Post-workout recovery: Finding a better bar

Here are some things we all {should} know:

• How we recover from a workout can be just as important as the workout itself;
• A carbohydrate:protein ratio of 4:1, consumed within 30 minutes of exercise, helps the body replace tapped out glycogen stores;
• Protein shakes and specially formulated recovery drinks are what people want us to think we need after a workout.

One more thing. Not all of us have time for that kind of follow up.

At least I don't, when you consider that I have negative 15 minutes to get to work from the gym.

So while I'd like to go home, take a hot shower without flip flops and relish a green monster {cue eye roll}, I'll be honest: I don't have time for that shit - at least not until I get my hands on a DeLorean and a sweet puffer vest. So, I do my best and throw in a bar, any bar, that I find in my pantry and manically eat it on my way to work, washing it down with free coffee from the Y.

The problem with this scenario, though, is that not all bars are created equal. Far from it. Some bars are loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Others have lots of chemicals and a list of ingredients that are harder to pronounce than "refrigerator" with a mouth full of peanut butter. The good ones are pricey, though, and sometimes a calorie BOMB.

Currently in my house {not including Mark's cereal bars and Miles' granola bars} are Clif Mojo Sweet and Salty, found on clearance at Kroger; Fiber One meal bars, sent to me for free through Bzz Agent; and Kind bars - lots of them as I won two giveaways.

Let's talk about how they stack up:

Clif Mojo 

Nutrition: The bar has 200 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates and 8 grams of protein, making the carb:protein ratio nearly 5:2 and a bit protein-heavy for recovery. The sugar content is manageable at 8 grams, coming from brown rice syrup and, I'm guessing, oat syrup solids. Those are organic, by the way.

Ingredients: The list is good, not great, as there's a lot of recognizable things - almonds, cashews, pecans - but some creepy things such as vegetable glycerin and gum arabic.

Taste: Good but not craveworthy.

Fiber One Meal Bars

Nutrition: 170 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of protein. Again, this is not a good ratio for recovery - almost 2:1. The sugars ate at 9 grams as is the dietary fiber.

Ingredients: The list is what you would expect out of a mass produced snack found in a traditional aisle at the grocery store. Among them: Sugar, fructose, soy protein isolate, yogurt powder, dipotassium phosphate and  propylene giycol.

Taste: Nasty. So, so nasty. I used to eat Fiber One bars by the truck full during my Weight Watchers days, as the high fiber content kept the points value low. Either my tastes have changed or the ingredients used to make this bar a "meal" have taken away the flavor. It is chalky, hard to chew and has an unpalatable after taste.

Kind bars {Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt}

Nutrition: 200 calories, 16 grams carbohydrates and 6 grams of protein. It needs a few more carbs to be better for recovery but it's not too bad. It also has 5 grams of sugar - lowest of the bunch - and 7 grams of fiber.

Ingredients. Kind gets real - mixed nuts, chicory root fiber, honey, cocoa powder and sea salt. There is some crisp rice, soy lecithin and palm kernel oil, which might be not as good but it's far from being offensive.

Taste. Between the two giveaways, I've tried a good number of flavors and styles of kind - from the Healthy Grains line to the lower in sugar bars. There has not been a single one that I've tried that I didn't like, and the Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt is downright addicting.

Other bars that make it in my rotation: Clif, especially the seasonal flavors; Lara ALT - not the uber; Bonk Breakers; Picky Bars; and Luna Protein bars. I am not sure I have a favorite. Wait. I do. It's the one that is on sale.

If you are curious what to look for in a bar, think whole grains, dried fruit and nuts and seeds. A bar with fewer than 300 calories is best, especially if you are looking at it as a snack, and be sure that the sugar content isn't crazy as some can have as much as a candy bar.

Do you have a favorite protein/energy bar? Or, do you get sassy and make your own?

Three Things Thursday: Photo Dump

First things first. I am happy to report that after four days of feeling crappy that I am finally feeling like myself. And by feeling like myself, I mean I said yes when Mark asked me if I wanted coffee this morning and I exercised with no nausea.

