Peanut Butter Strawberry Banana Quesadillas

Yes, you read the title correctly! I mean, I absolutely love traditional cheese or chicken quesadillas but who said they have to be made with those ingredients?! I found a new favorite breakfast option and it’s got a good amount of protein and carbs for a pre-workout meal. AND they are sooooo darn tasty! I can easily see these eaten as breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack/dessert. I drizzled mine with honey but you could serve them with Greek yogurt, applesauce, or chocolate sauce (yumm!) etc

What you need: Serves 1

– 1 Whole Wheat Tortilla

– 1 TBS All Natural Peanut Butter (I used chunky)

– 1/2 sliced large banana (approx)

– 4 sliced strawberries

-1/8 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

Directions:

-Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Put stove heat on low-medium

– Spread Peanut Butter evenly on tortilla.

Spread strawberry and banana slices evenly on top. Sprinkle on cinnamon.

Fold wrap in half and cook for a few minutes. Flip over to cook on the other side for another few minutes.

Slice into 3 pieces and enjoy!!!

Nutrition Info:

Calories:273

Fat:11.5 g

Sugar: 13g

Fiber: 13g

Carbs:36g

Protein: 13g

Thin Mint Cookie Shamrock Protein Shakes

One word. Yummm! Do you enjoy the taste of a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake but not all the calories and sugar that come with it? If so, try this!!! I’ve been on the hunt for a good protein shake recipe that involved my favorite Girl Scout cookie and I think I found it!

What you need: Makes 2 Shakes

-4 Thin Mint Cookies (crumbled)

-1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

-1 Cup 6 oz Plain Greek Yogurt

-2 Scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder (I used White Chocolate). I’ve heard you could use cottage cheese if you’d prefer

-1/4 tsp Peppermint Extract

-Few Drops of Green Food coloring (optional) If you want to make this healthier, add 1 cup chopped spinach instead.

Directions:

Add 1 cup of ice cubes and all ingredients above in to blender. Blend and enjoy!

Nutritional Info Per Shake:

Calories: 295

Fat: 7g

Sugar: 9g

Carbs: 22.5g

Protein: 36g

Fiber: 1g

Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Balls

I won’t say these taste like a candy bar because they aren’t as sweet. BUT if you’re looking for a guilt- free clean chocolate fix, these tasty protein packed balls can be whipped up quickly and enjoyed within 20 minutes! They only require 4 ingredients and are very simple!
What you need: (makes 6 balls)
-2 TBS PB2 (powdered peanut butter). If you choose to use regular peanut butter, use just 1 TBS
-2 TBS unsweetened Cocoa
-1 TBS cinnamon
-1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (any brand, I used Muscle Milk)

Directions:

-Mix all ingredients together in bowl.

Add 1 TBS of water AT A TIME until batter becomes like a mousse texture. Don’t add too much or it will be too soupy. I believe I put about 5-6 TBS in my mixture to make it look like this:

Place batter into fridge for 15 min.

Remove from fridge and roll into balls (about 1 TBS each). Roll onto plate of cinnamon and cocoa powder. I also added sprinkles..shocker, I know :).

Once your 6 balls are formed, I would suggest sticking them back in the fridge for 5 minutes to get chilled. Remove and enjoy!

Nutritional Info (per ball):

Calories: 46

Protein: 7g

Fat: less than 1g

Sugar: 3g

Fiber: 3g

Carbs: 5g

Birthdays, Baking, Co-workers & Cookies

Pink Lemonade & Funfetti Cool Whip Cake Cookies

Time for a fun, sweet treat!

Disclaimer: I am not promoting anything healthy about this post. Not my intention.   It is my friend Kelly’s birthday today. Aren’t birthdays supposed to be for celebrating and indulging in treats? Kel is an amazing person and friend. We spent a few years working together at MassMutual sharing snacks, bringing in each other Iced Caramel Lattes from Dunkin Donuts during the summer, venting about everything in life and sharing tons of laughs together. She makes work fun and was pretty much best cubemate I could ever ask for. You probably understand now why I made her cookies :).

