Buff Bake

My absolute favorite food is nut butter, all kinds, all flavors, give em to me!  A few weeks back I received a little package from Buff Bake.  Snicker-doodle almond butter…..my eyes instantly lit up.  The absolute perfect combo!  I finished this jar way too fast but I guess that says a lot right?   This stuff is delicious and packed with a ton of protein and healthy fats.  With about 100 calories per tablespoon this nut butter is great on top of rice cakes, toast, protein pancakes, sweet potatoes, or even in your favorite smoothie or shake.  Ingredients include almonds, all natural whey protein, cinnamon, organic coconut sugar, chia seed, hemp seed, flax seed, organic palm fruit oil and vanilla.  It’s not everyday that you come across a flavored nut butter that is made from one hundred percent all natural ingredients.  With about 7 grams of protein a tablespoon and great flavor I highly recommend trying this out! Visit www.buffbake.com and pick up a jar today!

 

 

Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

Hi guys! I’ve been a little M.I.A. lately due to working a full time job and going school but here I am!  I haven’t had much time to make my usual creative breakfasts in the morning but this past weekend I made a killer stack of fully deliciousness.  Yup, you guessed it protein pancakes. Here is the recipe…

 

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tbs oat flour
• 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 packets of stevia or 7 drops
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat stove to top to med-high heat
2. Spoon batter onto pan to make approx 3 pancakes
3. Cook 3 min each side
4. Serve with peanut butter, bananas, and any syrup of your choice
5. Enjoy!

 

Oatmeal Blueberry Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup oat-flour
• 2 tbs protein powder
• 1/2 tbs ground flax
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tbs non-fat greek yogurt
• 2 tbs unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp stevia
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1. In a small bowl beat egg whites
2. Add greek yogurt and almond milk and mix well
3. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix
4. Heat a non-stick pan to med-high heat
5. Add batter and blueberries evenly to the pancakes
6. Cook for about 3 min on each side
7. Plate and eat up!

I topped mine with my new favorite raw coconut nectar! Lower in sugar and calories than honey, maple syrup and agave!

TVP Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup of TVP (textured vegetable protein)
• 1 tbsp rolled oats
• 2 tsp ground flax
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pumpkin or apple spice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp stevia
• 1 egg white

1. Add all ingredients except egg white to a small pot and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 min (usually less)
3. Add egg white and stir well
4. Let cook for another 2-3 min
5. Scoop into a bowl and add your favorite toppings

I usually add some kind of berries, banana, nuts, or sugar free syrup.

The Choice is yours!

 

Gingerbread Waffles

 

• 4 tbs ground flax seed
• 2 tbs vanilla protein powder
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 cinnamon
• 1/4 all spice
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp stevia extract

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl
2. Add egg whites and milk to a separate bowl and beat well
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well
4. Heat a waffle iron to med heat
5. Coat with cooking spray
6. Add batter to iron and cook and until done
7. Top with nuts, yogurt, syrup etc and eat up!

Cake for Breakfast?

Yes I said it…cake for breakfast..sprinkles and all! Most of you who follow me on instragram know I have a strong relationship with my various pancakes that I get creative with a few days out of the week.  These guys are still packed with protein and healthy carbs but the secret ingredient is not the cleanest or healthiest thing out there for you, but hey you only live once.  To give these pancakes a cake batter flavor I added sugar free vanilla pudding mix to the batter but I am on the hunt for butter extract which is a much healthier option that would probably work great.

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 2 tbs sugar free vanilla pudding mix
• 1 tsp stevia extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• a shake of sprinkles!

1. Add egg whites, milk and vanilla extract in small bowl and whisk.
2. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Add the wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
4. Heat a non-stick pan to med-high heat.
5. Cook pancakes about 3 min on each side
6. Top with greek yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese sweetened with stevia
7. Shake on a few sprinkes and boom cake for breakfast! 😛

 

Pumpkin Heaven

Pumpkin Paleo Oatmeal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut  or unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 tbs chopped walnuts

1. In a saucepan toast walnuts for a few minutes on med heat and set aside
2. Add pumpkin, milk, and flour to a small pot cook over med heat
3. Stir the mixture very well so the coconut flour incorporates smoothly
4. Cook for about 1 mintue
5. Add 3 egg white to the pot and stir until combined
6. Add vanilla and spices and continue to cook for another 5 min
7. Top with toasted walnuts, honey, agave, or sweetener or your choice

If your looking for something that reminds you of oatmeal but are trying to limit carbs try this out, you won’t be dissapointed!

