High Protein Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

A couple of weeks ago I received a sample of Side Effects Sports' new PRIME Beef Protein Isolate. Much to my surprise, the vanilla flavoring was very sweet and I mean very sweet! The sweet flavoring got my creative juices flowing and I started thinking about the things I had in my refrigerator. So, here's what I came up with. A high protein, low carb, no sugar added, fruit and yogurt parfait. The best part of all is that it literally only takes 2 minutes to whip up. After all, it's nothing more than a protein shake.

Ingredients:
- 1 Scoop Vanilla Flavored Protein Shake (You can use Whey, Casein, Beef or any combination, just make sure it has a good sweet flavor)
- Milk (Optional. You can use water, Soy, Almond, Etc)
- 2 Strawberries
- 2 Tablespoons No Sugar Added Blueberry Syrup or Jelly
- 2 Teaspoons Whipped Cream Cheese
- 1 Teaspoon Pecan Pieces

Start by mixing your vanilla protein powder with a tiny bit of milk and cream cheese. The idea is get a thick pudding like mixture. Once you get the consistency of 'Yogurt' set aside. Place 2 diced strawberries in your parfait cup and mash with spoon until it looks like a blob of juicy goodness. You can even microwave for a few seconds at the start. Next spoon in about half of your protein mixture on top of the strawberries. Now for the next layer, add your blueberry mixture whether it's actual blueberries or syrup or jelly or a combination is up to you. Finally, add the remaining protein mix for the final layer and then top with your favorite crushed up nuts (or granola if you have it).

Next time you get bored with your protein shake, try this simple, yet effect spin on the traditional protein shake. If you're anything like me, you probably get all kinds of snide remarks from co-workers when you carry around a regular protein shake. Especially when it includes blueberries. I guess blended up blueberry pieces don't look all that appealing in my protein shakes. If that's the case you definitely want to do like I did and make this in a glass cup so you can come waltzing in to work like da boss while everybody envies your fruit and yogurt parfait. (You 'mirin brah?).

Macros: 200K/Cal, 30g Protein, 6g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 6.5g Fat

Links: http://www.704nutrition.com/Cheap-Side-Effect-Sports-Prime-Protein-p/ses_prime_beef_2.htm

Quest Bar Cinnamon Roll Recipe - Healthy, High protein Low carb Cinnamon Rolls

It's been over 10 years since I've eaten a 'real' cinnamon roll, but from what I can remember these tasted exactly like the real thing..minus all the sugar and saturated fat of course! If you read other people's reviews online for the Quest Bar Cinnamon Roll, a lot of them claim they taste just like a cinnamon roll and that's just the bar itself. So, imagine cooking one with added protein icing for a warm, gooey, sweet, think-your-cheating-but-you're-not, healthy, high protein low carb snack!

Ingredients:

1 x Quest Bar Natural Cinnamon Roll Flavor
3 x Teaspoons Greek Yogurt/Cream Cheese Blend (could just use one or the other)
1 x Dash of Cinnamon
1/2 x scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

First you'll want to prepare the icing. I recommend using a shot glass like in the picture because it makes it easier to blend the Whey Protein Powder with the thickness of the Yogurt/Cream Cheese blend. You might also need to add a drop or two of milk or water to get it to your preferred consistency. Top with cinnamon for added flavor and set to side.

Now, it's time to get your roll on!

First, heat up the Quest bar in the microwave for 10 to 12 seconds. I rotate 4 times so it heats evenly. Yes, that's 3 seconds per side. DO NOT HEAT FOR ANY LONGER THAN 12 SECONDS. These things will burn up quick. Next, spread the bar out on a cooking sheet sprayed with PAM.

Place in oven on 300* and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and add icing, cut into 2 long strips and roll them up making 2 cinnamon rolls. If you have any icing left over, you can coat the tops of the rolls. Finally, devour!

 

Macros: 270kcal, 30g Protein, 28g Carbs/17g Fiber (net 9 carbs), 9g Fat

Links: 

- Quest Natural Cinnamon Roll Protein Bar: http://www.704nutrition.com/Quest-Protein-Bar-Cinnamon-Roll-p/6340010.htm
- BSN's Syntha 6 Isolate Vanilla Ice Cream: http://www.704nutrition.com/BSN-Syntha-6-Isolate-Reviews-p/syntha-6-isolate.htm
- Other Vanilla Whey Proteins that could be used: http://www.704nutrition.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=vanilla+whey

Healthy, yet flavorful meal ideas

People are always under the misconception that living a healthy lifestyle requires major sacrifices, especially when it comes to their diet. If you've read any of the last several blog posts you'll see recipes that prove quite the contrary. It takes a little creativity and different way of thinking, but it's very easy if you just try. Here are some recent meals I've thrown together, maybe these will help get your creative juices flowing.

