I still don’t have much of an appetite in the morning.  So, these days I have a protein drink.  In the summer, I usually have some sort of coffee based ready-to-drink (RTD) protein.  I either have something like Atkins Cafe, or I make my own with Lean Body chocolate RTD, chocolate unsweetened Almond Breeze, and some instant coffee crystals.  In the winter, I want something warm.  So, I make myself a protein mocha.

Ingredients
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder
1 shot of your favorite sugar free syrup
fresh brewed coffee

Directions

• Place the scoop of protein powder into a travel mug. My favorite is Nectar Chocolate Truffle, though I have done this successfully with Jay Robb chocolate whey protein, Lean Dessert Chocolate Fudge Pudding, and many others. Just about any brand will work.

• Add a shot of your favorite sugar free syrup to the mug. My two favorites are Da Vinci Dulce de Leche and Monin O’Free Caramel. (The Monin syrups are typically thicker. I like my phony caramel thick.) Just about any sweet flavor will work. You can even get crazy with some orange or almond flavored syrups. Get a spoon and stir… stir… stir. Stir until the protein is completely smooth. This is important. You want to smooth it out with that little bit of liquid before you fill the cup.

• Now, grab your fresh brewed coffee… which has either been sitting with the warmer off for at least 20 – 30 minutes… or, you’ve removed the lid from the pot, letting the steam escape while the coffee cools a bit. You DO NOT ever want to mix protein powder with liquid that is too hot. Doing so is what causes those nasty clumps. Fill your mug the rest of the way up with the coffee. I like to pour with one hand whilst stirring with the other. Be careful if you do this. Don’t burn yourself then blame me for it. You’ve been warned!

• Put the lid on your travel mug and sip away. Your Protein Mocha will make you nice and warm on a cold morning, and it will provide you with a decent amount of nutrients. I love these things. I drink them all throughout the year, but nothing hits the spot better on a cold winter morn. Sometimes I add a squirt of Hershey’s sugar free syrup to the protein powder / syrup mixture. If I want to treat myself, I will add a small spoon of Smucker’s sugar free caramel topping and / or a dollop of Cool Whip Free or fat free Reddi Whip.

The body best absorbs protein in the morning and just after workouts. Protein is also filling and will help keep you satisfied. And really, just about any flavor of protein will work… and any flavor of syrup will work. Go nuts with experimentation. Just stick to a protein powder that is lower in calories and carbs, and make sure you use sugar free syrups. There is no shortage of either out there. You can also do this with plain water, if you are not a coffee lover. I love coffee, and I love mochas, and I think the coffee covers up anything unpleasant about protein powder. In any case, the taste and quality of protein powder has come a long way. Even if you think you hate them, try one of the newer brands. You might be surprised.

These also make excellent snacks for chilly Autumn or Winter evenings.

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box!

Ingredients
1 container Cool-Whip Free
1 package (1 oz) of Sugar Free – Fat Free Butterscotch Pudding
1 can (15 oz) 100% pumpkin puree
1 cup skim milk
pumpkin pie spice, to taste

Directions

• In a medium to large bowl, stir together pudding mix and milk.
• Add pumpkin and Cool-Whip and stir well.
• Refrigerate to desired firmness.

Nutritional Info
Makes 8 servings. Calories 87.3, Total Fat .3g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol .6mg, Sodium 181.7mg, Carbs 17.7g, Fiber 2.2g, Sugars 4.8g, Protein 1.9g

The original recipe, as presented to me by my friend Joni, uses vanilla pudding. (Joni runs a mouthwatering blog called Life, Food, Family.) Personally, I find butterscotch gives this dessert a richer taste. However, you can use pretty much whatever pudding your heart desires. Today, I tried white chocolate mousse. It did not disappoint.

Now, what you normally don’t see when you run across this recipe is the infinite number of ways it can be utilized. Pumpkin Surprise is a wonderful treat all on its own. Over time, though, I’ve quite successfully mutilated it the following ways:

• Just before eating, stir in a scoop of vanilla protein powder.
• Add a dollop to just about any warm drink you like. Pumpkin Spice Latte, anyone?
• Stir a couple spoonfuls, some chopped nuts, and a drizzle of Smucker’s sugar free caramel into your Greek or low-fat vanilla yogurt.
• Use some, along with a scoop of vanilla protein powder, as a base for a yummy pumpkin protein shake.
• Top a pie or another dessert with some.

Be creative! If you plan to mix it into other things, be a bit more heavy-handed with the spice. At minimum, if you’re craving pumpkin but don’t have time to bake, this will make you happy. Assuming you don’t suck down the whole batch at once… it probably won’t wreck your diet, either. You can make it with even less sugar by opting for the sugar-free Cool-Whip. Just remember to recalculate the nutritionals if you seek to tweak.

Tigger says dis shiz is da bomb.

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

More Cool-Whip recipes
More Jello recipes
More pumpkin recipes

What I’ve created here is somewhat of a happy medium. It’s not a health food you can gorge on freely, but it is a good dense hit of fudgy chocolate that is low in sugar and offers up some protein grams. If nothing else, it is more filling than traditional fudge. Do not go into this expecting to taste a fudge clone. However, if you are a fan of chocolate you should be pretty satisfied.

