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Nuttzo Over Nut Butter + Giveaway

November 8, 2012 By Laura

Lame jokes are my favorite.

Q: What did the fish say when he hit a wall?

A: Damn.

I’ll spare you more jokes and get right to the point. Remember my post competition treat of choice? 

NuttZo was a big treat for me because I hadn’t been “allowed” nut butter on my training plan for a while, and because at ~$15 it’s a pricey jar of creamy, nutty deliciousness (worth every penny, btw).

That’s not a problem for one of you… The lovely people at Nuttzo have offered to give away a jar of the good stuff!  this is a jar of the Original flavor (my favorite).  It contains peanuts, cashews, almonds, Brazilian nuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, hazelnuts, sea salt.  All organic.  No added sugar or oil.

Other reason NuttZo rocks: 

  • Legumes + nuts and seeds = a complete protein (all your amino acids)
  • Provides 50% of your DV of ALA Omega 3 per serving (650 mg)
  • A 16-ounce jar of NuttZo Original provides 14 servings – less than $1 per serving of organic nut-nutrition

 Receive up to 4 entries by:

  1. Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
  2. Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win a jar of nut butter in the @NuttZoCEO giveaway at @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-1hN  #giveaway
  3. Be Social: Facebook Like NuttZo, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
  4. Comment: What is your favorite way to eat nut butter?

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, November 13th.  The winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 14th.


Just in case you need some ideas for using nut butter, here are my top 5: 

(Note: many of these call for peanut butter or peanut flour, but you can sub in NuttZ or your favorite nut butter.)

1.  Nut Butter & Aggs 

All-time favorite breakfast invention.

 2. Nut Butter-Baked Oatmeal 

Perfect on a cold morning.  Like now.

3. Chili Nutty Tofu

Lauren can vouch for me – baked tofu is fantastic fluffy goodness.

4. Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These are only 100 cals and have just 2g of sugar.  And you’d never know it.

5. Sweet Potato Nut Butter Ice Cream

To my fellow addicts: this is also amazing with pumpkin. 

***

I get my new nutrition plan today… I’m at once relieved (this has been a junk food bender) and sad. 

What’s the most #strangebutgood way you eat nut butter?

What is your favorite lame joke?

Filed Under: Baking, Breakfast, Giveaway, Products, Recipes Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, dinner, giveaway, gluten-free, nut butter, Nuttzo, oats, protein, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Random Acts of Friday

August 24, 2012 By Laura

Time sure flies when you’re all jacked up.

 

 

The heel pain mystery has been solved.  No, it was not caused (or cured) by Jack.  This was my view on the way to the doctor though!

Many of you guys guessed it would be plantar fasciitis and you were right.  The Doc said I caught it early, so I should be fine with some daily stretches and rolling it on a frozen water bottle.  While I wish it had been nothing more than a random bruise, I’m glad it’s nothing horrendous!

 

 

How’s this for random: 

Kellogg is coming out with limited edition college-themed Pop Tarts.  As if college students need any encouragement to subside on a diet of PopTarts.  Did anyone else go through a cinnamon Pop Tart vending machine phase freshmen year?

Nothing like add a curve in the form of the “Freshman 15.”

 

 

Then I saw this nauseatingly random sandwich:

NPR reported on a group who found a creative, albeit unnecessary, way to fuel their 5K.  An Energy Bar Sandwich composed of “Luna Bar bread, a Clif Bar patty, topped with a Powerbar, carbohydrate goo and… Clif Shot Bloks.”  1,200 calories of fuel.  *barf*

The article is filled with hilarious quotes, but this one was my favorite Shot: “This is the perfect thing to eat before my new workout program, ‘Crossfat.'”

 

 

Less gag-inducing, but random nonetheless: 

This article entitled “Foods That Make You Pretty” is full on food remedies to common annoyances.

My favorite? Celery can apparently be used to scrub and whiten your teeth.  I think I’ve inadvertently used it as floss…

 

 

A random blast for my recipe past:

Photo from Amanda’s blog

Amanda @ Friday Love Song brought back my “Green Slime” Protein Icing this week in her What I Ate Wednesday post.  Rock on, my friend.

And additional random slime fact: a reader recently commented on my slime  post that she was slimed once At Universal Studios.  And I was jealous.

Totally having this for breakfast today on my PrOATein Pancakes.  Thanks for reminding me about it, Amanda!

Finally the random you’ve all been waiting for…

The Chike Protein Coffee giveaway winners!

Winner 1: Cari

Winner 2: Haley

Winner 3: Leslie @ Pixiepine Blog

Congrats to the winners!!!

Please email me your info to send along to Chike.

 

If you didn’t wine but would like to try Chike High Protein Coffee, click here to visit their site to place an order.  I will be ordering more for myself!

 ***

I can’t thank you all enough for the kind words about the loss of my dad via comments on yesterday’s post, Instagram, and Facebook.  You truly brightened my day. 🙂

What is something random you’ve encountered lately?

How much would someone have to pay you to eat that Energy Bar Sandwich?

Filed Under: Breakfast, Giveaway, Recipes Tagged With: breakfast, Chike, injury, plantar fasciitis, protein

Tales from the Gym + Caffeinated Giveaway

August 21, 2012 By Laura

There’s one in every crowd.

You  know the one.  The dude that you keep catching staring at you in the gym.  You know it’s just a matter of time before he comes over to chat.  Monday was that day.

First, you have to picture this guy.  Mid-30s, frat boy hair cut, tattoos up on arm… fairly big guy with a little beer belly.   He sauntered up to me while I was adding weight to the seated row machine.

He opened his mouth to reveal one of the most Southern accents I’ve heard in Atlanta.

Frat Man: “I believe that’s more than you weigh.”

Me: “Not quite, but close.”

Frat Man: “I’ve been watching you.  You’re strong.”

Me: “Thank you.”

We went our separate ways, but I notice he’s still glancing over at me.  Later I was doing my calf raises and he asked if he could work in.  I obliged, but before he started, he had to add more commentary.

Frat Man: “I’m sorry I keep staring at you.  I can’t help it – you look just like Tinkerbell.”

Me: “Well… thanks!  I love Tinker.”

Frat Man: “I mean it.  Straight from the TV… how much do you weigh?”

Me: “I’m not really sure.”

Frat Man: “Well, you look good.”

Me: “Thanks.  Have a great workout.”

All of this went down in the least creepy way possible (trust me – I know creepy).  Well, aside from the fact that he said he’s been watching me.  LOL!

Slightly less funny, but still amusing.  This was on the television at the gym yesterday morning:

Daria.

I kind of wanted to stop and watch.


But I mentioned a giveaway, right?

This is one of the more exciting giveaways I’ve done, IMHO.  Reason being is that I LOVE this product.  Often I see giveaways for products that aren’t so great.  Of course, everyone has different tastes… but I do make it a point to try samples before agreeing to a giveaway.  There have been products I’ve turned down – I feel like it reflects badly on me if you are sent something that isn’t that great!

That’s not the case with this giveaway (or with the P28 Bread – I am in LOVE).

Chike contacted me about their coffee protein powder a few weeks ago.  I was hesitant – often I find coffee-flavored stuff to be too fake.  I like the real thing.  The rep assured me the caffeine content was the same as a 2 espresso shots, and it was low sugar/low sodium I knew I had to give it a shot.  Enter: a new addiction.

Who needs Starbucks when you can have a homemade protein mocha frapp with a fraction of the sugar?  If you were to order a Grande (16 oz) Mocha Frappucchino Light at Starbucks, you’d be drinking 130 calories, 28g carbs, 26g sugar, and 4g of protein.  You might as well just swallow 2 tablespoons of sugar.

With 20g of whey protein, 23 vitamins & minerals, and just 2g sugar, this powder makes for a perfect pre-workout shake.  Sunday I was feeling really sluggish after eating too many salty truffle fries on cheat day (I woke up feeling hung over!), but I downed this before meeting my trainer and had a great leg workout.

