Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake (soy-free)

This is an easy-to-make, high-protein pumpkin pie smoothie that will give you all the fall vibes! It’s packed with gut health-boosting collagen, healthy fats and has 37g of protein (or more depending which brand of collagen you use)!

This fall, I was invited to a member appreciation night at my local Hotworx where all of us health practitioners and beauty vendors were able to share our services with other members. I whipped up this pumpkin protein shake recipe to serve to members who were just getting done with their workouts and it was a huge hit!

Everyone was blown away by how delicious it tasted. I think one thing that made this pumpkin protein smoothie such a hit is that it actually tastes like pumpkin, and even though it does have half a banana, you can’t taste it at all.

I loved sharing this smoothie with my fellow gym goers so they could see how to get a high amount of supplemental protein in a meal with a smoothie. This smoothie would be great for breakfast, as a snack, or pre or post-workout meal.

Why do we need to eat enough protein daily? Protein is vital to good health, it’s often called the building block of life and for good reason…you literally can’t survive without it. Protein is in every cell of your body and it’s critical that you have enough each day for your body to build and repair cells. Protein is also an important component of your bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, skin, blood and more.

Having a high protein intake per day is important overall but especially as you age because you now have a much higher protein requirement to maintain muscle mass - mainly because your system is no longer dominated by hormones like when you were young. Yet many people eat much lower amounts of protein as they age because they look at it negatively for various reasons (or appetite decreases over time), rather than them looking at the massive benefits that protein provides.

The goal as you age is to maximize muscle protein synthesis so that you can preserve lean tissue - over time, it will help with strength, bone health and other essential functions keeping you mobile and balanced.

What makes protein so special? Protein is an essential nutrient that is made up of 20 building blocks known as amino acids. 9 of the 20 are essential amino acids meaning the body cannot make them on its own and we must get them from quality protein sources in our diet. The other 11 amino acids can be created by the body, making them non-essential amino acids.

We must obtain the 9 essential amino acids from mainly animal and some plant sources…but it’s important to note that most plant proteins are not a “complete protein” and are not as bioavailable as animal proteins due to the amino acid profile, as well as issues with digestion and absorption. Because of this, you essentially need to just about double the amount of plant proteins to get enough quality protein your body can utilize.

This shake is made up mostly of plant proteins, as well as protein from bovine collagen so it provides MOST of the essential amino acids. But have no fear, because if you have a well-rounded diet of mainly animal proteins mixed with some plant protein, you should be able to achieve the amount of protein and essential amino acids to achieve your daily needs.

Before we get to this recipe, you’re probably wondering how you can insure that you are getting enough protein per day. The studies that look at protein intake and gaining muscle mass vary from 0.8-1.0+ gram per pound bodyweight, so it’s safe to say a balanced approach would be most beneficial, so around 1g per pound bodyweight is highly effective.

High Protein Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake (soy-free & dairy-free)

• 1 serving protein powder, such as Thorne MediBolic Cinnamon (18g of protein) or Designs for Sport Beef Protein Vanilla Use affiliate code AWAKENED10 for 10% off (21g of protein - If you choose a vanilla protein powder, add cinnamon to the smoothie)

• 1 serving Great Lakes collagen powder (11g of protein) or Vital Collagen (18g of protein)

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

• 1/2 frozen banana

• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut or almond milk

• 1-2 Tbsps nut butter (almond butter, sunflower butter, etc.)

• Stevia powder to taste

Add ice, blend and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I earn a small commission if you use some of the highlighted links to purchase products mentioned in this blog/website. I recommend only products that I would use my own home or that I would recommend to clients. 

Amazon Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes (Soy, Dairy & Gluten-Free)

February is that time of the year when love is in the air and hearts are all a flutter! Not only is it centered around love because of Valentine’s Day, but it’s also American Heart Month! Some of the top ways to keep your heart health in check is by exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet to help you maintain a healthy weight, lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misconception about healthy food tasting bland and boring. I know when most people think of heart-healthy foods, pancakes are not usually the first foods that come to mind. Well, that all changes now!

