Tagged: food
Extreme Prep Pancakes: Nutrition meets Creativity
So it is now three weeks from the competition and my diet has changed again. Cut down substantially in order to see substantial results with stubborn body fat. I am not going to share my specific plan due to the fact that it is tailored specifically to my body and goals. Too many people think that if they follow a nutrition plan of someone with body type a, that they too will eventually look like body type a. Instead I will share some delicious pancake porn that I have managed to fit into my plan during this prep.
Beginning with the simple Oat Pancake
For those mornings that I am lacking creativity but still want a giant pancake. Nom.
Moving onto the slightly more scrumptious looking and complex apple chocolate pancake
Um, yep. These didn’t last long, made these at my parents and had to beat my brothers off with a stick. After all of their complaining about how I waste so much money on protein powder…HA
Finally my favourites, and will be making these for my next rest day treat (I call them a treat because they are slightly more labour intensive. It involves actually opening the can of pumpkin)
Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes
Um yeah, so these were basically heaven.
Dessert for breakfast, and not overly sweet.
Then the rest of my days I eat things like this
I lied. I literally eat out of this salad bowl 3 times/day, 6 days/week. The only thing that changes is the protein and fat source. Good thing I am a contented creature of habit:)
Recipes for each pancake type
i) The Standard Oat
1/4 cup oats
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp truvia
1 scoop of protein powder of choice
Blend all of the above and add water until the texture is thin (makes it easier to create more pancakes, so you can eat more)
Spray pan with oil of choice (I use Trader Joe’s coconut spray oil)
Heat on medium low and cook in small pancakes or large crepe like cakes to be folded in multiple layers (my fav)
Topping:
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbs protein powder *reserve
Defrost blueberries in microwave, stir into protein powder and add a teeny amount of water until you get a “sauce” consistency.
Macros: 30g protein, 20g carbs
ii) Chocolate Apple Pancakes
1/3 cup oats
2 egg whites
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 scoop protein powder of choice (chocolate if you have it)
Water to desired consistency
Side: 1 small apple, sliced finely
Blend all of the above and add water until the texture is thin (makes it easier to create more pancakes, so you can eat more)
Spray pan with oil of choice (I use Trader Joe’s coconut spray oil)
Heat on medium low and cook in small pancakes, pressing 3 apple slices into each pancake when you see bubble form on one side. Flip once the apples are set.
Topping:
2 tbs vanilla protein powder with water added to form “sauce” consistency
Macros: 30g carb, 30g protein
iii) Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup pure pumpkin (7g carb per 1/3 cup) *NOT pumpkin pie filling (gross)
1/2 cup egg whites
15g vanilla protein powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp truvia
Approx 1/2 cup water
Blend all of the above and add water until the texture is thin (makes it easier to create more pancakes, so you can eat more)
Spray pan with oil of choice (I use Trader Joe’s coconut spray oil)
Heat on medium low and cook in small pancakes to create the BIGGEST stack possible.
Topping or Pumpkin “Cream”:
1 tbs pure pumpkin
2 tbs protein powder (vanilla)
1 tbs 0% greek yogurt (plain)
Water to stir until it is a spreadable consistency
Layer the cream in between each pancake, it helps to keep the pancakes perfectly moist. You don’t even need a knife for these babies.
Macros: 33g carbs, 32g protein
I hope these inspire some healthy pancake making! Remembering that food should be pleasing to eat while it is fueling your body. I am finally understand what it means to “eat to live” instead of “live to eat”. Enjoy this gorgeous September Day!
Protein Pancakes on a different level
Happy Sunday friends! Weeks are flying by, inching to get closer and closer to the gorgeous weather that some of us are desperately craving. This week was extra busy because a friend was in town and every moment of busy was totally worth it! But Saturday morning I slowed things down for 60 minutes, in order to cook, enjoy and marvel at these…
Sunny Saturday morning, pancakes on my mind and my plan for fasted cardio went out the window. Whoops.
Just an enormous stack of chocolate, peanut buttery banana infused goodness on your breakfast plate. Oh, and they are a lot healthy. Like these guys make spinach omlettes look bad. Unfortunately the time needed to calculate the nutritional info for this recipe is excessive, so if you would like go to Spark Recipes and see what your recipe rings up like!
Here you go!
