Tagged: gluten-free
Single Serving, 8 minute cookie. (for the chocolate crazed but health conscious person in all of us)
So it’s Saturday night at 8pm, you are thinking about how excellent your week has been (or not so excellent) and wanting the perfect snack to go with your book or movie. The best way to control portion sizes for snacking? Only make one portion, duh.
Common mistake made when cooking for a group of people, or movie snacking with a group of people, the “bowl” effect. Yes, I made that up. Inevitably if there is a platter or bowl meant for sharing you are going to eat more than you need, plus you risk being the person who ends up taking more than everyone else thus, the effect of “sharing” becomes unequal and no one wants to be that guy.
So to intercept the bowl effect, make single serving choices. Such as this peanut butter, chocolate oat cookie that takes literally 8 minutes to cook and gives more nutrition and flavour than any packaged brownie mix ever could.
You will need:
2 tsp cacao or cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup quick oats
1 tbsp natural pb
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp almond milk (or until a thick batter consistency has been acheived)
1 tsp agave nectar
optional add in: 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein
Assembly:
Pre-heat oven to 375°C
Mix all of above ingredients together until a thick batter forms
Roll batter into a large ball and press onto tinfoil lined cookie tray
Shape into a large circular disk
Place in oven for 8-10 minutes
(8 minutes yields crunchy exterior and fudgey inside)
(10 minutes yields an even cook through the cookie)
Top with 1 tsp crunchy PB and drizzle with 1 tsp honey
Enjoy your night in:)
Protein Crepes with Apple “Crumble” Filling
So the last couple of weeks have been pretty nuts. I found out that I have to move places…again. I went to the Dominican with a crew of hyped up Grade 12 students for 8 days. I finalized the details on a new job and have been through the most rigorous hiring process of all time, but it was all worth it because working for this company will be great.
I am not going to lie, I took 7 days off from the gym…consecutively. I ate bread and dessert, more than once. Was my body thrilled with this choice? No. It literally hurt and coming back to the gym at home was so exciting that I overdid it and killed myself on day 1 back. So cheers to getting settled back into routine and not letting 5 days of mismanaged eating sidetrack progress or gains.
Some recent eats pre-dominican trip.
Top left: 1/2 cooked sweet potato with 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and Kalamata olives. Top right: Honey dijon salmon with balsamic green beans. Bottom: Egg white and kale omlette with dijon and sirracha. Om spicy goodness.
My favourite (there weren’t many favourites on this trip…) meal of the day on the trip. Can’t go wrong with egg whites and fruit. Papaya is da bomb.
They still have oats in Puerto Plata, win win.
My babies, and breakfast for 4 days straight.
Gluten free. High protein. Low fat. Delicious. Sweet. Crepes.
Check out that warm cinnamon smell, no carb crepes…whaaaat? (I added the carbs via oat filling, but you could make this carb-less)
Recipe
For crepes (makes 2):
1/2 cup egg whites
whisk with 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla isolate whey)
2 tbsps almond milk
1 tbsp coconut oil for frying
Pour a thin layer on a hot pan over medium heat
Flip when bubbles appear
For filling:
1/2 apple chopped
1/2 banana chopped
1/3 cup of oats
Toss all 3 ingredients in a frying pan with 1 tsp coconut oil
Fry until apples are soft **add in 1 tbsp of almond milk if your mixture gets clumpy
Execution:
Spread 1 tsp greek yogurt on each crepe
Spoon filling onto each crepe
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Drizzle finished crepes with 2 tsps agave or sugar free syrup
Enjoy:)
Phew.
Keep eating friends. A healthy body is fed by much as is a healthy mind. Eat your way into shape or all your work in the gym will go to waste.
Goodnight!
Sweet Potato Mug Cake
It has been too long! Getting caught up in moving houses and a flurry of random activity, I have completely neglected to update this space. Making up for it with this bomb-a#$ creation.
