gluten free – Page 2 – Every Step Fitness

Amazing Protein Packed Flapjacks

December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 Dr Nancy P

I get hungry, especially after a workout and I love a good flapjack or energy bar but I hate the fact that so many of the store bought ones are just full of sugar. Many of the ‘healthier’ versions I’ve bought are tasteless and unappetising so I thought I’d create some homemade protein flapjacks – full of good things!

These don’t take long to put together and you can always substitute things if you don’t have them in the cupboard or don’t like them.

You will need:

300g rolled porridge oats (gluten-free or spelt if you want)

100g desiccated coconut

100g flaked almonds

100g Pumpkin seeds

215g dried, soft Prunes

315g dried dates

175g Almond butter (or your nut butter of choice)

100g Liquid sweetener (I used rice malt syrup but you can use agave, maple syrup, honey etc)

2 tbsp Coconut oil (measured when solid)

4 tbsp Vanilla protein powder (any brand you like – you can also omit this is you want)

4 tbsp Water

2 generous tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 170 C.

Line a baking tin (I used a 20 x 20cm one) with baking paper. Mix the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds and coconut together and pour into the baking tin. Place in the oven for 20 mins or until starting to brown. Make sure you turn regularly with a wooden spoon so the whole mixture gets toasted.

While that’s in the oven pop the dates and prunes into a blender or food processor and blitz to a paste. You may need to keep stopping to scrape the mixture back down in to the bowl. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth – a few lumpy bits are good!

Remove the oats from the oven and stir the protein powder through the mixture. Allow to cool.

Put the date mixture, nut butter, liquid sweetener, coconut oil, water, cinnamon and salt in to a large saucepan and heat very gently. Stir and allow the mixture to come together. Remove from the heat and pour the oats into the liquid mixture and mix really well.

Using a spatula scrape the mixture back into the lined baking tin and press down firmly. Then allow to cool and pop in the fridge. Do make sure you lick the saucepan (once it’s cool enough!!!) because the mixture is divine when warm! 🙂

Once it’s chilled you can cut in to slices. It makes the perfect post workout snack on the go and is great to pop in to lunchboxes too!

Recipes

Green Goodness Protein Smoothie

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 Dr Nancy P

Starting today with this delicious, fully loaded, green glass of wonderfulness!

If you’re worried about the kale and spinach – don’t be – you can’t really taste them. They just give the smoothie a lovely freshness and of course are packed full of fab nutrients.

I made up a batch of smoothie to last a couple of days so this will serve 2 – 4.

You will need:

3 bananas

2 cups of Almond/Soya milk

4 Tbsp Vanilla protein powder (I use About time vegan protein powder)

generous handful of Spinach

generous handful of Kale

handful raw Cashews

1 Tbsp Cashew butter (just to add a little extra creaminess but you could just add more cashews)

1 cup Ice

Optional – a drizzle of coconut syrup if you need it

Blend in a high speed blender and serve!

Recipes

The Ultimate Breakfast Smoothie

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 Dr Nancy P

This is my go-to breakfast smoothie almost every day. It’s full of goodness and absolutely delicious. It’s so important to have breakfast but sometimes it’s hard to eat a big meal early in the morning, especially if you workout early. This smoothie is perfect pre-workout fuel – light enough to make sure you don’t feel sick but satisfying enough to keep you going. It’s great to grab on the go too. The protein powder keeps you full and the L-glutamine is great for muscle recovery.

You can change things around with this – use different nut butters if you like, add other bits and bobs eg frozen berries, guarana, chilli powder, chia seeds etc but this is my favourite base.

This mixture usually makes 2 – 3 shakes and it’s fine in the fridge for a few days.

You will need:

2 cups non-dairy milk (almond, soya, oat etc)

2 large or 3 medium Bananas

1 tbsp Cashew nut butter

4 scoops of Protein Powder (I use About time Vegan Protein powder but you can use any you like)

2 scoops L-glutamine powder (optional but good for muscle recovery – I use Myprotein L-glutamine powder)

2 tsp ground Cinnamon

2 tsp Coffee (decaf or caffeinated – your choice)

1 – 2 tbsp raw Cacao powder

1 cup Ice

Sprinkling of Chia seeds

Put all the ingredients in to a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into glasses and sprinkle the chia seeds over or pour into protein shakers and pop in the fridge if not drinking immediately. Enjoy!