Cinnamon Apple Crumble Squares

FALL.........I LOVE this time of year!! 

You are probably going to hear that a lot from me over the next few months! I love the way the Fall air feels & smells, I love having my windows open, I love the falling leaves, the approaching holidays & of course, I love the food!!!....... ahhhhhh! To me, it is all DIVINE!!! I feel so alive this time of year! I have really been feeling great lately since I started doing the Body Earned program! I can see & feel myself getting stronger! I am lifting more at the gym & pushing hard with HIIT cardio! I am definitely seeing results & I am LOVING it!!! 

And since I am feeling the love everywhere lately, you can bet I wanna stir up some Fall lovin' in the kitchen! It was time for a new batch of protein bars today, so I reached for my tried & true fav -  Jamie Eason's Cinnamon Swirl protein bars, but then I thought,  "Callie, you need an Apple Cinnamon protein bar recipe!" And for those of you that are familiar w JE & all her protein bar recipes you are probably thinking, "Callie, JE has an Apple Cinnamon protein bar recipe!" And you would be right! However, I have to be honest, I have made them a few times & I have to say that (no offense to Jamie cause she is my total fav) but I do NOT like them AT ALL! And I am a HUGE Apple Cinnamon fan!!! I'm sorry! But, I have to be honest! They are the only ones of hers I don't like! But since I love the taste of anything Apple Cinnamon so much & this is the perfect time of year for it AND Dr. Oz just recently did a show on the Top 10 Anti- Aging herbs & spices & Apple Pie Spice was #5!!! (link to the article is below) And you know how I am about anti-aging, right?! So, taking all things into consideration, I figured it's high time I came up with an Apple Cinnamon bar that I DO like! So, anywho, long story short (semi-short) I got in the kitchen & a scrumptious new protein bar was born! YAY!  I am always so proud when I birth a new protein bar recipe that comes out really yummy 'cause clean baking is a lot of trial & error! 

Clean ingredients are very different to cook with if you haven't 

already experienced that already.  

I used my fav - JE Cinnamon Swirl protein bars as my recipe inspiration because I love, love, love the cinnamon "sugar" swirl part! And I have to say that I like these even better that those & that is saying A LOT 'cause her Cinnamon Swirl bars are the 

super dang & my total fav...... until now! 

I can't wait to have one of these warmed up with a glass of Cinnamon Almond Milk!! 

Shut the front door!!! 

YUM!!! 

Oh, & also, they made my house smell gloriously amazing! 

(besides the Scentsy I always have burning!)

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They are worthy of the name too!  Pretty & crumbly! Mmmmm.........

 Cinnamon Apple Crumble Squares

Dry ingredients:

1.5 C Oat Flour

2 scoops Vanilla Whey

1/4 C Stevia in the Raw

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Apple Pie Spice

wet ingredients:

4 egg whites

1/2 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 C Natural Applesauce

1 tsp Brown Sugar Splenda

*Topping:

1/ C Stevia in the Raw

1 tsp Brown Sugar Splenda

1 tsp Apple Pie Spice

1 tsp Cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350. Blend oats into flour then blend remaining dry ingredients. (I use my Ninja for all of this, of course!) Add wet ingredients to the dry & blend until it's all mixed together-scrape sides of bowl or Ninja cause the flour always wants to stick. Pour into an 8 x 8 square pan then sprinkle Cinnamon Apple Crumble on top. Swirl with knife all the way through back & forth a couple of times then pop into the oven & bake until a toothpick comes out clean! As with all protein bar recipes like this, don't over or under bake! This can be tricky when you are first learning to make things like this! If you take it out & your toothpick comes out clean yet you cut into them & your knife is gooey, don't stress! Just put them back in for a few more minutes! 

*Makes 16 squares.

*Nutritional content: 34.5 calories, .5 gram of fat, 2.9 net carbs, .2 grams of sugar & 3 grams of protein!

