Monday, September 17, 2012

Huge Recipe Update!


Hey guys! Happy Monday. I am so sorry that I have been slacking in the updates department again. It is so hard for me to find time to type up everything and then I get a bunch of backlogged recipes where I have to post a bunch in one post! I hope you all understand. I do work full time and go to the gym after work and then once I go home I pretty much spend the rest of the evening cooking and prepping for the next day. In total, I probably only relax 2 hours a night with my boyfriend. But, I will still update when I have time. I also need to update the recipe page pretty bad! Haha I am so behind!

Let’s start with my hearty fall-inspired Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes!


What you need:
1 small-medium sweet potato cooked and skin removed and mashed
1-2 tablespoons of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
Ground cinnamon to taste, I used about ½ a teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 egg whites

Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately before mixing them together. I added the mashed sweet potato in last and made sure to really mix it well. Depending on the size of your sweet potato you may need to add more or less unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Cook on a stovetop with coconut oil or non-stick spray. My recipe made 4 delicious and filling pancakes that I topped with Walden Farm’s zero calorie pancake syrup.


My second recipe for you guys was inspired by the lovely @fitkitten on Instagram. Spicy Corn, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Pulled Chicken 
 What you’ll need:
1 ½ lbs (I used 2 ½ breasts) boneless skinless chicken breast
1 jar of Corn, Black Bean, And Red Pepper salsa from Desert Pepper Trading Company
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup of water

Put all ingredients into a Crockpot set to high heat. Mix all the ingredients well and let it cook for about 3-4 hours. I usually pull the chicken apart at hour 3 and allow it to cook for another hour or so. Make sure to periodically check on it and stir it around, if you need to add more water for moisture do so! Don’t want dry chicken.

I love this recipe because you can leave it cook while you prep other food and then you have a delicious side or main course to combine with other meals. I like to use this chicken on tacos/burritos, on cauliflower or brown rice, or you can even make a Mexican inspired pizza! Try with your favorite jar of all natural salsa. I also made it with Newman’s Pineapple salsa and it tastes amazing!


The third recipe is one that I am really proud of. It is high in protein and carbs and great for a pre or post workout meal! Chocolate Protein Bread Pudding!
 What you’ll need:
3 slices whole grain bread (I use Nature’s Own whole grain and no sugar, 50 calories a slice)
4 large egg whites
1 whole egg
2 packets of raw stevia (add more if you want more sweetness)
1 scoop chocolate whey protein
½ cup of unsweetened almond milk

Mix the eggs, stevia, protein, and almond milk together in a bowl. Mix it well; we all know how protein can be fussy and chunk together, especially with eggs. Rip up 3 slices of whole grain bread or bread of choice. Allow the bread to soak in the liquid for about 10 minutes. Spread in a baking pan greased with coconut oil or non-stick baking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the pan and allow to bake for 15-25 minutes at 325 degrees. Check on it periodically, I notice my oven seems to cook really quickly.

I made this the night before I needed it for a quick breakfast and added chocolate PB2, banana slices, and some Walden Farm’s zero cal pancake syrup. It was heavenly. I love desert for breakfast!


If you follow my Instagram, you may have noticed I have a pretty mean sweet tooth. One night before bed I really was craving chocolate cake but I also wanted my casein as well! So I created this Layered Chocolate Cookies and Cream Casein Microwave Cake
 What you’ll need:
For the cake:
½ a small banana mashed
1 egg white
 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon Dark Chocolate Dream Peanut Butter from Peanut Butter and Co
½ tbsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 ½ tbsp coconut flour
About 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk

Mix all the above ingredients together in a mug and microwave for about 2 minutes keeping an eye on it to be sure it doesn’t overflow. If It need to cook further just add 30 second increments. Allow to cool for a few minutes and remove from the mug. Cut it in half and fill with the following:

For the filling:
6 oz plain non-fat Chobani
½  a scoop of Cookies and Cream Optimum Nutrition Casein
(If I was to make this again, I would include some xanthan gum to thicken up the casein a bit)
Topped all of that with another dollop of Dark Chocolate Dream. This was so delicious and really satisfied my craving for cake. The mug cake was pretty delicious on its own too.


Another creation I whipped up and was really happy with was Mini Coconut Flour Muffins. I made these one morning for breakfast when I wanted something filling, low carb, and savory. 
 What you’ll need:
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tbsp unsweetened natural apple sauce
1 packet raw stevia
½ tsp baking powder
1 egg white
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
A couple drops of caramel flavoring essence

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separate before combining. In a baking pan greased with coconut oil or non-stick spray evenly disperse the batter into the 6 compartments and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. I topped these flaky savory mini-muffins with some peanut flour butter. I loved these. They would even make a nice low-crab alternative to dinner rolls.


