Have you ever heard of 9 bar? Until less than 24hours ago I hadn’t. But then I saw them in the health/gluten free section of my local Supervalu and after a quick scan of the ingredients and the great price point – well sure I had to buy some! 9bars are nutritious handmade bars from the company’s craft bakery in North Wales. Sure that’s just across the water!

These Pumpkin bars are jam packed with seeds – pumpkin, sesame and poppy – and are deliciously sweet thanks to some honey and raw cane sugar. The ingredient list is impressively short.

I have a really sweet tooth and this definitely hit the spot. I would add this to a yoghurt bowl, use it as a topping in my porridge/oatmeal or just pop one in my handbag for when I need energy on the go.

This is going to be my new go-to snack whenever I want a sweet treat and an apple just won’t do.

Another plus is that they’re gluten free, dairy free, and approved by the Coeliac and Vegetarian societies!

Ok now I’ll stop gushing.

I had a 9 bar today as one of my snacks. But let’s see what else I ate on this lovely What I Ate Wednesday…

Post workout breakfast was…

1/3 cup of Oatmeal with Kara Coconut Milk

This is a before picture because I have posted way too many boring porridge pictures this month!

As I impatiently waited on the oats to cook I snacked on one of the 100 calorie scones that I baked for my dad! Of course I kept a few for myself – they were tasty!

Lunch was a really unattractive but tasty pitta-wich made with Denny’s Natural ham (it’s nitrate free), Dubliner red cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato and a small bit of light mayo. I love ham and bacon but I’m quite aware of the use of cancer causing nitrates and preservatives in these products. (You can read some basic info here) I try to always eat the “natural” brand but sometimes I just love the original deli stuff and salty bacon. And don’t get me started on chorizo – so addictive.

And dinner was oven baked hake in tomato and basil marinade with a side of roasted cauliflower. Clare’s blog gave me a craving for it!

Not the prettiest picture, but it tasted okay!

Snacks were the Pumpkin energy 9bar and two apples – Golden Delicious and Pink Lady. The pink lady was way tastier!

Thanks to Peas and Crayons for hosting!

I’m still using myfitnesspal.com  to track my calories and I find it really easy to use and almost always the food I’m inputting is actually in the database so it doesn’t take up too much time.

Does the whole nitrate issue put you off cured meats? What food do you have trouble staying away from even though you know it’s bad for you? My list is quite long!