Tropical Cooler High Protein Shake ~ Meatless Monday

I'm in love with using unsweetened cranberry juice in my shakes and smoothies.  It gives them such a nice hit of flavor and makes them such a lovely color.  This time I whipped up a high protein shake with a tropical vibe, relying on Torani Sugar Free Coconut Syrup to up 'the island' flavor.  Yummmmmmy!!  Enjoy!

Tropical Cooler High Protein Shake
serves 1

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 Tbsp Torani Sugar Free Coconut Syrup (or to taste)
• 1 cup frozen mixed fruit (my favorite is a mix from Walmart that has strawberries, peaches, mangoes & pineapples in it)
• 1/4 cup frozen banana slices
• 1 Equal packet (optional)
• 6 ice cubes

Directions
Throw all ingredients into the blender and whirl away until smooth and frosty!

 

High Protein Berry Smoothie ~ Fat Flush Plan

I was looking through my Fat Flush Plan Cookbook and came across a recipe for a high protein smoothie that incorporates the diet's cranberry/flax seed daily 'cocktail', along with fresh cranberries, to make a great tasting breakfast smoothie.  I happened to have some frozen cranberries in the freezer, as well as a few blueberries and strawberries ~ so, this is my adapted version.  I'm really digging adding 'fresh' cranberries to smoothies, they add a great 'punch' and they aren't too tart for me ~ Enjoy!

High Protein Berry Smoothie

 ~ inspired by the Fat Flush Plan Super Smoothie recipe

serves one

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold water
• 1 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 Tbsp flax seed oil
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 ice cubes
• sweetener of choice (optional ~ I didn't use any, I liked it as is)

Directions
Throw all ingredients into the blender and whirl away until it's smooth and frosty!


 

Spiced Eggnog High Protein Smoothie

I'm hungry for breakfast.  J is off to school, the house is quiet and I don't want to cook.  Hmmm... time to make a smoothie.  I recently saw a recipe for a vegan eggnog that sounded interesting, so I was inspired to tinker with it to up the protein and to make it breakfast worthy.  Getting a hit of rum flavor for breakfast?  Sure, sign me up!  (OK, it's only rum extract, but it works for me)

Even my husband, who can be a harsh critic at times, says it's quite nice.  (Roy, you told me to share our little kitchen banter, so here it is, for all to read!)  He also thinks real rum would be better.  Cocktails, anyone? heehee

Real time blending in my kitchen ~ Enjoy!

Spiced Eggnog High Protein Smoothie
serves 1~2

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk of choice (dairy or nut)
• 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup sliced frozen banana
• 1/2 scoop protein powder
• 1 tsp rum extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, packed
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 4 packets of Equal or sweetener of choice (or to taste)
• 6 ice cubes
• whipped cream and more nutmeg for garnish ~ if desired

Directions

Throw all ingredients into blender and whirl away until smooth and frosty (like the snowman ~ heehee, sorry :)

Pour into your favorite glass and grate a bit more nutmeg on top for an aromatic garnish.  Maybe even add a little festive flourish of whipped cream ~  Enjoy the moment!

Pumpkin Cheesecake High Protein Smoothie

Pumpkin Cheesecake High Protein Smoothie ~ Another way to eat pumpkin, first thing in the morning? You betcha!

I thought I would give my High Protein Cheesecake Smoothie the pumpkin treatment.  I'm still looking for more ways to get my pumpkin fix, especially for breakfast.  This way suits me just fine! 


Pumpkin Cheesecake High Protein Smoothie
serves 1 ~ 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup fat free milk (or milk of choice)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup sliced frozen banana
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 sheet cinnamon graham cracker
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 packets Equal, or to taste  (or sweetener of choice)
• 6 ice cubes
• cinnamon graham cracker crumbs for garnish ~ optional

Directions
Throw all ingredients into blender and whirl away until smooth & frosty.  Garnish with cinnamon graham cracker crumbs ~ if desired.  Enjoy!

Super-High Protein Pancakes with Blueberries ~ quick & easy, low carb & flour-free

Super-High Protein Pancakes with Blueberries ~ These low carb/flour-free, quick & easy, really high protein  pancakes are great for breakfast, but would be good any time the mood strikes.   :)

Fellow blogging buddy ~ Enid, of Enid Jones Photography ~ asked me if I had a good, high protein pancake recipe.  Since I'm not much of a breakfast eater, I really didn't ~ but, I was up for the challenge.  So, I surfed around the 'net & found this recipe, over on ~ Oatmeal After Spinning ~ that sounded intriguing.

I was inspired to create this pancake batter ~ that looks & behaves quite a bit like a traditional batter.  The cool thing about this pancake, is that it's ~ really high protein, is flour-free, pretty low carb/low fat AND it's also super tasty, quick & easy to make.  Booyah!!  Adding blueberries to the batter really makes it shine & if you're so inclined (I'm so inclined), add a few more to top it all off. (maybe with a little syrup, too :)  Roy & I devoured these little gems, in no time flat.  These high protein/low carb blueberry pancakes might just make a morning person/cook out of me yet... just maybe.   :)


Super-High Protein Pancakes with Blueberries ~ quick & low carb
serves one - 4 pancakes
To see nutritional stats ~ CLICK HERE ~

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup fat-free cottage cheese (or cottage cheese of choice) 
• 1 egg 
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 Tbsp water 
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon 
• a dash of salt 
• 1 Equal packet or sweetener of choice, to taste (optional)
• 3 Tbsp frozen wild blueberries 
• Pam cooking spray
• your favorite pancake toppings (optional)

Directions 

Blend first 9 ingredients (EXCEPT the blueberries) in a small food processor until fully blended & no lumps are remaining ~ scraping down sides if necessary.  Transfer batter to a bowl, let rest 5 minutes, then gently stir in the blueberries. 

Preheat skillet over medium-low heat while batter is resting. 

Spray skillet with Pam & ladle out the pancake batter into 4 pancakes.  Cook for approx. 4 minutes on one side (or until edges start to turn golden brown & a few bubbles appear) and flip. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. (they almost cook like traditional pancakes, but not quite. They will not get all the bubbles on top like regular pancakes do)

When both sides are golden brown, they're ready to eat.

Enjoy the pancakes as is (naked :) or finish them off with one of your favorite toppings, as desired. (optional) 

For my toppings I added ~ 3 Tbsp frozen blueberries, nuked for one minute & then mixed with a bit of sugar-free pancake syrup (I call it my ~ Blueberry Pancake Syrup) and a few squirts of  'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' Spray. 

Other topping ideas to consider... fresh fruit; unsweetened applesauce; syrup (regular, light or sugar-free); nut butter; jam; butter/margarine.