3/4 cup oat flour (I ground oats in a magic bulltet to make my own)
1/3 cup of liquid egg whites (or separate your eggs)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1tsp agave nectar/syrup (or 2 packets of stevia), I use agave as my sweetener in all baking
1 tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt (I used Liberte 0%)
1 scoop of your protein powder of choice
Heat frying pan on medium, add 2 tsp of coconut oil and fry away!
ps. I only buy coconut oil from Costco because whole foods is reeeeediculous
“Frosting”
1/3 cup of plain greek yogurt
1/2 tsp of PB (know that I am only ever referring to natural PB)
1 tsp cacao powder *not cocoa. See HERE for the important difference *cough 360% more antioxidants
Splash of almond milk, or add enough until the frosting is easily spreadable.
Directions
Layer each pancake with frosting and sliced banana (I used 1 whole medium banana) and top the whole stack with cinnamon (if you are into the whole “benefits of cinnamon” thing 😉
This recipe made me three large pancakes, but…I may have eaten some of the batter in the process. So let’s say it has the potential of four pancakes. This recipe was originally adapted from the lovely Spoonful of Fit.
Have an amazing Sunday and because it’s my day of rest that means bootcamp prep, food prep and some relaxed time with friends.
Love
Snack and Stretch
I rediscovered the “wheel” pose this week, and it feels phenomenal. Flexibility is so important when you are strength training and while a 15 minute stretch might feel good, I can probably guarantee that you are not stretching enough to compensate for the amount of work your body does.
Yoga: Try it, anywhere, anytime.
I mulled over this statement for a solid two days before coming up with this end result. Have you ever questioned your intentions for your actions? Beyond superficial intent I mean. Obviously you are going to hold the door open for someone because it is polite, but what if you held the door open with a smile and a hello? Your intention will likely shift from polite, to simply being kind and trying to spread positivity into someone else’s day.
After yoga, it was 2 hours before bedtime and that meant snack time. Here is a concoction that I have been playing with and think tastes absolutely delicious as a “dessert” type of treat.
I present…Protein Frozen Yogurt
Ok, so it doesn’t look like your traditional bowl of frozen yogurt. It looks like pureed grass and seeds, but trust…it totally tastes like peanut butter ice cream. I kid not.
1/2 cup non fat Greek Yogurt
1 tsp all natural peanut butter
4 heaped tsp of Hemp Protein (or your protein choice) powder
Mix well and freeze for 30 minutes
Sprinkle with Hemp Seeds for that fatty finish 😉
Happy snacking and stretching!
Love
Week 3, Gluten Free. I messed up, oops!
Happy Monday morning!
I should have posted this yesterday but I took my hour off and watched chopped on the food network instead, totally worth it.
Gluten free is good, only I forgot that beer had gluten in it because I was in a “heat of the moment situation” as it were. Moral of story, I drank half a glass of beer. Over it, moving on.
I bought this lovely gem for a friend earlier last week (I should have picked one up for myself too, I love this!)
Some snapshots from my dinners this week. Sidenote: during the week, eating is so easy. If I am by myself, eating is awesome even if I’m cooking for friends, not an issue. When other people make me dinner I run into problems because I hate making special requests and also hate being picky because I don’t actually have “dietary restrictions”. However, I brought my lunch, snacks and dinner to my work training in Toronto on Saturday and it was no problem at all:)
Dill smashed potatoes, lemon garlic Kale and Turkey sausage.
I love turkey sausage, oh buddy.
My dinner at work. I am running mad low on groceries but this was delicious. Sweet potatoes are now a staple in my pantry and I eat between 3-4 of them per week as a main dinner item. Recipe coming soon for my twice baked greek sweet potatoes!
Finally, here is an “ab” picture. I know people love to see abs, and I’m still working away at them. The pouch has not diminished much, but the definition around my upper abs and serratus muscles are developing much more. This is at 20% body fat and 145lbs. Lucky me that I don’t have to cut down to the low teens to see abs! Still have a ways to go but I refuse to cut my calories down so we will see how my stubborn attitude will fare with my body’s natural cycles 🙂
Anyways, time for Monday to kick my butt. Have a wonderful day friends and stay excited about whatever this week holds for you.
xx Meghan
Gluten Free Week via Instagram + a 3 ingredient, 2 minute breakfast!
First adventure of the week was gluten free pumpkin scones. I might have eaten almost all of these singlehandedly. Even though I burned the bottoms (never substitute parchment for tinfoil) they were everything a scone should be.
Moist, crumbly, flavour depth and total breakfast and dessert bliss.