Excuse the profanity but hell yeah! (OK, to be honest, when I typed the "excuse the profanity" I fully intended to use the "f" word but I chickened out.)

Anyway, a few things I had intended to share on the the blog were shoved aside by illness - probably norovirus - but I'd hate to see them disappear into the black hole of ideas.

1. I was a big ole tease last week, promoting the Old Navy Activewear I scored via Crowdtap but never sharing the duds.

Shock of the century, I picked the printed compression capris in black and the printed knotted tank. I can't really wear them together, which is a fail on my part, but I have enough workout stuff to make do. I wore the capris for BODYPUMP on Saturday, and I have no real complaints save for the fact that I wish the internal pocket had a zipper. It's fine for cross-training, no good for running.

As for the tank, I'm in total love. I wore it on Monday for lounging/walking the zoo - which is totally active - and for a trampoline class today. Definition of fashion meets function.

2. Saturday morning, I made the somewhat questionable choice to volunteer for the Fort4Fitness Spring Cycle event. I had seen a link on Facebook that volunteers would receive a free entry to the fall race and, well, I can't say no to free. I selected the 5 to 8 a.m. shift (this is where the questionable comes in) because it would upset my/our schedule the least.

I spent much of the three hours moving barricades and fences, working with a guy in taper for his first half marathon and a master's triathlete who has competed in Kona and won a 70.3 event. The work sort of sucked (I told Mark it was my first time as a race volunteer where I felt like I was doing something) but talking to the guys was totally awesome. I learned that I should not shoot for a 70.3 in my first year of triathlons, if there is to be a first year of triathlons, and you can get a degree in heating and air conditioning.

3. Before the illness began, I did manage to squeeze in some fun. A friend of Mark's, who moved to D.C. last year to be a doctor of all things, came to visit, bringing with him dry-aged steaks - porterhouse, T-bone and sirloin. It. Was. Amazing.

I made a BLT pasta salad, using turkey bacon and yogurt ranch dressing, as well as some corn and the bachelors in the crowd brought prepared mac and cheese and craft beers. I'm not sure if they were trying to send me a message when they handed me a Hoegarden but it was tasty.

The party was also a good chance to try out some Kroger smoothie bars, which I procured using a coupon from BzzAgent. I had been in the habit of making fancy desserts but I realized that a) it takes a crapload of time; b) I spend too much money on ingredients; and c) I end up using it as an excuse to binge.  But I decided to let that go, especially since the steak was the real treat.

Everyone seemed to like them, and it was a great treat to give the kids without feeling insanely guilty. The bars are 50 calories each, and there are actual chunks of fruit in them.

What's your favorite summer treat? I really like these bars - for reals - and might try to make them at home for a little more quality control.

Disclaimer: I received coupons for the Old Navy Activewear and Kroger smoothie bars via Crowdtap and BzzAgent respectively via personal participation on the marketing websites. I was not required to write about the products on the blog but in doing so, I may be eligible for future opportunities or rewards. All opinions and words are my own. Duh.

Things I've been eating + giveaway

I was feeling so proud of myself. I had reviewed two days of entries on MyFitnessPal, and I had noticed that it had been two days since I had eaten meat.

And I hadn't died. Shocking, I know.

Also shocking - I can be wrong but we'll get to that in a little bit but first, like any good eater, let's talk about breakfast.

I was fortunate enough to receive a gracious and generous box of goodies from a blend, and it included rye bread from Liz's favorite bakery. I'm a German girl, through and through, and I have been finding any chance I can to eat it. Breakfasts have been a (whole) egg with cheese on rye toast and served with some kind of produce. Tuesday it was an orange; this morning, grilled zucchini.

I'm making another go at a more substantial morning snack and, thanks to Bzz Agent, I'm trying out Kroger's yogurts - Greek, Greek Lite and CARBmaster. I prefer the Greek to Greek Lite but this particular morning I had the Lite pineapple mango with a bit of sliced banana and trail mix I found at Fresh Market. It was a great balance of protein plus carbs to hold me over to my lunch date.

