Edible & Technical Apples

Well, it's the weekend & I am having a great one so far! I am synching my new iPhone 4S as I blog this so I am super stoked! I am a gadget iFreak for those of you that don't know! Especially Apple products! I LOVE THEM! The edible apples of the world & the technical apples of the world..... all make me smile!

So, I have a friend who is doing the Paleo diet & she let me borrow one of her Paleo recipe books where I found some awesome looking recipes! I used the one called Paleo Apple Muffins as the base for this recipe but made a few small changes & added in some protein so they wouldn't technically be "Paleo" approved now but let me tell you..... 

they are iDelish!

Apple Pie Protein Muffins with a glass of cold Almond Milk

 I love that the apples in them are left chunky & not all blended in! 

That really reminds me of a homemade apple pie!

Anywho, since I have a lot of other Apple-ing to do today, I'll make this short & sweet & maybe it's something you will want to try for breakfast in the morning! They are packed with good for you carbs & pair well with a cup of hot coffee or of course a glass of cold almond milk - like I had mine! I also think one would be really good served warm on top of some apple cinnamon flavored Greek yogurt! 

Apple Pie Protein Muffins

iYum! ;)

Apple Pie Protein Muffins

2 & 1/4 C almond flour (could use oat flour)

4 Egg whites

1 Apple - peeled & diced into small chunks)

1 Ripe Banana

1/4 C Applesauce (natural, unsweetened)

1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

1/3 C H20

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tsp Apple Pie Spice

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 C Stevia

*Preheat oven to 350. Mash banana in a small bowl & set aside. Add all other ingredients & mix well by hand. Then add the mashed banana & mix well again. Batter will not be super thick but more like a cake batter. Pour into muffin tins sprayed with non stick spray & bake until toothpick comes out clean! Make sure not to over bake so they will be moist & crumbly! 

Enjoy! 

*I am not adding nutritional content on these because I didn't make the full recipe & the nutritional content will vary depending on the type of flour you use, the type of protein powder you use (if you use any) & how full you like your muffin tins. I only came out with 8 muffins because I like mine full & I didn't make the full recipe. If you use My Fitness Pal, you can create a new recipe with the ingredients you use & it will figure nutritional content for you! I LOVE that app! :)

TGI Love Fabulous Food Friday!

Another week is behind us! It is so hard to believe that Mother's Day is this weekend! This year is flying by! I feel like I have spent a lot of it in the gym & in the kitchen! But, I am a healthier person because I have remained faithful to my health & fitness goals & that makes me proud! 

I just want to continue to learn & grow & strive toward positive changes in myself that I can share with others around me!

In this pre - Mother's Day post I bring you 3 really great treats! You are going to LOVE THESE!!!! I could hardly wait to write this blog!! I love trying new recipes that end up blowing your expectations out of the water don't you?! So, let's start with 2 variations of completely clean & totally easy ICE CREAM!!!!! Yes, you read that right! Actually, I think the second one tastes more like a sorbet / sherbert than ice cream but that's the same family, right?! They are both totally awesome! I got the first recipe from a page I follow on Facebook called Lean Body Lifestyle. And his recipe inspired me to try to make a more tropical, sorbet-ish version! And here they both are!

The recipe for both is the same but with different ingredients. You need to freeze your fruit overnight. For the Chocolate Banana Ice Cream you need 2 frozen bananas. For the Tropical Twist Sorbet I used about 4 oz of fresh frozen pineapples & 2 large frozen strawberries. You just take your frozen fruit, chop it up, throw it in your Ninja, add a couple of Tbsp of unsweetened almond milk to start & continue adding til you get it to the right consistency. I think I used about 4 total. And 1 Tbsp of Stevia. Blend it all up to ice cream consistency & when you get it there you can throw it in the freezer for a little while before eating it or eat it right then! The nutritional content will depend on how much fruit you use & how many servings you make out of it!

