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! :)

YES, I shall have HEALTHY Hot Chocolate!

Hot chocolate........ 

when I hear those words I get all a warm fuzzy feeling inside

 & I think of watching The Polar Express on a cold night all snuggled up on the couch by the lights of the Christmas tree! What do you think of when you hear the words hot chocolate?

Actually, though I love hot chocolate as much as any red blooded American gurl, I rarely ever drink it because #1 - It's loaded with sugar, calories & carbs - the very demons that I work so hard to sweat off at the gym every day & #2 - I am very caffeine sensitive & since hot chocolate is something I usually think of  at night....... I also know this  decadent treat, if consumed at night,  will leave me lying awake til well after midnight resulting in plenty of time  to kick myself for the extra calories before bed before ultimately proceeding to download countless apps from the app store on my iPhone while waiting for the caffeine/ sugar buzz to wear off so I can sleep! Now, I can't lie, sometimes this can be fun- like at the holidays while lying in bed talking with my sister like little schoolgirls staying up past their bedtimes- but the holidays are fairy tale world & while I greatly look forward to them.........right now, I am in the real world &  I want to sleep! I NEED to sleep! So, anywho - today, when I got home from the gym & was preparing my post workout shake, I decided not to wait til night time or the holidays & Polar Express time.....

I wanted hot chocolate NOW! 

So, I glammed up my usual post workout shake & made it over into hot chocolate that I not only did NOT feel guilty about, but dare I say - PROUD that I "indulged" in!! It feels so awesome to me when I can take a beloved comfort food that would be so mean to my hips & make it into something that makes me feel like I got the  

moooooooves like Jagger! ;)

So...... yes, I shall have Hot Chocolate & 

it shall be HEALTHY!!!!

Dymatize ISO 100 Gourmet Vanilla

Before I go any further, I have a new protein powder that I would like to introduce! Dymatize ISO 100 Whey. Let me tell you that this is the Mother Ship of protein powders! It is so yummy! I mean this is the best protein powder I have ever tried! And it is lactose & gluten free w 0 sugars & only 100-106 calories, 1.5 carbs & 25 grams of protein per scoop! WOW! I have it in Cookies & Cream & Gourmet Vanilla. Both are fabulous! I buy my protein powders & all kinds of other goodies on bodybuilding.com!

 

Hot Chocolate

So, it's easy peas-y to make of course!

Take a cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk. - If you haven't tried Silk's version yet, oh my goodness!.... You need to! Then I just used 1 tsp of cocoa powder (you can add more depending on how chocolate-y you want it - but remember cocoa powder is bitter so don't add too much!), 1 scoop of Gourmet Vanilla protein powder & 1 Tbsp Stevia. Shake it up in your shaker bottle & then pour into a microwavable mug, microwave to desired temp, cuddle up & ENJOY!!!

P.S. This Gourmet Vanilla protein powder I am using made it kinda taste like it had melted marshmallows in it a little.....  

Mmmmmmmm...........

Cinnamon Apple Crumble Squares

FALL.........I LOVE this time of year!! 

You are probably going to hear that a lot from me over the next few months! I love the way the Fall air feels & smells, I love having my windows open, I love the falling leaves, the approaching holidays & of course, I love the food!!!....... ahhhhhh! To me, it is all DIVINE!!! I feel so alive this time of year! I have really been feeling great lately since I started doing the Body Earned program! I can see & feel myself getting stronger! I am lifting more at the gym & pushing hard with HIIT cardio! I am definitely seeing results & I am LOVING it!!! 

And since I am feeling the love everywhere lately, you can bet I wanna stir up some Fall lovin' in the kitchen! It was time for a new batch of protein bars today, so I reached for my tried & true fav -  Jamie Eason's Cinnamon Swirl protein bars, but then I thought,  "Callie, you need an Apple Cinnamon protein bar recipe!" And for those of you that are familiar w JE & all her protein bar recipes you are probably thinking, "Callie, JE has an Apple Cinnamon protein bar recipe!" And you would be right! However, I have to be honest, I have made them a few times & I have to say that (no offense to Jamie cause she is my total fav) but I do NOT like them AT ALL! And I am a HUGE Apple Cinnamon fan!!! I'm sorry! But, I have to be honest! They are the only ones of hers I don't like! But since I love the taste of anything Apple Cinnamon so much & this is the perfect time of year for it AND Dr. Oz just recently did a show on the Top 10 Anti- Aging herbs & spices & Apple Pie Spice was #5!!! (link to the article is below) And you know how I am about anti-aging, right?! So, taking all things into consideration, I figured it's high time I came up with an Apple Cinnamon bar that I DO like! So, anywho, long story short (semi-short) I got in the kitchen & a scrumptious new protein bar was born! YAY!  I am always so proud when I birth a new protein bar recipe that comes out really yummy 'cause clean baking is a lot of trial & error! 

Clean ingredients are very different to cook with if you haven't 

already experienced that already.  

I used my fav - JE Cinnamon Swirl protein bars as my recipe inspiration because I love, love, love the cinnamon "sugar" swirl part! And I have to say that I like these even better that those & that is saying A LOT 'cause her Cinnamon Swirl bars are the 

super dang & my total fav...... until now! 

I can't wait to have one of these warmed up with a glass of Cinnamon Almond Milk!! 

Shut the front door!!! 

YUM!!! 

Oh, & also, they made my house smell gloriously amazing! 

(besides the Scentsy I always have burning!)

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They are worthy of the name too!  Pretty & crumbly! Mmmmm.........

 Cinnamon Apple Crumble Squares

Dry ingredients:

1.5 C Oat Flour

2 scoops Vanilla Whey

1/4 C Stevia in the Raw

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Apple Pie Spice

wet ingredients:

4 egg whites

1/2 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 C Natural Applesauce

1 tsp Brown Sugar Splenda

*Topping:

1/ C Stevia in the Raw

1 tsp Brown Sugar Splenda

1 tsp Apple Pie Spice

1 tsp Cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350. Blend oats into flour then blend remaining dry ingredients. (I use my Ninja for all of this, of course!) Add wet ingredients to the dry & blend until it's all mixed together-scrape sides of bowl or Ninja cause the flour always wants to stick. Pour into an 8 x 8 square pan then sprinkle Cinnamon Apple Crumble on top. Swirl with knife all the way through back & forth a couple of times then pop into the oven & bake until a toothpick comes out clean! As with all protein bar recipes like this, don't over or under bake! This can be tricky when you are first learning to make things like this! If you take it out & your toothpick comes out clean yet you cut into them & your knife is gooey, don't stress! Just put them back in for a few more minutes! 

*Makes 16 squares.

*Nutritional content: 34.5 calories, .5 gram of fat, 2.9 net carbs, .2 grams of sugar & 3 grams of protein!

(Nutritional content is calculated according to the protein powder I currently use which is MRM. You will have to adjust the content according to what kind you use or any other ingredients you alter)
* If you would like to read the article by Dr. Oz on the Top 10 Anti- Aging Herbs & Spices you can check it out here!!