Decadently... Healthy?!

Yes, you read that title right!

I've created (initially based off of and inspired by Jamie Eason) two new desserts/snacks so decadent that you wouldn't even THINK they were healthy if you didn't create them yourself! I mean, I don't wanna toot my own horn, but I PROMISE my family will back me up on this!  Today was my second batch of s'mores protein cake since Sunday... and it's only Wednesday!

I immediately got inspired for something s'mores-related when I found these at Target:

I would've bought these even if they were $400 because they're just that cute! 

Okay, okay, without any further procrastination...

S'mores Protein Bars (... or Cake!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups oat flour (plain oats ground into a flour texture)
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup Stevia/Splenda/sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 (individually-added) tbsp apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
handful of flaxseed (optional... I used 2-4 tbsp)
1/2 cup teeny tiny marshmallows (or mini marshmallows, halved)
1 tbsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Blend oats with protein powder, sweetener, baking powder and salt. Blend until oats are completely ground and everything's mixed. When done, pour into a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites with almond milk, apple and vanilla extract. Add into large bowl.
Mix, then pour in marshmallows and flaxseed. Mix until fully combined.
Pour into two 8x8 trays (or whatever size you want).
Bake for 21 minutes. (That's the time that seemed perfect both times I made these... I know, odd, but make sure you don't over-bake! They will come out dry if you do. Otherwise, they're moist for DAYS!)

Apple & Almond Protein Bars (or, again, CAKE!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups oat flour
2 scoops cinnamon roll or vanilla protein
approx. 2/3 cup apple, diced (I used Golden Delicious... My favorite!)
1/2 cup sweetener
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2 egg whites
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 (individually-added) tbsp apple sauce
1 tsp almond extract
handful of slivered almonds
handful of flaxseed (optional)
1 tbsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Blend oats with protein powder, sweetener, baking powder and salt. Blend until oats are completely ground and everything's mixed. When done, pour into a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites with almond milk, apple and almond extract. Add into large bowl.
Mix, then pour in diced apple, slivered almonds and flaxseed. Mix until fully combined.
Pour into two 8x8 trays (or whatever size you want).
(Optional but recommended >>) Mix together 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 cup sweetener and a pinch of nutmeg. Sift on top.
Bake for 21 minutes. (Again, that's the time that seemed perfect for these! Haha.)

I hope you guys enjoy and make these for yourself! If you had to choose one to make, I'd 100% recommend the s'mores first. They came out incredible both times, and my family is obsessed! Even got my little sister's approval! 

Pancakes on Pancakes on PANCAKES!

Can you guess, even without looking at the title, what this post is gonna be dedicated to?
Probably.

Protein pancakes on protein pancakes on protein pancakes.

Yes. This post is gonna be 4 protein pancake recipes in one. This is really happening.

First up:

Peppermint Brownie Batter Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

3 egg whites
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

1 tbsp pumpkin puree

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
2 packets of Stevia/sweetener

1 tbsp chocolate protein powder

1 tbsp unsweetened unsweetened cocoa powder

optional: 1/2 tsp peppermint extract or 1 mini candy cane, crushed and stirred in

Filling:
banana slices
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (or cottage cheese)
1 tbsp milk chocolate protein powder

1/4 banana, mashed in

Topping:
clean chocolate sauce (1 tbsp cocoa powder + 1-2 tbsp water)
1 mini candy cane, crushed and crumbled
a sprinkle of healthy cereal

Directions:

Mix all pancake ingredients in a bowl.

Cook on medium, flipping each pancake halfway through.

Mix your filling ingredients. When pancakes are done, layer in the filling.

Top with desired toppings and enjoy your chocolate Heaven!

Apple Pie Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

3 egg whites

2 tbsp pumpkin puree

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
small dash of nutmeg
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1 packet of Stevia/sweetener
1/3 large apple, chopped finely then warmed up to soften

Filling:

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp cinnamon roll protein powder (you can opt for just cinnamon or sweetener)

warmed cinnamon apple slices

granola

Directions:

Mix all pancake ingredients in a bowl.

Cook on medium, flipping each pancake halfway through.

Mix your filling ingredients. When pancakes are done, layer in the filling.

