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… White Chocolate & Raspberry Protein Muffins…

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I LOVE Quest bars… and I LOVE muffins.  I found a great way to mix them together for a yummy and healthy high protein treat!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup protein mix (about 50 grams or 1 heaping scoop)
8 grams Sugar free white chocolate pudding mix (you can use regular white chocolate pudding, it just raises the Calories and carbs for the muffins)
45 grams egg whites (I used a carton of egg whites but you can crack open a fresh egg and separate the yolk from the egg whites and use that as well)
50 grams plain Greek yogurt (for this recipe I used Fage 0% fat plain Greek yogurt)
40 grams fresh raspberries
1 tbsp honey (or you can use stevia or other sweeteners)
1/2 bar white chocolate raspberry quest bar cut into 3 pieces
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Directions:
  • Turn on over to 350 degrees
  • Mash/blend raspberries with yogurt then mix all ingredients besides quest bar together
  • Pour into greased muffin tins and insert 1 piece of quest bar in the cent
  • Bake 16-18 minutes

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You may have to be careful with how much protein you use for this recipe!

I have made them with 1st Phorm Whey (1 heaping scoop) and also Advocare Meal Replacement shakes (1 full package).

If the cupcake is moist in the center you will want to add MORE protein (or cut back slightly on the amount of egg whites you used).  Each protein will cook/bake differently.  You will have to slightly alter it to work for what you have (or you can purchase the kind of protein that I use) .

For icing I will mix in some plain Greek yogurt with honey and more crushed raspberries! This makes a light sweet “frosting” without all of the sugar and can serve as a healthy alternative.

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt

1 – 2 tsp honey (or another sweetener of your choice)

crushed raspberries

***You can also add coco powder to this to make it chocolate (add just chocolate and honey/sweetener to the plain Greek yogurt) ***

You can use frozen fruit BUT I prefer fresh fruit.  I personally think it taste better and holds up longer.  I would recommend storing these in your fridge (or freeze them so you can enjoy them as treats and this will allow them to last a lot longer!)

Check out this video which shows you how I create these amazing muffins:

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…infinite life fitness recipe: Protein Fudge…

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Working towards your health and fitness goals do not require you to completely sacrifice sweet treats.  Lets be honest…who doesn’t get a sweet tooth every now and then? And yes it can be hard to ignore those sweet cravings! So what do you do?

Instead of driving yourself crazy and trying to ignore the sweet cravings you should come up with healthy AND tasty alternatives for you have when you are needing something a little sweet.  Here is a treat that I personally love to make and usually keep in my freezer just in case I need to grab something sweet.

What you will need:

  • ¾ cup peanut butter (I use Skippy natural chocolate peanut butter)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 3 scoops vanilla protein powder ( I chose to use 1st Phorm Vanilla Whey. Depending on the brand of protein you may need to use less or more! You will have to adjust your recipe)

What you will do:

  • heat up coconut oil and measure out 1/4 cup
  • Place all of the above ingredients into a mixing bowl
  • mix ingredients until batter is thick and sticky (I added small amounts of almond milk to get the mixture to mix and blend. I literally just added a few tablespoons)
  • Once the batter is mixed place in a freezer safe container
  • spread batter evenly into container
  • place container in freezer and allow to freeze
  • once the batter is frozen cut into even squares and enjoy!

NOTE: I stored my protein fudge in the freezer.  If thawed out it will just become runny and not thick.  Keeping it in the freezer allows it to stay in the fudge chunks.  Even though it is frozen, the fudge is very easy to bite into and chew.  It is slightly chewy and VERY yummy!

You can get creative and toss in nuts, chocolate chips, or anything else that you would like.  But remember, adding those things increase the calorie, carbs, and fat macro nutrient content in this treat.  So you want to try to limit what you add to make sure to keep it as healthy as possible.

Like I stated before, this is a great treat to keep around the house to help subdue those sweet cravings you may get. This snack is packed with an amazing taste and is high in protein.

Mix. Freeze. and Enjoy! Let me know how YOUR version of this recipe turns out!

 

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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Protein Bread…

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If any of you are like me…you may LOVE to eat bread and bread like products.  Bread is my one weakness so once you find out the nutritional value (or the lack of nutrition) that is found in your favorite bread, it makes you cringe just thinking about indulging in more than one service size.   I had to find an alternative to help satisfy my bread craving as well as fit into my macronutrients.

