Pumpkin Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

Winter may be around the corner, but I'm trying to hang on to fall for as long as a can! In my opinion, the combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, and peanut butter makes for the ultimate taste of fall. Most pumpkin-flavored treats are unhealthy and calorie-rich, but this healthy recipe allows you to enjoy your "all pumpkin everything" diet without the guilt. Made with whey protein powder, these pumpkin peanut butter cookies are great for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack.

Ingredients:
-1.5 scoops peanut butter whey protein powder (or vanilla) -- I used Cellucor Peanut Butter Marshmallow
-1/3 cup baking stevia, coconut sugar, or other granulated sweetener (I used a combo of both)
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 tablespoon pumpkin spice
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-pinch of Himalayan pink salt
-2/3 cup pumpkin puree
-1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter
-1 egg, beaten
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional but highly recommended!)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium-sized bowl, mix all dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients until smooth. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined, and then mix in the rest of the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop the batter using a cookie scoop or drop using a tablespoon onto the baking sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! The recipe should make about 18 cookies.

Raw Mango Coconut Bites

When the weather gets warmer, I'm always craving a cold treat to cool off. I love making smoothies or anything that has fruit because in my opinion, there's nothing more refreshing than that! I went to Trader Joe's the other day and stocked up on a bunch of frozen fruit, which called for some experimenting. I was a little skeptical about trying a mango and coconut combination, but it turns out they actually go so well together. With only a few natural ingredients and no added-sugar, these mango coconut bites are the perfect healthy and refreshing summer snack.

Ingredients

Coconut Crust:

-1/2 cup almond flour

-1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

-7-8 pitted Medjool dates

-1 tbsp coconut oil

-1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mango Layer:
-2 cups frozen mango cubes, slightly thawed (or fresh mango)

-2 tbsp coconut oil

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

-optional topping: unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions: Combine all ingredients for the crust in a food processor and blend until a slightly sticky dough forms. Press the dough into the cups of a muffin pan, about 1/4 of the way up (mine evenly distributed into 9 cups). Put that in the fridge while you make the mango layer. Combine all of the ingredients for this layer into the food processor and blend until a smooth mixture forms. Take the muffin pan out of the fridge and distribute the mango mixture among each muffin cup, smoothing the top with your finger or a spoon. Top with a little bit of shredded coconut if desired, and put in the freezer until firm. I like to let them thaw on the counter for a few minutes before I eat them.

Healthy Gingerbread Cookies

Whenever I'm really stressed out from school, I always find myself in the kitchen. Besides working out, baking is the one thing that always makes me feel better. It makes no sense because I'm putting off all the work I have to do, which will just make me even more stressed out, but taking a break never hurts! So tonight is one of those nights--I'm just a few days away from being done with my first semester of grad school, so naturally instead of working on the paper worth 30% of my grade, I baked some cookies. At midnight...on a Saturday night. Totally normal. They're similar to my healthy snickerdoodle cookies recipe, but in the spirit of Christmas being 2 weeks away, I came up with a gingerbread version. I seriously can't get enough of gingerbread lately! Just like my other cookies, these are paleo, vegan, and gluten-free.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/4 cup baking stevia (or honey or agave)
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or milk of choice
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp each of nutmeg and ground cloves (I didn't measure any of the spices, this is just a guess)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine almond flour, stevia, baking soda, spices and sea salt in one mixing bowl. Mix the coconut oil, milk, and molasses in a separate bowl. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Form the dough into balls about 1 tbsp big. Then place on the baking sheet. Flatten each dough ball slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven, so let them cool for a while before transferring them from the baking sheet. Enjoy!

Healthy Banana Bread

When I was little, banana bread was probably one of my most favorite things that my mom used to bake. When I got older and started to eat healthier, I tried to recreate her banana bread recipe so many times. I was determined to make one that still had the rich flavor and moist texture of her banana bread, but with some healthy swaps for the butter, sugar, and flour. I can't tell you how many failed attempts I had trying to create the perfect recipe, but I finally nailed it! My mom even approved :) 

Compared to most banana bread recipes, this is lower in calories and carbs, and higher in protein. It's also grain-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and paleo friendly.

