MMM MMMM Muffins!

It is fall!!  For lots of people that means time to bake and cook until our kitchens look like the refrigerator and pantry exploded all over.  Today was one such day for me and I just wanted something pumpkin-y!!  I found an awesome muffin recipe here but I felt like it needed a few extra things.  So here is the recipe I came up with.  I'll admit some recipes with almond flour can taste a bit grainy and weird, but people, this recipe is amazing.  I had one...and then I had another...just to make sure it was blog-worthy of course! : )  Just to give you an idea nutrition wise...a pumpkin muffin at Panera has 590 calories and 89 g net carbs.  My little guy is 195 calories with a net carb count of a little under 10 g carbs.  This also got the husband's stamp of approval with the request that these muffins be a fall tradition.  Then he said, "scratch that.  I think this recipe needs to be a year-round tradition."  I would call that a success!

Protein Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
2 scoops NNW Healthy 100% Whey- Cinnamon Bun Flavor (you can substitute vanilla protein powder if you'd like)
2 Tbsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
4 eggs
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter (softened)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients together including the walnuts.  In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients until well blended.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time.  Use muffin liners in your muffin pan and spray each liner with nonstick spray.  Fill each liner 3/4 to full of batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Yield: 18 muffins

My New Favorite "Pancake" Recipe!

So typically I'll have two eggs and either bacon or Canadian bacon for breakfast along with a glass of 1% milk.  But sometimes the old eggs and bacon gets a little monotonous so I have to find ways to mix up my breakfast routine.  I stumbled upon a recipe for these pancakes here, however, I had to change up the recipe a bit so I put my version below.  They are super easy (aside from the tricky flipping-they are easy to break) and quick!! I like to top mine with 1/3 cup of blueberries and some lite syrup.   These are a bit carb heavy with the banana so these are best in the morning or post workout and make sure you pair these with some other protein like some meat/ glass of milk/etc.  Yummy!  Enjoy!!
*Note: I like these better than the previous protein pancakes I posted. : )

Best "Pancakes" Ever
makes 3-4 small pancakes (1 Serving)

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. Almond Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill brand- you can find it at your local grocery store in Health food section)
1 egg
1 medium banana
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1.  Mash banana in a bowl.  Add all of the other ingredients and blend well.

2.  Pour batter onto greased pan (2-3 Tbsp of batter per pancake will give you about 3-4 pancakes).

3.  Turn pancakes when edges appear firm and cooked.  These pancakes will not bubble like regular pancakes.  Also, don't mess with them until you have to.  If you try to flip too early, they will break!!

4.  Gently flip pancakes when underside is light golden brown.  Let pancakes cook on other side until entire pancake is firm.

5.  Top with your favorite fruit and lite syrup.  Enjoy!!

A Healthy Recipe and Not-So Healthy recipe

Here is my healthy recipe that is similar to my protein pancakes.  Found this online at bodybuilding.com and I love it.


Protein Waffles

1 c. whey protein powder
1 egg
1/2 c. water
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. vanilla
one banana


Mix thoroughly and pour into a heated waffle maker that has been greased.  You can also add 1 tsp. of mini chocolate chips to the batter once it has been poured onto the waffle maker if you want a little extra flavor, but keep in mind this will be an increase in sugar and carbs.  This recipe makes about 6 small sized waffles ( I have a regular waffle maker, not a huge belgian waffle one, but I'm sure it would work with that one too, just wouldn't make as many).  I also suggest doubling the recipe and freezing these waffles.  Enjoy!


Pumpkin Muffins- found on allrecipes.com

My mom made these.  Super easy! I had one bite and they are so easy that I decided to share with those who need a sweet treat or for those of you who aren't as concerned about carbs. : )

1   15 oz can pumpkin
1   18.25 oz yellow cake mix
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Splenda brown sugar mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 12 muffin pan or grease 12 muffin liners within pan.  Mix all ingredients together and divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups.  Top with brown sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Protein recipes!

So I've been trying to eat a lot more protein lately because my trainer said I should.  It is REALLY hard!! Do you know how much 140 grams of protein is? A lot.  Consider that about one egg has 6 grams of protein per egg...yes, it is a lot to eat in a day, but it is working.  Anywho, because of this new goal to eat lots of protein, I've stumbled across a few little recipe gems.  The first is my go-to protein smoothie that I drink after I work out.  Yes, there is banana in it and orange juice, so there is a bit of sugar, but c'mon people, I will not eat/drink anything that doesn't taste decent.  My trainer suggested only drinking this post workout or if I'm substitute teaching or in a time crunch jam.  The second is a protein pancake recipe I found on the Hitch Fit website blog.  Hope you love it as much as I do!

Protein Fruit Smoothie

1 1/2 scoop whey protein ( I use the gold standard brand vanilla creme whey)
one carton greek yogurt (any flavor- small serving size)
handful of frozen berries
one banana
splash of orange juice
ice cubes

Blend all together.  This can easily be doubled and stored for a day or two.

Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes

2 scoops whey protein

8 egg whites

2 Tbs Peanut butter

2 1/2 Tbs Brown Sugar Splenda blend

1 c oatmeal

Blend all ingredients.  Spray nonstick pan and let pan heat up to a medium heat.  Pour a scoopful of batter into pan and flip when bubbles appear on pancake.   Batter is very liquid, but if pan is hot enough, it shouldn't spread too much.  Makes about 6-8 pancakes.

*These are thin pancakes and dense, but it is a pancake substitute, it's not going to be perfect.  I topped mine with a tiny bit of peanut butter and banana to make it go down a little easier.