Candy Cravings! Almond Joy Oats and Cake Batter Protein Pancakes

Hi everyone! It’s Sunday. Working another 8 hour shift of overtime today. Although my job is not very physically taxing and really is quite pleasant for the most part (who can complain about blogging, reading, texting, playing video games and watching films all while at work?), working 48 hour weeks is taking a toll on me. At least I am making money and getting closer to being able to sign up for the NASM personal training certification course. That is what is keeping me going: imagining my possible future that all of this extra time I am working will help me pay for. Have to work for what we want!

I’m sitting here typing this and sipping on some pumpkin spice coffee and trying to think of topics to discuss. Nothing is coming to me! I need you guys to give me some feedback on what types of things you would like to see me discuss on here. Leave me a comment and let me know some questions or things you would like me to talk about. Of course, remember that I am not an expert and anything I say on here is strictly personal experience and what works for me.

I have been trying to experiment with combinations of food. One of my favorite things to do is to take a bunch of different veggies with (or even without sometimes) a lean protein and mix them together.

I was in the mood for pineapple chicken quesadillas, so I made a big batch of pineapple, 

low sodium (also well rinsed) black beans, chicken breast, tomato, kale, red bell pepper, jalapeno, 

and sweet onion that I can use in burritos/quesadillas/eat as is! 

Sometimes if you have no idea what to eat is to look what you have, and just throw things together! 98% of the time I love the turn-out and then you know another meal you can make if you’re lacking in creativity or ideas on a particular day. We all have our creative slumps, with a clean eating lifestyle it is so important to keep things interesting and not eat the same things every day.

For breakfast the other morning I basically had a candy bar… No, not an actual candy bar, but it was delicious enough to be!! I was craving an Almond Joy so badly, so I made some Almond Joy Egg White Oats!

What you’ll need:

½ cup of whole grain rolled oats (cooked in 1 cup of water on medium heat)

2 large egg whites

2-3 packets of raw stevia (or more depending on how sweet you want your oats)

1 tablespoon of coconut manna (1/2 for in the oats, 1/2 for on top)

1 1/2 tsp of unsweetened natural cocoa powder

¼ cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon of shredded unsweetened coconut flakes (for on top)

6 almonds (for on top)

Cook your oats like normal in water, adding the cocoa powder, ½ tablespoon of coconut manna, and 2 egg whites about 1-2 minutes before the oats have finished cooking. Then mix in your stevia (or natural sweetener of choice) and a bit of unsweetened almond milk. Top with the second ½ tablespoon of coconut manna, coconut flakes, and almonds. I like to pour a bit of unsweetened almond milk around the edge of the bowl. This turned out so lovely and pretty that I had to share it with you guys! Definitely a nice pick-me-up.

At work I have been reading a book I recently purchased on me Acer Iconia Tab Tablet ($200, GameStop) written by Michael Pollan called The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  I was told that I should read Pollan’s books by a friend. The book is so interesting and informative. I never knew that the history of Corn was so fascinating and rooted in our society. I like it so much so far that I have ordered one of his other books from Amazon called In Defense of Food. If you are interested in food and nutrition, I highly recommend his books. His writing style is fantastic.

Since I am so interested in nutrition and health, I am trying to start reading more books about the subject so that I can be more informed (especially for when I become a personal trainer, and hopefully nutritionist). One of the best things you can do if you have a question about a topic or just want to be more educated in a realm of study is to do research! Understanding of a topic does not just happen. Seek to learn as much about a subject as you can so that you can make informed decisions! If you are new to a healthy lifestyle and feel lost and confused, look up some things! I frequent health, fitness, and bodybuilding blogs daily to help me learn more. There is an endless stream of information available to you right at your fingertips, so use it! Read some books and studies. We all started somewhere!

When I woke up this morning I thought about how I have not had protein pancakes in a while. I went to Wegman’s yesterday and picked up some new goodies to try out. One of the purchases was some gluten free yellow cake mix from Betty Crocker:

Although it may not be 100% “clean” it is one of the better cake mixes without a ridiculous list of ingredients. Thanks to Heather who has some recipes using this brand of cake mix, I picked it up after seeing it on her blog.

