Banana Bread Muffins

In the words of one of my teammates, "bananas shouldn't even be considered a fruit because they are basically on a dessert-level in terms of how delicious they are." I'd have to agree. I found myself with quite a few ripe bananas the other day and decided to give banana bread a go. Turned them into muffins though because it's just a lot easier to control the portion sizes and they look a little cuter. It was a highly scientific decision making process.

These were everything that banana bread muffins should be: moist, dense, sweet, and cakey. Give them a shot!

Recipe:

3 large bananas 
1.5 cups old fashioned oats
1 egg 
Vanilla extract 
Cinnamon 
Stevia to taste 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda
 
Grind oats into a flour, then mix with the rest of your dry ingredients. Mash bananas in a separate bowl, mix with rest of wet ingredients, the combine with dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips if desired.
 
Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
 
Macros (serves 9): 77 calories, 1.8g fat, 13g carb, 2.6g protein (macros will differ based on brand/amount of chocolate chips used)

Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Blondies

Made some Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Blondies today and they turned out great! I used the Jamie Eason Lean Body For Her Natural Whey Concentrate in Vanilla which I've been dying to try for such a long time now. It bakes SO well and the ingredients and flavor are both on point. Click here to check out this protein powder, you won't regret it! 

Recipe:
•1 cup chickpeas 
•3/4 cup pumpkin purée 
•2T sugar free syrup (I used hazelnut Torani but you could omit for just 2T more almond milk) 
•1/4 cup liquid egg whites 
•1 scoop Vanilla whey 
•2T almond milk 
•Vanilla extract 
•1/2tsp baking powder 
•Chocolate chips to taste 
•2 stevia packets
 
Blend all ingredients except for chocolate chips and pour into a greased dish. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.
 
Macros (serves 6): 96 calories, 2.1g fat, 12.5 carbs, 8.3 protein

Chocolate Peppermint Protein Brownies

Just because the holidays are over doesn't mean I still won't be baking all kinds of festive food.
Whipped up some Peppermint Chocolate Chip brownies a few weeks ago - they're not super fluffy but they are really dense and thick which is how I prefer my brownies anyway. I used pumpkin to make them a little more dense which sounds kind of funky but I promise you can't taste it; the peppermint extract does a good job at masking it. 


Peppermint Chocolate Chip Brownies: 

Dry ingredients:
1.5 cups old fashioned oats
1 T chocolate fudge SF hello mix
2 T cocoa powder
1 scoop whey (I used chocolate chip cookie dough by @cellucor)
1/2 tsp baking powder
Stevia to taste

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 cup pumpkin purée
 
Mix both wet and dry ingredients individually and then add together. Fold in chocolate chips and pour into greased dish. Top with crushed candy cane pieces if you like.  

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and cut into 9 slices. ✨Macros for 1 slice: 117 calories, 3.4g fat, 16g carbs (2.4 fiber), 7.2 protein✨
 
Macros will differ based on the chocolate chips/candy cane you use.

Strawberry Hot Chocolate

It's that time of year again, the time of year when I start craving literally anything that has sugar in it. And by "year" I obviously mean day.

I have a MAJOR sweet tooth and can't go a day without some kind of chocolate in my lifestyle. One of my favorite ways to eat chocolate is when it's covered around a nice, juicy, strawberry. One of the all time best combos in my opinion is berries with chocolate (or pretty much anything with chocolate. Like even vegetables, I'm that much of a freak).

One of my mom and I's favorite things to do is watch cooking shows on the Food Network, specifically Barefoot Contessa and Giada at Home, and just completely heckle them while the show's going. I mean, I think Giada's cool and everything but for the love of God, just say "parmesean", not "parmagiano". We get it, you're Italian.

The other day, my mom and I watched Giada make a Strawberry Hot Chocolate and seeing how this recipe was easy enough that her toddler helped her to do the whole thing, I figured it was a recipe simple enough to where I couldn't mess it up. Here's my spin on it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 TBSP cocoa powder (*tip - for an extra boost of protein, use chocolate whey instead!)
• 3-4 strawberries
• Chocolate chips (optional)
• Stevia to taste

Simply combine the almond milk and cocoa, heat it up until it reaches the desired temperature, blend it all up with the strawberries and chocolate chips, and enjoy!

Alternatively, to make this drink more summer appropriate, you could take this blended mixture, pour it into an ice tray, and blend it up once it's frozen for a frozen hot chocolate!

Hope you all enjoy!

The Most Important Meal of the Day

Alright, alright, alright (insert Matthew Mcconaughey joke here). If you had to know one thing about me then that would be that I am in LOVE with breakfast. It can be sweet, savory, or both, you can include all your veggies and fruits into one meal, and it's a meal that happens first thing in the morning which I love because I am an extreme early bird; that's right, I'm talking waking with the sunrise kind of early bird over here.

Now while I'm home I love to experiment with all types of breakfast ideas: pancakes, yogurt, waffles, omelettes, and oatmeal flavors galore but since I spend the majority of my time at school in a dorm room, I have to get a little more creative. I typically shift between two different types of breakfasts and I find that both of these pack a ton of carbs, fats, and proteins to keep me energized and ready for my whole day. *Shamless plug alert* - I typically post almost all of my breakfasts on my Instagram so follow me @theroadtobalance to see what I eat daily!

Greek yogurt - chock full of protein and low in carbohydrates, this is definitely a winner in my book. I love taking a cup of yogurt and mixing it with cinnamon and stevia as a base. Next, I'll top it with chia seeds, and go crazy with the fruit (my favorites are fresh and frozen berries as well as bananas). Then I'll usually add some type of cereal or granola for added crunch. Last but not least I'll add a tablespoon of nut butter to get those healthy fats in. Quick, easy, and crazy delicious.

Oatmeal, by far the most underrated breakfast dish. I remember growing up absolutely dreading oatmeal. It was one of those bland and mushy substances my parents would throw into a bowl from a packet, microwave with too much water, and make me eat it before "imporant" events like the SAT. Ugh. Once I got to college I started to appreciate the warm and comforting taste of oatmeal though. It was a pleasant and relaxing way to start the day and once I discovered all the ways to change oatmeal with various protein powders, pudding mixes, extracts, and flavorings, the rest was history. I typically make overnight oats and take them to go or quickly scarf them down in the mornings since it's so quick and easy but when I have a little extra time, I love to make new concoctions.

Lastly, my favorite yogurt + cottage cheese bowl. This keeps me so so full and packs a ton of volume for not a lot of calories. I take an individual greek yogurt container, my favorite being the Dannon Light and Fit greek tubs, and mix it with either a 1/3 or a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. I then top it with fruit, granola/cereal, and nut butter and it is crazy delicious. Packs a ton of protein as well as some healthy carbs and fats.


And that's it! When I'm home in my own kitchen I love to experiment more but in terms of what's easy to cook up in a dorm, that's what I've got. Let me know if you also love any or all of these breakfast ideas or if you think there's some out there I should try!