Lo-Carb Double Chocolate Breakfast Brownies

Lo-Carb Double Chocolate Breakfast Brownies

1 scoop BarnDad Innovative Nutrition German Chocolate Fiber DX
1/2 scoop Top Secret Nutrition Chocolate Whey Powder
1 serving Top Secret Nutrition Glutamine Powder
2 tsp PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter
1 tsp 100% cocoa powder
pinch baking soda
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 c liquid egg whites
3 tbsp almond milk
1 tbsp water
cinnamon (to taste - optional)
2 tsp peanut (or any nut) butter

Directions:
- Mix ALL the powdered ingredients (the first 6 ingredients) in a bowl.
- To the powdered ingredients, add the coconut oil, egg whites and almond milk/water, and cinnamon (if you choose)
- Blend well.
- Coat a microwave safe container with non-stick spray, and pour the mixture in (I used a rectangular dish for mine)
- I cooked it in the microwave for one minute on high, checked the consistency (it wasn't all the way done yet) then cooked it at 70% power for another minute.
- All done!
- I put the 2 tbsp of PB on top, but you could also put it in the mix.
- if it's not sweet enough, add your fav sweetner (I sprinkled a packet of splenda on mine)

Macros: (roughly) 25 g protein; 20 g carbs (14 are Fiber, so about 5-6 net carbs), and 12 g fat.

Changing the Game: Food Textures

Hey folks! As you know, I'm in off season diet mode since there are NO competitions coming up. Even in an off season phase, it's important to be consistent with clean eating.

A BIG part of my diet is chicken. Well, specifically, chicken breasts. Yes, the dry wonder... Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good piece of grilled or baked chicken but it can get monotonous. So what's a girl to do?

*insert shoulder shrug*

So I said to myself.. hmmm maybe ground turkey! Fast forward to the supermarket meat aisle... ground turkey was $3-4 per pound! Yikes and gadzooks, I'm not willing to pay THAT much on a regular basis for it. The ground chicken was the same price... then I had a light bulb moment.... why not ground up the chicken I already have?? Ha!!!

*insert evil laugh here*

First we start with some chicken breasts:

Then, cut the breasts in to smaller, "bite size" pieces.. ( please don't bite these... ) Arrange them in the food processor (see below). I do them in small batches so I can make sure they all get "processed". 

Pulse that sucker until all your chicken pieces are ground up nicely. This is the end result....

Tada! We have ground chicken! *and the crowd goes wild* Okay, now that we have our chicken, I added about 1 egg white to help it stay together to form the patties below. Mine are seasoned with sage, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and any other random stuff I found lying around.  Honestly, I just pick up stuff and shake it on. Don't judge me. BUT I will say this.. Sage is a constant, because it gives the meat a "sausage like" taste. I made some today, and added blended onion and garlic (cut onion and garlic and process until it's pureed, then added to chicken).

The cooked result...

Yay!

Note: Now, since this IS ground chicken breast, it can be kind of dry. I used a combination of  chicken thighs (skinless) and breasts, and the added fat from the dark meat of the thighs made the result a bit more moist and flavorful. 

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes

It's Nomnomnom-ing Time!!  I love my pancakes. I like to make them when I have time to sit down at home and eat and relax.. So, here is the recipe I used for these pancakes!

1/2 cup dry oatmeal 
.5-1 scoop Top Secret Nutrition Protein Powder
1/3 cup cottage cheese        
3 egg whites
2 oz cooked sweet potato   
1 small piece 85 % dark chocolate
~1/8 cup almond milk
Seasoning:
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice & splenda

Directions: 

1. In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients (oats, protein and seasonings and set aside.

2.  Blend the wet ingredients (egg whites, cottage cheese and sweet potatoes) in a food processor/blender until smooth and no lumps from the cottage cheese remain. Set aside.

3. Pour the almond milk in a small bowl,  and place the dark chocolate square inside. You're going to melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds. Just to soften it enough to blend with the milk.

4. Add the dry ingredients and the melted chocolate to the mixture in the food 

processor and blend. Tada! You have pancake batter!      

5. Cook as you would any other pancake batter.

6. ENJOY!

Notes:
You don't HAVE to use a food processor for this!  I've made these pancakes without a blender/processor and they turned out fine. Just mix the wet ingredients by hand with a fork before mixing with everything else.

My pancakes are topped with Natural Peanut Butter and Sugar free Blueberry jam. Depending on your nutritional requirements, feel free to use other toppings! Greek yogurt, preserves, nuts, etc!

For those with lactose/dairy issues, you can replace the whey with soy, beef, vegan, etc  protein powder and instead of cottage cheese. You can replace it with bananas, applesauce, even baby food! Play with it, but most of all, ENJOY YOUR FOOD! 

xoxo,

L.

Recipe: ProteIn Pancakes!

A lot of folks people have asked for my recipe for protein pancakes... so here it is!

1/2 cup uncooked oats
3 egg whites
1/3 cup cottage cheese OR 1 serving container greek yogurt
1 scoop protein powder of your choice
(I put in a pinch of baking powder)

Blend by hand or in a blender/food processor. Cook like a regular pancake! I've added pureed pumpkin, sweet potatoes, sugar free instant pudding mix.... The variations are endless! The recipe is my BASE recipe. I start with that and add on. 

You can use Walden farms pancake syrup if you're watching your calories. Here (even though it's not in the picture,  I used sugar free pancake syrup, natural peanut butter and sugar free strawberry jelly.... :-) 

Recipe: Mock Tuna Salad

I called it "mock" only because regular Tuna Salad is usually made from Mayo... -_- I do NOT like mayo.. it scares me. So, I subbed in things I like (and what I had on hand at the time) for this..



Mock Tuna Salad
Serves 1

6 oz Canned Tuna (I used Starkist and Chicken of Sea Solid White - about a can and a half)
1/4 - 1/3 cup Brown Spicy Mustard
Small Onion, Diced or sliced
2 oz Hass Avocado
hot sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

I weighed out 6 oz tuna from 2 cans after draining. Place in bowl, set aside. Dice Onions and Avocado, and add to the tuna. Blend well. Lastly, add the mustard to the tuna mixture. Depending on how moist you like your tuna salad, you can use more or less than the amount I used. I like it fairly dry, but just enough to hold together. Once you've blended the all the ingredients, then you can add the hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

I'm eating it with two slices toasted Ezekiel bread, but you can eat it plain or with a low carb wrap (which I've done)!

Note: I have also used flavored hummus along with the mustard! Roasted Red Pepper, Chipotle and Sundried Tomato are my favs!

Enjoy!!

Macros: (approx)
40 g Protein
30 g Carbs (the bread)
8 g Fats