Pumpkin Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Don’t forget to follow my Instagram, @thekellydiet, for more recipes not posted on the blog! Like these ‘Unicorn Wraps!’

Now for some delicious Pumpkin Peanut Butter Protein Bars!

These fit and protein packed bars are also yummy enough for dessert! Bonus, they are also super easy to make!

The main ingredients are…

• organic steel cut oats
• vegan peanut butter protein powder (I like @drinkorgain –has only 1 g of sugar)
• organic pumpkin

Let’s get baking!

• Servings: 8 bars
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

Credit: thekellydiet.blog

Ingredients

• 1/2 c organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c natural apple sauce
• 3/4 c organic steel cut oats (gluten free if needed)
• 2 scoops (46g) plant-based peanut butter protein powder (I like Orgain)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of himalayan salt

Drizzle:

• 1/4 c Peanut Butter Powder
• 1/4 c filtered water
• 1 T Cocoa Powder
• 80% cacao or  non-dairy chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 pan with non-stick olive oil spray & set aside.
2. In a food processor add all ingredients.
3. Process until combined.
4. Pour batter into your pan & smooth with a spoon.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Drizzle:

1. Once done baking and cooled, add all drizzle ingredients, except your choc chips, to a small bowl. Use a fork to mix until combined.
2. Pour drizzle on to top of your base.
3. Sprinkle on some choc chips, slice and enjoy! Great served warm or eaten cold after refrigerated.

If you make this recipe, snap a pic & hashtag it #thekellydiet @thekellydiet- I love seeing your creations on Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook!

Happy October!

Fit Peanut Butter Cup Brownie

Hey guys!

How would you like to take the Peanut Butter & chocolate layered idea of a Peanut Butter Cup & turn it into a healthy & fit snack?!

If you don’t like the idea… well idk we probably shouldn’t be friends.

For those of you who do like the idea, let me show you how it’s possible!

The main ingredients are…

• organic oats
• coconut flour
• vegan peanut butter protein powder (I like @drinkorgain –has only 1 g of sugar)
• organic sweet potato puree (can also replace with organic pumpkin puree)

All these ingredients are protein packed! They are also low in fat, high in fiber, & low in sugar… per usual here at The Kelly Diet 🙂

So let’s get that delicious peanut butter/ chocolate fix with this fit option!

• Servings: 4 large slices
• Time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

Credit: thekellydiet.blog

Ingredients

Base:

• 1/2 c organic sweet potato puree
• 1/2 c natural apple sauce
• 3/4 c organic oats (gluten free if needed)
• 2 scoops (46g) plant-based peanut butter protein powder (I like Orgain)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of himalayan salt

Top:

• 1/2 c coconut flour
• 1/2 c apple sauce
• 1/2 c unsweetened plant-based milk of choice
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Dash of vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions

Base:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pie tin with non-stick olive oil spray & set aside.
2. In a food processor add all base ingredients.
3. Process until combined.
4. Pour batter into your pan & smooth with a spoon.
5. Set aside.

Top:

1. Add all top ingredients to your clean food processor.
2. Process & scrapes the side of the bowl until batter is thoroughly combined.
3. Spread batter on top of your base later.

Bake:

1. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
2. Let cool before eating. Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, snap a pic & hashtag it #thekellydiet @thekellydiet- I love seeing your creations on Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook!

Who will you share a slice with?

Protein Brookies

It’s my sister’s birthday. So how do I know how to celebrate, bake her something healthy & delicious of course! I have made a similar version of these brookies before using chickpeas. You can get the recipe here: Cookie-Dough Protein Brookies

So, what makes these ‘Protein’ Brookies?

The main ingredients are…

• oats
• coconut flour
• vegan protein powder
• powdered peanut butter

All these ingredients are protein packed! They are also low fat, high in fiber, & low in sugar… per usual here at The Kelly Diet 🙂

Cookie-dough Protein Brookies

• Servings: 6
• Time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

Credit: thekellydiet.blog

Ingredients

Base:

• 3/4 c organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c natural apple sauce
• 1 T raw local honey or agave
• 1/2 c oats (gluten free if needed)
• 2 T organic powdered peanut butter
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 2 scoop plant-based peanut butter protein powder (I like Orgain)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of himalayan salt

Top:

• 1/2 c coconut flour
• 2 T oats
• 2 T organic pumpkin puree
• 1/3 c apple sauce or softened coconut oil
• 3 T powdered peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Dash of vanilla extract
• 1/4 c unsweetened plant-based milk of choice
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of himalyan salt

Fold Ins:

• 1 vegan mint chocolate bar chopped into chunks & slivers

Directions

Base:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor add all base ingredients.
3. Process until combined.
4. Pour batter into 3 small cake tins, sprayed with nonstick olive oil spray, or into 1 prepared 8X8 pan & press down with a spatula.
5. Set aside.

Top:

1. Add all top ingredients to your clean food processor.
2. Process & scrapes the side of the bowl until batter is thoroughly combined.
3. Pour batter on top of base & smooth with a spoon.

