Protein Cakes

Protein Cakes | Foods of April: "Protein Cakes
Thanks to reader Julia for the recipe!

Makes 1 @ 90 calories, 18 grams of protein, and 2 net carbs

Ingredients:

15 grams of protein powder (half a scoop) (whey works best, but I use unflavored soy many times to save money-I buy it in bulk!)
1 tbsp 100% cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 packets stevia (or whatever sweetneer you prefer)
1 tbsp pumpkin or applesauce (your choice!)
3 tbsp liquid egg whites (or 1 egg white)
Directions:

1. In a microwavable cup, place the protein powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and stevia. Mix well.



2. Stir in the egg whites and pumpkin so that you end up with a thick batter.



3. Microwave for 1 minute. The result will look something like this:



4. Use a knife to gently loosen it from the mug. Place the mug upside down on a plate and let the cake come out.

5. Cut in half and fill with desired toppings- peanut butter, yogurt, cream cheese, laughing cow, etc!



6. Once they are cool, you can wrap them in saran wrap and take them on the go!"

Grain Free Granola

From Girl Gone Primal


So I present to you - Grain-Free Granola (or, as I call it, 'Nola', since there's no 'Gra' in my mix!): Theme & Variations.

Core Ingredients:

1kg raw almonds (soaked if possible)
500g raw walnuts (same)
150g coconut flakes or grated coconut
3 egg whites
Optional - 2T sweetener (either maple syrup, or xylitol & a pinch of stevia)


Method:

1. Preheat oven to moderate, and line metal trays with foil or paper. I have Xtrema ceramic bakeware, so I use them as is - nothing sticks too firmly, and there's no liner waste.

2. Using about a cup of nuts at a time, depending on blender size, process nuts in a deep or sealed bowl until chunks are at the desired size. You can also chop the nuts by hand if you're keen for a long, steady workout.

3. Place prepared nuts in a large bowl, and add coconut. 

4. In a small, dry bowl, beat egg whites until smooth, glossy peaks form. Add sweetener, and stir thoroughly.

5. Add egg mixture to nuts & coconut, and stir thoroughly until no egg foam is visible and everything has been coated. If you feel the egg didn't stretch far enough, whip up another white and add that to your bowl. 

6. Spoon nut mixture onto bakeware, keeping the layers no thicker than an inch high. 


7. Bake in oven for around 10 minutes, or until the top layer starts to become golden. 

8. Remove from oven and stir mixture to bring uncooked nuts to the surface and to break apart any lumps. Replace in oven and bake for another 10 or so minutes, watching for burning. You may need to repeat this step if your batch is cooking unevenly (if you're oven is anything like mine, you'll be in this situation for an extra 20 minutes or so of stirring and replacing).


9. When cooked to your liking, remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly before storing in an air-tight container. Don't worry if your cereal pouring container is adulterated with gratuitous corn flake imagery:


Serve with berries & cream (or coconut cream) for best results, but is also good with straight raw milk, or so I'm told. Personally, I could eat it like trail mix, by itself, so long as there's no sweetener added to the batch!

(NB: If the SAD's portion distortion has you thinking that a normal serve of such foods is upwards of two cups, I'd like to point out that just half a cup of Nola will satisfy you, especially if served with cream. The beau, being a tall boy, tends towards a full cup serving, with his milk. Eat slowly, enjoy, and listen to your leptin receptors.)


Variations

Sunny Nola - After baking, add dried fruit such as sultanas, chopped apricot, goji berries, and even dried apple slices. Good for those with a sweet tooth or those who use carbs after a workout.

Seedy Nola - add sunflower or pumpkin seeds to the chopped nuts before adding the egg whites. 

Norridge (Nola Porridge) - after baking, put batch through the food processor to create a semi-fine meal. Fantastic served with warmed milk, cream or coconut cream, or just add hot water and cooked fruit.

PumpkiNola - warm and add canned or previously roasted and pureed pumpkin to your bowlful of Nola, and stir thoroughly. Top with cream, and enjoy a hearty treat!

A lovely, luxe breakfast for those mornings where you just can't face eggs and bacon. I clearly don't understand your mind-set, but I hear there are such people out there... :)

Chocolate Cherry Bomb Ice Cream

From the Fitnessista

Chocolate Cherry Bomb Ice Cream

(a hybrid of the Chocolate Cherry Bomb and Protein Ice cream)

*2* servings or one hungry Gina serving

Into the Vita-mixalicious:

-1 C almond milk

-1 scoop Sun Warrior

-3/4 t xanthan gum

-1 T raw cacao powder

-1 T hemp seeds

-1/2 C frozen organic black cherries

-Stevia (I used about 10 drops of vanilla Stevia)

-1/2 T maca (optional)

-pinch of sea salt

-1/2 t vanilla

-2 handfuls of ice

-water as needed to thin it out while blending

Strawberry, Rhubarb applesauce

From Super Healthy Kids

The Sauce was super easy.  We used:

• 2 apples, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks rhubarb, sliced

Boiled in water about 10-15 minutes until apples and rhubarb were soft enough to easily slide a fork into.

