Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bars

This recipe has been adapted from the Dashing Dish. I love to visit Katie there. She is so inspirational and when in doubt I consult her beautiful site which offers guidance from her, exercise methods and routines and health conscious recipes that include Weight Watchers points. Although I do not personally know her, she is my friend.

As most of you know, I have been weight watching since February and have been successful in losing a substantial amount of weight. The trick is keeping it off which takes fastidious constancy, commitment and consistency - the 3 C's! When I feel weak, I say a wee prayer and seek the help of this sweet girl. Sometimes I look for specifics and sometimes I just seek her good spirit.

Anyway, as I said, I've adapted her recipe, not because it wasn't perfect before, it was. It just so happens though that I wanted a bit more protein per serving than her original recipe provided. It's still her recipe, just a bit tweaked.

Katie recommends freezing these for longevity and pulling them out of the freezer whenever you need a snack on the go which is great because they are jam packed with protein. The protein will stave off your hunger until you sit down to a proper meal.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Protein Powder (I use Bob's Red Mill Whey Protein Concentrate)
• 1/2 Cup PB2 (Peanut Flour - you can get this at most natural food stores)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbs unsweetened apple butter (less carbs than apple sauce - weird)
• 1/2 Cup skim milk
• 3 egg whites
• 4-5 packets of artificial sweetener of your choice
• 3 Tbs strawberry jam (Katie called for no sugar added - I only had regular in the fridge)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray.
3. Mix all ingredients together except strawberry jam.
4. Pour batter into pan.
5. Mix Jam with a tiny bit of water and drizzle on top of batter.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts:

9 Servings

Calories per serving 116, Fat 1.4 Grams, Carbs 12.6, Protein 15 Grams

Pearls of Wisdom

While we are in Turkey, let me leave you with this morsel of goodness that keeps me going through the trials and tribulations of trying to be a blogger...

It's so difficult not to compare ourselves with others we perceive as more successful, more knowledgeable or better off. The key word there is perceive.

I know a woman who has a very successful blog (no names to protect the innocent) but she also has a sister who is very sick. I know another man (again no names) who has a wickedly famous design blog but he just found out his wife has been unfaithful. And, I know a woman who has 27, 000 followers on Pinterest, a prolific Etsy store and a sponsored art site but she just lost her house.

I am certainly not trying to focus on the negative. I'm just saying that though P and P is not sponsored (yet), and I don't have tons of readers and I'm no authority in blogging, my sister is healthy, my husband is faithful and we have a sweet little cottage to call our own. When we put things in perspective and couple that perspective with hard work and patience, I think anything can happen!

Original photo by Tennesee Bunny finished artwork by me.

On that note, please tell your friends about Poppies and Paperbacks, follow me on Pinterest, follow me on twitter and come visit me anytime on Facebook (although, I'm not terribly consistent on "the book").

Card Tricks and Illusionists

Magic is alluring. It's a talent like dancing or singing It's extremely appealing and most people wish they could do it.

I love cards. I love the art on vintage playing cards. I love the feel and texture of a deck of cards and perhaps because of all this admiration I love card tricks too.

The following film I realize is an ad campagin but I challenge you to follow his hands to see what he does and how to do it. I love it so much it gets me a little crazy. Like Elvis. Ellusionist is a pretty awesome website if you, like me, love a card trick and slight of hand. It's quite sexy. Check out Theory 11...their creativity is whimsically malicious. Like I said, I wish I could dance, sing, act and do magic!

The videos are pro quality and bonus, they have great music.

Look closely here, lest you miss the fascination....