How To: No-Bake Energy Bites

I love having homemade snacks on hand when I am really busy and need to grab some quick energy. Store bought protein and energy bars are usually so expensive! I stick to either Lara Bars or Kind Bars because they have the cleanest ingredient list and are delicious, but I just cannot afford them every week. It's super easy to throw together something similar with ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Yesterday I threw together Peanut Butter Oat Energy Bites. These are an example of how you can make your own. I always stick to minimal ingredients (makes it the easiest) and make sure I have a protein, healthy fat and carb to cut the hunger and give me sufficient energy. I also tend to add in some sweetness in the form of chocolate. Always chocolate.

energybitesThe key with making these is the consistency. I have found that a no-fail formula is to have about three to four dry ingredients and only one to two wet ingredients - one of which should have some binding power (like a nut butter.) For example, in these bites, I included almost equal parts protein powder and oats. I then added in equal parts chia seeds and chocolate chips. After adding three tablespoons of peanut butter, I mixed everything together and slowly added one tablespoon at a time of almond milk. This is key!! You don't want the mixture to be overly dry or wet. It should be like a really thick cookie dough that you can easily form into balls or bars. These are truly so easy to make and you can play around with so many different flavors and add ins.

Ingredients: 

  • 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2-3 tbsp chocolate chips (I got a little heavy handed with this ingredient)
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • 3-4 tbsp almond milk (could also use water)

Directions:

  • Combine protein powder, oats and chia seeds and mix
  • Add peanut butter and mix well (mixture should be a bit crumbly - cue to add more liquid)
  • Add almond milk or water one tbsp at a time and mix
  • When mixture is at a dough-like consistency, fold in chocolate chips or any other add ins
  • Roll into balls and place on wax paper
  • Store in fridge or freezer

Enjoy!!

Rach

A Relaxing Weekend + Pina Colada Protein Smoothie

Good morning! I hope everyone's weekend has been relaxing. My weekend has been quite uneventful, but it's exactly what I needed. The last few weeks have been a little crazy so I don't mind lounging around.

Friday night I ended up streaming 50 Shades of Grey. I refused to see it in the theater (I mean, come on...) and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I was pretty disappointed. The acting was tacky and the ending was awful. I guess that was what I expected anyway! I could never even finish the book because it was the same thing over and over again. Anyone else feel this way about it?

Yesterday consisted of sleeping in, baking and napping. I LOVE those kinds of days. And then I made it out of the house to meet up with some friends downtown for a few drinks! We went to Boca Fiesta first and I got a watermelon cocktail that I am absolutely going to create at home. It was so delicious! But I hate spending $8 on one drink. I could buy four carton of eggs for that price! We ended up at Tall Paul's listening to the cover band that was actually very good.

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset Now getting onto the recipe! I slept in again this morning! I can usually never sleep past 8 on the weekends so it's been nice being a little lazy. I woke up and was craving something refreshing before I hit the gym today.

pcsmoothieIngredients: 

  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice (not from concentrate - I use the cans from Trader Joe's)
  • 1/2-3/4 cup coconut water
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple & mango
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 handful ice
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tbsp oats

Directions:

  • Add everything to a blender
  • Blend until smooth consistency

I'm hoping to also get out to the pool today. A Sunday well spent brings a week of content :)

Rach

Strawberry & Orange Ricotta Muffins

Oh man. These are the bomb. mainmuffinI was eager to bake something all week long and just didn't have the time with my work and school schedule. I had a container of strawberries that was going to go bad real soon, and rather than throwing them away (I absolutely hate wasting food,) I wanted to incorporate them into something. But plain old strawberry muffins are a little boring. So here we have Strawberry & Orange Ricotta Muffins! They're low fat and full of vitamin C.

Ricotta cheese is so versatile, low fat and high in calcium and protein. Why don't I eat it more? The flavor is really mild and gives these muffins some extra density and richness. The ricotta goes perfectly with the fruitiness of the orange and strawberries. Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 2 tbsp coconut flour
  • 1/3  cup organic turbinado sugar* + 2 tsp (for topping)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • 3 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 cup fresh chopped strawberries
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup skim ricotta
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup water

muffiningredientsDirections: 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
  • Add flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl and mix together
  • In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, ricotta, butter and orange juice until consistency is smooth
  • Add the wet ingredients (except the water) and the orange zest to the flour mixture and mix well
  • Add in water and mix
  • Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and fill each one 3/4 way full
  • Sprinkle remaining sugar on top of batter
  • Bake for 25 minutes

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muffin1These muffins have the perfect amount of sweetness. They're dense, yet super refreshing. Give 'em a try!

Rach