Some thoughts and discussions from me.

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Good morning, and happy Tuesday, my friends Smile

Although I profess to be a summer girl through and through, I don’t necessarily love temperatures that rise past that 90 degree mark. The air condition gets turned on (although it usually gets turned on once the temps go above 75 per the husband’s request,) the windows close, and the cool breeze no longer passes through the house. Nevertheless, I’m still a summer girl. There’s something about walking outside in shorts, a tank, and flip flops at any time of the day (or night) and knowing that I’ll be perfectly fine.

Summer activities are another favorite of mine: swimming, hiking, boating, camping, barbeques…and baking?

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I know, it’s weird. Come dinner time, I absolutely avoid the oven. The grill is our cooking tool of choice when it comes to unbearable summer heat. I’ll do anything to avoid cooking dinner in the heat producing, energy-sucking box that is the oven. But somehow I’m perfectly fine popping in a batch of protein bars in the middle of the day in the middle of July? I don’t get it either.

But trust me. These bars are worth it. Just crank up the A/C, carve out 30 minutes, and then make these bars.

Since I had a little free time this weekend, I found myself in the kitchen and in the mood to bake on Saturday. Remember when I made those MuesliFusion Banana Bars? Well, I made those again but this time with a little protein action!

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Since protein powder is more of a “dry ingredient”  than almond flour, I had to change up the ingredients a little bit. The protein powder I used was the Vi-Shape powder I used for the pineapple upside down smoothie, and the taste turned out delicious!

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Banana Oatmeal Protein Bars

Prep time: 5 minutes

Bake time: 25 minutes

Makes 10-12 bars

1/2 c. Muesli or oats (I used MuesliFusion Morning Zen)

1 c. Almond meal/flour

4-6 scoops Vi-Shape sweet cream protein powder (or vanilla protein powder of choice)

2 large ripe bananas (smashed)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 eggs

1/2 c. coconut oil (melted)

1 tbsp. raw honey

1/2 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a load pan with nonstick spray. Add all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir until mixed together. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and cook for 25-30 minutes, using the toothpick method to check for doneness.

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Smile

Do you love summer?

At what temperature outside do you usually turn on the air conditioning?