Apple Cinnamon Protein Coffee Cake

I always find it hard to say what my FAVORITE recipe is. There are just too many great ones to choose from, plus it is usually highly dependent on my mood and hunger level. 

That, of course, was before this creation: Apple Cinnamon Protein Coffee Cake. Sure, it's a mouthful for a recipe title, but believe me - you will want mouthful after mouthful of this delicious and guilt-free coffee cake!

This coffee cake is great for an on-the-go breakfast, but you can also dress it up and serve it for a brunch party. I recently made this for a few girlfriends that came over for brunch and it was a hit! While this cake may seem like an indulgence, it is packed with protein (14 g per slice!) making it far healthier than any other morning pastry. The apples help to keep this coffee cake incredibly moist which is usually hard to achieve when baking with whey protein. What really makes this coffee cake is the walnut streusel topping! It is the perfect finishing touch to this healthy breakfast treat. 

I love that this is such a simple baked good. I know some of my other recipes can take a little more effort with muffin tins or donut pans but with this you literally mix everything in one bowl together and dump it into a single cake pan. 

 I've recently switched up my training and I'm almost exclusively training at 6am everyday before work. I forgot how much I love that burst of endorphins before work, not to mention how focused I am all morning. I don't eat breakfast prior to lifting (I actually prefer weight training fasted first thing!) but I do have my coffee with collagen and MCT oil following. This coffee cake is perfect to have with my coffee after a hard morning workout!

Well, now that the secret is out and you know what my favorite recipes is I hope you give this a try! 

Psst! This recipe uses True Nutrition Cinnamon Bun Whey Protein and I can't recommend this protein enough. I really do stand by their products and I know I'm getting a high quality protein powder at an extremely affordable price. Want to give it a try? Use the code 'MYENG' at checkout for 5% off your entire order!

Apple Cinnamon Protein Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 25-30 minutes

Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients: 

• 3 scoops True Nutrition Cinnamon Bun Whey Protein (3/4 cup)
• 1-1/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (I used Gluten Free Baking Flour but typical all-purpose flour will work as well)
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 medium green apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 egg
• 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla

Walnut Streusel Topping

• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tbsp butter

Baking Accessories:

• 9 inch cake pan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare cake pan by greasing with coconut oil or butter. Set aside.
2. Toast walnuts by spreading them out on a baking sheet and placing in oven for 5-10 minutes. Be sure to keep a close watch on them so not to burn!
3. In a small bowl combine the remaining streusel topping ingredients. Cut the butter into very small pieces and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until the butter has formed into small balls and is well coated. If necessary use fingers. Add toasted walnuts and continue to mix. Set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl combine your dry ingredients: whey protein, flour, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
5. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, combine your wet ingredients: greek yogurt, eggs, applesauce, melted butter and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix and medium speed until incorporated. 
6. Fold apples into batter with a spatula until apples are evenly mixed in.
7. Pour batter into greased pan. Sprinkle walnut streusel topping on top of the cake. Bake for 25 - 30 mins or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Be sure not to over bake the cake since there is whey protein in the batter and it could easily become dry and rubbery. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slices. Serve warm or store in air-tight container for later. 

Nutritional Information (1 slice):

210 calories - 13.5 g Protein, 23.5 g Carbohydrates, 6.7 g Fat

Apple Cranberry Pie

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The best meals are visually appetizing and have a taste that is even greater.

THIS pie - oh man. 

I always eat with my eyes first, and the moment this pie came out of the oven I knew I'd created a keeper.  

I absolutely love when I get requests for recipes and this pie was inspired by my dear friend Samantha. She was looking for a lightened up apple pie for the holidays. We all know a traditional apple pie has both a base crust and a top pie crust. While that is very very delicious (READ: double the buttery crust), it maybe isn't ideal if we are trying to be smart about our dessert choices this holiday season.

Instead of a top pie crust I covered this pie with a delicious almond meal streusel - you won't event miss that top crust! This allows the real stars of this pie to shine - the soft and sweet apples mixed with the occasional POP of tart from the cranberries. I've greatly reduced the amount of sugar added to this pie, leaving it to be mostly sweetened naturally from the apples.  

This is such a great holiday dessert. It will be fantastic for Thanksgiving but even more perfect for Christmas time, which is right around the corner!

Apple Cranberry Pie

Prep Time:

Bake Time:

Servings: 8-10 slices

Ingredients:

For the Pie:

• 1 Mamaw's Pie Crust
• 3 lbs of apples (5-6 medium) - I use a mix of honey crisp and golden delicious
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar

Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup almond meal/flour
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tbsp butter, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Prepare pie crust per directions. Once completed place in refrigerator to keep chilled while you continue on with the rest of the recipe. 
3. Peel, core and slice apples. My method is to first peel the apples, remove the core, slice in half and then cut 1/4" slices. Place apples in a large mixing bowl with cranberries and toss with lemon juice. 
4. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon, salt, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, coconut palm sugar and arrowroot. The arrowroot acts as a thickener in the pie to hold it together. Add to the apples and cranberries and mix until all of the fruit is evenly covered with the spice mixture. 
5. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and fill with apple/cranberry mixture. Prepare the streusel by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and mixing until a meal-like consistency forms. Spread evenly over the top of the pie. 
6. Loosely cover the pie with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Remove foil after 30 minutes and continue baking uncovered for an additional 30 minutes. 
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 3-4 hours (or ideally, make this pie the night before you plan on serving!). If you cut the pie too soon from the oven you run the risk of it not setting and becoming difficult to serve. 

