PB Blueberry Banana Kale Smoothie

This one's perfect to get you going in the morning!

PB, Blueberry + Banana + Kale Smoothie

Sounds like a whole lot of random ingredients chucked together but this actually came out delicious. Really quite filling too.

Tastes like: A synergistic combination of flavours - peanut butter creaminiess with the hint of banana and a slight kale bitterness that really gives it a finishing punch.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon peanut butter or PB2
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup kale leaves, washed
1/4 cup no fat Greek yoghurt
3/4 cup water

Blend! Top with extra blueberries or whatever you like - I went for cinnamon :)

Raw Coconut Cacao Protein Bars

I'll just keep this post simple rather than rant on. I basically spent my Thursday night making protein bars instead of studying so that I could wake up the next day excited about something - (achieved). 

These taste awesome. Don't be bogged down by all the different ingredients I used, the flavours that come through are actually quite minimal - a combination of chocolate/cacao, coconut and sesame seeds/tahini. The seeds and chunky cut almonds also give it a nice crunchy texture.

Ps. Maybe I just have a small stomach but I downed 3 of these today and I was actually stuffed for the rest of the evening (satiety effects of good fats + high protein).

COCONUT CACAO PROTEIN BARS
Yields: Not much .. only ~16x16cm square block bar.

Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup chocolate protein powder
1/4 cup raw cacao powder (or replace with extra protein powder)
1/2 cup dates, chopped finely (not blended/processed)
1/8 cup chia seeds, (grounded if you prefer not to have it 'gritty like')
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup consisting chopped almonds
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup raw honey
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Method
1. Combine all ingredients together, if the mixture is too crumbly add more tahini or honey until you get a good 'dough' like consistency.
2. Press and flatten into a lined, rectangular dish and refrigerate overnight before slicing.
Enjoy :) 

The Gluttonous Nutritionist.

Yo Yo It's Blueberry Protein Froyo Time

I really should be preparing for my exams but somehow I found myself in the kitchen ... again. This is a really easy to make chilled breakfast or snack that's packed with protein, two servings of fruit and calcium. It's so thick and fluffy (and purple!) it's like frozen yoghurt/ice cream so it's perfect for the days as they warm up in here in Melbourne. 

BLUEBERRY PROTEIN BOWL 
Tastes like: Creamy blueberry frosty froyo/ice cream.

Ingredients
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup protein powder (I used Nature's Way soy protein powder, vanilla)
1/8 cup no fat Greek yoghurt
1/4 cup skim milk (any)

Method
1. Mix together protein powder, Greek yoghurt and skim milk until completely combined, this is crucial!
2. Chuck in frozen blueberries and blend together (I found using a blender stick easier) until your desired consistency - I left some of the blueberries still intact to give the 'froyo' a bit more texture.
That's it. Finally top to your liking.
I went for bananas, dessicated coconut, almonds and dried mulberries.

Vanilla Protein & Cacao Shortbread Bars

DOUBLE DECKER (more like double delicious) VANILLA PROTEIN + CACAO SHORTBREAD

Tastes like: Heaven. But seriously, the classic vanilla and chocolate combination can never go wrong! With these, the bittersweet cacao really complemented the coconutty-vanilla layer. These are also quite dense and flavoursome so you'll find that eating just one small portion is enough to satisfy your afternoon sugar cravings. 

Apologies for the poor photo quality from my instagram, if I ever get around to making another batch of these I'll be sure to take a much better photo.

Ingredients

Shortbread base:

1 cup vanilla protein powder 

4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

2 tablespoons honey

Cacao base:

1/2 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup chocolate protein powder (or replace with cacao powder)

4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon peanut butter (I used chocolate PB2)

Note: If you're having trouble combining the dry ingredients with the wet, adjust quantities as needed (i.e add extra drops of coconut oil/honey etc) until you get a dough-like consistency that you can work with.

Method

1. Line a rectangular dish with baking paper. Combine shortbread base ingredients in a bowl and press into the dish. Pop into the freezer.

2. Melt the cacao/chocolate protein powder with the coconut oil and stir together. Add the honey and peanut butter, ensuring the mixture is completely smooth.

3. Depending on the consistency of your cacao mixture, press or pour this over the shortbread base. (Try to work quickly because once the cacao mixture hits the cold edges of the rectangular dish it hardens almost instantaneously).

4. Refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing!