Minty Irish Powerballs

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I had to take advantage and make something green. And because my original powerballs were such a hit [read: gone in an instant], why not play with that recipe? These new “Irish” powerballs are fun and delicious.

Makes 15 balls

Ingredients
– 1/3 cup homemade cashew butter [I chose cashew butter over other nut butters because of the lighter flavor, but any nut butter will work!]
– 1 tbsp coconut oil*
– 1/3 cup rolled oats
– 3 tbsp Perfect Fit Protein
– 1 tbsp ground flax*
– 1 tbsp chia seed*
– 1 tbsp hemp seed*
– 2 tbsp cacao nibs
– 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 tsp mint extract [adjust according to taste]
– 30 drops green food coloring

*These ingredients can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Directions
Scoop cashew butter and coconut oil into a medium bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Add your green food coloring to this mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until combined. Refrigerate the mix for 10-15 minutes until it hardens up a bit. This will make it easier to roll the balls.

After refrigerating, measure out 1 tbsp per ball and roll to shape. Store in an air tight container in the fridge or freezer and hide from everyone else in the house 😉

Nutritional Information
Per 1 tbsp powerball

117 Calories  /  9g Fat  /  6g Carbs  /  2g Fiber  /  1g Sugar  /  4g Protein

Food for Thought

Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have any favorite St. Patty’s Day foods?

Foodie Friday: Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

Have you entered my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway yet?

Unfortunately, these are not the kinds of powerballs that will win you money. They are, however, delicious and nutritious! And rather addicting..

I knew I was going to have to come up with some fun recipes with my Peanut Butter & Co. treats, so why not make something that packs a little extra protein punch?

Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

Makes 11 balls

Ingredients
– 1/4 cup White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter
– 1 tbsp coconut oil*
– 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp rolled oats
– 3 tbsp Perfect Fit Protein
– 1 tbsp ground flax*
– 1 tbsp chia seed*
– 1 tbsp hemp seed*
– 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut; toasted
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Optional Mix-ins
– Dried fruit [raisins, cranberries, cherries, chopped apricots, etc.]
– Chocolate chips
– Peanut butter chips

*These ingredients can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

Directions
Scoop peanut butter and coconut oil into a medium bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until combined. Refrigerate the mix for 10-15 minutes until it hardens up a bit. This will make it easier to roll the balls.

After refrigerating, measure out 1 tbsp per ball and roll to shape. Store in an air tight container in the fridge or freezer until ready to snack devour.

Nutritional Information
Per 1 tbsp powerball, without any mix-ins

83 Calories  /  6g Fat  /  5g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  1g Sugar  /  4g Protein

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway so you can make these treats!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite way to eat peanut butter?

Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

Lately I’ve been noticing one or two pumpkin recipes popping up on Pinterest. And by one or two, I mean approximately 500. I guess that means fall is here so I’ll just on the bandwagon and embrace the delicious pumpkin-ness that is happening all around me.

Of course, one of my favorite pumpkin treats is the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, though I have yet to get one this season as this is the first week out of the 90° temps yet! But when I saw a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte oatmeal, I knew I had to try it because, as clearly stated in my last post, I’m oatmeal obsessed.

I put my own spin on the recipe and made it into a protein oatmeal, known, from here on out, as proatmeal. Learn it. Love it. Eat it.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal

Serves 1
Adapted from The Oatmeal Artist

Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I use Almond Breeze)
1/2 banana, mashed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup oatmeal (I use Coach’s Oats)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Optional Toppings
Sliced almonds
Walnuts
Nut butter (Earth Balance Chunky Coconut Peanut Spread is my favorite!)
Cinnamon
Pumpkin pie spice

Directions
Scramble your 3 egg whites over medium-high heat and put into a bowl off to the side. Add your coffee, almond milk, mashed banana, cinnamon, and oatmeal to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the oats have absorbed almost all of the liquid.

Once your oats are at that point, add the egg whites back in, along with the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix everything to combine and let the oats finish cooking to your desired thickness.

Top with your favorite add-ins and enjoy!

Nutritional Stats
Per serving

316 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  50g Carbs  /  11g Fiber  /  10g Sugar  /  20g Protein

Foodie Friday Fun!

