Let's Bake!

I love baking. I've always like baking more than cooking. Baking tastes yummier, smells amazinggg, and I get so much more of a sense of accomplishment after baking and icing a beautiful cake or setting out a plate of cookies than a chicken dish or a casserole. But once you try eating healthier and eating clean and realize how bad a lot of those baking ingredients are for you, it reallyyyy limits your options. I've been experimenting with lots of different desserts. I will certainly post them once I've found a good one, but a lot of them end up tasting bland!

A simple no-bake recipe that is perfect for my killer sweet tooth are Protein Balls.

You'll need:

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (we just get the EAS protein powder from Sam's club. I could still have it while I was pregnant and now while I'm breastfeeding too)

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup rolled oats

Mix all ingredients together and roll into small balls. Place in the fridge for an hour or so and they are ready to eat! I have a hard time not eating the whole batch!

Zach found this recipe and it tasted amazing!! You'll need an ice cream maker though.

1/4 cup + 1/8 cup honey
1 egg + 1 egg white (Get organic, free range eggs. Those kinds are okay to eat raw. I'm not too sure about the ones in the store)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Don't put more than this in. It'll make it taste too bitter. That was our mistake at first)
1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
In food processor, add eggs, honey and cocoa powder.
Bring almond milk to a boil in saucepan.
Add 1/2 cup of the boiling almond milk to the mixture in the food processor and mix.
Add that mixture into the saucepan with the remaining almond milk.
Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens.
Put saucepan in the refrigerator until cool.
Pour this into your ice cream maker until it is the consistency of frozen yogurt. (This took about 30 minutes for me) 

Doesn't it look pretty? And it tasted just like any frozen yogurt you'd go get somewhere!










Another staple food you should make yourself is granola. Granola and protein bars are two healthy foods, but if you read the labels, they both actually have A TON of sugar. I'm still experimenting with protein bars (I'm actually making another batch right now), but here is a great granola recipe that my friend, Emily, gave me.

7-8 cups of rolled oats (It makes a big batch of granola!)

1 cup water

1 cup honey

1 cup olive oil
These measurements will stay the same. But the great thing with granola is that you can make it how you like it. Here are some options:
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
I'm not sure on the exact measurements for the other ones, but I just put enough in until it looks how I want my granola to look!
Flaxseeds
Almonds
Cocoa powder
Dried blackberries
Little bit of Stevia and cinnamon
Another granola recipe I have calls for:
Raisins
Dried cranberries
Banana chips
Apple chips
Almonds
Cashews
Walnuts
Sunflower seeds
Carob chips
So you get the idea. Just add in whatever you want!

Heat the water in a saucepan. Add the honey and oil. Mix the dry ingredients in separate bowl. If you're using any dried fruit, leave those out until the end. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry. Mix together. Spread out on two cookie sheets. Bake at 275 degrees, stirring every 15-20 minutes for a total of 1- 1 1/2 hours. Add the dried fruit and cool. 

And finally, I have one more recipe to post for today. Pancakes!!!!

Whole Wheat Pancakes:

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 cups milk

3 T olive oil

2 egg whites

Mix everything together. Mix eggs in separate bowl until peaks form. Cook and enjoy!

Dessert Pancakes:

1/3 cup rolled oats

4 egg whites

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Little bit of Stevia

Mix everything together and cook!