Samoa Cookie Smoothie/Shake

So, my last post was focused on the lovely birthday cake that I made for my lovely, Samoa loving sister (link there). Bottom line? I seem to have been swallowed in a caramelly, chocolatey, coconutty phase. With the cake neatly polished off and not a single crumb in sight, I knew I was going to have to return to square one to satisfy my cravings (our neighborhood seems oddly devoid of door-to-door girl scouts. Where are they when you need them?)

And, since I am completely in love with smoothies that basically taste like milkshakes (oh, the magic of frozen bananas!) I thought, "It's time food a protein smoothies...samoa style."*

*I don't think I actually literally thought this. My mind went something more along the lines of "Ahhh, Hungry!! FEED ME!!" I get grumpy without my snacks.

It looks a lot more chocolatey than it actually is (I didn't want the chocolate flavor to overpower the caramel and coconut), but trust me on this: it's a keeper in my long smoothie line up. Psst... it's only 120 calories, too! You could probably only eat about 2 actual samosa for that amount, and feel a lot less satisfied!

SAMOA COOKIE SMOOTHIE

(this recipe could easily be double for a more hearty post-workout snack)

1/2 frozen banana

2 T. fat free cottage cheese

1/3 scoop vanilla whey

1/3 cup almond milk (add more for thinner)

5-6 ice cubes (add more for thicker)

1 tsp. cocoa powder

1 drop butter extract (optional)

2-3 drops coconut extract

1.5 T. Torani sugar free salted caramel syrup

Pinch Xantham gum

Blend everything but the gum until smooth. Add the gum to thicken it up and blend again until you reach desired consistency. You can always add more banana/ice/cottage cheese to make a larger volume/ thicker shake.

I topped it with coconut to make it look pretty :)

Are you hungry thirsty now?

Hazelnut Mocha Frappacino Smoothie

In case you couldn't tell, I've been on kind of a smoothie kick. They're a great way to sneak in some extra fruit, protein, and, if you can handle it, veggies…Unfortunately, green smoothies just weird me out, so either I need to buy an opaque cup and blender to make them with, or I'm just sticking to the tried and true.

And since I'm a poor college student who is still using her iPhone as her blogging camera… well, I think you can probably guess which of those choices I'm opting for. But hey, I love salad, so I make up for it right?

Evidently, salad loves me right back. Pictured above is a nice little combo I got at a falafel place in Cambridge, MA- plain old green salad topped with enough hummus to make even ME happy (and it was AMAZING hummus. So creamy. I need a recipe) and 4 huge falafels! Plus, a smile, which is priceless in my book.

These past couple of days I have been craving Starbucks HARD. Despite the less-then-optimal weather conditions, this girl is in need of a nice cold frappacino. My dirty little secret… that's the only thing I ever order from Starbucks. Can I really call myself a coffee snob? I'm a fake ! *dramatic sob*

Well, on to the recipe. Coffee snob or no, it's delicious. It's so thick and creamy that I wanted to call it a shake, but it's also a candidate for a smoothie, AND a frappacino. I was going to make the title some ridiculously long thing, but that's neither her nor there (okay, it was going to be Smoothakacino. There. I said it.)

Hazelnut Mocha Protein Frappacino

1 packet instant coffee grounds 

6 large ice cubes (probably a cup?)

1/2 frozen ripe banana

2 T. cottage cheese

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 scoop vanilla whey powder (or chocolate)

1/2 T. dark chocolate cocoa powder

2 T. Sugar-Free Torani Hazelnut Syrup

Pinch Xantham Gum (can omit, but will be icy)

Blend everything but the gum together until smooth. Add the gum and blend until thick. You can always adjust the amount of ice and milk to suit your preferences

Slurp that sucker up and enjoy! It's about 150 calories and 15 grams protein!

Brownie Batter Shake (and shh, it's healthy!)

Do I even need an intro for this, with a title like that?
And pictures like this, even from my crappy iPhone camera:

Yeah, I think not.
This is super chocolatey while not being overly sweet (you could obviously change that pretty readily if you just added some stevia or sugar) and truly does taste like brownie batter in liquified form. And it's low-fat, full of vitamins and minerals from the almond milk and pumpkin, and has lots of protein (gotta have that in our shakes!) Give it a try and you'll slurp it right up!

So thick, it's basically ice cream!

BROWNIE BATTER SHAKE

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

6 ice cubes, or more to desired consistency

1 frozen banana

1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder (optional)

1-2 stevia packets (optional)

1/4 tsp xantham gum (optional)

Topping: 37 calorie brownie (!)

(link here)

You know the drill…blend it all up and slurp!

