Holy Crap cereal - fitknitchick

Holy Crap Energy Bars recipe

July 10, 2012 by Tamara 25 Comments

One of my favourite pick-me-up snacks is an energy bar made and sold at my neighbourhood cafe. Full of oats, flax, dried fruits and nuts, with just a hint of chocolate.

While it’s a fairly healthy option, as far as coffee shop fare goes, I know that it probably has more sugar and fat than I need with my morning coffee.

So I put my apron on and came up with my own version. Low in sugar, low in fat and gluten free! A great way to incorporate Holy Crap, my favourite breakfast cereal in a mid-day treat.

recipes using Holy Crap cereal

You can easily customize it by substituting your favourite dried fruits and nuts for those in my recipe. I’m thinking that dried coconut would be a yummy addition too!

Holy Crap Energy Bars

2 cups ground large flake oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup Holy Crap Cereal (you could use Skinny B if you prefer)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
6 egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey or agave syrup (optional; I like them without)
3/4 cup non-fat milk or unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional; although chocolate is never optional in my house!)

Grind oats in food processor until fine (they should look like coarse flour)
Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whist egg whites, applesauce, vanilla, honey (if using) and milk in a medium bowl.
Pour wet ingredients over dry and top with dried fruit, nuts and chocolate chips.
Stir until combined; do not over mix.
Scrape batter into a lightly oiled or parchment-lined 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Bars will look slightly underdone when you take them out.
Place pan on a cooling rack. Cook for 20 minutes, then cut into 24 equal size bars.

baking with Holy Crap Cereal

Nutritional info per square: Calories, 106; Total Fat, 4.6 g; Sat. Fat, 1.1 g; Carbs, 14 g; Fibre, 2.4 g; Sugar, 4.5 g; Protein, 3.6 g.

Holy Crap energy bars freeze well (they only need about 10 s in the microwave to defrost) and taste great crumbled atop your morning berries and yogurt!

Holy Crap cereal with fruit

You can purchase Holy Crap cereal online (just click on the link to the left).

Disclaimer: The makers of Holy Crap Cereal recently sent me three bags of Dragons Blend to thank me for helping them with some online research. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own!

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Recipes and requests: dessert hummus, healthy granola, monthly newsletter and a YouTube video

June 15, 2012 by Tamara 18 Comments

Whew! What a busy week!

There’s been lots going on in fitknitchick-land; cooking and baking and writing and videotaping and editing. Kids’ end of the year camps and ball hockey playoffs. Teaching, training and the odd workout for myself!

Today’s post is a bit of a mish-mash; hardly like me, but that’s how the week has been.

I’ve got a couple of recipes that I’m dying to share with you. And I’m hoping that you’ll return the share by helping me get as many eyes as possible on a new workout video!

1) The first is the newest culinary creation of Lindsay’s (AKA The Lean Green Bean); dessert hummus. Yes, you read that correctly. DESSERT HUMMUS! You can find the original recipe here.

I made the ‘spread’ version last week and took it to a fitness-girls-party; nothing left to bring home (or photograph, sorry!). Nobody believed there were chickpeas involved. Tastes exactly like cookie dough!

I made the ‘oatmeal balls’ version yesterday and made 2 changes; I upped the oats to 3/4 cup and added in an extra special ingredient, Holy Crap Cereal (1/2 cup). Both fit with my ‘Metabolic Effect’ nutrition plan perfectly; 2 or 3 balls after my lunch of lean protein and veggies and I get both my 5-10 bites of starchy carbs and the feeling that I’ve had dessert! You’ve got to try this recipe!

Holy Crap Cereal recipes

2) Second up; a healthier granola. Since I’m using oats as a condiment these days (topping my berries with them rather than the reverse), I like to augment them with seeds and nuts and dried fruit. I’ve tried a lot of different granola recipes and ended up cobbling this one together by mixing and matching until I found something that I love (unfortunately, my hubby does too, so it never lasts very long…).

2 and 1/2 cups oats (the less refined the better)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 – 1 full cup unsweetened applesauce (start with 1/2 cup then add more as needed to moisten)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey (optional or substitute agave nectar if your prefer)
1/2 cup dried blueberries (cranberries are great too)
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until combined and moistened. Add more applesauce if necessary.

Spread out on parchment-lined cookie sheet (I usually use 2 cookie sheets). Bake at 300 degrees F for 30-45 minutes, stirring often.

Let cool, then store in an airtight container. Voila! A healthier granola, with pronounceable ingredients! It’s as yummy as it looks!

fitknitchick recipes

And now for my requests of you all!

3) This month, I’m participating in an online video workout contest; Designer Whey’s “America’s Top Trainer” contest. I’ve filmed, edited and uploaded my entry. The winner of the contest will be determined by the popularity of the video. That means I would love it if you’d watch, comment (directly below the video on YouTube), ‘Like’, ‘Share’ (on Facebook and Twitter if that’s your thing) and above all, ‘Subscribe’ to my YouTube channel. I need my readers to come out in droves!

And finally,

4) On June 1st, I send out my first free Fitness and Healthy Lifestyle Newsletter. If you subscribed (by entering your email in the box at the top left of this page), you will have already received it (I’d love to hear your feedback!).

If not, there’s still time! Enter your e-mail here (it’s really that simple!) and not only will you receive July’s edition, I’ll also send you the one you missed! Please feel free to forward it to your friends and family and encourage them to subscribe as well!

I think that’s everything!

Hope you’ve had a great week!

Tell me something fun (and fitness-related) that you’re planning for the weekend!

