My Madecasse Fair-Trade Chocolate Taster Bars giveaway and my Tookies Smores Cookie-in-a-Jar Gift giveaway are both still going, so don't forget to enter those!
Okay, you're going to hate me for all the non-stop exclamation marks, but I need one more before we give it a rest: WOW, Friday Foodie Finds is already 18!
I remember starting a six hundred-something day countdown for my eighteenth birthday. Then when it happened, it wasn't even that awesome.
Wait, no - that last part is a lie. Being 18/over 18 was/is every bit as awesome as I imagined.
Anyway, in celebration of Friday Foodie Finds' 18th birthday, the theme of this week's recipes is birthday treats! And instead of individual recipes for a cake or cookies or a dish, it's recipes/ideas for parties!
Shelley's Pinkalicious Party
Kim's Pirate Party
Kara's Snow White Party
I know this is intended for a 3-year-old, but is it bad that I'd actually really like a Disney princess party?
Real Simple's Circle Party
Kara's Fairy Party
So this isn't a party food (well, why not?) but remember how Quest Bar launched a new line of Quest Cravings high protein chocolates not too long ago?
Well, I recently tried their new peanut butter cups!
These aren't peanut butter cup protein bars, don't be confused - they're actual peanut butter cups with 21g of protein!
It's 240cal for a pack, which is pretty much in line with Reese's (as are the fat values) but this comes with way less sugar and way more protein than Reese's.
The flavor is spot on, though, and the chocolate is creamy and delicious! The chocolate to peanut butter ratio is also just right. The only difference is that the peanut butter filling is, for lack of a better description, somewhat powdery. As you can see, it's not the peanut butter-y texture that other peanut butter cups have.
But it's still delicious and I'm impressed with how they managed to hide 21g of vegetarian protein in two chocolate peanut butter cups! YUM!
For a lighter treat (or a more traditional energy bar), I really like the Health Warrior bars I tried the other day. They come in three flavors: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Coconut, and Acai Berry.
All three bars are based on chia seeds and loaded with antioxidants, fiber, protein, and Omega 3s!
In case you get Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids mixed up (I know I do), Omega 3s are the ones that are generally in short supply in most of our diets. Making sure we get enough Omega 3 fatty acids, to keep that fatty acid ratio optimal, is important for optimal brain function, growth, development, and even stuff like weight maintenance, memory, mood, energy, heart health, and good skin! Some good sources of Omega 3s include fish or walnuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds!
The ingredients list isn't short, but I'm familiar with most of the foods on the list and it's a lot of good, healthful stuff. The ingredients list for my yogurt messes (I'm all about the mix-ins) isn't short either, so that alone isn't something to be too concerned about!
As you'll notice, these bars are all only around 100kcal each, though they provide a really powerful nutritional punch for such a light food product (check out all that fiber and all those Omega 3s).
It's clear how they achieve the low kcal count, though - the bars are quite small,.I was actually a bit surprised by how small. I eat a lot of bars, so I have a pretty good feel for what's a standard bar size and what's big or what's small.
These are definitely small.
What they lack in size, however, they make up for in quality!
They're chewy, with a nice seediness from the chia seeds, and pretty true to their flavors. Though there's cashew butter in the bars, you don't taste that. You taste fruity berries (I thought I tasted primarily strawberry and acai), chocolate and (secondarily) peanut butter, or coconut in the respective bars! Yum!
If I were hungry, one of these wouldn't fill me up since they are so small. But they make a great snack if you're just feeling a bit peckish or they make an awesome healthful addition to a larger snack if you're hungry!
I definitely recommend trying these out (especially the Acai Berry which, in my opinion, is the best of their three flavors) if you can't get into the goopy texture of chia pudding but you're looking for a healthy way to add some chia to your diet. I prefer having it this way - it's delicious!
Do you ever have themes for your parties?
What do you like chia seeds in best?
Have you tried Quest Cravings Peanut Butter Cups?
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