Food

Note: I am not a registered dietician. This page will touch on the things I’ve learned about nutrition on my journey to the stage and through life in general, through a lot of research and discussion with my dietician friends.

 

One of the things that has made it so much easier to stay on track with my nutrition is bulk cooking.  Over the last two years, Kyle and I have figured out a lot of “tricks” to speed this process up.  It used to take us a whole afternoon (talk about wasting your weekend), but now we’ve got it down to about 2.5 hours!  Here’s how we do it

• Bulk Cooking tips and tricks

Here are just a few of my favourite healthy recipes to kick off this page. As this page grows, I’ll sort it into topics to easily find what you’re looking for.

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Peanut Butter Protein Bites

This snack is perfect – it’s so easy to make, stores and travels well, and tastes great! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 cup oats
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used cinnamon swirl, but vanilla or chocolate work well too)
• dash of cinnamon (optional)
• dash of vanilla (optional)
• water as needed

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, omitting water. Stir until well-combined.
3. If the dough is too dry and won’t stick together, slowly add water while stirring to reach a sticky consistency.
4. Using a large tablespoon, scoop dough and roll into balls. Place them on a non-stick cookie sheet – or I use a silicone baking sheet for easy clean up.
5. Bake for approximately 6-8 minutes. They should still be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven as they’ll continue to harden as they cool.
6. These store well in the fridge or freezer – they’re good cold, or warm them up in the microwave. Enjoy!

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Homemade Protein Bar

This is my go-to recipe for protein bars. I make this pretty frequently in the off-season, especially when we’re going to be super busy, or travelling, because they’re easy snacks to grab and go. You can add a wide variety of additional ingredients to them, but be aware of how these will change the nutritional value (added sugar or fat in fruit and nuts). Keep this recipe on hand, it’s quick and easy – my baking motto! LOL.

• 2 cups of instant oats
• 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
• 4 scoops of protein powder – vanilla is a good base to blend flavors with
• 1/2 cup of water (as needed to get the right consistency)
• Chopped nuts (optional)
• Dried fruit / raisins (optional)

1. Spray a square, glass dish with cooking spray to avoid bars sticking.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Spread batter in glass dish, pressing down to flatten and keep smooth. Freeze for about 30 minutes to set, then keep refrigerated.
4. Can pre-cut and freeze bars if you won’t be eating them quickly, otherwise they keep in the fridge for about a week.

I keep these pretty simple, but you can add cinnamon, vanilla, honey, or other sweeteners to them if you would like. I find the vanilla protein powder provides enough sweet taste for me.

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Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

This is seriously the easiest pancake recipe I’ve ever seen – and they were incredible!  This recipe makes 3 pancakes, but I doubled up so I had two meals ready to go. They are basically carb-free, so make sure you take in carbs of some sort.

• 1/4 cup pure pumpkin
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking soda – optional, this just makes them a little fluffier
• sprinkle of cinnamon / pumpkin pie spice – optional

Simply mix all ingredients together, and then scoop into 3 pancakes on a pan (set at medium heat)  Check after a couple minutes, or you see a few bubbles, flip when the bottom is brown. Cook the other side and then serve! I added sliced banana and a little maple syrup.

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PB Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 scoop protein powder*
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg white
• raisins (optional)
• water as needed

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well. Slowly add water to the dough until you have a good consistency (dough should stick together, but still be slightly runny). Depending on the peanut butter you use, you may not need any water. Place spoonfuls of the dough on a greased cookie sheet and place in oven for approximately 12 – 15 minutes (check every minute or so).  They won’t be firm to the touch, but will firm up more once you remove from the oven.  Enjoy!!

*I used Peanut Butter Cookie Dough protein powder for more pb taste, but vanilla would work too. For those who like chocolate, I imagine that would work really well for taste too!

You could easily add other ingredients in place of the raisins, or in addition to them.  Nuts, seeds, other dried fruit… have fun and make your own creation. Just be aware of the fat and sugar content of the items you add in, if macros are a concern.

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 large spoonfuls of unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 cups of oats
• 2/3 cup pure pumpkin (from a can)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional – could likely replace with 1/2 cup oat flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or more if desired)
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or more if desired)
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• optional ingredients: raisins, chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, cranberries, etc.

Mash the banana, then add the apple sauce, oats and pumpkin – stirring everything together. Stir in protein powder (or flour). Add the baking soda and mix.  Add the spices to your desired amount – just taste the batter after adding everything together. Use as much cinnamon / pie spice / vanilla as you want.  The optional ingredients can be mixed in at the end.
Spoon onto baking sheets.  This made 18 medium sized cookies. Bake at 350 for approximately 15 – 18 minutes. They will come out kind of spongy, but will firm up a little after sitting.

Top with low fat whipped topping, or make an “icing” out of Greek yogurt and protein powder mixed together!