From a combination of The Baking Beauties and MindBodyGreen, I will post the recipe once I can tweak it.
My favourite. Vegan “Fettucine” Alfredo.
Yes I put a smidge of fresh grated Parmesan on this, I am only human. Other than the cheese this baby is straight up vegetables and nuts. Taken straight from here with no adaptions, other than taking out xanthan gum.
My tip of the day at the University gym. Food is so much more important than simply satiating and quenching cravings and it is up to us to discover how it can make a difference!
Me, being a dork after class at the studio this week. Morning squish face shots are my specialty, I charge nothing but a smile or a quote 😀 Totally kidding.
but really, I love smiles and quotes.
2 minute, 3 ingredient, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1. 1/3 cup of instant oats (these were gluten free but steel cut is fine too!)
2. 1tsp pumpkin pie spice
3. 2 tbsps of pure pumpkin puree
* 1 pkg of Truvia or 1/2 teaspoon of natural honey for sweetening (optional, but recommended)
1 cup of water
Instructions
Put oats and water into your microwave on high for 2 minutes (in a tupperware or bowl)
Stir halfway through
Add in pumpkin, spice and additional sweetener if desired
Take it to work or enjoy it at home:)
So far, so good in gluten free land! Have a fabulous Friday evening ❤
xx Meghan
Gluten and Hurricanes
So here we are, Monday night. My night to catch up and do all things that I slack on from Friday-Sunday.
I would just like to say first off, that I am praying for all those who are going to be affected by Hurricane Sandy as the storm prepares to make landfall this evening. I pray for your safety and comfort and for those who have already lost so much, that God provides you with the hope and strength that you need. For those of you who are unaware of what Hurricane Sandy is, it is basically one of the largest storms in US history (bigger than the perfect storm) and over here in Canada we are getting a taste of what everyone else is going through. 90km/hr winds, lashing rain and frigid cold I can not even imagine the power of this storm once it hits land.
This quote is from the book Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. This quote is a response to the statement “What you are trying to do is nothing but a tiny drop in an ocean”. Lesson learned, perspective is everything.
But Gluten? Ah yes the good old “cleanse”. So as not to bore you with long details I am essentially going on a diet cleanse in order to prove that genetics do not serve as an excuse.
You will see in the pictures to come that I have a “pouch” ie. pesky collection of fat right around my belly button
After tinkering with exercise, and being inspired by clients I realized it was time to get rid of it.
How?
Diet.
I have been doing a lot of research and I am aware of what my body can process well and can not.
Hence this is what I am doing in these next 6 weeks
-cutting out all alcohol
-cutting out gluten *save from my rolled oats that “may” have come into contact with gluten in the plant
-cutting out all dairy *excluding minimal, 1 serving of fat free, plain yogurt per day FACT: (I need my yogurt)
-no direct processed sugar
That’s it. This diet leaves lots of room for fun creative cooking and lots of nutrition.
To set it straight, this diet change is not about vanity, it is about proof and curiousity; with the added benefit of seeing my work in the gym. Remember that you can never out train a bad diet so why cheat on yourself?
Here were some of my meals today
This is my omlette salad, I mean salad omlette. There was so much vegetables to egg, must work on that next time. Great way to start the morning off right before an exam and it kept me full until my 11am snack!
How to:
3 eggs
1 cup of baby spinach
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 tomato
Lots of cracked black pepper
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp sirracha
Then there was coffee. Which I did not put any truvia in, but I took this picture more for effect because I will be using it lots later. I drink my coffee black at all times and have 1 cup first thing in the am or a cup of tea. It is comforting, stimulating and really helps with the digestive ahem tract.
I am only going to do one update per week with this because it could get really self centered and repetitive. So lets keep the fire going, even in this bad weather and let the food that goes into your body reflect the love and respect you expect to be treated with. Then you know you are eating well.
Good night!
Meghan
Let Tactual Tuesday’s Begin!
First off Tactual is a real word: it is an adjective describing something that pertains to a sense of touch. Communicating or imparting the sensation of contact, of or arising from touch.
This is basically a way to set tangible short term goals for the week that will hold me accountable for the things I have promised myself.
Up on the docket this week:
1. Apply to real person (post undergrad, 8 moth temp) jobs
Just kidding, I love working for the school. Unfortunately, I want to move on up and out to get more experience sooo this will be scary because this place has provided me with employment since 2010.