Some of my favorite recipes to make in the kitchen are pancakes that taste so deceivably good, you won’t believe they are healthy! You may already have many heart-healthy ingredients in your pantry and not even know it.

Here are some heart-healthy ingredient that I love:

Coconut oil like the cold-pressed unrefined organic coconut oil from Kelapo has many amazing health benefits and tastes delicious! It contains Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) which are digested much quicker than any other fats. MCT’s are absorbed directly in the liver, provide sustainable energy throughout the day, and promote weight loss by helping to increase metabolism. Studies have also shown that supplementing with coconut oil daily can increase HDL (good cholesterol) and reduce belly fat!

Read: 4 Healthy Cooking Oils You Should Be Using In The Kitchen

Dark Chocolate is bursting with flavor and full of antioxidants which help to prevent your body from being damaged by free radicals from toxins in our everyday environment. Also, eating moderate amounts of flavanol-rich dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, improve blood flow to your heart and brain, and has a blood-thinning effect, which can benefit cardiovascular health.

Nuts are not only delicious and make a deliciously healthy snack, but they are also great for lowering LDL (bad cholesterol), one of the top offenders for causing heart disease. Nuts are full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats which directly lower bad cholesterol, Omega-3 fatty acids that prevent dangerous heart rhythms that can lead to heart attacks, fiber which helps to keep you full while lowering cholesterol, Vitamin E which may help keep your arteries plaque-free which can lead to heart attacks and other heart complications, and L-arginine which may help to improve the health of your artery walls making them flexible and less prone to blood clotting.

Eggs are a perfect food to eat any time of the day! Sadly they were once vilified because of the high cholesterol content in the yolks, but studies have shown that the cholesterol from eggs does not have an adverse effect on blood lipids. They do, however, include many nutrients including protein, antioxidants vitamins B12 and D, riboflavin, and folate, which may help to lower the risk for heart disease.

Pumpkin is a great low-calorie, high-fiber food to add to your diet and especially while baking! They are a good source of vitamins and minerals, especially beta-carotene, vitamin C, and potassium which have all been linked to fighting heart disease.

Dark Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes (Soy, Dairy & Gluten-Free)

Makes 3-5 small pancakes

• 2 Tbsp Almond flour

• 2 tsp Coconut Flour

• ½ Tbsp Kelapo Coconut Oil plus ½ Tbsp for the pan

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

• 1 Tbsp almond milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 Tbsp dairy-free dark chocolate chips

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice

• 1 Tbsp honey or stevia to taste

• dash of baking soda

 Optional ingredients:

• chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl, if coconut oil has hardened then microwave for about 20 seconds until liquid. Once both bowls are mixed, combine into one bowl and mix well.

Set your stove to medium to medium-low heat, preheat the skillet or pancake pan. Once the pan is warm, toss in a half Tbsp of Kelapo extra virgin coconut oil or coconut oil spray to coat the pan. Pour the batter into the pan, makes about 3-5 small cakes, cook pancakes for a couple minutes on both sides until golden brown, flipping once. Top with maple syrup, coconut oil or almond butter. Bon Appétit!

What are some of your favorite heart-healthy ingredients to cook with?

This post has been updated and was originally posted as a guest post on Kelapo Coconut Cooking Oil’s blog in 2014

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Disclaimer: I earn a small commission if you use some of the highlighted links to purchase products mentioned in this blog/website. I recommend only products that I would use my own home or that I would recommend to clients. 

Amazon Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (soy, dairy & gluten-free)

Coming from the south, I grew up on fried chicken but since going soy and dairy-free plus limiting my gluten intake, I haven't had much room in my life for fried chicken. Not to mention it doesn't do my waistline much good since I mostly try to eat in a way that keeps inflammation low because too much inflammation can cause weight gain and also prevent you from losing fat. I surely don’t need any help in that department!

Fried foods in general are a very high inflammatory food because of the unhealthy cooking oils used to fry the food. I’ve been eating this way for about 11 years so I really haven't missed fried foods much and on the rare instance when I do, I will have a fun meal out on the weekend and then go back to my healthy way of eating the next day.

But over the last couple years, the air fryer has made it much easier to enjoy fried-style foods but without the added fat and oil that comes with deep frying. I mostly use my air fryer to make vegetables like yellow squash during my weekly meal prep but it’s been fun to make healthier French fries and “fried” chicken tenders.

A couple months back, I found these panko style gluten-free rice crumbs from Trader Joe’s. Since then, I've been trying to perfect my gluten-free panko air fryer chicken tender recipe seasoned with everything bagel season. It’s a really simple recipe that you can really make your own depending on your personal taste since you can season any way you want!

For this recipe, I have not included exact ingredient amounts for the crumbs and seasoning because the amounts will really depend on how much chicken you are using. I normally get a bag of the frozen chicken breast tenders at Trader Joe’s and thaw out 6-12 and make them in 1-2 batches.

You don’t want your chicken to be crowded inside the air fryer so you should space them out that way they get nice and crispy. This is why I will usually do 2 batches if I am using more than 6 tenders.

Also, my air fryer is a 6 Qt. size so it can fit a good amount of food at one time but if your air fryer is smaller than that, you might have to do several batches depending how much chicken you make at once.

Gluten-Free Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

• 6-12 chicken breast tenders

• 1-2 eggs

• Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Rice Crumbs

• Salt and pepper

• Everything bagel seasoning

• Cayanne pepper

• Garlic powder

Instructions:

• In a bowl, scramble 1 egg about 6 tenders or use 2 eggs if you are making 6-12 tenders.

• Spray the bottom of your air fryer pan with olive or avocado oil and set to the side.

• In a separate bowl, mix the TJ’s rice crumbs, garlic, cayenne pepper, everything bagel seasoning or any other seasoning combo of your choosing. Go heavy on the seasoning to make sure you have enough to cover all of your chicken!

• Use either thawed chicken breast tenders or get chicken breast and cut them into strips. Salt and pepper the raw chicken, then dip chicken into scrambled egg, flip it a couple times to cover it really well.

• Then dip the chicken into crumb mixture, roll several times to cover them well with the mixture.

• Once coated with crumb mixture, add the chicken to the air fryer pan, salt lightly, add additional everything bagel seasoning, and spray the top of chicken lightly with olive or avocado oil.

• Set air fryer to 400° and cook 5-6 minutes per side. Internal chicken should reach 165° and the outside should be crispy and lightly browned.

  Get ready to enjoy some deliciously healthy, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, NON-deep fried tenders! 😍
  
  As an added bonus, when you are craving some chicken and waffles like Chris and I were this weekend, you can make this healthy version paired with some protein waffles and coconut whip topping and feel pretty dang good about yourself after!

Cranberry, Coconut, Dark Chocolate Chip Protein Balls (soy, dairy & gluten-free)

Another no-bake protein ball recipe coming at ya! This week for our outdoor bootcamp class, I made a delicious cranberry, coconut, dairy-free dark chocolate chip, protein cookie ball recipe! These make a delicious soy, dairy and gluten-free snack!

After I made them, I put 2 protein balls into individual snack bags to make them easy to grab-and-go but you could also throw them into a container and keep them in the fridge or freezer.

Cranberry, Coconut, Dark Chocolate Chip Protein Balls - Serving size: 2 balls


Ingredients:

• 2 scoops Vanilla Tone It Up protein powder

• 1.5 cup old fashioned rolled oats 

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsps Trader Joe’s Sunflower Butter (sugar-free)

• 1/3 cup raw, unfiltered honey

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• Dash of salt 

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

• 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Instructions:

1. Stir all the ingredients together in a bowl until it’s well mixed. **start with 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk and add more as needed.

2. Roll into balls. Put in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes and enjoy! 
   

3. Store in refrigerator or freezer to eat all week long.

Below is the macro breakdown for 1 serving (2 protein balls) but your macro breakdown may be different depending on the ingredients you use.

If you are in Denver or Littleton, CO, come join in on our next outdoor Bootcamp! We would love to see you there!