Surprisingly Filling, Flavorful + Delicious!
Pan-toasted tortillas topped with leftover kidney beans and tofu, microwaved with some cumin and hot sauce accompanied by a mango-cilantro-jalopeno-avocado-lime compote and a dollop of greek yogurt!
I looked at this plate and thought “There’s no way that’ll fill me up” but didn’t feel like preparing any sides (likely carrot sticks or a baby spinach salad) but once I was finished licking my fingers – I was pleasantly full and my palate was happy with the variety of flavor!
No wonder – these guys came out at about 475 kcal, 21 grams of fiber and 30 grams of protein!
Dessert!
I was on Meringue Cloud 9 while eating this dessert creation: Soy Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream with a crushed Vanilla Meringue! I nuked the whole thing for about 15 seconds to get the ice cream melted…..mmmmmmmmmm! The combo of the creamy peanut butter chocolate with the crunchy and smooth melt of the meringue was perfect!
I had to have a cup of hot tea to keep me warm though!
Afternoon Fun
On a whim, I emailed my new friend and nearby neighbor Ally of Vegan Eats to see if she wanted to meet me for a walk. It was the perfect opportunity to try out this new trail near my house that I had NO IDEA existed! I’ve been looking for a dirt trail for running and this is absolutely perfect – a hidden gem in South Charlotte! It’s 4 miles one way, so could potentially be an 8-miler (not that I can run that far!) but is far longer than any of our other dinky “parks.”
Ally and I did about 2.5 miles together chatting up a storm and enjoying the sunshine 8)
I also took the opportunity to try my very first Clif bar after Couch Cubicle’s Arielle recommended the Peanut Toffee Buzz. I had very mixed feelings. The first bite tasted like fake protein bar, then it got better, then it got worse. I’m very sorry to report that my experience was not that great and I don’t think I’ll be having another. I ate half of this guy and will probably feed the rest to the husband. Sorry Arielle! Maybe I’d like another flavor better?
So that’s my afternoon! The weather tomorrow is supposed to be fabulous and I am saving all of my studying for Sunday and using tomorrow to have a “Girl’s Day Out” with me, myself and I
Nick says
Yum, this looks incredible. I love being able to eat something as sweet as mango and call it dinner. But that ice cream sure sounds delicious too. As for the Clif bar, it can’t be the peanuts that ruined it, it has to be something else!
– The Peanut Butter Boy
Nick says
By the way Kath, I’ve tagged you for a “Meme” if you’re up for it. Details on my latest post: Apple Pie Crepes!
Beth says
I am a big fan of the Clif Carrot Cake bar, very soft and chewy. Some small white chunks that remind me of frosting. I am a distance runner, so I get excited when I actually need to/get to eat a whole bar at once.
I am on the look out for lemon poppyseed. I have heard they exist, but have never found them in the store.
arimcg says
Wow, I’m surprised you didn’t like it. I liked it a lot, although the peanut butter chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin walnut are better. Have you tried those?
I made a salsa exactly like your compote last night. Good, huh? The avocado must be what makes it filling.
Kate says
I’m not a big fan of Clif bars, either. They’re okay in a pinch (sometimes I take on with me when I’m going on a long bike ride), but overall I much prefer “real food”! I used to love Luna bars, but even they now seem chemically to me. Pro Bars are great if you can get your hands on one, but they’re pretty high cal so half is enough, or there’s a recipe in Vive le Vegan for home-made energy bars that are healthy and nummy!
Anon. says
Kath… made these today and they are wonderful! Took them to the gym and my trainer devoured them! Might be something you’d like, as they seem a lot like the muffin tops you have made:
Banana Oat Bundles
1 cup quick oats
1 cup ground oats (grind quick oats in a processor until fine and crumbly)
1?4 cup unrefined sugar
1?4 tsp sea salt
1?4 tsp cinnamon or ground cardamon
1?4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup overripe banana, puréed (roughly 2 large bananas)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 – 3 1?2 tbsp canola oil
Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). In a large bowl, combine the oats, ground oats, sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and sift in the baking powder. Stir through until well combined. In another bowl, combine the puréed banana, vanilla, and canola oil, stirring through. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir through until just well combined. Drop large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Makes 12-15 bundles.
The recipe is from Dreena Burton’s blog- she is the author of viva la vegan and Eat Drink and Be Vegan
Yum!
babycakes says
I am not a fan of bars at all – too fake and processed! (PS – Beth, Cliff discontinued the lemon poppyseed a while back, so they are no longer available – just wanted to let you know so you don’t keep looking)
Kath, your dinner sounds great tonight! Kidney beans and tofu are some of my faves!
