Thursday, October 9, 2014

AdvoCare

One of my favorite things about blogging is getting the opportunity to try new products!! A sales representative from AdvoCare contacted me asking if I would be interested in trying some of their bars, protein powders, and other drink mixes.  I was honored and super excited!
Protein bars make a frequent appearance in my daily diet. I love trying different brands and flavors!

I sometimes struggle to get enough protein in my diet, so I love baking with protein powder!
I usually use it in place of flour and sugar.  So many fun flavors to experiment with!

I also got lots of fun fruity drinks to try!
Energy drinks and electrolyte replacements.  Flavors like Mandarin Orange, Peach, Fruit Punch, and more!

 The Rehydrate drinks are perfect for after a workout.
Very important to replace those electrolytes!! The Key Lime Cherry flavor was fantastic!!

I like to have energy drinks like this before and during my workout.  I don't usually do a pre-workout because they tend to make me jittery.  I tried the Pink Lemonade first.  
It tasted kind of tropical fruity to me.  Not like a typical pink lemonade, but a good flavor regardless.  

I really liked the Fruit Punch flavor! Basically tasted like Kool-Aid!  
The Spark drinks all mixed up very well which is pretty important to me.  Nothing worse than a drink with clumps of powder...

I usually don't drink protein shakes, but decided to try the Chocolate Post-Workout after an afternoon run with the husband. I decided to try the Caramel Almond bar with it! 
The protein powder mixed up well, but I wasn't a huge fan of the taste.  It wasn't very chocolately compared to some other brands I have tried.  I just mixed it with water, so it might be better with milk.  

I still had my bar to try! 190 calories 7F 23C 12P.  
This was very tasty!! I loved the soft and chewy texture!
Not overly sweet with bits of almonds throughout.  

I had the Apple Cinnamon bar on my way to work.  I love protein bars because they are portable, convenient, quick, and easy! If you are lucky, you can find ones that are healthy and tasty too!
This bar has 190 calories 4.5F 24C 15P.  It had a great flavor! Reminded me of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios.  

Last up was the Fruit and Nut bar.  If you like Larabars, you will love this! Soft and chewy with the perfect amount of sweetness.
This bar is made from dates, walnuts, agave, pecans, apple pieces, cinnamon, and other raw ingredients.  
210 calories 10F 27C 5P

 After tying the bars and some of the drinks, I decided to start baking!! I was really excited about using the Orange Cream and Berry Meal Replacements because I usually don't use fruity flavored proteins.  I had some good recipes in mind!!

As soon as I saw the Orange Cream, I knew I wanted to make a Creamsicle Dip! One serving is 230 calories 4F 23C 22P.  Higher carbs than a regular protein powder, but it is considered a meal replacement.
This turned out fantastic!! I only used half of the package and there was still so much good orange flavor!! You must try this!!

ORANGE CREAMSICLE DIP
  • 1/2 pack of AdvoCare Orange Cream Meal Replacement (30g)
  • 1/2 cup canned white beans (130g)
  • 3 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (45ml)
  • 1 t vanilla
  • sweetener to taste (4-5 packs)
  • 1 T white chocolate chips (14g)
  1. Drain and rinse beans
  2. Blend beans, milk, and vanilla
  3. Stir in remaining ingredients.  You can stir in the white chips or sprinkle on top
  4. Store in fridge!
Great with pretzels, graham crackers, fruit, or a spoon!!
The entire bowl is only 280 calories 6F 37C 18P!

 I have never use a berry flavored protein in baking but I knew just the thing to try!
Berry Protein Bars!!!

They are fantastic as is, but I made them even better with a shmear of fat free cream cheese and sprinkles!! Sprinkles make everything 500 times better!
These are such an amazing guilt free dessert! I did not feel bad at all eating all six for breakfast!!

BERRY PROTEIN BARS
  • 1/2 pack of AdvoCare Berry Meal Replacement (30g)
  • 1/2 cup canned white beans (130g)
  • 1 T unsweetened almond milk (15ml)
  • 1 T egg substitute (15g)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (58g)
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • sweetener to taste (4-5 packs)
  1. Drain and rinse beans
  2. Puree beans, milk, egg, applesauce, and vanilla
  3. Stir in remaining ingredients
  4. Pour into baking dish (5x7) coated with nonstick spray
  5. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes
  6. Eat plain or top with fat free cream cheese and sprinkles!
All six bars (without frosting) are 233 calories 1F 35C 21P.
They freeze great too so feel free to make a double or triple batch!!

Since I tried the Chocolate Post-Workout as a shake, I decided to turn the Chocolate Muscle Gain protein into some cookies!!
I don't know how the powder tastes just as a shake, but as chocolate cookies, it is great!

These cookies are so soft! Cookies for breakfast?! Yes, please!

The powder mixed up really well.  Some protein powders don't bake well at all, but this worked very nicely.  It didn't have a real strong chocolate flavor so I might add a little unsweetened cocoa powder next time, but I still devoured the entire batch!

SOFT CHOCOLATE COOKIES
  • 1 scoop AdvoCare Chocolate Muscle Gain (not entire pack) (30g)
  • 1/2 cup canned white beans (130g)
  • 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (60g)
  • 3 T egg substitute (46g)
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • sweetener to taste (4-5 packs)
  1. Drain and rinse beans
  2. Puree beans, egg, and vanilla
  3. Stir in remaining ingredients
  4. Use baking mat or parchment paper and drop batter onto cookie sheet
  5. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes
If you want to use the whole pack of protein, just add a little more egg or pumpkin. 
You get to eat all 12 cookies for 245 calories 1F 27C 30P!
You can make these with any flavor of protein too! I bet the Orange and Berry Meal Replacements would be fantastic!! Soft Fruity Cookies!?

The last thing I decided to make was some Carrot Cake Pancakes!
I used the Vanilla Meal Replacement Shake for this healthy and tasty breakfast!

Carrot Cake Pancakes
  • 1/2 pack AdovoCare Vanilla Meal Replacement (30g)
  • 1 cup steamed carrots (240g) (can use canned or fresh)
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute (60g)
  • 2 T fat free cream cheese (30g)
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • sweetener to taste
  1. If using fresh carrots - steam first. If using canned - drain first
  2. Mash carrots (can also puree if you want a smoother texture)
  3. Mix meal replacement, egg, and vanilla
  4. Stir in remaining ingredients
  5. Use nonstick spray and cook like regular pancakes (test edge before flipping)
  6. Top with sugar free syrup and cinnamon!
 Just look at that stack! Only 230 calories! 2F 27C 24P
Great with some sugar free syrup and cinnamon!

Check out AdvoCare and try some of my yummy recipes!!

3 comments:

  1. I have been an AdvoCare distributor for 3 years, and absolutely love your baking ideas. I cant wait to try these out myself. Thank you for trying them out, posting them and your honest feedback about our Amazing products :) yum yum

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love these ideas! The background of your page makes it very difficult to read the recipes - I had to highlight, copy/paste to get them.

    ReplyDelete