Brownie batter protein shake

This shake is very thick. Its suppose to be. Add more water if desired.

1 serving

Ingredients:
1 scoop of chocolate protein power- I prefer vitamin codes raw chocolate power
1/2 frozen mango
3 frozen strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp coco powder
hemp seeds
Sweetener -if desired


Directions:
Place all ingredients in blender. Blend and serve!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Thank you all for responding greatly to my blog and all the support! I cannot believe the response. I truly thank you for supporting me. It means a lot.  In honor of reaching 1000 views I'm giving away Clif and Luna bars. All you need to do is share one post and comment on one post. Thats it. Winner will be announced in two weeks. So get sharing!!

Clif and luna bars are gluten, dairy, and egg free. I keep them in my car, purse, and workout bag. They provide an energy and protein boost. Luna bars specifically target woman by proving four core nutrients woman need for a healthy lifestyle. But men love em too!

                                                       

Photo Credit: Clif bar: excelsports.com and Luna bar: cooking light.com

Balsamic onion quesadillas

Man have I been ms. Traveler. I haven't posted anything in ages! I'm so sorry. Between going to Kenya, Peoria, St. Louis, ft lauderdale, and the keys... Well I haven't been able to cook. But I'm back!!

While I was in the keys, all I craved was quesadillas. Odd. One of my favorite vegetables is the onion. So I sautéed some of them up, plopped them on a quesadilla with cheese. It was delicious. I did have some left over balsamic dressing on my plate from a salad. I though: hmm It could be good. Balsamic and onions! Mmm. It was more than good. I loved it.

I'm sharing this easy recipe with you because it makes sense. Onions and Balsamic combo is always a winner. It's also a quick dinner or lunch.

Ingredients :
Two gluten free wrap sized tortillas
One large onion, sliced
Vegan cheese ( I use follow your heart brand)
Balsamic dressing of choice ( I have to say Kraft creamy balsamic is awesome)

Directions:
1. Sauté sliced onion in a cast iron skillet ( everything taste better in cast iron) with a tablespoon of oil.
2. After three minutes, add in salt and pepper.
3. You want the onion to be caramelized. it does take a while but it's delicious.
4. Take a tortilla and fill with roughly 1/4 cup of cheese with half the onions.
5. Fry in a skillet until cheese is melted.
6. Repeat with other tortilla.
7. Once ready to serve drizzle balsamic over and enjoy.

Clean Eating Banana Bread

The reason this is considered "clean" is: only 1/4 cup of sugar, egg whites, no gluten, no dairy, no corn, and no soy. Thats a lot of NO'S! But those no's are awesome. Try out this form of banana bread. I'm sure you will love it!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 C gluten free flour (I used 3/4 oat flour, 3/4 white rice flour, and 1/4 almond meal)
1 tsp xanath gum
1/4 C almond butter
1/4 C white sugar
3/4 C splenda or stevia
3 mashed bananas
2 egg whites
1/4 C dairy free butter
3 Tbs honey
1 Tbs cinnamon

Pre-Heat oven to 350
Yeilds 8 large slices

Directions:
1. In a small bowl combine flour, xanath gum, and sugar. In a large bowl mix together egg whites, almond butter, and bananas.
2. Combine wet and dry ingredients together
3. Place in a greased loaf pan for 35 minutes.
4. While cooling, whip butter, honey, and cinnamon together. Place atop hot bread. This will soak into the bread infusing it with flavor.
5. Enjoy

Cheesy vegetable sauté

Being cows milk intolerant, broccoli and cheese no longer exists. Heck I never have even had it even before this intolerance. I wanted to change up a normal sauté. I was bored. I had some whipped goat cheese dip on hand and decided to pour it over vegetables. Ummm yum!!

Seeing size:
1 meal portion or 2 side servings
Ingredients:
2 cups of mixed frozen/fresh vegetables (I used carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
3 tablespoons of whipped goat cheese dip
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

Directions:
1. Sauté the vegetables until softened.
2. Add in the dip and nutritional yeast.
3. Serve immediately or stores well in the fridge for three days.

Whipped goat cheese dip

I visited a restaurant recently that served an amazing goat cheese dip. That inspired this recipe.
Serving suggestions:
Pretzels
Pita chips
Fried Zucchini
Sliced pepper

Ingredients:
1/2 log of goat cheese (can you vegan blocked cheese found at whole foods)
1/4 cup of nut milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of garlic powder, tyme, onion powder

Directions:
1. Mash the cheese.
2. Add the spices.
3. Slowly stir in the milk.

Juice: The Pink Lady and The Hulk

Juices seem to be a new fad diet. All throughout social media, T.V shows, and magazines, you see juice cleanses. I personally think they aren't a smart idea. Juice contains an enormous amount of sugar. Yes, i's natural, but even too much is a bad idea. It can lead to spiked blood sugar levels, which progresses into a crash. Energy and motivation becomes harder to find. Juicing removes fiber from your fruit and vegtables. Thats what all the left over garbage is. Unless you just blend and make more of a smoothie.

That said, juice is the easiest way to get the daily recommended amount of fruit in your diet. A normal body weight for your height, 6 servings of fruits are recommended! Thats really difficult for me....I hope I'm not the only one. Juice's benefits are great for just a glass a day or a few a week. So here are some that I created.

The pink lady leads with grapefruit. This fruit speeds up metabolism, therefore aids in weight loss. Both oranges and grapefruit are high in vitamin c boosting your immune system naturally.

The hulk speaks for itself. This powerhouse of a drink will erase a guilty indulgence. Kale is considered a superfood, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and carrots really do improve eye sight. I will admit the visual aspect is not appealing, but give it a try. Its delicious!!

Some helpful juicing tips:
If you juice multiple times a week, consider buying frozen fruit. Just de-thaw a small portion 30 minutes before juicing time. This cuts down cost drastically.
Always peel the fruit if it has a think rind
Quarter fibrous ingredients
Use the left over "junk" in your garden. The plants will thrive when the pulp is in the dirt
Can make the night before, but give a nice shake to the juice in the morning

Each serve two

The Pink Lady:

1 Grapefruit
1 Orange
2 Medium sized apples (I used Gala)
1 Carrot stalk
Optional: Add in honey if you prefer a sweeter drink. Grapefruit is very bitter!

The Hulk:

5 handfuls of kale (approximately 7 cups)
2 Medium Apples
2 Carrots
1 orange
1 cucumber
1/2 Cup blueberries
2 Celery stalks

Directions:

Peel the orange and quarter the apples. Then place everything in a juicer. DONE!