Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

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In case you haven't heard, I am now a Guest Blogger and Athlete for True Nutrition! This is such an exciting opportunity for me as I've been using True Nutrition products for years. I've already created a handful of recipes using various True Nutrition protein powders and you can now find all of those and future recipes on the newly created Protein Powder page!

So what exactly does being a Guest Blogger entail, you may ask? It means I get to flex my creativity by using the wide range of True Nutrition proteins in new tasty recipes!

Let's get started, shall we?

Bananas are a staple grocery item in my house, as I love eating them after I lift. The problem is, sometimes I overbuy and I end up with overly ripened bananas that I don't want to waste...but also lose their appeal to eat as is.

Enter: Baking

Baking with bananas is amazing because:

1. They act as a natural sweetener (no added sugar required for these muffins!)

2. They can be used as a substitute for butter or oil in baking, thus lightening up the fat

3. They keep your baked goods incredibly moist and tender

Baking with whey protein can be tricky. It isn't a simple 1-for-1 substitution with flour in a recipe. Often times baked goods using whey protein turn out spongy or dry, neither of which is a way I want to describe a muffin! The key is to make you balance the dry ingredients with enough wet, and ensure there is some cooking fat. Luckily, the bananas in the recipe play a roll as both, adding moisture and tenderness to your baked goods. In addition to vanilla whey protein, I'm also using coconut and almond flours for my "dry", which will help give volume to our magnificent muffins.

The result? Flavorful tender muffins that are hardly distinguishable from its non-protein packed alternative. Not only are these high in protein, they are also gluten-free and low in fat! They are amazing with your morning coffee as a great breakfast option, especially if you are looking for a way to shake up your normal routine. Or, if you are more like me and don't eat breakfast normally, these are an amazing guilt free dessert option, especially when warmed and served along side a scoop of ice cream!

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 8 muffins

Ingredients: 

• 2 scoops True Nutrition Vanilla Whey Protein (60 g)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (28 g)
• 1/4 cup almond flour (28 g)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup mashed ripened bananas, about 2-3 bananas (225 g)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (45 g) - I like to use Sunspire 42% Cacao Semi-Sweet Baking Chips 

Baking Accessories:

• Muffin tin
• Muffin/Cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare muffin tin with 8 liners. In a mixing bowl combine your dry ingredients: whey protein, coconut flour, almond flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, combine your wet ingredients: banana, eggs and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix and medium speed until well combined. Add chocolate chips and hand fold into batter with spatula.
3. Spoon batter evenly among 8 muffin liners. Bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes in tin before eating...this is the hardest part of the whole recipe! Serve warm or store in air-tight container for later. 

Nutritional Information (1 muffin):

140 calories - 10 g Protein, 15 g Carbohydrates, 4.5 g Fat

Mimi's Toffee Bars

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For my family and I, Christmas isn't complete without Mimi's Christmas cookies. We all know them and love them. Teatime Tessie's, Crescents, Acorns, and my personal favorite: Toffee Bars. Of course everyone also has their favorite cookie so we always had to make ALL the cookies...and lots of them!

Baking cookies was always a special time growing up as well - spending time with my Mimi, mom, aunts, cousins and sister in the kitchen. Our Mimi was the greatest woman ever and so many of my Christmas memories and traditions started with her. These cookies are very close to my heart <3

The recipe for these cookies is from 1961, or so says the recipe that we have written down from Mimi. In 1961 things were a bit different with baking...yes, these cookies in their original form are not gluten-free (gasp!). I took a gamble and tweaked the recipe this year and I'm happy to report my successes! In addition to making these gluten-free, I also reduced the butter and cut out the refined sugar. 

These cookies are really fun and easy to make. After baking the sheet of cookies you pile on chocolate pieces, allow them to melt on the warm from the oven cookie, and then spread that smooth chocolate all across. 

The final touch is a sprinkle of pecans. While the chocolate is still warm you will need to cut the cookies before allowing them to cool. You slice long strips (vertically) followed by cutting on the diagonal, making diamond shaped cookies. 

These cookies have just the right amount of crispy crunch to them with a punch of dark chocolate and pecans. 

Happy Holidays! 

Mimi's Toffee Bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Baking Time: 18-20 minutes

Servings: Approximately 40 cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
• 1 cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• Dash of salt
• 6 oz dark chocolate (around 62% cacao - not too dark like 90% or else it could be too bitter)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Kitchen Utensils:

• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Cookie sheet with sides (10x15 in)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl) combine the butter, Greek yogurt, sugar, vanilla, egg, baking flour and salt. Mix on medium high until well incorporated. Spread into un-greased cookie sheet, ensuring the cookie batter is smooth and level within the sheet. 
3. Bake until the cookie rises and falls, resulting in a smooth cookie all the way across. This takes approximately 18-20 minutes - be sure to watch your edges! You don't want your cookie to burn. While the cookie is baking break your chocolate bars into small pieces and chop the pecans.
4. Once the cookie has finished baking, remove from oven and lay chocolate over the top, spacing evenly and covering the cookie. Allow to sit for a minute or two before spreading the chocolate evenly across the top. Sprinkle with pecans. While the cookie is still warm cut straight long strips vertically (about 5 or 6 strips) followed by cuts on the diagonal, making diamond shaped cookies. 
5. Allow the cookie to continue cooling before removing from the pan. This will take a few hours. I suggest making these the day before you plan on eating them and allowing them to cool overnight (or bake in the morning if you plan on serving that evening). You want to allow the chocolate to set and harden before enjoying!

