HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Pumpkin Carrot bars with Cream Cheese topping!

I know it's been way too long since I've posted.... Things got crazy for a while with work... and my wedding, but now things are calming down - just in time for the holidays!!  

I'm cooking today for Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house tomorrow..... I like to try to healthy things up when I can (as you know) - especially when I'm taking something to someone else's house.  I think too many people still think healthy = doesn't taste good - which is so not the case!!

I found a recipe for Pumpkin Carrot bars w/cream cheese frosting online here, and decided to tweak it and make it even better!! 

You'll need: 

3/4 cup almond flour

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1tsp baking soda

2tsp reduced sodium baking powder

2 tsp stevia in the raw

1/4 cup splenda brown

1/3 cup butter (I used Move Over Butter)

2 large eggs

4 tbsp liquid egg whites (Or 2 egg white)

1 can (15oz) pumpkin

2/3 cup carrot - shredded or put through food processor

Cream Cheese Topping: 

6oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (softened)

1/8-1/4 tsp stevia in the raw

3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder

 2tbsp skim milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9x13 baking pan with non stick cooking spray.

Whisk together eggs, pumpkin pie spice, flour, egg whites, baking powder, baking soda, protein powder, and almond flour.

Add in stevia, butter, brown sugar and mix with hand mixer.  Add in carrots and pumpkin - mix thoroughly.  Spread into greased pan.

For Cream Cheese topping - Combine cream cheese, stevia, vanilla protein powder and skim milk.  Use mixer to mix well.  

Drop spoonfuls of topping onto pumpkin/carrot batter.  Swirl mixture into batter with a butter knife.  Bake about 30 minutes until done (toothpick will come out clean when dipped in center).

Cool and cut into squares.

Makes 24 servings. 

1 square = 

78 Calories

5g Fat

6g Carbs

1g Fiber

4g Protein

135mg Sodium

More healthy cookies!

I've been on a bit of a cookie kick lately.... But all healthy.... I think I'm already starting to get into fall mode. Today, I made more healthy oatmeal cookie variations.  The top picture shoes the white chocolate peanut butter cookies - and the bottom is the pumpkin butterscotch cookies.  Both are delish!! 

White chocolate peanut butter cookies

2/3 cup old fashioned oats

1 egg (whisked)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 packet Peanut Butter & Co Smooth Operator peanut butter

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder (I use body fortress)

1/4 tsp baking powder (I use Rumford Reduced Sodium)

dash stevia

1 packet sugar free fat free Jell-o white chocolate pudding mix

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

2/3 cup old fashioned oats

1 egg (whisked)

 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)

2 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder (I use body fortress)

1/4 tsp baking powder (I use Rumford Reduced Sodium)

dash stevia

1 packet sugar free fat free Jell-o white chocolate pudding mix

Directions for both cookies!

Preheat oven to 350. 

Combine all ingredients in bowl.  Mix well. 

Spoon onto parchment lined baking sheet. 

Each Mix makes about 17 cookies. 

Bake 8-10 minutes

STATS

 White chocolate peanut butter cookies

60 calories

2g fat

6g carbs

1g fiber

6g protein

101mg sodium

Pumpkin butterscotch cookies

42 calories

1g fat

5g carbs

1g fiber

4g protein

90mg sodium

 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - that won't wreck your diet!

 

Nom Nom Nom.  Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?  But seriously.  One cookie is never enough, and you can wreck your whole day (calorie wise) by having a couple cookies!  But with these - you won't.  They are full of good for you stuff, including dark chocolate!  They are even low carb and have protein!!  Score! 

You'll need: 

1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats

1/2-1 tbsp sweetener (I used Stevia in the Raw)

2 scoops vanilla protein (I use whey, Body Fortress, 30g protein per scoop)

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp baking powder (I used reduced sodium)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350. 

Whisk eggs, and combine all ingredients in large bowl.  Mix well. 

Spoon onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Makes 18 cookies. 

 Bake 7-9 minutes.

Nutritional Stats: 

Per cookie: 

67 Calories

2g Fat

8g Carbs

1g Fiber

5g Protein

21mg Sodium

Yummy PB Breakfast!

 

This yummy breakfast (or it could be a snack) was inspired by another trainer at my gym!  This is super easy, tasty, and can be prepared the night before so it's ready to go in the morning.  You can throw it in your lunch bag as a snack, and it would also make the perfect post work out snack!!  

You'll need: 

1/8 cup oatmeal (I used Quaker Perfect Portions Oatmeal (no sugar added) - Cinnamon

dash Stevia

1/2 scoop Vanilla Protein (I used Body Fortress)

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (nonfat)

1 tbsp natural Creamy Peanut Butter (I used Market Pantry)

Combine all ingredients in bowl (may need to add a few drops of water to help everything mix well).  Mix well.  Eat or refrigerate until breakfast or snack time! 

**Side note, you could also add a few dark chocolate chips to this for a decadent non-guilty treat!  

Stats (without chocolate chips!) 

285 Calories

10g Fat

20g Carbs

2g Fiber

33g Protein

208mg Sodium

Please excuse my absence.... and a summer breakfast idea!

