Protein Milkshake

Am I the only one that could sit and eat ice-cream every night before bed?! I don't think so. Here is a way that you CAN and without the fatty sugar filled ice-cream!!


1 frozen banana
3-4 ice cubes
1 scoop chocolate protein (i use muscle pharm combat - chocolate milk)
2 tbsp peanut butter (or if you're watching your weight try PB2)
1/2 cup milk (you can also use almond milk - more or less depending on how thick you like it:)

Peel and freeze a ripe banana. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 

You can do this without the protein in you prefer. Maybe add drizzle of chocolate syrup instead. I like to drink a protein shake before bed that way my muscles are being fed. Musclepharm's Combat protein not only has whey isolate but also casein which is awesome to take at night before bed because it's slower digesting and helps prevent muscle breakdown while you're asleep. Try it! 

Chicken and asparagus in white wine sauce

Simple dinner that could be served with whole grain pasta or mashed potatoes. I love cooking with white wine however, Seth isn't to fond of it so in this recipe i just use a little less than it calls for to make him happy :) The sauce is a light sauce and is NOT thick at all. 

 

Serves 2

2               boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half (longways - to make them thinner)

2 tbsp       butter (i use country crock light)

salt & pepper

1/2 cup    whole wheat flour

1/2 cup    dry white wine

1/2 cup    fat free/less sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp      minced garlic

1 pound    asparagus spears (trimmed)

2 tbsp       parsley

1 tbsp      lemon juice

1/2 cup    water

1/4 cup   corn startch 

               whole wheat pasta or mashed potatoes

Preheat oven to 400. Boil water for pasta. Place the halved chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until about 1/4 in thick). Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Melt butter in a skillet over med-hi heat. Dredge chicken in flour and place in the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until done. While the chicken is cooking place the asparagus on a baking sheet with olive oil and salt & pepper place in oven for about 10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and add wine, chicken broth and garlic and bring to a light boil. Combine water and corn starch in a cup and mix until dissolved and add to pan. Mix for about 3 minutes until sauce slightly thickens then turn the heat down to a simmer and let it sit for about 3-5min. 

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Pizza is one of my favorite foods ever!! We used to order pizza and eat the frozen stuff allll the time. Now that we're eating clean I can't even remember the last time we ordered a pizza. And that's all because I make my own at home that taste almost as good and the "bad" stuff. This is super fast and simple and you can personalize it to your own liking. 

Pita bread (I like to use Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran & Whole wheat pita bread. These tiny things have 5grams of protein each and are heart healthy)

Pizza sauce

Part skim/low fat Mozzarella cheese

Chicken breast 

Buffalo wing sauce (watch the sodium - we use buffalo wild wings Mild)

Light or fat free ranch

Preheat oven to 375. Dice up chicken breast and cook in a skillet with 2tbsp of buffalo sauce until the juices in the pan dry up. Place pitas on a baking dish and top with pizza sauce, cheese, chicken, more cheese and bake for about 10min. Top with a little drizzle of ranch and enjoy!! 

*Try making it with fresh veggies such as bell pepper, mushrooms, spinach, onions, tomatoes, olives, etc*

Protein Cinnamon Swirl Bread

From bodybuilding.com here is Jamie Eason's Protein cinnamon swirl bread. I tweaked the original recipe a bit. Again, no butter and no sugar but still as good as ever! I almost ate half the loaf before Seth came home from work :/

Makes 16 squares
1 square = 55 calories, 1 g fat, 8 g carbs, 5 g protein

1/3 cup      truvia
2 tbs         cinnamon
1 1/2        cups oat flour + 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
1 tbsp        baking powder
1/2 tsp      salt
1/2 cup     truvia
2                 egg whites
1 cup         unsweetened almond milk 
1/3 cup or 1 4oz jar of baby food applesauce and ¼ cup vanilla yogurt 


Preheat oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 pan with non-stick spray. In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup truvia and 2tbsp cinnamon (set aside). In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients and in another mix together wet ingredients. Combine the dry and wet and whisk. Pour a small amount of mixture on the bottom of the pan so it just covers. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture (i added more cinnamon). Pour the rest of the batter in the pan and top with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 25-30min. 


All of Jamie's recipes look amazing and i cannot wait to try more of them!! Next are the lemon berry bars :) I'll keep y'all posted.

Protein oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Here's a healthy alternative to one of my favorite guilty pleasures, without the guilt!! These things a seriously amazing. With no butter or sugar and packed with protein, you might ask yourself "how could they be so good"?! Each cookie has about 4 grams of protein!! Make them at home and see for yourself. I bet you can't eat just one ;)

2 cups	Oats (not quick oats)
1 scoop	Vanilla protein powder
1tsp	Baking soda
1/2 tsp	Salt
6 tbs	coconut oil (softened in the microwave for a few seconds)
1 1/2  tsp	Vanilla extract
1	Egg
1/4 cup 1/4 cup	Truvia Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (the higher the coco % the better)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place 1 1/2 cups of oats in a food processor (i used my Ninja) until oats are ground into flour. In a bowl mix together oat flour with remaining dry ingredients and in another bowl mix wet ingredients. Then mix the wet and the dry until combined and spoon onto baking sheet. Bake for 8-10min or until light golden. 

Egg Muffins

Egg Muffins?! Genius. 

I came up with this idea for my husband, who wakes up at 4am to hit the gym before work. He never used to eat breakfast because he was always short on time. NOT ANYMORE...thanks to his amazing wife :) 

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray a muffin tin (i used Texas size)

Place veggies, meat and cheese in tins

(I used green pepper, onion, bacon, colby jack cheese)

Each tin holds about 1 1/2 eggs so i used 5 eggs and 3 egg whites (whisked)

Cook for about 18-20min. Cool, put in baggies and place in the fridge. In the morning microwave them for about 30 seconds and ENJOY!! 


*Try switching it up and adding, chicken, turkey, sausage, tuna, spinach, the ideas are endless*

WHOLE Wheat VS White

Hey y'all and thanks for stopping by my new blog page! I am constantly having people ask me for my yummy healthy (and not so healthy) recipes, workout plans, etc. So i figured I'd make a blog so you can have all of these things at the tips of your fingers :) So here goes nothing. 


After having our daughter last November I decided it was time for a change. I was determined to lose my baby weight and make the switch to a healthier lifestyle. The first and easiest step was switching from white to WHOLE WHEAT/GRAIN. Eating white flour products is like eating sugar, that's how your body processes it. The only reason we have white bread is because someone found a way to make softer, better tasting bread by taking away all the natural nutritiousness. When buying whole wheat bread check the ingredients and make sure it says "WHOLE", they like to trick you. 
Some benefits: 

• Excellent source of dietary fiber.
• Can help protect the heart by reducing cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease.
• Can help a person lose weight, as whole wheat gives a sense of fullness with fewer calories.
• Whole wheat bread also takes longer to digest and converts slower into sugar, so the person can stay fuller and energetic longer.
• For those who are watching blood sugar levels, whole wheat bread has a lower glycemic index than white bread.

So fill your pantry with whole grain pasta's, bread, tortillas, cereal, flour, crackers, etc.