Then Put the apples and rhubarb in a blender, along with

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 4 strawberries
• 1/3 cup of the water from boiling the fruit

Then we blended for like just a second.  Just pulsed it until it looked blended because I like applesauce a bit chunky.  If your kids were raised on store bought applesauce, you may want to blend longer so it’s thinner and smoother.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

from Girl Gone Primal

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

3 small zucchini, grated finely
6 eggs
1 cup coconut flour or almond flour
1T baking powder (although the slice works well without it)
1T cinnamon
1/2 cup raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa)
1/2 cup coconut oil or melted butter
Some chopped nuts and coconut flakes for topping

Optional - stevia or maple syrup to taste (or make available to add later upon serving, if desired)


Method:

1. Preheat oven to moderate - around 175 deg C.

2. Line and grease a muffin tray

3. Separate eggs, placing yolks in a large mixing bowl, and whites in a medium bowl for whipping. Whip whites until fluffy.

3. In the large bowl, combine zucchini, egg yolks, spices, and oil.

4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture, and stir until combined.

5. Fold egg whites into batter carefully, then pour everything into prepared pans.

6. Sprinkle with nuts/flakes, and bake for at around 50 minutes, watching carefully for burning. The mixture's density means that it will cook quite slowly, but if you see burning happening before the muffins bounce back when prodded with a finger, turn the heat down to 100 deg C and allow the centre to cook slowly.

Serve warm or cold with cream, fruit, and maple syrup if desired. I enjoy them alone, although coconut flour can be quite drying in the mouth.

Homemade York Peppermint Patties

From  Joyful Abode

Homemade York Peppermint Patties Recipe

• 1 cup coconut butter
• few drops peppermint oil
• small amount of honey – optional
• 2/3 cup – 1 cup dark chocolate

This recipe makes about 16 peppermint patties, if yours are the same size mine were.

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients thoroughly. Then shape into 1.5” patties with your hands and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze.
2. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate however you like to do it.
3. Dip the mint patties into the chocolate, covering thoroughly. Then place back onto the baking sheet.
4. Refrigerate or freeze until set, then remove from parchment.
5. Eat!

Coconut Flour Pizza Crust

coconut flour pizza crust  from Eat the Cookie

ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup full fat milk or coconut milk

1 clove crushed garlic

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

method: preheat oven to 375f. place racks in center of oven. prep your favorite pizza pan by cutting parchment paper to fit the bottom of it. brush paper with olive oil.

it’s important to have your sauce, cheese, and toppings prepped and ready to go before you start your crust. caramelize your veg, season your sauce, whatever you gotta do.

lightly beat eggs, milk, and garlic (both) together in a bowl until smooth. no egg boogies.

sift remaining ingredients together in a large bowl.

mix wet ingredients with dry with a whisk until well combined. batter will be quite thin, then thicken up after a few minutes. it will be more like batter than dough.

spread batter evenly over prepped pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. remove from oven. carefully flip (bottom up)- i did this by placing a different baking sheet on top of it and flipping.

peel the parchment paper off of the crust.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

From Joy the Baker

(KC note:  thinking of trying these with minimal sugar or maybe some honey.)

Flourless Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

     adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

     makes about 32 small cookies

     Print this Recipe!

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

about 1/4 cup any fruit preserves you fancy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside.  In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes.  The dough will be crumbly.  Roll into teaspoon sized balls and make a small indentation in the center of the dough ball with your pointer finger.   Fill the depression with fruit preserves.  Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool on a baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Pesto Spinach Bread

Pesto Spinach Bread  from Mark's Daily Apple

Ingredients:
Five large eggs
16 oz frozen spinach, thawed, cut, and drained
Butter (I used raw pastured-raised)
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 cloves crushed garlic
Small bunch of basil (about 15 leaves)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease your glass baking dish with butter. I used a circular pan about 8 inches in diameter.

Toast your pine nuts in a sautee pan with about a tablespoon of butter. Be very careful! Pine nuts burn easily. Watch them like a hawk and stir constantly. When they start to turn golden brown, they’re done and on the verge of burning.

Chop the nuts up in a food processor (or crush them to a similarly fine texture if you don’t have a processor) and mince your basil.