I must start by apologizing.  Thing have been super crazy here!   I've changed careers (I'm now a personal trainer).... I'm still planning my wedding..... and we are in the process of moving - twice!  But I've been here the whole time (just not posting) - and I've still been experimenting with easy healthy recipes!  

It definitely feels like summertime here already, even though the first official day of summer isn't until next Friday!  It's been hot and humid - and exercising outside is only advisable now if it's early in the morning or late in the evening (though I left for work at 4am yesterday and it was already super humid out then!)

If you know me, you know I'm a huge advocate of eating breakfast!  It starts your day off right, fuels your body, and gets your metabolism going.  

I LOVE greek yogurt.... and I also enjoy oatmeal.  Today I combined them for a quick easy breakfast packed with protein! 

I used: 

1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein (Body Fortress)

1 packet Better Oats Oat Fit Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 packet stevia (Or sweetener of choice)

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well.  I added about 1 tbsp water to make everything mix easier (since oatmeal is dry and greek yogurt is super thick).  Eat as is!  You can also mix this up the night before and put in the fridge for a grab & go breakfast.  This would also be great with added chia seeds! 

Home Made Kale Chips.... And some exciting news!

So I know I've kind of been MIA here lately..... Things have been so crazy!  I've recently decided to go ahead and work on getting my Personal Trainer certification and make a major career move!  I'm super excited, but kind of nervous at the same time!  I think my experiences will help me in this field, but at the same time, sometimes I have moments of self doubt (don't we all?)  So now I am still working my full time job (not for much longer) - working at my amazing gym part time - and studying for certification!  Whew.  it's crazy!  But it's all totally worth it!!

 

 

My lovely friend Jamesa shared with me how to make kale chips yesterday.... so I stopped, got some kale, and put the oven to good use.  They are super easy, and super tasty.  You can actually flavor them however you want -- I think cumin and cayenne pepper would be good too, but I used garlic when I made them yesterday. 

 

You'll need:

kale, pulled off the stem

olive oil

salt (I used salt substitute)

seasnoning of choice (I used garlic powder)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Toss kale in olive oil so it's lightly coated.  I used my Misto to spray/coat but not go too heavy with it. 

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil - Place kale on baking sheet in single layer. 

Bake 12 minutes.

Sprinkle with seasonings & salt, to taste.

 

Enjoy!

Veggie-fied Spaghetti Squash Bake

Seems like I've been getting bombarded from all sides with Kale!  I know it's great for you but it's suddenly in my face all the time, so I have been trying to figure out new yummy ways to use it.  One of my trainers sent me a chili recipe the other day - it included kale & broccoli. Yep, Chili - with kale and broccoli.  It was amazingly delish.  My cousin sent me a link to a spaghetti squash bake she found on pinterest.  It looked pretty good, but I knew I could make it better, and here's what I came up with!

 

You'll need:

3 cups kale

1 small spaghetti squash (yields about 2 cups cooked squash)

5oz ground turkey (93/7)

4-5 chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup white kidney beans (drained/rinsed)

1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 can no salt added tomato sauce - 8oz can
seasonings - I used garlic powder, salt substitute, mrs dash tomato basil garlic
1/4 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Brown turkey - season with all seasonings - to taste.  Set aside in a bowl.
Poke holes with a knife in spaghetti squash - cook in microwave for 8-12 minutes, until tender.  Cut in half, carefully - will be hot. Remove Seeds.  Shred with a fork (will resemble 'noodles') - put in bowl with turkey.
Sautee mushrooms for about a minute - add kale.  Sautee until it wilts down a bit (3 cups shrink up after a few minutes).  Add tomatoes & beans, season to taste with all seasonings.
When kale is cooked, remove from heat - add to squash & turkey in bowl.
Add Tomato Sauce & 1/2 of the Mozzarella.
Mix well.
Place in baking dish.  Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes. 
Makes 4 servings.

Per serving:
180 Calories
5g Fat
21g Carbs
5g Fiber
14g Protein
203mg Sodium

 



Berries & Cream Protein Rich Muffins!

So I saw a recipe for some 'strawberry shortcake muffins' that looked

good, but I knew I could improve upon it and tweak it to my 'needs'!

 

These muffins are super tasty, low in carbs & calories, high in protein, and flour free!  They have some old fashioned oats & berries in them so they are full of good carbs.  These would make a perfect breakfast (I'd eat two of them for breakfast) or a great snack!!  You could even have them for dessert and top them with a little vanilla icecream or cool whip (sugar free or fat free if you like!).

 

You'll need:

1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats

3 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used Body Fortress)

2 large eggs

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1-2 tsp stevia (to taste)

2tsp reduced sodium baking powder

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used Wyman's triple berry blend w/ blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

 

Preheat oven to 400.

Line muffin tin with paper liners - spray with baking spray (to allow them to be removed from the muffins more easily)

In a blender combine all ingredients (except for berries).  Blend until a batter is formed.

Pour into bowl, fold in berries.

Divide into 12 muffin cups.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

 

Per muffin:

98 Calories

2g Fat

10g carbs

1g Fiber

11g Protein

85mg Sodium

 

and here's a video I always think of when I hear berries & cream!