Seriously y'all........ you can't beat this as a completely GUILT FREE alternative to ice cream! And I am telling you......cross my heart & hope to die, stick a needle in my eye & pinkie swear that these actually taste REALLY GOOD!!!!!

For the final recipe that makes me wanna shout TGI Love Fabulous Food I give you another great, healthy & totally clean  snack!

Take a container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, stir in 1 Tbsp Stevia & 1 Tbsp of natural peanut butter & coat chunks of sliced apples then take 1/2 Tbs natural peanut butter & heat it up so it's thin enough to drizzle & drizzle it over your yogurt covered apple chunks. Pop in the freezer until the yogurt & peanut butter has hardened & you have the perfect little frozen sweet snack! You can keep em in your freezer & just have a little frozen yogurt apple bite whenever you feel the urge!

 How ya like them apples?????? ;)





 

A Fruit Dip Recipe

I know it's been since last week since I blogged & I feel like a total slacker for being so behind! I have been without a camera (other than the one on my phone) for almost 2 weeks now & it's really making blogging challenging! I want to do a birthday blog but until I get it all together I thought I would go ahead & blog something simple so you would all know I haven't given up blogging or fallen off the face of the planet or any of that jazz!
I don't know about you but I've been on a peanut butter kick lately! Like..... I could just open the jar & eat it if it weren't for the fat & calories that would most certainly show up on on my belly!! So, I have been allowing myself 1 tbsp almost every day for awhile now as my healthy fat & a healthy indulgence. I mean all natural, nothing added peanut butter by the way....the real stuff!
Tonight I needed a good, filling snack so I made a clean fruit dip & ate it with an apple. I had leg day at the gym today which means a higher carb day but I only had around 6 carbs for dinner so I figured an apple around 6 pm wouldn't hurt!

Clean PB Fruit Dip

1/2 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 tbsp Stevia

*mix it all together in a bowl & enjoy with a serving of whatever fruit you choose!!

*dip only-160 calories, 7.5 carbs & 13.5 grams of protein

Cinnamon Baked Apples

I don't know about you guys but ever since I was a baby I looooved apple anything!!! I walked around w a baby bottle full of apple juice hanging out of my mouth forever ...... Then I had a sippy cup full of apple juice! So, needless to say if it's apple flavored..... I'm interested!! So, I love taking classic comfort foods & cleaning em up! This one is especially easy, fast & just as yummy as the sugar filled cinnamon baked apples we all grew up on! Take whatever kind of apple you like (granny smiths are my fave!), peel & slice (or leave the peel for extra fiber) & you can do the baking cooking part 1 of 2 ways. If I amazing a big batch, like 3 or more apples then I put them in a glass covered baking dish. If I am just making 1 serving using 1 apple, then I use a small glass covered dish & nuke em in the microwave. Either way is fine! Just follow the directions below according to how many you are making!
*Use 1 tbsp of water & 1 tbsp of natural no sugar added applesauce per each apple used. (you may need to add 1 tbsp or more of water extra if they start getting dry. Just check them every minute or so to see.)
*sprinkle a dash of cinnamon & a dash of apple pie spice (or nutmeg if you don't have apple pie spice.) & 1 tbsp of stevia on top of the diced apples & applesauce.
*cover w lid & microwave or bake! It usually takes around 3 minutes in the microwave for 1. But, I like mine soft. You can cook yours to your preference on that.
What I REALLY love about these is that you can eat them w a carb smart vanilla yogurt & a tbsp of crushed almonds on top & seriously feel like you are committing the diet crime of the century!! Or...... Just eat them by themselves, top your morning oatmeal off w a couple of spoonfuls or eat them as a side w your morning eggs! Eat em however you like but you gotta try em!! They are definitely a treat to me that never gets old!!
*shown here w the peel left on, one topped w almond slivers & one w vanilla yogurt & nuts that truly tastes as good as apple pie & ice cream!