I made cake batter protein pancakes with banana frosting! These are the prettiest and most colorful pancakes I have ever made. They really cheered me up and got me ready for my shift today.

What you’ll need:

For the pancakes

½ scoop vanilla ice cream optimum nutrition whey protein

2 tablespoons oat bran

2 tablespoons coconut flour

2 tablespoons yellow Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix  

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/8 tsp of baking soda and also cream of tartar

a bit of rainbow sprinkles (optional)

For the frosting

 1/3 of a mashed large banana

1 tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk

I mixed the dry ingredients and wet ingredients for the batter prior to combining. Mix well. Add the sprinkles last and don’t mix them in too much or all of the color will come off. White they are cooking on a non-stick sprayed pan, make the frosting. My recipe made 5 smaller pancakes. I topped the pancakes with my banana frosting and bit more sprinkles. It was so delicious! I love fun colorful food. Nothing wrong with some sprinkles once in a while. I hope you guys have and/or had a great day and enjoy your Sunday!

Meg x

Savory Chocolate Zucchini Protein Bread

Hey guys! I hope you all had a fabulous rest of your week! It’s Friday and I am so happy to be able to relax and stay up later this evening (for me, that will probably be around 11:30 haha). Over the next several weeks I am going to be working overtime due to not having enough officers to staff sites. That’s ok though! I pretty much am just picking up 8 hours on Sundays. I have decided to start saving the overtime money to put towards getting certified in personal training through NASM and then after I get that, I am going to get the certification for nutrition through them as well. I am so excited that I have decided to do this. Working out and eating healthy has made amazing changes in my life and I want to be able to help people make those same changes. First step is getting CPR/AED certified. Going to work on getting that first because it is the cheapest part of this journey. I am so excited!

Last night I had picked up a new ingredient at the store that I keep seeing in a lot of protein recipes: cream of tartar. When I bake with protein a lot of times the muffins and breads seemed to go flat. Cream of tartar works with baking soda in order to help firm up egg whites and give baked goods a better density and consistency. I got the all natural brand and it was about $6 for a decent sized shaker. Of course I had to experiment right away! I have some zucchini in my kitchen that needs to be used up, so I took one medium one and created a savory and delicious Chocolate Protein Zucchini Loaf.  

What you’ll need:

1 medium zucchini grated finely and moisture squeezed out (about a cup of zucchini)

½ tsp all natural baking soda

½ tsp cream of tartar

½  cup almond flour/meal

2 tablespoons coconut flour

1 ½ scoops rich chocolate whey protein (I used Optimum Nutrition)

2 tbsp all natural unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)

4 packets of all natural raw stevia

2 egg whites

½ cup unsweetened almond milk

I preheated my oven to 350 degrees. I grated my zucchini finely into a bowl. Once it was grated, I squeezed out the excess water from it. Once drained of excess moisture, I added in the almond flour, protein powder, cocoa powder, stevia, and coconut flour. I mixed those and then added in the unsweetened almond milk, 2 egg whites, and mixed those into the batter well. Make sure to mix it really well to make sure the protein and cocoa doesn’t clump up in your bread. The last two ingredients I added were the baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix well again. I took a medium bread loaf pan and greased it. You can use coconut oil or non-stick baking spray. Pour the well mixed batter into the loaf pan. I baked my bread for 35 minutes. It came out smelling so amazing. I was surprised that I was able to make this bread so easy compared to my other breads that came out looking flat and lifeless. My boyfriend, aunt, and little cousin all tried it. It was a hit and they said they want more! It is always a plus when I get something kid approved! He was shocked when I told him there were veggies in that bread. The only change I am going to try next time I make this is to add a little more stevia to see if I can make a sweeter version. Maybe even some honey or agave. Overall, I was super pleased with this recipe. It would go well paired with nut butter, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, pretty much anything really because it is a savory bread. I really was digging the macros as well:

For the recipe how I made it the calories are about 106 calories for 1/6 of a loaf. 5.0 g of healthy fat, 5.9 g carbs, 3.1 dietary fiber, 1.3 g sugar, 10.3 g protein.

