Vanilla glazed doughy protein bars – 90 calories and 10 g protein each!

Hi my dear readers!

Well I do owe you some explaining my dear readers, but first of all: I’ve missed you and the blog. Secondly; I haven’t really been able to update the blog because of a couple of reasons and I do owe you (and myself) an apology.

Tough times

I’ve lost a family member and it’s has just been extremely tough to cope everything and juggle work plus studies at the same time. This accident made me forget how therapeutic baking and cooking can be so the last weeks I’ve been living of quark and quest bars, every day.

At first I was just buried in work and studying and sort of distracted myself but now I feel like I’m really getting better day by day and I’ve recently rediscovered my passion for baking. It’s truly therapeutic and gives me so much needed peace. But let’s forget about all that! Here’s a recipe I’ve been experimenting with lately:

Protein bar recipe
Fudgy, chewy glazed peanut and almond bars! Great macros, super easy and quick recipe that’ll satisfy your sweet tooth. Here goes:

8 T peanut flour (48g)

2 scoops vanilla whey (60 g)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Stevia drops to taste (about 10-20)

A pinch of salt

1 tsp almond essence

1 egg

1 egg white (27 g)

1/4 cup or 0.6 dl unsweetened almond milk

1 T unsweetened applesauce (8 g)

2 T fiber syrup  (50 g) (or you might use something like Vitafiber)

2 tsp coconut oil (10 g)

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 175 C and grease a 8×8 inch or 22×22 cm big baking pan. Combine all the dry ingredients for the bars in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients besides the fiber syrup. Mix the wet with the dry and pour the sirap into a small bowl and microwave on high for about 20 seconds. Quickly pour the boiling syrup into the batter and stir. Once fullt combined; pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for about 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze and glaze the bars as soon as they’re cool.

Macros for one bar out of eight;
Calories: 90
Fats: 3 g
Protein: 10 g
Carbs: 7 g

So, how’s life?

Easy, no-bake low calorie fudge – 47 calories

University, huh? New job, huh? New gym routine, huh? New diet, huh? Well.. all I can say is that I’ve been busy working two jobs and studying. On top of that; I had to rethink my whole gym and exercise routine and start a diet period that requires a lot of planning and thinking. So you could say that there are many changes coming my way right now. I’m fairly young and it’s normal for people my age but as soon as I’ll settle in my new life I’ll be back blogging. Meanwhile, take a look at this recipe for healthy fudge.

Packed with healthy fats and protein, this fudge has no sugar nor bad stuff; it’s just pure deliciousness that’s naturally grain and gluten free. It’s also a very fair way to stick to your diet.

Recipe rundown

1 T lemon juice

1/2 T coconut oil (15 g)

One can precooked, drained and rinsed white beans (or other beans, I used a mix) (200 g)

1 T coconut flour (14 g)

2 soaked medjool dates (11 g)

1 t toffee or vanilla essence

Sweetener to taste

Puree the beans using a hand blender or a food processor and add the rest of the ingredients. Cover a small dish with plastic wrap and spread out the mixture evenly. Cover the mixture with another layer of plastic wrap and press it down to make it spread even. Leave in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.

Macros for 1 piece out of 8:

Calories: 47

Fats: 2 g

Protein: 2 g

Carbs: 5 g

Now I’m going to grab one of these pre workout muffins before it’s time to hit the running track and then I’m off to work! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for more updates. What’s your Instagram account? 🙂

Quick, sweet and spicy beef stew for 205 calories

Monday! New week and I just love the smell of opportunity. I’ve done my placement test for a language course in Singapore I’m going on in 12 days. Don’t worry, I got you covered with recipes even if I’ll be gone in 3 weeks. I was really (oddly?) pleased to hear that we’ll have to cook our own food. Great opportunity to learn to cook with local ingredients and experiment.

Oh well. Busy weeknights huh? Well today wasn’t different so just the bare thought of quick dinner pleases me deeply. Since my trips destination is Singapore, I felt like asian stir fry (or stew fry?) was fairly suitable today. So, I’ve decided upon making a healthy low calorie stew that can be enjoyed just as it is or with rice, soba- or shiratake noodles.

300 g lean beef
1 big yellow bell pepper (200 g)
2 handfulls haricots verts (200 g)
1 big head of broccoli (350 g)
3 medium sized mushrooms (100 g)
A bunch of scallions (230 g)
1/2 cup or 1 dl unsweetened pistachio milk
1/3 cup or 0,7 dl low fat coconut milk
3 T Japanese low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp arrow root starch (5 g)
2,5 T sugar free ketchup (40 g) (Mine was sweetened with stevia but if you can’t find that, don’t worry, just by a low calorie version and add some sweetener of choice)
2 cubes of chicken stock
1/2 or 1 dl cup water
1 T rice vinegar
A splash of lime juice
1 T sesame seeds (10 g)
A piece of ginger, about as big as a coin (25 g)
1 garlic clove
Coconut oil or nonstick cooking spray for greasing the pan

Start with chopping all the veggies and the beef. Since you’ll be working with high heat, timing is essence. Heat a large wok pan to medium heat. Chop the scallions, diagonally, both white and green parts and mince both the garlic and the ginger. Put those three, along with the sesame seeds in the pan and cook until the scallions are tender. Add the stock and the water and bring to a boil. Add the veggies, heat up to high heat and stir until veggies are half done.

