Skip to main content
Tag

chocolate

Protein Cashew Milky Way Bar

By Nutrition

Its always overwhelming seeing all these amazing recipes online and not owning any of the bloody ingredients to make them. I have done a quick list of where I order my ingredients from where I have found good prices and good quality supplements and superfoods! If anyone has any other great websites they use, please let me know ๐Ÿ˜€ I get extremely happy when I find new online ordering sites!!!

I have also added some recipes from my blog where you can use the ingredients.

 

The Protein Worksโ€ฆ

80 Naked Whey in Vanilla, sweetened with stevia

Also good to keep Casein Protein which is thicker and good to make protein bars with, like recipe bellow ๐Ÿ˜€

If you use my referral code you get extra free whey proteinย CF108303

 

Muscle Food..

If you use the code HF50600 you get free meat on your order

Chicken, 5kgs for ยฃ25

1KG tubs of nut butters.. Cashew is the bomb!!

Vitafiber to make protein bars with.. Try these Peanut Butter Quest Bars or the Protein Cashew Milky Way Bars (bellow)

Omega 3 tablets

Quest bars.. Great to keep for emergency meals

Low fat peanut flour (good for pancakes)

You can even get kangaroo, crocodile and emu if you fancy??!

 

Buy Whole Foods Online

Spirulina

Wheatgrass powder

Maca Powder

Cinnamon

Coconut flour

Try these Coconut Protein Pancakes

Coconut oil

Nori sheets (to make sushi)

Bee pollen

Raw cacao

Ghee

Chai seeds

Flax seed

Xantham Gum (good thickener for shakes)

Try my super thick shakes with xantham gumย Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie or Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

 

Now for a recipe containing a number of the ingredients above. It wasn’t my intention to recreate a Milky Way Bar although A number of people have told me these taste like Milky Way Bars.

They are super easy and fast to make. You can do them with or without the chocolate coating.

With out the coating they are only 61 calories per ball!!!

Protein Cashew Milky Way Bars

Ingredients:

Inside

60g vanilla casein protein powder

100g vita fiber syrup

60g cashew butter

Chocolate coating (optional)

4 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp raw cacao powder

Directions:

In a high speed blender (yes it has to be a good one or it will have a melt down) add the inside ingredients and blend untill a dough like consistency is formed. Remove from the bender and roll into 20 small balls. For the coating, melt the coconut oil and add the cacao powder. Stir until combined. Coat each ball with the chocolate mixture and place on a trap in the fridge to set.

Notes:

Try rolling the balls in crushed nuts, seeds or super-foods to add a crunch

 

Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie

By Nutrition

A lot of people don’t understand the importance of protein in the diet, or understand the health benefits of having a high protein diet to supplement training. Protein is an ESSENTIAL nutrient for the body, made up of branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s), responsible for growth and repair of muscle.

Protein is super filling so having a high protein diet will allow you to reduce calories without constantly feeling hungry

Protein has a high thermic effect which means it takes a lot of energy to digest in the stomach. This means you burn more calories actually digesting the protein you eat, than you do carbs or fat ๐Ÿ™‚

Research has proven that a high protein diet can increase bone density and prevent bone diseases.

Not only is protein responsible for growth and development, it also prevents muscle breakdown when on a reduced calorie diet. BCAA’s prevent the muscle breakdown for fuel allowing the body to burn body fat. This results in fat loss from FAT instead of just weight loss from MUSCLE AND FAT!

Many of my clients first starting out really struggle with their protein intake. They struggle to actually include the amount of protein they need in their diets to gain some lean muscle mass while dropping body fat. Chomping down chicken breasts all day can become a little boring, which is why I love using protein powder to make super food shakes. They are so yummy and filling and a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Bellow is a super high protein recipe which is gluten free, virtually fat free, and can be made dairy free. It contains a number of health benefits from the added raw cacao and sprulina, which are both powerful antioxidants and supply the body with essential nutrients.

Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 50g fat free Greek OR coconut yogurt
  • 30g natural vanilla protein powder
  • 150ml water
  • 1/4 tsp xantham gum
  • 10 ice cubes
  • 1 tbsp ย raw cacao
  • 2 tbsp stevia (more or less to taste)
  • 5 drops peppermint extract
  • 1/2 tsp spirulina

Directions:

Add the yogurt, protein powder, water, xantham gum and the ice to a high speed blender and blend into a thick shake consistency. Remove half the mixture from the blender and add 1 tbsp stevia, peppermint extract and spirulina to the blender. Re blend this half of the mixture until all smoothly mixed. Pour this half of the mixture into a glass and put the other half of the mixture back into the blender. Now add cacao and stevia to this half of the mix and blend until combined. Carefully spoon the chocolate mixture over the mint layer of smoothie into the glass…. Tadddddahhh!! Beautiful high protein minty chocolate goodness.

Notes:

I can recommend the protein from The Protein Works called Naked Whey Protein 80. It is sweetened with stevia meaning its not full of artificial RUBBISH….ย http://www.theproteinworks.com/referral-program/MTgwMzAzajJ0/

Top with nuts, seeds, bee pollen or which ever super foods you wish for added vital minerals and vitamins

Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

By Nutrition

Vitamin D is seriously lacking in my system right now.. I miss the sun!! A lot of people often ask me about my supplementation with my training. When participating in intense exercise (weights or cardio).. The body is at risk of free radical damage. Antioxidants found in foods you eat will fight this free radical damage. A lot of people cannot physically pack enough superfood into their daily diets to get enough antioxidants in their systems. This is where supplements come in handy…

My Top 3

1. Spirulina

If your a veggie hater or purely need to up your intake of minerals and vitamins then spirulina is great! It will contain all the nutrients your regular multi vitamin will have along with very high iron and B-12 content (found in meats) so great for vegetarians. It also high in protein and contains essential amino acids which makes it a great addition to your diet when pregnant or when trying to increase immune system.

2. Wheatgrass powder

The powder form is great but if you can juice your own fresh thats the best!! It has twice the amount of vitamin A than carrots. Higher in vitamin C than oranges. It has all kinds of vitamin B, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus…. and the list goes on. Similar to spirulina it contains all essential amino acids. It helps detox the liver and cleanse.

3. Omega-3

Unless your eating fatty fish (salmon) every day then you need this in your life!!..Omega-3 can help improve cardiovascular health and control diseases which involve chronic inflammation such as atherosclerosis. It can help mental disorders like Alzheimer’s and depression. It improves brain function, improving intelligence and preventing memory loss. Some studies show it helps with fat loss in combination with exercise. I make sure I have 2g EPA and 1.5g DHA.. find this by looking at the back of your fish oil supplement.

 

Todays recipe is packed with superfoods and protein to aid muscle growth and increase metabolism to improve fat loss efficiency. Real easy to make and a great post workout meal!

Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

Ingredients:

serves 1

  • 1 roasted beetroot
  • 1 scoop natural vanilla protein powder
  • 1/4 tsp xatham gum
  • 1 tsp maca powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp raw cacao powder
  • 1 tsp stevia (to taste)
  • 200ml almond milk (more or less depending how thick you like it)
  • 5-10 ice cubes

Direction:

Put all the ingredients into a high speed blender and wizz up. Add more or less almond milk depending how thick you like it.

Note: add grated dark chocolate curls for decoration

 

Raw Salted Caramel Slice

By Nutrition

I must say.. England has really hit me hard. Rain. Wind. Cold…. Rain again. The weather is fucking shocking here. When the weather is shit, All I want to do is get my bake on. I have created so many wonderful treats in my 2 days since returning home. My kitchen in England is so wellย equippedย by my wonderful mother with the best equipment and super foods, so I have goneย rather crazy in the kitchen.ย 

My 3 months traveling have been the best 3 months of my life. Leaving Melbourne in September got me panicked about not having gym access when ever I wanted. And sometimes possibly not having a real choice of the food I had to eat.. (with 1 frying pan and a temperamental stove). Although to my surprise, we managed to fill the whole trip with wholesome healthy superfoody goodness and used the most bazaar equipment for exercise (please see my instagram for photos).

