Clean Nanner' Bread

This delicious chocolate chip banana bread turned out amazing, and there aren't that many ingredients, I call it foolproof bread! (Seriously, if I can make it, anyone can)
A single piece carries about 249 calories, which is a little high for only one piece, but remember it's not about the numbers.

Not only is the bread clean, it's also gluten free, and 100% paleo! WIN!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 cups of rice flour (can be found in the organic section of the grocery store)
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3 bananas
2/3 cup of milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup of Truvia (Stevia)
 
Mash the bananas with a fork, and then add in the vanilla and eggs.

Combine the rest of the ingredients together in a separate bowl, and then add wet to dry.

Fold the ingredients together until everything is mixed, and place into a greased loaf pan.

The bread is done in approximately 30 minutes, but every oven is different. Once the bread is golden brown and spongy to the touch, it's done!

I cut it up immediately and put the pieces into plastic baggies so I could grab one on the run.

 

 I like easily accessible, clean food, so there is no room for error in eating  :) 

 Cheers,

Emma

Candy Apple Protein Shake

Who doesn't love candy apples?! They remind me of fall fairs, and not to mention, being pregnant with my son. I  ate every circus food possible during my pregnancy, and it was worth every single sugar crash I experienced!

I made a lovely breakfast shake this morning after I got home from the gym; extremely easy, and so delicious. The only prep involved is cutting up and freezing an apple. Too easy! 

1 frozen Granny Smith apple (or your favourite, but I love the tartness) 
1 scoop of Buttercream protein powder
1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tbsp's of PB2 


Blend, and enjoy!

315 calories and 30 grams of protein!

Cheers friends!

Protein Pancakes

If you crave sugar like I do, then flip up some delicious pancakes, and they will help to stifle the need to BINGEEEEEE.
Protein can help to level out your blood sugar levels so you don't have highs and lows. I always find after eating some solid protein, I can happily walk away from sugar, and not be HANGRY about it.

Let's be honest, we've all been here..... ;)

I realized I hadn't eaten enough today, so I wanted something with some decent macros
Thankfully I found everything in my cupboard, and it took less than 10 minutes to whip it up!

Start with one serving of quick oats, I use 1/3 cup of Quaker. Grind it up so it's a fine powder:

 

Add in your choice of protein powder, I love Elite Whey Protein, the flavours are awesome! For these pancakes I used Buttercream Toffee. 

You can use the Vitacost link at the bottom of the post to get ten dollars off of your order.

I also added in my favourite powdered peanut butter. PB2 is amazing, it's all natural and has 1/2 the calories and fat of regular peanut butter, with close to the same flavour. It's not Kraft, but it's clean :) 

 I threw in one serving of PB2 which is 2tbsp's. Mix in 1/2 tsp of baking powder for a bit of FLUFF!

Add in your liquid, you can use water, regular milk, soy, whatever you like. My favourite is vanilla almond milk. With only 45 calories in a cup, and a great taste, you can't go wrong. Plus it's lactose free, so if you don't do well with cow's milk this is a perfect alternative.

 I added about 3/4 cup of almond, but go by consistency. It should be thick, and somewhat like regular pancake batter.

 

Throw that batter on your grill and voila! I used 1tsp of butter to grease my pan, but if you have a non stick pan or non stick cooking spray, that's just as good.

I smothered my pancakes in Walden Farms calorie free syrup, and it was perfect. Again.....Vitacost. I Haven't been able to find WF's products in Canada yet, so I love this website for finding all those delicious American goodies. Click here for the $10.00 off coupon.

I got 4 pancakes out of the batch, and it contained 500 calories and 42 grams of protein.

Sugar craving curbed, daily intake complete. Taste buds satisfied. YUM.

Lift Ladies LIFT!

I absolutely love this article on Bodybuilding.com on why women need to lift heavy weights. If these experts aren't convincing enough, let this Mama tell you 10 reasons why I began lifting.

1. To feel stronger
2. To push myself to extraordinary limits
3. To shock myself when I figure out what my body can do
4. To feel more comfortable in my own skin
5. To start a passion and a drive for more
6. To get excited and imagine what my body can do next
7. To see a transformation and enjoy the results
8. To have more energy 
9. To lift my son and carry him without getting winded
   
   And the most important one........
10. To get rid of the WONKY BABY BELLY!!!

I telly you ladies, lift, just do it. Do it because it will make you feel better about yourself. And don't just lift 5 pound weights and be happy about it. Increase your weight so you can increase your strength! So you can increase the competition you have with yourself. Challenge yourself to do more, to be more, and to know more.


Cardio just doesn't cut it, our bodies were meant to do extraordinary things. Our muscles long to be worked hard. They want a challenge and I think we all have it in ourselves to rise up and try something new.

I love this picture of Rebel Wilson from Pitch Perfect, they are my feelings exactly. I'm not trashing cardio, I love it, all in its own moderation. Treadmills, dance fitness, and stair climbers that are paired with some good old fashioned barbells is a great marriage I think!

Lift a weight, you won't be sorry you did.
And if you are, well.....unfortunately there is no refund for quitters.

xo

Protein Cake

My newest lesson in eating clean is that clean can be delicious, but if you have preconceived notions in your head of how food should taste, then forget it, your creation will be disgusting.
When on a new clean creation adventure I try to have an open mind and think that this food is going to fuel my body; and if I'm eating it to stifle a sugar craving, then it too will help my body.
This afternoon I made something quite delicious, though it has more of flavour I have yet to fully fall in love with. That taste of 'clean', it seriously is an acquired taste!
With only 6 ingredients I made a personal sized cake, some call it a mug cake, some call it a muffin, I call it the mother of all protein cakes. This was a Tupperware cake, and clearly I used too much baking powder.

