Neapolitan Protein “Ice Cream”

WTF?! This is AMAZING. Why have I never made banana ice cream before?! It is my new go-to after dinner/bedtime snack :) It’s honestly really filling too…I had trouble finishing this bowl. But don’t worry…I persevered and got through the whole thing ;)

With summer right around the corner and the weather starting to warm right up, ice cream season is upon us. Just because you live a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you should miss out on yummy summer treats ;) Problem solved with this amazing ‘ice cream’ dessert.

Makes 1 serving      Total Time – 5 minutes

Ingredients

1. 1/2 frozen banana
2. 4-5 large frozen strawberries
3. 1/4 cup almond milk
4. 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (or casein)
5. 1 drop stevia
6. Optional Toppings – cocoa nibs, dark chocolate chips, nut butter, coconut flakes, fresh berries

Directions

1. In a blender, throw in your almond milk, frozen banana (cut into smaller pieces), strawberries, protein powder, and stevia.
2. Pulse on high until combined.  You may need to add some more almond milk slowly if it really won’t blend.  You also may need to open up the blender and give it a stir after every few pulses.
3. Once it’s allllll blended up, you can pour or scoop the ice cream into a bowl.  Add your desired toppings and voila!! Dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, high-protein, guiltless dessert!

Granola

This granola is definitely a staple in my house.  I make a big batch so I always have it on hand for a quick and easy breakfast, or a late night snack :) Combine with yogurt or almond milk and your favourite fruit/berries for breakfast. For dessert, I like to mix up a little cup full of granola, raisins, dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes and cinnamon.  It tastes exactly like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie :) YUM!

Ingredients

• 6 cups large flake rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey or brown rice syrup
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, seeds, nuts, coconut flakes, and cinnamon.
3. In another small bowl, melt the coconut oil, honey and vanilla in the microwave.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.
4. Spread out the oats evenly in one layer on two baking sheets and press down firmly.  Bake for around 35-45 min or until golden brown.  Let cool and enjoy :)

Healthy “Hot Chocolate”

This is the perfect treat to have on a rainy night, snuggled on the couch, under a blanket, watching a good movie :)

Ingredients

1. Almond milk
2. Chocolate Hazelnut Tea
3. Stevia or honey
4. Cinnamon

Directions

1. Fill up your mug 1/4 full of almond milk.  Either steam the milk or heat in microwave.
2. Add in the tea bag and fill up the rest of the mug with boiling water.  Put a couple drops of stevia or a little teaspoon of honey in the mug and give it a good stir.
3. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top and enjoy :)

Paleo Lemon Bars

OMG. Pretty freaking tasty. I made these the other night when my lovely friend Allie came over for a movie night :) One of my rare nights off from either training, studying, or working out. So nice to have a break sometimes!

The original recipe is from Stayin’ Up With The Stanwees. I changed it up a bit, but it’s pretty much the same. ENJOY!
Makes 16 bars         Prep Time: 15 min       Cooking/Fridge Time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients

1. 1.5 cups almond flour
2. 1/2 tsp unrefined salt
3. 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sesame seed oil
4. 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp honey
5. 1 tbsp vanilla extract
6. 3 eggs
7. 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
8. 1 tbsp lemon zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium size bowl, combine the almond flour and salt.  Mix in 2 tbsp sesame seed oil, 1 tbsp honey and vanilla extract until completely combined.
3. Press the crust mixture evenly into a greased 8 inch square baking dish.  Pop in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
4. While the crust is baking, you can make the lemony top! Using an electric mixer, beat together 1/4 cup sesame seed oil, 1/4 cup honey, eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest for about 3 minutes.
5. Once is crust is done, pour the lemon mixture on top and bake for another 15-20 minutes.
6. Let cool for about 30 minutes, then place in the fridge to set for another 2 hours.  Cut into squares and ENJOY!

Shasta and I enjoying the gorgeous fall weather in the North Van trails :) Happy girls

Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Muffins

YUM. Don’t really think i need to say anything else. I’m really into pumpkin right now…guess that’s what happens in the fall! So I think there will be quite a few pumpkin recipes coming up :)

Thank you sooo much PaleOMG for another great recipe.

