Review: Gourmet Grassfed

I better throw up this review before we leave for the holidays and I totally forget about it. I am so excited to share this product- it truly is quality. I would DEFINITELY buy these and plan on it in the future. I like beef jerky because it’s great for a protein fix to satisfy hunger. But protein shakes and most bars have ridiculous amounts of sugar or questionable ingredients in them.

Gourmet Grassfed is a company that makes organic, grass fed beef jerky products. This is from their website:

“Our Products are gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, MSG free, and GMO free. Pure Protein, and minimally processed. Paleo approved, and several varieties of dried meat snacks are Whole 30 approved.We believe this results in phenomenal flavor and nutrition. The less we do the better.  But please, experience them for yourselves and tell us what you think.”

I’ll go out on a limb and say that this was the best beef jerky I have ever eaten- and not just because they sent me tons of delicious samples for free. It has amazing flavor, and it’s a complete bonus that there are no terrible additives that beef jerky normally has. I’ve routinely seen MSG as an ingredient in most beef jerky at grocery stores. No thanks!

The flavors they sent were: Bold Original, Cherry Chipotle, Smokey Apple BBQ, Northwoods Berry, and Ginger Teriyaki. They also sent me some grass fed beef sticks- which were kind of like summer sausage. Also delicious. I think my favorite jerky was the apple or berry flavor- odd because I don’t generally like sweet flavored jerky.

Their standards for quality are ridiculously tight- only grass fed cows, no antibiotics, rotational grazing…everything I look for in quality meat. This jerky works when you’re looking for a quick and easy protein to feel full- instead of some crap ingredient protein bar or shake.

I didn’t get pictures of them all because I was gobbling them up too fast. You should definitely check out their products if you’re looking for a great option for beef jerky! 

Do you ever eat beef jerky?

What are your favorite protein snacks?

Pin It Party!

I’m so excited that Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean decided to do another Pinterest Party! I am obsessed with Pinterest…I think I’ve mentioned it once or twice on here. Pinterest came into my life in February 2012 and it has never been the same.  I am slightly having an anxiety attack over what my life will be after I am done pinning wedding ideas on Pinterest. So sad.

Anyways, the idea of the Pin It Party is to help us bloggers get exposure by sharing pinnable images and then visiting other sites to pin what we like! Great idea. Pinterest is actually how I got into blogging. Pinterest brought me to blogs, which in turn made my read more, which made me want to start my own. So- needless to say I think it’s pretty sweet.

Here are my five Pin-able images:

Strawberry Almond Flax Smoothie

Spinach Garlic Pizza

Banana Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast

PB & J Protein Dessert

How to grocery shop on a budget using coupons

There you have it…check out some of my recipes that I did before you followed my blog! And join the Pinterest Link Up Party!!!

Can we just all talk about how awesome Pinterest is? Like, for everything in life?

Egg-less chocolate protein mug cake

 

I feel like I haven’t had any time to write this week! It’s been an emotional and trying week- from the sadness of the bombings in Boston to the hectic and stressful school days filled with NYS testing.

I hope the rest of the week will be looking up- tomorrow is MY BIRTHDAY….and I have a three day weekend! I wanted to share something I whipped up the past couple of night for my late night snack.

There are A TON of chocolate protein mug cake recipes on the web- I know because I searched it- yet most of them contain egg. I spent a good chunk of time trying to search for one that didn’t have egg in it. I don’t know about anyone else, but I spend $4 a carton on high quality, organic cage free eggs and I really didn’t feel like wasting a couple of eggs for “1/4 cup egg white” that most of the recipes called for. After searching for some time I just decided to wing it. I made it two nights in a row and it was yummy both nights!

Egg-less chocolate protein mug cake

1/2 a banana, mashed

1/2 of a scoop of chocolate protein powder

1 tbsp coconut flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp milk

1 tbsp water (as needed)

1 packet of stevia

Optional add ins: chocolate chips, strawberries, unsweetened coconut, chocolate syrup…the list goes on.

I mashed up the banana really well in a bowl, and then added all the dry ingredients. I mixed it really well, then added the milk and water as needed. I threw in a couple of chocolate chips and put it into a coffee mug spayed with non-stick sprayed.

Mine cooked in about two minutes. My microwave’s pretty weak though. Try doing it for a minute first and cook as needed. Then top with more goodies.

 

 

Other highlights of my week:

Banana soft serve with yummy toppings

And a special delivery from Larabar!!! I’m so excited to try these….Review to come…

 

For awhile when I was doing Whole 30 I cut out my late night snack, but I always found myself looking forward to it, so I decided to add it back in. I don’t know why but when I get in my head that I am going to have a snack it gives me something to look forward to. I don’t know what makes it so different than having something right after dinner. I think I need to learn more about eating when I am actually hungry, and not just a habit. Oh well, I will keep trying and eventually learn.

Do you eat a snack after dinner?

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Oats

We’ve finally been experiencing weather here in NY that doesn’t warrant having oats for breakfast, but since I came back from my spring break and had NOTHING in the house, this was what I’ve had for two mornings in a row. I felt the need to share because of my love for all peanut butter and jelly flavored items.

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to Syracuse basketball. Heartbreaking loss last night. I don’t usually get upset about sports, usually I could care less and I make fun of Austin for getting emotionally involved in sports. But this one stung this morning. We had a good run though!

Back to the food. I haven’t had oats for breakfast in awhile as a result of cutting a lot of grains out of my diet. But like I said, this was all we had so I went with it.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Oats

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder (I use designer whey)

2 tbsp PB 2 (or peanut butter) + 1 tbsp water to make creamy

1 tbsp your choice flavored jam

1 cup of water

peanuts for topping

**Add 1-2 packets of stevia or sweetener of choice if needed

1. Microwave the water and oats for 90 seconds.

2. Stir in protein powder and microwave for another minute. *Stir in sweetener here if adding.

3. Stir everything up and add your PB2, jelly, and peanuts.

4. Yum!!!

 

Nice little Sunday morning. You’d think it was still winter. Oh wait….I wouldn’t hold my breath that we won’t see snow again.

How’s the weather where you are? Still winter or spring?

Quest Bar Natural Protein Bar Review

This post has been a long time coming! The folks at Quest sent me the sample pack of their protein bars to review and I am just getting through that massive sampling of delicious treats!!!

I’m sure many of you have seen these floating around on blogs and I thought I’d throw in my two sense. I have eaten a lot of protein bars in my day and, while delicious, a lot of them are loaded with sugar and other nasty additives. I also felt like they kept me full after workouts. **Side note, one time I was at GNC, and I picked up a builders bar that I wanted to try. The lady said to me “Um, that doesn’t taste like a candy bar, you know.” K THX!!!

Anyways, I was pleased with the stats that the Quest bars had to offer, and after seeing them everywhere in the blogosphere, I had to get in on the action! Quest sent me two lines of the protein bars- natural and regular. The natural protein bars are sweetened with stevia, have around 160 calories and 20 g of protein. The other line, which is 99.5% natural anyway (sweetened with sucralose) has similar stats. They are also high in fiber and low carb! We all agree the stats are amazing, but what about the taste? In no particular order here are my thoughts….

 

First one I ate was coconut cashew. It wasn’t my favorite. The “natural” line seems to have a chalky sort of aftertaste. It also had a chewy, sort of plastic-y texture.

Chocolate peanut butter– this one was a winner! Don’t worry I wasn’t driving. This one had a way better texture, and the deep chocolate and peanut butter flavor masked the after taste a better.

Lemon cream pie. This had the same plastic texture as the coconut cashew. I’m not a fan of fruity protein bars. I still have a couple of the ‘fruit’ flavors left in the box.

This one tasted really good! I warmed it up in the microwave. It’s one of my favorite of the natural line. It nailed the banana nut muffin taste. It didn’t have that ‘artificial’  banana flavor either- it really tasted like a muffin!

Can’t really see this one but it was peanut butter supreme. This one had chunks of peanuts and it really was one of my favorites. The texture of the peanuts really broke up that plastic feel of the other bars without chunks.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY!!!! I was saving this one…finally ate it today. So worth the save. It has to be my favorite. It also had chunks of peanut butter in it with a jelly taste. Super delicious.

I still have vanilla almond crunch, cinnamon roll, strawberry cheesecake, and some mixed berry one left to eat. I also ate the new cookie dough one (not pictured). I had high hopes for that one but it wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be. It also had the chalky after taste.

All in all I enjoyed the bars. Although some have an aftertaste, it is worth it for the great stats and natural ingredients. I’d rather eat this with a slight after taste than another bar loaded with sugar and junk! If I had to make my own sample pack it would include: chocolate peanut butter, peanut butter supreme, peanut butter and jelly, and banana nut muffin.

What flavors of Quest bars are your favorite?

What other protein bars are your favorite? << I usually get pure protein (has lots of sugar :/), or Good n Natural. I’ve never had Lara Bars

Grilled PB&J and Chocolate Coffee Protein Shake

Happy Sunday Funday! I’m milling around on some blogs before popping my Buffalo chicken wing dip in the oven and heading over to a friend’s house for a Super Bowl party. I tend to hate football and I really don’t care about the game- I’m just looking forward to food and friends.

