Blueberry Protein Pancakes

A few weeks ago Kev picked a bunch of blueberries off our bush. One of the big things I'll miss about our house is the 12 ft tall and 3x as wide blueberry bush in the back yard. Damn I love that blueberry bush. We didn't even know it was there until the back door neighbors told us about it, Every year it's a battle to get the blueberries before the birds and deer but when we do, it's soooo worth it.

The blueberries were staring at me and I decided that it would be awesome to make some protein pancakes. I went to Pinterest for some inspiration and with a little bit of tweaking, came up with a recipe that I think is pretty awesome.

Blueberry Protein Muffins

2 Scoops of vanilla Protein Powder (I use Plant Fusion)

2/3 Cup Cottage Cheese

2 Large eggs

1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (I use Trader Joe's brand)

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup blueberries

Mix it all up in the blender (except the berries) until the cottage cheese chunks are gone, I have a Ninja blender and it's the bomb. Fold in the blueberries and cook them on a griddle with a little bit of coconut oil. I made 13 small pancakes out of this.

6 Protein, 2 Fat and 3 Carbs. Not too shabby!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Mug Cake

A few weeks ago I got an email from BzzAgent asking if I'd be interested in reviewing some products from EAS. Since I always love me a good protein powder, I said yes! 

While I received these products for free, all the opinions are my own.

I as really excited when my box came in the mail, I was impressed buy the variety of products and the fun shaker bottle. It;s purple and I like purple. I received several packets of the protein powder and 2 of Lean 15 protein bars.

I immediately busted into the protein bars because chocolate and peanut butter. Yum...

The main ingredient is soy protein and since soy gives me an upset stomach, I only had 1 bite. Oh my, that one bite was ridiculous. 

Did you ever have a Whatchamacallit? If not, you should because they are AMAZING and this protein bar tastes just.like.them. The only thing missing is the caramel. But I can live without the caramel. It was really tasty and I gave the rest to Kev. He loved them too and used the other bar to refuel after a tennis match.

I wanted to do something a little different with the protein powder and decided to use it in my go-to late night snack, a protein mug cake.

The ingredients: 1 serving of protein powder, cocoa powder, PB2, Egg Whites, Almond Milk and Baking Soda (unpictured)

Dump the protein powder in a good sized mug, add 1 tablespoon of cocoa and one tablespoon of PB2, and 1/4 tsp of baking soda.

Then the wet, 3 tablespoons of egg whites, and enough almond milk to mix it into a cake-like batter. It's about 2 tablespoons but add more if needed.

Mix it all up and put in the microwave for 1 minute, You'll probably need to cook it a little longer but do it in 10 second increments. It can go from tasty to overcooked in a few seconds.

There's no way to take a good picture of a mug cake but trust me when I tell you that you have to make this. You can also add a dollop of peanut butter on top for added yum and protein.

With the EAS protein clocking in at 25 grams, the eggs at 5 and some in the PB2 this little treat will only cost you less than 200 calories but you gain 32ish grams of protein. AND it's tasty as can be.

Really, you need to make this as soon as possible,

Banana Protein Muffins

After nearly a month of eating all the carbs it's time to get back on the wagon, Thankfully I have plenty of cute skirts and to tide me over until I'm happy with my pants again. I digress but why do we need to even wear pants? Seriously I know that wearing pants was part of the women's rights movement and totally necessary to bring us out of the kitchen. But really, I think those ladies were on to something. Dresses are so much more comfortable than pants and everyone thinks you're so much more dressed up than usual.

When I put on a dress Kev feel like he has to wear a suit. Nope, just don't wanna wear pants.

And at what age do zippers and buttons become a clothing requirement?? Kids clothes don't have zippers, just elastic and maybe a snap. It's all a conspiracy. #Ihatepants

After all the carbs, I need some protein. I know it's especially important after a work out but Like most people I struggle to eat enough protein in a day. I know that Greek yogurt is a great source of protein but the texture makes me want to vom. That's why I was super excited to find great  recipe that's packed with protein-y goodness.

I took this one and made a few tweaks.

It all started when I found THIS at GNC. Each scoop is about half a cup, 100 calories and 24 grams of protein. Awesome.

Banana Protein Muffins
1 cup mashed banana
3/4 cup egg whites
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I used Trader Joe's non-fat unflavored)
1/2 cup oat flour
1 scoop Quest Baking Mix
1 Scoop Plant Fusion Vanilla Bean Protein Powder (You could use the Quest and keep it all in the family)
4 packets Sugar in the Raw (I don't eat artificial sweeteners but you can use Stevia instead)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking Powder

Mix it all up and divide into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 18ish minutes or until they're done.

They're seriously delish and the stats are pretty good too. 76 cal per muffin, 1 fat, 10 carbs and 7 protein

If you see the Quest Baking mix out there, definitely grab one! I can't wait to experiment and try some new recipes!