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup mashed banana (~2 bananas, make sure they're very ripe)

-1 cup almond meal

-1/4 cup coconut flour

-1/4 cup baking stevia (or honey or agave)

-2 eggs (room temp is best)

-2 tbsp melted coconut oil

-1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

-1 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet in another. Then pour wet into dry. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper. Pour in the batter and make sure it's evenly distributed in the pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Let it cool before cutting into slices.

 

It was so good that I even had it for dessert one night! Topped with sugar-free vanilla coconut milk ice cream and some peanut butter :) Also perfect for breakfast or a mid-day snack!

Single Serving Gingerbread Cake

Christmas is a little over a month away and it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but as soon as Halloween passed I was ready to get into the holiday spirit! As much as I love fall flavors like pumpkin and maple, my absolute favorite flavors have to be sweet holiday flavors like gingerbread and sugar cookie. It's so tempting to buy all the holiday goodies that I see at Target and the grocery store but so far I've resisted! It's not really a problem anymore because this single-serving gingerbread cake is sweet, moist, and the best part...healthy! I can easily have something gingerbread-flavored whenever I have a craving for it without the calories and sugar that you get from the baked goods at the store. This recipe is also very versatile! Using different spices and extracts can change the flavor to pretty much anything that you're in the mood for! I'll include a variation to make a chocolate chip cookie cake because that's another one of my favorites.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp oat flour
1.5 tbsp plain greek yogurt
1.5 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1.5 tbsp egg whites
1-2 packets stevia
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp molasses (I use blackstrap)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger (or more but a lot of ginger is too spicy for me)

*For chocolate chip cookie cake, omit molasses, cinnamon, and ginger. Add 1/4 tsp butter extract and 1 tsp chocolate chips/dark chocolate chips/carob chips etc.
**This recipe is also gluten-free if you use gluten-free oat flour, like I do. I also like to use Enjoy Life chocolate chips, which are allergen-friendly.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Spray a mini-loaf pan or ramekin with non-stick cooking spray, and pour in the mixture. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Top with greek yogurt "frosting," peanut butter, anything you'd like!




Approximate Nutrition Information (for gingerbread version): 142 calories, 2g fat, 21g carb, 2g fiber, 9g protein

Healthy Snickerdoodle Cookies

So I'm not going to lie, I've actually never had a real snickerdoodle cookie before! So I'm not exactly sure what they taste like. When I made this recipe, I actually didn't really have a flavor in mind. After I tasted them, I decided that they must be snickerdoodle because they had a sweet, buttery taste and when I typed snickerdoodle into google that's how it's described..haha. So if anyone ends up making these, let me know if I was right! Either way, they're delicious. They're also paleo, vegan, and gluten-free. There's no eggs, no dairy, and no grains, so they're very allergen-friendly!

Ingredients:
1 cup cashew flour (you can also grind up cashews in a food processor, or try almond flour)
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/4 cup baking stevia (or sweetener of choice)
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter extract (use more vanilla extract if you don't have this, but I highly recommend using it!)
pinch of sea salt
cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine cashew flour, stevia, baking soda, and sea salt in one mixing bowl. Mix the coconut oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla extract, and butter extract in a separate bowl. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Form the dough into balls about 1 tbsp big, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Then place on the baking sheet. Flatten each dough ball slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven, so let them cool for a while before transferring them from the baking sheet. They end up being soft on the inside, and firm on the outside!

Miracle Mac 'N Cheese

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on Miracle Noodles, so I finally decided to try them and see for myself! Miracle Noodles, aka shirataki noodles, are calorie, gluten, and soy-free.  They are made of an indigestible fiber called glucomannan, so they are edible and leave you feeling full.  They're tasteless, but take the taste of whatever sauce you cook them in.  Most people use them in asian noodle dishes, but I wanted to try to recreate another comfort food--mac n cheese! I was never a fan of mac 'n cheese when I was younger (weird I know...I was extremely picky!), but I figured I'd give a homemade and healthified version a shot.  It turned out delicious!! Something I'll definitely eat all the time because it's quick and easy to make. I used low-fat cottage cheese, which I use in a lot of my recipes because it's high in casein protein (a slow-releasing protein), nutritional yeast and unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which gives a cheesy flavor without using cheese, butter, and milk. I also used Al Fresco's Chicken Sausage, hardboiled egg whites, and vegetables for extra protein and nutrients but this is optional/add whatever you'd like!

