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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Bell Pepper Nacho Bites…

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Who does NOT love nachos?

OK… if you do not love nachos there is no way we can be friends. The savoy mixture of seasoned meat with cheese and fresh veggies…It is making my mouth water to just think about it!

I decided to create a simple, healthy, and cost effective alternative to one of my favorite dishes.

This would be a great dish to have as a finger food when you have people coming over OR it can be a great snack/meal.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package ground lean meat (turkey, chick, lean beef)
  • Assortment of Bell Peppers (red, orange or green and I made 4-6 “bites” per bell pepper)
  • 1 cup low fat Cheese
  • 1/4 cup Salsa
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
Directions:

1. Cook meat thoroughly, add desired seasoning if desired

2. Drain meat and mix salsa/tomato paste to coat meat for flavor

3. Scoop out seeds from peppers and cut into boats (each pepper = 4-6 pepper boats/bites)

4. Scoop meat into pepper boats and sprinkle cheese on top of the meat

5. Either heat up in microwave for 2-3 minutes or stick bell pepper boats onto a non stick baking sheet in the oven at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes (or until all of the cheese is melted)

6. Remove boats from oven (or microwave) and top with your choice of vegetable (such as minced onions, lettuce, etc.)

You can also top these bits with low fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

By substituting the chips for the bell peppers you are able to cut out a huge overload of carbs without sacrificing the quality or flavor of this dish.

By using lean meat, this will also allow you to cut the amount of fat that is traditionally in this dish.  You can get creative and add diced tomatoes, olives, and other things that you will traditionally find in nachos.  Please be mindful when you add more items.  That can compromise the healthy nutritional value of this meal.

Bon Appétit

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Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Chocolate and Cinnamon Breakfast Bites…

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There are a few ways that you can make this, but I decided to make mine in a unique way.

This is a GREAT breakfast option for those who need to grab food and GO in the morning.

Ingredients:

  • I tbsp. cinnamon
  • 1 scoop protein or 1 pack or 1/4 cup (*** PLEASE be aware that different protein powders will produce different results. For this Recipe I used the Advocare Vanilla Meal Replacement Shake***
  • 1/4 cup of honey
  • 1/2 cup of oat flour
  • 1/4 cup of Chocolate peanut butter (BUT you can use regular peanut butter)
  • 3/4 cup of whole oats
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

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You can MAKE your own oat flour! All you need is rolled oats and a food processor OR blender.  Put a few cups of rolled oat into the food processor/blender and mix it until it becomes fine like “Flour”. You can also purchase it BUT I just decided to make my own.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and a bowl.  Contents in bowl will start to clump together BUT it will not be a paste or batter.  You will want to grab small amounts of the mixture and roll them into small balls (about the size of a ping pong ball). Stick them in the freezer (Leave them in the freezer LONGER FOR BEST RESULTS! I stuck mine in the freezer overnight but around 4 hours should be good enough) and then enjoy.

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Like I stated in the video, I also dipped my breakfast bites with Greek Yogurt! You can use 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt and drizzle about 1 tbsp of honey to make a dip. You can also find caramel, chocolate, or other flavors at your local store and use those prepackaged yogurts to dip your bites.

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You can make these several different ways! You can use regular peanut butter with cinnamon. You can use other spices, you can use other types of nut butter, you can pretty much get as creative as you would like!

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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: FroYo Bites…

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Seeing as there are only a few weeks left of summer (insert cheering from parents who have had to stay home with kids all summer) it can get hard to find health and fun treats for the family to enjoy.  I do my best to try to find treats that will be healthy, affordable, and fun for every member of the family to help create.

For this recipe I decided to make FroYo bites.  This is a simple, easy, and tasty treat that can be enjoyed by all members of the family!


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Any flavor of Greek yogurt that you like. (you can even use plain unfloavored Greek Yogurt).
  • 1/2 cup Fresh fruit/berries
  • 1/2 cup Granola crumbs (you can even use graham cracker crust)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions:

  • In a mixing bowl mix the granola, honey, and coconut oil. This will make the granola clump together
  • In cupcake paper (you can use actual paper of silicon cups) pack in a thin layer of the granola/honey/coconut oil mix.
  • Once you create a small base layer dollop on top of the layer your favorite flavor of Greek Yogurt.
  • This is where you can get creative! You can mix in nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, berries, or pretty much anything you want into or on top of your Greek yogurt.
  • Fill your FroYo cup to the top (making sure that it DOES NOT overflow).
  • Place your FroYo cups in the freezer and freeze for about 4 hours (sometimes it does not take as long and sometimes it will take longer! I froze mine over night to make sure they would freeze completely.)
  • Once frozen peel the treats out of the cupcake wrapping.
  • ENJOY!!

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Like I stated above you can get as creative as you would like with this treat! And, it is quick, not very messy, and great to allow kids to help you make.  You can make a whole batch of them and everyone can have their very own unique FroYo Bite.

As a disclaimer: YOU WANT TO WATCH WHAT YOU ADD TO YOUR FROYO BITES! If you add a ton of sugar and added things, it can quickly decrease the health value of this snack. You will also want to use GREEK YOGURT. I tried making this treat with regular yogurt. Yes it was good, BUT having the thick consistency that Greek Yogurt offers makes the treat better (in my opinion).  

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE CUPCAKE WRAPPING BEFORE YOU EAT IT. You do not want to get a mouthful of paper/plastic/rubber while trying to enjoy these treats.