With January just around the corner I wanted to talk a little about new years goals. Goal setting in your fitness journey are essential for success. First thing i’m going to hit you with is SMART. Now your all like ‘fuck off Charlie thats what my school teacher nagged on about. BUT ITS TRUE! So many people come to me and say ‘make me skinny‘… By what date? How much weight do you want to loose? Is that realistic?… If you set that goal for when January comes around. You will fail. Also.. NEVER set your goal to get skinny. Skinny is not cool. And you won’t get skinny. You want to get fit and healthy and have a strong toned bosssss body!

Specific

‘I want to loose 8kgs of weight from fat and tone my shoulders to improve posture,while building muscle on my butt to give me a sexy as hour-glass figure’ THATS MORE LIKE IT.

Decide a plan which is specific and gives you focus to your training. This can help someone like my self (if you have a personal trainer) make you a specific, unique fitness and nutrition plan to help reach your goal.

Measurable

Put a number on it!! Take bodily measurements and look how many centimeters you want to loose from your waist. Look into how strong you are in a particular area, e.g. Squats. and increase the amount you can lift by 20kgs. Body weight goals are not so great as you may put on a heap of muscle, but they can be used for a guide.

Achievable

‘I want to loose 10kgs in a week’….Sorry NO! That ain’t gonna happen. Firstly if you loose weight mega quick. You will pile it all back on.. FACT. Slow and steady wins the race…. Check back in my posts on Metabolic Damage!!

Relevant

Okay this ones a little obvious. Your not going to set a goal of how many burgers your can eat in 1 hour are you!!

Time

If you have an event coming up. definitely make this event your goal. If your wedding is in 10 months. Make this the long term goal. Your must also set short term goals to hit on the way to keep your fitness journey super high of motivation. So often people will say….’Fuck it. Its 8 months till I have to put that bikini on. One large pizza won’t hurt’. If you set goals to achieve in 1 months time. This won’t happen!

 

Once these goals are set. Get your ass in the gym. Get your apron on in the kitchen and smash those goals.. I have great January deals coming up for online and personal programmes to help you hit those goals. Contact me for more details ๐Ÿ™‚

In the mean while. Enjoy these taste raw goodies…

Raw Salted Caramel Slice

serves 12

Ingredients:

Bottom Layer

3tbsp desicated coconut

2tbsp walnuts

1tbsp powdered stevia

1.5 tbsp powdered stevia

1tbsp melted coconut oil

Caramel Layer

1 cup cashews

1 cup pitted dates

(4-7 tbsp hot water)

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp salt

Chocolateย 

6tbsp melted coconut oil

3 heaped tbsp raw cacao

3tbsp maple syrup

2 drops of vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Put the dates and the cashews into soak in some warm water and leave to one side.

Put all bottom layer ingredients in a blender and wizz up for around 3 minutes until all ingredients are combined. (you may have to scrape down the sides a few times).. Get your self a shallow dish. Press the bottom layer evenly into the bottom of the dish and place to one side.

Drain the cashews and dates and place in the blender with the vanilla and salt. Blend until a smooth consistency is reached (you may have to add the hot water while blending to get a less thick caramel).. Once the caramel is smooth and delicious. Pour over the first layer in the dish and leave to one side.