Ever wondered what to eat post-gym? Well what if I told you that this is the ideal time to eat your sugary fix for the day? Yes friends, this is the time to eat that timbit or fruit salad with granola. Personally, I crave carbs post workout so I time my carb load either the night before a big lifting day, or for right after a big lift. It is different for everyone, but here is my favourite interpretation of carb cycling. Easy to understand, this article clearly explains the model of specific-nutrient-nourishment-timing. Again, everyone views diet differently but you will not find any signs of advocacy for a carb-free diet on this blog. That is just a recipe for hangry (state of hungry + angry) and cranky readers and bloggers.
Every week I cook 4 sweet potatoes in the oven on Sunday or Monday night as part of my food prep and cut them in half, storing them in a container to be enjoyed at my convenience throughout a busy week. I have been avoiding late night carbs this week because my stomach has been off, so I have settled on the obvious choice of mug cakes as as a post lunch dessert.
The secret to a good mug cake? Experiment and throw in different things every time. Personally, I love the cake batter texture, so my cakes are a little on the undercooked side. If you want a firmer cake, pop it in for 2.5 or 3 minutes instead of 2. Literally the most delicious, easiest dessert you can make and it has zero gluten, no processed ingredients and no added sugars if you don’t use agave or honey.
Start out with one half of a precooked sweet potato and pop it into the microwave for 2 mins, to get maximum softness.
Mash the heck out of the potato with a fork and remove the skin. Add in the following:
1/2 tsp of baking powder
Almond milk until you get a batter-like consistency (2-3 tbsps for me)
2 tbsp egg whites
2 tbsps shredded coconut
Small palm size of 80% choc chips
Mash, baby, mash. Until you form a slightly frothy, lumpy mixture. Sounds appealing, no?
Pop the lot into your mug and pat it down using your fork. Throw it into the microwave for 2 mins and take it out…
Magic I tell you. Who needs flour?
Then the toppings, very important.
My choices of the week are 1 tsp coconut oil, cinnamon and 1 tsp of agave nectar.
Essentially the easiest and healthiest cake you have ever eaten. Take liberty with this recipe and throw in raisins, fruit, peanut butter topping. I am talking WILD ideas here. But if you don’t try this snack after leg day, you are crazy.
Much love on a Friday, just a thought to keep with you as we enter into the weekend
Gluten Free Finished and What I learned from it
So there it is. Last Friday I finished my strict gluten free experiment.
Positive Results? Better digestion, felt fuller for longer, no bloating, beautiful skin.
Side effects:difficulty eating with boyfriend and friends (let alone family, HA) and buying groceries more often ($$).
Overall recommendation? Try it. You end up coming up with new recipes and ways to eat without the added bulk of gluten. I have decided to stop buying bread for now, because I don’t really miss it. I also like having my carbs gluten free because it allows me to eat proper portions without feeling like I have overeaten.
What did I learn?
That I am not as obsessed with my physical appearance as I thought I was.
I would rather enjoy a cheat meal with my friends and feel guiltless than hold out for perfect lines across my stomach.
I am happy with my nutrition plan and the way I approach food. I don’t live to eat but I truly do enjoy cooking and without realizing it, I use it as an outlet for emotion. Love, stress or just enjoyment I can use these skills to express how I feel. Food is fuel and it is a fun hobby. I consider eating and cooking to be a hobby and a large part of what makes my lifestyle healthy and balanced.
Some meal time fun…
Turkey sausage and roasted balsamic root vegetables. Totally done in the oven and zero effort by me.
Simple chickpea salad for lunch with a sour cream, red wine vinegar and dill dressing.
Ah, yes. Gluten free pumpkin spice mug cake.
I really wish I had actually measured the ingredients, because then
a) I could share it with you properly!
b) It might not have expanded over the top and all over my microwave
Essentially:
1/4 cup all purpose gluten-free baking flour
1/2tsp baking powder
Dash of baking soda
2 tsp coconut flour
1/4 cup of pumpkin puree
2 tbsp Agave Syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Microwave for 2 mins on high. Hopefully it works 😀
Last but not least, we finally got some snow!
It is pretty much gone now. But it’s still cold and I am getting so excited for more:)
Something to keep your brains active in the middle of the week, think on this…
“Too many people undervalue what they are, and overvalue what they are not”
Has anyone else tried gluten free or has a gluten intolerance? What are some positives that have come out of it?
xx Meghan
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
Commit To Confidence 