Mix your eggs, garlic, basil, nuts, and spinach together in a mixing bowl. Add some salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Once it’s all mixed together, pour it evenly into your greased pan.

Pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until it has set.

Slice and enjoy as if it were bread, or all by itself!

Nutrition Analysis: 
Calories: 1080
Fat: 91 grams (72% calories from fat)
Carbs: 27.6 grams (10% calories from carbs, 12.7 grams from fiber)
Protein: 54 grams (18% calories from protein)

Egg, Avocado, tomato and bacon salad

from Marks Daily Apple

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado, chopped into chunks
• 2 boiled eggs, chopped into chunks
• 1 medium-sized tomato, chopped into chunks
• Juice from one lemon wedge
• 2-4 cooked pieces of bacon, crumbled (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together, stirring not too much, but just enough to make some of the avocado and egg into mush.

Sunflower Sesame Crackers

from Girl Gone Primal


(Above - Mark Sisson's Worker Bee's rendition of my crackers, along with my prawn paté)

Sunflower & Sesame Crackers

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
A small amount of filtered water, just enough to make a paste

Optional - dried herbs such as parsley or thyme, sea salt, black pepper, powdered garlic, cinnamon, etc!

You might also like to try substituting nuts or other seeds for either of the primary ingredients here. I've played with nut flours many times, so I wanted to try experimenting with seeds, especially since they tend to be more affordable and reliable than nuts. You might also like to try nut or seed butters, but that makes for a messier cooking process, as well as adding to their overall price-tag.

Note: Since this recipe calls for seeds, I thought this would be a good time to point out the importance of soaking/sprouting seeds in order to minimise the potential harm caused by phytic acid. The Weston A. Price Foundation details the importance of this thoroughly on their site and in their resources, as do many other publications detailing optimal health and traditional food preparation. Below is a simple step-by-step process (originally posted here) for preparing your seeds - minimal effort for maximum results:

If you choose to soak your nuts and seeds, please follow these general guidelines:

1. Getting ready: Use raw, preferably organic, nuts and seeds. Make enough for three days only. Use a glass or stainless steel bowl or jar (plastics may contain toxins). Rinse your nuts or seeds (purified or distilled water is generally preferred).

2. Soak them: Place your nuts and seeds in in the bowl or jar and then cover it with something breathable, like a towel or pantyhose. Let them soak according to the following schedule (all times approximate).

* Almonds, germination time 8 – 12 hours at room temperature
* Cashews, whole, germination time 2 – 2 1/2 hours at room temperature
* Sesame seeds, germination time 8 hours at room temperature
* Sunflower seeds, germination time 2 hours at room temperature
* Walnuts, germination time 4 hours at room temperature
* All other nuts, germination time 6-24 hours at room temperature

Over the course of the soaking, drain and rinse the nuts or seeds two (2) or three (3). Each time you do this, make sure you rinse them until the water drains clear. This is especially important with nuts and seeds that soak for longer amounts of time.

3. Afterwards: After you've soaked them, you may want to do a final rinse with grapefruit seed extract or organic apple cider vinegar, as these can will clean them of bacteria without being absorbed. You now have germinated nuts and seeds! You're ready to eat them. You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to three (3) days.

Method:

First, you need to make a flour from the sunflower seeds. I use a food processor which does the job in a few seconds, but if you're feeling paleolithic you can crush the seeds by hand!


Sprinkle the sesame seeds into the mix and stir to combine evenly. 

Add the water in small amounts and stir the mixture well, stopping when the flour and water have bonded into a mass of dough.

Line a baking tray with baking paper, place the dough on top, and then top with another sheet of baking paper. Roll out the dough as thinly as you can, ensuring thickness is consistent. (Sprinkle on any addition salt, pepper or herbs now)

Remove the upper sheet of paper, and score the dough into desired shapes with a sharp knife. Don't cut all the way through to the bottom of the dough, just deep enough to help you break the crackers apart once cooked.


Bake in a moderately hot oven until properly golden and check that the centre is crisp (about 20 minutes). Turn oven off, open door slightly and leave until cool. This will help dry out the crackers for maximum crunch!

Once completely cooled, break along score lines and serve as the perfect accompaniment to primal dip & cheese platters. They also do a great job as a stand-in for bread when enjoying soup or sandwich fillings, and are delicious topped with fruit chutney (such as rhubarb and strawberry) so long as the batch is plain and unsalted.


(A wonky edge piece topped with a piece of organic Edam cheese - the perfect antidote whilst my colleagues carb-binged on school-provided morning tea...)

The crackers will stay fresh for a good week or so if kept in a air-tight container once cooled completely, making them an excellent road-trip or camping food. 

Enjoy!