Oven Ready

I don’t really have any super interesting topics to blog about, besides some of the delicious food I’ve eaten this weekend. None of which are recipes I 100% made up, but worth sharing nonetheless.

Yesterday after the gym was craving a caffeinated beverage (I didn’t sleep well on Friday). I knew I should get some protein in to let my muscles recover from the hardcore intense strength training    super lame elliptical workout I have to resort to because of my back.

Here’s what I popped in the blender:

1 cup almond milk

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 packet of Folger’s instant coffee crystals

1/4 cup coffee (left over from the morning- it was cold!)

4-5 ice cubes

Serves 1: 130 calories!

Yum! It tasted like a mocha iced coffee.

 

Also, I have been meaning try try grilled PB&J  ever since I saw it on Clean Eating Veggie Girl a couple of weeks ago. Today was the day! So worth it! Delicious.

Just take two slices of bread and ‘butter’ them with coconut oil or butter. (You could use real butter but I thought coconut oil would give it a sweeter taste).

Put on peanut butter and jelly of choice and grill on both sides. I used my pancake griddle.

 

 

Drooooool! So creamy and delicious! Must make again soon!

 

 

Are you going to any Super Bowl parties? What are you making?

Sunshine Award & PB & J Protein Dessert

I was so excited when Leslee at Her Happy Balance nominated me for a Sunshine Award! I’ve never done one of these survey things because I didn’t think anyone actually cared that much about my personal life but……it’s definitely fun to do one once in awhile. Anyone remember those email surveys from middle school? I used to be ALL about them!

Rules:
If nominated for this award, you must include a link in your blog to the person/blog that nominated you. You must also answer some questions about yourself, nominate fellow bloggers, link their blogs in your post, and inform them that they have been nominated.

Questions:

• Who is your favorite philosopher? Ummmmm….this one?

source

What is your favorite number? I don’t really have a favorite number, but right now my favorite number is 08-02-13..my wedding day!

 

What is your favorite animal? Easy.

 

Frank.

What are your Facebook and Twitter? I don’t have a Facebook for my blog yet….it’s a current goal of mine. I think I am putting it off because I’m too embarrassed to see how many people actually won’t follow it. No confidence. Follow me on Twitter! 

What is your favorite time of day? I really like mornings. I don’t know when I established myself as a morning person but I think it’s partly because of breakfast….and coffee.

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas is always cool……presents and crap. But my absolute favorite holiday has to be the 4th of July. Summer. Sun. Friends. Family. Food. It doesn’t get any better.

 

Austin and I 4th of July 2012

What is your favorite physical activity?  Going to the gym mainly. I also go biking. We’ll see how that goes this year with my back and all. I’m mad because my Dad got me all this cool biking stuff for Christmas and I’m just hoping I get to use it by summer and my back will be all better!

 

What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink? COFFEEEEEEE. And water. I know I’m boring, but my philosophy is this: if it’s not alcoholic and it has calories, why even bother?

What is your favorite flower? Any flowers would be nice. You know that great feeling when you get flowers just because? >Hint Hint<

 

• What is your passion? Recently, with the help of the blog community I’ve become extremely passionate about food and healthy living! I love everything about the blog community and how it inspires and supports this lifestyle!

Nominees:

Eating Chalk

Running on Peanut Butter

Lessons Life Teaches Me

Fit Cupcaker

Cookie Dough Katzen

 

I also wanted to share what I have been eating for my late night snack every.single.night. this week. Yeah, it’s becoming a problem. A problem because I am going to use the last of the cottage cheese as I make this dessert AS SOON as I am done with this blog post.

It’s a spin off a dessert I posted about a couple of weeks ago, Almond Joy Protein Pudding. 

PB & J Protein Dessert

1/2 cup of fat free or low fat cottage cheese

2 tbsp PB2

1/2 packet of stevia

1/8 tsp of vanilla extract

Toppings of choice: I top mine with berries, peanuts, or sugar free jam to make a PB & J flavor!

 

Just blend everything up in a food processor and spoon the yummy-ness into a bowl with a spatula. So addicting and a good dose of protein before bed!  It is 125 calories without the toppings and it fills me up. I promise I’ll stop with the PB2….I know I’m obsessed with it. It’s just so delicious and versatile!

What snacks/foods do you get addicted to and cannot stop eating? Tell me I’m not alone!

Weekday Protein Pancakes: Two Ways

Pancakes on a weekday!?!? Way too good to be true. I usually don’t get up any where near early enough to make pancakes, but this week we were hit with some winter weather that had me getting up earlier than normal.

