Nomz: baked protein breakfast meal

This past week I've been focusing on eating only whole, unprocessed foods while pretty much cutting out any kind of dairy and grain. My meals consist of whole fruits, eggs, protein shakes, lean meats (chicken breast, tuna and tilapia) and lots of veggies (asparagus, broccoli, spinach, bell peppers and sweet potatoes, to be exact). One time I cheated and had thai food. It was delicious.

Anyway, I don't really know what you'd call this thing. It was originally supposed to be a protein pancake, and looked absolutely yummy in the pan. Due to its lack of flour, though, it never really stuck together and ultimately became more of a scramble. Which was both weird and delicious. After two mornings of eating scrambled "pancake" I decided to throw the mix in some ramekins (both of these pictured equal one serving) and bake it instead. It turned out great!

Here's what you need: 1/2 cup egg whites, 3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1/2 banana (the riper the better), a handful of blueberries, 2-3 sliced strawberries and as much cinnamon and flaxseed as your heart desires. Oh! And a pinch of baking powder.

Here's what you do: preheat your oven to 375°F. Mix your egg whites, protein powder and almond milk together in a bowl. Mash a banana into the mixture (or you can blend these 4 ingredients together for a smoother consistency--but I like the random banana chunks), then add the remainder of your ingredients. Pour into your baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Mine puffed up while baking but deflated after I took them out of the oven. I'm sure there's a technical baking foul in there somewhere, but the end result was delicious so I'll take it!

If you want to see other recipes using protein powder you should check these out: coffee protein shake and orange and honey protein shake. And sometimes I make a bunch of other yummy stuff too!

Protein shake with orange + honey

Um. YUM y'all. When I worked as a barista we had this frozen dreamsicle drink that mixed orange juice and white chocolate with a vanilla powder mix and it was delicious. This is my healthy version of that drink! I used two whole oranges (unpeeled, of course), honey and a scoop of vanilla protein powder. You put all of that in a blender along with half a glass of ice and about 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of your liquid preference (dairy/soy/almond/coconut milk or water). Add more liquid as necessary while blending. I'm really a guestimator in the kitchen, so just eyeball the honey. Just remember it's always easier to add a bit more later than to fix it if it's over sweetened! Don't be crazy, okay?

Protein shakes are really great post-workout meals. You can make them quickly and take them on the go if you're in a rush after your workout. They're also a really good supplement if you eat a mostly vegetarian diet like I do. I've heard complaints about how expensive protein powder can be, but the Target brand is really delicious and is very affordable. I'm talking $15 for 30+ shakes. 

I've got a tutorial on a really yummy coffee protein shake too and lots of delicious ones coming your way over the summer.

Do you drink protein shakes? How do you drink yours? And have you ever noticed how "protein" is the one exception from the "I before E except after C" rule? WEIRD.

Coffee protein shake

On the Revolt plan we're supposed to have a protein "shake" every day after our workout (which is supposed to be just the powder mixed with cold water). I adjusted it a little bit to appease my frozen coffee craving, and it's with hardly any extra calories added to it!

All you need is a scoop of whey protein powder (both chocolate + vanilla flavors are delicious), 4-6 oz soy milk* (almond milk is also really good + water would work just fine), 2 packets of instant coffee, ice and a blender. Makes 2 servings. Less than 150 calories for a 12oz serving.
1// To keep the powder from clumping up, add a little bit of your liquid to the blender first. 2// Add your scoop of powder and packs of coffee. 3// Pour in a little more liquid. 4// Measure out about 3/4 of a tall cup of ice then dump into the blender. 5// Add in the rest of your liquid, though it may be a good idea for you to save some of it back to prevent the shake from being too liquidy. 6// Blend and BAM. Yummy shake. 

*Soy milk will have more fat than almond milk, but it also has more protein per serving. Fat from both of these milks though are healthy and will help in all kinds of things ranging from a higher metabolism to regulating blood pressure to healthier skin (especially almond milk on that last one).
**Adding a full banana to your shake is optional, weird and also delicious. If you do this take half of the amount of ice out of the recipe.

I normally drink both servings because I don't eat that much during the day, and when I do it's veggies and fruit, so the more protein the better!

Obviously I don't really go by the meal plan provided for us. Plus I just don't eat as much as we're supposed to. The idea is to graze on food all day and keep your metabolism in check, which is a fantastic way to eat. I've done it once before and it's the healthiest I've ever felt! So with saying that, eating more accordingly to the meal plan is one of my biggest goals (then onto the million supplements I'm supposed to remember to take every day!).

And let's be real here. I'm a poor (veeeeery poor) college student. The meal plans honestly aren't expensive to go by (don't get me started on the supplements though) but I'm b-r-o-k-e. Or maybe I buy clothes too much. I'm not sure.

My biggest success with the program is working out. BAM. I feel so good now! I don't feel like I'm healthy yet, so I'm not content...but I am content with my effort to get where I wanna go. Ever heard that saying, "easy come, easy go"? Well the reverse is true..."hard come...hard...go..??". Mmkay, maybe not. But I've done a really good job of not staying active over the years since high school (ooooh those high school days. The only things I really miss are cheering and soccer). So getting back to that really active lifestyle and level of fitness will take some time. One day I'll be so very happy and proud of myself and what I'm doing for my body!

You can check out another recipe I did here that's similar to the breakfast we're eating this week. Just take out the meat, add more veggies (peppers, onions + salsa) and only use egg whites. DELICIOUS!