Foodie Friday is my way of sharing some of my favorite recipes from the week for those of you that want to try them out over the weekend and I want you to share yours too! Post your favorite recipe that you made this week and share it with me! Click the link below to add yours.

Chocolate Pudding and Giveaway Winners!

I have a serious sweet tooth so I’m always looking for ways to satisfy that without going calorie-overboard. I’ve seen tons of chocolate avocado pudding recipes all over Pinterest, so with some wonderfully ripe avocados sitting in my fridge, I figured now is the best time to try my hand at my own creation. And I have to say, I was quite pleased with the results.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Makes 3, 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients
1 medium avocado
1 medium banana
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I use Blue Diamond Almond Breeze)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp agave
2 tbsp semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions
Put all ingredients, except chocolate chips, into a food processor and process until smooth. Scoop into a bowl and stir chocolate chips in. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes until chilled and enjoy!

Serving Suggestions
Unsweetened shredded coconut
Sliced almonds
Whipped Cream

Nutritional Stats
Per 1/2 cup serving

232 Calories  /  14g Fat  /  37g Carbs  /  8g Fiber  /  18g Sugar  /  4g Protein

Giveaway Winners!

I chose my 5 lucky Premier Protein giveaway winners using random.org.

Kate says : September 5, 2012 at 5:27 pm
i’m starving right now so chocolate pb sounds faaaaaantastic

fromicecreamtoamarathon says : September 5, 2012 at 3:36 pm
I want to try the chocolate peanut butter protein bar!!

runningeater September 7, 2012 at 7:42 am
I followed you

Shannon (@caloah) September 7, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Hello.. my name is Shannon and Im a Protein Baraholic. (Seriously not even joking tho!) The Chocolate Peanut Butter sound right down my alley! Would love to try it out. 🙂
This one cracked me up! I can totally relate.

alw6ys September 8, 2012 at 2:42 am
Yogurt Peanut Butter Crunch protein bar!

Congrats to all five winners! Please contact me at brittany.barr@gmail.com with your address so I can send the info on over to the wonderful people at Premier Protein!

Finally, a big thanks to Premier Protein for sponsoring such a great giveaway!

*Winners have until 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, 9/11/12, to respond. If I don’t hear back from you, I will be choosing a new winner.

Foodie Friday: Coconut Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

As a food lover, and more specifically, a sweets lover, I’m always trying to find ways to create healthier options of my favorite foods. So when Nathan looked at our 2-day-old ciabatta bread and asked me to make bread pudding, I gladly accepted the challenge!

Now, if we’re really talking about healthifying, I would have preferred a wheat-based bread.. maybe a whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread. Mmmmm!

But these are minor details.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Make 9 – 3″ squares
Adapted from sweetlab

Ingredients
1/2 stale ciabatta loaf, cubed
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 egg
3 egg whites
1 – 13.66oz can lite coconut milk
3/4 cup unsweetend vanilla almond milk (Or other low- or non-fat milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (Optional – I opted not to add as I was using vanilla almond milk)
2 tbsp agave (Or another form of natural sweetener)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 cup dark chocolate or semi-sweet chips
Pinch of salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread shredded coconut over a sheet pan and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

In a large bowl, mix egg, egg whites, coconut milk, almond milk, vanilla extract, agave, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Add in the cubed bread and half of the toasted coconut. Toss until everything is evenly and well coated.

Grease a 9×9″ pan and scatter a small amount of chocolate chips, about 2-3 tbsp, along the bottom of the pan. Add in half of your bread and coconut mixture. Top that with half of the leftover coconut and about 3/4 of the chocolate chips. Create another layer on top of that of the rest of bread and coconut mixture, topped with the last of the chocolate chips and coconut. Allow to rest in the pan for about 15 minutes.

While resting, preheat oven to 325°F. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean, turning halfway through. Once done, allow to rest about 15 minutes to let everything settle.

Or dig right in and burn your mouth.. it might be worth it! 😉 But don’t say I didn’t warn you!

If you like it a little sweeter, feel free to drizzle more agave or other sweetener on top. And if you’re feeling extra fancy, throw a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on there!

Speak Up!

What’s your favorite bready type of dessert? Are you a bread pudding fan? I never was until just a few years ago.. now I can’t get enough!