I plan on experimenting with more breads this weekend and maybe even muffins! So, hopefully I will have more recipes for you guys soon. I hope you enjoy this one if you make it. Let me know how it turns out by tagging me in your photo on Instagram. I love seeing people’s variations of my recipes <3 x

Cookies and Cream Protein Bars

I am super excited about this recipe I had to type it up right away for you guys because I knew it was going to be a home run. I wanted something different with my nightly casein, so I started thinking. I really wanted a candy bar. I would not allow it! I made myself a compromise: Cookies and Cream Protein Bars!

What you'll need:

• 1 scoop (1/2 cup) Cookies and Cream Casein, or some other flavor of casein
• 4 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
• 4 tablespoons of coconut flour
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 3 packets of raw stevia
• 2 squares of 90% dark chocolate

Mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flakes, casein, coconut flour, 2 packets of stevia). Add the almond milk to the dry ingredients and mix well. Make it into a doughy consistency before removing it from the bowl (and having a little taste of the batter!). Shape it in to 3 bars. Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for about 45 seconds and mix in the final packet of stevia to sweeten it a bit. Drizzle the chocolate over the bars. Put the bars into the freezer to harden.  I left mine in for at least 45 minutes. I am taking one to work for a snack tomorrow!

Each bar has 10.6 g fat, 7.5 g saturated fat, 147 g of sodium, 11.4 g carbs, 6.1 g dietary fiber, 1.5 g sugar, 11.8 g protein

Chocolate Zucchini Protein Brownies

I had a ripe banana sitting around and decided to throw a few things together. I just love when something turns out just like I wanted. It's super satisfying. Today, it was Chocolate Zucchini Protein Brownies. Yes, Zucchini. Zucchinis are great for baking because they are a low carb vegetable, help keep things moist, and they blend very well with other flavors.

What you'll need:

• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1/3 grated zucchini, about 2/3 of a cup
• 2 egg whites
• 2 packets of raw stevia
• 1/2 a teaspoon baking powder
• 5 drops of chocolate SweetLeaf liquid stevia
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 ripe banana, mashed

 First, I mashed up the banana in a bowl and thew in the grated zucchini. Then, I added the protein powder, stevia, and coconut flour. After it was well mixed I added the 2 egg whites and finally the liquid stevia.

Preheat oven to 370 degrees and pour batter into a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until you can stick a toothpick in the middle and have it come out clean.

I can not provide nutritional information, as this recipe may vary with your particular protein powder. 

Enjoy!

Ramblings & Chocolate Hazelnut Heaven

Just got home from work! It was a pretty easy day, well pretty much every day is easy for me so I really shouldn't complain. I basically am a receptionist at a company, although I am technically a security officer. I answer phones, watch cameras, sort the mail, let people in and out of the facility. Then, the rest of the time I am playing my 3DS, reading, or messing around on my phone (Instagram addiction). I had posted a photo on Instagram today of my back and also posted that people could ask me some questions if they want. I really like talking to people on there and being able to provide any input and encouragement that I can offer. I adore everyone who follows me and talks to me because I find it to be such an amazing and supportive fitness community. So, here are the answers of the questions I received:

What is your back workout? Do I train it with other muscles or alone?

I split up my muscle groups while lifting as follows:
Cheast/Triceps/*Core
Legs/Glutes/*Core
Biceps/Back/*Core
Shoulders/Calves/*Core

* I really can do core any day. I sometimes do it once a week, other times I may do it every day I go. It really depends. I do core a lot to strengthen my lower back, abs are made in the kitchen. I hit legs once, maybe twice a week. That is my heaviest lifting day. One day I week I do strict cardio.

Some back exercises I do are: Assisted pull-ups, lateral pull-down, seated cable row, dumbbell row, barbell row, and back hypertensions.