To make the chocolate. Combine the melted coconut oil, cacao, maple syrup and vanilla in a bowl and stir until combined. Pour over the caramel layer and place the dish into the freezer

If you are patient enough… Wait over night then take out and cut into squares. Store in the fridge ๐Ÿ™‚

 

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

By Nutrition

So I took the morning off work today as i’m feeling sore as anything. I have been having Bowen Therapy which is amazing but makes you achy and tired the next day. Bowen is a non-manipulative, non-invasive, holistic massage treatment and soft tissue remedial therapy to facilitate healing of the whole body. Its almost like trigger point therapy. The muscle fascia is rolled over the muscle in certain areas to trigger the bodies natural healing process. This means any injuries or bad alignment kind of fix them selves…. What am I saying!!! ย I have no idea about the science behind it but let me tell you its bloody fantastic! Why?! Well my mum had awful back problems for months due to a long term coccyx injury from when she was pregnant with me (sorry mum). She has seen osteopaths, physiotherapists, chiropractors, and all sorts of therapists for years and no one has been able to fix it. She then got recommended Bowen therapy when she was at absolute rock bottom… (she could barely walk at this stage). Anyway… This Bowen therapist has totally realigned her whole body and she is able to run again, go to the gym and go rowing again with absolutely no pain! WOO ๐Ÿ™‚ I always get minor lower back pain and a sore knee which I generally ignore, so I thought I would make an appointment to see if this could be fixed. Turns out my right leg was shorter than my left due to my pelvis being out of line. My hamstrings were literally frozen trying to compensate for this which was arching my lower back causing pain. My right shoulder was also totally out of line which pulled my upper back muscles and caused my right pec to be inflamed! Shit.. And I was ignoring this for so long! Two sessions in and my legs are the same length ๐Ÿ™‚ My shoulder is back inline and my lower back pain has gone!!! What I want to get onto is that just because your fit and healthy it doesn’t mean everything is always working how it should be. Having minor imbalances in the body can cause major injuries later on in life. It can effect form for exercises in the gym and cause other inuries where muscles try to compensate for imbalances. For example.. A bad squat form may be due to a pelvic tilt and tight hamstrings which can cause the glutes to not activate and make major muscle imbalances. This will also cause pain in the knees and can lead to extreme pain later on in life.. LOOK AFTER YOUR BODY!! I totally recommend this type of therapy to anyone who does weights training. It is so important to take care of your body. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be in a wheel chair at the age of 40 with fucked knees and a bad back! We all bust our asses off in the gym to be ‘healthy’ and ‘fit’ while we ignore minor niggles and pain. You only get one body.. Don’t ruin it. Don’t buy that new dress.. get some bowen therapy. Invest in your health, it will last much longer than clothes or handbags ๐Ÿ™‚

Speaking of being healthy and fit.. I have an ammmmmazing new recipe for you beauties. We DO NOT want to fill our bodies with crap which is why I try to healthifyย  high calorie, high sugar, high saturated fat goodies… because no body has time for that shit!!

So for those of you who read my posts. I am OBSESSED with peanut butter.. and chocolate. As a matter of fact, its in most of my recipes! Another thing I LOVVVE is cheese cake mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…. So here we have peanut butter, chocolate cheese cake! Its gluten free and by omitting the cheese cake topping, it will no longer be cheese cake ๐Ÿ™ but it will be dairy free. WOOO

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

makes 10

  • 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 50g gluten free oats
  • 100g mashed sweet potato
  • 40g raw cacao powder
  • 100g peanut butter
  • 50g honey
  • 50g raw sugar
  • 10 drops of caramel stevia
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 50ml almond milk

Topping: (optional)

  • 150g cottage cheese
  • 50g raw sugar
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 1 scoop vanilla whey

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place all cake ingredients into a blender and mix until a smooth consistency is reached. Pour the mix into a baking tray and make the topping. For the topping add all ingredients to a bowl and mix/blend together until smooth consistency is reached. Blob the mix over the cake mix and carefully swirl into the cake mix so it is partially combined. Put in the oven and bake for 50 minutes (its a long time, but its worth it) They should be a little gooey when you remove. Allow the cheesecake to cool and cut into slices.

