I know that I am a Pizza Lover
But…lets be honest…pizza is NOT always the best choice for a meal.
So you will have to start getting creative and find HEALTHIER options to help satisfy your pizza cravings!
Here is a suggestion:
Here is another healthier indulgence!
I have found that it is very easy for me to stick with my diet plan…if i know that i can treat myself randomly with a HEALTHIER version of some of my favorite treats
Today i am going to share with you how I made flourless peanut butter protein cookies!
FIRST: I MADE MY OWN PEANUT BUTTER!!!
Yes i made my own pure peanut butter
This was done by:
~1 1/4 cup UNSALTED Raw Peanuts
~1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
I got my BLENDER and put in 1 1/4 cup of peanuts. I then put in the 1 Tablespoon of canola oil.
THIS WAS THE TRICKY PART….I had to play around with the settings on my blender to get it to start to turn to “butter”
- at first I chopped up the peanuts (there was a “chop” option on my blender)
- I then “Whipped” the peanuts (with the “whip” option on my blender)
- This took a little time because I would Whip the peanuts for about 15-20 seconds and then have to take the lid off and mix the peanut chunks up with the whipped butter that was developing on the bottom of the canister. This was the part that took the longest (about 10 minutes)
After the peanut butter was the consistency of peanut butter I added ANOTHER 1/4 cup of the raw peanuts (I LOVE crunchy peanut butter….if you do not want crunchy peanut butter than I would just add 1 1/2 cups of peanuts when you first start!) I just blended this for another 15-20 seconds just to chop up the new big peanuts and to get it mixed in with the butter
Directions for making the cookies:
I wanted to try to make peanut butter for these cookies to use up some peanuts that I had gotten and needed to use. so you can use store-bought NATURAL peanut butter (look on the back of the label at the store! The only ingredients should be peanuts and salt and possibly oil)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup Protein Powder (I used a chocolate peanut butter protein powder I picked up from Wal-Mart)
- 1/4 cup liquid egg whites (or seperate the egg whites from 4 regular eggs)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
- Heat your over to 220 degrees
- mix all of the ingredients into a bowl
- I used a table-spoon measuring spoon and scooped out table-spoon size balls and placed them on a cookie sheet
I let the peanut balls cook for about 10 minutes. i took them out and then flattened them with a fork (to give them “texture” on top and to allow them to “flatten” like regular cookies. You can leave them as balls but it may take a little more time for them to cook.
I put them back into the over and let them cook for another 10 minutes (until they turned slightly browner in the over)
I took them out and let them cool off for about 10 minutes.
and Whhhaaa-Laaaaa! You have HEALTHIER peanut butter cookies!
Nutritional Information:
My batch made 10 cookies! I made the batter and split it up in tablespoon size cookies. You can make yours smaller/bigger but you will have to recalculate this information if you make them a different size!
Nutrition Per Cookie (made 10)
- Calories: 145
- Total Fat: 11 grams
- Sodium: 20 grams
- Carbs: 5 grams
- Sugars: 1 gram
- Protein: 9 grams
Nutrition for the WHOLE batch:
- Calories: 1454
- Total Fat: 111 grams
- Sodium: 198 grams
- Carbs: 54 grams
- Sugars: 11 grams
- Protein: 85 grams
IF you try these out please let me know how they turned out!! I would love to know!
I hope that you guys enjoy these HEALTHIER forms of treats that you can hopefully start to incorporate into your life!
For more meal options, suggestions, recipes, or other food tips please feel free to follow me on Instagram as I upload things daily!
Here is a great Low Calorie high protein meal option that you can have!
This is one of my FAVORITE meals to make and it is simple, quick, and full of flavor!
Infinite Life Fitness: Stuffed Bell Pepper
What you need:
- Ground Turkey (TRY TO FIND THE 99% Fat Free option! The other options carry more fat which increase the calorie count!) or you can use ground chicken or even ground beef! You can pick which you like the most
- Bell Pepper
- onions, chopped bell peppers
- OPTIONAL: Tomato Paste or Low fat Swiss Cheese Laughing Cow cheese wedge
What I do it I will cook the whole package of ground turkey. I will season it with Ms. Dash seasoning (They have a TON of flavors you can choose from. I usually pick the original with a little garlic but you can try what you want)
BEFORE I start to cook the meat I turn on the oven to 350 degrees
After the meat is cooked I portion it out. I separate the turkey into 3.5 ounces (and placing them in Tupperware containers or you can use zip lock bags. The suggested serving size is 4 ounces but I have found that 4 ounces is too much to put in most bell peppers)
I will cut up about 1/4 cup of onions/chopped bell peppers and combine it with the ground turkey.
OPTION: You can at this stage add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (tomato paste is very thick. it allows the turkey to have more flavor and it keeps everything kinda stuck together.) Or you can mix into your onion/bell peppers 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese.
I will put all of that inside the largest bell pepper I can find at the store. I will pop it I the over for about 15 minutes ( I usually just wait until the meat and bell pepper are heated up…you can leave it in for longer but it starts to make the bell pepper shrivel and dry out. So you will have to watch it!
I also like to add a side salad…or some other side to this dish just to fill me up (because the pepper alone usually is pretty filling but sometimes I need more!
This stuffed bell pepper (if you use lean ground turkey, onions, and bell pepper) is around 200 calories. That is also why I suggest adding something else with this pepper to make a more filling meal.
Found some great recipes over the break? Get some of your favorite family recipes while you were with family for the holiday?
Well as we all know, you may find some delicious looking recipes, BUT they may not be as healthy as they should be!
Here are some suggestions to some healthier substitutes to help you cut those extra calories when making your favorite meal or when making a new meal! Thanks to Campbells, they have tons of great recipes (and even some great options you can make for not just yourself but for your family as well!) and also have listed the following as some great substitutes for you’re at home recipes.
Ingredient Substitution Whole milk Skim, 1% or 2% milk Whipped cream Chilled, whipped evaporated skim milk or nondairy whipped topping Sour cream Plain low-fat yogurt, or 1/2 cup cottage cheese blended with 1½ tsp. lemon juice, or low- or nonfat sour cream Evaporated milk Evaporated skim milk; low- or nonfat mayonnaise; or plain low-fat yogurt combined with low-fat cottage cheese Whole egg Two egg whites, or 1/2 cup egg product One egg yolk One egg white One egg (to thicken) One tablespoon flour Full-fat cheese Low-fat, skim-milk or fat-free cheese Ricotta cheese Low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese (puree in a food processor or blender before using), or low-fat or nonfat ricotta cheese Bacon Turkey bacon, Canadian bacon, smoked turkey or prosciutto Enriched white pasta Whole wheat pasta White rice Brown rice Butter or oil (baking) Applesauce (substitute only half the amount of butter or oil called for with applesauce; use butter or oil for the other half or the baked goods may turn out tough and chewy) White flour (baking) Whole wheat flour (substitute up to half the amount of white flour called for with whole wheat; use white flour for the other half or the baked goods may turn out heavy and dense) Cream cheese Neufchatel-style cream cheese (one-third less fat) White wine or beer An equal amount of apple juice or chicken broth with a touch of apple cider vinegar Red wine An equal amount of cranberry juice with a touch of red wine vinegar