What are some shoulder exercises that you do?
Military press, delt raises, weighted shoulder shrugs, lateral raises, upright row with dumbbells, shoulder press

What is your daily calorie intake?
To maintain my weight, I can eat around 1750 calories a day. I exercises every day but one a week. I try to eat at least my maintaining calorie number, plus 200-300 calories. So, I eat at least 1750 daily or that is what I aim for.

Are you a student or working?
 I graduated from college with a BA in Criminal Justice and Corrections. I currently work full time as a security officer.

What made you want to be healthy and active?
Well, I used to cheer in high school, then I was pretty active. But, once I graduated I gained some weight. Friends insisted that I wasn't "fat" or "chubby". I know I wasn't grossly overweight, but I did not like myself. I struggled a lot throughout my life with weight and self-esteem issues. Naturally, I struggled with my relationship with food as a result. I decided that in 2012, I was going to be different. I took little steps in order to make myself healthier at first. Then, I went all out. I knew I wasn't seeing the progress I wanted, so I busted my ass. Made some mistakes, learned a lot and now I am on the right track and seeing so much progress and finally happy with myself. I hated looking in the mirror. I hated the way clothes fit, so I did something about it and fell in love with it.

What is your height and weight and how much are you trying to lose or gain?
 I am 5'8"-5'9" and currently weigh, as of today, 123 lbs. I would like to go up to 130-135 in lean muscle mass.

When did you start eating clean and working out?
At the end of 2011 I started making conscious changes and exercising, I have been eating clean for about 3-4 months. Not exactly sure on the timing.

What is my favorite part of the body to work out?
Legs! Also, I like biceps a lot too.

What is your favorite meal?
I love chicken teriyaki with brown rice and broccoli.

What was your build like prior to gaining more muscle? Have you always been naturally slender and petite? 
 Before my muscle gain I was way too skinny and boney. I never would ever have thought of myself as petite. It's actually very flattering to hear now, but I am a pretty tall girl. I have wide shoulders like my Dad does, so I was always pretty "big". This is a photo of me from before I started this lifestyle:

This is a photo of me from Halloween 2011 with my boyfriend, Dylan. It astounds me how much my body has changed. I am so happy that it has.

Thanks for those who were interested in getting to know me a bit better. I think that's awesome.







On to the amazing dessert/final meal I ate yesterday. I was really craving something that was like chocolate hazelnut ice cream. So, I made this beautiful creation:

Chocolate Hazelnut Heaven

• 1/2 a cup non-fat plain Chobani greek yogurt 
•  1/2 a scoop of chocolate whey protein 

Mix the above ingredients well, and freeze for an hour or more. I usually make something like this 1 1/2 to 2 hours before I plan on having it. After an hour I took it out and topped it with 
1/4 of a pint of Chocolate Arctic Zero (this stuff is amazing, seriously, try it), 1/8 of a cup of chopped hazelnuts, and 1 tablespoon of Justin's All Natural Hazelnut Butter. I put mine back in the freezer for about another half an hour. When I took it out and ate it I felt like I was eating a bowl of Ferrero Rocher. I seriously urge everyone to try this. It was such an amazing thing to be able to eat, guilt free!

Sunday Moring PB&J and Coffee

Good morning, darlings! I hope you had a wonderful day/evening/morning. I just got up and and contemplating what to eat for breakfast. This is a sort of live-blogging experience. Although, after I post it, it won't be live anymore, but I digress. I have a pot of vanilla creme coffee cooling now so that I can start off my day with a lovely chocolate vanilla iced coffee. I am pretty addicted to caffeine, although I am busting my butt to learn to not be dependent on it, mostly during the week.

Chocolate Vanilla Iced Coffee

-vanilla creme coffee, brewed and cooled off
- mug full of ice
- 1/4 a cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup, just drizzled over the ice (about 2 tbsp)
- sweetener of your choice

Put all together and enjoy. 

