Protein brownies: A sweet potato & beetroot addition

Hello munkeys!

Everyone loves brownies, so I thought I'd make them - pluuuuus, they're super easy to make. If you haven't baked with beetroot before.. you should! It creates a great texture, is very dense and rich, and you can't even taste the beetroot at all. Crazy. Here's how it went down in the kitchen: (btw, this is a fairly huge batch, so shooooould last you the whole week.. :P)

INGREDIENTS

3 medium sweet potatoes

2 small cooked beetroots
150g 70+% dark chocolate
3 tbsp cocoa
4 tbsp coconut flour
1 scoop chocolate nut whey protein powder (or any other flavour)
1 tsp baking powder
3 medium sized eggs
10 small dates soaked

2 tbsp coconut oil/ghee/grassfed butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel & chop up the sweet potato in to small chunks & steam them until mash-able.

2. Chop up the beetroot too & add it to the steamer.

3. Boil the kettle & soak the dates.

4. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

5. Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil/ghee/butter & set aside.

6. Crack the eggs into the food processor & blend until slightly frothy.

7. Add the sweet potato & beetroot & blend until fairly smooth & combined (small lumps are fine).

8. Add the coconut flour, whey & cocoa to the mixture & blend.

9. Chop up the soaked dates & add them to the mixture, as well as the melted chocolate, blend until all is combined.

10. Add the baking powder, blend & spoon out on to baking tray.

11. Bake in the oven for 18-21 minutes (you want them to be firm on the outside but still soft 7 gooy on the inside).

12. Set aside to cool.

Enjoy munkeys! :)

(Sorry for the lack of pictures: I totally forgot - just another excuse to make some more! Hehee)

Banana, peanut butter & coconut milk protein smoothie

Morning munkeys! This is one of my faaaavourite smoothies, it's very rich & super filling, so this serving is for two. When my bananas start to brown, I usually bake with them or if I've already done a crap load of baking, I'll peel, chop & put them in a plastic sandwich bag to throw in the freezer - frozen bananas make awesome smoothies! Yum. 

Although banana & peanut butter compliment each other well - you could also use any other nut butter & it would be just as good! Also, if full fat coconut milk is too rich for you, feel free to replace it with any other milk alternative too. So, here you go munkeys:

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

2 frozen bananas

1/2 can full fat coconut milk

2 tbsp peanut butter

1&1/2 or 2 scoops whey protein powder (any flavour, but vanilla is my favourite with this smoothie)

Sprinkle of cinnamon 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take bananas out of freezer & bag, & place in food processor along with the coconut milk, & blend until fairly smooth (mattering on the quality of your processor, you may have to keep separating the chunks of frozen banana now and again).

2. Add the peanut butter & blend.

3. Add the whey & cinnamon & blend until combined.

4. Serve & enjoy!

Enjoy munkeys! :)

Plantain protein brownies

Hello munkeys! It's been a while & I'm sorry *sad face* I've actually been cooking & baking lots but not posting. Sorry again. I really enjoy posting lots of pictures with my posts but quickly realised how time consuming that was, (& that I was running out of storage on my phone because of all the different angles I was shooting from. Ha!). But any content is better than no content, right? - & I have soooo much to share with you guys - hope you've all been well!

So. To start, plantaaaaaaain. I LOVE plantain - it's delicious in cakes, or on its own fried in ghee or coconut oil, sprinkled with cinnamon. Amazing. Can't wait to share my plantain adventures with you all, welcome back :)

INGREDIENTS

2 medium sized eggs

1 medium plantain or banana 

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 tbsp of ghee or coconut oil

1 scoop of chocolate whey (or can omit but will cook slower)

1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder 

6 small dates soaked

1 tsp baking powder

50g 70%+ dark chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4.

2. Boil the kettle, place the dates in a bowl & pour the boiled water over them to cover.

3. Crack eggs into food processor & blend until slightly frothy.

4. Chop up plantain & add to the eggs & blend.

5. Add the coconut flour, chocolate whey & cocoa powder to the mixture & blend until combined.

6. Chop up the soaked dates & add them to the mixture, along with the ghee or coconut oil.

7. Blend until combined (not smooth).

8. Spoon the baking powder into the mixture & blend.

9. Stir the chocolate chips into the mixture with a spoon.

10. Spoon out mixture onto a baking paper lined tray or silicone tray & place in oven for 6-9 mins (you don't want to overcook these, you want them to be firm around the edges but still gooey in the middle - then they'll cool, set & be deliciously gooooey).

