Tag Archives: GF

protein shakes, recipe, vegetables

“Beet” the heat smoothie recipe

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Today’s green smoothie is a simple twist on the basic recipe from yesterday. Instead of using a whole green apple, use half and replace the other half with a few slices of frozen beets.

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1. In a blender, combine 1/2 green apple, 1-2 cups fresh spinach, 3-4 slices frozen beets, 1 cup water, splash of lemon juice, and several ice cubes.

2. Begin on low speed and increase to high speed. Whirl until smooth. Allow the smoothie to settle for a minute if you prefer it to separate.

This is what it looks like well blended:

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This is what it looks like after settling (even yummier!):

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What’s your favorite “green” smoothie recipe?

protein, recipe

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Mash Recipe

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My coworker made the most amazing sugar detox meal! I’m pretty excited to share this genius idea of hers.

Over the weekend, she went out to Cheesecake Factory and really wanted to try the shepherd’s pie, but decided to make her own healthy version at home. Here’s the result!

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This dish is so good, I could eat it every day! Thanks for letting me have some and for sharing the recipe:

1. For the cauliflower mash: steam cauliflower florets until tender. Mash them with 1/4 cup of cream and butter to taste. Add a bit of shredded mozzarella and one egg to get the mixture to bind. Season with a bit of garlic.

2. For the base: brown 1 lb of ground turkey in a pan. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. In a separate pan, sauté shredded carrots, shredded green beans, shredded onions, and shredded tomatoes. All this shredding can be done in a food processor! Combine the turkey and veggies in a casserole dish.

3. Top the meat and veggie mixture with cauliflower mash and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Broil to get the cheese golden and bubbly for the final 2-3 minutes.

Can’t wait to make this! It’s so satisfying and you won’t even miss the potatoes.

recipe, snacks

Spiced Almonds

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Try these curry spiced almonds for a flavorful and satisfying snack.

I used Calcutta Heat Curry Seasoning, but you can try your own flavor combination. Next time I’ll try smoked paprika, Frank’s Red Hot, or cinnamon.

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1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Toss 2 cups of almonds with 1 egg white or 2 tbs olive oil in a mixing bowl. Add seasoning (about 2 tbs or to taste) and stir to coat.

3. Spread almonds in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 mins, stir around, and bake for up to 10 mins more.

These can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Measure out 1/4 cup (or 28 grams) for a snack. Enjoy!

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breakfast, recipe

Is paleo bread any good? Breakfast sandwich

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Breakfast isn’t complete without some protein! Lately I’ve been really into breakfast sandwiches, so the thought of giving up bread for this sugar detox made me sad. I tried to think of what I could use as the base for my egg sandwiches. Eggplant and zucchini didn’t sound too good to me… But then I found THIS at Whole Foods over the weekend!

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Whaaaaat?? Bread made of coconut and almonds? With only 60 calories per slice, 5 g fiber, and 7 g protein? It sounded too good to be true. To be honest, I was nervous about how the taste and texture would be. The price tag ($10.99 for 16 slices) made this purchase a gamble.

Luckily, I’m not at all disappointed! This bread is soft, dense, and barely different in flavor from the sunflower bread I usually use.

Here’s how to make my 5 minute breakfast sandwich:

1. Place 1 slice of paleo bread topped with 1 slice pepper jack cheese in the toaster oven.

1. While the bread is toasting, scramble 1 egg or 1/4 cup egg whites in a nonstick pan. On the same pan, sizzle some turkey breast or ham until golden. You could add some spinach, tomato, or onions at this point, but I don’t like my breakfast sandwiches to taste too healthy ;)

3. Your bread should be done at about the same time as the egg and meat (and veggies). Take the bread out of the toaster and top the bubbly cheese with everything on the pan.

4. If you like things hot, add a few drops of hot sauce… Or sriracha. I was a little broken hearted to see that the second ingredient in sriracha is sugar.. So don’t use this if you’re strictly sugar detoxing :( Otherwise, sriracha is amazing on everything!

Enjoy this sandwich hot and gooey with my basic green juice on the side!

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protein shakes, recipe, vegetables

Green juice for beginners

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Ok, let’s get started with a ridiculously easy recipe. Even if you’re not doing a sugar detox, you may be curious about green smoothies and juices. They are probably the easiest way to pack some greens into your day! Here’s the most basic recipe for a rushed morning:

1. Cut a green apple into quarters.

2. Toss the apple, a handful of spinach, cup of water, splash of lemon juice, a d cup of ice into a blender.

3. Start on a low setting and quickly turn it to max speed. Blend for about 60 seconds or until the spinach and apple are completely liquefied and frothy.

This makes one MASSIVE green juice coming in at about 100 calories (depending on size of apple.) Enjoy!!

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food

21 Day Sugar Detox

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A few of my coworkers and I have decided to take a 21 day sugar detox challenge to crush intense cravings and start eating more cleanly.