(Nutritional content is calculated according to the protein powder I currently use which is MRM. You will have to adjust the content according to what kind you use or any other ingredients you alter)
* If you would like to read the article by Dr. Oz on the Top 10 Anti- Aging Herbs & Spices you can check it out here!!

Wednesday is Operation: Smoothie

Happy Wednesday! 

How are you doing on the weekly challenge of 20 push ups a day?!  Did you check out the Syra Namaskar A video on Yogaglo I posted Monday? How about Pinterest.....did you pin any of my recipes?! I want to hear feedback from you!! Please feel free to message me or comment on any posts!!

 I really really look forward to Wednesday's Operation: Smoothie blog because I get to try out a new smoothie recipe & then I get to blog about it! I was a little undecided on what kind to make today because I have been dying to make a green smoothie but I want to learn more about them before I go there so I went with plan B which was to satisfy a caramel apple pie craving I had going on!  (I have those a lot, I know!) It came out sooooo good! If I had crushed low fat graham cracker crumbs  to sprinkle on top it would have been like drinking homemade apple pie! Mmmmmmm!!!

Without further ado...... here is the recipe!

Caramel Apple Pie Protein Smoothie

1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

1 tsp sugar free Torani Caramel syrup

1 Tbsp natural no sugar added applesauce

1 Tbsp nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1 Stevia packet

a couple of dashes of apple pie seasoning & a couple of dashes of cinnamon

1 C ice

*Throw into Ninja & blend until smooth! I sprinkled a dash of Nutmeg on top of mine for extra flavor & to make it picture perfect! ;)

*This Operation: Smoothie case is closed at 140 calories, 5 carbs & 20 grams of protein!

 

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Good morning! I had a really good weekend & I hope you all did too! Now it's time to welcome in a new beautifully fit  week & I am so ready! Today at the gym,  Kristei & I are going to be starting phase 2 of the Jamie Eason Live Fit Trainer & I am on day 2 of "The Plank Challenge" I posted on Friday! Have you been planking?? I am liking this challenge! If you haven't started it yet, it's not too late! Start today! 3 minutes out of your day? C'mon....... everybody can find time for that!
One of the highlights of my weekend was this moist & flavor packed Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake I came up with yesterday! It is (in my humble opinon) the BEST recipe I have come up with yet! My mom whole heartedly agreed! (She gets to try all my recipes!) It's 2 cake layers w a layer of real apples & cinnamon baked into the middle & a brown sugar & cinnamon topping! Mmmmmm......... I can't wait to eat a piece later! I only added 1 scoop of protein powder since I didn't know how it was all going to come out so the protein content isn't as high as I would like it. I may try adding 1 more next time!
Here's the (you gotta try) this recipe!:
Apple layer:
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored & diced into small pieces
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp natural no sugar added applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stevia
*mix all ingredients except apples then pour over apples & stir together until apples are well coated & set aside.
Cake layer:
1 & 1/2c oat flour
3/4 c egg white substitute
1 c stevia
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
*grind oats down to powder, then add all other ingredients & blend well.
Brown sugar & cinnamon topping  (mix & set aside)
1/2 packed tsp brown sugar splenda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs stevia
*Spray an 8 x 8 pan with butter cooking spray & pour half the mixture in. Then spread the apples evenly over the first cake layer (place gently so they don't fall through to the bottom. I used my fingers.) Then pour the remaining cake layer on top of the cake layer being sure to cover all the apples. Bake until cake is starting to get a little firm but still soft on top then pull it out & evenly sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon blend on top & lightly press down into top of cake. Finish baking until top is pretty & brown & firm. Do not overbake! Check with a toothpick but keep in mind that it will look a little gooey because of the apple layer in the middle!
Cut into 16 pieces! (Use a ruler if you need to so you can ensure pieces are even!)
*Nutritional content: 43.5 calories, 8.4 carbs & 2.75 grams of protein
 *Don't forget to keep any clean recipes like this refrigerated! Things without preservatives in it have to be kept cold! Just nuke a piece when you want to eat one!

Happy baking & clean eating!!!!!!