Happy Wednesday to you! I’m off to a yoga class before work. It starts at 5:30 so I will be in search of some strong coffee after that!
I’m linking up to Peas and Crayons again today for another What I Ate Wednesday post.
I will kick this post off by sharing my dinner from last night, which is what I also consider to be the best dinner ever: Breakfast!
I fixed pumpkin pancakes, scrambled eggs and baked apples.
So the apples look like a pile of… well, you know. That’s how they are when they come out of the crock pot! Real food, yo. #sorrynotsorry
In other food news, I randomly came across these blueberry fiber bars in TJMaxx the other day and I’ve been eating them on the way to work this week.
I typically shy away from breakfast bars because a lot of them are either full of strange ingredients or they don’t have enough of the specific nutrients I look for to help make me feel full.
If you are looking at a granola bar label, always check out the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in order of greatest to least. If a bar is advertised as an oatmeal bar then I expect to see oats listed as one of the first 3 ingredients (if not the first). A lot of granola/oatmeal bars I see only have 1-2g fiber and very little protein, so there’s not a lot there that is going to make me feel satisfied in the morning.
So as I was saying, I came across these fiber bars in TJMaxx one day and felt that the nutrition label and ingredient list were decent compared to other breakfast/fiber bars I’ve seen.
I like that the fat doesn’t come from saturated fat (there have been some recent studies saying saturated fat is OK but I feel like the jury’s still out on that one). I also like that there is a bit of protein and lots of soluble + insoluble fiber. The first two ingredients are a wheat blend and chicory root, so that’s where a lot of that fiber is coming from.
On the taste front, they taste… a little “natural” to me. We don’t even know each other but I have a strong feeling that you would find them kind of bland. I guess that’s how they ended up at TJMaxx 
Final thoughts? I still like preparing my own food but as far as the nutrition label goes, it’s a bit better than a lot of the “popular” breakfast bars I’ve seen in the grocery store. I liked having this box around for a quick grab-and-go breakfast option.
It’s always fun to try new things. I also think it’s important to know what pre-packaged options are out there because I know a lot of times my patients are not going to all of the sudden start making all of their foods from scratch.
Have you tried anything new lately?
Are you a granola/breakfast bar person?
That is one legit looking dinner plate! Three of my favorite foods.. mmm :)
Except I realized after the fact that it was missing bacon. That would have really made it the perfect plate ;)
Yes, that bar at least has whole grains and isn’t all sugar… I’d need more protein, as well, but this and a protein shake wouldn’t be too bad, for someone who needs grab and go and isn’t ready to fix something themselves…
I cringe when I see people telling me how healthy their meals are – when they are living on processed sugary bars and the like. At the same time, I know you have the issue that you need to be able to give advice the patient will actually *follow*. I’m trying to find ways to make cooking easier – but I know people who won’t do even the simplest things… I can just say “Oh, well, I tried…” but it’s not my job to help them. That’s a whole different place.
I usually eat something like this in the car and then eat something else when I get to work (right now I’ve been obsessed with greek yogurt). I agree it’s not enough for a full breakfast.
Yum. I love breakfast for dinner.
I’m not a big bar person by nature. Just not my thing. But I love that you check out different packaged foods for your patients.
I’m not usually a bar person either, but when they have few ingredients and are all natural, I like to keep a few in my kitchen just incase!
Yes, they’re very convenient if you need a back up plan!