A couple of weeks ago I went camping and trail running – all while staying in the HMR Program Healthy Solutions Box. However I had to plan ahead and prepare foods that would be supportive of both the HMR program, but also of the endurance activities I would be participating in. With no way to heat up my normal oatmeal in the morning, I got creative!
These bars are a higher calorie food that are relatively compact in nature. While I wouldn’t make them every day, it was a method of combining foods I use to fuel before long runs in a portable manner. My normal oatmeal with a tbsp of PB2 and a side of banana would have been much higher in volume, and I honestly wouldn’t have had the shake because I would have already been full. However this worked for me for fueling for the trail half and also gave me some additional snacks to enjoy during the weekend when other people were recovering with bagels and beer.
HMR Healthy Solutions Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Bars
- 1 HMR Oatmeal
- 1 HMR 70 Chocolate Shake
- 1 tbsp PB2
- 1 tbsp Fat-Free Sugar-Free Banana Pudding Mix
- 1 small ripe banana
- 4 ounces water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mash the banana in a mixing bowl and add the dry ingredients to it. Slowly add the water in until you get a cookie dough consistency (you may not need all of the water depending on the size and ripeness of the banana – both of which will impact overall moisture of the batter).
Scoop out dough on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat. I shaped the dough like bars, but you could easily just put scoops out and end up with cookies.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (will depend on your oven calibration and moisture content of your dough) until your bars are baked through. They may still be slightly soft on the underside, but I found flipping them on to a paper towel will allow them to cool while the steam escapes. Leaving them on the hot pan could cause textural issues as the steam tries to escape and is trapped.
One recipe made 4 bars. I doubled the batch for the weekend I went camping and it was plenty for fueling and recovery (it was super delicious to pair a bar with a shaken HMR chocolate shake over ice post-run).
April 26, 2018 | Categories: Food, Health, Running | Tags: camping, cookies, Healthy solutions, HMR Healthy Solutions Diet, HMR muffin, HMR oatmeal, peanut butter cookie, recipe, running, shake, trail running | Leave a comment
One of the most important practices for weight management is Environmental Control. Numerous studies have been introduced in my HMR Program classes that demonstrate how a controlled environment can lead to successful weight loss and maintenance.
The easiest way to control my environment has been avoidance. Our house is arranged to support weight management, with my husband having his own cupboard and shelf in the fridge where his favorite foods go that are less supportive of my weight management needs. So he eats what he wants, but I can avoid exposure to it. And my classroom is set up to be supportive as well.
But what happens when I want to go to a social event? There are dozens of strategies that can be utilized in this less controlled environment but avoidance is a lot more difficult. However one of the ways I have found to be supportive is to not only pack my own food and beverages, but to have a special in-the-box food I get to enjoy during these social occasions that I might not otherwise get to enjoy.
When this weekend packed a double-slam Social Saturday with both a work retreat and a girl’s night, I knew I would have to pull out all the punches. I had proportioned fruits and veggies that could be noshed on whenever needed, both of my insulated drink carriers loaded with shakes, a couple of flavored sparkling waters, an entree loaded in my HotLogic Mini (btw they are having a sale the next couple days if you want to go in with a friend!), and these Chocolate Fudge cookies portioned out into smaller servings to be pulled out if and when I needed a special snack. They were perfect with a cup of coffee when my coworkers were eating fancy catered desserts, and also excellent paired with a sparkling water when my friends were drinking champagne. Note that I tried to pair them with beverages to help with the fact they are a low-volume food. It made the cookies last longer between sips of a drink, but also helped keep me full longer.
I would love to hear from you. What tips do you find most useful when hitting a social event while trying to stay in your weight management box?
Chocolate Fudge HMR Diet Cookies
- HMR Oatmeal
- HMR 70 Chocolate Shake
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tbsp fat-free chocolate fudge pudding powder (the instant mix powder!)
- 4 to 6 ounces of water
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix first four ingredients together until blended.
- Pour water in slowly, mixing, until a desired cookie dough texture is obtained. I found 5 ounces to be about right, but the thickness of the batter with vary the texture of the cookies as well as baking time, so the choice is personal.
- Spoon tablespoonish size portions of dough onto a silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet and bake 8 to 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your dough) until cooked.
- Let cool and then portion out. It makes between 10 and 14 cookies.
February 12, 2018 | Categories: Food, HMR Diet | Tags: cookies, decision free, Decison Free, Diet and Travel, hmr decision free, HMR Healthy Solutions Diet, HMR oatmeal, HMR on-the-go, HMR Recipe, HMR Recipes, hmr shake, HMR shake recipes, recipe, socializing, Traveling on HMR, troubleshooting, weight loss | 3 Comments
The Healthy Academic 