One side I threw together and really enjoyed the outcome was Cinnamon Stevia Chickpeas and Sweet Potatoes. They are high in protein and healthy carbs!
 What you’ll need:
1 medium sweet potato
1 can of low sodium chickpeas, rinsed
About 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (or more if you like)
4-6 packets of raw steiva
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Open your can of chick peas, drain and rinse. Throw them into a pot on the stovetop with a tablespoon of coconut oil and allow them to cook for about 5-8 minutes. Stirring to make sure all the chickpeas get covered in coconut oil as well as precooked evenly. While those are cooking, chop up a medium sweet potato into small cubes. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil or non-stick spray. Add the sweet potato in with the beans and stir them together allowing them to also get coated in some coconut oil. Add cinnamon and stevia. Remove from heat and evenly spread the mixture onto the greased baking sheet. I allowed them to cook for 10 minutes, took them out and stirred it up, placed it back into the oven for another 5-10. Super easy and delicious! I added some baked chicken breast for a post-workout and it was an awesome combination of protein and carbs that had a nice sweetness. Definitely will be making this again as a side, or even a main course with the baked chicken breast.  Again, my oven seemed to cook this really quickly, so times may vary.


I also made some Low-Carb Falafel Balls for snacking, sides, lunch, or a dinner if I choose. I love falafel. I think the flavors are so delicious together, especially paired with some Cucumber Sauce! I have been craving falafel lately, but since I have really been keeping an eye on carb intake, I was kind-of worried about the high carb amount. I got to thinking and realized I had riced cauliflower in my fridge that I needed to use up. So I got to creating.

What you’ll need:
1 can organic chickpeas/garbanzo beans (low sodium)
dash of sea salt
juice from ½ a lemon
1 cup of “riced” cauliflower
2 tablespoons coconut flour
4-5 sprigs of fresh parsley
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
½ a red onion
Fresh ground black pepper
2 egg whites 

(I liked the way this recipe turned out, but it did end up a bit drier than I would have liked due to the coconut flour and cauliflower. I think when I make them again that I will add more egg and/or coconut oil to the mixture to give it some more moisture.)

Open the can of chickpeas and rinse them well. Rinsing beans is important because it helps to get excess salt off of them. Reducing sodium is always something I try to think about since it causes me bloating. Throw the beans into a food processor and blend until they are chopped up roughly. Remove and place into a large bowl. Cut ½ a red onion, peel 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, and your parsley and put that into the food processor next. Let it go until it is fine. The boyfriend doesn’t like large chunks of onion so I am always sure to make them diced up really well. Add that to the bowl with the ground chickpeas. Next, cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice from half into the mixture. Next add a dash of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. I already had the cauliflower riced in the fridge, so I measured out a cup and added that to the party. Next, add the 2 tablespoons of coconut flour and finally 2 whites from large eggs. Mix all of the ingredients together well and form into balls. My batch made 22 balls. I baked them for 10 minutes, then took them out and flipped them; put them back in to bake for another 10-15. While they were baking I made the cucumber sauce:

1/3 of a large cucumber
6 ounces of nonfat plain Chobani Greek yogurt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
A dash of sea salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (to give it a little thickness)

Mix these ingredients well in the food processor (after you cleaned it from making the falafel).
For one ball, my nutritional facts came out to be: 26.3 calories, 0.2 g of fat, 56.7 mg sodium, 4.1 g carbs, 1.3 g dietary fiber, 1.5 g protein


For dinner tonight I made some amazing Eggplant Chicken Parm:



What you'll need:
1 small eggplant
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 egg white
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 a pre-cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup organic traditional tomato sauce

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut up your eggplant into slices that are about 1 inch in thickness. Combine the coconut flour and red pepper flakes together and put the egg white in a separate bowl for dipping. Dip the eggplant first into the egg, then into the flour and red pepper mixture. I didn't want a really thick breading, but if you do you can use more egg and coconut flour. Put the breaded  slices onto a baking sheet with coconut oil or non-stick cooking spay. Put into the oven for 15 minutes, then take out the eggplant, flip them, turn off the oven and put them back in for about 10 minutes. Allow enough time for both sides of the eggplant to brown a little bit. Top the eggplant with chicken breast that has already been baked. I finished off the dish with 1/4 cup organic traditional tomato sauce, italian spices, and a bit more crushed red pepper flakes. Then, chow down! I love this recipe so much and it is low-carb!


PHEW! That was a lot of recipes! I really should keep up so that I don’t have to do these massive posts. Haha. I hope you guys enjoy and please let me know if you decide to use any and how they turned out. As always, I am megameows on Instagram, so tag me and let me see what your lovely creations are! <3 x

3 comments: