Food

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

makes 12-15 cookies

• 3/4 cup natural peanut butter*
• 1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of almond extract
• pinch of sea salt

*We used creamy peanut butter, but feel free to use crunchy! If you prefer to make this recipe peanut free, these cookies are just as delicious with almond butter!

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Add peanut butter to a large bowl and mix with a fork until soft. Add egg (already beaten), honey or maple syrup, baking powder, almond extract and sea salt and mix well. Continue to mix with a fork until all ingredients are well incorporated. Next, carefully fold in chocolate chunks. Use a teaspoon or mini ice cream scoop to measure out a small amount of dough to drop onto your pre-greased cookie sheet. Alternatively, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. They’ll still be soft when you take them out of the oven, but will harden as they cool.

TIP: Keep these cookies on the smaller side. They are soft and don’t hold up as well if they are larger.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Flourless Pizza:

Recipe for 1 medium pizza (8 slices):

Crust:

- 1 cup if shredded cauliflower or 1/3 of a head of cauliflower

- 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp dried oregano

- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic

Toppings: (this is up to you but I did a veggie Medley):

- 1/2 cup pizza sauce (Healthiest, least amount of preservatives as you can - homemade is best)

- 1/2 cup mushrooms

- 1/2 cup bell pepper (whatever color you want)

- 1/2 red onion

-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Shred cauliflower in a food processor

2. Microwave in a bowl for 8 minutes

3. Mix in about 1/2 cup cheese

4. Crack the egg, oregano and garlic and mix all ingredients together

5. Spray pan with PAM and make a nice pase of cauli-cheese crust

6. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes at 350F

7. Take out crust and take a pancake flipper to make the crust lose from the pan (this way it's easier to get off later) Top with sauce and toppings.

8. Place back in oven for another 10-15 minutes

Take out and enjoy!

Nutritonal Facts:

Calories: 442

Carbs: 36

Fat: 17.9

Protien 39.1

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I got this recipe from the Tone it up nutrition plan and I strongly suggest it. Not only the recipe but the nutrition plan it's been a life saver and I've loved everything I've ever made from it. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 tbs. Grape Seed Oil

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 cup white wine

1 lemon. juiced

1/2lb. fresh shrimp, peeled (we used 13-14 ct so about 3-4 per serving)

4 Cloves of garlic, finely minced

Directions:

Add oil to a medium skilled on low hear. Add in garlic and saute slowly. Just as the garlic starts to brown add in the white wine, lemon juice, pepper and paprika.Stir in ingredients in the skillet and continue to cook on low for about 3 minutes until sauce is formed. Add shrimp carefully into skillet. Bring temperature up to medium. Cook for 3 minutes and flip the shrimp in the pan. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until shrimp is pink. Quickly remove shrimp from heat to keep from  overcooking. Take the cooked shrimp our of the pan and serve with quinoa, and some citrus  and then drizzle the sauce over the meal. Luke does suggest that after you are done cooking the shrimp to reduce the sauce on medium low for 2-3 minutes just to make it a little thicker. 

Then.. Enjoy! Check out the final product! Now, Try this recipe and let me know what you think! 

My verdict is thumbs up!! Good healthy shrimp meal! :-)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ingredients

Makes 2 Servings

Wet:

• 1/2 medium banana, mashed
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 8 drops liquid stevia

Dry

• 7 Tbs Whole Wheat or Gluten Free pastry flour
• 1 scoop of Perfect Fit Protein
• 1  tsp Baking Soda
• 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 pinch of sea salt

Toppings

• 1/3 container Almond or Coconut yogurt
• 1 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup
• 2 Tbs chopped walnuts

Directions

Mix the wet ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix the dry mix into the wet mix, stirring until batter is smooth. Add another 1-2 tbsp. almond milk if necessary, but you want the batter to be  thick otherwise it might run out of the sides of the waffle maker. Cook according to the directions of your waffle maker, and then top with your creamy maple sauce and nuts!

Here is where I got the recipe. You'll notice that it's not from the girls of Tone It Up it's actually a members recipe! I love to see that! I get a lot of my recipes from the TIU girls and about a year ago I took the plunge and bought their nutrition plan. I have to say I ABSOLUTELY love it. So many awesome recipes and information!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Homemade Cheez-Its

Ingredients:

8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature (4 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used gluten free rice flour)

2 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the cheese, butter, and salt. Add the flour and mix on low (dough will be pebbly). Slowly add the water and mix as the dough forms a ball.
2. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin (1/8 inch or less) 10x12 inch rectangle. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer them to the baking sheets.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until puffed and browning at the edges. Watch carefully, as the high fat content of the crackers makes a fine line between golden delicious and burnt. Immediately move the crackers to racks to cool.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving:

• 118 kcal cal.,
• 8 g fat
• (5 g sat. fat,
• 2 g monounsatured fat),
• 24 mg chol.,
• 226 mg sodium,
• 7 g carb.,
• 5 g pro.
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calories

Here is the finished product:

I'm pretty proud of myself! I do have a couple hints - 1. maybe melt the cheese a little little bit. 2. I added way too much water. Which I think made it "soggy" for lack of a better word.