One thing: My lunch date got held up and I had to scrounge up a snack from a drawer. I'd like to say I picked the nuts but it was a handful of marshmallows and some raisins. However, I did not eat the lint roller. Win.

Our big idea for the day was to find some Cajun- or Creole-inspired food to ring in Mardi Gras. We went to one of my favorite neighborhood places, and I got my even more favoritest salad - red beans and rice over lettuce with tomatoes and cheese - and gumbo. See, this is where I was wrong about the meat. Gumbo had chicken.

And putting the fat in Fat Tuesday was a packi from a neighborhood bakery. Apple, if you are interested. I ate half to only feel sort of fat.

I was feeling rather full and sick to be honest from the paczki that I didn't snack my way through the afternoon, saving room for dinner - blackened salmon po boys and Alexia Foods Multigrain Onion Rings.

The onion rings were courtesy of Alexia, and I was excited to try a more nutrient-dense version of a favorite indulgence. They were crunchy, hearty and tasty.

I had a post-dinner workout planned, and I grabbed a handful of candy. To power me through, of course.

The workout pretty much sucked - I blame the lingering illness. But the good news ... well, totally unrelated. Alexia Foods is offering one Healthy Strides reader a gourmet cooking prize-pack giveaway. The winner will receive an Alexia apron, Alexia kitchen timer and a coupon for a FREE Alexia Product 

You can also sign up to be part of the Alexia Ambassador Program for exclusive recipes, coupons, free gift cards and kitchen gear. Simply visit http://rewards.alexiafoods.com to begin earning points towards these prizes and more!

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me which Alexia Foods product you would select with the coupon.

 The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The winner will be selected at random and announced on the blog Thursday, Feb. 21. The winner will have 72 hours to claim her prize (by emailing hlthystrides at gmail dot com) or a new winner will be selected.

Getting in the game

I had never intended to host a Super Bowl party but there we were Sunday afternoon - Mark was cleaning the house and I was cooking up a storm.

 

There were Johnsonville Pork and Chicken Brats (free through a Bzz Agent campaign); sauteed peppers and onions; twice-baked potatoes, two kinds - traditional and a Hawaiian sweet potato version inspired by a Clean Eating recipe; random chicken egg rolls that I had in the freezer; Kim & Scott Cheese Pretzels; and the spice cake.

Wait. Maybe I should have listed spice cake first. After all, it was the reason for the party, which I guess I should clarify as a mere get-together with my in-laws.

My mother-in-law had a birthday last week and when Mark asked her what she wanted, as a gift, she said a spice cake with caramel icing ... made by me.

I wasn't feeling the work of a layer cake thing so I decided to make the Coffee Spice Cake from "All Cakes Considered." It was easy enough, I had all of the ingredients on hand and the "icing" was a dusting of powdered sugar. I opted for no dusting. We'll call it a calorie savings effort rather than a "I want to play more Words With Friends" effort.

I did feel a bit guilty about not giving my mother-in-law the one thing she wanted so I did give her something she needed - a care package. She has a high-ranking position at a university that keeps her busy and one of the first things to get neglected is her eating. She has often told me that her lunch is a bag of popcorn or yogurt. As I was making my lunches for the week, I opted to take it up a notch and make enough to share with her. I made Greek Lentil Soup, Chickpea Soup and a Spinach Vegetable Soup - giving her four servings of each; baked banana steel cut oats; and Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from the Happy Herbivore Cookbook.

I felt a bit lame handing her a bag of food in generic plastic containers but she loved it, especially as it's not something she wouldn't do for herself. Or maybe she was just smiling because Miles was eating ice cream with a spoon and a fork. As both are required. Obviously.

As for the game, my in-laws stayed for 15 minutes of it before going home and Mark and I made it to the half-time show. Pretty good for non-football fans.

How was your Game Day?