Jason and I are also attending a birthday party tomorrow for another friend, Allison. She was Jason’s former cubemate and I am sure they share similar memories and friendship :). Speaking of friends and co-workers, I recently read an article here: http://elitedaily.com/women/ways-coworkers-know-friends/ about how your co-workers know more about you than your friends outside of work do. I can definitely relate to some of it! We’re fortunate to not only have great co-workers, but co-workers that have become great friends.

This week has fun, been quite busy and full of celebrations. Wednesday night was girls night for an early- birthday dinner celebration out for my friend/brother’s fiance’/soon to be future-sister-in law. Last night was our quarterly happy hour(s) with co-workers followed by an 11pm soccer game. Since Kelly’s birthday was today and Allison’s party is tomorrow, that left 6AM this morning to get my baking on.

I have made these cookies several times because I find them quite delicious and they are quick and only call for a few ingredients. I find them to stay soft and light in texture. I do wish they were a less messy, but that could just be me as I tend to make a mess pretty easily. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

What you need:

Per batch/box:

-Any flavor box of cake mix (I did one batch with Pink Lemonade, one with Funfetti) I have also used Strawberry and Vanilla/White in the past. They were tasty as well!

-1 egg

-1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip/Whipped Topping

-1/2 cup of powdered sugar/confectionaries sugar for decorating

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, pour in the cake batter directly from the box (do not add other ingredients like you normally would as instructions on box say). Only add 1 egg, and mix in the tub of cool whip.

 

Once mixed thoroughly, the batter becomes very sticky. I have read you can stick the bowl in the fridge for an hour to make it easier to work with. I have not tried that yet (I didn’t have the hour to spare) but I did rinse my hands through warm water first to make them wet and that does make it easier to work with. Roll/scoop dough into balls and roll into a bowl of powdered/confectionaries sugar. Place onto greased cookie sheet or foil.

The original recipe I followed states to bake these for 10-12 min. However, every time I have made these, it seems to take a few minutes longer. In order to bake all the way thoroughly (and bottoms become slightly browned), I keep them in for 15-17 min.

Nutritional Info Per cookie: Makes about 28 cookies ber box/batch

Calories 120

Fat- 4.5 g

Carbs- 18 g

Sugar- 13 g

Protein-1 g

2 or 3 Ingredient Simple and Quick Pancakes

I’ve pinned this pancake recipe on Pinterest at some point and have making them the past year or so on weekends.
If you like bananas and you like pancakes, I highly suggest you try them!
When I first read what was needed to make these, I couldn’t believe it…2 yes… 2 ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen now!
-1 mashed ripe banana
-2 eggs

Directions:
In bowl, Mash banana. Mix with 2 eggs.

Spray pan. Turn stove on low for a minute or two to heat up before pouring batter. Cook like you would a normal pancake for a few minutes.

Add desired toppings and enjoy ! 🙂
I used a tablespoon of applesauce and 2 sliced strawberries instead of butter and syrup. I also suggest adding chobani and/or spread some peanut butter on top.

3 ingredient pancakes:
For those of you that like the heartier, fluffier, thicker version of pancakes- try using the same recipe as above but in addition, add 1/2 cup of oats to the batter before cooking. You can also add a scoop of protein powder-cinnamon roll flavor protein adds protein, a thicker texture and makes a delicious pancake!
Below are some I have made in the past with oats.

Nutritional Info for 2 pancakes (1 serving from recipe):
Approx.
Calories: 242
Fat: 8 grams
Carbs: 29 grams
Fiber: 5 grams
Sugar: 21 grams
Protein: 13 grams

Adding a 1/2 scoop of quick oats will add the following:
Approx.
Calories: 150
Fat: 3 grams
Carbs: 27 grams
Fiber: 4 grams
Protein: 5 grams