So glad you took some time to enjoy the sunshine. It’s finally starting to warm up here in Boston too!
Hope you sleep well! 🙂
katherine says
Your wraps look and sound absolutely delicious – I never would have paired all of those flavours together in one wrap. Such great ideas you come up with Kath!
I also do not really like any of the clif bars – I have tried a couple and they are TOO sweet. They are good when you REALLY want something sweet – but there are so many other better things I would rather have in those situations.
Kat
kelly says
kat that flavor’s gross try carrot cake or banana bread i think you’d like them better, they’re so chewy!
Claudia says
Gosh, I thought I was weird for not liking those bars! I thought they tasted very much like “fake protein bars”, yuck! Definitely not worth the calories in my opinion.
Rose says
the carrot cake is good, as is the mint chocolate chip (if you like that sort of thing)
the best is the Z bars (for kids) in chocolate brownie… mixed in Fage or something like that, yum!
Sarah says
What’s the ingredient list like for Cliff Bars? I don’t eat bars often, but I just finished training/running a half-marathon and I’m going to run a full this fall and I like to eat one on long run days… I’ve tried Lara Bars (chocolate, cinnamon roll, banana) and ThinkGreen (in chocolate chip.) I like them because they have very few ingredients…
Ashley H says
I like the carrot cake and crunchy peanut butter clif bars. There are super moist (even my boyfriend likes the peanut butter one). I will agree with you that they do kind of have that power bar taste to them though. They cannot compete with a Larabar.
Kiala says
I like Clif Bars but I LOVE the Mojo Bars. Delishus.
courty says
I find that Clif bars taste best when you are really hungry… maybe it is easier to pretend you are eating the real thing! Personally I love the Blueberry Crisp flavor-YUM.
VeggieGirl says
Oh my, that tortilla-dinner looks FANTASTIC!! And your “Meringue Cloud 9” dessert experience sounds great too :0)
How fun that you and Ally got to enjoy the weather, and go for a nice walk!!
Enjoy your evening, and have a terrific “Girls’ Day Out” tomorrow!
bikergurl says
I just found this ice cream today and it’s awesome! I love the idea for the wraps too.
Romina says
Wow!! All that dinner was just 475 calories? Looks delicious!
Ally says
Those leftovers look really great, I need to learn how to make meals last more than one day!
Today’s walk was really nice, I’m glad we met up!
-Ally
Anne says
I’ll also give my vote to the carrot cake clif bar, some of the other flavours are just sketchy. Also, they taste way better when you’re on a hike or snowboarding or something, and are starving, and they’re the only food around.
The Clif Luna bars are a bit better, and a bit lower in calories (below 200), and there’s a lemon flavour in those (for the person looking for lemon poppyseed clifs…these might do)
As for ingredients, Clif is like 60% organic, and has more natural ingredients than most heavy duty protein bars, but are nowhere near as natural as lara bars.
Response says
the Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel bar could quite possibly be one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth. Every time I eat one I make sure I go slow enough so that it lasts for at least 30 minutes. Ingredients include: peanuts, peanut butter chips, peanut butter filled pretzles…200 calories of the best post workout snack ever!
Jill says
I had almost the same dinner! Wish I took pictures.
How long did it take you to get in the habit of taking pictures, on that note? I find it very difficult as I prepare the food and want to eat it warm, so just put it off. Arg!
I’m jealous, the walk with others sounds lovely! Invite me next time and I’ll fly out there 😉
LisaR says
Hey guys I just posted this on Jenna’s blog but I need your input too!
I’m running my first 5k race in Indianapolis on Saturday. I’m super pumped but the forecast says its supposed to be 54 and raining 🙁 I haven’t got a clue what I should wear on race day. I’ve never really ran outside in the cold let alone when it was raining out. What should I wear? hat, gloves? a light rain coat? I don’t want to wear too much but I don’t want to be wet and miserable. Oh gosh…why does it have to rain!?!?
Please help!
thanks!!
kristin says
Hi Kath!
I just joined calorieking a couple of days ago and was wondering when you were losing weight, did you eat back your exercise calories?
i love your blog, i check it daily!
caitlin (in FL) says
lisa r- i ran my first 10k in the SNOW in 40 degree weather and it was rough. i wore: long underwear with running shorts over them, a sports bra, a long sleeved cotton shirt, a northface fleece jacket, gloves and a hat. it wouldve been better if i had sweat-wicking clothes on instead of cotton, but it was all i had. it was great because i could peel off layers or unzip my jacket if i needed to. i took the gloves on and off as i ran and i took over the hat towards the end.
good luck!