It's Sunday! My boy and I are going to go to the mall in the town over so I can look for a dress. Our friend's wedding is coming up in a couple weeks and I wanted to check out H&M because their clothes are so cute! However, all of this after a workout at the gym of course. I never thought I would look forward to going to the gym. Now, my life just seems incomplete without it. I dread my rest day (I take one full rest day a week). I dread rest because that day I try to eat extra low carb, which means pretty much all of my favorite things get taken from my meal option equation. I have been doing pretty well carb cycling, of course I need to improve much more. Always strive to be better. Set goals, ladies and gents!

Vanilla Protein Flax Pancakes (Low-Carb)
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
2 scoops ground/milled flax seed
2 tablespoons of low fat small curd cottage cheese
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
Few drops Vanilla Creme liquid Stevia

Mix all dry ingredients and wet ingredients together separately. Mix the cottage cheese and egg well, I like the cottage cheese because it adds moisture and texture to the pancake (can't forget protein!). Once mixed into a batter I added a couple drops of my Vanilla Cremem Liquid Stevia from my past post just to add some more vanilla flavor to the party. Cook on low-medium heat, my burner was set between 2 and 3. As always with protein pancakes, resist the urge to flip them too early :)

For the pancakes, they contain 7 grams of fat, 2 g saturated fat, 68 g cholesterol, 665 g of sodium, 16 g carbohydrates, 5 g dietary fiber, 5 g sugar, and 48 g protein. 

And I dressed them up as PBJ Protein Flax Pancakes
2 tablespoons of Organic Powdered Peanut Butter
1/4 cup blackberries made into a jam by microwaving for 30-40 seconds and mashing with sweetener

I just had a bite and OH my GOSH. These are so good. I am definitely making this again. The whole stack is mine, and for only about 350 calories.

BIG UPDATE :3

Hey, guys! I am really sorry that I have been slacking so hard in the blogging department. I am usually pretty busy with work, the gym, cooking, and trying to spend time with my friends before school starts back up and I have to move at the end of the month. Anyway, I am going to try to be more active on here. I want to start posting more recipes since it is easier to type them out here than to constantly be typing them out on instagram.

I have been making a lot of amazing foods lately that I have been happy about. It is so great that even while eating clean you can eat fantastic foods and not feel guilty or have it set you back. I have been trying to gain some weight with a lot of frustration. It's terribly difficult. Now, I know there are people who will say "What?! I wish I could lose weight, not put on weight!" Well, honestly, when you are trying to gain it is pretty much just as difficult. I don't want to look bony, I want healthy, happy, and fit.

These are my latest progress shots. I feel like I look healthier, which is the most important. I love that I can go to the gym and am starting to lift heavier and see results. I know a lot of ladies think that lifting will make you look masculine and bulky, but it won't! If you are worried about that, try low weight and more reps.

Now, on to some food! I have made a few foods that I have really liked over the last few weeks, but since I had been slacking so horrible on here I may have forgotten some things, but I promise to try and get you all the yummy goodness I come across and make.

Tasty Turkey Bell Peppers

A package of extra lean (99%) ground turkey
6 green bell peppers (on the larger side)
2/3 of a large red onion
2 jalapeno pepper (optional, I like the spice)
2 15-16 oz jars low sodium/sugar spaghetti sauce

optional/add-ins:
black beans
corn
spinach
other veggies
cheese (low-fat/skim)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and cut the tops off of your 6 green peppers, takeout the core and seeds and wash. Don't throw away the tops! Brown the ground turkey on a non-stick skillet. Cut up your red onion, other veggies, and take the tops of your green pepper and dice them up and toss them in the party as well. Take a second skillet and cook the veggies. This process took me about 15 minutes. The veggies need to be pre-cooked so they are not really crunchy, but I like a little crunch to my veggies sometimes.

Put the hollow bases of the green peppers you cleaned into a baking dish. Pour one jar of tomato sauce into the baking dish. Once your turkey is browned, throw in the second jar or tomato sauce and the softened veggies. Let it cook for another 5 minutes and then spoon the mixture into the hollow peppers. Fill 'em up! Then, cover the peppers with tinfoil and cook them for an hour. They are so delicious and will definitely be making them again.

