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

Clean Egg Nog! Whaaaaa ?!?

Hey Lovelies! I know I haven't posted a blog in FORRREVVEERRRR and I'm sorry! The heavy competition season took a lot out of me and I'm still adjusting, but each day it gets easier!

Since it's off season for me, I'm going to start experimenting with new foods, using primarily clean ingredients. Today, I made EGG NOG!! Yes! I love it! Want the recipe? Here it is... 

Oh snap! I just made a CLEAN Pumpkin egg nog!

Pumpkin Egg Nog
2 egg whites
1/2 cup Vanilla, Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup water
ice
1/2 scoop Protein Powder (I used About Time Pumpkin Spice Isolate Protein for the first practice batch)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 splenda packets (use whatever sweetener you please)

1. Using a food processor, blend 1/2 cup water with the 2 egg whites, protein powder, nutmeg and sweetener.
2. Microwave the 1/2 cup almond milk for 1-2 minutes until it's hot, but not boiling.
3. Carefully add the milk into the food processor/blender with the egg white mixture. You don't want to cook the eggs, so add the liquid slowly.
4. Continue to blend until well mixed. I poured it back into the cup, and RE-Microwaved it for about a minute.
5. Then I poured it on top of the ice to chill it. Or you can drink it warm if you like.

Enjoy!

It made one cup, basically. About zero carbs (depending on the milk and protein you use), 16-20 g protein (3 per egg white and 12 from the powder), roughly 3 grams fat. Feel free to change up as you please! 

UPDATE!!!!!

I just tried it again for a night time snack. I used the SAME recipe above but I used Top Secret Nutrition Vanilla protein powder. MUCH closer to traditional egg nog flavor and thicker than the first time, which made it MUCH MUCH better. I'm making a bigger batch for my birthday on Tuesday!  

Let me know how you like it!! 

Gone Till November...

I started this as note in my phone with.the hopes that the words would just flow. But they aren't moving thru my mind like I hoped, so I'm just going to go with whatever comes out my figurative mouth.

If you know me, or even know I exist, you know that I've been in contest prep mode since March. Damn near the entire year, I've been at this. Starting at 190 or so lbs down to my current, It's been a long road, and has certainly had its ups and downs. I'm 3 & 4 weeks out from my last two shows of the year. I've been reflecting on the process a lot more because, believe it or.not, It's a very draining process.. not only physically, but emotionally and mentally. Anyone can go to the gym, train like an animal and go home. Training is the EASY part. The difficultly lies in committing one's self to restrictive dieting, immense cost, and constant merciless, brutally honest scrutiny by coaches, judges, peers and the worse of all, yourself.

When you compete, not a day goes by you don't look in the mirror and cuss. No matter what anyone else says, you will ALWAYS see failure, room for improvement, weaknesses. It stares back at us, and we look back at it. Wondering what we can do, how we can make it better. In my case, I feel like I have a stubborn body that doesn't respect my struggle for the level.of leanness I need. In reality, who's body really wants to be competition lean? 4-8% body fat? Really though? Lol...

Although I love this challenge, this process is.enough to drive a sane person.to the brink of institutionalization. I've have to force myself to not check the scale every day or check out my abs every time I'm in the bathroom (ok, I look occasionally.. don't judge me). It would literally drive me bat shit crazy. Everyone wants a six pack... Lol.. but once you get it, its hell maintaining it and you constantly check.for it.. lol. Don't believe me? Ask any competitor.

Mentally, you have to be tough because the sacrifice and discipline is immense. I'm always hungry. I pass people eating, good restaurants and it takes a hell of a lot of willpower to keep on walking.. You give up a lot to gain a lot... well, in the hopes of gaining a lot. Things you never suspected start to haunt you and strike fear into your heart. I'm terrified of my scale..  and equally scares of my email account.. awaiting the email from my coach after check in is always a nail biter. I usually make sure.I'm ready to hear what he has to say, good or bad. Also, money is a stressor.. Food is expensive. Protein powder, supps, then you have your bills,... A lot of us have rent, student loans, etc.. plus the costs of shows, traveling, suits, and lil extras add up. If you knew how much Nationals is costing me.. Good lawd.. I'm coming homw with SOMEONES proc card! LOL .. I kid, I kid..  In a way, you mentally withdraw from life, and operate on auto-pilot... Eat, sleep, cardio, train... Not.necessarily in.that order, but those become engrossing priorities. Not family, not fun, but PROGRESS becomes the ultimate.goal..

So much more than dieting this gets emotional.  It can be quite a roller coaster ride. Hormones are ties to.nutrition and plus, heavy training and cardio with LIFE added in, equals stress. I've cried more times during this prep than.I care to.admit. at home, at work, on a treadmill.. you name it. Sometimes I all want to do is lay down somewhere and cry. Even though you know it doesn't help, but it gets out the frustration, the pain, the hurt, the everything when there is nowhere left for it to go. Plus, the stress of not being in control.. you depend.on your coach to make your life/body decisions for you. That's an awful lot of trust to give, especially when you're a.control freak like me. Thankfully, I have the utmost faith in Shelby, my coach. He's been the best and.I can talk to him about ANYTHING. That's another.thing... Dealing with a bad coach can be stressful. Yeesh.... Depression and melancholy are common issues, esp with athletes.

Most of you who read this will.never understand. What we put our minds and bodies thru for weeks, months, years for a level.of greatness that eludes most. This process is very lonely... Even if you're married, engaged, in a group of competitors..  you are alone. Lifting the weight, eating tiny meals, alone with your feelings and thoughts. It's hard to explain to outsiders because.it sounds like complaining. But we really just want.you to listen. To sympathize. We know you can't make it better, lol... We just need to get it odd our chest. It occupies too much mind space...  There are a lot of people who, innocently enough, try to help.. 'its temporary!', 'you'll be fine, you can do it!' But when everyday, every weigh in, you feel like you can't do it. Like you have failed.... I know I feel that way about 16 hours of the day. like.I didn't DO enough...
But every day, every year, we do.it again. Because we know we can.


I know I can. And I will... Cause that's what champions do...

L.