Dark Raspberry Truffle, not bad, but I’ve never really been a fan of berries and chocolate together so naturally, this was my least fave (same for original line). 

Bottom line: I’ll def be working Lemon Meringue into the rotation, along with PBCC and my other protein bar faves.

And, because I love you… a Friday Fitness Freebie:

Upper & Lower Downchains*

Use rest-based training: push hard until you can’t, then rest until you can push hard again. Lift heavy, maintain good form and, as always, listen to your body and be safe. I used 25# and 40# dumbbells, for circuits 1 & 2, respectively, for reference.

Circuit #1:

• Flat bench chest press
• Bentover row
• Push-ups
• Push-press

Circuit #2:

• Squats
• Squat- pulses
• Squat jumps

*10 reps of each exercise, then 9 reps of each, then 8 reps of each down to 1 rep of each exercise

Do you have a favorite protein bar? Give this workout a try? Let me know on my Facebook page or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram (@emilynminer) with a sweaty selfie, pre-/post-workout eats, mindset insights or anything else. I love hearing from you! Have a question? Let’s hear it!