Cranberry Bliss Bars

Day 7 of “The Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes” is bringing you a familiar favorite, my healthy twist on the Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bar. Every time I go into Starbucks to get my usual iced coffee, I glance over at the glass case housing all the desserts and assorted pastries, it’s actually really good for new dessert recipe inspiration. 🙂 While these treats look amazing I know how much hard work I would have to do just to burn that sweet treat off my behind! This decadent Holiday treat will set you back 280 calories, 14 grams of fat and 26 grams of pure sugar.

My skinny version of the Cranberry Bliss Bar uses freshly ground old-fashioned oats, heart healthy coconut flour and coconut oil, dried cranberries and is sweetened with the plant-based miracle ingredient, Stevia.

If you love cranberry, check out my recipe for Cinnamon Cranberry Protein Muffins! 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup Oat flour (you can also ground about 1 1/4 cup old-fashioned or gluten-free Oats)
1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
1 cup Stevia in the Raw
1/3 cup Coconut flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened, reduced-fat shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:

1.) In a large mixing bowl combine oat flour, coconut flour, stevia, baking soda and ONLY 1/4 cup of the shredded coconut. Lightly stir with a fork until dry ingredients are incorporated.

2.) Next, add melted coconut oil and stir for a couple seconds.

3.) Add the unsweetened almond milk and vanilla extract until there is no longer any visible dry flour. Do NOT over mix. Finally, add in the cranberries. Lightly fold them in until they are evenly distributed.

4.) Flatten batter onto a shallow and lightly greased pan. I used a 7 x 11″ baking pan for a thinner bar. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut on top of the bars.

*You could also use an 8 x 8″ pan for a thicker bar. Keep in mind you will have to cook them longer. You could even mold these into cookies!

5.) Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until bars are golden brown. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

Created By: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.

Gingerbread Protein Pancakes

I have been baking up a storm this week! The sixth day of “The Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes” is delivering some muscle-building Gingerbread Protein Pancakes. This morning was the perfect time to make a new breakfast recipe because I happened to have the morning off work and Oliver watches Baby Einstein when he wakes up so I had a solid 30 minutes of free time. 🙂

Protein pancakes are one of the quickest recipes to make, throw all the ingredients into a bowl, stir and throw on a hot skillet. You can make a bunch at one time and toss a couple in some Tupperware and have a healthy snack for later in the day. Genius!

All you have to do to make this a “Holiday” flavored recipe is throw in some ground ginger and molasses and you have the festive and warm flavors of gingerbread. You can also try my Gluten free Gingerbread bars for a late night snack. 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten free Oat Bran (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 scoop whey protein (I used vanilla, chocolate may work better)
1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
3 egg whites
3 teaspoons molasses
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk or water
1 + 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger *add more for a stronger flavor
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.)In a large mixing bowl, combine oat bran, whey protein powder, ground ginger and cinnamon. Stir gently with a fork.

2.) Next add the wet ingredients, Greek yogurt, egg whites and almond milk. Stir until all ingredients are completely combined.

3.) Pour batter into medium sized pancakes over a lightly greased skillet on medium heat.

4.) Flip the pancakes when they start to firm up around the edges.

*Makes 6 pancakes.

Creadted By: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.

Light & Sweet Pumpkin Cornbread

Day Four of the “Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes”! Here we are with a special treat, Light & Sweet Pumpkin Cornbread that you can serve for breakfast, bring to an office Holiday party,serve as an appetizer or eat with my yummy Black Bean Turkey Chili recipe! 

This recipe is completely “SKINNY” compared to a regular old cornbread recipe. Most recipes call for butter, oil and loads of sugar and this recipe is FREE of ALL of those fattening things. The best part is you still get all the flavor and yummy crunch that you get from traditional cornbread with a little hint of the SUPER FOOD, pumpkin!

Give this recipe a try and don’t feel guilty about having a satisfying piece of cornbread during the Holidays!

*Inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup Oat flour (Can sub whole wheat flour or gluten-free Oat Bran)
1/3 cup Stevia in the Raw
1/4 cup pumpkin puree (can sub sweet potato puree)
1/4 cup Light Coconut milk (canned works best)
1 tablespoon Coconut Nectar (can sub agave nectar or honey)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
3 tablespoons cold water
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon maple extract

*Fun Foodie Fact: In this recipe I use coconut nectar instead of agave nectar or honey. Coconut nectar is extracted from coconut blossoms from the coconut tree and naturally contain vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It is one of the lowest glycemic liquid sweeteners and is very low in fructose, so it is a better substitute for agave nectar.

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons cold water. Stir for 20 seconds and set aside.

3.) In a large mixing bowl, combine ground cornmeal, oat flour, stevia, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Lightly mix with a fork until blended.

4.) Next add pumpkin puree, coconut milk, coconut nectar, flax seed mixture and maple extract. Gently stir until there is no more visible dry flour. DO NOT OVER MIX!

5.) Lightly spray a loaf pan OR muffin tin. Pour mixture in desired pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Baking time may be less if you decide to bake in muffin tins.

6.) Let cool completely before cutting or serving!

*Makes one small loaf of bread OR 6 muffins.

I’m going to leave you with this Holiday themed picture of my little boy, Oliver playing with Christmas lights under his very first Christmas tree! Happy Holidays to you and your family! : )

Written by: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.

Twelve Days of Xmas: Chicken Parmesan Quinoa

Day 3 of “The Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes” is in the books! This amazingly healthy Chicken Parmesan Quinoa is full of protein, fiber and very low in fat. Every year on Christmas Eve my mom makes some sort of traditional Italian pasta dish. Usually either Lasagna, Stuffed Shells or Chicken Parmesan. I have a total LOVE/HATE relationship with Italian food, it is by far my favorite kind of food, but being very into fitness and nutrition I rarely indulge with an Italian dish. So today I was racking my brain thinking of a savory dish I could do for you. A healthy lasagna was my first thought but that’s been done a zillion times. I haven’t seen a very healthy Chicken Parmesan Quinoa recipe, so here we are!

I just threw this together today! I enjoyed it for lunch and will have plenty of leftovers. And the best part is that you don’t need a lot of ingredients. One ingredient that you may need to run to the store to grab is my super special ingredient, cutting a lot of calories in this dish and making it lactose-free. It’s mozzarella style Almond Cheese! It sounds strange but is so yummy and melts really well. It’s a super healthy cheese alternative you can find at Whole Foods or Fresh Market. Of course if you’re totally unwilling to try Almond Cheese, you can substitute a fat-free mozzarella cheese.

This would be a wonderful dish to bring over to a Holiday dinner or to make on New Years’ Day for a nice, healthy dinner to start your new year off right!

Ingredients:

1-2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups organic quinoa, cooked
1/2 cup mozzarella Almond cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups organic tomato sauce
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Sea salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups already cooked quinoa and one large chicken breast that has been precooked and shredded. * You can brown a few large chicken breasts on both sides and add them to the top of the quinoa/sauce mixture if you’d rather have individual chicken breasts.

3.)Add minced garlic cloves and chopped, fresh basil leaves the the chicken and quinoa mixture. Add sea salt & black pepper to taste. Next add 1 cup tomato sauce and use a fork to gently combine the ingredients. Spread the mixture into a casserole dish and pour the remaining 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on top. *I used a shallow casserole dish so if you want a large casserole that feeds many, double the recipe and use a large, deep casserole dish.

4.) Add 1/2 cup shredded Almond cheese on top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes.

Serve HOT and ENJOY!!!

Created by: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.