TrainRite

Low Carb Protein Pancakes

Matt Cronin · August 3, 2015

Pancake Ingredients

4 egg whites
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 scoop favourite protein powder
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil (could be butter or cooking spray)

Blueberry topping (optional)

1/4 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
3 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Mix all pancake ingredients together in a bowl, except the oil.
Lightly grease a non-stick cooking pan with the coconut oil
Over medium heat, pour half the mixture in the pan. When it starts to bubble, flip over. Repeat for second.
For blueberry topping, slowly heat blueberries and lemon juice in a saucepan. Voila!

Note: this is a very clean and low carb recipe for protein pancakes. Other versions exist, with added oats, baking powder, sweetener and so on. These will be slightly like a crepe in texture. Enjoy!

Seared Shrimp & Scallop with Lemon-Lime Salsa

Matt Cronin · August 2, 2015

Seared Shrimp & Scallops

2 teaspoons butter or other oil
2 large sea scallops, cleaned
2 raw large tiger shrimp, deveined
5 Green Onions, finely chopped
½ teaspoon garlic
3 tablespoons of your favourite herbs, finely chopped.
½ lemon (cut in half again)
½ lime (cut in half again)
Salt and pepper

Salsa

4 leaves Fresh basil
¼ Avocado, cubed
5 Green Onions, finely chopped
¼ cup pickled hot peppers
½ cup chopped tomatoes

Directions

Wash and dry the scallops and shrimp. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
In a small frying pan (you use less butter/oil this way), heat the butter on high until just until it begins to bubble. Add in the scallops.
Sear the scallops until it has a nice crust. It took me about 2:30 – 3mins. Other recipes call for 1:30min or so. Just keep an eye on it. Flip over.
Once you’ve flipped the scallops over, throw in the shrimp and turn the heat down to low-med. The shrimp will only take 2-3minutes or so to cook from raw, even as the heat is lowered.
Keep an eye on the scallops and remove and set them aside when the other side is seared. Do the same for the shrimp.
Immediately after you’ve pulled the shrimp, add in about ¾ of the chopped green onion, garlic, herbs (I used fresh dill, parsley and basil). Let these fry for a minute.
Squeeze in all the juice from half the lemon and lime (save the other piece for serving). Toss them into the pan too. Pull from heat and let reduce. This will top the cold salsa.
Now onto the cold salsa: chop the basil into strands and mix all the salsa ingredients together with the remaining green onion.
Discard the cooked lemon/lime wedges. Plate the cold salsa and top with the cooked garlic/onion mix. Add scallops, shrimp and fresh lemon lime wedges. Squeeze them on the final product.

Protein Waffles & Peanut Butter Fruit Drizzles

Matt Cronin · August 1, 2015

Waffle Ingredients

2 eggs
¼ cups egg whites
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ scoops favourite protein powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
Olive oil cooking spray

Berry Drizzle

4 strawberries
¼ cup blueberries
1 Tbs greek yogurt
1 Tbs cottage cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Drizzle

PB2
Almond milk

Training

My 2 Month Shred Challenge

Matt Cronin · July 30, 2015

I've just begun a new workout routine utilizing my TrainRite logbook. Love this thing; I never have to think about what I have to workout each day – I did all the pre-planning. I actually began this regimen a while back, but due to a neck injury and illness I never got into the full swing of it. Now that I’m 100%, I’ll use it for the entire 62 days. 6 days a week and one rest day. Here’s the breakdown:

Sauces Dips & Dressings

Texas Green Onion Yogurt Dip

*makes around 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups Greek yogurt ( I used 2%)
10 almonds
1/4 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon greek spice
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 medium red pepper, sliced
sea salt and pepper

4 green onions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

Directions

In a blender/magic bullet, combine greek yogurt, almonds, nutritional yeast and chickpeas. Blend briefly until almonds and chickpeas are ground but still have some texture
add in everything else EXCEPT the onion and dill. Briefly blend again just until mixed.
move into a bowl and fold in onion and dill. Cover and refrigerate.

Crockpot Turkey Chili

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey, precooked in pan
3 peppers; green, red, yellow suggested
2 med yellow onions, chopped
2 cups white mushrooms, chopped
1 can low sodium diced tomatoes
1 can low sodium whole tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 can black or other beans
1 cup frozen mix vegetables
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs cumin
2 tbs salt
2 tbs oregano
2 tbs basil
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs dry mustard
1 tbs paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp rosemary, chopped
hot sauce to taste

Directions

Cook ground turkey in frying pan, then add mushrooms until shrunk down a bit
Add all the ingredients into a large bowl except the peppers and frozen mixed vegetables. Mix well so the spices are incorporated.
Fill crock pot with as much of the mixture as possible. Refrigerate any extra. The chili will reduce so you can add the rest when there’s room.
Turn on crock pot on low, let cook for 8-10 hours. Mix in the peppers and frozen vegetables in the last hour.