Stir in the coconut milk, pistachio milk, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, ketchup and the arrow root until everything is well combined and you have a sauce that you’re happy with. Season with spices like sweet or hot paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper and turn of the heat. Add the beef immediately and stir until the beef is done. This technique will hopefully keep your meat from overcooking because since you’re working with lean meat – it’s reaaaally easy to do so.

The recipe makes 4 portions and here are the macros for one portion:
Calories: 205
Fats: 5 g
Carbs: 16 g
Protein: 22 g

Filling and creamy yet skinny green pea and edamame soup – 78 calories

It’s quite no big deal that a soup turns out pretty low on calories since it’s often only based on veggies, broth and water. However, I happen to find most diet soups really unpleasant. Yeah, they’re fairly easy to make and they can be bold on flavors but seriously – some soups are just a mushy disaster that fills you up temporary and then leaves you like craving for more.

Well, a meal like that won’t do in my kitchen. Although, yesterday I was really stressed and wanted a meal that doesn’t require much prep work nor time. I put together some ingredients I found in my fridge (that’s best way to cook a soup in my opinon) and the outcome was a healthy and filling soup that was pretty low on calories but yet hearty. I really enjoyed it and I’m sure it will appear on my kitchen table again soon!

1 1/3 cup or 2,6 dl (200 g) green peas
1/3 cup or 0,8 dl (50 g) edamame beans
A handful baby spinach
1 small onion
1 1/2 cup or 3,5 dl water
2 medium sized garlic cloves
1/2 cup or 1 dl (100 g) quark or greek yoghurt (plus additional for garnish) (for vegan version: sub the quark with soy yogurt)
1 head of broccoli (240 g)
2 cubes sugar free organic vegetable stock
1 packet silken tofu (300 g)
1 T white wine vinegar
3 T (15 g) nutritional yeast
Some sweetener of choice to taste
Some fresh dill

Chop the garlic and onion and cook them in a large greased pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally. As soon as they start to brown; add the stock cubes and the water. Stir until combined and chop the broccoli and tofu into fairly small pieces. Put the the peas, beans, tofu, broccoli, yeast, vinegar and lastly the spinach in your pot, cover and cook over medium heat until the broccoli’s tender or about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender, add the quark and process until smooth. Season with fresh chives and salt and pepper and serve with fresh dill and quark.

The recipe makes 7 servings and macros for one serving are:
Calories: 78
Fats: 2 g
Protein: 10 g
Carbs: 9 g

Truly satisfying fudgy and rich chocolate tart for ONLY 71 calories!

Woha, yesterday sure was a great day. I’m sosososo proud over this cake! Guys please, I really want you to share this experience with me so please run to the kitchen as soon as you finish reading. Trust me on this one, it’s really something.

Last night I craved chocolate like reaaaal bad but I didn’t wanted to cheat so I decided to try my luck and experiment with a low calorie cake. Healthy but skinny and low calorie food often comes out a bit flat and you miss out on that satisfying and mouthfilling feel because the limited use of fats. Since I dislike the idea of letting the taste depend on fat, I often try to cut down on the fat by using substitutes and making sure the flavors are big instead. It’s a fairly hard task but yesterday, the baking fairy was in my kitchen and I luckily created a dessert who would make most people think it’s naughty simply because it was truly rich and decadent.

This rich, healthy yet skinny chocolate tarte came out tasty and was totally satisfying, mouthfilling and made me feel like I was cheating on my diet but the best part was that is was 71 calories per slice! It was gluten free and super easy and quick too! I ended up eating four pieces with absolutely no guilt at all.

1/2 (80 g) avocado
1/2 cup or 1 dl (100 g) quark or greek yogurt
1 medium sized egg
2 egg whites (56 g)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 small cans black beans (280 g)
1/3 cup or 0,8 dl (30 g) cacao powder
1 T (15 g) peanut butter
1/2 cup or 1 dl sweetener of choice
A dash carob powder (optional yet recommended to give it a bit earthy flavor, perhaps cardamom will work too)
A pinch of salt
A splash Walden farms pancake syrup

Preheat the oven to 325 F or 160 C. Blend everything in a blender or a food processor and pour mixture into a greased 28 cm or 10 inch round baking pan. I recommend sprinkling some millet meal in the pan before pouring in the mixture just to get a thin bottom. One teaspoon will do! Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Let cool and eat half of the cake guilt free. Trust me on this one, it’s really hard to believe it’s healthy AND skinny.

Macros for one piece out of ten:

Calories: 71
Fats: 4 g
Protein: 5 g
Carbs: 6 g