Pumpkin Oat Cookies

This may come as a huge shock to some, but I am going to bake something and NOT add protein powder! Yes, I do actually make some tasty treats without using protein.  Of course, you could add it if you wanted, but I have had some requests lately for some protein free recipes.  Here are my super simple and super tasty Pumpkin Oat Cookies!

I love these because they are so quick and easy to make! 

All you need is oats (I prefer quick), canned pumpkin, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and sweetener of choice. I have also made these and added things like chocolate chips, a bit of peanut butter, raisins, or some nuts.  I kept this batch super simple.

One bowl, one spoon, and all the ingredients!

Mix it up good!

I make 12 cookies out of this recipe.  Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball.

You can make them bigger or smaller if you like, but I think this size is perfect.

 Flatten them down a bit.  You can place them pretty close together on the baking sheet because they won't really rise or spread.

Bake them at 350 for 15-18 minutes.  

 And done! Now these cookies will stay very soft.  If you want a crunchier cookie, I suggest adding a fat source like peanut butter, oil or butter.  

I aboslutely love soft cookies though, so these are perfect for me.

And yes, I consider this whole tower of cookies to be one serving :) Only 240 calories for a dozen cookies!!

I love having these for breakfast! Great for on the go and they freeze well.  

What's better than a plate of pumpkin cookies for breakfast?! 

Nothing, nothing is the answer! 

Pumpkin Oat Cookies

• 1/2 cup quick oats (40g)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin (240g)
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t baking powder
• sweetener to taste

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

2. Roll into balls and flatten a bit.

3. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

Makes 12 cookies - 240 calories for entire batch

3g Fat

49g Carb

9g Protein

Corn Fritters

I have made just about every flavor of pancake you can imagine! I have made sweet ones like chocolate and pumpkin, and I have made savory ones like spinach and broccoli! I feel like some people get a little apprehensive about the savory pancakes...I understand! So instead of calling these pancakes, I will call them corn fritters!!

What really makes a pancake a pancake anyway...I mean yes, these are round-ish and cooked in a skillet...Does it really matter though?? These little bite sized guys are super tasty and super healthy! Call them what you want, I love them!

Ya, simple too! Four ingredients!

Canned corn, egg substitute, MTS vanilla whey, and baking powder.

*You can use fresh corn too*

*Real egg would be fine*

*Not quite sure about the sweet/savory combo? Use unflavored protein*

Drain your corn and get as much liquid out as possible.  Dab with a paper towel if you are impatient. 

I love using canned veggies! So simple and you can buy in bulk because they never go bad.

 Mix together the egg, protein powder, and vanilla first.  When that is nice and smooth, stir in the corn.

I went the sweet route with these, but you can definitely make them savory.  Add some peppers, onions, garlic, salt and pepper...

Get your skillet nice and hot, coat with non stick spray, and cook like pancakes whatever these things are!

The batter will be a little runny so it is quite impossible to make them perfectly round!

Nice and golden brown!

These have a perfect little crunch to them.

I love mine topped off with a little sugar free syrup and spray butter.

If you made them savory I bet they would be awesome with some sour cream and salsa for dipping!

Either way they are delicious! You could be all fancy and use a fork, but I think they are the perfect little finger food!

Such a great way to add veggies to your diet too! There is a whole can of corn in these.  

And yes, I consider this whole plate one serving :)

You get about 14-16 fritters for only 242 calories plus 33 grams of protein! Great for breakfast! Low carb and low fat too. 

Enjoy!

You can order MTS whey here! Use code KH30 and save 30%

Corn Fritters

-1/2 cup corn (125g)

-3 T egg substitute (46g)

-1 scoop MTS vanilla protein powder (30g)

-1/2 t baking powder

*If you want to make them savory you can use unflavored protein powder and add any additional spices and chopped veggies

1. Mix all ingredients together! (best to mix everything but corn first and then stir in the corn last)
2. Cook like pancakes on a hot pan.
3. Enjoy!

Whole Batch - 242 calories

4g Fat

17g Carb

33g Protein 

Quest Creation - Salted Caramel Brownie Bites

So in love with Quest Bars! I love eating them out of the wrapper, microwaving them, baking them into teeny tiny cookies, and experimenting with them! I recently made the best treats out of the Chocolate Brownie bar!

Yes, these taste as amazing as they look! Best part is they are quite healthy!! As Quest would say, they are the perfect way to cheat clean :)

So simple too...all you need is a Chocolate Brownie Quest Bar, some caramels, and some sea salt!

I just used regular caramels, but you can also use sugar free.

Unwrap the bar and place it on a microwave safe plate or parchment paper if you have some. Microwave for 10 seconds.

Do NOT try to microwave these bars on a napkin, paper towel, or paper plate! You will have a mess and a wasted Quest Bar!! People go to jail for wasting Quest Bars...

Break the bar into 3 pieces.  Flatten out one piece and place the unwrapped caramel inside. 

 I probably don't have to say "unwrapped", but ya just never know with some people... 

Roll the bar into a ball.

Make sure the caramel is completely covered so it doesn't ooze out.

Do the same with the other two pieces of the bar and place on a baking sheet. I highly recommend using parchment paper.  

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

 As soon as they come out of the oven sprinkle some sea salt on top. 

You could leave the salt off, but they are so much better with it!!

Let them cool a tiny bit before taking that first bite!! 

I know...it is very hard to wait!! I made the mistake of tasting too soon and that caramel is hot!

If you don't have the Chocolate Brownie bar, you can definitely try with some other flavors! Cookie dough, double chocolate chunk, cinnamon roll, peanut butter supreme...you get the idea!

So go buy some Quest Bars, make these, and then tell your friends all about it!

Salted Caramel Brownie Bites

• Chocolate brownie Quest Bar
• 3 caramels
• Sea salt

1. Place bar on microwave safe plate and microwave for 10 seconds.

2. Break bar into 3 pieces.

3. Flatten each piece and place caramel inside.

4. Roll dough into a ball with caramel in the middle.

5. Place on baking sheet with parchment.

6. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

7. Sprinkle with sea salt as soon as they come out of the oven.

8. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!!

3 Bites for 250 calories 

8g Protein

 40g Carb 

21g Protein

**Check out the video for making these tasty treats!! Salted Caramel Brownie Bites

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Strawberries and summer! They go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cereal, and scrambled eggs and ketchup! Ok...maybe not everyone agrees with the last one. Don't knock it til you've tried it!! Anywho...back to strawberries! How about some delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Bites?!

These are my new favorite summer snack! So easy, so tasty, and so healthy! 

All you need is Fiber One Original cereal, fat free cream cheese, vanilla, sweetener, and of course strawberries!

You can also use graham crackers or any other type of cereal you like! 

Start by cutting the tops off the strawberries and rinsing them well.  

I am not a germ-a-phob my any means, but I always wash my fruit extra good.  I always picture all the crazy old ladies opening the strawberry containers and squeezing the berries looking for the best package...

 Next, take a knife and hollow out the strawberries.  

You can leave most of the strawberry, just make a nice little hole for some creamy filling.

Speaking of creamy filling...

This is so simple to make.  Just mix together some fat free cream cheese, vanilla, and sweetener if you want.  You could also add some cocoa powder or cinnamon to make some crazy flavored creamy filling!

We also need to make the "crust" part of the strawberry cheesecake bites.  I love using the Fiber One Cereal but use your imagination and grind up whatever you like!

I threw in one sweetener too.  Just add your cereal to a blender and get it nice and fine.  

 All ready to assemble!!!

Silly me...using a white bowl to show white cream cheese filing...Oh Kim...

 Just spoon a little of the filling into the hollowed out strawberry.

I usually stuff them pretty good!! The crust needs something to hold on to so it's ok if the cream cheese is sticking out a bit.

Dip into your crust...

And there ya have it!! Easy peasy strawberry squeezy!!! Ok, doesn't flow off the tongue quite so well...

How awesome do those look!!!

 The best part is that this whole plate is only 120 calories!! I picked the biggest strawberries too!

Feeling crazy?!

You can dip these in all sorts of things!! Chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts, coconut...

What is it about sprinkles that make everything look so fantastic!?

So pretty and colorful!

How amazing would these look sitting out at a picnic, BBQ, or party?!

I think for the 4th of July I am going to make them and dip in blue sprinkles!! Red, white, and blue!!

That first bite is perfection! 

They are cold, creamy, and sweet! Yum!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

• 6-8 strawberries (148g)
• 2 T fat free cream cheese (66g)
• 1 T Fiber One Original cereal (7g)
• 1/2 t vanilla 
• sweetener to taste

1. Cut tops off strawberries and rinse.

2. With a knife, cut out the middle of the strawberries. Set aside.

3. Add cereal and sweetener to blender grind it up til it is very fine. Set aside. 

4. Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, and sweetener.  

5. Fill strawberries with cream cheese and dip in cereal.

6. Eat! Refrigerate any leftovers in a tupperware.

For 6 Bites - 120 calories

1g Fat

22g Carb

9g Protein

PB&J Protein Muffins

I have been experimenting a lot with a new flavor of protein powder from MTS.  Peanut Butter Fluff!!  So far everything I have made with it has been fantastic!! You really gotta try my Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies! One of my best cookie recipes ever!

Someone on Facebook had used my recipe, tweaked it a bit, and made muffins from the batter.  I got to thinking...I love muffins!! I also love the peanut butter and jelly combo.  I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit more and came up with some amazing PB&J Protein Muffins!

I ate the whole batch for breakfast yesterday! At only about 260 calories for all 6, who wouldn't eat them all?!

I highly recommend using MTS Peanut Butter Fluff protein powder for this recipe, but if you must, you can use vanilla.  They just won't taste quite as peanut buttery.

In addition to the protein powder, you will also need any flavor jelly or jam, PB2, canned pumpkin, egg substitute, vanilla, baking powder, and sweetener if you want.  I find the MTS powder to be sweet enough on it's own, so I left out the sweetener.  

*You can use any kind of peanut butter or nut butter*

Keeping it easy as always! Mix together everything except for the jelly.  