Note:

To add some texture to this recipe, try mixing walnuts through the cake mixture after blending ๐Ÿ™‚

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Nutrition

There is currently a massive storm going down in Melbourne! The extreme wind conditions have managed to blow the kitchen extractor fan in the wrong direction which is proving to make baking (or any other kitchen activities) rather difficult. Despite getting blown around the kitchen in the process due to the torrential conditions, I managed to create these little goodies which taste delicious.

Before I give you beauties the recipe, I wanted to talk a little about training plateaus! Plateaus are very common, especially for women. After weights training for around 2 years now, I struggle to see progress in my body. I take pictures every few weeks, body measurements and weight to see muscle gain/fat loss. After time the changes in your body come slower and slower which can really effect motivation and dedication to training. If this happens to you it is the first sign you need to mix up your training!

Look at your weak points. People often neglect their weaker areas because they feel like crap after they have trained them. I have a client at the moment who doesn’t train calves because they are weak! Prime example.. Use this to your advantage. Weaker muscles are the most likely to improve. Sooooo train them like crazy. We have been taking measurements and photos of her calves every week while she has been training them almost every day. In just one month she saw an 1.25cm increase in size and some sweeeeet definition in those babies!

Improve your form. Figure out exercises where form can be improved. I am a perfect example of this. My squat form was awful, but I wanted to lift heavier so ignored the fact I had a shit squat! Months down the line I wonder why my glutes aren’t growing and my knees are constantly sore. After looking into it in more depth I figured I have extremely weak knees and glutes along with tight hip flexors and tight calves which was majorly effecting my technique. I had to go right back to squatting the bloody bar and stretching every day to sort out my form… If you tackle the problem as soon as possible you can improve your strength gains injury free!

Work on core and flexibility. Often with bodybuilding and weight lifting, flexibility goes out the window and core strength training is replaced by another leg day. Flexibility is key when trying to keep muscles in great working condition. Without stretching the muscles will become tight, range on movement will be lost and you will be prone to injury. No one is getting gains in that state. I think there is nothing more impressive than someone who can do the splits. Instead of focusing on strength gains for a while. Why not get your ass to yoga and do some flexibility work. This will not only keep your muscles in better condition. It will improve core and your strength gains in the gym.. ๐Ÿ™‚

Try a new sport. No I don’t mean quit the gym for another sport. Just try and add a different activity to your scheduled. Think of the most bazaar sport you would like to try, or go back to what you were shit at in school. I was always rubbish at gymnastics and dance in school. Most uncoordinated and unbalanced. Soooooooo.. I tried pole dancing. Yes I was shit, but it was so much fun. It has massively improved my core strength which has resulted in strength gains in the gym. My flexibility has also increased dramatically.. I am also seeing progress by nailing a new pose or hold on the pole which allows you to see constant improvement in your self keeping motivation high!

Lastlyyy… Set goals! Ones you have highlighted your weaknesses, focused on your form and taken up your new sport. Make sure you set goals. Not just long term, but short term also. That way they can be as small or big as you like. My most recent has been to be able to get my nose to my knees with my legs straight.. Next is the splits! Make them SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed. It must be clear and to the point. This helps you keep on track with motivation to push your self working towards your goals.

After all that, lets eat cookies mmmmmmmm ๐Ÿ˜€

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 20 mini cookies

Ingredients:

  • 50g egg white (or one egg)
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 50g coconut oil (melted)
  • 50g oats
  • 50g raw sugar (or coconut sugar)
  • 50g dairy free, dark chocolate chips
  • 100g wholegrain flour

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Combine all of the above ingredients in a bowl and stir. The mix should come together rather dry and only just hold together. Don’t be tempted to add liquid as this will ruin the crunch. Split into 20 small balls and squash into cookie shapes on a baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending how crunchie/soft you like them) Remove from the oven, let the cookies cool and store in an air tight container ๐Ÿ™‚