Ingredients
1/4 c butter
1/2 c almond butter
1/4 c mini chocolate chips
2 scoops chocolate protein powder

Directions

• Melt together butter, almond butter, and chocolate chips in a pan over low heat, stirring regularly until just melted and consistent.  DO NOT EVEN APPROACH SIMMERING OR BOILING.
• Remove from heat and stir in protein powder. Stir, stir, stir. It is important to keep stirring until everything is consistent and develops a yummy looking glossy texture. Might not seem possible at first, but you’ll know it when you see it. Keep stirring!
• Spread evenly into a small 7.5″ x 1.5″ glass Pyrex baking dish or similar storage container.   If you wish to present the fudge in pretty little squares, you should first spray the container with a tiny bit of non-stick spray.
• Store in the fridge for a couple hours minimum. This is another recipe that loves to spend the night in the fridge and needs to be stored there.  Divide into 12 equal portions.

Nutritional Info
Makes 12 servings. Calories 133.8, Total Fat 11.1g, Saturated Fat, 3.7g, Cholesterol 11.8mg, Sodium 60.4mg, Potassium 121.6, Carbs 4.5g, Fiber .6g, Sugars 2g, Protein 5.8g

The beauty of this recipe is that you can play with it in any number of ways.  You can try different flavors of protein powder. I used Nectar Chocolate Truffle, available at Netrition. A scoop is 28g. Scoop sizes vary a bit from brand to brand, so while the difference probably won’t affect the fudgy outcome… just be sure you do your own nutritional calculations accordingly.  You can swap out the almond butter for peanut butter.  You can use margarine instead of butter.  Endless possibilities.

If you do not spray the container with some non-stick spray, you will find these hard to cut out of the pan in perfect little rectangles.  If you don’t mind sacrificing a little on presentation to spare yourself needless ingredients, these do “chip out” pretty cleanly without the spray.   I find that the less I care about how visually appealing my food is, the more I can leave out unnecessary calories, fat, chemicals, etc.  With this recipe, butter would be another one of those ingredients.  Margarine suits me just fine and is what I typically use, but it doesn’t make for a very pretty picture and wouldn’t do for serving up on Halloween.

Without further ado, here are some photos.

On the stovetop.

Ready to be enjoyed! That's a 7.5 x 1.5 (3 cup) Pyrex glass baking dish.

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

Of course, it requires an ingredient or two you can’t find at the grocery store… but you can order the Lean Dessert at www.netrition.com, or you can probably find protein powder in a flavor good enough to suffice at Walmart. Ground flax can often be found at those places, or else check your nearest Whole Foods / health food market.

Ingredients
1/2 c almond meal
1/4 c Lean Dessert Protein Powder, Fresh Cinnamon Roll
1/4 c ground flax
1/4 c Splenda brown
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp Morton Lite Salt Blend
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1 egg, large
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tbsp butter, softened

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together ingredients one at a time.
• Using small cookie dough scoop, divide batter across 12-muffin tin sprayed with non-stick spray.
• Bake 12 – 14 minutes.

Nutritional Info
Makes 12 muffins. Serving = 1 muffin. Calories 99.6, Total Fat 5.7g, Saturated Fat 1.7g, Cholesterol 27.2mg, Sodium 73.9mg, Potassium 49.2, Carbs 7.1g, Fiber 1.5g, Sugars 4.9g, Protein 3.8g

Sweet Pumpkin Protein Muffins

Sweet Pumpkin Protein Muffins w/ Optional Frosting

Frosting is optional, and unfortuantely I can’t find the list of ingredients I used.  I believe it was about 3 tbsp. Philadelphia Neufchatel cheese stirred with a shot of Monin O’Free sugar free caramel syrup until soft and consistent.  I spooned it onto the muffins while they were still warm.  These were at their best after having been stored in the fridge for a day or so.  Even if you don’t dig them warm, you may well like them cold.  They store best in the fridge, either way.

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

Ingredients
1 small banana, mashed
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 c liquid egg substitute
1 scoop Nectar Chocolate Truffle protein powder
1 tbsp SF Da Vinci syrup, pumpkin pie spice flavored
1/2 c flax, ground
1/3 c mini chocolate chips

Directions

• Mash banana in medium sized bowl.
• Add oatmeal, egg substitute, protein powder, syrup, and flax. Mix until consistent. Stir in chips.
• Using cookie dough scoop, distribute evenly accross non-stick spray coated standard sized 12-muffin tin.
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Nutritional Info
Makes 12 muffins. Serving = 1 muffin. Calories 88.9, Total Fat 3.5g, Saturated Fat .9g, Cholesterol .9mg, Sodium 36mg, Potassium 99.4, Carbs 10.9g, Fiber 2.5g, Sugars 3.9g, Protein 5.1g

Banana Bites

It made some kind of cross between a muffin and a cookie.  Kind of a macaroon consistency.  Very dense and very filling.  I like that I was able to get flax into one more recipe.  It’s proven its worth in our household. I reckon you could use any number of protein powder and SF syrup flavor combinations to suit your tastes.

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.