In my re-creation of the frappuccino, you’ll only have the 2g of sugar from the Chike protein powder and an additional 6-7g from half of a banana.  This is a mocha (any excuse for chocolate in the morning), but you could change up the flavors to recreate your favorite.

Check out this Pumpkin Frapp I did last fall, for example.

You guys know I can’t make a smoothie without adding spinach, so this delicious beverage has a slightly green-ish tint.  The banana added natural sweetness and lent a creamy texture to the drink.

I can never stress enough – use good cocoa!!!  Your drink will be 10x better and 1T of the good stuff won’t break the bank. 🙂

Recipe at bottom.


I’ll get off my sugar-soap box now and tell you how you can get your own Chike High Protein Coffee.

3 winners will be randomly chosen to receive 5 packets of the coffee, and a Chike Blender bottle.  You can never have enough blender bottles.

Receive up to 4 entries:

  1. Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
  2. Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win a blender bottle and sample pack from @iLikeChike with @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-1rZ  #giveaway
  3. Be Social: Twitter Follow Chike, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
  4. Comment: What is your go-to caffeinated beverage?

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST Thursday night,  August 23rd.  The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 24th!

Open to US Residents only.  If you’d like to try these bars but didn’t win, you can order your own on the Chike website.


Mocha Protein Frappuccino

  • 1 serving Chike High Protein Coffee (or 1 scoop protein powder + 1 tsp instant coffee)
  • 1 C spinach (optional)
  • 1/2 medium banana
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 7-8 drops liquid Stevia
  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1.8 tsp Guar Gum (optional, acts as a thickener)
  • Ice, to taste

Place all ingredients in blander and mix until smooth.

Top with your favorite add-ins – I used raw oats here – and enjoy!

***

Yesterday we lost one of the most brilliantly funny comedians to walk this earth.  RIP to Phyllis Diller.  I’ll leave you with her wisdom: “Best way to get rid of kitchen odors: Eat out.”

What is your funniest gym interaction?

Are you concerned with sugar intake? 

Filed Under: Fitness, Giveaway, Products, Recipes, Smoothies, Vitamix Tagged With: breakfast, Chike, coffee, frappuccino, protein, smoothies, snacks, vegetarian, workout

The Lawrence + P28 Giveaway Winner

August 10, 2012 By Laura

Last Saturday’s cheat day adventures didn’t end with vegan soft serve.

 

I met up with Lee @ In My Tummy and her husband, Jason for dinner.  Lee and I have been talking about checking out The Lawrence (905 Juniper St., Atlanta, GA 30309, 404.961.717) since it opened.  A few months later… we finally made it!

 

 

We studied the menu, strategizing our order.  The menu is separated into small, medium, and larger plates.  The smalls are tapas-sized, mediums contain 3-4 ounces of a protein, and the larges are 6-7 ounces of protein.  We settled on sharing a few small and medium plates.

 

 

 

First, a gift from the kitchen:

 

Our amuse bouche was a spoon of sweet corn soup with a bit of smoked trout and parsley.  This may sound weird, but I really appreciated the touch of green to balance the sweet and smoky flavors.  Maybe I’m just a big fan of greens.

 

Our first small plate was actually quite large.  This plate of grilled summer squash was served with tarragon, maldon salt, and garlic oil.  The squashes were cut into thick wedges, which meant that there was still a good crunch to the center.

 

My favorite of the smalls was this Salt & Pepper Tofu.  Lee’s husband commented that it tasted a little lick chicken.  The chef had soaked it in a rice vinegar and coated it in rice flour to dry fry.  It was served with spicy radish slices, cilantro, and Serrano pepper.  I would go back for this dish alone.

 

 

Have you ever heard of dry frying?  I wasn’t familiar with the term so I googled it and found this article.  Exactly how it sounds!  I’ll be recreating this delicious meal soon.

 

The last small was good, but somewhat unremarkable.  Thin slices of Cremini mushrooms were tossed with artichokes, arugula, and a herb-lemon vinaigrette.  It wasn’t bad, just not special.  I’d try something different next time.