Note: This mix is also the most the most insain cookie dough when raw. If using egg whites it is perfectly safe to eat ๐Ÿ˜€

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Beetroot Protein Blondies

By Nutrition

Finally some great weather in Melbourne again this week! Hitting about 20 degrees every day ๐Ÿ™‚ YAY.. Good week for nice weather as I have been flyering the streets all week for a promo we have on at work. Their are so many ups and downs being a promo girl. One minute everyone who walks passed smiles and accepts a flyer. The next minute a grumpy old man tells you to fuck off and you loose the will to live. I was just delirious most of the time as I was doing this on top of my usual personal training split shift (6am-10am then 4pm to 8pm). I have to say i’m glad promo week is over. Yesterday everyone could clearly tell I was over it and I was giving off the ‘wrong vibe’…. This resulted in a total of 4 fuck offs. I genuinely wanted to cry.. On the plus side, I have so many new clients from promo week so I can’t complain ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚

Today I woke up with glands in my neck the size of golf balls. So I finished work, came home and passed out on the sofa for about 3 hours! On top of this I ate sooooooo much… I feel I need extra energy to fight off getting ill… (well thats my excuse). I’m also taking a few days off training which is super hard for me. I get stuck in my head that my muscles are going to fall off if I take like 3 rest days when I know this is clearly what I need. Its important to give the body rest. Listen to your body. If you feel like crap, don’t train. Often after taking 3-4 days rest you will actually come back stronger as well which is always amazing ๐Ÿ™‚

So seeing as my sweet potato, protein, brownies were such a hit with all you fitness fanatics… I decided to make something similar. Clearly due to my stupidly long working hours this week, my head wasn’t screwed on properly and I thought… FUCK IT. Beetroot!!!! BEETROOT.. Bet your all thinking ‘eww gross‘. But for real. These are so yummy. The only reason I used beetroot was because I wanted to make them pink. Yes I could blab on about the health benefits of beetroot. But all I thought was YAY PINK! I also took on the challenge from one of my clients who wanted something gluten and dairy free to bake… Soooooo.. These are GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE!!!! Not only that. They are free from refined sugar. WOOO ๐Ÿ™‚

Beetroot Protein Blondies

Ingredients:

Makes 12

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 100g gluten free oats
  • 100ml unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 scoop of gluten free, dairy free protein powder (I used brown rice(vanilla))
  • 100g almond butter
  • 300g sweet potato (peeled)
  • 10 drops of vanilla stevia
  • 100g roasted beetroot
  • 30g gluten free, dairy free dark chocolate
  • 50g gluten free, dairy free granola (I used my homemade granola)

Dircetions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Take the sweet potato and boil/steam/microwave until soft. While the sweet potato cooks, combine all other ingredients except the chocolate and granola. Once the sweet potato is soft, add to the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth consistency is reached. Pour the mixture into a cake tin and top with chopped dark chocolate and granola. Place into the oven for 20-25 minutes. You want them to still be slightly gooey when you take them out. Once cooked, remove from tin and allow to cool. They taste best when warm and can be re heated in the microwave ๐Ÿ™‚

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Protein Brownies

By Nutrition

Hellllll.. I’m going to get straight too it and say these are the best thing I have ever created in the kitchen! I mean Jesus Christ. These are fucking fantastic. I cannot wait to share the recipe with you!! Look at the name.. I couldn’t even work out what to call these things because no words can describe their greatness..

Okay sorry.. Blowing my own trumpet slightly here

Melbourne’s weather has been absolutely shocking this week. Why did no one warn me how bipolar the weather is here! Literally I walk to work in a fricking thunder storm. Two hours later I leave work to a stint of gorgeous sun. By the time I have walked home its blowing a hooly again and pissing it down with rain. Not Cool!