Makes 9 muffins         Prep Time: 10 min          Baking Time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup oats (optional – if leaving out just add more coconut flour)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, honey, coconut oil, eggs and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix together remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips.
4. Then slowly add the two bowls together and mix until just combined.  Add in the chocolate chips and give it a few more mixes.
5. Scoop the batter evenly into a muffin tin lined with muffin cups.
6. Bake for about 30 min. Let cool before sampling so you don’t burn your mouth like i did…

Quick “Baked” Apple Cinnamon Treat

On Day 4 of my 21-day sugar detox (also known as 21DSD) I was dying.  I needed a dessert so bad.  Dinner was great but so unsatisfying.  I had already eaten my banana for the day so that ingredient was off limits…. :( While I was looking up baked apple desserts on Pinterest, I was getting hungrier and hungrier!  Of course all the recipes the apple has to bake in the oven for a half hour and there was absolutely no way I was waiting that long for my dessert.  So I came up with this quick and simple version of a baked apple! And holy s@#%, it’s delicious!

Makes 1 Serving           Prep Time: 5 min          Cooking Time: 1 min

Ingredients

• 1 green apple (organic obviously)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 spoonful plain, full-fat greek yogurt
• 1 spoonful almond butter (optional)
• 2 tsp coconut flakes (optional)

Directions

• Cut up the apple into small cubes and place into a bowl.  Throw 1/2 tbsp cinnamon and the vanilla on top and give it a good mix.
• Next, put apple mixture in the microwave for about a minute and a half or until the apple is hot and fairly soft.
• Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon and coconut flakes.  Serve with the greek yogurt and almond butter on the side.  YUM!!!

Banana Popsicles

These are SO easy and insanely delicious! Thank you sooooooo much Amanda for this recipe! The picture looks a bit disturbing but don’t knock it til you try it!  And more good news….these are Dr. Joshi Detox and 21DSD diet friendly!

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Ingredients

• banana
• sunflower seed butter (or any nut butter)
• sunflower seeds or chopped almonds (or any type of seed or crushed nut)

Directions

• Chop the banana in half.  Shove a popsicle stick up the middle.
• Cover evenly with the nut butter.  Roll in the sunflower seeds or chopped nuts.
• Put in the freezer for about an hour or until frozen. This step is optional…you can also eat these warm if you like.

Blueberry Dark Chocolate Cookies

Thank you soooo much PaleOMG for another amazing recipe! I switched it up a bit because I didn’t have all the right ingredients, but they turned out AMAZING! These little gems are so different than the cookies I usually make. Plus they’re purple! How much better could it get?

Makes 24 cookies      Prep Time: 20 min     Baking Time: 15-20 min

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup almonds (or nut of choice)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the two cups of blueberries in a pot over medium heat.  Cook for 8-10 minutes stirring frequently.
• While the blueberries are cooking, place the almonds in your food processor and puree until all ground up – this takes a few minutes. While your food processor is still running, add the coconut oil to make almond butter.
• Once the blueberries are done cooking, add them to the food processor and puree until well combined.
• In a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir.  Pour the blueberry mixture into the bowl and mix well. Note – Wait until the blueberries have cooled down before combining with the rest of the ingredients.  Otherwise the chocolate chips will melt and not be very chippy :(
• Spoon batter in 1-2 tbsp chunks onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 15 – 20 minutes.
• Let cool and ENJOY!

NOTE: if you like things a little bit less sweet, only use 2 tbsp of honey instead of 3  :)

DETOX DAY 14 – Sunflower Seed Protein Cookies

Woohoo! Two weeks into my 21-day detox!

I was really missing having a little treat after dinner.  I LOVE my breakfast cookies so it kind of sucked not having them anymore :( Sunflower seed cookies to the rescue! I modified Amanda’s Protein Cookies to fit with my detox rules and created these little gems. Absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten free oats
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Using the Kitchen Aid mixer, combine all ingredients.
• Spoon onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. DONE!