 

Our mediums were excellent.  We had the seared Black Bass.  It was served with baby eggplant, confit potato, carrot, and tomato compote – a sort of deconstructed ratatouille.  I never think to serve a rich tomato sauce with fish, but I loved the flavors together.  Black Bass is on the meatier side of the fish spectrum, which the sauce complimented well.

 

Last was the Speckled Trout Sashimi.  I’ve never seen trout served sashimi-style before, so of course I had to try this out.  It was beautifully plated with a schemer of black garlic mayo, edamame, and pickled maitake mushrooms.  Much to my surprise, the trout wasn’t too fishy!  I wish I had asked where it was sourced from because it was perfectly fresh, making it palatable for this new sushi eater.

 

I sort of wanted dessert, but no one else seemed passionate about it.  That turned out to be a good thing because a plate of mini-citrus Madelines and strawberry jelly bites (like thick fruit roll-ups) were delivered along with our check.  Jelly candies aren’t my favorite; however, I could have eaten the entire plate of cookies.  It was just the thing to end the meal. I’m trying the butter cake next time though.

 

Service is a big selling point for me.  The staff at The Lawrence was fantastic.  The hostess’ were friendly, our server was knowledgeable about the menu and the (too small) wine list, and my water was kept full by the entire team.

Overall, The Lawrence is another win for the Dinner Party group.  But please expand the wine list.

 

Check out Lee’s review from earlier in the week!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Don’t worry!!!  I didn’t forget the P28 Bread Giveaway winners!

*drum roll*

 

 

  1. Laura @ Mommy Run Fast
  2. Alysha @ She’s On the Run
  3. Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean

Congratulations!

Winners: Please send me your addresses. 🙂

***

My site was down over night and early this morning.  I apologize for this post being late… thank you guys for checking back and a BIG thank you for BlueHost customer support!

Do you freak out when you have technical problem that you have NO idea how to fix?  I admit… freaked more than a little this morning.

Do you like to order small plates to share, or have your own to hoard?

 

Filed Under: Giveaway, Restaurants Tagged With: Atlanta, dinner, restaurants, The Lawrence, tofu

Indecisive Love

August 9, 2012 By Laura

It’s a travel week at work

That means a quiz post is on order.  I always do these when I’m short on time, thinking it will be a quick post.

The joke’s on me.  These almost take me longer than a regular post because I debate so much over the choices.  Indecisiveness prevails.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MORE?(Copied from a bazillion other bloggers.)

1. Strength training or cardio?

Strength training all th way.  Which is convenient since I’m going to do a figure competition. 😉

I do hate this machine though:

My Nemesis: Hack Squats

2. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

Brinner!  (That’s breakfast for dinner.)  I’d eat breakfast for any meal.  PB & Jeggs, anyone?

3. Dress up or workout clothes?

Workout clothes.  Getting me to wear “real” clothes is like pulling teeth.  If you really think about it, it’s pretty stupid that we have to dress uncomfortably to go sit behind a desk all day.

4. Wine or beer?

Hi, have we met?  I love wine.  I traveled to Italy to drink it.  If I could, I’d live on a vineyard.  Or in a wine glass.

5. Peanut butter or almond butter?

I love all nut butters.  Especially these Nutty Butters.  If forces to choose… I’d have to go with my childhood classic: peanut butter.  Preferably in the form of a simple, grilled PB & J.

6. Heels or flats?

I’ll get even more specific than that.  Flip flops.

Please ignore the ugly feet, but these are a must-have. (Click for source.)

More terrifying than wearing a bikini on stage for my competition is the though of having to walk across that stage in stripper heels.

7. The actual cake or the frosting?

20 years ago (wow… that make me feel old), I would have said icing.  Now I’m all about the cake.  Unless it’s cream cheese-pecan icing on carrot cake.  That required equal parts of both. 🙂

8.  Spring, summer, fall, or winter?

Either spring or fall.  Maybe a little more fall because I love trips to the mountains to get apples and see the leaves change.  But spring is so fresh and full of possibility.

