Lemon Pistachio Protein Donuts

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Oh.

My. 

Goodness.

These donuts. I just don't even have the words.

Let me try and find them: LEMON. PISTACHIO. PROTEIN. DONUTS. 

Even though I made them myself, it is hard to believe how amazing these taste when they are made with protein powder. I mean, let's not fool ourselves - baking with protein powder is GREAT, but its never quite the real deal. But I swear to you, if you didn't know how these were made you would think I picked them up from a near by donut shop. 

I will admit that I had my doubts I could ever get this recipe exactly spot on like I wanted it. The first attempt the batter had too much liquid and they baked flat and rubbery. The second attempt I almost had but it they were a little dry, however, still definitely edible, I just wasn't sold on the glaze. This third attempt I was determined to nail it and boy did I. 

I will say I tried so hard to make a "healthy" glaze for these donuts by using minimal sugar and even some whey protein powder in the mix, but it just wasn't the consistency I wanted. So I compromised and made a traditional glaze with powdered sugar and milk...but used it oh-so-sparingly. I try my hardest to steer clear of refined sugars but you know what, sometimes you gotta give a little.

Aside from the glaze these are incredibly healthy donuts! The lemon zest and lemon juice make these the ideal summertime donut as their flavor is bright and bursting with with citrus. Each donut packs 8 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of fat. It is hard to believe something that taste THIS good is actually healthy. Don't believe me? You'll just have to see for yourself!

Lemon Pistachio Protein Donuts

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 8 minutes

Servings: 6 donuts

Ingredients:

Donuts

• 1/4 cup  vanilla whey protein powder (I use Whey Protein Isolate from True Nutrition)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose)
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Zest of 1 lemon (approx. 2 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Glaze

• 3 tbsp powdered sugar, loosely measured not hard packed
• 2 tsp milk (or nondairy milk of your choice, I used cashew)

Additional Toppings

• 2 tbsp pistachios, toasted

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease donut pan with coocnut oil (just so the donut don't stick to pan) and set aside. 
2. Mix all dry ingredients (protein powder, flour, coconut palm sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt) together in a large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients (butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, yogurt, egg and vanilla) and whisk together. Add wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together until well incorporated. 
3. Transfer batter to a large Ziploc bag - we will use this as a piping bag. Snip a very small hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag and evenly pipe batter into donut pan. I like to tab the pan on my counter top to level out the batter and ensure there are no air bubbles. 
4. Transfer donuts to oven to bake for 8 minutes or until a toothpick in inserted into the donut and comes out clean. Make sure not to over bake since we are using whey protein and over baking and make your donuts dry and rubbery!
5. After the donuts have finished baking, remove pan from oven and remove donuts from pan for cooling. 
6. While donuts are cooling, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl add 1 tsp of milk at a time to the powdered sugar, stirring after each tsp of milk. If you haven't already toasted your pistachios, now would be the time to toast them. Once cooled, chop the pistachios finely.
7. With a spoon, drizzle equal amounts of glaze over the tops of the cooled donuts. Sprinkle chopped pistachios over each right after the glaze.
8. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, placed in the refrigerator.

Nutritional Information (1 donut)

145 calories - 8 g Protein, 17.5 g Carbohydrates, 4.7 g Fat

Blueberry Lemon Protein Scones

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Breakfast pastries are usually synonymous with high fat and loads of sugar.

But dang it...don't they always look so enticing behind that glass case in the coffee shop?! Sometimes you just want that sweet treat with your cup of coffee - hold the 10 lbs of sugar.

These Blueberry Lemon Protein Scones are the perfect alternative to feed your cravings for breakfast pastries! Bursting with lemon and fresh blueberries, I bet these will rival any scones you'll find in your local coffee shop.

One of my absolute favorite flavors of protein powder recently has been the Lemon Cake Pea Protein from True Nutrition. I'd been trying to come up with a good recipe to use it in and these scones seemed like the perfect match. Plus, you can't go wrong with freshly zested lemons and juicy blueberries!

Blueberry Lemon Protein Scones

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 17-20 minutes

Servings: 8 scones

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup Lemon Cake Pea Protein (3 scoops) ** Any lemon flavored or vanilla flavored pea protein would work here as well!
• 1-1/4 cup gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's 1-to-1)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 2 tbsp melt butter
• 1/2 c Greek yogurt, nonfat 
• 1/2 c + 2 tbsp non-dairy milk (cashew, almond, soy, etc)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 c fresh blueberries

Baking Accessories:

• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. 
2. In a mixing bowl combine your dry ingredients: pea protein, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and coconut palm sugar, whisking to combine.
3. In a separate bowl combine all remaining ingredients, except for the blueberries. Stir to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until a dough is formed. Fold the blueberries into the dough gently, ensuring the blueberries are mixed evenly throughout.
4. Form the dough into a round disk, about 10" in diameter, on your parchment paper lined baking sheet. Slice into 8 equal parts and separate slightly before baking. 
5. Place in oven to bake for 17-20 minutes. Test the scones by inserting a toothpick into the center - they are baked completely when it comes out clean. Serve immediately or allow to cool completely and store in an air tight container for later.