Top with desired toppings and devour!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tbsp ground flaxseed
3 egg whites
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 packet of sweetener
2 generous tbsp pumpkin puree

Cheesecake Filling:

1/8 cup prepared sugar-free/fat-free cheesecake pudding (I used Jell-O brand mixed with unsweetened almond milk)

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

Mix all pancake ingredients in a bowl.

Cook on medium, flipping each pancake halfway through. (Make SURE they're ready to flip, though! Pumpkin pancakes can be tricky!)

Mix your filling ingredients. When pancakes are done, layer in the filling.

Top with desired toppings and devour!

Reese's Protein Pancakes

(Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 tbsp plain PB2
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
3 egg whites
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
1 packet of sweetener
1 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 tsp (or more) chocolate chips
1/4 banana, mashed in

Filling:

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt mixed with 1 tbsp chocolate protein powder & 1/2 tbsp chocolate PB2

Topping:
clean peanut butter 'fudge' (ripened banana slices + 1 tbsp PB22 + almond milk, all mashed together)
clean chocolate 'fudge' (banana slices + 1 tbsp cocoa powder + almond milk, all mashed together)

Directions:

Mix all pancake ingredients in a bowl.

Cook on medium, flipping each pancake halfway through.

Mix your filling ingredients. When pancakes are done, layer in the filling.

Top with desired toppings and devour! Add some regular peanut butter if you're like me and like peanut butter with a side of whatever you're having. 

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Notes:

*You can sub the whole wheat flour for whatever flour you want!

*Make sure to ALWAYS spray/grease your pan before cooking.

I hope you guys make some of these and enjoy every bite! Food is meant to be 

The Most Random of All WIAW (#27)

I'm dubbing this 'the most random WIAW' because I have no intro, this post is filled with goodies from all throughout the past week, AND because this is a quicky post! 

11/6/12 - Snack/Dessert: celebrated having power and heat back for the first time in nearly 9 full days with a healthy MICROWAVE CAKE, of course!

Strawberry-coconut microwave oat (flour-less!) cake on top of a chopped apple + chocolate granola + cereals, topped with peanut butters & cinnamon roll #protein cream and homemade healthy "Almond Joy" almond milk ice cream, all topped with clean chocolate sauce!! 

11/7/12 - Breakfast: healthy banana split egg white oatmeal inside a nearly empty Dark Chocolate Dreams jar.

11/7/12 - Dinner: brinner. Breakfast food at dinnertime... The best of both worlds!

Pumpkin pancakes topped with peanut butter + cinnamon roll protein cream + cinnamon + banana slices + cereals/chocolate granola + clean chocolate sauce + light maple syrup and an egg white protein scramble over lettuce & hot sauce! And a mug of protein hot chocolate with 5 mini marshmallows. Mmmm!

11/8/12 - Breakfast: this was quite delicious!

Gingerbread tea infused egg white oatmeal with chocolate granola + cereals + apple slices (from the smallest and cutest apple ever!) + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + Biscoff spread + cinnamon roll protein cream + a mini gingerbread man! Oh, and an extra dash of unsweetened vanilla almond coconut Almond Breeze milk!

11/8/12 - Snack: nothing too special here... Just showing off our awesome $1 apple corer AND slicer!! Best invention for the lazy... aka me.

11/8/12 - Snack/Dessert: (this went with the apple!)

Banan anut oat microwave muffin stuffed with a pumpkin spice Hershey Kiss (topped with PB & cinnamon roll protein frosting) over diced apples + cereal/granola, with homemade "Almond Joy" almond milk ice cream, allllll topped with healthy chocolate sauce!!!

It's all about balance and moderation, lovelies!

11/9/12 - Breakfast: 100% clean 'coffee cake'/'crumb cake' egg white oatmeal with crushed up protein cereal + granola + lots of peanut butter (my one true love!) + banana + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon “crust”/bottom, topped with a healthy peanut butter crumb topping + cinnamon + crushed protein cereal & an extra dash of unsweetened vanilla almond coconut Almond Breeze milk!

This actually came out REALLY good! {Let me know if you want a recipe!}

11/9/12 - Snack/Dessert: nutrient-packed snack of microwave pumpkin cake on top of 2 small diced apples + a few banana slices (and some granola + cereal) topped with peanut butters and cinnamon roll protein frosting, with homemade chocolate protein almond milk ice cream, all topped with healthy chocolate sauce (that was a bit too liquid-y...)!

