Tag Archives: bob harper

After my near-death experience with a killer swan yesterday, I decided I needed a lighter activity to smooth my frazzled nerves. Swans are so pretty and graceful until they try to attack you, or they show up in your mirror’s reflection and try to kill you. I’m just glad I didn’t engage in a freaky inner dialogue with the swan about poor form and my passion for ballet. If I did, I’d totally be dead already. Natalie Portman must be one tough lady.

To relax, I decided to start reading Bob Harper’s “Skinny Rules”. That man is not only hot and tough; he isn’t dumb. Being a jaded NYC actor, I don’t have high hopes for TV people. Granted, he most assuredly had a team of experts the size of the Duggar family helping him conceptualize the diet, and put it into words, but he was obviously the lead Duggar. The “Jim-Bob”, if you will. (Although, if we’re being honest, I think Michelle Duggar’s lady flower and motherhood greenhouse are the true bosses)

In “Skinny Rules”, Bobbie (he let’s me call him that, mostly because he has no idea I call him that, and he has NO idea of who I am, even after meeting me.) talks in depth about the importance of protein, and encourages protein at every meal. Granted, he’s the spokesman for Quaker Oatmeal, but I am fairly certain he chugs some egg whites or feeds off the pain of his clients with his breakfast. (to a succubus, pain is protein…sorry if you didn’t know that. Not that Bobbie is a succubus, but he IS a personal trainer.)

This got me thinking about how much protein I eat. The answer I came up with was “not enough.” I avoid a lot of cheese, because I don’t love looking like I swallowed a balloon, I don’t really love meat, I eat a mostly plant based diet, and tofu gets old. I realize there’s a gajillion other plant-based proteins, but I fall into a food routine and tend to stay there.

As of last night, I have decided to eat more of the muscle building, metabolism boosting, amino chain. I still don’t want to walk around with turkey in one hand and string cheese in another, but I am going to aim for at least 15g of protein at every meal, and put more protein in my snacks.

My breakfast of oats was going to need a change. I also still wanted to eat oatmeal. I came up with the idea of protein breakfast bars, made with oats. I wanted a little extra something, though. I decided caffeine was what I *really* needed with my protein.

A person in my brain said “mocha protein breakfast bars”, oddly enough in Wilford Brimley’s voice. Not ONCE did he tell me not to add sugar because of his die-uh-bee-tus, and I was really saddened about that.

Mocha Protein Breakfast Bars -no bake