Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Truffles [Protein + Complex Carb]

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW:

5 ingredients. Mix and refrigerate.

My original version of these power balls packs fiber and healthy fat power, but these quickies are protein+complex carb rich. I love bringing these to parties because they look and taste yummy, but they are secretly healthful!

Keep in mind that I usually eye ball my measurements, so recognize that this recipe is 1) to taste and 2) extremely forgiving (as are most of my recipes that I post)

• 1 1/2 C oats
• 3/4 nut butter
• 2 Tbsp honey (you can use raw honey OR if you need something leaner this is a sugar free honey out there that is an imitation honey and its delicious)
• 1/2 C extra-dark chocolate chips OR sugar-free chocolate morsels
• 1 scoop low-carb chocolate protein (I use Beverly International UMP for this because it has a creamy texture)
• optional: 1 heaping Tbsp sugar free hot fudge

Really great tips:

1. when you mix this, use your hands (the warmth of your hand melts the butter a bit so that it combines better with the oats)
2. when rolling these into balls, mash it in your fists back and forth (the warmth of your hand melts the butter a bit so that it combines better with the oats)
3. you may need to add more nut butter or honey if your batch needs more sticking power
4. pop these in the fridge for an hour before serving

Vanilla Protein Pancakes

This recipe is brought to you by bodybuilder, Charles Williams.  Bodybuilding has turned him into a kitchen fiend! He is always looking for lean ways to recreate delicious foods. Why let your taste buds suffer when you there is a whole world of delicious lean foods to be had!

I can never get enough of protein pancakes. Who can pass up a protein rich food disguised as a treat?!

Ingredients:

• 1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Power
• 1/2 Cup Oats (Blended)
• 1 Egg White
• 1/4 Cup Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 1 TB Unsweetened Coconut Milk (or milk of choice)

Directions:

1. Grind oats in blender (on blend mode is sufficient)
2. Stir dry ingredients together
3. Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and mix well (batter will be thick)
4. Heat pan on medium heat or low-medium heat
5. Spray pan with nonstick spray and slowly spoon or ladle batter into pan
6. Cook time will vary based on the size of your cakes.  Mine took about a minute and 30 seconds before I flipped them
7. Top with fruit, Greek yogurt, sugar-free maple syrup, or smother that bad boy with peanut butter

Nutrition:

Calories: 383
Protein: 36
Carbs: 41
Fat: 9
Sugar: 8
Sodium: 275

Recipe and nutrition count graciously provided by Charles Williams. Charles Williams – Designer by day, Bodybuilder by night

Sweet Potato Hash Brown Sticks

Hash brown sticks for on the go, but even cleaner yet are these waffle iron sweet potato hash browns!

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, shredded (Use a grater, or food processor for shredding. I used a mandolin and they still turned out great)
  
• 3 tbsp of flour (you can use any flour of your choice. I like coconut, garbanzo bean, oat, almond, buckwheat and quinoa flours)
  
• Butter flavored zero calorie cooking spray (I love Emeril Lagasse’s zero calorie Buttery cooking spray) OR olive oil OR vegetable oil

Optional awesomeness:

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 tsp stevia
  OR
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat your *waffle iron on a low or medium low setting *(if you do not have a waffle iron, see below for my variations)
2. Pat your shredded sweet potatoes dry with a paper towel – get that moisture out!
3. Sprinkle the flour and mix (by hand is fine). I call it a dough, it starts feeling that way.
4. Once heated, spray with cooking spray then layer the shredded sweet potato on the iron. Thickness mar vary by waffle iron, but I’d say about 1/4″ or less, then you smoosh it down when you close the iron.
5. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until brown and crisp on the outside. The first one is always a botch, so don’t be discouraged!

*If you want to form these for frying, mix 3-4 heaping tablespoons oat flour (you can use any flour of your choice. I like coconut, garbanzo bean, oat , almond, buckwheat and quinoa flours) and then form into logs. I like to squish my logs down so they are thinner and crispier.