 11/10/12 - Breakfast: I love pancake Saturday.
rotein #pancakes (using a FULL SERVING! of protein powder!!!!) layered with peanut butters + cinnamon roll protein cream + banana slices + chocolate granola (gluten-free & nut-free) + a bit of cereal, all topped with some shredded coconut, cinnamon and a drizzle of light maple syrup.
A better look at these beauties...

11/10/12 - Dinner: went all out and made my family a super healthy and clean dinner!

An amazing church gave us a HUGE homegrown cabbage and a HUGE bag of fresh russet potatoes for free, so I decided to put it all to good use.

I baked mini 93/7 lean Italian hamburgers in cupcake tins then put them in a pot of sautéed beef soup broth & mushrooms, garlic & onion steamed cabbage, and microwaved “baked” potatoes! We also have some canned veggies, and I also added some salsa and garlic & onion diced tomatoes to my plate! Loads of nutrients going on (I had TONS of greens at lunch prior, btw), and calories were not being cared about at ALL! I even had BUTTER on my NON-SWEET potato with no regrets! (Including my other true love, feta❤, and some plain Greek yogurt.)

11/11/12 - Breakfast: I discovered how amazing warm oatmeal + cold pudding went together this day.

'Boston cream pie' egg white oatmeal with gluten-free & nut-free natural chocolate granola + banana slices + healthy chocolate Greek yogurt mixture + vanilla pudding & White Chocolate Wonderful mixture + a sprinkle of shredded coconut and slivered almonds + a dash of unsweetened vanilla almond coconut milk.

H.E.AV.E.N.L.Y.

11/11/12 - Snack/Experiment!: made really yummy clean and healthy egg-free, oil-free & flour-free peanut butter oatmeal cookies with natural gluten-free & nut-free chocolate granola since I had no chocolate chips!

I took inspiration from Chocolate Covered Katie, but I wish the batch came out to more!

My mom, dad AND little sister approve! I’d definitely add more peanut butter next time, though.

11/11/12 - Snack/Dessert: clean chocolate protein microwave mug cake topped with peanut butters & cinnamon roll protein frosting & cinnamon, on top of fruit, chocolate granola, and homemade chocolate protein almond milk ice cream!

11/12/12 - Breakfast: we also got a huge container of dry instant oats from that lovely church that I mentioned earlier, and I've never had them before, so I decided to try them out this morning...

Holy COW did this oatmeal come out big and FLUFFY! I don't know if it was the oats or not, but I'm gonna convince myself it was.

Healthy pumpkin CHEESECAKE egg white oatmeal with chocolate granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + a drizzle of light maple syrup + prepared sugar-free/fat-free cheesecake pudding mix + cinnamon + a dash of extra unsweetened Almond Breeze + Biscoff spread (more added after the picture!)

Everyone needs to add prepared (the night before or a few hours before) pudding to their oats immediately, okay? Okay.

11/12/12 - Breakfast: this oatmeal bowl deserved an award.

I added 2 egg whites plus a scoop of pumpkin puree to the oats before cooking, along with my other ingredients, stirred really well, cooked it in the microwave for a few minutes... And, BAM! A HUGE bowl of SUPER thick and fluffy oats appeared! It looked like I doubled the amount of oats I made! So awesome, so filling, SO delicious!

THICKEST and FLUFFIEST healthy caramel apple protein egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + a little bit of cereal + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + drizzles of light maple syrup + 100% natural peanut butter + caramel Greek yogurt + an extra dash of unsweetened Almond Milk.

I'll take four more bowls of this, thank you.

11/14/12 - Breakfast: clean and healthy 'brownie batter' protein egg white oatmeal with plain Kix cereal (one of the healthiest cereals… Barely any ingredients! Really dry and bland on their own, though) + chocolate granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + an extra dash of unsweetened Almond Breeze, all inside a nearly-empty White Chocolate Wonderful jar!

Here's a random workout diary featuring me, my naked face, and awkward "douche" pictures:

My other workouts can be found here and/or on my Instagram... which I post on a bit too much!

OH, and I didn't mention this to you guys yet, buuuuut...

I BEAT MY LONGEST PLANK BY ALMOST A FULL MINUTE ON SATURDAY!!

My arms and "abs" have been sore for DAYS since then...  And it's such a great feeling.