On the plus side, my ‘bulk’ is going absolutely fabulously. I have gained 1cm around my hips… 1 CENTER METER. Sounds like a pathetic gain but this is such an achievement for me as my glutes refuse to grow.. EVER. Only down side is my obliques have ballooned from the amount of heavy squats and dead lifts I’m doing, so I no longer have a waist. Just can’t win. Body sculpting is the most frustrating thing sometimes!!

The great thing about these brownies are that they provide you with protein, carbs and healthy fats making them the perfect post workout snack!

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Protein Brownies

Ingredients:

Makes 9

  • 350g peeled sweet potato
  • 1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 100g natural peanut butter (or other nut butter)
  • 100g honey
  • 50g low fat greek yogurt
  • 20g wholemeal flour (use coconut flour for gluten free)
  • 50g oats
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein (I used Optimum Nutrition)
  • 75g dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Chop up sweet potato and steam, boil or microwave untill soft. When cooked, add to mixing bowl along with all other ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, then blend/whisk ingredients together. If the mix is too thick add a splash of almond milk. Pour the mixture into a greased or lined baking tin. Add the chocolate chips and slowly stir in. Because the mixture is warm from the sweet potato, the chocolate will begin to melt slightly giving that ripple look through the brownies. If you want your chocolate chips to stay whole then wait for the mixture to cool before adding the chocolate chips. Place baking tin into the oven for 20 minutes. They should be slightly gooey when you take them out the oven. Cut into 8 slices and leave to cool (if you can control your self)

Notes:

Try adding chopped nuts to the mixture along with the chocolate chips to give them more texture ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Protein Ice Cream

By Nutrition

We are lucky fuckers this week here in Australia because this Friday is Anzac Day. That means another long weekend!! YAY.. Seeing as easter weekend was a bit of a blow out, food and money wise… This weekend will defiantly be a chilled one!

One of my clients came in today, first day back after the long weekend. She managed to not eat a single piece of chocolate this weekend! Not just chocolate, she didn’t cheat once..ย Respect for that. Although she seemed annoyed at why her family and friends were so confused when she didn’t eat roast dinner, or indulge in the chocolate on offer. A lot of people struggle to keep old friends when moving to a fit healthy lifestyle and find they annoy their family.. This should totally not be the case. Firstly I will come back to my last post on getting the balance. If your healthy and on track 90% of the time you will see results. This is why you must plan cheats for times which are convenient. It would have been the perfect time for my client to have a cheat with her family and friends this weekend but she had it mid week instead!! ย PLAN PLAN PLAN… Secondly, your going to piss people off if your out for lunch or dinner and you don’t eat anything. Don’t do it.ย You will not enjoy your self and you will kill the atmosphere for everyone else. Not only that you will get tones of comments like ‘are you starving your self‘ or ‘are you sure you don’t have an eating disorder‘.. Nothing more annoying than that!! Lastly, don’t talk about it, live it. No one wants to sit and listen to miss fitness in the corner who talks non stop about how long she worked out this morning and how she hasn’t eaten chocolate for 5 weeks in a row. THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING. Your friends and family will see how awesome you look so don’t lecture them about it! Give it time and people will be bugging you constantly to find out your ‘secret’ ๐Ÿ™‚

So protein ice cream is something I eat daily. It is made with casein protein which is a slow release protein. It is digested and absorbed over a longer period of time. This leads to a constant supply of amino acids to the blood stream for up to 7 hours. Studies show this continual supply of amino acids may significantly slow down the break down of muscle while your asleep and fasting! This makes it the perfect bed time snack. The beauty of it is you can make it fit your macros. If your fat is low you can add a spoon of peanut butter. If your carbs are low, add some puffed brown rice for some crunch. If your proteins low add half a low fat, low carb protein bar. And if you don’t have many macros left, it’s delicious on its own!! ๐Ÿ™‚

Ingredients:

Makes 1

Ice cream base:

  • 1 scoop of casein protein (I use 100% casein, Optimum nutrition in vanilla)
  • 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 200ml unsweetened almond milk
  • 100ml water