High protein bagel sandwhich using P28's high protein bagels. The meat is Boar's Head low sodium turkey breast with lettuce and hot banana peppers added. There may be some mustard on there too (can't remember).

Next is a spinach salad topped with strawberries and toasted pecans. Dressing used was an olive oil based raspberry vinaigrette. My favorite salad to make! You can use green leaf lettuce instead of the spinach. I switch back and forth between the two. 

 

High protein pizza anyone? Here's a high protein pizza using P28's high protein flat bread (made with whey protein isolate). I added a little bit of organic pizza sauce on top, with banana peppers, baby spinach and a hint of mozzarella cheese (just enough to add flavor). It turned out awesome! Hard to believe it was probably under 350 calories and had 30+ grams of protein.

Finally, a quick and easy high protein snack. I wanted an apple but needed protein, so I decided to make a whey protein yogurt dip. I mixed vanilla whey protein with a little cream cheese or cottage cheese and a dash of stevia for added sweetness. It was better than expected! 

Healthy Peanut Butter Cup Recipe - High Protein, Low Carb, Clean Cheating!

This might be the easiest recipe yet and while the pictures didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, the flavor did. These are absolutely NOM, NOM!

Only 2 Ingredients:
1 x Scoop Dymatize Elite Casein Chocolate Peanut Butter
2 x Teaspoons Organic Creamy Peanut Butter

First, it should be noted that I drain all the oil off my peanut butter and refrigerate in order to make it hard and dry (don't judge, that's how I like it).

Mix the Dymatize Elite Casein protein powder with 1/4 cup of water. Add water to desired consistency. It should be very thick. The drier, the better. Next, put 1 layer of protein mix on the bottom of your cup. Then add 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on top and then cover with the rest of the protein mix. Finally, place in freezer until it's as hard as you want it. Remove from freezer and enjoy!

If you freeze it for too long, just set it out until it thaws to the consistency you want.

 

BOOM! So easy and caveman (with a freezer) could do it!

Approximate Macros: 225Kcals, 27.5g Protein,  6 Carbs (1g Fiber), 10g Fat

Links:
- Dymatize Elite Casein 4lbs - http://www.704nutrition.com/Dymatize-Nutrition-Elite-Casein-Peanut-Butter-p/2060383.htm
- Dymatize Elite Casein 2lbs - http://www.704nutrition.com/Dymatize-Nutrition-Elite-Casein-Peanut-Butter-p/2060382.htm

High Protein, Low Carb Berrydelicious Cheesecake Muffin Recipe

I came across this blog post the other day (Quest Very Berry Cheesecake Recipe) and immediatly thought to myself that I have the exact opposite ingredients on hand and I could make my own version. She used a Quest Strawberry protein bar with raspberrry filling, I used a Quest Raspberry Bar with strawberry filling. Also, instead of using a whipped type of topping, I made 'protein' ice cream for mine. Here's my recipe:

CRUST:
1 White Chocolate Raspberry Quest Protein Bar

BERRY FILLING:
• 2 tablespoons liquid egg white
• 1 tablespoons nonfat cottage cheese
• 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder (I used this: BSN Syntha 6 Isolate Vanilla Ice Cream)
• 1 packet of Stevia
• 3 strawberries (1 reserved for topping/garnish)

VANILLA ICE CREAM TOPPING: 
• 1 tablespoon whipped cottage cheese
• 1 tablespoon BSN Vanilla Ice Cream flavored Whey Protein
• Vanilla Soy Milk 