Nutritional Information (1 scone):

175 calories - 12 g Protein, 24 g Carbohydrates, 3.5 g Fat

Cajun Baked Salmon

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Growing up, I was very lucky to have been exposed to a wide variety of cuisines. I can thank my mom for introducing me to a world of flavors, all before I could reach the kitchen counter top without the help of a stool. Surprisingly enough, however, there are some foods I just didn't really get introduced to until later in life. This was mainly due to either my mom or dad's taste preferences. The list, while very short, included salmon, mushrooms and tomatoes. 

My mom doesn't care for mushrooms or raw tomatoes (stewed or cooked tomatoes pass her test!) so very rarely did we see those making an appearance on the dinner table. My dad's list is also very short, but for as long as I can remember consists of: mint, melon, and SALMON. 

Salmon has long been a neglected protein in my rotation of meals. This changed, however, when I began dating my boyfriend who happens to love salmon. He grew up eating it regularly - quite the opposite of my young culinary career. Recently he requested we have salmon for dinner, and when asked how he wanted it prepared he replied with "do you have Cajun rub?".

My spice cabinet is overflowing with jars of spices. I guarantee I'll have almost ANYTHING you are looking for. His cabinet consists of 2 jars of pre-made spice blends: Cowboy Rub and Cajun Seasoning. To his disappointment, I informed him that I did not have the pre-made Cajun spice blend. As a consolation, I offered to make an even BETTER blend. This salmon is healthy, easy to prepare and takes almost no time to bake! 

Lucky for me, this recipe passed the test of The Salmon Man.

Cajun Baked Salmon

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Bake Time: 20-25 minutes

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb skin-on-salmon fillet
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• Cajun spice blend

Cajun Spice Blend

• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Kitchen Equipment

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper or aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Mix spices together for the Cajun spice blend and set aside.
2. Place the salmon, skin side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over salmon and squeeze lemon juice over top. Spread garlic over the fillet. Cover the salmon fillet evenly with the spice blend and massage into the salmon a bit, ensuring to cover the entire piece of fish.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your fillet, it could take more or less time. Keep an eye on the salmon and check after 15 minutes. When the thickest part of the salmon is easily flaked with a fork, the salmon is done cooking. Remove from oven and serve immediately. 

Nutritional Information (one-4 oz serving, recipe makes four-4 oz servings)

150 calories - 23 g Protein, 0 g Carbohydrates, 6 g Fat

Greek Lemon Chicken

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Looking for a simple, healthy and flavorful weeknight dinner? Yes? You've landed on the perfect recipe for just that!

If you are like me you are in need of a shake up from your usual baked chicken. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I crave really basic baked chicken, but most times I want loves of flavor.

This dish really couldn't get any easier to make. The marinade is just FOUR ingredients. That's it. Combine those together and just add chicken. Letting this marinate overnight allows the flavors to really develop in the chicken. The result is incredibly moist and zesty lemon chicken. 

The kalamata olives are the perfect complement to the lemon and fresh oregano. To really tie things all together I recommend garnishing with a sprinkle of feta cheese. The perfect combination of Greek flavors, delivered in a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

Greek Lemon Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes + Marinate Time (at least 30 min, up to 24 hrs) 

Bake Time: 30-40 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients: 

• 4 small chicken breasts, roughly 36 oz total weight
• 1-1/2 lemons, juiced
• 1-1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped  
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt + Pepper
• 10 kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced into 4 rounds and then cut in half

Optional Garnish

• Feta cheese
• Fresh dill

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl or Ziploc bag combine lemon juice, garlic, oregano, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and add chicken breasts. Seal Ziploc bag or cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and return to refrigerator to marinate. This can be done for as little as 30 minutes or can marinate overnight. The longer the marinating time, the better the flavor!
2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove chicken from refrigerator and arrange breasts in a baking dish. Discard remaining marinade, we don't want a lot of excess liquid in the dish with the chicken while baking. Sprinkle olives on top of chicken and arrange lemon slices, 2 halves per chicken breast. 
3. Bake at 375°F for 30-40 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 155°F. I highly recommend investing in an instant read thermometer (like I explain here!) so that you never overcook your meats again.
4. Once baked through, remove from oven and transfer to plates. Garnish with a sprinkle of feta cheese or fresh dill.

Nutritional Information (1 serving, roughly 5 oz cooked):

210 calories - 38g Protein, 1g Carbohydrates, 5.8g Fat