Chocolate Toffee Banana Pie

     Big shout out to my friend Andrea at Andrea's Protein Cakery ( IG @proteincakery), for her creative genius !!!  She continually provides us with wonderful new yummy desserts to keep us on our toes, ... but still able to fit in our pants!!!  We bow down to you!!!  ;)  This pie will tickle your tastebuds for only 298 calories, 15g net carbs, and 20g protein. I hope you will have the luxury of whipping this baby together very very soon  ;)  PS  I did change a couple things, so if it doesn't work out it's probably my fault and not hers ... just sayin'  :0

Ingredients for crust~
1/3 cup Almond Butter ( I had some Cashew Butter on hand, so I used that)
1/3 cup Almond Milk ( I use the 30 cal/cup)
1/2 cup chocolate Warrior Blend Protein Powder ( I only had Chocolate Whey, so I used that)
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder

Banana Layer~
1 1/2 Bananas, sliced

Ingredients for Caramel/Toffee filling~
1 Tablespoon Agar Powder
1/2 cup water, heated to boil
1 teaspoon Toffee Stevia
1 Tablespoon Carob Powder ( I used Cocoa Powder as that is all I had on hand)
1 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

Ingredients for Cream Topping~
1 1/2 cups Cashews, soaked for 4 hours in water~then rinse and drain ( I started mine before I went to bed the night before)
1/2 medium Banana, mashed
1/2 cup Almond Milk ( I use the 30 cal/cup)
1/4 teaspoon Toffee Stevia

     Mix the Cashew Butter and Almond Milk from crust ingredients, after blended then mix in remaining crust ingredients and pat into Pam sprayed pie dish and bake at 325 for 10 minutes, or till cooked and firm.  Remove and cool, set aside.  Meanwhile, mix all the Topping ingredients together ( I used my Magic Bullet), then set in freezer to cool.  Then add boiling water to Agar Powder in mixing bowl and blend with hand mixer til cooled off, then add remaining filling ingredients and blend well.  Lay Banana slices on top of cooled pie crust and pour filling on top of Banana layer.  Set the pie in freezer to to firm up the filling, then top with Cream Topping.  I used a few Cacao Nibs for garnish, or you can use some shaved chocolate curls if you desire to garnish.  Enjoy  ;)

Roasted Cauliflower Garbonzo Bean Quinoa Italian Salad

     I'm on a Roasting kick lately and want to bake everything I can get me hands on ... I saw a recipe for Roasted Grapes the other day, ... but not sure I'm buying that one ...  :/   This salad has some of my favorite things in it, so I hope you will give it a try!  It pairs perfectly with any grilled meats, so heat up the grill and have a scrumptous dinner tonight !!!  ;)

Ingredients~
Head of Cauliflower, chopped
Large Yellow Onion, chopped
EVOO
Dash Salt
Dash Garlic Powder
1/2 cup Quinoa, simmer for 20 minutes with 1 cup water~refer to package directions
1 Tablespoon Pinenuts, toasted
1 can Garbonzo Beans, drained
Red Bell Pepper, diced
2-3 Green Onions, diced
Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing, or Dressing of your choice
Torn Kale for base of Salad

     Chop Cauliflower into small florets, and lay into foil lined pan along with diced Onion.  Drizzle with EVOO and make sure all vegetables are lightly covered.  Sprinkle with Salt and Garlic Powder.  Bake at 425 for one hour, after 30 minutes remove and re arrange in pan to cook evenly. While baking, bring Quinoa and water to boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, then remove from heat.  During this time, you can toast the Pinenuts by adding Pinenuts to skillet on low heat and VERY SLIGHTLY bring to golden brown by cooking over low heat for 3-4 minutes.  These can scorch very easily so keep a close eye.  When ready, add Cauliflower to mixing bowl, then drained Garbonzo Beans, Quinoa, and diced Red Bell Pepper, and stir thoroughly.  Top with Green Onion and Pinenuts, then drizzle with Italian Dressing.  Serve on bed of torn Kale.  Enjoy  ;)

Roasted Harvest Salad

     I can't help but start thinking about Fall Harvest and Roasting everything I can get my hands on !!!  I always use carrots in my salads, but thought I would give a little heat to those root veggies and see what happens!!!  Spoiler alert, they were FANTASTIC !!!  Next time you throw together a salad, try adding a few roasted vegetables and enjoy the deeper flavors of Fall  ;)

