Chocolate Banana & Almond Smoothie

I'll be honest, I totally surprised myself with this one! After my HIIT workout this afternoon, I was craving something cold and refreshing, as it is so nice and warm outside!  I didn't feel like my typical fruit smoothie, and I just bought some chocolate protein powder earlier this week that I wanted to try. The results was this wonderful healthy smoothie that tastes just like a chocolate milkshake.

Here are the ingredients:
*2 cups ice
*a handful of almonds
*5 Ounces of yogurt
* 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almondmilk
*1 ride banana

This recipe yields about two servings. 

Throw it all in a blender and have at it! This is my new favorite go to dessert because it is sweet enough to take care of my sweet tooth but also guilt-free. Give it a go and let me know how it turns out! 

Blueberry Banana Smoothie with Coconut Water

Smoothies are seriously my favorite thing. It's so fun adding all sorts of different ingredients that are healthy. For example, I add spinach in all of my smoothies and can't even taste it, but it's great because it's in there and I'm still getting the great nutrients from it!

Frozen berries are my smoothie recipe holy grail. I always keep them stocked in my freezer, especially frozen blueberries (so I can make my killer blueberry muffins!), because they always come in handy for smoothies.

Here's what I used:
-1 cup of frozen blueberries (or unfrozen, just add more ice) 
-1 cup ice
-1 ripe banana
-1 cup coconut water
-5 ounces of Greek yogurt 
-2 tablespoons of chia seed
-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed
-1 scoop whey protein powder

Throw it all in your blender and go crazy! These are rough measurements, as I typically add more or less to adjust the consistency of the smoothie.

I used this coconut water from Trader Joe's:

I topped mine with a few more chia seeds and some dried cranberries :) Give it a try! 

70 Calorie Blueberry Muffins with Vanilla Protein Glaze

I got the idea for these amazing blueberry muffins from simplytaralynn.com. One of my favorite healthy lifestyle blogs. They are almost the same, with a few adjustments :)

Here's what you'll need for the muffins:

-1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
-2 Tsp Baking Powder
-3/4 Cup Stevia In The Raw or baking Truvia
-1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
-3/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
-5 Ounces Vanilla Greek Yogurt
-1 Large Egg
-2 Tsp Vanilla Extract 
-1/2 - 1 Cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
-1-2 Cups Freshly washed blueberries

Here's what you'll need for the glaze:

-A scoop or two of vanilla protein powder
-2 tablespoons (give or take) of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Here's the recipe:

-Preheat oven to 350°
-In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, stevia, and cinnamon)

-In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, except for the milk. (applesauce, egg, yogurt, and vanilla extract)

-Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
-Whisk together, and add 1/2 to 1 Cup of almond milk. (I use 1/2 a cup, depending on ingredient brands you may need a little more!) Batter should be a little runny, but still thick.
-Pour freshly washed blueberries into batter and whisk well.
-Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, and pour batter. Liners should be almost full but not quite!
-Place in preheated oven on the middle rack, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
-While muffins are baking, you can prepare the glaze.
-Test when muffins are done by using the toothpick method.
-Let cool for a few minutes before pouring glaze on them.

How to make the glaze:

-Pour almond milk and protein powder into a small bowl.
-Mix together with a spoon until a thick paste is formed.
*I always play around with the almond milk to powder ratio, the key is not to make too much! So I add a little at a time.

I am not known to be the greatest in the kitchen, and found these to be very simple and easy, and a huge hit among my family and friends. The original version of these muffins also had walnuts in them, so give that a go if you feel like it!