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…Infinite Life Fitness Recipe: Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups…

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Ok… Lets be honest. Who can resist those delectable little…peanut butter filled… chocolate capsules of deliciousness!??

I know that I have a HUGE weakness for things that include both peanut butter and chocolate.  So I had to find a way to create my own recipe but carried a healthier nutritional profile.

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate BUT I suggest other baking chocolate)

2 tbsp. vanilla protein

2 tbsp. peanut butter (I used natural creamy peanut butter)

1/4 cup chocolate PB2 (you can also use the regular peanut butter flavor PB2.  This is what makes these “double chocolate” protein cups)

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk


Directions:

  • Combine protein powder and PB2 into a mixing bowl.
  • Add almond milk and mix contents until smooth and creamy.
  • Add peanut butter and mix until thick and creamy.

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  • In a small sauce pan, melt the chocolate chips at low heat (stirring occasionally).
  • Add a small layer of melted chocolate to silicone baking cups (you can also use wax paper but silicon works best for this recipe). My layer is literally just enough to cover the bottom of the baking cup.  You do not want to add too much, just a few centimeters thick.
  • Place baking cups with chocolate into the freezer until hardened (this will take about 15 -20 minutes. Make sure they are sitting on a flat and even surface while in the freezer)
  • Take the baking cups out of freezer and add about 1/2-1 tbsp of peanut butter mixture into the chocolate cup. (DO NOT overfill the cup! Just enough for a small dollop of peanut butter protein mixture to sit in the middle of the cup)
  • Cover the peanut butter protein mixture with more melted chocolate. ( I add enough chocolate so that the peanut butter mixture is “hidden”.

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  • Place chocolate cups (with the added peanut butter protein mixture) to the freezer until hardened. (This will take about 30 – 45 minutes).
  • Remove chocolate cups from silicone baking cup (or you can leave them in the wax baking cups if you chose to use those) AND ENJOY!

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  • Keep these stored in the freezer until you are ready to eat them. I typically place the cups in a Tupperware container to help store them in the freezer.

 

Nutrients:

This recipe will make approximately 12 cups
Serving Size: 1 Peanut Butter Cup
Calories: 120
Fat: 8 g
Protein: 7 g
Carbs: 8 g
Sugar: 5 g

Try these healthier peanut butter cup alternatives and let me know how you like them! Like stated above, you will want to keep them in the freezer until you are ready to eat them.  This will also allow them to last longer.

These are a great treat for you, your family, or even for your friends! I made these and took these to work and NO ONE was able to tell that they were not the “regular” peanut butter cups. You can get creative and add things to your cups. I prefer dark chocolate so that is what I decided to use instead of milk chocolate.  It is your treat so make it however you like!

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…infinite life fitness recipe: sweet potato chocolate fudge cake…

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Chocolate Cake… two words that will make most people’s ears perk up and their mouths will  start watering.

Getting healthy and fit does not mean that you have to completely abandon the things that taste the best to you.  As with anything, you can still enjoy your favorite things but, MODERATION is key.  If you have a sweet tooth enjoy a nice small slice of chocolate.  If you want a brownie or some ice cream stick to the actual serving size that is recommended on the size of the box (yes that means measuring out or weighing out the correct portions) instead of just guessing at the amount that you think is “a small portion of food”.

Another trick that I have learned is to find other recipes that provide the same great taste of regular treats but carry more nutritional macronutrients.  There are a lot of recipes out there…so try out a few to see what you will like the best! And never be afraid to change recipes around s that they contain things that YOU like. It may take several attempts to get the recipe down the way you like but that is the fun part…trying to figure out what will turn out delicious (and nutritious!)

Today I am sharing the recipe of an outstanding treat.  Sweet potato chocolate cake.  It is very flavorful moist, and honestly taste the exact same as other chocolate treats that you can get at the store.

What you will need:

(Put all of these ingredients into a food processor)

  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 cup cooked sweet potato
  • 40-50 stevia drops (Or other sources of sweetener.  You can also use sugar or honey)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 scoops protein powder (I used 1st Phorm Whey Protein)
  • 4 oz unsweetened apple sauce
  • 8 tablespoons cocoa powder (or dark chocolate cocoa powder)
  • 4 tablespoons coconut flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

What you will do:

  • Heat your oven to 350 degrees
  • Blend all of the above ingredients together VERY WELL!
  • Place combined ingredients into a muffin pan (or you can make a pan of brownies and later cut them into desirable slices).
  • Cook these for 20 – 25 minutes checking them periodically
  • IMPORTANT: *make sure you use either silicone bake ware or line your bake ware with parchment paper.  It makes the cake cook evenly and helps to limit the outside cooking faster than the inside (making it easier to separate after it has cooled).

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I typically will make a few dozen of these and keep them in the freezer.  This allows them to last a lot longer.  When you would like to enjoy one just pop it in the microwave and top with a dollop of peanut butter, whip cream, Greek yogurt, or even low calorie ice cream (like Arctic Zone).  The great thing about this recipe is that you can get very creative! You an add nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, or anything else you would like. BUT BE CAREFUL with the amount of things that you add.  The more you add the more you compromise the good nutritional value of this healthy treat.

Try this out on your own and dress it up however you like.  If you decide to try it post it on instagram and tag the picture with #infinitelifefitness so that I can see it! 🙂

Hope that you are able to enjoy them as much as I do!.

 

 

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