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The manual is huge, but the whole thing is really pretty simple. I can eat lots of vegetables, animal and plant proteins (but nothing too processed), and full fat dairy (to prevent blood sugar spikes from low fat dairy). There are no sugars or sweeteners allowed, with the exception of one green apple or one green tipped banana per day. No fruit!?

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Believe me, I’m questioning this food list like crazy. For example, why can I have apples and bananas when other fruits, like raspberries, cranberries, and papaya are lower in sugar?? And why can I have almonds but not cashews or peanuts? I think if it was just me doing this challenge alone, I would tweak it a bit. For the sake of fairness to my coworkers, I’ll just stick to the list. It’s only 21 days after all!

I’ll be posting recipes and food prep tips- feel free to jump in with us on this challenge! I’m starting my morning with some unsweetened coffee and organic whole milk. Yuck! Hopefully my taste buds will adapt.

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recipe, treats

Healthy No-Bake Cheesecake Recipe

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I woke up this morning wondering, “what would happen if I combined Greek yogurt with sugar-free cheesecake pudding mix?” Curious, and willing to throw away the mess if it didn’t turn out well, I whipped it up in the stand mixer:

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Ummm… Yeah, how could I NOT turn that into a cheesecake?? So here’s how it went:

for the crust:
1c old fashioned oats, ground up in magic bullet
1c almond meal (Trader Joe’s)
1/4c almond milk
1-2 tbs coconut oil (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form a crust out of the mixture in a cake pan.

2. Bake for 10-15 mins, until fragrant and golden.

3. Cool for at least 15 mins before filling.

for the filling:
3 cups plain fat free Greek yogurt
1 small package sugar free cheesecake pudding mix
1-2 packets stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat all ingredients in a stand mixer until well combined. Refrigerate until crust is ready.

2. Fill the crust with the Greek yogurt mixture. Refrigerate for at least 10 mins. Serve with blueberry sauce or choice of topping.

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Wow! Healthy enough to have for breakfast! Makes 12 servings. See the comparison between Maggiano’s New York Cheesecake and this delightful creamy version:

before

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after

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recipe, treats

Amazing Protein Cheesecake Recipe

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Today at RAW fitness I was challenged to create a healthy, high protein dessert. I came home knowing exactly what I wanted to create- cheesecake!!

I browsed Pinterest for inspiration and found this blog post as a good base! BUT… Wheat gives me an upset stomach so I didn’t want to use graham crackers. And I was too lazy to go shopping for cream cheese and cottage cheese. Instead, I decided to make a European-style fluffy cheesecake with what I had on hand. European cheesecakes are a little different from New York cheesecakes because they are fluffy and light rather than dense and creamy.

Here’s what you need:

For the crust:
1/2 c old fashioned oats, ground in a blender
1/2 c almond meal (Trader Joe’s)
1 packet stevia (or 8 drops liquid stevia)
About 3 tbs almond milk

For the filling:
1c fat free ricotta cheese
2/3 c fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
6 tbs liquid egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 packets stevia (or liquid stevia)
1 scoop vanilla whey protein isolate
1tsp xanthan gum (to thicken batter- may substitute corn starch)

do this:

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg. Make crust by combining all ingredients until crumbly. Disperse evenly among 12-14 muffin tin spots. I used 1 muffin pan and 2 ramekins. Bake for 10 mins.

2. While crusts are baking, make the filling in a stand mixer by adding one ingredient at a time on low speed. At the end, crank up the speed to make the batter light and airy.

3. Remove crusts from the oven. Divide the batter evenly almond the muffin tins.

4. Lower the temp to 300 deg and bake the cheesecakes for 30 mins. Watch them expectantly :)

5. While they are baking, whip up an easy blueberry topping by microwaving 1 c frozen blueberries with a bit of stevia and lemon juice. You can thicken it with a pinch or two of cornstarch.

6. Remove cheesecakes from the oven and transfer to a plate. Allow the cheesecakes to cool for 15 mins before placing in the fridge to cool for several hours. If you’re impatient like me, serve them lukewarm with blueberry topping immediately! YUM!!

nutrition:
4 cheesecakes (without toppings):
304 calories
28.6g protein
20 g carbs
3 g fiber
11 g fat

Can’t wait to try a lemon version of these! Hope you enjoy and share!

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recipe, treats

Chickpea chocolate chip cookies

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These are too good to keep to myself!

Ingredients:
-1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-1/2 cup almond butter (or cashew butter)
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp baking powder
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Purée chickpeas in a blender (magic bullet) until smooth. Add all ingredients (except chocolate chips) and stir to thoroughly combine. **i used the blender to combine everything, but it gets very sticky and the blades struggle with it.
3. Drop cookie batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper by the spoonful. Stick some chocolate chips in ’em.
4. Bake for 15-20 mins until chocolate chips start to melt and the cookies are golden.
5. Allow to cool, then prepare to be amazed!

These are REALLY tasty! Try them, you won’t regret it!

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Recipe adapted from here