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Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

March 7, 2014 By Laura

Elvis had it right.

Except for the whole dying on the toilet thing…

The King was known for banana and peanut butter sandwiches.  And music, of course.  That classic combo has been one of my favorites for years.  My mom used to make those sandwiches for us… with mayonnaise.  #strangebutgood from an early age!

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffin stack

I left the mayo out of these muffins, but added chocolate.  They also contain protein.  Probably not strange to many of you, but my co-worker called me a “nut bag.”

(She calls me this In an affectionate way – she’s my tater tot-eating work wife.  Sometimes I steal a tot, but she never steals my food.  I win!)

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffin insides

Anyway, eat these.  The bananas, Greek yogurt, and nut butter give these a rich but not-too-sweet taste and a velvet-like texture.

Once you pop, you can’t stop.


Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

Inspired by Ari’s muffins

  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed
  • 2 T Xylitol (or other sweetener)
  • 1/4 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 egg whites (6 T)
  • 3 T unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 C nut butter (I used Onnit Cashew Walnut Butter)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 T melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 C flour (I used spelt)
  • 2 scoops (62g) vanilla protein powder (I used Growing Naturals Rice Protein)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 C chocolate (or carob) chips 

In a large bowl, add banana, sugar, yogurt, egg whites, milk, nut butter, vanilla, and coconut oil in a bowl and whisk together until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add the dry to wet ingredients and stir together until just combined.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into greased muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick come out clean.

Makes 10 muffins.

Approximate Nutritionals (per muffin): 131 calories, 5.8g fat, 38.6g sodium, 12.2g carbohydrates, 2.2g fiber, 2.9g sugar, 8.6g protein


How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Sprint 2 the Table

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂


***

Now I have “Love Me Tender” stuck in my head.

Are you a banana and peanut butter fan?

What’s your favorite Elvis song?

Filed Under: Baking, Breakfast, Recipes, Strange But Good Tagged With: bananas, breakfast, Elvis, Growing Naturals, muffins, Onnit, protein, strange but good

Strange But Good: Hemp Protein

February 21, 2014 By Laura

Lately it seems all of my friends are moving to Colorado.

 

For reasons that are not hemp-related.

I want to move to Colorado too – not for the recent legalization, but for the healthy vibe people have and the amazing skiing.  In the meantime, I’ll gladly enjoy my hemp down here in Georgia thanks to Onnit.

Onnit sent over an awesome package of their hemp-based products for me to try out via a FitFluential campaign.  (FYI: hemp will not get you high and it won’t cause you to fail a drug test).  I received Onnit’s Hemp FORCE in Cocoa-Maca and Vanilla-Acai, the Walnut Almond Cashew & Macadamia Cacao Cherry Nut Butters, and a canister of Earth Grown Nutrients.

Onnit

 

I’d been lucky enough to meet a couple of the Onnit team members and try them out at the Blend Retreat last year.  Their Walnut Almond Cashew Nut Butter left a lasting impression (I may have absconded with a jar).

Needless to say, I didn’t waste anytime devouring opening that jar.  It was fabulous atop a #strangebutgood protein cake for breakfast!  This creation was based on the protein loaf Debbie linked up.

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My favorite was the Coca Maca.  I live for chocolate.  I mean… it’s all about the health benefits!  Cocoa in antioxidants and helps regulate blood sugar levels.  It’s even thought to relax sore muscles.  Many of you know about maca already; it helps boost the endocrine system and libido.

I’ve been using a scoop mixed with almond milk and a little cinnamon in healthy desserts.  I mix it together in a teeny bowl and microwave it for 10-12 seconds to make a hot, fudg-y topping.

This one was particularly good – sweet potato cubes, a diced Arctic Zero ice cream bar, and the aforementioned hot fudge.  Strange?  Yes.  Good?  Most definitely.

Sweet Potato Coco Maca Protein Bowl

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The Vanilla-Acai protein powder surprised me.  I’m normally not a big fan of fruity-protein powders but this one had a fantastic taste – not fake or processed.