I hope you all are having an amazing November, an amazing week, and an amazing day! Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK!! Can you guys believe it?!?! The holidays are HEEEEEERE!! YAY FOR FOOD, FAMILY, FRIENDS, DECORATIONS, HAPPINESS, HOLIDAY MUSIC, AND CHRISTMAS MOVIES!! 

What I Ate Wednesday #8 -- Sweet Potato Addict

Am I already 8 weeks into WIAW?! Dang! I'm proud of myself for sticking to it! Haha.
But... Happy Wednesday! Can't believe it's Wednesday again already... These weeks have been flying by!

Besides the fact I already posted some of my recent eats in the past week, including pumpkin French toast, on-the-go oats, a big egg scramble, pancakes, and my first ever sweet potato, and Neapolitan pancakes, I have some even more recent eats to post for you all!

Thanks to Jenn for hosting this lovely event, like always!

6/21/12 - Snack: plain Greek yogurt with chopped fresh fruit, cinnamon, organic cereal, granola, and shredded coconut... One of my favorite sensible snacks!

6/22/12 - Snack: I was having very odd cravings, clearly... I had some apple slices with plain Greek yogurt, and four mini whole wheat toasts.

Hey... Sensible snack alert!

6/22/12 - Dinner: my usual Friday dinner looked prettier than it normally does! Whole wheat wrap "pizza" with a biiiiig salad! Mmmm... Soooo gooooood!

6/23/12 - Dinner: Subway! But, instead of getting a foot-long, I got a 6-inch BLT with nearly every topping (and no mayo!) and added salsa, and an oven-roasted chicken salad with lots of veggies. (They gave me A LOT of chicken, though, so I put one of them in the fridge and split the other with my puppy... Hehe.) This was a challenge for me, but I'm so proud of myself for it! Yay for intuitive eating! I missed bacon.

#junepowermealaday Day 23: "out to eat" -- technically this did qualify for today's challenge, since it was ordered-out food!

6/24/12 - Dinner: my favorite! Freshly grilled chicken (which I grilled and seasoned myself!) "rainbow" (as Kasey would call it) salad!

#junepowermealaday Day 24: "meal for 2"

6/26/12 - Breakfast: post-workout blue velvet protein pancakes and an egg white protein + veggie scramble. Heavenly. I just love breakfast foods!

What did I have for lunch yesterday? Well, another savory stuffed sweet potato, of course! Jenn got me SO addicted... But, I'm definitely not complaining!I can't wait to try out an actual sweet potato soon... (I've been too addicted to not make them savory, though!)

6/27/12 - Breakfast: I decided to try out oatmeal pancakes this morning... So, I decided to do another totally on-the-spot recipe! I added 2 tbsp of old fashioned whole grain oats with 1 tbsp + 1 tsp whole wheat flour to my batter, and oh my goodness... These were some of THE best pancakes I've ever had/made! I made them with mashed banana, a few mini chocolate chips/chocolate Goldfish crushed up, and natural peanut butter... And they tasted  literally exactly like chocolate chip banana bread... I will definitely be taking note of these and making them again soon (and in different variations)! They came out so fluffy and filling! Ah, soooo good! (And my egg white protein + veggie scramble was better than usual... I think it's because I added hot sauce and grilled chicken this time)

6/27/12 - Dinner: I ate out tonight for the first time in a LONG time... And it was a big challenge for me, but I did it, and I have no regrets, which is a great feeling! This was DELICIOUS... Even though I couldn't have more than 1/3 of the fries and about 2/3 of the sandwich because I started to feel sick halfway through (my stomach's not used to "unhealthy" or "processed" food of any kind... Ugh). It was totally worth it, though, and I plan on intuitively eating and "cheating" more often than once every few months! I'm finally ready for it.

Happy WIAW, everyone! Have a happy and positive day!

Xo

Taste of Autumn

I've really been loving the taste of pumpkin and apple cinnamon-y things lately.
Fall must really be on my mind! (Too bad it's only mid-June...)

This morning, after my workout, I was feeling oatmeal. I haven't had oatmeal in days, so I decided to switch it up and have some this morning! (And I was also inspired by Katie, and an old post on Cait's blog...)

Into this bowl of awesome, aside from oats and the usual things, went canned pumpkin, apple slices, peach slices, granola, and natural peanut butter...

I couldn't decide between apple or peach, so I figured... Why not add both!?

I also added in some egg white + egg substitute and Greek yogurt for extra thickness and protein.

It really was as good as it looks.