Directions:
Make your ice cream a head of time so that it's ready when the muffins are done. Mix all ice cream ingredients together to desired consistency in a flat surfaced Tupperware container. The flatter the suffurace area, the quicker the mix will freeze. Check every 10 mins and stir. NOTE: the mixture was very sweet before freezing, so I did not opt to add Stevia or other sweetener. However, it lost a lot of it's sweetness during the freezing process so next time I will add in some sweetener either before freezing or during the stir/freeze process or both.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 3 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. (I used paper muffin cups, but next time will use a pan because some of my muffin stuck to the paper) Sprinkle pan cups with a little Stevia or other no calorie granulated sugar. Microwave your bar for 10 seconds. Add a little drop or two of water first to help retain the moisture. You'll need the bars to be moist so that you can form them into the crust. Chop into 3 equal pieces, flatten and press into and up the sides of 3 mini muffin cups. Toss all filling ingredients into a mini blender, or mix with a spoon in a coffee cup as I did. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Spoon filling into your cups. Bake for 10 minutes, or until center is set but not hard. Let cool, add ice cream topping and garnish with a sprinkle of Stevia and strawberry. NOTE: You may want to rub the top of the crust with olive oil to prevent it from burning in case your filling mixture needs to cook longer than anticipated.

Final Product:

Macros: 295 Kcals, 33 grams Protein, 37 grams Carbs (19 of which is Fiber). 

Macros based on product's nutritional facts, which don't add up.

Links to product used:

• Quest Nutrition White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bars: http://www.704nutrition.com/Quest-White-Chocolate-Raspberry-Protein-Bar-p/quest_white_chocolate.htm
• BSN Syntha 6 Isolate Protein Powder: http://www.704nutrition.com/BSN-Syntha-6-Isolate-Reviews-p/syntha-6-isolate.htm 

For my readers, if you don't know about Quest bars they are high in protein, fiber and quality fats with no added sugar. They only use high quality bio-available proteins, ingredients you know and understand, and are Gluten free. If you want to try a box, use coupon code 'QUEST' to get $4 off any flavor. Here's the link: http://www.704nutrition.com/SearchResults.asp?searching=Y&sort=13&search=quest+protein&show=100&page=1&brand=QUEST

High Protein/Low Carb Blueberry Pancakes - Using Dymatize Elite XT Protein Powder

Here's a quick and delicious high protein, low carb blueberry pancake recipe using Dymatize Nutrition's Elite XT protein powder. I used the Blueberry Muffin flavor, but I'm sure any other flavor would be delicious too. It comes in Banana Nut, Rich Chocolate, Rich Vanilla, and Fudge Brownie. (Ummm, Banana Nut and Fudge Brownie pancakes sound devilish).

Ingredients:

Pancake:
1 scoop Dymatize Blueberry Muffin Elite XT - Extended Release Protein Powder
3 egg whites
Pam cooking spray
Baking powder (optional for added fluff)
Water (optional, depending on batter consistency)

Topping:
1/2 cup of Blueberries
Sugar Free Blueberry Syrup

Directions:

Mix all pancake ingredients, except Pam Cooking Spray, in a shaker bottle. Shaker bottles are simple, quick, easy to clean and perfect for pouring the batter into the pan. Meanwhile heat your pan over med to med/high heat. Once hot, spray liberally with PAM, then pour 1/3 of the batter into pan. Flip as soon as the bottom of the pancake is hard enough to flip. Once flipped, it will literally only take a second or two for that side of pancake to cook. (I actually skip this step as it will harden while cooling). Repeat 2 more times, making sure to apply more PAM each time. Batter should make 3 pancakes in 8 inch pan. In the picture I used 6 egg whites and 1 1/2 scoops of protein powder to make 3 pancakes in a 10 inch pan.

Cover with Sugar Free Blueberry Syrup for the low carbers. Or cover with Blueberry Compote if you're not too worried about carbs.

Compote Directions:
Place 1/2 cup of blueberries in your pan while still hot, turn to high for quicker cooking. Stir consistently. Add PAM if needed. Cook until desired consistency. Pour over pancake stack.

Option: I put the Sugar Free Syrup between each layer of pancake then top the stack with the blueberry compote.

Macros: 170 KCals, 4 Fat grams, 27 grams Protein, 7 Carbs (2 of which is Fiber). Does not include Syrup or Blueberries.