Ohhhh… just remembered that fall also means college football season.  FALL.  Go Jackets!

9.   Real animal or stuffed animal?

Stuffed. I love the idea of a real animal.  I’m a cat lover.  However, I am terribly selfish.

My boss and I were actually just talking about this and she said I’m centered around self right now.  Not self-centered, but focused on accomplishing specific goals.  So much so that it’s all I can do to keep my house plant alive.  Is that a terrible thing to admit?  

10.  Bright or light?

Errrrr… black?  If you look in my closet, it’s all black.  To me, it’s comfy like workout clothes.  Black workout clothes, that is. 🙂

Black with accents of gray.

***

I’m in Texas selling (I hope) some work today.  I forgot my cowboy hat, but the dude on the plane next to me let me borrow his.  (Not really, but he was wearing one.)

Don’t forget: click here to enter my giveaway for a loaf of high protein bread from P28 High Protein Bread – ends tonight at 11:59p!

Are you/have you ever been centered around self?

How about you?  Pick a couple and tell me your loves!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Giveaway, Weights Tagged With: breakfast, figure competition, Italy, quiz, wine

Banana Creme Brownie Parfait + WIAW

August 8, 2012 By Laura

Bad smells piss me off.

You know when you’re in the gym and someone has offensively bad body odor?  That makes me insane.

I think I was that girl.  With garlic, not BO.  During leg day on Monday with my trainer, he asked what I had eaten that day.  I sheepishly had to admit to have excessive garlic.  He could smell it on my skin!  Is that weird?  I’ve never noticed that… have you?

On the flip side, there was a guy in the weight room yesterday morning that smelled really good.  I was going to thank him, but I thought maybe that would be creepy.

Speaking of training… no changes in my nutrition plan to report this week.  Yet.  

While I’ve been obviously gaining muscle, I haven’t actually gained weight.I think we’re increasing carbs a bit, and adding some addition little more fat.  I’m excited about the increase in fats – I’ve been craving avocados!  I also get to start doing some sprints.  Apparently sprinters have nice bums… I have no bum.  That asset is an important one in figure competitions.  😉

Lolo may not have earned a medal, but I will admit her body is bootylicious.


I’m going to assume you didn’t come here to talk about BO and butts… let’s move on to the What I Ate Wednesday  goodies.

Check out my summertime appropriate eats below, then click here to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s summer eats!


Meal 1:

This is an old pic; I now use Optimum Nutrition Orange Amino Energy mixed with ~2T of apple cider vinegar and water.  Enjoy this first thing, about 30 mins prior to meal one for its benefits related to energy, digestion, and skin.  I don’t even drink coffee anymore thanks to this.

I added another treat to my digestive system this week too: Good Belly.

These kind people sent me coupon to try out their probiotic shots.  I was pleased to see that there is a no-sugar-added option!  The taste was good – fairly neutral actually.  Probiotics are known to help keep your body’s bacteria in balance, and help the digestive system.  Nothing yet to report on the digestive end (get it?  end?  tee hee!), but I am a believer in the benefits of probiotics.

Isn’t the smiley face cute?

As I mentioned last week, I’m doing some meal-order-swapping around my workouts.  Since I went to the gym early, I swapped meals 1 and 2, meaning I need a fruit and a protein first thing and my post-workout meal would include my carb.

I’m on a PB & Feggs (fruit + eggs) bender.  Remember these PB & Jeggs?  Or these PB & Aggs?  This week it’s PB & Peggs!

I knew it would be good since I liked the others, but I didn’t remember exactly how awesome warm peaches are.  I used the now in season donut peaches to make what might be my favorite Feggs creation to date!

PB & Peggs:

  • 1/2 C egg whites
  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 2 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 donut peach, cut into ~1/2 in pieces

See this post for detailed instructions.

Meal 2:

Post-workout I felt like a little treat.  I’ve had Brittany’s Sweet Potato Pancakes bookmarked for a while, and had just mashed some sweet potatoes.  Perfect timing.  I followed her recipe closely.  My sweet potato mash was about 1/2 C.  I used just 1/2 a scoop of protein powder and added 2 tsp of chia seeds.  I only needed 1 T of the milk.  Oh, and I was verrrry generous with the cinnamon.

For my topping, I mixed equal parts Sunbutter and coconut flour with enough water to form a paste.  I also threw on some caramelized bananas, using the same method from my French Elvis Toast.

Meal 3:

This lunch packed some color!  I made Lauren’s Beet Burgers earlier in the week… only I got too creative with the recipe and they won’t hold together.  They did taste fantastic (especially with the extra garlic I added… sorry again to my trainer)!  I used my burger crumbles to top a spinach salad sprinkled with nooch.

My carb and additional protein was a slice of my favorite P28 High Protein Bread with a schemer of artichoke spread sprinkled with red pepper flakes.

Meal 4:

I pride myself in making different meal constantly.  Repeats don’t happen often in my kitchen… until recently.  I’m absolutely obsessed with the Capella Cake Batter Flavor Drops I shared here last week.  This and the Carrot Cake Batter Shake happened at least 2x a week these days.  Good thing carrots are so sweet and flavorful this season!

Meal 5:

I was inspired by Heather’s field trip to the Asian market to make my own tofu Tofu Spring Rolls.  Heather even sent me this handy tutorial on how to roll them.  Seems easy enough…

Apparently I am not as skilled as my broccoli kissing friend because mine didn’t exactly hold together.

I'll keep working on it...

At least the sauce was good.  It was a simple spicy peanut sauce made from peanut flour, water, lime juice, and sriracha.

Served with a side of quinoa that I tossed in a very small amount of miso tamari, rice vinegar, avocado oil, and red pepper flakes.  It was healthy fried rice!

Meal 6:

I happened to see on Pinterest that someone pinned my parsnip fries.  It was a great reminder to make them again!

Of course, I couldn’t do it the same way twice.  And when I ate this it was 9:30pm, which to me = dessert time.

Cinnamon sticks with a protein frosting dipper.  Holy yum.  I simply tossed my parsnips in a teeny bit of coconut oil and a ton of cinnamon before roasting.  The dip was vanilla protein powder, stevia, a splash of vanilla, and water to mix.  I also added a few drops of the Capella Cake Batter Flavor Drops. Easy and OMG good.

Meal 7:

They say that everyone has a twin somewhere.  I don’t know about that, but I certainly have a food twin.  Meg @ A Dash of Meg and I share the same palate.  I’ve made several of her dishes and am always blown away.  She is a HUGE source of inspiration not only for healthy eating, but also for pushing harder in the gym.

It was her recipe for a Chocolate Brownie and Raspberry Parfait that inspired this lovely creation that I downed like a fat kid at recess.

 

This Banana Creme Brownie Parfait rocked my socks off.  A couple of my favorite summertime potluck desserts are banana pudding and brownies.  This killed two cravings with one stone.  As I slowly worked my way through the wine glass (that’s right – I eat wine parfaits), the creme was soaking into the brownies leaving a decadent, spongy, slightly gooey bedtime snack of champions.



Banana Creme Brownie Parfait

For the Brownie:

  • 1/4 cup oats
  • 1 T pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 C egg whites
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1/2 scoop (1T) Chocolate Rice Protein Powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 8 drops cocoa liquid stevia 

For the Creme:

  • 1 C plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp banana extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • Bananas

 Mix the brownie ingredients in a small bowl.  Microwave until just done, ~ 1 min.  

Meanwhile, stir together the yogurt ingredients.

To assemble: layer yogurt, brownie pieces, and bananas in a pretty glass (yes, it must be pretty), alternating until you’re out of each.

Enjoy!

***

Are you keeping track?  I managed 158.5g of protein – all vegetarian!

Does body odor make you mad?

What is your favorite way to eat eggs?  Have you tried the PB & Feggs?  Or do you think I’m insane?