Nutritional Information (1 slice out of 10 slices)

200 calories - 1.5 g Protein, 31 g Carbohydrates, 8 g Fat

Apple Cider Protein Donuts

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Somehow, someway, it is already November. 

I think we've (I've) done our fair share of celebrating pumpkins throughout October, but what about apples? They shouldn't be forgotten! Apples are just as much of a star to Fall as pumpkins are. My Pumpkin Protein Donuts were just SO good that I couldn't resist making my next batch of donuts.  

Apples are made to be baked with.

Sure, they are delicious on their own or served chilled. But warm, soft apples are something special. Recently, I feel like I've seen an overload of Apple Cider Donuts on the Internet. Or maybe I've just been craving apples and donuts so it just seems like it... either way, I had to satisfy my craving.

I think it is safe to say I more than satisfied my craving with this newest batch of pronuts. The baking process alone sends your nose into a state of euphoria. My kitchen was filled with a warm scent of apple cider, cinnamon, allspice and cloves - a wonderful accompaniment to the pronuts which were about to be consumed.

I've made these low fat, gluten-free and guilt-free with 6 grams of protein to boot! Welcome Fall and all its glory with a fresh batch of these donuts straight from the oven. 

Apple Cider Protein Donuts

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 12 Donuts

Ingredients:

Donuts:

• 1-1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/2 cup grated apple
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1-1/2 cup cassava flour (I talk about why I use this flour HERE!)
• 1/2 cup vanilla whey protein isolate (I use True Nutrition and love their products)
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Topping:

• 1-1/2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small pot over medium high heat, combine apple cider, grated apple and allspice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. We want this to reduce to 1 cup of concentrate cider. After the 20 minutes, pour into a small ball to cool slightly.
2. While the cider is simmering, preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 2 donut pans by greasing with a bit of coconut oil. If you only have one pan, no worries! Just bake in batches. 
3. Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, protein, sugar and spices) in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, vanilla extract and egg. Slowly pour Apple cider and grated apple into bowl, continuing to whisk. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until a well incorporated batter has formed. This will be a bit of a wetter batter - that's ok!
5. Transfer batter to a piping bag or large ziploc bag. Pipe batter into donut pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.  
6. Melt butter and set aside in a small bowl which is wide enough to fit a donut. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in another small bowl or on a plate. Once donuts have baked, allow to cool slightly on a large cutting board. Dip tops of donuts into melted butter and then lightly into the sugar/cinnamon mix.  

Rosemary Pork Roast with Butternut Squash and Apples

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In many cities, the month of May brings rising temperatures and signs of summer. In San Francisco, however, May signifies the start of our "winter" - cold, biting temperatures and thick, rolling fog. A small price to pay for living in such an amazing city, I suppose. On nights when the wind is blowing and the temperature has dropped, nothing beats coming home to a warm dinner. 

During the week, between work and workouts, I'm usually short on time. This meal is a perfect weeknight dinner option - seems like it took hours to make but can be completed within an hour! I love eating sirloin tip pork roasts. It's a very lean cut of pork but is still incredibly juicy. If you have an extra 30 minutes to spare, allowing it to marinate in my rosemary, lemony-Dijon marinade makes it even better.

By searing the meat on all sides, you create a crust which locks in the juices while the roast finishes off in the oven. This also helps shorten the actual cooking time of the meat, once in the oven.

I love this duo of butternut squash and apples with the pork. They are tossed in cinnamon, rosemary, olive oil and salt prior to roasting. Sweet and savory! I prefer to roast the squash and apples in the same pan as the pork so that the flavors of the roast infuse with them.

Cooking time will vary based on the size of your roast and oven, but I was able to cook my roast in under 45 minutes - around 8-10 minutes for the searing and 35 minutes to finish off in the oven! This pork roast is one of my go-to meals during the week. No matter the season, you can't go wrong with these flavors!

Rosemary Pork Roast with Butternut Squash and Apples

Prep Time: 15 minutes + time for marinade (30 minutes to 24 hours, optional)

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

For the pork roast

• 1 1/2 - 2 lb. sirloin tip pork roast
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tsp)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked pepper

For the roasted squash and apples

• 3 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 2 apples, cubed
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp Kosher salt

Kitchen Tools

ChefAlarm by ThermoWorks - (Red)

Directions

1. Start by making the marinade for the pork. In a small bowl combine rosemary, lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and pour over pork. If you are short on time, you could skip letting this sit to marinate. If you have time, allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. (Even better, you could put the pork in the marinade the night before so that you are ready to go straight to cooking the next night!)
2. Remove pork from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°. 
3. Chop squash and apples into cubes. Toss in rosemary, olive oil, cinnamon and salt.
4. Heat cast iron skillet over high heat. Once heated, sear all sides of the roast for 2-3 minutes per side, creating a crust. 
5. Arrange as much of the squash and apple mix in the skillet, around the roast, that will fit. Any remaining lay in a single layer on a baking sheet. Transfer cast iron skillet and baking sheet to oven. 
6. Allow to cook until the roast registers an internal temperature of 140° (my roast of 1.6 lb. took 35 min - about 20 min per lb.). For the most accurate cooking time, I highly recommend the use of a meat thermometer! 
7. Remove roast and squash/apple mix from oven and allow to sit for 5 min before cutting - we don't want to lose all the juices!
8. Slice pork roast thinly and serve with roasted butternut squash and apples!

Pork Nutritional info (1 serving, 5 oz cooked)

189 Calories - 35 g Protein, 0 g Carbs, 5.6 g Fat

Butternut Squash and Apples Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of full recipe)

135 Calories - 1.3 g Protein, 27.5 g Carbs, 3.8 g Fat