Egg White Frittata

Another simple recipe I found as a result of my busy lifestyle that so desperately wants to be healthy! Keep in mind, I am currently competing, so my recipe is mighty lean, but can be tweaked with olive oil, cheese, yolk and salt! This is yet another forgiving recipe that can be easily altered.

Ingredients

6 Egg whites
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper (to taste)
Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil seasoning, no salt
1/2 Cup diced pepper and onion blend
1 Cup Baby Spinach
4 Tbsp Salsa
Spray butter (0 cal, 0 carb, 0 sodium) or olive oil

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat egg whites
3. In a skillet, spray butter or olive oil and heat for about 2 minutes on medium. Add spinach and cook until wilted (about 5 minutes)
4. Add the spinach and salsa to the egg mixture
5. Use a measuring cup, pour the mixture into the cups of a mini-muffin tin, filling each a little over half way
6. Place the muffin tin in the pre-heated oven, and bake for 20 minutes.
   Added Note: When I got a new oven these baked in only 12-15 minutes, so watch your eggs! Your oven make bake them faster than 20 minutes.

Clean-Eating Power Protein Bars

Recipe from Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Diet Cookbook

Do not let the long list of ingredients intimidate you! This recipe is super easy and the end result is worth the 30 minute wait! (yes, total prep and bake time is only 30 minutes!)

Ingredients

• 1 C protein (I used Beverly International Ultimate Muscle in Cookies & Creme)
• 1/2 C quinoa flout or flour of your choice – amaranth, millet, spelt, kamut (I used 100% organic spelt)
• 2 C rolled oats (not instant) (but I accidentally used my quick oats instead of my steel cut rolled…and it turned out fine)
• 1/2 C oat bran
• 1/2 C coarsely chopped flax seed (I didnt bother, left the flax seed whole)
• 1/2 C wheat germ
• 1 tsp sea salt (don’t skimp on this – sea salt provides valuable minerals and elements)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 C Sucanat or agave nectar or organic honey
• 1 C dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups yogurt cheese (I cheated, used a blend of light cream cheese and fat free vanilla yogurt)
• 1/4 C avocado oil, canola oil or healthy oil of your choice (I used avocado oil)
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp best-quality vanilla
• Eat Clean Cooking Spray (olive oil in a spritz bottle)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Coat a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray
2. In a large mixing bowl combine protein powder, clour, oats, oat bran, flax seed, wheat germ, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Sucanat or other sweetner.  Stir in broken chocolate pieces.
3. In another bowl mix the yogurt cheese, oils, and vanilla. Mix well. Add the yogurt cheese mixture to the dry ingredients. Use your clean bare hands to combine these well.  Tosca mentions to coat your hands in olive oil to help prevent sticking (I DEF DO THIS)
4. Place mixture in prepared pan.  Press it down and even out the top. Bake on middle rack in oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.
5. Let cool and cut the dough into bars.  Place these bars on a cookie sheet lined with Silpat and bake again for another 15 minutes. (If you don’t have a Silpat, don’t sweat it, I used parchment or foil. these did not stick, so it was no big deal).  Then remove from heat.
6. Transfer to wire cooling rack and let cool.  Place in airtight container and store in refrigerator.  (I individually wrapped these in plastic wrap, then put them in a ziploc for the freezer, but they were eaten in 2 days, so never made it to the freezer 🙂 )

 

Nutritional Value Per Serving:
Calories: 290 | Calories from Fat: 73 | Protein: 15g | Carbs 40g
Dietary Fiber: 5g | Sugars: 11g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 80mg

 
Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein for 31g:
Dietary Fiber: 1g | Sugars: 1g | Protein: 21g

Almond Joy Oatmeal

This recipe is inspired by Almond Joy Oats – AubrieRicheson.com

image from healthyindulgences.blogspot.com

On task for eating clean, here is another protein oatmeal recipe.