Filed Under: Breakfast, Fitness, Giveaway, Products, Recipes, Weights Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, dinner, figure competition, Good Belly, lunch, P28 Bread, peanut flour, snacks, sweet potato, vegetarian, WIAW, yogurt

French Elvis Toast

August 7, 2012 By Laura

My love affair with breakfast continues.

I couldn’t choose between something peanut butter-y and French toast.  Like a true healthy-living blogger I want nut butter at every meal, but I’d been thinking about french toast ever since receiving a loaf of P28 Bread.

French toast was my favorite childhood breakfast.  Mom used to make it on challah bread with lots of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.  She would then warm syrup with butter to pour over the decadent toast.

Obviously that’s not on my training diet, and I had not attempted to make a healthy version due to my protein requirements.  There’s no way French toast would pack 20g of protein… until I received high protein bread.

You may have seen me mention P28 bread in previous posts.  I absolutely love it.  One slice packs 14g of protein!  Count me in.

P28 bread is chewier than regular bread.  Some people (Lee‘s husband) like that.  I don’t mind it, but prefer the bread toasted.  The toasting turns it perfectly soft with a nice crunchy exterior.  Note: Due to the whey, it toasts faster than regular bread, so keep an eye on it.

Now about the french toast…

Peanut butter-coated and topped with caramelized bananas, I had to name it after The King.

You know how good warm, runny nut butter is?  Imagine that, but soaked into bread.  A little vanilla and cinnamon makes it almost like eating dessert for breakfast.  Dessefast?  Deckfast?

For my topping, I sliced the bananas and let them briefly caramelize in the pan.  Arranged atop of the peanut-y toast and drizzled with cinnamon-lace syrup, those bananas added just the right amount of richness and creamy texture.

No peanut flour?  No problem!  Just use regular peanut butter.  (It will be easier to mix if you warm it just a bit.)

But really, you should order this peanut flour via iHerb.  Use coupon code USO924 for $5 off your first order.  It’s awesome, and it’s made in Georgia. 😉

Let’s pretend I didn’t lick my plate clean like a little kid…

Recipe at the end.

And now for the fun part.  P28 has offered an opportunity for 3 readers to try their bread!

P28 is made with 100% Whole Wheat, Whey Protein Isolate, Oats, Flaxseed, Sunflower Seed and Millet.  It’s 100% Natural, and is a great source of Omega 3s and 8 essential Amino Acids needed for growth, energy, and vibrant health.

Want a loaf of your very own?  Receive up to 4 entries by:

  1. Follow me on Twitter or Subscribe to the Sprint 2 the Table RSS feed or email
  2. Tweet: You could say something like: I’ve entered to win a loaf of high protein bread from @P28bread with @sprint2thetable http://wp.me/p16jDn-1uR #giveaway
  3. Be Social: Twitter Follow P28, Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me
  4. Comment: What would you make first with your bread?

Please leave a *separate comment* for each entry!

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST Thursday night,  August 9th.  The winner will be announced here on Friday, August 10th!

Open to US Residents only.  If you’d like to try these bars but didn’t win, check out their website to find a local retailer, or to order your a sample pack.


French Elvis Toast

  • 2 T peanut flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 C egg whites
  • 2-3 T milk (I used unsweetened almond)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 drops liquid stevia
  • 1slice P28 Bread (or bread of choice)
  • 1/2 banana, sliced

For Syrup:

  • 2 T sugar-free maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp butter extract

For the Toast:

Combine all ingredients in wide bowl.  Dip bread in mixture until saturated.

Cook in pan over med-high heat until golden brown on each side.

When almost done, place banana slices in pan and allow to caramelize slightly (they will turn a bit brown on top).

For the Syrup:

Pour syrup in small bowl.  Mix in cinnamon and butter extract.  Microwave for ~20 secs, until warm.

Plate your toast and top with caramelized bananas and syrup.

Makes 1 serving.

Note: If using regular bread, you may need 2 slices.  P28 slices are large and more dense than a standard slice.