Savoury Cottage Cheese

Ingredients

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tablespoons yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red and yellow peppers
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
salt and pepper

Directions

Mix all ingredients together
Dash of salt and pepper to taste

Overnite Oats

Ingredients

1/2 cup large oats
1 scoop favourite protein powder
1 tbs ground flax seed
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 cup Almond Milk (careful, you may need less! It shouldn’t be soupy)
1 banana

Directions

Get ready
Mix all ingredients together except for banana in a bowl
Slice banana and place on top
Cover and refrigerate overnight

Mushroom and Broccoli Stem Stir Fry

Main

4 Broccoli stems, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 cups chopped mushrooms (the earthier tasting the better)
1 med yellow onion, chopped into strands
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs butter
2 Tbs Low-Fat Greek Dressing (OPTIONAL)

Crispy Tofu

12 pieces firm tofu, thinly sliced in 1”x 2”
2tbs butter
1 tbs corn starch
1 tbs curry powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder

Directions

Turn stove to medium and saute butter, onion, garlic and mushrooms in a pan.
Just as the first few onions are browning, add the broccoli stems and cover. Combine well and stir often so nothing burns. Turn stove down. Cook until brocolli stems soften, but are still crunchy. Don’t let them get mushy. For a little more flavour, add the greek dressing. It’s good on its own though.
In a bowl, toss the cornstarch, curry, garlic powder, salt, pepper and onion powder together
Cover each thinly sliced piece of tofu in this coating.
Turn a saucepan on medium, add the butter. Let it melt and become hot.
Add the tofu, let it crisp on each side, timing will depend on your stove. Don’t let the butter burn or you’ll have to start over. It can be crisped at a fairly low heat (MED).
Serve in a bowl with tofu on top.

Pulled Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Pulled Chicken

Approx. 12 chicken thighs (3-4 chicken breasts)
10-12 white mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
3 med. onions, sliced
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs Fresh thyme
3 Tbs fresh basil
3 Tbs masala spice
3 Tbs curry spice
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
Salt/pepper to taste

Wrap/Filling

Head of Boston Lettuce
Sliced peppers
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced avocado

Directions

Fill slow cooker with the pulled chicken ingredients. Mix it up well, set to low, and leave for at least 5 hours. I adjusted the flavors as it cooked on and added hot mustard, salt and pepper. Any spices/flavours can be substituted here - I just used what was available to me at the time.
Clean the leaves of the lettuce - try not to rip them! Prep all the rest of your filling.
Assemble and enjoy.

Butternut Squash and Asian Pear Soup

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (or 2 small) – sliced in half and seeded
2 asian pears – peeled, sliced in half and cored
2 apples (firm variety) – sliced in half and cored
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
2 med yellow onions – roughly sliced
2 Tbs curry powder (or more, to taste)
3 cups chicken broth (or any broth)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
salt/pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Place squash, pears and apples cut side up in a roasting pan. Brush all with a little olive oil and salt/pepper. Roast for 45-60mins or until easily pierced with a fork. Keep an eye on the apples, they may go early depending on the variety you choose.
In the last few minutes of roasting time, start the onions. Add the olive oil and onion to a large soup pot over medium heat. Sweat the onions until they turn translucent, about 6mins. Add the garlic for another minute or so.
Add the softened pears, apples and scoop the squash into the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, play around with the spices. I loved the curry and would do it again. Season with salt and pepper.
Bring all to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend until relatively smooth. I had a few larger onion pieces left and it was really good. Some people prefer the uniform consistency though. Weirdos.
Enjoy!

Quinoa Burgers

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup chickpeas
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup nutritional yeast
¼ cup finely ground oats
½ cup chopped baby carrots
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dill
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Add quinoa and stock to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cooking for 15 minutes or until can be fluffed with a fork. You can do this ahead of time or even the night before (and store quinoa in the fridge) so the quinoa can cool.
While quinoa is cooking, slice the green onions, chop the carrots, mince the garlic and grate the cheese. Coarsely chop the chickpeas.
Place it all in a bowl, and then add the oats and nutritional yeast and mix.
One the quinoa is finished cooking, add it to the bowl and mix well until incorporated. If needed, let cool or place in the fridge for a few minutes to cool.
Add in beaten eggs, dill, salt, pepper and mix well. Form into patties.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Once hot, add quinoa patties and cook until deeply golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes per side. Serve with steamed veggies.

Original Source

Deconstructed Taco Salad

This recipe looks like a ton of ingredients, but as you can see from my pictures I've swapped out some ingredients for others that you have on hand. It actually only took about 40mins to prepare, which isn't bad for being a few different elements. It's a pretty healthy recipe, and even better doesn't taste that way.

