MACRO FRIENDLY QUESADILLA

MACRO FRIENDLY QUESADILLA

Every so often I get cravings for certain snacks and today it was the quesadilla snack attack so I came up with this awesome solution for only 7f/22c/18p

Ingredients:

2 Sonoma low carb tortillas (found at Trader Joe's)

1.5 servings of Light Shredded mozzarella cheese, also from Trader Joe's

Flavor God Everything spicy seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Make a quesadilla :) Pretty simple

EASY CROCK-POT SALSA CHICKEN

EASY CROCK-POT SALSA CHICKEN

I have been giving this 'recipe' (ie world's easiest protein option to make in large quantities for the week) to a lot of friends and clients recently so figured I would add it to the blog for reference and to share with the masses. This is a simple but flavorful protein that you can use in any meal or snack. I toss it into my salads and it also pairs well with any veggies, potatoes, rice, squash or whatever else you may have on hand.  Also, if I ever get into a bind mid-week and start running out of food it's easy to put into the crock-pot before bed and it's ready to go the next day. Problem solved, no need to panic -- protein on my friends! 

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of your favorite salsa

(all the the ingredients below are optional but do help enhance the flavor)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
Wash and trim chicken, if needed
Put in the bottom of the crock-pot in a single layer as best you can

Empty jar of salsa on top

If adding the extra ingredients:
Evenly distribute garlic, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and cayenne over the top of the chicken.
Juice the 2 limes over the chicken

Otherwise:
Put the lid on and set the crock-pot to cook on Low for 6 hours

Once it's done cooking, let it cool and shred the chicken. 

4 INGREDIENT CHICKEN NUGGETS

4 INGREDIENT CHICKEN NUGGETS

I have been having quite the unusual craving for chicken nuggets lately so tonight I decided to make my own and this definitely did the trick. I will be making these again soon in the very near future. They are a good change up to the usual BBQ chicken that I eat and well --- they're chicken nuggets :) As with most of my recipes, they are simple, quick and highly adaptable so change it up based on your taste preference and enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces (mine weighed 530g)
55g (2.75 servings) Ian's whole wheat panko-bread crumbs
2 TBSP egg whites
1 TBSP BBQ seasoning blend

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a pan with foil and mist with coconut oil spray
Pour egg whites into one bowl
Mix bread crumbs and BBQ seasoning mix in a separate bowl
Dip the chicken pieces in the egg whites then in the bread crumb mix and place on baking sheet
Cook in oven for about 25 mins until chicken is cooked through and turn the pieces at 15 mins to make sure they cook evenly

*You can adjust the amount of bread crumbs based on your preference for how breaded you want your pieces of chicken

*Macros for 3 pieces (about 100g) of my recipe was 2f/8c/27p

FAST & EASY 4 INGREDIENT PROTEIN MUFFIN

FAST & EASY 4 INGREDIENT PROTEIN MUFFIN

These are a staple for me! So easy to make and toss in my bag as I walk out the door. I have been traveling a lot lately and this recipe has been a life saver. You can change it up for any flavor combination that you want and the ingredients you have on hand. I will eat these every morning before I workout since they are just enough to fuel me through the early session and easily digestible so not heavy in my stomach. They are also a good snack in between meals on when I am on the road and meals are less predictable. 

Recipe makes 6 muffins

Ingredients:

- 1 serving of pancake mix <==I use 7TBS(57g) of Trader joe's Coconut Pancake mix but any pancake mix should work
- 1/2 scoop or serving of protein powder <== I use a 1/2 scoop of the quest protein powder since I find it cooks the best
- 3 TBSP egg whites
- 1 5.3oz cup of non-fat greek yogurt <==any flavor will work!
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (optional)
- water to mix if needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix the pancake mix, protein powder, egg whites, greek yogurt, and baking soda in a bowl until combined, add a little water if necessary to adjust batter consistency
Put batter into 6 muffin tins
Bake in over for 12-15 mins until tops of the muffins are firm 

Macros for these are about 1f/9c/5p depending on the specific pancake mix, protein powder and greek yogurt that you use.

WIN THE DAY: Ideas on foods that will help finish your macros at the end of the day

WIN THE DAY

Ideas on foods that will help finish your macros at the end of the day

A lot of people find it hard to finish off those macros at the end of the day in order to get those last couple grams of carbs, protein or fats in without totally throwing off one of the other numbers that is already maxed out. Below is a helpful list of foods based on different macro make-ups that will give you some ideas of the foods that I use frequently based on the numbers I need to fill in to hit my numbers. This is just a start and I will continue to update it as more ideas come to me-- feel free to leave other ideas of foods that you use in the comments sections, the more the merrier!! Let the games of 'Macro Tetris' begin!

Some of the foods in these groups might have small amount of other macros but I tried to come up with as many ideas as possible for each of the categories below. 

Carb Only
Fruit
     High: Bananas, apples, pineapple, berries, dried fruit (raisins)
Potatoes
Rice
Rice Cakes
Cereal
Canned pumpkin
Spaghetti Squash
Applesauce
Instant pudding mix
Candy (not highly recommended in large quantities but sometimes it's the only option)
Poptarts
Carrots
Non-fat Yogurt

Fat Only
Oil Based Salad Dressing
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil 
Shredded Coconut, unsweetened
Coconut Butter
Butter
Full fat Coconut milk
Macadamia nuts
Ghee

Protein Only
Egg whites
Protein powder
Sliced Deli Meat
Chicken breast
Gelatin powder
Shrimp
Canned tuna

Carb+Fat
Ice cream
Avocado

Protein+Carb
Non-fat Dairy products (cottage cheese, greek yogurt)
Veggies (snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower)
Beans
Quinoa
Lentils

Fat+Protein
Salmon
Cheese
Red Meat (steak, bison)
Whole Eggs

Save this image in your phone and keep it handy!

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN PROTEIN RECOVERY SHAKE

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN PROTEIN RECOVERY SHAKE

Because it's fall and everything in my life currently includes as much pumpkin as possible. This is also a good way to make sure your are maximizing recovery after workouts with protein and carbs to refuel until your next full meal. It's so yummy that it's the perfect reward for a great workout. 

Ingredients:

1/2 - 3/4 cup canned pumpkin (as you can see in the picture I froze my pumpkin in an ice tray to make cubes, I use 3 cubes in my shake)

1 serving chocolate protein powder (should be about 25g of protein, depending on your brand it could be 1 or 2 scoops)

1 Tbsp nut butter

Ice (about 10-12 cubes)

Water or Milk of choice

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender. I have found that it works best when I add them in the in order of: Pumpkin, protein powder, nut butter, ice and then water. Blend to your desired consistency and enjoy!
*I also add my creatine in here to help with recovery

CARAMEL APPLE PIE PROTEIN CHEESECAKE

CARAMEL APPLE PIE PROTEIN CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:
2 - 8 ounce containers of fat free cream cheese at room temperature
2 - 5.3oz containers Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt (I used the caramel apple pie one here but pick whatever you want!)
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 servings/scoops of protein powder (I used vanilla here but again, use whatever flavor you want)
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 drops liquid stevia (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
1. Mix wet ingredients.
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
4. Pour into greased pie tin (or oversize muffin tins like I did so they are pre-portioned for you)
5. Bake at 325 for 30-335 minutes until cooked through -- it will vary based on your oven and whether you put it in a pie tin or oversized muffin tins

Recipe makes 8 servings and the macros for my recipe was 1.3f/9.6c/16.4p

And of course I enjoyed mine with a little bit of pumpkin spice cream cheese as frosting :)