I couldn’t resist making a #strangebutgood combo with it (recipe at the bottom).  It has tofu in it.  Don’t freak out.  If you’ve ever tried my Carrot Cake Batter Shake, you know that tofu makes for an amazingly thick ‘n creamy smoothie.  Besides texture, I added it here for the extra protein.  The only downside to this protein powder is that a serving is only 15g of protein.

Vanilla Acai Hemp Protein Smoothie (Bowl)

Vanilla Acai Protein Smoothie (Bowl)

  • 1 serving (3 scoops) Onnit Vanilla Acai Hemp Protein Powder
  • 3 oz tofu
  • 1 C spinach
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 in piece  fresh ginger
  • Ice and water, to taste

 

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender (I use a Vitamx) and blend until smooth.

Transfer to a cup or bowl, top as desired, and enjoy!

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How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Sprint 2 the Table

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

An InLinkz Link-up



***

Don’t take my word for it – try it for yourself here using coupon code FitFood10 for 10% off any Onnit product!

Do you like hemp?  (The protein.  Don’t incriminate yourself. 😉 )

What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten this week?

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Products, Recipes, Smoothies, Strange But Good Tagged With: dessert, gluten-free, hemp, Onnit, protein, protein powder, smoothies, snacks, vegan

What I Ate at Blend

May 22, 2013 By Laura

Everyone in a while you meet total strangers who aren’t.

 

I swear that made sense in my head…

I hope I’m not the only one that feel like they “know” bloggers.  So many of the fabulous ladies I met at Blend this past weekend are bloggers I’ve been reading for so long that I felt like they were my “real” friends already!

First, I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Janetha, Lindsay (with credits for the following pic), and Katie for putting together another life-changing weekend!

Heather, Me, and Lindaay

Heather, Me, and Lindaay

 

Second, I owe a big thanks to Growing Naturals for sponsoring me at the retreat.  These guys are truly a great example of a small business offering good, clean products.

I was so thrilled to share their pea and rice protein powders and their protein drink mixes with my friends.  More on their products here.

Growing Naturals at Blend 2013

I know Bonnie was extra-excited to try this after the 9 mile run they did in the chilly Park CIty rain!

My friend Heather already used hers and shared a pic on Instagram:

Growing Naturals protein shake

It was also the start of my first post-workout recovery meal.

The vanilla rice protein was fabulous in my green smoothie (extra spinach!) topped with Muesli Fusion:

growing naturals green smoothie

Stay tuned – this fall they are coming out with a new addition to their protein/supplement line – yummy greens to throw into shakes!!!

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Rather than a “traditional” WIAW post, today is all about What I Ate at Blend!  We were totally spoiled all weekend, and I’m still enjoying all the tasty schwag-bag selections at home. 🙂

WIAWbutton

Check out my eats with my Blends below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see what delicious foods everyone else is enjoying!

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Friday:

We arrived at the hotel excited and famished from travel.  Famished.  The schwag gods were smiling though… check out all the goodies we had to munch on: protein from Vega, Zevia, SoyJoys, a Lara Bar, muesli and granola from Bob’s Red Mill, Attune Foods chocolates, Healthy Bites (so in love)…. and more!

Blend schwag

 

After a photo ops, we gabbed, snacked… and headed to event #1: a pre-happy hour with Justin’s Nut Butter!  I was careful to sample everything, but stopped for a pic with one of the lovely organizers – Katie!

My top butters were: Maple Peanut and Chocolate Hazelnut.  They were even better on Attune Foods graham crackers.  All I needed was some apple juice.

Blend Justin's snack

 

The kind folks at Silk must have wanted to make absolutely sure the Blends were happy, so they set up a Happy Hour where we could unwind from travel and begin the photo-taking frenzy.  Heather was patient enough to take a gorgeous pic of her ginger-Silk drink.

There was also an amazing buffet of black bean cakes, veggie summer rolls, and cute veggie sticks in jars (how did they know bloggers like Mason jars?!).  Let’s pretend like I didn’t attack this… the temptation was too tasty and I couldn’t wait until dinner!  Plus, we all know it’s bad to drink on an empty tummy. 😉

Blend Silk happy hour

 

Dinner itself was off the chain.  It was a buffet… but a good buffet.  Normally I’m anti due to the rogue dirty hands and food sitting out too long.  That didn’t happen here.  My Blends were nice and clean, and the hotel staff couldn’t have done a better job and keeping the food refreshed.