Ingredients (makes 1 serving)
1 package Miracle Noodles
2 tbs low-fat cottage cheese (I used lactaid because dairy tends to bother my stomach, still tastes good!)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1/4 tsp minced garlic
Chicken Sausage
2 Hardboiled Egg Whites, already made & chopped
Handful of Baby Spinach
1/4 Avocado, chopped
Red Bell Pepper, chopped
Mrs. Dash

Directions: Cook Miracle Noodles according to the directions on the package.  Beware--they have a fishy odor but I promise they don't taste like it! Coat a pan with non-stick cooking spray and set to medium heat.  While that's heating up, combine cottage cheese, nutritional yeast, almond milk, and minced garlic, and either mix it in a food processor or by hand.  Set that aside and cut up the chicken sausage into pieces.  Put the chicken sausage in the pan when it's hot, sprinkle Mrs. Dash, and cover but move it around occasionally with a spatula. When it starts to brown slightly (it shouldn't take long since it's pre-cooked), uncover and add any vegetables such as spinach and red pepper (I didn't add the avocado). Then after 1-2 minutes add the miracle noodles to the pan and mix everything around with a spatula for another minute or so.  Pour into a bowl, add the avocado and hardboiled egg whites if you're using them, and mix in the sauce.

 

Cauliflower Bun Chicken Sliders

Trade in your high calorie, high carb bread burger buns for low calorie, low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free cauliflower buns! These sliders were not only clean and healthy, but they were delicious and so cute too!  I made this dairy-free by using a vegan, dairy-free cheese because dairy doesn't really agree with me, but you can definitely use any low-fat cheese of your choice in place of the cheese I used.  

Ingredients:

-1 cup of cauliflower, riced

-2 egg whites

-2 tbsp daiya cheddar cheese (this cheese is vegan friendly...it's dairy, gluten, and soy-free and still tastes so good!)

-1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

-Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb and Italian Seasonings (or you can use garlic powder, regular italian seasoning, salt & pepper if you'd like)

-Any chicken of choice, already made. I always have extra lean chicken already made from meal prep

-2 leaves of baby spinach

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.  To rice the cauliflower, I use my food processor or you can use a blender.  Combine the riced cauliflower, egg whites, cheese, nutritional yeast, and seasonings in a bowl (I don't usually measure seasoning I kind of just eyeball it...but probably 1/2 tsp each) and mix.  Take a muffin pan and spray 2 of the muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.  Divide the mixture into 2 portions and pour into each muffin cup.  Cook for 15 minutes, then broil for 4-5 minutes.  Let cool, then cut the two "muffins" in half, creating a top bun and bottom bun for each.  Heat up your chicken and put it on the bun, then add the spinach.

This makes two sliders, so feel free to double the recipe or adjust it to make more! For 2 sliders (just the buns...with the chicken it varies depending on what you used) it's 135 calories, 3g fat, 8g carbs, 2g fiber, 12.5g protein.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Ingredients:
1 avacado, ripe and soft
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cut the avocado in half, and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh, and add this and the remaining ingredients together into a blender (magic bullet works).  Blend until smooth.  Add more agave if you'd like the pudding sweeter, and almond milk if you'd like it looser.
*If you don't have agave, you can use maple syrup.

Makes 1-2 servings.

Low Carb Gluten Free Cake Bars

We made these cake bars in my Food Service Management class the other day (best class ever, legit all we do is make a ton of food and eat all of it!) I'm not a huge fan of desserts, but MAN these were delicious!!! I know there is heavy cream still in the frosting, so I'm going to try to find a good substitute for it when I make them at home but for now here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
2 cups hazelnut flour
1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 tablespoons margarine, softened
24 packets truvia
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting-
6 tablespoons margarine, softened
monk fruit packets to taste (nectresse)
3 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, oat flour, baking powder and salt.  In a large bowl, beat butter and truvia until creamy.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract, and then beat in almond and hazelnut flour mixture until dough comes together.  Press dough firmly into prepared pan and smooth top with a flat-bottomed glass. Bake 30 minutes, until just golden brown around the edges and slightly more firm to the touch.  Remove and let cool in pan.

For the frosting:
Beat together butter and 10 packets of monk fruit.
Add cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.  Stir in vanilla. Taste, and if not sweet enough, add more monk fruit packets until desired sweetness is reached.  Spread onto cooled bars.
**We had pureed beets lying around from another recipe and we added a little bit to the frosting, and it tasted so good, but not everyone has pureed beets lying around haha.