The Dymatize Elite XT protein powder is currently on sale now at 704Nutrition.com. You can get the large 4lb tubs for only $31.57. That's the price of most 2lbs tubs. Each 4lb tub comes with 60+ servings. Here are the links:

• Elite XT Blueberry Muffin: http://www.704nutrition.com/Cheap-Dymatize-Elite-XT-Extended-Release-p/2060315.htm
• Elite XT Banana Nut: http://www.704nutrition.com/Dymatize-Nutrition-Elite-p/2060313.htm 
• Elite XT Rich Chocolate: http://www.704nutrition.com/Dymatize-Nutrition-Elite-p/2060319.htm 
• Elite XT Rich Vanilla: http://www.704nutrition.com/Dymatize-Nutrition-Elite-p/2060321.htm 
• Elite XT Fudge Brownie: http://www.704nutrition.com/Dymatize-Nutrition-Elite-p/2060317.htm

Intra-Workouts: Legitimate Product Category or Marketing Scam?

I'll be the first to admit that I used to think the 'Intra-Workout' wasn't needed in an athlete's supplement stack, and while that is still partially true in some cases, it definitely isn't the case in others. Let me explain.

Scenario 1: Your training is quick, you're in and out of the gym in 45 minutes.
Scenario 2: You're bulking, so your diet is supplying you with plenty of sustained energy and amino acids to power you through your workout.

In these two scenarios an Intra Workout really isn't needed (not that it couldn't be beneficial). In scenario 1 your training time is so quick your pre-workout meal should be enough to get you through the workout. In scenario 2 the amount of food you're taking in throughout the day should supply you with plenty of energy to withstand a workout of 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your intensity. So, when is an Intra-Workout needed? During contest prep, photo shoot prep, beach vacation prep or any other scenario when you are dieting hard.

I'm currently in the midst of a show prep in which I've been dieting hard for weeks and weeks on end. So, with calories extremely restricted and workout intensity at an all time high (trying to maintain as much muscle mass as possible), energy levels are at an all time low. Not to mention hunger! The Intra-Workout is the only way I'm able to blast through a hard training session. Intra-Workouts supply you with much needed Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) to maximize muscle protein synthesis, Glutamine to help with recovery and Electrolytes, vitamin B6, Citrulline Malate to help you sustain your training intensity for longer periods of time, thus prolonging your workouts and preventing muscle degradation. So, what are some quality Intra-Workouts?

• Scivation Xtend - No blog on Intra-Workouts would be complete without mentioning the pioneer of the Intra-Workout category. Scivation Xtend provides 3500mg L-Leucine, 7000mg BCAAs, 2,500mg of L-Glutamine plus Citrulline Malate and Electrolytes.
• Dymatize Recoup - Dymatize basically copied the Xtend formula but added a little extra to each key ingredient mentioned above. Recoup provides 4000mg L-Leucine, 7,200mg BCAAs, 3,000mg of L-Glutamine. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
• iForce Compete - iForce Compete is a little different then the two mentioned above. It features ingredients that will help you with the mental exhaustion that comes with hard training in a calorie deficient state. It features ingredients like Rhodiola Rosea Extract and Vinpocetine that helps force blood to your brain, thus helping you stay focused throughout your entire training session. Another key ingredient is L-Carnitine, which forces your body to use fatty acids for energy. While it doesn't have Glutamine, it does come with Citrulline Malate and you'll get your BCAA's from the 2.5grams of Whey Hydrosolate in it.

My personal review of the 3 mentioned above: Scivation's Xtend tastes a lot better than Dymatize's Recoup, but as mentioned above you do get more active ingredients with the Recoup. I recommend trying them both, then settling for the one that tastes the best. The biggest difference I have noticed between the Xtend/Recoup and the iForce Compete is the lack of mental exhaustion. I don't get physically exhausted on the Xtend or Recoup, but I do hit a mental wall towards the end of my workouts. However, that's NOT the case with the Compete. I feel great throughout my entire workout and it's very noticable. I do wish Compete had Glutamine, but I add my own Glutamine when taking it. Also, I have to mentioned the flavor. I've tried Lemon Drop, Tangy Tangerine, and Fruit Punch Slam and all three are phenomenal! Seriously, how can they taste that good! I only have a few servings left and I'm already getting depressed!

If you want to try one of these products remember 704Nutrition.com is home of the no hassle return policy, so you can try one and if you don't like it, return it!

Useful links:
Scivation Xtend: http://www.704nutrition.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=scivation+xtend 
Dymatize Recoup: http://www.704nutrition.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=dymatize+recoup
iForce Compete: http://www.704nutrition.com/Cheap-iForce-Compete-Intra-Workout-BCAA-p/iforce_compete.htm