Bake:

1. Top with chocolate chunks & lightly press them into the batter.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes.
3. Let cool before eating. Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, snap a pic & hashtag it #thekellydiet @thekellydiet- I love seeing your creations on Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook!

These Protein Brookies were great energy before a birthday hike 🙂

Fudge Protein Donuts

I hope everyone had a fun holiday weekend!

I was at my parent’s cottage so I made some snacks ahead of time to bring & whipped up some bars there using whatever I could find in their kitchen that would work.

Of course the majority of my time wasn’t spent in the kitchen. We boated, biked, & were out in the sun as much as possible.

K, let’s talk about these donutssss. They are dense, fudgey, sugar-free, vegan, packed with protein & my favorite… yummy enough for dessert, yet healthy enough for breakfast.

We are so used to adding a whole cup or more of baking sugar to recipes. It’s not necessary! My baking sweetening secret is to use bananas, unsweetened apple sauce, dates, & occasionally a bit of pure maple syrup or raw honey. I sweetened these donuts with one ripe mashed banana which also helped to hold everything together & provide the fudge texture I was looking for.

Forget cutting carbs! Try combining healthy flours & grains in your recipes. These protein donuts are a combination of almond, coconut, & oat flour.  I used Bob’s Redmill almond flour/meal, but you can also make your own by simply grinding almonds in a food processor or high speed blender (Be careful not to over process or oils will be released & almond butter will start to form).

Here are some other flours to try out. Do some research on each flour before replacing in recipes. For example, coconut flour is extraordinarily absorbent & less is needed than most flours. You generally want to substitute 1/3 C coconut flour for 1 C grain-based flour. You also need to increase the amount of liquid.

Protein Fudge Donuts

• Servings: 7
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

Flax Eggs:

• 3 T ground flax
• 9 T water

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 c almond flour
• 1/2 c oat flour
• 1/4 c coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• Dash of ground cloves

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• 1/4 c organic pumpkin puree
• 1 ripe mashed banana

Toppings:

• PB2, prepared (Could replace with any other nut or seed butter)
• Cacao nibs
• Bee pollen (not vegan)
• Toasted coconut chips
• Organic shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions

1. Spray 7 donut holes with non-stick baking spray.
2. Mix flax egg ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside (at least 5 minutes).
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
4. In a medium sized bowl, mash & mix the wet ingredients.
5. Pour wet ingredients & flax eggs into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
6. Distribute batter among the 7 donut holes.
7. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.
8. Let cool & top with desired toppings (optional). Enjoy!

My Favorite topping was the prepared PB2 with Toasted Coconut Chips 🙂 What will you top yours with?!

 

Veggie Bowls & Protein Talk

Every vegan & vegetarian out there knows the annoying question, ‘But where do you get protein if you don’t eat meat?’ Then we calm our-self down from pulling out our hair & remember that many people believe the misconception that only meat has protein. Then we get the fun task of sharing a world of information with them!

First off, read some books or watch some documentaries! I like the book ‘In Defense of Food‘ & Netflix has a great selection of documentaries including Forks over Knives & Vegucated.

To make things simple, VEGETABLES HAVE PROTEIN!!! Not only do they contain a healthy amount of protein but they also are rich in fiber which meat is not! The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that the average american is getting twice the recommended amount of protein & lacking in their daily fiber.

Outside of veggies I get my protein from lentils, chickpeas, nuts, nut flour, quinoa, couscous & more. Most recently I have been on an edamame kick! A half cup of cooked edamame contains 94 calories, 4 g of fat, 16% daily fiber & 8g / 16% daily protein.

One last thing before we dig into some recipes… Now, I know that we were all raised with the same meat, dairy, vegetable food pyramid. You know how workouts & exercise plans have changed over the years due to research in order to make them more effective & yield better results? Well, the same has happened with food. I want you to consider this as your new food pyramid. Give it a shot, try it out, what could it hurt?!

So now that we have plant-based protein somewhat discussed, let me share some easy, quick, protein & fiber packed bowls to make for lunch or dinner. Get ready because I have FOUR yummy recipes below 🙂

Buddha Bowl

• Servings: 1
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• Rainbow cauliflower
• Shredded brussels sprouts
• Spiralized beets
• Sliced radish
• Light Life Foods, tempeh
• Rainbow Carrots
• Tahini*
• Pomegranate Seed

Directions

1. Marinate tempeh in liquid aminos (I use Braggs. This is a healthier alternative to soy sauce), set aside.
2. Simply roast or saute all vegetables except for the carrots
3. Saute tempeh on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Add everything to a bowl.
5. Top with the carrots, tahini & pomegrante seeds. Enjoy & be full 🙂

*Tahini is simply ground sesame seeds that are blended or processed until it reaches the consistency of a nut butter. This paste offers many health benefits, including healthy macro-nutrients & a range of good-for-you vitamins & minerals. Try making your own!

Sweet Potato Pizza Bowl

• Servings: 1
• Time: 1 hour
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

• One sweet potato
• Organic pizza sauce
• One yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 T diced jalapeno
• 1/4 c black beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1/4 c vegan cheese
• Pizza seasoning (i like Flavor God)
• 1/2 c cauliflower rice
• 1/4 c roasted or canned corn
• One rainbow carrot, chopped
• Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Directions

1. Poke the sweet potato with a fork several times & bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hr or until cooked through.
2. With about 10 minutes left, cut open the sweet potato & top with the pizza sauce, pepper, jalapeno, black beans, vegan cheese & pizza seasoning.
3. Steam the cauliflower rice for 10 minutes.
4. Lastly, assemble your bowl! For the base add the cauliflower rice, carrots & tomato then simply add your loaded pizza potato. Enjoy!

Nourish Bowl

• Servings: 1
• Time: 15 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

• One serving black rice ramen
• 3/4 c orange cauliflower florets
• Handful of snow peas
• 1/2 c chopped purple cabbage
• 1/4 c Upton’s Naturals italian seitan
• Liguid Aminos
• Half an avocado
• Small handful sprouts
• 1 nori sheet, torn into pieces
• 1/4 c pomegrante seeds
• Nutritional yeast / nooch

Directions

1. Cook ramen according to directions
2. Steam the cauliflower & snow peas until soft – about 10-15 minutes
3. In a sauce pan, saute the cabbage & seitan in some liquid aminos for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add everything to a bowl.
5. Add in the avocado, sprouts, nori & pomegrante seeds.
6. Sprinkle desired amount of nooch on top. Enjoy!

Protein, Rainbow Plate

• Servings: 1
• Time: 20 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

• 4 brussels sprouts, cut in half
• 1/3 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• Handful of baby kale
• Handful of spiralized zucchini
• One pre-cooked baby beet, sliced
• Frozen veggie patty (I like Morning Star or Dr. Praegers)
• Liquid Aminos
• Italian Seasoning (i like Flavor God)
• Beet hummus
• Pea Mash
• Nutritional yeast/ nooch
• Fresh basil

Directions

1. Simply add all veggies & patty to a sauce pan.
2. Saute in desired amount of liquid aminos.
3. As veggies start to cook & patty starts to soften, chop up the patty & continue to saute mixing everything together. (Total saute time about 15 minutes)
4. Add everything to a plate or bowl.
5. Add drops of beet hummus & pea mash (recipe in my Falafel Buddha Bowl blog post).
6. Sprinkle with desired amount of nooch & top with a fresh basil to taste. Enjoy!

Cookie-dough Protein Brookies

If you are wondering what the featured image above has to do with these brookies…. this was where I found my dog while I was baking. Just chilling on my reusable grocery bags. He’s the weirdest & that’s why I love him.

K, let’s talk about these Brookies. The main ingredients are oats & chickpeas. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are legumes that are considered both a vegetable & protein food. Oh do I love chickpeas. They make great egg re-placers as well. I have successfully made yummy vegan frittatas & omelettes using chickpea flour. Chickpeas have more fiber & protein than eggs & none of the health or environment risks. Try it out!

You will love these Brookies because they are yummy enough for dessert yet healthy enough for breakfast! If you are just too hangry & want to eat it sooner, you can also not bake the dough, scoop it in a bowl & eat it raw*. Not a bad option…

 

 

*I had leftover chickpeas so I made this raw cookie dough to eat while the brookies were cooking: 

• 1/2 c chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
• 2 T organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 scoop plant-based vanilla protein powder
• 1 T powdered peanut butter
• 2 tsp stevia
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• dash of vanilla extract
• pinch of himalyan salt

Instructions: Simply add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until combined. Add any desired toppings or enjoy straight from the bowl 🙂

K, now for the baked version…

• Servings: 6
• Time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: medium
• Print

Ingredients

Base:

• 3/4 c organic pumpkin puree (can also use mashed banana)
• 1 T stevia
• 1/2 c natural apple sauce
• 1/2 c oats
• 1/4 c organic powdered peanut butter
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 scoop plant-based chocolate protein powder (I like Orgain)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of himalayan salt

Top:

• 1 c chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
• 2 T organic pumpkin puree (can also use mashed banana)
• 3 T powdered peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 T stevia
• Dash of vanilla extract
• 2 T unsweetened vanilla cashew milk (or other plant-based milk of choice)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of himalyan salt

 

Toppings:

• Cacao nibs

Directions

Base:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixer add all base ingredients.
3. Mix until combined.
4. Pour batter into 3 small cake tins, sprayed with nonstick olive oil spray, or into 1 prepared loaf pan & press down with a spatula.
5. Set aside.

Top:

1. Add all top ingredients to a food processor.
2. Process & scrapes the side of the bowl until batter is thoroughly combined.
3. Pour batter on top of base & press down with a spatula.

Bake:

1. Sprinkle with a few cacao nibs.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes.
3. Let cool before eating. The bars are also great cold. I cover my leftovers & keep them stored in the fridge. Enjoy!

What do you prefer, raw or baked?!