I am not a mom, but I saw one on TV.

These women should all be placed on pedestals wearing capes and tiaras and gold medals because I don’t know how they do it. I have a hard enough time getting my dog and I dressed, fed, and out the door in the morning…and let’s be honest, only one of us has to get dressed.

But enough about me.

As we speak, many of the SuperMom’s and Dad’s, too, are gearing up for back to school season. And that means finding time to make sure their little geniuses are packed with schools supplies and fuel supplies, too. So when I saw this recipe on Shape.com I thought about all of you back to schoolers. I think these tasty oatmeal bars would be great for a fast, make ahead, wholesome breakfast or brown bag treat instead of a store bought granola bar.

Now, this probably won’t come as a surprise to you, but when I tried out this recipe I made more substitutions than a high school football coach. What I love about this recipe is that you can customize the ingredients to meet the taste buds of the pickiest Fitness & Spice kid. No matter how you make them, I’m sure they’ll get an A+.

Here’s the recipe for Shape.com’s…

Homemade Energy Bars

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour [F&S used: vanilla protein powder]
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2/3 cup brown-rice syrup [F&S used: yacon syrup]
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 egg [F&S used: 1T ground flaxseed + 3T water whisked together]
• 1/2 cup dried fruit, any combination of raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped apricots or dates [F&S used: 3T dark chocolate chips...hello!? antioxidants!]

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and spritz foil with vegetable-oil spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, sesame seeds, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, stir together syrup, oil, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Mix in dried fruits. Spread batter into the prepared pan, evening it out as much as possible with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch in the center. Cut into bars or squares and enjoy!

Two quick notes:

• You might be wondering, “What the heck is yakon syrup?” This is a low glycemic, low calorie, raw sweetener derived from the yacon plant. I think it tastes like a cross between molasses and caramel and it worked perfectly in this recipe.
• Since I used a vegan egg substitute I was really tempted to make these into “no bake” protein bars and just stick them in the fridge instead of the oven…I might give this a whirl in home ec next week.

Now I really must go let out the dog, hit the gym, and get ready to pass the bar!

Do you read SHAPE or SELF Magazines? Then you’ve probably read nutritional information by C&J Nutrition.  In fact, they recently teamed up with SELF magazine to develop nutrition criteria for the first annual 2009 Food Awards and have authored the diet plans for the SELF Challenge in 2009 and 2010.

Stephanie and Willow are the experts and authors behind C&J Nutrition and I asked them to provide us with a Random Acts of Fitness & Spice challenge…probably their most prestigious assignment to date! Fitness & Spicers I give you the…

C&J Nutrition Random Acts of Fitness & Spice Challenge

Veggies are low in calories and deliver flavor, volume, phytonutrients, and vitamins/minerals to meals and snacks.  We encourage everyone to include veggies in the majority of their meals and snacks .  But it seems like all too often, veggies don’t take the spotlight during meals.  In fact, sadly, they’re often forgotten altogether – making meals less filling and higher in total calories (not a good combination for meeting your 2010 weight and health goals!)

Our challenge to you is to create one dinner around a veggie this week.

Many people plan meals around protein and carbohydrates (pasta with meatballs, chicken and rice, turkey burgers), and save veggies as the side dish.  We challenge you to plan a meal around a veggie and then add protein and carbohydrates as your side dishes.  Here’s a veggie-centered meal idea that we love: Roasted eggplant marinara with whole wheat penne tossed with grilled chicken, olive oil, and parmesan cheese on the side.

And if we may offer an even longer-lasting challenge… try creating a veggie-centered at least once per week, every week.  You might just be surprised that once you start seeing veggies as the star of the show, your dinner options get tastier and more creative.

Want to learn more tips like this from C&J Nutrition? Then follow Stephanie and Willow on Facebook and watch them tweet what they eat on Twitter!

As someone who usually plans my meals around protein, I am totally accepting this challenge! Who’s with me?

Now I really must go get mySELF into SHAPE and make some plans to veg out!