Coconut Cream Chocolate Chip Protein Cake Bites

Light and fluffy coconut cream chocolate chip cake bites! You won't believe that each one only has 56 calories per cake bite. A little side note - - coconut flour is a bit tricky to bake with because it absorbs so much moisture from the batter. If you don't have coconut flour and you decide to use a flour substitute, make sure to add a bit more of the substitute than the amount of coconut flour the recipe calls for. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2/3 cup oat flour (or whole wheat flour)

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup coconut flour

1½ scoop Jamie Eason’s Lean Body For Her vanilla whey concentrate protein powder

¼ cup coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup light coconut milk

3 egg whites

½ cup sugar free chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a sheet pan with foil coated with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk together coconut milk and egg whites in a mixing bowl.

3. To the bowl, add the remainder of ingredients, except chocolate chips, and stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.  

4. Using a very small ice cream scooper, drop cookie dough balls onto the sheet pan. Repeat until 26 cake bites are made.

5. Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes 26 servings

1 serving is 1 cake bite

Macros for 1 serving

56 calories, 3.1g protein, 5.7g carbs, 2.1g fat, 1.9g sugar, 1.3g fiber

Nicolette’s Tips

* Adjust the sweetener of choice to reach desired sweetness. I tend to enjoy my treats on the less sweet side so feel free to add more as needed.

* If you do not have coconut flour, add an additional 1/3 cup oat flour as a substitute for ¼ cup coconut flour. Adjust the macronutrients as necessary.

Basic Yellow Protein Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I'm not sure why I never thought of making a protein version of a basic yellow cake. You see yellow cake everywhere because it's so common. What is great about my version is it is healthier than the typical yellow cake AND mine has no artificial colors with an added bonus of protein. Nope. No food coloring. The yellow color comes from the pureed carrots and red palm oil, which both add richness and decadence to the cake. Enjoy!

Cake

3 egg whites

2 tablespoons red palm oil, melted

¼ cup carrot puree

2 tablespoons almond milk

1 scoop ARO vanilla whey protein powder

2/3 cup oat flour

¼ cup almond meal flour

¼ cup Vitacost coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice)

1 teaspoon baking powder

Icing

¼ cup low fat cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons Vitacost honey (or agave)

1 stevia packet

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a mini 6” round cake pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine egg whites, red palm oil, carrot puree, and almond milk in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

3. Add protein powder, almond meal flour, oat flour, coconut sugar, & baking powder to the mixing bowl and stir until batter is completely smooth.

4. Pour batter into cake pan and smooth down with a spoon.

5. Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes, or until top is golden brown & center is cooked completely. Let the cake cool while you make the icing.

6. Whisk all icing ingredients together and spoon on top of cooled cake. Slice into 8 pieces and serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings

1 serving is 1 slice

 Macros for 1 serving

177 calories, 8.2g protein, 18.9g carbs, 7.9g fat, 9.5g sugar, 1.7g fiber

Nicolette’s Tips

* For the carrot puree, I used canned baby carrot food. You can also steam and puree your own carrots.

* To ensure the cake doesn’t fall apart, I allow the cake to cook in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing it.

* You can substitute the red palm oil with coconut oil. I recommend the red palm oil since it takes on a buttery flavor and also adds to the yellow color of the cake.

Pineapple Upside Down Protein Cupcakes

I've actually never had a pineapple upside down cupcake and am not even certain I've tried the cake either. I saw a picture of these somewhere and really wanted to try them out! Of course my version is "healthyfied" with protein powder & healthy ingredient substitutions, although you would never be able to tell. And now I know what I've been missing out on. These magical cupcakes are DELICIOUS!!! I can't believe how much I'm loving them. They are some of my all time favorite protein cupcakes I have ever made. In other words, I really think you should try them out yourselves. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 scoop Vitacost ARO vanilla whey protein powder

1/3 cup almond meal flour

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or oat flour)

¼ cup Vitacost coconut sugar

¾ teaspoon baking powder

3 egg whites

¼ cup plain greek yogurt

¼ cup vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

Pineapple Topping

½ cup crushed pineapple, drained and patted dry

4 cherries, pitted and sliced in half

2 tablespoons Vitacost coconut oil, melted

8 tablespoons Vitacost coconut sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place 8 silicon cupcake liners on a sheet pan.

2. Add ¾ teaspoon of melted coconut oil into the bottom of each cupcake liner.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar into each cupcake liner, on top of melted coconut oil, then place a slice of cherry in the middle.

4. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crushed pineapple into each cupcake liner, on top of coconut oil, sugar, and cherry.

