Protein Pancakes! A Guiltless Dessert.

As you have probably discovered, I have a massive sweet tooth. I would eat dessert for every meal if it was healthy to do so. So tonight I decided to try and master a healthy pancake! This also doubles as a great breakfast - BONUS!
I invented this recipe, and it's super easy, quick, and healthy.

To make 3 pancakes, all you need is:

- 2 tbsp eggwhites

- 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla)

- 1 tbsp ground flax seed

- cinnamon to taste

- cooking spray

All you need to do is:

1. Spray the pan

2. Whisk together all the other ingredients in a bowl.

3. Divide the batch into 3, and pour each one onto the pan individually.

4. Brown one side, flip, and brown the other.

5. Top with whatever you'd like. You could use peanut butter, Nutella, chocolate sauce, jam, chocolate chips, etc. I tried to keep it healthy, and used frozen raspberries and yogurt. You could also cook things into the pancakes (such as blueberries or chocolate chips) by adding them into the mixture in Step 2.

These pancakes make a wonderful and nutritious dessert! Make 'em for breakfast too, if you'd like!

NUTRITION INFO (pancakes without toppings):
210 calories, 4g of fat, 12g of carbs, 31g of protein.

Shrimp Spaghetti Squash

I LOVE pasta, but I'm not a huge fan of the carbs that come along with it. So I tried to make a mock pasta. I know, I know - nothing's as good as the real thing. But this imitation is pretty damn good, especially once you toss it in a lovely HEALTHY alfredo sauce. So anyways, what did I use as replacement noodles? Spaghetti squash, carrots, and zucchini.

Ingredients (makes 2 dishes):
- 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed
- 2 zucchini, shredded with a vegetable peeler
- 2 carrots, shredded with a vegetable peeler
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 2 cups baby shrimp
- 2 tbsp herb & garlic cream cheese
- 2 tbsp light cream cheese
- 2 tbsp no fat sour cream
- 1 clove garlic, minced


What to do:
1. Set the oven to about 375. Put the squash halves in, skin side down. Let them bake for about 40 minutes, or until soft.
2. Spray a frying pan, and put in the shredded carrot, zucchini, and mushrooms.
3. Prepare the shrimp according to the package.
4. Mix together the veggies and shrimp, cook over medium heat.
5. Mix the cream cheeses, sour cream, and garlic in with the veggies/shrimp. You can add more or less cream cheese/sour cream depending on how you like your sauce.


It should look something like this at this point:

6. Take out the squash, and carefully (it's hot!) scrape the insides with a fork. You'll see why it's called a spaghetti squash - the inside pulls apart in strings, making it looks like spaghetti.

7. Scoop out as much as you can, and add it to the other veggies/shrimp in the pan.

8. Let it cook for another few minutes.

9. Make sure your squash skins are cooled, and scoop the "noodles" into the squash skin halves.

10. Eat up, and enjoy!

Although this dish is almost entirely vegetables, it is pretty filling. The protein from the shrimp adds some more substance, and the alfredo sauce adds some heaviness as well. The best part about this noodle dish is that it doesn't leave you feeling bloated and on a carb overload like most pastas do.

So try it out while squashes are still in season! It's a dish you won't want to miss!

Protein Power

Hopefully it's evident that I love baking, and try to make it as healthy and nutritious as possible!
I finally tried to make protein-packed baked treats! I made 2 different types: Chocolate Whey Protein Squares and Chickpea Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies.


Here they are:

Chocolate Whey Protein Cookies
Ingredients:
-6 egg whites (or 12 tbsp of egg white substitute)
- 1 3/4 cup oatmeal
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup applesauce 
- 4 scoops whey protein powder (I used chocolate and cookies n cream)
- cinnamon to taste





What to do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350

2. Mix the apple sauce and eggwhites together.

3. Mix together the remaining ingredients.

4. Combine the 2 mixtures, and mix well.

5. Spread the mixture in a 9x9 baking dish, and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.

6. Take it out, and let them cool.

7. Cut it into squares (I cut them into 16 pieces).

8. Eat up, and enjoy!

*Note: I will add that these did not turn out as moist as most brownies/cookies. However, they are still delicious!

NUTRITION INFO (per square): 90 calories, 1.4g of fat, 9.5g of carbs, 8.8g of protein (AMAZING)

Chickpea Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients (Makes 34 cookies):

- 2 scoops Whey protein powder

- 1.5 cup chickpeas*

- 1/2 cup peanut butter

- cinnamon to taste

- 1/2 cup flax seed meal** (ground flax seed)

- 1/4 cup egg whites

- 1/4 cup soy***

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2. Puree the chickpeas. You may want to add water or soy milk into the blender to provide a liquid. Or use some of the chickpea liquid from the can.

3. Mix the puree with the egg whites and soy milk

4. Mix the dry ingredients together separately.

5. Mix the 2 mixtures together.

6. Scoop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a cookie sheet.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let 'em cool, and enjoy!

*The reason I decided to use chickpeas is because it's a great flour substitute! It's often used in gluten-free recipes. Chickpeas are also a great source of fibre and protein - making these cookies quite healthy!

** Flax seed meal is another alternative to flour. Flax seed is also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and fibre. It's nutty taste mixes well with the peanut butter, making this recipe even more delicious!

***Of course you can use skim or 1% milk instead of soy milk. Although higher in fat, soy milk is loaded with protein and is preferable for anti-dairy people.

NUTRITION INFO (per 1 cookie): 38 calories, 1.4g of fat, 3.6g of carbs, 3g of protein