Fun fact, while spell checking this post I misspelled seriously every time. I also over-use the word seriously.

Greek Yogurt, are you on the train or do you hate it too?

Muffins or cupcakes?

Linking up with the super awesome Rebecca for the first ever Thankful Thursday! I already wrote this post and it wasn't exactly thankful, but I guess I can be thankful that I found a way to eat Greek Yogurt that doesn't make me gag.

Any who, stop by and give her some love!

Sunday Spotlight - The Best Protein Powder

Happy Sunday!

I know I missed last week's Spotlight Sunday. Sorry about that. That's what happens when you put off cleaning for company until the very last minute. But hey, it was clean!

Today's spotlight is on my very most favorite protein powder, Plant Fusion. Plant Fusion has no idea that I exist, I don't get anything for this but it's just too good not to share.

I have tried a lot, seriously, over 25 different kinds of protein powder and I've haven't found one that I like nearly as much as Plant Fusion. I want a protein powder that has at least 20 grams of protein, isn't full of junk, no HFCS, no soy, mixes well and can be used in baking. Yes, I have a lot of requirements and Plant Fusion meets all of these.

The nutritional stats are pretty good too. Being that it's plant based, the protein comes from peas, artichokes and non-GMO quinoa and amaranth. I am by no means a vegetarian or trying to eat a plant based diet, this just happens to be and it's delicious. On a side note, I saw a beef based protein powder at the store and it really freaked me out. Ewwww.... powdered beef.

One of my favorite things about this powder is that it bakes really well. Protein muffins, pancakes, you name it. The vanilla can be used in just about everything.

I made this Banana Protein Muffin recipe a few weeks ago using Plant Fusion and it was fantastic. Only 66 calories per muffin and 6 grams of protein apiece. I ate these for breakfast with a tablespoon of peanut butter smeared between the two. It kept me full for quite a while which is always a plus in my book. 

I'd share a picture but I ate them all. 

I get my Plant Fusion at Vitamin World but I'm sure you can order it on-line. If you're looking for a new protein powder, definitely check out Plant Fusion!

Starting Over

As you know, three years ago, I lost 50 pounds following the Jenny Craig diet. It worked well for me and I saw results that I hadn't been able to achieve with other programs in the past. I've been able to maintain it (for the most part) since then.

In February of 2013, I was laid off from my job, thankfully I was able to find a new position in 4 months, but unfortunately, my eating suffered. The next thing I knew, I gained back about 12 pounds. I tried a few different things over the last year but those 12 pounds have stubbornly held on.

I do want to put out a disclaimer that I don't weigh myself anymore. The scale makes me crazy and I refuse to let a piece of metal dictate how I feel about myself. Instead I evaluate how my clothes fit. I know how they fit at my lowest and I know the weight I was when I bought most of them.

I've decided to change things up and try a new approach. I've read a lot about people counting their macros and using the IIFYM method (If it fits your macros). The idea is that there are 3 macro nutrients, carbs, protein and fat. Based on your activity level, age, and body fat you calculate the number of calories and the macro break down you need to lose weight.

I went to IIFYM.com to calculate what I need to eat.

I entered my age, height and weight, my level of exercise and my body fat. I guessed on my body fat the first time I did the calculation, then on Saturday when I went to the gym I asked to use their body fat calculator machine. Annnnd it was 32%. According to the site, I need to eat 1708 calories today to lose weight, 2135 to maintain and 2349 and up will cause me to gain weight.

I chose the IIFYM plan and opted for one of the highest protein and fat options. Reason being, I know that I have pretty results when I keep the carbs a little lower. You could go with less fat and get more carbs, it just depends on what works for you, as long as you meet your macro distribution.

It then spits out your results. Based on what I chose, I need to eat 87.4 grams of carbs, 144.5 protein and 86.7 fats while keeping my fiber between 34 - 43 grams.

A few key points to remember, you can't eat any calorie you've burned through exercise. The calculation already accounts for that. Also, if you're familiar with a low carb diet, you know that many people subtract the fiber from the carb counts. That doesn't work here. A carb is a carb. When Kev was helping me set my guidelines, he was used to to low carb rules, so we needed to up it a little.

I also went out and bought a new food scale and a measuring tape and I'm using myfitnesspal app to track my food. There's a a code that you can run on your PC that adapts the website to allow you to customize the macro percentages on the page and when you save the updates, it translates to the food app.

Here are my measurements as of 7/12/14:
Waist - 35
Hips - 42.2
Arm - 13
Thigh - 24.25
Body Fat - 32%

Me after a sweaty Body Pump class for the starting pictures.

Time to get started!

Have you ever counted macros?

How do you track your food?


Monday Link up!