Cream of Rice Protein "Sugar" Cookie Recipe

I've always been a cookie fiend. Growing up, mom would always have homemade cookies on the cupboard and even in the freezer for the next time we needed a sugary snack. When meals get monotonous, as they are often are on prep for a competition, I try to change things up.

Today, I did just that.

Cream of Rice Protein "Sugar" Cookies. 

You might be thinking, "how in the world is she making sugar cookies while on her strict bodybuilding meal plan?" That's the funny part -- they are not sugar cookies. However, with a few awesome ingredients, they have a similar taste and consistency to the most recent sugar cookies I had [over Christmas]. Sigh... so long ago.

Many of today's food and nutrition companies are using science to their and our advantage. They can research and test many flavors and components. They also make them safe and affordable for consumption. These are a few reasons why I love Optimum Nutrition supplements. Not only are their products tasty, but they are very transparent and forward to consumers about why they create their products to help others find their "true strength". 

The past few months, I have had a hankering for "cake", "birthday cake" and "cake batter" flavors. Don't ask me why. Bizarre, I know. Therefore, when I placed my next order to stock up on whey protein, I chose the cake batter flavor of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein.

YUM.

Healthy Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread Recipe

I have a severe weakness for desserts. When you get chocolate or peanut butter as options, it becomes dangerous. Put them together, and, well, then I cave. The first time I saw this recipe for Cookies and Cups Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread, my heart skipped a beat. Her imagery is gorgeous and the bread looked divine.

I did not go back to that recipe for quite some time. Now that I am living a healthier lifestyle, I have been challenging myself to make "dirty, unhealthy" recipes "clean" options. Over Christmas break, my mom and I were in the kitchen and I had the urge to bake. Dad has always enjoyed mom's banana breads and he likes peanut butter and chocolate. The light bulb lit up! Here was the opportunity to help my mom and dad start using easy, clean recipes, while foods they would enjoy.

I scrounged through mom's cupboards to see what ingredients I could work with. Rather than add peanut butter cup minis like the recipe called for, I found some holiday M&M Crisps to incorporate.

Yum, happy holidays to my family! I ended up eating most of it though.

The best thing about this recipe is it will be naturally sweet thanks to the bananas and Greek yogurt. You can add some Stevia packets or honey for added sugar taste. Also, all the ingredients are easy to find or you will probably have them on hand already!

PB&J Quest Protein Muffins for National Dessert Day

Happy National Dessert Day! I needed a dessert after a long workday. Lucky for me, I was feeling adventurous in the kitchen and threw a few cupboard and refrigerator staple items to make a new, protein-packed recipe self titled, PB&J Quest Protein Muffins.

The recipe yields 4 muffins, 100 calories per muffin. You can customize this recipe however you like. I chose to add a tablespoon of Justin's almond butter on top of mine because I needed some more healthy fats and protein for my daily macronutrients. (That is not included in the 100 calories)

Did you have Protein Pancakes for National Pancake Day?

Sometimes, I get adventurous with my cooking. This week proved that. And since today is National Pancake Day, here are the delectable Protein Pancakes I made.

My recipe was inspired by this one from Shredz. I think mine look healthier. :) Below is my adjusted recipe. What do you think?

I'm a baker not a ballerina

Outside of my 40 hour work week, I wanted to find some other ways to stay active and healthy! Two of these hobbies that go hand-in-hand are cooking and exercising. On Friday night, I took my Betty Crocker skills to the kitchen by baking some blueberry banana muffins! You may think that is an odd combination, but after 20 minutes in the oven, they proved heavenly to the taste buds.

I discovered this Pinterest recipe (of course) from In Vogue at Home and will definitely be using it in the future! ***FYI, images above were taken by me. This was the first morsel of Milwaukee apartment cooking, and now I need to find some new recipes to test out as well.