5. For the cupcake batter, add egg whites, greek yogurt, and almond milk to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

6. Add the remainder of cupcake ingredients to the mixing bowl with wet ingredients and stir until batter is well combined.

7. Evenly spoon batter into the 8 cupcake liners (on top of pineapple mixture) and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

1 serving is 1 muffin

  

Macros for 1 serving

193 calories, 7.2g protein, 28.6g carbs, 6.3g fat, 16.8g sugar, 1.9g fiber

Nicolette’s Tips

* For a lower sugar content, replace the coconut sugar with xylitol or sugar-free sweetener of choice (only do this in the muffin batter)

No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Protein Squares

Super easy & delicious protein squares with a few ingredients and tons of flavor! You get all the good stuff with these - healthy protein, healthy fats, healthy carbs. So they're perfect for a pre-workout snack! They don't take long to make either since they are no-bake. Just blend, stir, spread, and drizzle :) Enjoy!

Ingredients

1¼ cup unsalted cashews

¾ cup old-fashioned oats

2 scoop Lean Body For Her vanilla whey protein powder

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

¼ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon butter extract

½ cup sugar-free chocolate

Method

1. Line an 8x8” square pan with plastic wrap and set aside.

2. Place cashews and oats into a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture resembles flour. Pour into mixing bowl.

3. Add protein powder and salt to the mixing bowl and stir together.

4. Add melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and extract into the mixing bowl and stir together.

5. Using your hands, knead this mixture slightly until comes together. Spoon mixture into pan and press down with your hands making sure the entire bottom of pan is covered with mix.

6. Melt chocolate until smooth and drizzle on top of cashew mixture.

7. Place the dish in the fridge until chocolate hardens, about 1 hour. Remove from fridge, slice into 16 squares, and serve immediately.

Makes 16 servings

1 serving is 1 protein square

Macros for 1 serving

169 calories, 6.3g protein, 13.7g carbs, 11g fat, 3.9g sugar, 1.9g fiber

Vanilla Blackberry Protein Breakfast Bars

Ingredients

4 egg whites

¼ cup plain greek yogurt

½ cup unsweetened almond milk

¾ cup blackberries

¼ cup all-natural cashew butter (or almond butter)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ scoops vanilla protein powder

¾ cup almond meal flour

1¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or oat flour)

1/3 cup xylitol (or sweetener of choice)

2 teaspoons baking powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9” baking dish with parchment paper.

2. Combine egg whites, yogurt, milk, blackberries, cashew butter, & vanilla extract in a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth.

3. Add protein powder, almond meal flour, pastry flour, xylitol, & baking powder to a mixing bowl. Stir together.

4. Pour liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

5. Pour batter into baking dish and smooth down with a spoon.

6. Bake in the oven for 28-32 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Slice into 16 squares and serve immediately.

* I topped mine with some blackberry jam.

Makes 16 servings

1 serving is 1 square

Macros for 1 serving

122 calories, 6.7g protein, 15.1g carbs, 5g fat, 1.1g sugar, 2.4g fiber

Cherry Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream

It's HOT. It's MUGGY. It is summertime in the South! Therefor ice cream must be consumed. Cherry garcia is one of my favorite flavors. Here is a healthy, protein packed version of the delicious and creamy cherry and chocolate ice cream combo. YUMMMM! Enjoy!

Ingredients

½ cup vanilla almond milk

½ cup plain greek yogurt

2 cups ice

3 cups frozen cherries

1/3 cup all natural cashew butter (or almond butter)

2 scoops Jamie Eason’s Lean Body for Her vanilla whey protein powder

½ cup baking stevia (or regular sugar)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup sugar free chocolate chips

Method

1. Combine almond milk, yogurt, ice, frozen cherries, cashew butter, protein powder, stevia, and extract in a blender or food processor. Blend, stopping to stir a couple of times, until mixture is smooth.

2. Pour mixture into a freezer-safe container (I used an 8x8 glass dish) and smooth down with a spoon. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

3. Place container in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

4. Remove from the freezer and let sit for 10-12 minutes then serve with your favorite toppings, such as more cherries or sugar free chocolate syrup J Enjoy!

Makes 8 servings

1 serving is about 1 cup of ice cream

Macros for 1 serving

168 calories, 10.6g protein, 15g carbs, 7.5g fat, 9.9g sugar, 2.6g fiber

Nicolette’s Tips

* For added creaminess and thickness, add ¼ teaspoon each of guar gum and xanthan gum while blending until desired consistency is reached.

* If you prefer chocolate ice cream, you can use chocolate almond milk and Lean Body for Her chocolate protein powder instead of the vanilla milk and vanilla protein.