I also had attempted another little experiment that I ended up loving! Pistachio "Froyo"

- 1/2 a cup of plain Chobani greek yogurt,
- 1/2 a scoop vanilla whey protein
- vanilla extract
- a packet of raw stevia
- 1/4 a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl/Tupperware container. Mix in some crushed up pistachios. Freeze for a couple hours. After I thawed it, I topped the foyo with some melted whipped peanut butter and some whole pistachios. It was so lovely.

 Another little experimental success. I needed a post-workout snack one day, so I conjured up a lovely Vanilla Protein Mug Cake.

-1/2 a large banana, mushed up in a coffee mug.
- tablespoons of vanilla whey protein, 
- 1 tablespoon whipped peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- a couple drips of vanilla cream all natural liquid stevia (you can also use regular stevia/natural sweeteners)
- 3 tablespoons of liquid egg whites

Mix very well and microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes, keep an eye on it. I topped mine with a little vanilla protein frosting and some wf no cal chocolate syrup. It would be amazing with chia jam, berries, peanut butter, coconut oil, chocolate, greek yogurt, or cottage cheese. 

One day I had a pair of very sad, almost ready to meet the trash can, bananas. I decided to try a little something and ended up making this amazing Chocolate Protein Oat Cake.

I mashed the 2 large ripe bananas in a bowl with 
- 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp of organic powdered peanut butter (pb2)
- 1/3 cup of whole grain rolled oats. 

Mix well, preheat oven to 375 and I poured the mixture on to parchment paper in a large pie baking dish. Baked for 25-30 minutes, make sure tooth pic comes out clean. 

The whole thing is 558 calories, but cut in 3 you can have it for 186 calories a slice with 2 grams of fat, 35 g carbs, 5 g dietary fiber, 12 g sugar, 12.7 g of protein. I had a piece for breakfast, it would also be great pre/post workout! Keep refrigerated and eat cold or microwave. Both are awesome.

I think I solved the dry coconut flour pancakes issue yesterday! I wanted lower carb vanilla protein pancakes as my pre-workout, so I made them! Vanilla Coconut Flour Pancakes

 - 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 (probably about a tablespoon) of vanilla whey protein
-  6 tablespoons liquid egg whites (2 regular egg whites should work)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons low fat cottage cheese
- 5 drops of vanilla creme liquid stevia (or your choice of sweetener)
* You may need to add a bit of water to the batter if it is too dry. Just do a small amount at a time to make it a bit thinner

Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls well before combining. Cooked on a non-stick pan with non-stick spray or coconut oil. Cook on low heat. Coconut flour can be fussy so be sure to give it time. They can be hard to flip, so let them cook for a while before flipping and you will have much more success. Oh my gosh. These are amazing. So perfect, fluffy, and moist. I topped it with wf calorie free syrup. Simple and seriously perfect. 

Finally! We have another lovely chocolatey high protein dessert.  Mint Chocolate Yogurt

- 1/2 a cup plain non fat greek yogurt
- 1/2 a scoop of chocolate whey protein

Mix well with sweetener if needed

topped it with shredded organic 85% dark chocolate, unsweetened coconut flakes, and fresh mint leaves. I am so glad I decided to buy mint leaves. They are rather cheap and very nice to have around for some unique flavors. 


That's all the recipes I have for today, but I did want to share one last thing that I have been living on for the last several days since I bought it: All Natural Vanilla Creme Liquid Stevia from SweetLeaf. This stuff is like liquid gold (much like Sriracha!). I have been drinking so much water thanks to this little gem. I have always been obsessed with the scent and taste of vanilla. It has always been my favorite. It makes even plain water taste like a dream. I have stopped drinking all diet soda now because of this. It is no calorie, delicious, and worth the price. I was buying packets of Raw Stevia and spending $3-$4 for 50 packets,  I bought this for $11.00 and I use it like crazy. Definitely getting this again and I urge you to look it up online or see if your local grocer has it in the organic/natural section. I know they have other flavors online, like Toffee. 

There you are guys! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think of any of these recipes. 

xo Meg