 

 

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 tsp stevia extract (not paleo)

1. Combine egg whites and pumpkin in a small bowl and whisk
2. Add coconut flour and stir until smooth
3. Add remaining ingredients
4. Heat a non-stick pan with cooking spray
5. Cook on med-high heat for 3min on each side
6. Top with whatever you like!

I am not paleo but I wanted to try making a cleaner pancake that was lower in carbohydrates. I layered each pancake with non-fat greek yogurt combined with a little pureed pumpkin, spices, and stevia. Not paleo but it tasted amazinggg!

Waffles!

Autumn is here and my new obsession is waffles.  I think I have owned a waffle maker for a pretty long time now but I’ve always been terrified of using it for various reasons.  Lets just say the first time using it wasn’t very pretty.  My kitchen was covered in waffle batter and I spent close to an hour prying the stuff out of the maker.  Total and epic fail but that didn’t stop me from creating a good healthy waffle and I succeeded! Just a note these waffles are pretty dense and not like your typical waffle but here is the recipe..

Protein Flax Waffles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbs unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbs oat flour
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder ( i use sunwarrior)
• 2 tbs ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp stevia extract

1. Heat a waffle iron to medium heat
2. Combine egg whites and almond milk in a bowl
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix very well (batter should be pretty thick)
4. Spray your waffle iron and pour the batter into the center
5. Cook and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you love pumpkin as much as I do you can sub the almond milk for a couple tablespoons of pureed pumpkin. Also don’t be afraid to get creative! I pile the toppings on and some of my favorites are nuts, seeds, hemp, chia seeds, fruit, coconut butter, almond butter, cranberries..the list goes on. If there’s one meal that should never be boring its breakfast.

 

Pumpkin, Polar & Studies

Can you feel it? That slight chill in the air, pumpkin spice and everything nice…yes fall is near people! I just started my fall semester at my new school a couple weeks ago and I am more than confident in knowing that I picked the right major for me. Nutrition has become such a passion of mine these past few years and I truly love it! Some people underestimate the time, effort, and difficulty of the field and let me just say…it is ALOT of work.  It’s going to be hard but in the end it will be so worth it.    Not only has school started but another perk is that I got my brand new Polar ft40 watch a couple weeks back and I am in love with it!  It monitors my heart rate, calories burned, duration, and the percentage of fat burned during my workouts.  It’s awesome and I highly suggest checking out Polar watches on amazon if you’re into getting good sweat sessions in a few days a week and want to keep track of how much your’e burning.

Instagram has become such a great motivational community for those dedicated to nutrition, health and fitness and if you follow me on there I’m sure you’ve noticed a few of my recent foodie posts! One of them is pumpkin protein bars..so here’s the recipe for those babies!

Pumpkin Protein Bars

 

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz can) pureed pumpkin
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup stevia or truvia
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 1/2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix well
3. Add remaining dry ingredients to a separate bowl and mix (not walnuts, cranberries, or seeds)
4. Add wet ingredient mix to dry and mix well
5. Now you can mix in the walnuts and cranberries if you have chosen to use them
6. Spread the batter into the baking dish
7. Evenly top with pumpkin seeds and bake for 35-40min
8. Remove from oven and let cool for an hour
9. Cut into 24 pieces and eat up!

These taste great with  a little almond butter or honey!

Lemon Blueberry Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 scoop protein powder ( I used sunwarrior vanilla)
• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 2 tbs low-fat whipped cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• grated zest from half a lemon
• few squeezes of lemon juice
• 1 tbs stevia

lemon cream filling

• 3 tbs  low-fat whipped cottage cheese
• 1/2 tsp stevia
• squeeze of lemon juice

1. Add egg whites, almond milk, and cottage cheese to  a bowl and mix well
2. Add lemon extract, stevia, lemon zest and juice to the wet mixture
3. Add remaining dry ingredients to a bowl and combine
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well
5. Heat a non-stick pan to med/high heat
6. Pour batter onto pan and add  a 1/4 cup of blueberries evenly to each
7. Cook for 3-4 min on each side
8. Combine the 3 tbs cottage cheese, stevia and lemon in a bowl for the filling
9. Layer each pancake with lemon cream filling
10. Top with remaining blueberries

These pancakes are the perfect way to end the summer!

Refreshing, delicious, and packed with protein 🙂