Seriously love these little bowls.  They make baking so fun! 

I took a little taste of the batter just to make sure it was sweet enough and peanut buttery enough.  

I could have eaten the whole bowl!! 

I made 6 nice sized muffins with the batter.  You can make mini or mega muffins if you like! I suggest using muffin liners or silicon baking cups.  

Fill each cup about 3/4 of the way full.  Then take a small dollop of jelly and press it down into the middle of each one.  Cover it up a bit so the jelly doesn't burn on top.  It's ok if it peeks through a little. I used sugar free strawberry jelly, but you can use any kind and flavor you like.  You could even leave it out completely and just have peanut butter muffins.

Into the oven at 350 for about 22-25 minutes.  I hate waiting...

So worth the wait!! Eating these reminds me of being a kid! I think I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday for about 12 years straight! I still love them!!

Each delectable muffin is only about 42 calories! Like I said before, I just eat them all myself! 

They make a great breakfast on the go! Also, they freeze great so you can make up a few batches and have them all week. 

These muffins don't just look, smell, and taste amazing...they are quite good for you too! The whole batch is very low fat, low carb, and had a hefty 33 grams of protein.  

Store bought muffins are great and all, but I really like knowing what is in the food I am eating.  

The jelly hiding in the middle gives them the perfect amount of sweetness. 

Next time I will try grape jelly! Maybe apricot...or blackberry...or even apple butter! So many possibilities!!

PB&J Protein Muffins

• 1 scoop MTS peanut butter fluff protein powder (30g)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (120g)
• 3 T egg substitute (46g)
• 2 T PB2 (12g)
• 2 T sugar free jelly (34g)
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/2 t baking powder 
• sweetener to taste

1. Add everything but the jelly into a bowl and mix.

2. Fill muffins cup with batter about 3/4 of the way.

3. Put a dollop of jelly in the middle of each muffin and push it down.

4. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes.

5. Enjoy!!

 Makes 6 muffins - 42 calories each

257 calories for the whole batch

3g Fat

29g Carb

33g Protein 

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies

We all love peanut butter right?! Well, unless you are allergic to it...In that case I am really, REALLY sorry...

I have been very lucky to have some MTS Peanut Butter Fluff protein powder sent to me by Marc Lobliner, owner of MTS Nutrition.  He is supplying me with protein powder to use in my recipes and for my own personal use! Awesomeness!! As soon as I got the huge tub of protein, my brain starting going crazy thinking of all the delicious things I could make with such a unique flavor!

I knew right away that I was going to be using this in some protein cookies!!

Yea, they turned out amazing!! If you don't have any MTS peanut butter fluff protein powder go buy some now and then come back and make these cookies.  You can order it here!! 

If you don't have the peanut butter protein, it's ok, you can still kinda make these...they just might not be quite as good...I will go over substitutions shortly.

You will need peanut butter fluff protein powder, canned pumpkin, egg substitute, sugar free fat free vanilla pudding mix, baking powder, vanilla, sweetener if you like, and marshmallows!!

I came across these super fun Mallow Bits at Target.  They are like the little crunchy pieces you get in  those packets of hot cocoa.  

If you don't have these, no worries! You can just use mini marshmallows.  Also, if you don't have peanut butter fluff protein powder, you can use vanilla or even chocolate and your cookies just won't be peanut buttery.  They will still be very tasty though!! 

Very simple instructions here.  Throw all the ingredients into one bowl and mix with a spoon!

Told ya it was simple... 

I highly recommend using parchment paper or a baking mat for these cookies.  If you don't have either I would at least use a generous spritz of non stick spray.  

Just drop the dough onto the cookie sheet.  I got 8 cookies.  

You can make them as big or as small as you want.  

Keep an eye on them the first time you bake them.  Mine took about 12 minutes at 350.

These are super soft and moist cookies and it would be a shame if you burnt them :(

I wish computer screens were scratch and sniff because these smelled amazing!! My whole house smelled like sweet peanut butter wonderfulness! 

I may have forgot to mention it...but you can eat the whole batch yourself! Without any guilt!

That's because all 8 cookies are only 237 calories! 

They are also very low fat and very high protein! I am having this batch for breakfast tomorrow! I can't wait!

If you wanted to share, each cookie little bit of heaven is only 30 calories.

But let's be honest...you won't be able to stop after just one...and there is absolutely no need to!!

Enjoy!

You can order MTS Peanut Butter Fluff Whey here! Use code KH30 to save 30% 

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies

• 1 scoop MTS peanut butter fluff protein powder (30g)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (120g)
• 3 T egg substitute (46g)
• 1/4 package sugar free fat free vanilla pudding mix (8g)
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 2 T marshmallow bits (5g) *You can use mini marshmallows*
• sweetener if desired

1. Mix everything together in a bowl

2. Drop batter onto cookie sheet (highly recommend parchment paper or baking mat)

3. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes

4. Eat the whole batch yourself 

Makes 8 cookies - 30 calories each

237 calories for the whole batch

2g Fat

25g Carb

28g Protein