What you will need:

  • 1 pack of baking bread yeast (NOT the quick rise yeast, just the regular yeast)
  • 2 cups of wheat flour
  • 1 cup (84 g) of vanilla Protein (I used 1st Phorms Vanilla Ice Cream Protein.  You can use other brands but i have found this brand to work the best for me when it comes to baking and cooking with it)
  • 1 tablespoon of wheat gluten
  • 1 tablespoon of dry milk
  • dash of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of honey (you can also use maple syrup, agave nectar, or sugar.  YOU NEED regular sugar to help feed the yeast.  It is NOT advised that you use artificial sweetener for this recipe)
  • 1 1/2 cup of water
  • Bread making machine or bread pan

What you will do:

  • the type of bread machine that I have and use  is an Oyster 2lb express bread maker 
  • Add all of the wet ingredients first!!
  • You will then add together all of the dry ingredients
  • You will make a small well in the middle of the mixture and then add the yeast (look at picture 1)proteinbread_1
  • For my settings i chose: 1.5 lb loaf & light crust.
  • I pressed the start button and just let it sit!
  • My bread maker kneaded the dough and baked it.  Once the bread was ready the machine cut off automatically.
  • I let the bread cool and then removed it from the pan and cut it up into my desired sizes.

You are more than welcome to play around with this recipe.  This is just how i learned how to make mine and it seems to work very well.  My bread is very dense yet flaky.  It is very filling for me and a great snack to grab when you are on the go!

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…infinite life fitness recipe: C.T. Crunch Protein Pancakes…

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My favorite breakfast item = Protein pancakes!

These are easy to make, have a high amount of protein and a small amount of carbs.

When you have a healthy diet you have to try to create things that will satisfy your urge for things such as pancakes and waffles.  In all honesty there hit the spot for me!  When i have craving for traditional breakfast foods, i just create something similar BUT my meal is lower in carbs and higher in protein.

What you will need:

  • First Phorm  CT Crunch Whey Protein (or any other type of cinnamon protein)
  • (2) egg whites
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp coconut flour
  • 1/3 cup of water or Almond milk (add this until the batter is the consistency that you would like!  The more liquid the batter the more pancakes you can make…BUT it will make flatter/slimmer pancakes)
  • add sweetener to your own preference ( I used 1 tbsp of equal sweetener
  • Walden’s Farm Pancake Syrup 

How to cook the pancakes:

  • turn on your stove top to medium heat and get a frying pan and lightly spritz it with olive oil
  • mix all ingredients into a mixing bowl
  • Mix ingredients until the batter is mixed completely.  Add water or almond milk to make the batter the consistency that you would like
  • At this time you can add nuts, fruit, or any other items that you would like to be cooked into the pancake!  I have also added dark chocolate chips and this is also a great addition to this breakfast treat!
  • Add batter to pan and let pancakes cook ( do not forget to flip the pancakes when they are ready).
  • Once they have cooked place them on your dish and allow to cool
  • Add syrup (I personally use Walden’s Farm sugar free syrup)
  • ENJOY!!!

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Reaching your health and fitness goals require you to find things that will supplement your diet without completely depriving you of things that you want and crave.  Yes you can enjoy the things you love but in moderation!  But if you choose to say on track with healthy eating you have to learn how to make substitutions with your recipes to make the recipe healthier for your lifestyle and goals.

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……INFINITE LIFE FITNESS RECIPE:Protein Cookies…

Being someone who has to watch what they eat can be difficult when you are tempted with delicious sugary treats every day.

There are so many HEALTHY alternatives out there  but the hardest part is finding them!

Well…i was lucky enough to stumble upon a great healthy treat that can be a healthy treat.

Introducing Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie’s

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Here is what you will need:

Here is how you make it:

  • Turn your oven onto 250 degrees

  • Open your quest protein bar and cut it into however many pieces you would like (i cut mine into 8 small pieces).

  • Place a piece of foil on the cookie sheet (this step is optional)

  • Place the cut pieces of protein bar on the cookie sheet

  • Place cookie sheet WITH protein bar in the oven

  • MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE protein pieces because they will cook very fast.

  • Allow them to cook in the over for 10-20 minutes (depending on how long it takes them to rise and cook)

  • Once they are brown take them out of the oven

  • Allow them to sit for about 10 minutes to cool off

  • Last step….ENJOY! 🙂

 

These protein bars taste JUST LIKE warm chocolate chip cookies once they are fresh out of the over.  Don’t get me wrong…these protein bars taste just as good without baking them BUT they are even better once you toast them.

These are for sure of my healthy guilty pleasures.  When something taste this good it is so hard to believe that it is actually healthy for you.  You can also do this with other Quest bars (such as the chocolate brownie and peanut butter supreme bars).  Try this out with any other their bars and find which one is your favorite!

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