There were salad options, quinoa patties, roasted veggies, chicken breasts, and lemon-y fish filets.  There was literally something for everyone!  And it was all good!

Blend Dinner 1

 

No dinner is complete without dessert!  there was Chobani panna cotta, apple pie, and berry tarts.

A few of us decided to split all 3… which I graciously finished off.  Starving kinds in Africa, you know.

I heart dessert

Thanks to Lindsay for this artful photo.

Saturday:

One would think that after all that I’d still be full… well, GPP Fitness fixed that with a little workout that left me waddling.  More on that tomorrow but let me just say 200 burpees (I did refuse to yell “Yay burpees!” after each rep as instructed) is a certain cure for lack of appetite.

The highlight of breakfast for me was getting to try a new granola – Muesli Fusion.  They have an “Athlete’s Fuel” mix that rocks my socks off.  NO added sugar or sodium, and 7g of protein per serving.  It’s like they designed it for me.  I poured my unsweetened Silk all over that!  There was a ton of fresh fruit (holy pineapple deliciousness), and a fabulously strong brew from Green Mountain coffee.

Blend breakfast - museli fusion

 

Then we had another workout!  Zoomba.  I’ll spare you the pics of this white girl shaking her thang… until tomorrow. 😉  Following that we did what any normal blogger does – we went to Whole Foods.  I totally failed at life and didn’t take a pic.

I DID take a pic of the snack break that followed – Onnit provided us with some amazing chocolate-banana hemp protein smoothies and rice cakes with cashew-walnut butter (totally crave-worthy). What’s better than these blogger staples?  Getting them handed to you by Miss United States!  Whitney is one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met.  How cute is she?!

Onnit at Blend

 

And then there was dinner.  Calee, Michelle, Heather, Heather, Heather (that’s not a typo – there were 3 beautiful Heathers) found an amazing restaurant on Main St. in Park City called Riverhorse.  The food was incredible.

We started with a great Pinot Noir, chosen by fellow-wine lover Michelle (who I will gush about meeting later) and a beet salad served with micro greens, brie cheese, and a potato crisp with tarragon vinaigrette.  Calee and I split the Trio of Wild Game for our entrée.  It came with buffalo, venison chop, and elk over broccolini and asparagus with a port wine and huckleberry reduction.

I was nice and full… but when I saw the dessert menus I had to place one more order.  Peanut Butter Bread Pudding with caramelized bananas and a chocolate drizzle.  Can you blame me? 🙂

Riverhorse in Park City, UT

 

Every dish was near perfection.  Lucky because our server was terrible.  I swear I have the worst luck.  She basically ignored us all night, added 20% gratuity (for a party of 6 who was clearly spending money… WTF?!), and when Heather asked about the charge (there was NO warning note on the menu) she snatched the bill out of Heather’s hand and stalked off.  We tipped the man refilling our waters in cash on the side and spoke to the manager on the way out.

Like I said, the food was great.  That combined with the fantastic company made for a great evening and we laughed about our crazy experience all the way back to the hotel (the cab driver was thoroughly entertained).

 

Sunday:

Holy breakfast heaven.  This was the best breakfast out of any Blend Retreat.  They had an omelette station!!!  Protein at breakfast?!  Color me happy.  Thank you for this sponsored deliciousness, Chobani!

I got an egg white omelette with mushrooms, garlic, onions, and spinach.  And a Chobani yogurt pancake.  And fruit.  I wanted ALL the foods! 😉

Chobani Blend breakfast

Be sure to check the #blend2013 hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for more action from the weekend!

***

I snacked my way back to ATL with schwag bag goodies, and (obv) hit the Whole Foods hot bar immediatly after getting home. 😉

Soooo… are you all going to come to Blend next year with me?

Have you ever tried any of these fun products?  What are you loving right now?

 

Filed Under: Products, Restaurants, Smoothies, Travel Tagged With: Blend Retreat, breakfast, Chobani, dessert, dinner, Growing Naturals, Healthy Bites, Justin's, lunch, nut butter, Onnit, Park City, protein, restaurants, salad, Silk, smoothies, snacks, WIAW

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