2. Organize my ipod/music
This is essentially for 3 reasons.
a) my workout playlists are a mess, scattered all the way from Micheal Buble Silent Night to Remember the Name by Fort Minor.
b) I want some date night playlists so we don’t have the never ending “really, really, your music again?” talk
c) Camping this weekend with friends I have not seen for a few months requires optimal tunes for maximum ambience around the campfire
3. Finally, I need to use the GIANT zucchini in my fridge.
I found these awesome idea’s on Kalyn’s Kitchen to get rid of the monstrous gourd in my fridge
Flourless zucchini muffins
Blueberry zucchini bread
The masterpiece:zucchini carpaccio
I’ll update you on my progress of these goals. It’s going to be a busy 4 days!!
Meghan
Fueled Up and Ready to Rock: Veggie Chips and Light Potato Salad
40 degrees Celsius + appetite= decline. There are various theories and factors that contribute the the appetite difference between summer and winter. The main reason being that warmer temperatures induce a feeling of being full for longer, as well as the increase in water uptake during the warmer months leaves you feeling more full. See this study about temperature differences in appetite for more details.
The point of that little ramble was a prelude to why I did not really want to make dinner when I got home from the office at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. However, I knew that teaching 2 bootcamp classes back to back in this type of heat (6:30-8:30pm) it would have been unwise to not fuel up and pre-hydrate. So I went to work on the salad. I love baby red potatoes for two reasons: 1) they are adorable to look at 2) they take a shorter time to cook which leads to me eating faster, yayyy. oh and one more thing, portion control! 4 mini potatoes is one serving.
Yes I am aware that this looks like a hot mess. But a very delicious one, let me tell you.
Salad Characters:
8 mini potatoes
Cucumber
2 tbsp of banana pepper rings
2 tsp of light sour cream
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and Pepper (heavy on the pep and light on the salt)
Steps to perfection
1. Boil the potatoes until tender with a fork
2. Strain and cool potatoes in the fridge for 15 minutes
3. Slice the potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and pepper
4. Mix together the sour cream, vinegar and garlic powder
5. Toss in the peppers and chopped cucumber.
6. Stir and spoon out half of the salad (one portion) and leave the other for next day’s lunch!
After my salad inspiration there came the fact that I needed some vegetables and I had a huge issue because I had almost nothing left. 1/2 of a turnip and the stalks from a prior head of broccoli got the wheels turning. If I was going to eat these fibrous things, they had to taste GREAT. For veggies with low water content steaming and stir frying was not an option. Roasting was boring, so toasting and crisping it was!
If you own a mandolin (lucky ducks) then use it, or if you are new grad and lacking on the fancy stuff (like me) then old fashioned way for you! aka Knife and cutting board
Garlic and Parmesan broccoli crisps and Rosemary Balsamic Turnip crisps
There is also half a chicken breast in there (just to confirm: NOT a vegetable crisp)
These will satisfy the crunch, tangy and savoury tinglers of your tastebuds.
Ingredients
2 stalks from a medium head of broccoli, sides trimmed off
1/2 of a medium sized turnip
Olive Oil (5-6 tbsp)
Balsamic Vinegar (4 tbsp)
Pepper Grinder
Chopped rosemary (1/8 cup)
Garlic Powder (2 tbsp)
Parmesan Cheese (I used dehydrated but fresh would be delicious)
Execution
1. Brush the tops of all the vegetable slices with olive oil
2. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on the turnip slices
3. Top the turnip slices with rosemary and fresh pepper
4. Sprinkle garlic powder and parmesan cheese on the broccoli slices
5. Crack pepper over the broccoli slices
6. Slip in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 F
*Make sure that the slices are thick enough that they can hold the oil and toppings, it will vary depending on the batch. Too thin = gross soggy veggie and Too thick= fibrous veggie chunk
So after all of this cooking it was 5:20. I was worried about the digestion time but I ate anyways and away I went to 6:30 class. I was still able to teach and after the first hour I felt great and the meal kept me full until 10:00pm when I got back from the (horrendous uphill) grocery shopping trip to replenish the fridge.
This is a time consuming meal in terms of prep, but it’s a great way to feed people vegetables who are not fans of the raw or squishy textures. It also covers all of your bases in terms of proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals.
Don’t skip out on a meal because it’s hot! Cook light and choose the meal that is right for your level of activity. Stay cool!
Meghan
Commit To Confidence 