With the protein powder, it's all about 300 calories, 20 grams protein!

Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie

Some days, you just need a refreshing glass of… cookies?
I tend to hate making recipes that I claim taste "just like" something else, because I never want to disappoint someone who is really craving the real thing. But this time, I'm confident enough to say that this smoothie is basically COOKIE IN LIQUID FORM!

Doesn't that look good?

I have been trying to eat more protein shakes lately because I'm trying to boost up my protein intake, so I thought I'd do a little bit of experimentation with my beloved blender. I wanted something thick, creamy, sweet, and of course, not chalky. If you like oatmeal cookies, I think you will love this, too.

*Note: I didn't really measure things before tossing them in the blender today, so these ingredients are just estimates! You can tweak as you like!

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIE SHAKE

1 frozen banana, broken into chunks

2 T. rolled oats

2 tsp. raisins

1/3 cup low fat cottage cheese (you can't taste it, honest!)

1 scoop vanilla whey powder

1 packet stevia

Dash Cinnamon

1/2-1 cup almond milk

3 ice cubes (I used frozen almond milk so it doesn't dilute)

1/4 tsp. xantham gum (optional, for thicker shake)

Blend it all up until it's nice and thick and creamy! I topped mine with some more raisins and granola for a little bit of a crunch! Slurp it up and try not to get a brain freeze! This smoothie is full of muscle-building protein, healthy fiber, natural sweetness… and it's low-fat too!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Pudding

Some mornings, you just need chocolate.

Or maybe you need…. CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL PUDDING!

This breakfast was one of the first that I had when I started my current journey towards recovery. I think if I had to choose a favorite flavor combination, it would most definitely be chocolate/PB/banana. Elvis would be proud. The creamy, sweet banana mixed with the nutty saltiness of the peanut butter and the decadent, rich chocolate… can we say yum? Now, the decision to make (and eat!) this creation was a big step for me, because peanut butter is actually one of my biggest fear foods. In the old days, I used to dream about it and literally salivate all over my pillow, but I would not let myself consume it. But I came to a turning point where I realized that I depriving myself was only leading to misery. I was tired, cranky, depressed, and, at the root of it all, hungry. My body was starved, and my brain was shrinking. What did I need (and what do all humans need that we seem to be denying ourselves these days?) Fat! That's right. Our body needs fat to stay healthy, keep our skin nice and moist, our hair shiny, and our brains well fed! And often times, cravings are a sign that we are missing something… so listening to them will prevent a later binge and replenish our nutrients.

So yes. I am telling you that it is okay to have chocolate and peanut butter.
It was really hard for me. I was scared, I'll admit it. But this was just one step closer to my goal of recovery. And maybe it can be a step for you as well!

You know you want to try it. Go ahead, it's okay! Peanut butter is full of healthy fats, oatmeal is rich in fiber and whole grains, bananas are filled with potassium, and chocolate has lots of great antioxidants and mood boosting compounds. So this is HEALTHY. No, it's not that fake "diet crap" 100-calorie healthy… it's all-natural, delicious healthy. It's recovery food!
I adapted this from Katie's breakfast pudding here.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 medium sized ripe banana

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk (I used almond)

1-2 packets stevia to taste

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons PB+Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams

(Or, if you don't have any, 2 T. Peanut Butter and 1/2T. cocoa powder)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat water and milk in medium sized stove pot. (Alternatively, you could use all milk or all water, but I like a combination of the two.) Heat until boiling. Add oats and turn down the heat to medium, cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed.
2. Remove oats from stovetop. Pour half into a bowl, and the other half into a blender. 
3. Add remaining ingredients to the blender, except for 1/2 of the banana. This will be reserved for topping your pudding. Blend on high for a few seconds until well-combined.
4. Add pudding mixture from blender into your bowl and mix with the unblended oats. This will give the pudding just a little bit of a chewy texture which I like.
5. Top with slices of banana and dig in! Delicious!

*For those of you who are on meal plans, this whole recipe counts as: 2 starch, 1 fruit, 1 protein, and 2 fat. You can also get in a milk exchange if you use a whole cup of regular milk instead of the almond/water mixture.

*On weight gain and need to condense it a little bit more? Trust me, I know how that feels. Some easy ways to do this without adding too much more volume are: replace milk with half-and-half or heavy cream. You'll get super thick and creamy pudding this way! Also, you could increase the peanut butter to 3 Tablespoons, or add 1/2 scoop of your favorite protein powder for an added protein punch! I personally like chocolate whey!

***I am not posting calorie information because I don't believe it would really be beneficial to most of the people reading this. We need to stop obsessing over the numbers, or being afraid of them, and just enjoy our dang food for once.***