Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie

This one goes out to my dessert lovers!  My husband is a brownie lover!  As a matter of fact, he might even consider himself a brownie connoisseur!  So if he enjoyed these, this recipe is definitely a keeper in my home!  I made a dark chocolate brownie recipe and tweaked it a bit! Then I was in the store and there on the shelf was the jar of yummy goodness that changed my life and this recipe! So back into the kitchen I went, and this is what I created!

Ingredients:
2 Scoops of Chocolate Protein Powder (about 3/4 cup) (I use Nitro Pro see below)
1/2 TSP baking soda
2 TBSP of Cocoa
1/2 TSP Salt
4 TBSP of Peanut Butter Chips (if you don't like Peanut Butter feel free to add dark chocolate chips)
1/2 Cup of Maranatha Dark Chocolate Almond Spread (This is what changed my life)
2 TBSP of Agave
2 TBSP of Honey
1/2 TSP Vanilla
1 Egg white or 3 TBSP of Liquid Egg Whites
1/2 Cup Almond Milk (I used Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla 30 calorie)
And one 8X8 Pyrex dish and Pam non stick cooking spray.

Step 1:  Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 and take out two mixing bowls.
Step 2:  In one mixing bowl combine your dry mixture of Protein Powder, Baking Soda, Cocoa, Salt and Peanut Butter Chips and stir to combine.
Step 3:  In your second mixing bowl (microwave safe) put in 1/2 Cup of the Dark Chocolate Almond Spread.  I put mine in the microwave for about 20 to 25 seconds to make sure it was soft.  I then mixed the Agave, Honey and Vanilla into the Chocolate Spread.
Step 4:  Scoop out your Almond spread mixture into the dry mixture bowl.  Stir your ingredients well, it will be very clumpy but don't worry about that just make sure everything is combined.
Step 5:  Add in your egg white and mix.  Then slowly add in the 1/2 Cup of Almond Milk until your mixture resembles a brownie mixture.
Step 6:  Spray your 8x8 Pyrex dish with Pam and then pour the Brownie Mixture into the pan.  Cook for about 25 minutes on 350.  Make sure you watch your mixture.  I have a gas oven so my Brownies cooked pretty quickly.  You could need an extra minute or two if you have electric.
Once your Brownies are done take them out and let them cool for about 10-15 minutes.  If you use the 8x8 pan I suggest, and your cut your brownies into 8 slices, each brownie contains:
157 calories, 12 grams of protein, 14 grams of sugar, and 18 grams of carbs.

The Protein I use is below.  If you are local to the Buford, GA area run over to Win Win Nutrition and Supplements and ask Beverly for Tia's Top Shelf Protein and she can point you in the right direction.  http://www.wwnsupplements.com/

Hit the organic section of your grocery store to find this jar of yummy goodness!

 Expect your Brownies to look like this....already half gone!  Enjoy!

Egg White Sweet Tooth Breakfast

So as most of you know I have been on a 21 day detox.  Well I have to say that making pancakes each morning for my daughter had me yearning for something sweet for breakfast!  You know, eggs and egg whites get so old after a while.  So I decided to try something and it actually turned out pretty good!  I wanted to share the recipe so you guys could enjoy.

Ingredients Needed:

1/4 cup Almond Flour
6 tablespoons of Egg Whites
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (divided)
1/4 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of sliced strawberries

Step 1:
Take a bowl and combine almond flour, egg whites, vanilla, and ONE tablespoon of the maple syrup. Take some nonstick cooking spray and spray in an 8-10 inch pan (I think mine was a 10 inch, if you go smaller yours will just be thicker).  Make sure the heat on the stove is set medium to low because you don't want it to burn. You can see what it looks like below as it cooks.

Step 2:
Watch the mixture as it cooks.  You want the mixture to begin to be slightly thick enough to flip, so make sure it it browning on the bottom but not burning.  I used the spatula and just pressed down on the edges as it cooked.  When you are sure the mixture is cooked and strong enough to be flipped then flip it over just like a pancake.

As you can see, mine tore just a bit near the center so you have to be careful.  Still good to eat though!

Step 3:  

Once you have browned it on both sides, slide it out onto a plate.  Top it with the blueberries and the strawberries and then drizzle the last tablespoon of maple syrup on top!

Now you have a yummy sweet treat breakfast that only has 391 calories, and 17 grams of protein! This probably should not be an every morning thing, but it does help when you want something sweet and you do not want to feel guilty about it!  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Yoga Tunes

When I began my yoga teacher training, I remember my teacher telling me, “Some people will like my yoga, and some people will like someone else’s yoga, and that’s okay”.  This quote really stuck with me as I began teaching and wanted to create my own path as a yoga teacher.

As a teacher, I sincerely believe it is important to take different types of yoga classes.  Even if it is not the same style in which I trained, I can still garner something from every teacher.  Each teacher has something unique and different to offer from the instructor’s consideration of different ability levels and basic encouragement and energy brought to the experience to the way the poses are connected to the music which is playing in the background.  The atmosphere created by the music sets the mood for every class. 

Alright yoga instructors; let’s stop chastising other yoga instructors for the style of music they wish to play in their class.  That’s just one element that makes each instructor unique and gives participants choices.  It is just like students in school having their favorite teacher because of the elements they bring to the classroom.  Exercising for some people is a struggle within itself, offering them choices gives them one less reason to find not to show up.

The other day, I was reading over some posts on a Facebook page for a yoga teacher who is very popular, and I could not help but notice the negativity that someone used in their comment toward this instructor.  The comment geared towards how sad it was that a popular pop song, (with words in it, God forbid), was playing during the yoga routine. 

One word popped into my head:  “Ahimsa”.  You know non-violence, even with words.  One participant may not like having current pop tunes playing while they take a yoga class, and that is okay.  Someone else may only enjoy having instrumental meditation type music playing while they take a yoga class and that is okay.  Guess what, instructors can teach their class however they want and participants can visit and take classes from any type of studio that appeals to them.  You know why? Because some people will like my yoga and some people will like someone else’s yoga, and that’s okay. 

Let’s stick together yoga teachers; lift each other up and support each other.  After all, as long as we give our students good energy they can take out and share with the world, who cares if they get their good energy with instrumental music or the latest pop tunes.  

Namasté!