Nutritional Information (1 cookie, based on approximately 40 total cookies)

85 calories - 1 g protein, 9.4 g carbohydrates, 4.8 g fat

Double Chocolate Peppermint Protein Muffins

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While I dream of having a full time job has a food blogger someday, whipping up recipes day in and day out, the current reality is that I'm an engineer (gotta pay the bills to buy all this food somehow). At my office, we have a quarky birthday tradition: when it is your birthday, you bring in treats for the office. A backwards tradition that I've actually grown fond of. 

Things are starting to get more serious with my figure prep as I near being just 9 weeks out. What fun is bringing in birthday treats if the birthday girl herself can't eat them?? This pushed me to get creative with my baking!

First to come to mind was cupcakes. I love baking cupcakes and have created some pretty fantastic cakes in years past. The best part of a cupcake, in my opinion, is the frosting/topping. You know what makes it so good? BUTTER. 

I would have LOVED to make a full fat birthday treat, however, I have my eyes set to my goal. So what if I ditched the frosting? What is a cupcake without frosting? Ah yes - a muffin.

I knew I wanted a healthy dose of chocolate and I'd also been craving some Holiday inspired. What pairs better during the holiday season than chocolate and peppermint? Now, this is a stretch to call this delicious creation a muffin. Most often muffins are thought of as a breakfast food. These can easily pass for dessert. I did put my signature spin on these and added in protein powder, so that counts for "breakfast"...right?

I brought 3 dozen of these into my office and they were eaten up in record speed. If you are looking for a crowd-pleasing dessert to serve up this holiday season that tastes like it is a decadent treat but is actually low fat, gluten free and packed with protein, do yourself a favor and bake up a batch of these Double Chocolate Peppermint Protein Muffins!

Double Chocolate Peppermint Protein Muffins

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Bake Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour  (198 g)
• 2/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (55 g)
• 1/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar (48 g)
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Whey Protein (60 g) - I use True Nutrition's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Whey Isolate
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Coconut Milk Beverage (in the paper cartons) - soy, almond or cashew milk would also work!
• 1/4 cup Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 2 Eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
• 2 Candy Canes, crushed

Kitchen Tools:

• Muffin tin
• Stand mixer or electric hand mixer

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare muffin tin by spraying with oil or brushing with a small bit of butter. Prepare candy canes by placing them within a plastic Ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin (this part can get fun). 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, protein, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. 
3. In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), combine coconut milk, Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until light and fluffy, about 1 minute at medium-high speed. Remove bowl from stand mixer (or remove hand mixer) and add in dry ingredients. By hand, mix in the dry ingredients with a hand whisk and spatula. It is important NOT to over mix! The batter will be fairly thick; scoop-able, not pour-able. Once well incorporated, mix in chocolate chips and crushed candy cane. 
4. Scoop batter into muffin tin. Place tin in oven to bake. Immediately after closing oven door, reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake muffins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes within the pan and then remove to finish cooling on a cooling rack. 

Nutritional Information (1 muffin)

186 Calories - 8g Protein, 31g Carbohydrates, 3.2g 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

Pumpkin Pie

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You can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. You just can't, and I certainly wasn't planning on skipping my slice of pie (or 2) this year! I've shown you just how much I love pumpkin with my Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Bolognese, Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies, Pumpkin Protein Waffles and of course, my Pumpkin Protein Donuts. 

All of these recipes are great, but can you really beat a simple slice of pumpkin pie?

Like many of my holiday recipes, I've taken the traditional recipe and adapted it to fit my diet. Traditionally, pumpkin pie is made with either evaporated milk and loads of sugar or condensed milk. Call me crazy, but something about canned dairy just doesn't appeal to me. I also want to feel good after eating my dessert, instead of worse because of the amount of sugar I've ingested. My pumpkin pie uses light coconut milk and a bit of pure maple syrup for sweetening. The result is the most delicious light and creamy pumpkin pie - you have to trust me on this one.

While my pie is in no way "healthy" - that would take away the fun of the holidays - it definitely has reduced guilt when eating ;)

Pumpkin Pie

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 1 hr 10 minutes

Servings: 1 pie, 8-10 slices

Ingredients:

• 1 Mamaw's Pie Crust
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Optional topping: Coconut whipped cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°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. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, spices (salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves) and vanilla. Mix to incorporate spices. 
4. In a medium mixing bowl combine coconut milk, maple syrup and eggs. Whisk to combine. Pour mixture into the pumpkin, continuing to whisk to fully incorporate. 
5. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and pour filling into crust. 
6. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, loosely cover with aluminum foil, to prevent the crust from becoming too brown, and reduce heat to 350°F. Bake for an additional 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. 
7. Allow pie to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. This can easily be made the day before you plan on eating. 

Nutritional Information (1 slice out of 10 slices)

170 calories - 3 g Protein, 22 g Carbohydrates, 8 g Fat