11. Remove brownies from oven & allow to cool.

12. Devooooouur!

Chocolate & coconut protein flapjacks with dark chocolate chunks

Good afternoon munkies! We're off to Blackpool tomorrow for a day trip so I whizzed up some protein flapjacks for our ride. I haven't made chocolate flapjacks yet.. & I love coconut - so I thought chocolate-coconut flapjacks! I decided to use full fat coconut milk instead of Koko milk (which is diluted and much lighter), it made them extra creamy - so I'll definitely be playing around with that again at some point. Here's how I made them:

INGREDIENTS:

1&1/2 cup gluten free oats
2 scoops chocolate whey
3 tsp cocoa
1/3 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
3 tbsp ghee
70g dark chocolate chunks

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the oats, whey & desiccated coconut to a bowl & mix.
2. Next add the coconut milk & mix.
3. After the mixture is roughly combined, add the ghee & mix.
4. Pour in the dark chocolate chunks & mix.
5. Spoon the flapjack mixture on to a baking paper lined baking tray or a silicone tray.
6. Flatten the mixture.
7. Preheat oven gas mark 6.
8. Transfer to the freezer for 10 mins (optional, but helps them to 'set' better).
9. Bake for 6 minutes.
10. When done, sprinkle a little desiccated coconut on the top.
11. Set aside to cool & chop up (best eaten the following day when they have been in the fridge overnight).

Enjoy munkies! :)

Fizz's birthday chocolate protein polenta cake

Hello munkies! I'm in Denmark for the Copenhagen Girls Gathering (I wrote this blog before the actual weekend of the event. Note: the event was AMAZING! Thanks SO much to Teresa & Eva! Blog to follow shortly about it..) & it just so happens that it's my good friend Fizz's birthday next week! After a day of playing in the sun, muscle ups, back squatting, front squatting & weighted pull ups, OF COURSE we were going finish off the day with baking..! So, I've made a chocolate polenta cake before, but never a protein chocolate polenta cake! This cake is very simple, decadent, chocolatey & rich. Plus it's gluten free & apart from the chocolate, it's refined sugar free, hehee. Here's how it went down:

INGREDIENTS

Cake
10 small dates
3 medium eggs
1&1/2 scoops chocolate caramel whey (45g)
250g polenta
1/2 cup almond flour
100g 70%+ dark chocolate
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking powder

Icing
70g 70%+ dark chocolate

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.
2. Heat a pan or bain marie & melt the butter & chocolate together.
3. Crack the eggs in to the food processor & blend, or just hand whisk it if you don't have a food processor to hand, until slightly frothy.
4. Mash up the polenta with a fork.
5. Put the polenta & almond flour in a bowl & mix until combined, or just throw it all in the food processor & blend until fairly smooth.
6. Add the melted chocolate & butter, honey & cocoa, & mix or blend until combined.

7. Spoon the baking powder in to the cake mixture & mix or blend.
8. Spoon the mixture in to a silicone mould or chosen greased baking apparatus & transfer to the oven for 15-20 minutes (you'll have to check it around that time, the edges should be quite firm & the middle still soft - it will be gooey, yummmmm).
9. When the cake is done, break up the remaining chocolate & place it on top. It will melt.
10. Spread melted chocolate evenly with a spoon.. or finger.
11. Allow chocolate to cool before serving.. or not?! Tehee :)
12. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FIZZ! :D

Enjoy munkies! :)

Protein packed chocolate chip & cream squares

Helloooo there munkies! I'ts been a while & I'm sorry about that.. this little munkey has been busy in Cardiff, Leeds, Birmingham, The Shetland Isles & Denmark recently. But I'm back(!) & I have lots of yummy recipes lined up for you guys! So.. this is a little something I made a while back, it is actually pretty easy to make a delicious, creamy alternatives to treats such as cheesecake & caramel type tarts & bars. Throw together lots of dates, coconut, nuts & chocolate, & there's NO WAY you won't come out with something absolutely amazing! But I wanted to make something creamy, sweet, crunchy & suuuuper high in protein without using large amounts of those delicious ingredients I listed before. So, here it is & again, it's delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

Base:
1/4 cup almonds
1 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp oats
1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
1 medium sized egg
1 tsp Koko milk alternative
1/2 scoop chocolate whey (15g)
1 tsp cocoa

Cream:
5 tbsp chestnut purée (I used a Merchant Gourmet brand which can be found in most supermarkets)
1/4 cup Koko milk (any milk or milk alternative will do)
1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
6 soaked small dates
1&1/2 scoops cookie & cream whey (any flavour whey will do)
1 tsp vanilla essence
50g 70% dark chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the dates in boiling water for at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

To make the crust:
3. Blend the egg in the food processor until frothy.
4. Add the almonds & blend until the almonds are small chunks.
5. Add & blend the ghee, coconut flour, oats, Koko milk or other chosen 'milk', cocoa & chocolate nut whey together.
6. Spoon the mixture on to a silicone tray or a baking tray lined with baking paper.
7. Smooth the mixture down with the back of a spoon.
8. Transfer crust to preheated oven for 11 minutes.
9. When the crust is done, set it aside to cool.

To make the 'cream':
10. Take the dates out of the water & transfer to a bowl.
11. Mash the dates with a fork.
12. Add & mix the ghee & chestnut purée with a spoon to create a paste.
13. Add the Koko or your chosen 'milk' & the vanilla essence & mix until combined.
14. Scoop in the whey & mix until smoothly combined.
15. Stir in the chocolate chips.
16. Spoon mixture on to the cooled crust & spread evenly with a spoon or spatula.
17. Transfer to the freezer for at least 2 hours - the longer the better, overnight would be perfect!

(When it was done I cut it up in to 16 squares.)

Enjoy munkies! :)