Ingredients~
6 large carrots, cut into julienne pieces
EVOO
Salt, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste
1 head of Romaine, chopped
2-3 handfuls of Baby Spinach leaves
3-4 stems of Kale, torn from stalk
5 Green Onions, diced
Red Bell Pepper, chopped
Green Bell Pepper, chopped
Half a Bunch of Cilantro leaves
4-5 Stalks Celery, sliced
Container Champagne Grapes
Fresh Apple, diced
Grilled Chicken, diced
Grilled Salmon, diced
Dried Cranraisin,desired amount
Dried chopped Dates, desired amount
Chopped Almonds

     Cut 5 large carrots into at least 4 pieces each and rub with EVOO, sprinkle lightly with salt and garlic powder.  Roast in foil lined pan at 375 for 30 minutes or til crisp tender.  Layer all the other Salad ingredients in the order that is listed ( unless you feel like living on the edge and being a rebel with out a cause, ... and then you can layer in any order you darn well please ... ;) Top with Roasted Carrots, Salad Dressing of your choice and Enjoy  :)

White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Yogurt

     WOWZERS !!!  Lovin the Raspberry and White Chocolate Combo !!!  Thankfully Quest has the perfect bar for my yogurt needs!!!  For these 3 servings, each serving is 201 calories, 12.75g carbs, and 24.7g protein. Such a dealio !!!  ;)

Ingredients~
3 Carbmasters Raspberry Yogurts
6oz fresh Raspberries
1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
1 Tablespoon Erythritol
1 Scoop Isothority Vanilla Protein Powder
1 White Chocolate Raspberry Quest Bar, cut into small pieces
Dash Cinnamon

     Stir all ingredients in 9X13 pan and put in freezer, remove and stir every 45 minutes til desired consistency~usually 3-4 times.  Serve and Enjoy  ;)

Vanilla Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies

     Ok so, ... I've stumbled across a new website that allows you to build your own Oatmeal and Powdered Peanut Butter, myoatmeal.com !!!  0-0   WOWEE !!!  So I had to try the Red Velvet Oatmeal and the Vanilla Frosting PB Powder, and what better way to put them to use but to combine them with a couple Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bars and whip up some Brownies!!! And even better yet, out of the 9 Brownies, each one only has 132.6 calories, 6.1g carbs and 12.1g protein!  ;)

Ingredients~
1/3 cup Vanilla Frosting Peanut Butter Powder, or PB2 or Chocolate PB2
1/3 cup Almond Milk ( I try to use the 30 cal/cup)
2 Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bars, diced into small pieces
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
2oz or 48 Amonds
1/4 cup Red Velvet Oatmeal or Regular Oats
1 Tablespoon Raw Cacao Nibs or Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Tablespoons Erythritol
1/2 cup Egg Whites

     Combine Peanut Butter Powder and Almond Milk and set aside.  Dice Quest Bars, and set aside.  In Magic Bullet combine Almonds, Oats and Cocoa Nibs til powdered, and add to mixing bowl, along with Quest Bars, Protein Powder, Erythritol, and Egg Whites.  Pour mixture into Pam sprayed 9X9 baking pan and drizzle with Peanut Butter Frosting.  Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, remove and Enjoy  ;)

Chicken Fajita Taco's

     Could you just die over those new purple bell peppers!!!???  How adorable are those suckers!!!???  I just had to try them out in a recipe for the sheer beauty of it!  After all, it's just about the color palate, right!?  And, I have to say they made a perfect masterpiece!  yeah for me  ;)

Ingredients~
Large Tomato, diced and drained on a paper towel for several hours
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon EVOO
Large Yellow Onion, diced
Heaping teaspoon chopped jarred Garlic
Dash Cayenne
Dash Cumin, to taste
Dash Chili Powder, to taste
Dash Salt, to taste
Medium Potato
4 colors Bell Pepper, diced~Purple, Yellow, Green, and Red
Grilled Chicken, sliced
Fat Free Refried Beans
Avocado, sliced
Salsa
La Tortilla Factory Low Carb White Flour Shells

     Dice Tomato, and drain on paper towel all day long or as long as possible.  Add 1 Tablespoon EVOO to skillet to heat, then add diced Onion, Garlic, Cayenne, Cumin, and Chili Powder til Onions are golden brown.  Meanwhile, dice Potato into small cubes and rub with teaspoon EVOO, and add to skillet to brown after Onion has turned a golden brown, all of this will probably take 30-40 minutes, then add diced Tomato's, and all 4 colors of sliced Bell Peppers till crisp tender.  Then add sliced grilled Chicken to heat thru.  Spread Fat Free Refried Beans on top of Tortilla, top with Avocado Slices, then Chicken Mixture and finish with Salsa.  Wrap and Enjoy  ;)