I combined all of the following ingredients into a small Tupperware container that was sprayed with a non stick cooking spray. (UGH I know, so bad for you)

1. Scoop of chocolate protein powder (leave out about 1 tbsp)
2.  1tbsp of Cocoa
3. 1/4 cup of almond milk (leave out about 1tbsp)
4. 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites
5. 4tbsp of white rice flour
6. 1tsp of baking powder (maybe too much? haha)

 

It has the perfect consistency of boxed chocolate cake before it goes in the oven, but with this creation it goes in the microwave for only 1 minute.
I actually put it in for 3 minutes and after a minute realized it had grown to be a beast.
It popped right out of the container and I was shocked at the size.

That's a large pottery mug sitting next to it for measuring purposes, I told you it was HUGE! 

 Take the remaining protein powder and almond milk and mix together to create an icing. Pour over top and ENJOY!
The nutritional information is awesome, such a great clean treat!

Calories - 311

Fat - 4g 

Carbohydrates - 36g 

Sugar - 1g

Protein - 36g

VITACOST HAUL! (And how to get your $10.00 off coupon)

My package from Vitacost finally arrived tonight, and I was as excited opening the box as I was on Christmas Day 1993 opening all my toys. I told my husband it was groceries, which wasn't all too much a lie, it was food after all ;)
I tore open all the bubble wrap and found the most lovely glass jars inside. My haul of Walden Farms products, TO DIE FOR products, might I add.

The minimum order of most of their products is 2, which really, who cares, you're going to devour the whole jar anyway, so stock up while you can. I don't know how they do it, it must be a secret like Santa Claus and Elves or something. They say it's all natural, but the kicker is that the products are....wait for it......

SUGAR FREE

CARB FREE

CALORIE FREE

FAT FREE

WHAT?! Is that possible? Like I said, it's some crazy family secret, but I bought it. And now I'm hooked. I would rather cut some costs on other groceries in order to fund my Walden Farms addiction. <cough> Healthy addiction!

The amazing thing about these products is they are actually 100% delicious and hardly taste like you're missing out on the real thing. In fact, Mrs. Butterworth ain't got nuthin' on WF (Walden Farms, because the short form is way better!)  I also thought I would try the syrup for my son, it's a great alternative to regular sugar infested pancake topper. No sugar = no toddler sugar high = happy mama.

If you're going to eat clean, you're going to have times where you need to binge. So why not binge clean? Instead of making a stack of french toast and dousing it in high sugar syrup, go for some protein waffles and WF syrup?

In my humble opinion, which clearly isn't worth a lot, I would rather extend the years of my life by eating clean and binging on these products, than spend less money on food and eat crap.

End of story.
Now off to eat my BBQ'd chicken breast before bed. Bam. Delish.

Cheers,
Em

Click on the word below to get your $10.00 coupon from Vitacost. Unfortunately the shipping is a bit much, but people, the products are worth their weight in gold. Now go now!

TEN DOLLAR OFF COUPON :)

Quinoa and Flax Bread

So today I made my first loaf of bread, well.....first successful loaf! I tried it yesterday and it was hard as a rock! Turns out, you shouldn't use expired yeast, ha!! I had my Mom's help today and the bread came out amazing, and tasted delish! Check out the recipe below to make some great smelling, wonderfully tasting, quinoa and flax bread!

1cup Quinoa (cooked) - So measure out 1/2 cup because it doubles in size, YUM! 
2 cups Buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour, or gluten free, whatever you like!
1/4 cup Olive oil -Still trying to find a good substitute...maybe coconut oil?! :) http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/804491/the-health-benefits-of-agave-nectar
3 tbsp Flax seeds
1tbsp Active dry yeast
1tsp Agave nectar - You can substitute for any king of sugar but I love Agave it's so good for you. It's amazingly low on the glycemic index so it doesn't shoot your blood sugar up like regular sugar does. 
1cup Warm water (almost hot!) 



1.) Start with the quinoa because it takes the longest to cook, set aside
2.) Mix together the agave nectar, yeast, and water. The water has to be almost hot, the first time I did it the water wasn't hot enough and the yeast didn't activate. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until it grows nice and foamy!
3.) Mix together the quinoa, flour, flax seeds, and yeast mixture together. Add in the olive oil. 
Knead it really well and add in some flour with your hands so it's not too sticky. My Grandma taught me to knead with the heels of your hands, just dig in and work it! I wasn't doing a good job today kneading so I know she was yelling at me from up in heaven. :) 
4.) Grease a bowl with some olive oil and put your dough in. Make sure you go all the way up the sides of the bowl so when it grows it won't stick. Grease a bit of saran wrap too before you cover it just to make sure it doesn't stick. If it does, it may deflate the bread when you try to take it out! (Little trick from my Mama!) 
Cover with a tea towel and place in the oven with the light on for about an hour or until it doubles in size.
5.) Take it back out and re-knead it, this time placing it in your greased loaf pan. Repeat the covering and oven part! 
6.) Once it's doubled and looks delicious, throw it in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Note: Please make sure the plastic wrap and towel are off first ;) 


Let it cool before you eat it because it gets all doughy when it's hot. Spread a little organic honey on a piece and ENJOY! It's SO delicious, I hope you love it as much as I love! 


Much love,
Emma