Protein Pumpkin Bread

                                                       

Love having a slice or two of this bread as a snack, or a few slices for breakfast (loaded with peanut butter, obviously). I'm working on keeping my recipes simple (i.e. no more crazy ingredients). Mostly because:

1. It's unnecessary

2. I don't have time

3. You don't have time

Here we go: 

                               

Protein Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 scoop vanilla whey protein (I used Cellucor)

1/3 cup stevia for baking

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup canned pumpkin 

3/4 cup egg whites

1/2-3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 F. 

2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (add more almond milk if necessary, but you want a nectar-thick batter). 

3. Spoon the batter into a bread loaf pan lined with parchment paper (for easy removal). Cook about one hour and 10 minutes or until knife comes out clean. 

4. Let cool and cut into 8 slices. I recommended refrigerating them (I like the texture better when they are chilled). 

Nutrition Information for 1 slice: 103 calories, 4 g Fat, 8 g Carbs, 8 g Protein

Trader Joe's Food Haul: My Favs

Trader Joe's has a way of making my life easier and tastier :)

I'm so excited that a new Trader Joe's opened up just walking distance from my apartment. I dropped in a few days ago and wanted to share some of the items I purchased along with ideas on how to use them.

Cauliflower Rice: I was making cauliflower rice before it was cool, and now it's EVERYWHERE! Now, Trader Joe's does most of the work by ricing the cauliflower for you. Use it for cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza, cauliflower pancakes, cauliflower bread, and cauliflower oatmeal! Not only is it easier than doing it yourself, it's also cheaper than buying a head of cauliflower.

Trader Joe's Sprouted Wheat Bread: Basically a cheaper version of Ezekiel bread. It's hearty and delicious, and perfect for avocado toast! 

Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs: I'm not vegetarian, but I do like vegetarian food. These are by far the best vegetarian meatballs I've ever had. My favorite way to eat them is with spaghetti squash and tomato sauce.

Trader Joe's Cilantro and Jalapeno Hummus: I usually just go regular, but wanted to try this flavor to spice things up. Use it on sandwiches, as a topping for chicken, as a dip for veggies, or even as a "dressing" for salad!

Trader Joe's Sweet Basil Pesto Smoked Chicken and Turkey Sausage: Healthier substitute for regular sausage! I love using this in stir-fries, pasta dishes, and even sandwiches (with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella- YUM). This is great to have on hand for quick meals.

Bagged Arugula and Spinach: I use spinach almost daily in my eggs, and was really feeling arugula for my salads this week!

Pastrami Smoked Atlantic Salmon: Smoked salmon can get pricey, but TJ's keeps it affordable. I used this in a giant salad with lots of veggies and goat cheese the day I bought it, then used the leftovers on TJ's Sprouted Wheat Bread toast with low-fat cream cheese!

I also loaded up on some essentials such as veggies, fruit, and eggs! What's some of your favorite products from Trader Joe's?

Grocery Shopping: Best Brands Part I

Food labels can be confusing. While most of us know that whole wheat bread or yogurt is good for us, choosing the right brand can make or break our healthy eating efforts. Here's a couple of brands that have the best labels when it comes to sodium, calories, and quality of ingredients:

Bread: To make sure you're making the best choice, make sure the first ingredient on the label reads "100% whole wheat" or "stone ground whole wheat".

Ezekiel Bread
Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Pepperidge Farm Stoneground 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Yogurt: Your best bet is to stick to plain, unsweetened yogurt and adding in your own sweetener such as fruit, stevia, or a light drizzle of honey. When fruit is added to a yogurt it is mostly sugar (around 3-4 teaspoons!).

Siggi's Icelandic Style Skyr
Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt
Fage Total Plain Greek Yogurt (0% or 2%)

If you cannot tolerate eating plain yogurt, try on of the flavored Siggi's yogurts or Simply Chobani (this variation has less added sugar).

Oatmeal: Try adding cinnamon or fruit to sweeten plain oatmeal or try one of the following combos: peanut butter and banana, blueberries and walnuts, or strawberries and unsweetened coconut flakes. For a thicker, creamier oatmeal, try adding a spoonful or two of plain yogurt (see best choices above) or canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!).

Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Quick 1-Minute or Steel Cut
McCann's Irish Oatmeal

If you NEED a flavored option: Nature's Path Qi'a Superfoods Hot Oatmeal Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed OR Nature's Path Flax Plus

Cold Cereal: You want to find a cereal that is made with whole grains, has less than 10 grams of sugar, and has at least 3 grams of fiber.

Cheerios
Post Bran Flakes
Love Grown Power O's
Nature's Path Flax Plus

Condiments: Depending what you're using, condiments can be really high in sodium and calories. While the sodium may still be high for some of these items, they are better than most!

Annie's Naturals Ketchup
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Sauce or Annie's Organic Original BBQ sauce
Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce
Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Dressings or Vinaigrettes
Annie's Lite Dressing
Bragg's Liquid Aminos (instead of soy sauce)

Cinnamon Apple Protein Loaf

I love making my own protein bars and snacks. This is a quick, easy, deliciously moist protein loaf. I love crumbling this on top of my protein fro-yo. If you don't have Cinnamon Graham Cracker protein powder, you can just use vanilla protein powder. I buy my Almond Flour online from Vitacost. It's cheaper and it's delivered right to my door. Use this link for a discount off your first order!

Cinnamon Apple Protein Loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Cinnamon Graham Cracker whey protein
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1/3 cup Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place oatmeal in a food processor and blend until it becomes a flour.
3. Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth. Do not over mix!
4. Place in a bread loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Add batter to the loaf pan.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.

I cut mine into 6 slices. You cut bigger pieces if you like!

Nutrition Information (if cut into 6): 3 g Fat, 9 g CHO (1.6 g Fiber), 9 g Protein 

Very Banana Protein Bread

I ran out of my last batch of Orange Creamsicle Protein Muffins last night, so I was planning on making them for the third time in a row this afternoon (so yummy- recipe is in a previous post!). I love breaking up my muffins and mixing them in my protein fro-yos, cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt as a snack. So, that was the original plan: Orange Creamsicle Protein Muffins. But, as I approached my tower of protein powders, I noticed that my Banana Whey hasn't been getting any love lately. Banana bread is such a classic, so I decided to take the challenge to "clean it up". This loaf came out awesome and will be equally delicious in my protein fro-yos : ) !!

To get you a little more excited about the recipe, look at the crazy comparison between regular Banana Bread and my Very Banana Protein Bread:

 

Very Banana Protein Bread

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana (mine was large: 150 grams)
2 scoops banana whey protein powder (or vanilla)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup egg whites
1-2 tablespoons slivered almonds for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour batter into a bread loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake about 25 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.
5. Set on a cooling rack to cool.

I cut my loaf into 6 slices. You can cut them into however many servings you like. The WHOLE loaf contains 6.6 g Fat, 56.2 g CHO, 63.5 g Protein, and 20.4 g Fiber!!!