Posts tagged ‘Protein Powder’

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October 16, 2011

Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

I’m a big breakfast person but lately my favorite meal of the day has been routinely consisting of two scrambled eggs and a banana smeared with natural, chunky peanut butter. Although delicious and healthy, I needed a little extra umph the other morning before a tough exam. Enter Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal (inspired by this recipe on Family Fresh Cooking). Believe me, it tastes just as good as it sounds. If not better. Between the whole grains and protein-boost, I had the energy I needed to power through midterm’s week. This recipe is a keeper, perfect for a crisp autumn morning!

Ingredients
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 scoop vanilla soy protein powder
1 cup soy milk (I used Silk Vanilla)
1 egg
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Dash of baking powder, salt and all spice
Sweetener of your choice (i.e. stevia, agave nectar, honey)
Optional toppings: bran cereal flakes, mashed ripe banana, pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, nut butter, etc.

To start, preheat the oven to 350°F and coat a small (8×8) baking pan with cooking spray. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (including the spices and sweetener of your choice).

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (whisk the egg before adding) before slowly folding in the oat blend.

Pop in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the oats are fully cooked. I sprinkled bran flakes on top for some more healthy carbs. Beware, the lovely aroma wafting from your oven is almost as amazing as my autumn must-have candle scent, Yankee Candle’s Frosted Pumpkin. Mmmm…

Spoon into a bowl and add in toppings of your choice. I garnished my oatmeal with an extra spoonful of pumpkin puree and some pumpkin seeds, as well as a mashed, ripe banana. Holy cow this was so delish. I can’t wait to make it again!
What’s your favorite pumpkin dish? 

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Breakfast | 1 Comment »

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September 16, 2011

If You Like Piña Coladas…

I had a little incident with a particularly sharp bread knife last Friday, resulting in a mighty kitchen battle wound. Three stitches later, the knuckle of my left pointer finger is on its way to recovery but preparing food and typing have been difficult, alongside showering, upper body weight training, etc., but I digress. This morning, after a nice 4-mile run, I decided to end my blogging funk by making a protein smoothie. With fall quickly encroaching on the last few days of nice weather, I decided to whip up (more like “blend” up) a concoction reminiscent of bikini tan lines, warm beaches and, my favorite piña coladas

Ingredients
8 oz. vanilla soy milk
2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
Heaping 1/2 cup of frozen pineapple
Handful of frozen blueberries
Flaxseed meal (optional)

Simply blend together the milk and protein powder before slowly adding in the frozen fruit. I added a sprinkle of flaxseed meal to thicken it up a bit. Too thick or sweet for your liking? Add in a little water!

This tropical beverage was the perfect breakfast and recovery drink. My Hamilton Beach Single-Serve Blender made it convenient for on-the-go sipping as I headed to my 9:30 class! Isn’t it just the cutest!? 

What is your favorite smoothie add-in?  

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Breakfast, Lunch, Snack | 1 Comment »

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May 15, 2011

Mocha Coffee Protein Balls

Good morning! Today’s post is a winner, let me tell you. Tasty, energizing, quick and easy! One of my favorite health/foodie blogs (The Fitnessista) makes protein balls for post-workouts out of nut butter and protein powder, among other fun mix-ins. What a wonderfully innovative idea, right? I decided to throw in a little twist of my own, taking Gina’s recipe up a notch with a jolt of coffee grounds. Mmmm! I had a ton of the ingredients already for my recipe flop the other day so I was good to go! FYI: The rainy weather made for bad photo lighting, so bare with me. Trust me, though, these little buggers are divine.

Ingredients
(Adapted from Chocolate Chip Protein Ballz)
2 tablespoons chocolate soy protein powder
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons coffee grounds
Handful of peanuts (or other nuts/dried fruit mix-ins you enjoy)
Agave nectar and cinnamon to taste 

In a small food processor, add protein powder, nut butter and coconut. Pulse until ingredients are blended together.

Next, add in the coffee grounds, coconut oil, a dash of cinnamon and a squirt (ew, hate that word) of agave nectar (substitute: maple syrup or honey). Pulse again. The dough should start clumping together. Finally, throw in any mix-ins you like…I threw in a handful of peanuts to make it extra nutty. Dried fruit would have been lovely, but we’re all out. Pulse one more time and form the mixture into small balls!

There ya go, folks! Jump start your morning or recover from a tough workout with one of these babies. Can’t wait to munch on these once I start commuting early in the AM. Perfect for on-the-go! Keep a lookout for more protein ball recipes to come.
What is your favorite post-workout snack? Any ingredient suggestions for future protein ball recipes?

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Snack, Breakfast | 4 Comments »

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April 13, 2011

Overnight Choco-Coconut Oats

Wow. It has been a WEEK since I last blogged. I am SO sorry, devoted readers. Shame on me. In my defense, things have been crazy but I won’t bore you with the details. For quite some time now I have come across recipes from my favorite blogs (here, here, here and here) that incorporate chia seeds. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them and finally did this past weekend from my local health food store when I was home (they don’t have them in cow country, sorry to disappoint my fellow huskies).

What makes chia seeds so great, you ask? They are a fit foodie’s must-have in a nutshell. Chia seeds help with weight loss, make you feel full (and stay full), reduce food cravings/blood pressure, are a great source of Omega-3…need I say more? Dr. Oz even says it is one of the top 5 supplements to have in your cabinet. Ok, ok…you get it. Now onto my wonderful breakfast of overnight oats. Who likes dessert at 7 a.m.? ME, ME, ME! PICK ME!

Ingredients
(Courtesy of Oh She Glows)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoon chia seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon protein powder (substitute: carob powder or peanut flour)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Unsweetened shredded coconut, to top

The instructions are easy: mix all the ingredients together in a container of your choice and place  in the fridge overnight. It is a tasty, healthy meal to wake up to and made my morning, that’s for sure. With a similar texture to tapioca pudding, the Choco-Coco Oats were rich and chocolaty, plus kept me full all morning long! I cannot wait to make more and play around with different ingredients/mix-ins. For example, adding in some coconut butter would have made this even more out of this world. Throwing frozen fruit in the food processor and layering it in between? Yes. Maybe trying a peanut butter version with crunchy peanut butter and peanut flour instead of the protein powder? Double yes. I’ll experiment and let you know where I get. As for now, I want to make it known that this is the perfect on-the-go, breakfast for those who “don’t have time.” Quick, easy, nutritious and delicious. Score! All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the chia seeds and am looking forward to incorporating them more into my diet. Thanks for understanding my chaotic life and still coming back to me. Love you for that! Have you ever tried chia seeds? What did you think?

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

Posted in Breakfast, Food for Thought | 10 Comments »

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