I don’t know why my brain works this way, but I figured since I was already getting up early because my normal 40 minute commute turned into an hour commute, I might as well get up even EARLIER so I could make pancakes.

I didn’t want super sweet indulgent pancakes. I have been struggling with feeling full and snacking so I wanted something with protein that would hold me over. Cereal has been making an appearance in my breakfast and I never feel full and satisfied and want to just KEEP EATING it because it’s so good.

After perusing a lot of the protein pancake recipes on the web and not really finding anything that fit the bill, I decided to wing it. The result: delicious, satisfying and surprisingly low cal.

They were so good on Wednesday that I made a variation of them on Thursday.

Protein Pancakes: Two ways

Makes 1 serving: 200 calories (not including toppings)

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup oats

2 egg whites

1/2 scoop designer whey vanilla protein powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in a blender and cook on a pancake griddle at approx. 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Almost took a bite without taking a pic!

Texture: thin, dense and filling (not your traditional fluffy and light pancakes but delicious and filling).

Variation- Peanut Butter Chocolate Pancakes

Add 1 tsp cocoa powder (omit cinnamon)

Replace vanilla protein powder with chocolate

Add a few chocolate chips (add after blending)

Top with peanut butter or PB2!

Equally as mouthwatering! Can’t wait to make more tomorrow!

Almond Joy Protein Pudding

There are a couple of go-to items that I reach for when it comes to ‘midnight’ or late night snacks. One of the old standbys has always been wheat toast with peanut butter sprinkled with ground flax seeds. I also have this with a cup of sleepy tea, and it has become a ritual for me as well as something that helps me relax from a long, hectic day.

Some of my other favorites include recipes floating around in the blog world like:

 

– faux banana ‘ice cream’ (this is truly amazing; if you haven’t tried it GO NOW. I actually didn’t believe it would work until I tried)

Source: Tastespotting

–Peanut butter protein cheesecake from Dashing Dish (one of my favorite websites)

 

Source: Dashing Dish

– One minute chocolate cake in a mug <<< My favorite!!!!! I have perfected this recipe and it comes out with very little calories using applesauce for oil and coconut flour.

Source: Chocolate Covered Katie<<<<awesome website!

Tonight I whipped up a new recipe that I made up, and it ended up being delicious! I have been trying to cut back on calories by eating food that makes me feel full. I would rather have this filling protein before bed than carbs that my body won’t be burning off anytime soon. This is what I came up with:

Almond Joy Protein Pudding

serves 1/prep time 5 mins

Heaping 1/2 cup of non fat cottage cheese

1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder

1 packet of stevia

1/2 tbsp coconut flakes

1/2 tbsp slivered almonds

A few chocolate chips!

Place the first three ingredients in the food processor until the cottage cheese becomes light and fluffy. Scoop out with a spatula and top with toppings!

If the cottage cheese grosses you out you could always use plain greek yogurt.

You could also modify this recipe adding banana, peanut butter, or any other yummy toppings!

Enjoy!

Question: What are your go-to midnight snacks? Any suggestions for low calorie options?

Strawberry Almond Flax Protein Smoothie

Hope everyone’s week back at work is going smoothly. Mine’s been rough to say the least. Staying positive has been tough and I’m experiencing some post-holiday blues regarding the weather, the back injury issue, as well as it being crunch time at school for testing. Is is summer yet?

I wanted to share a great smoothie recipe I had the other day. Like I said in a previous post, I don’t really consider many of my shakes to be my own original recipes but this one came on a whim and I had to share! The rich taste of the almond butter really makes it unique, and the protein fills me up! I also added chia seeds and flaxseeds because I just recently bought chia seeds and have been dying to see what the fuss was about, and flaxseeds are supposed to be good for you so I threw them in for good measure, lol.

Strawberry Almond-Flax Protein Smoothie

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use designer whey)

1/2 cup of fresh strawberries

1/2 cup of low fat or fat free cottage cheese (just trust!)

up to 1 tbsp almond butter(I put about 1/2 tbsp, but I didn’t want to add a ton of calories)

1 tsp flax seeds

1 tsp chia seeds

6-7 ice cubes

water to mix everything up

Blend until smooth! You may also, if you prefer, want to add sweetener. I find I enjoy my shakes without it.

Let me know what you think!

P.S. Bloggers- I tried overnight oats!! I don’t know…I’m not completely sold. I just tasted like Greek yogurt and some gooey oats (which was what it was). And I much prefer hot oats. I put a bit of almond butter on top with some coconut shreds and it didn’t really do much for me. What combo should I try for overnight oats that will make me a believer?!?