93 Calorie Biscuits

Tonight I whipped up some super easy gluten and dairy free biscuits - these are great with Earth Balance butter, or honey, or as the base for a breakfast sandwich -

These biscuits puff up without yeast - and they are gluten free and dairy free!

Ingredients

3/4 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour - 300 cal
1/4 cup other flour of choice - coconut, cornmeal, almond etc. - about 100 cal
6 tablespoons egg whites - 50 cal
1 tablespoon olive oil - 100 cal
1/4 cup almond milk - 10 cal
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1 pinch salt                                                            
= 560 calories total, makes 6 biscuits - 93 calories each


Directions:

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees
2. Mix together the dry ingredients
3. Add in the olive oil and almond milk
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy
5. Fold the egg whites into the other mixture until combined
6. Divide into 6 balls and form into biscuits on a parchment paper covered baking sheet
7. Bake for about 18 minutes - cool on a wire rack, store in an airtight container :)

126 Calorie Purple Protein Smoothie

I whipped up this protein shake as a snack between homework and Pure Barre this afternoon - This protein shake only has 3 ingredients, and it has 7.5 grams of protein and 126 calories :)

This shake is also vegan, gluten free, and dairy free if you use Vega Protein powder.

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk - 40 cal

1/2 serving vanilla protein powder - 40 cal

1/2 cup frozen blueberries - 46 calories              

= 126 calories total

1. Combine all ingredients and blend until fully combined

2. Serve cold :)

158 Calorie Hearty Jalapeno Cornbread

Whole Foods makes amazing jalapeno cornbread - but it isn't gluten free - so I decided to try making my own version - (more variations of gluten and dairy free cornbread coming in the future!)

This makes a single serving - you may want to add more stevia/jalapenos depending on how sweet or spicy you want it to be - I topped mine with some Earth Balance Vegan Butter :)

Recipe:

1/3 cup corn flour - 145 cal

1 tbsp and 1 tsp almond milk - 3 cal

1/2 tsp stevia - 0 cal

2-3 jalapenos - 2 cal

1 tbsp egg whites - 8 cal                      

= 158 cal

1. Preheat over to 450 degrees
2.Mix together the corn flour, almond milk, stevia and egg whites
3. Chop up the jalapenos and stir into the batter
4. Press batter into small greased baking dish
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes - let cool, serve warm with butter if desired

50 Calorie Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

Califia Farms makes AMAZING almond milk/coffee blends - and this year they made a Pumpkin Spice Latte version! Their blends don't have quite enough coffee for my taste, and they have quite a few calories - so I like to dilute their mix with my own coffee to make a lower calorie latte

This is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan!

Recipe:
1/2 cup Califia Pumpkin Spice Coffee Mix - 50 calories
12 oz coffee (more or less to taste)

80 Calorie Pumpkin Ice Cream

I love all of the pumpkin-flavored fall foods - but usually they aren't gluten and dairy free so I have to make my own versions :)

I tried making a pumpkin ice cream before, but it didn't turn out well - this was my second try and it turned out much better!

This is gluten free, dairy free and vegan :)

Recipe:

1/2 pint Cake Batter Wink ice cream - 50 calories

1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree - 20 calories

1/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk - 10 calories

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Allspice

1/8 teaspoon Cloves                                                

= 80 calories

1. Mix together the Wink, pumpkin, almond milk, and spices in a stand mixer until fully combined

2. Pour into a small tupperware container and put in the freezer for about 3 hours

3. Serve with soy whip or other toppings

100 Calorie Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

For my next protein smoothie experiment I decided to make a Pumpkin Pie-inspired smoothie. My blender doesn't blend regular ice cubes very well so I made Pumpkin Puree ice cubes over night - I put about 1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree into each ice cube section, they froze pretty quickly so you could probably put them in the freezer for just a few hours instead of overnight

I used the Vega Protein Powder (not the VegaOne all-in-one mix) - it tasted very similar to the VegaOne all-in-one, but it has less calories and it doesn't have all of the other added vitamins - this is the lowest calorie protein powder of the ones I bought to try - and it it is plant-based so it is Vegan :)

This Protein Smoothie has 100 Calories, and it is Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Vegan!

Recipe:

1/2 Packet of Vanilla Protein Powder (a half scoop) - 40 calories
1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk - 40 calories
1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree(frozen into cubes) - 20 calories
1/8 teaspoon Allspice, 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon Cloves (or sub all for Pumpkin Pie Spice)
= 100 Calories

1. Freeze Pumpkin Puree in an ice cube tray overnight - if you skip this step you will want to refrigerate your shake before drinking it, or add some ice cubes to the blender

2. Put almond milk, spices, protein powder, and pumpkin in the blender

3. Blend until smooth - enjoy cold :)

107 Calorie Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie

I started drinking Protein Smoothies last year when I got the NutriBullet on sale at Macy's - since then my mom bought the Ninja and I must say I think that the Ninja works better because it is a more powerful blender, but it does take up more counter space so the NutriBullet is a good option if you don't want a bulky blender and are just looking to make single serving smoothies.

I don't like to eat/cook a lot of meat so Protein Smoothies are a good way for me to get more protein in my diet - especially early in the day because I have them for breakfast. I used to use Whey Protein - and although I have read mixed findings on whether or not it affects those who are lactose intolerant, I have decided to try some other varieties of protein powder in order to find which one works best for me. I bought single-serve packets of a few different types at Whole Foods - these are great if you aren't sure if you like protein powder or if you don't know which type you like best, because you don't have to invest in a large tub of a protein powder that you may end up disliking - I have found that different types and brands can have very different flavors/textures.

The first one I tried was the Egg White Protein in Chocolate Flavor - yesterday I blended half of the packet up with some Almond Milk(90 calories total) - it was just ok, it didn't taste great or terrible, but it DEFINITELY is important to drink this cold (otherwise it is gross) so I chilled mine in the fridge for a few hours after I blended it up and ended up having it as an after-class/pre-workout snack.

I was a little more creative with the second half of the packet - I made a Chocolate Strawberry Protein Shake - this has a few more calories(17.5 cal - from the strawberries) but I think it tastes much better than the plain protein powder and almond milk combination, the strawberries add a true sweetness that covers the fake sweetener taste you can get from the protein powder. The egg white protein worked well in this, it turned out very creamy, almost more like a milkshake than a smoothie.

This Protein shake is Gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian :)

Recipe:

1/2 a Packet of Chocolate Flavored Protein Powder(or half a scoop) - 60 Calories (Egg White Protein)

3/4 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk - 30 calories

1/4 Cup Frozen Strawberries - 17.5 calories                           

= 107.5 calories

1. Add Frozen strawberries to the bottom of your blender cup (slice them if your blender doesn't blend super well)

2. Pour the protein powder on top of the strawberries, then add the Almond milk

3. Blend until smooth - enjoy cold!

145 Calorie Strawberry Cake

I love putting Sugar Free Strawberry Jell-o powder on Apples - so I wanted to see what would happen if I used it in a cake!

This turned out really yummy, it is not very cake-y because of the juice from the strawberries but this would be really good topped with some whipped cream or ice cream - it really has a strong strawberry flavor and it is pretty sweet

This dessert is gluten free, dairy free and egg free!

Recipe:

1/4 cup Oat Flour - 90 calories - 90 calories

1/2 teaspoon Sugar Free Strawberry Jell-O Powder - 10 calories

1/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk - 10 calories

1/2 cup sliced Strawberries - 35 calories                   

=145 calories!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together the Jell-O powder and flour - add the almond milk

3. Pour into greased mini loaf pan, top with strawberries

4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes