No Bake Chocolate Protein Date Cookies

These are a great pre-workout snack for energy, or post-workout for a little bit of protein!

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup of dried, pitted dates
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 pinch of Pink Himalayan salt

Start by placing the oats and protein powder into a food processor. Pulse until flour-like. 

Next add in the dates, peanut butter, and walnuts. Pulse again until everything is incorporated together. The mixture will be extremely thick. At this point go ahead and add the honey and almond milk.

Once everything has been processed together go ahead and transfer your dough into a bowl and sprinkle the pinch of salt into it. Knead your dough to make sure the salt is dispersed evenly. 

Now you are going to use your dough to make 8 balls. After you have rolled out the balls you are going to flatten them into a cookie shape. Place your cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes and then they are ready to enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Calories: 150

Protein: 7(g)

Carbs: 17(g)

Fat: 7 (g)

What I eat Wednesday!

Some of my favorite fitness bloggers often do posts like this! They are usually my favorite to read; it's interesting to me to see what other "fit foodies" eat on a daily basis! 

I always start my day off with a cup of coffee with almond milk and stevia. I just purchased these sweet drops from Whole Foods. They pretty much turn your coffee into a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.. Just sayin'.

For breakfast I created this beautiful masterpiece haha, a breakfast sweet potato! All you need is half a sweet potato, 1 tbsp of almond butter, and a generous sprinkle of a dried fruit and nut mix! It's like candy for breakfast. So sweet and delicious. 

When I get home from class I like to have a little something before I workout to keep my energy up. Today I opted for 1 egg with spinach and half an orange. 

After my workout my go to snack is a protein smoothie. I blend 1 cup of coconut water, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder,  1tbsp of ground flaxseed, and 1/2 a frozen banana.

Lunch! I usually have some type of sandwhich for lunch almost every day. I used a brown rice tortilla and stuffed it with sliced turkey, peppers, onions, jalepeno, lettuce, and hummus!

For dinner I had sautéed eggplant and zucchini in roasted vegetable pasta sauce with shrimp. So good. I topped it with red pepper flakes and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast? Yea, don't knock it until you try it haha. 

Quinoa Summer Salad With Shrimp.

This recipe is based off of a quinoa salad by my favorite fitness blogger, Sarah Dussault. I did modify it a bit and it came out great! 

Serves 4

What you'll need:

•1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa

•1/4 red onion, chopped

•1/4 cilantro

•1 bell pepper, chopped (any color)

•2 tbsp olive oil

•1 tsp dijon mustard

•1 tbsp lemon

•3 oz of shrimp per person

Cook quinoa according to package and set aside.

In a bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. 

Add in your chopped pepper, onion, and cilantro.

Once your quinoa has cooled add it to the other bowl and mix.

Top each serving with 3 oz cooked shrimp, 1/4 avocado (optional), and salt and pepper to taste! 

Don't forget you can switch it up and substitute the shrimp for chicken!

My go to guilt free snacks!

Pictured above are some of my favorite snacks!

• Homemade Trail Mix. I make my trail mix using 2 tbsp of unsalted almonds, 2 tbsp of no sugar added dried fruit, and 1 tbsp of chocolate chips. I love making my own because it is portion controlled. It's about 200 calories, which most of my snacks are.

• KIND Bars. These bars are becoming very popular so you should have no problem finding them at your local grocery store. I tend to choose the ones with 5 grams of sugar or less. My favorite is dark chocolate nuts and sea salt!

• Über Bars. These can also be found at most grocery stores. My favorite is coconut macaroon and bananas foster.

• Questbars. These are great for a post-workout treat. I usually pop mine in the microwave for 10 seconds and top it with nut butter. These are a little harder to find but GNC does carry them.

• Hummus or Hommus (who knew there were two different spellings.. I didn't haha) I'll usually have 2 tbsp of hummus with baby carrots and a few pita chips. The pita chips are dangerous, at least for me, I can't stop.

• Turkey Roll Up. For a quick snack that'll keep me full I roll up a string cheese in 2 slices of turkey.

• Popcorn. Honestly popcorn doesn't always keep me full but I like it to snack on and really enjoy it! I like BOOM CHICKA POP because it comes in a single serve pack! They also have other tasty favors AND best of all their corn is non-GMO( It is not genetically modified like most corn products are)!

• Somersalts. I originally discovered these at Whole Foods but they are popping up at conventional grocery stores, even target. They are cookies with sunflower seeds mixed in. My favorite flavor is the Dutch Cocoa. It tastes like Coco Puffs cereal!

• Ants on a log. I'm sure you have all had this! I put 1 tbsp of almond butter on 2 celery sticks with 2 tbsp of dried fruit on top!

Protein packed French Toast!

This is my go to breakfast when I know I need a lot of fuel to get through a workout! The balance of protein and carbs provides me with steady energy all morning! Not to mention my sweet tooth is totally satisfied! 

What you will need:

2 slices of Ezekiel bread, or your choice of bread 

2 egg whites (6 tbsp liquid egg whites)

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp  vanilla protein powder

1 packet of stevia 

In a mixing bowl combine egg whites, protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and stevia.

Once you have combined the above ingredients go ahead and place your bread into the bowl and allow it to soak up the mixture.

Place bread into a skillet over medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

 Drizzle with honey and enjoy!

Calories: 250

Fat: 1

Carbohydrates: 32

Protein: 26

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I was really wanting homemade chocolate chip cookies last night and these hit the spot! They are by no means low calorie, but they are a healthier (better ingredients) alternative to satisfy your sweet tooth!

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup honey

1/4 melted coconut oil

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

About a handful of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

This mixture should make about 12 cookies. Place onto a greased baking sheet. Be sure to flatten the cookies before putting them into the oven because they will not flatten on their own while they cook.

Bake for 14 minutes.

Pesto chicken wrap!

This is one of my favorite things to make for lunch! It's quick, simple, and healthy... yet tastes indulgent.

What you'll need

• 1 Ezekiel tortilla or whole wheat wrap

• 4 ounces of lean chicken breast

• 1 tbsp of pre-made pesto

• 1/2 ounce goat cheese

• tomato or any vegetables of your choice

This is delicious hot or cold, but I prefer it heated. Below I have listed the nutritional information. You can definitely cut some calories by using a lower calorie wrap. However, I find that low calorie wraps are filled with chemicals and I would rather consume more calories and eat REAL food. 

Nutritional information:

388 calories

15 grams of fat

27 grams of carbs

36 grams protein

Enjoy!