• 1/2 cup raw oats, cooked according to package
• 1 scoop dark or milk chocolate protein powder
• 1 tsp coconut flavor extract or sugar free coconut coffee-flavoring liquid or measure to taste
• 1/2 tsp almond extract  or measure to taste

Stir the ingredients into the hot cooked oatmeal and enjoy!

TIP: Now is not the time to go OCD on the stirring or else the oatmeal could get very tacky and cold.

Related Articles

• Vanilla Cupcake Oatmeal (thefaithkeith.wordpress.com)
• Hawaiian Dream Protein Oatmeal (thefaithkeith.wordpress.com)

Hawaiian Dream Protein Oatmeal

Image from coconutgirlwireless.wordpress.com

On task for eating clean, here is another protein oatmeal recipe.

• 1/2 cup raw oats, cooked according to package
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp sugar free coconut flavor extract or sugar free coconut coffee-flavoring liquid
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

 

Stir the ingredients into the hot cooked oatmeal and enjoy!

TIP: Now is not the time to go OCD on the stirring or else the oatmeal could get very tacky and cold. 🙂

Related Articles

• Vanilla Cupcake Oatmeal (thefaithkeith.wordpress.com)
• Coffee Lovers: The Ultimate Coconut Mocha Recipe (coconutgirlwireless.wordpress.com)
• Healthy Oatmeal Throwdown: Fast Food vs. Homemade (blisstree.com)

Vanilla Cupcake Oatmeal

Easy power packed oatmeal.

1 cup raw oats or quick oats
1 scoop vanilla whey or soy protein (I like GNC pro whey, EAS whey, or Beverly Int’l)

Follow the package instructions to cook the oatmeal with desired amount of water. Once cooked, stir in the protein till blended. TIP: Don’t spend a ton of time stirring, you will end up cooling the oatmeal down and it will become dense, sticky and cold.

Pumpkin Protein Muffins with Protein Frosting

These are delicious. I made these with regular sugar the first time; next time I may experiment with 50%splenda + 50%regular. Note: Splenda causes baked goods to be a bit more flat.

2 of these babies is about the equivalent to a protein bar. I ate 2 about 30 minutes before a long run and it was awesome.

Ingredients
2 C all purpose flour (wheat flour makes these very dense, so if you want to use wheat, do half wheat half white)
1/2C vanilla protein powder
1/4C sugar
2t baking powder
1t salt
1t cinnamon
1/2t nutmeg
1/2t allspice
1/4t cloves
15 oz can of pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2C veg. oil
nonstick cooking spray

Protein Frosting
1/2C vanilla protein powder
1/2C powdered sugar
1/2t vanilla extract
3-4T fat-free milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, protein powder, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs and oil.
3. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Divide batter into muffin cups and bake 15-20 minutes, then remove muffins and arrange on a wire rack to cool. Serve with protein frosting or fat-free cream cheese.
5. For frosting, mix protein powder and powdered sugar. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk; beat until smooth. Add milk until smooth. Spread evenly on muffins.

Nutritional Information
(one muffin with frosting)
223 calories, 12g protein, 19g carbs, 11g fat, 1g fiber, 18g sugar, 125mg sodium

These are obviously high fat and sugar with this original recipe, so not a good idea to make this a regular item in your diet, but its a nice change of pace and two will keep me full for 2-3 hours.

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 servings

3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (1-pound) loaf purchased frozen white bread dough, thawed (recommended: Bridgeford)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon buttermilk

Brush 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. Mix the nuts, brown
sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in a small bowl. Roll out the thawed dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush 1 tablespoon of butter over the dough. Sprinkle the nut mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the top and bottom sides. Starting at 1 long side, roll up the dough jelly-roll style, forming a log. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut the log into 9 equal pieces. Arrange the rolls, cut side down, in the prepared baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm draft-free area until puffed, about 45 minutes. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
Bake the cinnamon rolls uncovered until the tops are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar, mascarpone cheese, and buttermilk in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.
Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the baked cinnamon rolls and then drizzle the cheese mixture over top.
Serve warm.

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