Flavorings (optional):

  • 1tsp raw cacao powder
  • flavored stevia (caramel is great)
  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp PB2

Directions:

Blend all the ‘base’ ingredients in a blender along with any additional flavorings wanted (I sometimes add all of them for a reeces peanut butter cup flavor). Place mixture in a bowl/tub and freeze for around 3 hours. Remove from the freezer and place back into the blender. Blend until smooth and ice crystals gone. At this point, if you want a thicker ice cream you can add a pinch more xanthan gum (a little goes a long way). If the ice cream is too thick and will not blend, add a splash of water. Put the ice cream back into a bowl and add any toppings..

Enjoy ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Healthy Protein Brownies

By Nutrition

There is nothing more awkward than going to see a comedian who isn’t actually funny! Most of the time they probably are quite funny but I just don’t understand the jokes. I went to see Franky Boyle once who was great. Well… What I could understand of it! His accent is so strong I spent most of the time trying lip read the jokes. By the time I had figured it out, the joke was finished and I was the only one laughing! CRINGE… So the comedy festival is on in Melbourne right now.. It is mad coming from Cornwall where there is very little going on for most of the year to this!! Melbourne is constantly buzzing with festivals, shows and events which is a real treat for us country bumpkins. After the epic fail watching Franky Boyle, I insisted that we go and watch a comedian from the UK with no accent so I can keep up with the jokes.ย We managed to get tickets to Doc Brown. If you haven’t seen him before it is essential you either watch him on YouTube or get to one of his shows. Frickin hilarious!!! The evening was topped off by going to a stunning bar on south bank with some friends.. so spoiled!

I also managed to go to a fitness expo this weekend. 3 girls. On a re-feed day. With heaps of freebies. Imagine the situation!! A lot of protein bar samples were consumed lets just say that. This was such an eye opener to some of the shit which is on sale advertised as ‘protein bar‘. Just because it says protein bar on the label this does not mean healthy.. Watch out for this. Most of the time your eating the equivalent to a protein pumped mars bar which is not cool for the waist line! Loaded with sugar and saturated fat! Saying that there are some great bars out there such as Quest Bars which have no sugar, low fat and are made with good quality ingredients! The best way is always to make your own though, as you can customize recipes to fit your nutritional needs ๐Ÿ™‚

One of the bars I tried was a protein brownie. The brand I cannot remember but it contained the ingredients of a brownie with added whey protein. How BULLSHIT is that. It annoys me what people are being tricked into eating this crap.ย Brownies are famous for being ridiculously high in calories. My daily allowance of fat and sugar would easily be covered in a big slab of brownie. This sucks… I love brownies. I have not yet eaten a good, yummy healthy brownie.. I have been trying to create a healthy brownie which doesn’t taste like ass for months now and I think I have finally nailed it. My boyfriend actually questioned how healthy it was while eating them because they taste so good! YAY result!

Make sure you get baking these in time for easter to distract you from all the heaps of chocolate… Treat your family and friends to a healthy brownie for a good easter present. They will thank you after when they have not gained half a stone from the easter binge!

Healthy Protein Brownie

Makes 8

Ingredients:

  • 100g oats
  • 70g chocolate whey powder (I use Optimum Nutrition)
  • 25g raw cacao
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1 egg white
  • 10 drops of liquid stevia (I used caramel)
  • 100g wholewheat flour
  • 200ml water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100g dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180c. Combine protein powder with water, eggs, salt and stevia and whisk until smooth consistency is reached. Combine cacao, flour and oats in a separate bowl and slowly mix into the protein/egg mix. Fold in the chocolate chips then place mix into a greased baking tray. Bake in the oven for roughly 12 minutes. You want the top to be firm but still a little bit gooey inside. Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Note:

The brownies taste best warm when the chocolate chips are melted. You can always reheat them in the microwave for 40 seconds on a high heat!