Protein Banana Bread

If you're anything like me, you occasionally buy more bananas than you can eat.  While typically I enjoy freezing bananas and using them to add thickness and flavor to my protein shakes, I decided to experiment with this brown-spotted bunch.  The result?  An amazingly healthy, delicious and easy to make banana bread! 

Ingredients

3 eggs

6 ripes bananas

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup xylitol

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 scoops Quest Nutrition Vanilla protein (purchase here from Vitamin Shoppe and receive free shipping)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine all ingredients and pour into a baking dish (I coated mine with coconut oil).  Bake for approximately 50 minutes.  Enjoy!  Bananas are a great source of potassium which stimulates your muscles, nerves and brain cells, and can help reduce blood pressure and the risk of stroke.

Pizza Fries

Eat clean, train dirty right? Keep those meals and snacks healthy with this pile of deliciousness, packed with healthy carbs and nutrient rich tomatoes!

Ingredients

1 baked sweet potato

1/2 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup pasta sauce (this one has just 7g of sugar per serving)

1 Flatout flatbread wrap 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place Flatbread on pan and top with sliced potato, sliced tomato, sauce and cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Cauliflower Parmesan Bites

Cauliflower Parmesan Bites! With pumpkin seed sprinkles. My friend has been raving about pumpkin seeds so I picked some up during my last trip to Trader Joe's. A 1/4 cup serving contains 15g of fat, 6 which are polyunsaturated and 5 which are monounsaturated. 

Studies show that eating foods rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease. Research also shows that MUFAs may benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which helps control cravings and energy levels. 

Evidence shows that eating foods rich in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) improves blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease your risk of heart disease. 

HOW TO MAKE THIS TREAT?

I steamed the cauliflower in the microwave, dipped in almond meal, then dipped in liquid egg whites, and coated in a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, Parmesan cheese and nutritional yeast. I cooked on the skillet with about 2 T of olive oil (another healthy fat!). 

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cooked cauliflower
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 cup liquid egg white
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 T. nutritional yeast
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
2 t. cayenne pepper
2 T. pumpkin seeds
2 T. olive oil

Cake Batter and Ice Cream Parfait

Ingredients
Cake:
1 scoop cake batter whey protein
2 T. coconut flour
3/4 c. liquid egg white
Ice Cream:
3/4 c. pre-sliced, then frozen banana
1 scoop cake batter whey protein
approximately 1/2 c. almond milk (use sparingly to maintain thick consistency)

Directions
Combine cake ingredients and microwave for about 1 minute, 20 seconds.  Blend ingredients for ice cream.  Pour blended ice cream over cooked cake and enjoy!

Visit Vitamin Shoppe to purchase cake batter protein.  Shipping is free with your purchase of $25 or more.

Four Ingredient Protein Pizza - Gluten Free!

Yes, it's true. And easy! And healthy! I've made something similar before, in the microwave. But to be blog-worthy, I decided to use the oven. Chances are you may already have the ingredients to make this. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine equal parts liquid egg white and brown rice flour. 

Coat a pan with olive oil to prevent sticking (ok, there's a 5th ingredient) and pour/spread "dough" onto it.  Don't fret, he dough will likely be a little runny before it is baked.

Top with sauce, cheese, and whatever yumminess you like. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Enjoy! 

Madeover Moon Pie

Here is my latest concoction of protein inspired goodness! To create these high protein, nutritious, chocolate covered cookies, you will need the following. 

Cookie:

1 cup unflavored instant oatmeal

2 scoops Cake Batter protein from Vitamin Shoppe.  

1 can chickpeas

1 cup liquid egg white

1 t xylitol

1 t baking powder

Filling:

6 oz nonfat Greek yogurt

1 T vanilla extract

1 t xylitol

1 bag of dark chocolate chips for coating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a blender, mix the chickpeas and liquid egg white. Mix into bowl with xylitol, baking powder, oatmeal, and protein. Stir. 

On a greased cookie sheet (I used coconut oil), drop dough into "cookie-sized" drops. Mine were 3-4 tablespoons large. Bake for 20-30 minutes. 

Mix ingredients for the filling and, once cooled, sandwich the cookies as pictured. Then place in freezer for 45-60 minutes. Melt dark chocolate in microwave, stirring as needed. Quickly drop and coat sandwiches in chocolate. Place them onto a tray and refrigerate immediately. 

I was unsure how these would turn out, but I was pretty happy with the final product. A bit more crispy than I anticipated, but delicious none the less. Even my mom, who typically doesn't like what I eat, said they smelled good. Maybe eventually I can get her to try one! 

Pumpkin Swirl Cinnamon Roll

So easy! So good! Just mix and microwave.

One scoop of Quest Nutrition Vanilla Milkshake protein, 1/4 cup liquid egg white, 1/2 cup pure pumpkin, and 1/2 t baking powder. Microwave approximately 1-1:30 minutes. Top with Greek yogurt infused with 1 t. vanilla extract and sprinkle with cinnamon!

Cinnanutter Protein Cake

My favorite protein bar is the Quest bar. I usually don't bake with them, but figured this challenge was worthy of a special recipe. Introducing the "Cinnanutter Protein Cake."

Preheat oven to 375. Rinse and drain one can of garbanzo beans. Blend garbanzo beans with approximately 1/3 cup of pb crave, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup honey, 1/3 cup water, and 1 scoop of Quest Nutrition Peanut Butter protein. Pour into baking dish and top with cut up pieces of one cinnamon roll Quest bar. Bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.