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Five favourite fitness finds and Tuesday Trainer Tabata

April 3, 2012 by Tamara 2 Comments

Have you ever found a product that you love so much you can’t fathom how you managed to live without it for so long? If you’re at all like me, you tell everyone you know about it until every time you bring up the subject they quickly switch to talking about the weather or the Canucks (neither of which have been impressive of late).

If you’ve recently witnessed me gush about any of the following, you’re free to leave now. (But of course, go directly to Tuesday Trainer where I’m demonstrating a Tabata interval featuring one of my beloved products). Otherwise, read on as I tell you about my five favourite fitness finds!

1. I know. We’ve been down this road before. But I just can’t say enough wonderful things about Holy Crap Cereal. I’m going through a package every two weeks. I can’t stop adding it to oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt and protein bars. If you’ve still not managed to try it, what are you waiting for? It’s available for order online, with free shipping to both the US and Canada, so you don’t need to walk any farther than your computer to get your hands on some. I sent some to my March Foodie Pen Pal who too, has fallen in love.

2. I always wear makeup when I workout. Nothing heavy, but a light, sheer tinted moisturizer makes me look more alive when I’m teaching classes and training clients. (You did see that first-thing-in-the-morning photo I posted last week, right?). Of course, sweating and wiping my face with a towel pretty much means that any makeup I apply before breakfast will no longer be in evidence by lunch.

Not so with the help of two Arbonne products, introduced to me by my friend (and Arbonne Consultant extraordinaire!) Lyndsy; their Makeup Primer (who even knew you were supposed to ‘prime’ before applying makeup?) and Perfecting Liquid Foundation with SPF15. Both go on smooth as silk and stay where I put them ALL DAY LONG (but only if I remember to ‘blot’ the sweat off my face rather than ‘wipe’).

3. Although I’ve known about the value of using a heart rate monitor when working out for a long time, until recently, I’ve never gotten around to buying one for myself. I knew I wanted something that I could wear as my every day watch and found this gem by Timex. It’s their Ironman Road Trainer watch and heart rate monitor.

I’ve gotten in the habit of wearing it during spin and boot camp classes to see just how many calories I’m burning and to make sure I’m working hard enough. The output shows me minimum, maximum and average heart rate during the workout, as well as the number of minutes I managed to stay in my target heart rate zone. I love it and have become addicted to snapping a photo of my calorie burn (or some other metric) at the end of each workout. Not wearing a heart rate monitor? You should be; you’ll be surprised at how hard (or not) you’re actually working and will probably think twice about indulging in an after-workout mocha frappuccino!

4. A few months ago a blogger friend of mine posted about a workout outfit she had ordered from a company making radically different fitness clothes. Enter YMX by Yellowman. Their designs are based on tribal and tattoo motifs and definitely stand out from the crowd. Unwilling to pay the exorbitant fee to have it shipped to Canada (not YMX by Yellowman’s fault; something to do with Canadian customs…), I ordered a tank top and had it delivered (much more economically) to the Californian hotel we stayed at during our spring break holiday.

I love everything about it! The colours, the fabric (silky feeling, SPF and anti-stink) and the fit! It’s almost too pretty to sweat in. I’m planning to order the matching leggings, to be delivered to me at the upcoming Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference in Denver.

5. And last, but not least, my pretty, little Gymboss interval timer.

So handy for boot camp classes, Spartacus-style workouts and Tabata training. Check out one of my favourite two-move Tabata workouts and then click on over to Lindsay’s List to see what the other Tuesday Trainers have in store!

What are YOUR current favourite fitness products?

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High fiber, no sugar, no gluten cereal that tastes great! Holy Crap Cereal!

January 13, 2012 by Tamara 23 Comments

Once again, I’m participating in a no sugar challenge. That’s no ‘added’ sugar, by the way. The natural sugars found in fruit, vegetables, dairy and grains are fine. Otherwise, what would I eat?

Since this challenge is a 30 day one, I thought I’d spend a little time in the grocery store reading product labels and perhaps finding some new ‘no sugar’ items to add to my diet. Variety will be key to staying on track.

I love eating cereal at breakfast time. While I love me some oats, granola is a favourite, but even the organic, low sugar varieties contain honey or molasses or cane juice or Stevia; none of which are permitted on this challenge.

Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this little gem;

Holy Crap! (Yes! That’s actually it’s name. My children are delighting in be allowed to repeat these two words ad nauseum; “But it’s not swearing mom, it’s the name of your cereal”)

Organic. No sugar or preservatives. Vegan and gluten free. And locally made, to boot! Ingredients include chia seeds (oh yeah, I’m on the chia bandwagon now too), hemp hearts, buck wheat, dried apples, raisins and cranberries and cinnamon. What’s not to love? You’ve got your heart-healthy fats, lots of dietary fibre and more protein per serving than most other cereals out there.

The package says you can sprinkle it on cereal, mix it in milk, stir it into yogurt and cook it with oats. I’ve added it to overnight oats

and green monster protein shakes. Yummy, filling and healthy feeling.

Serving size is small; just 2 tablespoons. While it’s tempting to eat more, let the cereal’s name be a warning. Holy Crap! (The first morning I tried it I made a few more than normal trips to the bathroom).

For those of you watching your carb intake, they also make a fruit-free version called Skinny B. I found it at my local IGA. Apparently Thrifty Foods carries it as well. And you can always buy it online here

What’s you favourite breakfast cereal?

Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this review. All opinions expressed here are my own. NB. Since publishing this post, I have become an Affiliate Marketer for Holy Crap Cereal. When you purchase this product through links on my site, I receive compensation. For my information, please see my Privacy and Disclosure Policy.

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