Refried Beans

1/2 Tbs olive oil
½ yellow onion, chopped
1 diced jalapeno pepper
1 med tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can pinto or black beans
1/2 cup water or broth
1 Tbs ground cumin
salt/pepper to taste

Chicken

1lb Ground chicken, or other lean meat
1 Tbs olive oil (if chicken releases no fat)
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp curry powder
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbs cilantro
salt/pepper to taste

Salsa

1/2 med yellow onion, chopped (could use green onions)
1 mango, cubed
1-2 avocados, cubed
1/2 med red pepper, chopped
2 med tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup hot banana peppers, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp olive oil

Other Toppings

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
½ cup light sour cream or greek yogurt

Snacks & Desserts

Tandoori Masala Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas, well rinsed and pat dry
2 Tbs olive oil
2-3 Tbs Tandoori Masala spice
1 Tbs curry spice
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
3 Tbs Franks Red Hot (or other hot sauce)
salt/pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oven to 375F
Line a large baking sheet with tinfoil. The baking sheet should be large enough that the chickpeas lay flat without much touching. Spray the tinfoil lightly with the cooking spray
Mix all ingredients in a bowl except the Franks Red Hot sauce. add more spices if you wish.
Pour chickpea mixture onto the baking sheet and bake for about 18-20 minutes. You should start seeing them dry out.
Pull the sheet out of the oven and splash the chickpeas with the Franks. Roll them around so they are all covered
Put back in oven for around 5-10 minutes and keep an eye on them so they don't burn. I prefer them to be a little crunchy on the outside.
Once they're done to your liking, remove, let cool and eat!

Baked Feta, Brussel Sprot and Caraway Seed casserole

Ingredients

Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 large sweet tomatoes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dried basil
30 grams fresh parsley, chopped (20g for filling, 10g for sauce)
Salt and pepper

Main

20 brussel sprouts (16 shredded, 4 whole to steam)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 medium carrot, cubed
150 grams mushrooms, finely chopped
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
90g Feta cheese
¼ cup nutritional yeast
Ground pepper

Directions

Start by making the sauce. Heat the oil over a low-medium heat and add the onion. Saute for about five minutes until softened, then add the garlic. After a minute of stirring add in the tomatoes, seasoning, balsamic, basil and a third (10g) of the parsley. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and leave to slowly cook and thicken, stirring occasionally whilst you prepare the cabbage and filling.
Steam or boil four of the brussel sprouts. Important: these shouldn't be cooked fully – they’ll be cut in half as garnish on top.
Preheat the oven to 400′f.
Heat the oil over a low-medium heat then saute the onion and carrot for about 5-10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and mushrooms and increase the heat to medium, stirring the vegetables for a further 5 minutes until the mushrooms are softened and their water starting to evaporate, stir in the caraway seeds, chopped remaining parsley and the shredded brussel sprouts. Season with pepper, then cover the pan and leave for about 5 minutes until the sprouts have wilted, remove the lid and let thicken.
Take off the heat and stir in the feta, nutritional yeast.
Take the sauce off the heat and adjust seasoning.
Spread sauce into the base of a medium ovenproof casserole dish. Layer the feta and brussel sprout mixture on top.
Cut the steamed brussel sprouts in half, and arrange on top. Grind some pepper on top
Bake covered for 20 minutes until piping hot

Original Source

Snacks & Desserts

Sweet Potato Cookies: Cashew, Walnut and Apple Spice

Matt Cronin · July 18, 2015

*15 large cookies, 30 small

These cookies aren't particularly sweet, but I love them. I'm not a huge sweets person, but I really wanted the fall spices :) The apples added the perfect amount of sweet/sour for me. They could be sweetened with Maple Syrup, Agave or Date. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 med-large sweet potato (not the gigantic ones)
1 egg
2 tbs coconut oil
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 scoop flavoured protein powder (Cellucor Peanutbutter Marshmallow)
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup finely cubed apple
2 tbs cashew pieces
2 tbs walnut pieces

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees, wrap sweet potato in tinfoil and roast for an hour.
Make sure the sweet potato is fully baked, remove the skin and mash (careful, it's HOT!)
When sweet potato mash has cooled a bit, mix all the wet ingredients: egg, coconut oil, vanilla extract
finely grind up 1/2 cup of the oatmeal. This will act as the flour base. I used my trusty Nutribullet
Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet: oat flour, remaining cup of oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt.
Add in tasty elements - I used cashews , walnuts and apple. You could add dried cranberries, dates (for more sweet), dark chocolate pieces, or even cocoa powder
Reduce the oven heat to 300.
Lightly spray some parchment and line some cookie sheets. Make the cookies as big or small as you'd like.

I made 15 cookies and it took about 30mins to bake.

Sauces Dips & Dressings

Mmm Sauce

Matt Cronin · July 18, 2015

*makes 24 servings (tablespoons)

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon mince garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cilantro
1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon dill

Directions

In a blender/magic bullet, combine oil, almonds, water and chickpeas. Blend until smooth, but the almonds have still a little bit of presence.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend to desired texture.

I really like this recipe rubbed into kale leaves, but it can be used as a general sauce for anything really. It has a cheesy flavour, and a little heat if you opted for the sriracha. I make 4 batches at once, because I can't get enough! This recipe can also be a great base - just add other spices/flavors as you want!

Side note: I wish I had a better name for this recipe.

Original Source: Spark People Recipes