Leng says
That’s too bad that you didn’t like the cliff bar! Next time you should try either Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch or Chocolate Brownie. I LOVE the Chocolate brownie.
Cara says
I love outdoor trails! I will be moving to Austin soon where there will be a ton. That is so awesome that one is so close 🙂
Betsy says
i actually love them, but i only eat them before long runs and think of them as fuel, not really food.
try the chocolate peanut butter ones, or the maple nut. sooooooo good. i LOVE them both. like, actually love them. I think we’re getting married soon.
Erika says
caitlin (in FL)>> That is TOO funny – I wear SHORTS at 40 degrees! I guess if you’re not used to it though.. it could be a little surprise. We ran in -5 (without windchill) this winter 😀
Lisa R>> Here’s a nice little link where you can plug in the temps and conditions. Hope it helps!
http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/whattowear/0,,s6-240-325-330-0-0-0-0-0,00.html
Jana says
… and you deserve a Girl’s Day Out with all that studying you’ve been doing!
Me, I’m going to see a movie all by myself tomorrow because the boyfriend already has plans, and I am strangely looking forward to it. I will bring healthy snacks and just enjoy myself. 🙂
Phoebe says
Too bad! Peanut toffee buzz is my FAVORITE Clif bar flavor. I really love Clif bars but there are a lot of their flavors I dislike. The ones I like are that one, Peanut butter chocolate chip, crunchy peanut butter, black cherry almond and oatmeal raisin walnut. The rest of them I am really not into and infact I think they taste too sweet. I agree that they taste best if you are really hungry and I think also if you are drinking a lot of cold water at the same time (yes I’ve given a lot of thought to eating Clif bars haha). But, you know, not everyone likes bars.
Teddy says
ooh what do you when you get “me” time?? I like to drink a glass of wine and watch a great movie
Teddy
Amanda M says
i agree that clif bars often taste a little off .. i do like the chocolate brownie flavor though!! i am a HUGE fan of the lemon zest luna bars .. soo soo yummy! also has anyone tried odwalla bars?! their banana nut flavor is to die for!!
Kim C. says
Re: Vit C and iron: This is a delayed post in response to another Kim’s question about vitamin C and iron. Yes, you need to consume the vitamin C with the iron source to benefit from the increased absorption. Both need to be present in the gut at the same time to be absorbed together. You can get this affect by adding vinegar or citrus to iron sources or complementing them with vitamin C rich foods, such as bell peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. Hope this helps, we have covered this multiple times in my medical nutrition therapy… One caution though, if you are taking iron pills DON’T take vitamin C supplements at the same time. This is too concentrated and can cause an ulcer.
sirenjess says
Kath you could totally run eight miles. It’s easier than you think.
Kath says
arimcg ,
Yes, I felt so bad since you recommended it 🙁 Maybe I will like the other flavors, but I’m hesitant to spend money on them! I need Clif to just send me one bite of each to try 🙂
Anon,
Those are my banana muffin tops!!! I just renamed them because I thought they were just like MT’s.
Sarah ,
While mostly organic, I’d stick to LaraBars. They are much more natural and I like the fresher taste better. If you’re interested, you can see the Clif ingredients on their website.
Nick ,
Your crepes look wonderful! I’m not really one for chains, but thanks for thinking of me for the MeMe 🙂
Jill ,
I had my camera surgically attached to my hip 🙂 J/K but I do have a special shelf where I put my camera so I always know where it is when I’m cooking.
kristin ,
Yes, I always ate back every single exercise calorie. That’s how you ensure you’re fueling your body and your workouts. Some people choose not to, but I think it’s very important.
Kim C.,
Thanks so much for the Vit. C/Iron response. Good to know!
sirenjess ,
I think I probably could do 8 miles (and would want to train for a marathon) if I didn’t have a foot injury + surgery history. I just don’t want to put those kind of miles on my foot. Maybe I could do a half marathon one day.
Kath
Katie says
When I first *looked* at this post I got scared b/c I mad e adinner SOOO similar! So funny! I topped a big wrap with spring greens, mango, avocado, a teeny sprinkle of goat cheese and some fresh grilled chicken breast. It was SOOOO good that I’m totally having it again tonight. 🙂
melissa says
what brand of tortillas are you using? we’ve been eating the flat out brand, but i think i am getting tired of them …
Kath says
Trader joe’s low-carb wheat. They’re not the healthiest choice, but they have great chewy texture.
K