Vegan Option: First, use a vegan bread source.  Second, replace the eggs with more almond milk and add a tablespoon of flax.  Let it sit for 10 mins to thicken before dipping your bread.  Proceed to cook.

Approximate Nutritionals (without syrup or bananas): 223 calories, 5.9g fat, 342.5mg sodium, 16.2 carbohydrates, 4.1g fiber, 4g sugar, 28.8g protein

***

I’m have a double serving for breakfast today.  Last night was leg day with my trainger and I sort of want to die after  those hack squats.

My trainer posing with his torture tool: the hack squat machine.

What was your favorite breakfast as a child?

Have you even done hack squats?

Filed Under: Breakfast, Giveaway, Products, Recipes, Weights Tagged With: breakfast, brunch, giveaway, hack squats, P28 Bread, peanut flour, protein, vegan, vegetarian

Tzatziki Chickpea Tuna Salad + Giveaway Winner

July 19, 2012 By Laura

I did something I haven’t done since I was in middle school.

 

I ate canned tuna.  My mom used to make tuna salad every Sunday after church.  She mixed in pickles, apples, onion, mayo… it was a hodge podge.  Every Sunday.  One day I decided I no longer liked seafood, and that was the last of the tuna for me.

This was not me.

 

The Chicken of the Sea (canned tuna) is a cornerstone of the bodybuilding diet.  In my quest for new ways to add protein to my diet, it was only a matter of time until tuna salad had to return.  It’s easy to make, portable, and is actually better on day 2.  It’s also filled with protein, fat-free (if you get it packed in water), and has virtually no bards.  The perfect lunch to take to work.  

 

When I decided to give it a go, I knew I had to do something different (no offense, Mom).

In my salad, I incorporated smashed chickpeas for a variation in texture.  The ‘peas were easier for me to think about eating than tuna.  

If you are vegetarian, this would be a great salad with just the chickpeas!

 

Mayo is (of course) not permitted on my nutrition plan, so I opted for a version of tzatziki sauce to stir into my salad.  This slimmed-down version of the Greek classic is Greek yogurt-based, adding even more protein.  It is also full of flavor from the herbs and garlic, leaving no trace of fishiness in the salad.  Watch out for garlic breath though!

 

The verdict?  I’ve taken this for lunch twice this week.  Apparently I really like tuna salad.  Winner, winner… chicken-of-the-sea dinner!

Note: I made my chickpeas from dried peas rather than canned to keep the sodium low.  If you do this and have left over, try roasting them for a fun snack like I did here.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Before the winner dinner recipe, I suppose you guys are more interested in the winner of The Simply Bar Giveaway?

Congratulations to….

Layla!!!

You are the winner of a sample pack of Simply Bars.  Send me an email with your address and I’ll pass it along to the Simply Bar crew. 🙂

Thank you all for entering, and for sharing your goals.  Click here and read through the comments – they are really inspiring!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Tzatziki Tuna Chickpea Salad

For the Salad:

  • 1 can of tuna (packed in water)
  • 1/2 C chickpeas, smashed
  •  1/2 C red pepper, diced
  • Cilantro (optional, for garnish)

 

For the Sauce:

  • 1 container Greek yogurt
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1T chopped yellow onion
  • 1/4 C fresh dill
  • 1/4 C fresh cilantro
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 large jalapeno
  • 1/2 large cucumber, finely chopped

 

For the Salad:

Combine salad ingredients in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

 

For the Sauce:

Place all ingredients except cucumber into blender and blend until smooth.

Stir in diced cucumber and enjoy!

 

Makes 2 servings, with some sauce leftover.

***

I saw on Nightline last night that chin implants are the fastest growing plastic surgery procedure… because people don’t like the way they look online.  Wow.

Is there a meal from your childhood that you still can’t/won’t eat as an adult?  Meatloaf, anyone?

Would you ever get a chin-plant?

 

Filed Under: Giveaway, Recipes Tagged With: dinner, gluten-free, lunch, protein, salad, The Simply Bar, vegetarian, yogurt

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