Marbled Mugcake

The other morning I woke up for the first time in about three weeks NOT craving pancakes or oatmeal. My usually easy to please foodie self turned its nose up at them. Pancakes and oats are great but I have learned recently that anything, no matter how delicious, can get tiring after three straight weeks. XD

My solution to the dilemma that did not involve waiting an hour for something to bake?? Mugcakes! Gloriously gooey cakey quick morning delights. It had been a while since I last made a mugcake so I had no recipes in my back pocket, no matter, I love a good challenge. After multiple cups of coffee (it is the morning mind you) I was able to pull off a spectacularly ingenious tasting and looking breakfast item: Marbled Mugcakes!! Combing the two flavor power houses of caramel and chocolate into one marvelously swirled cake!

The cake was gooey on the outside with a light airy crumb inside, It made my sorry taste buds dance for joy at this new ingenious treat. And the best part is that you don’t even need crazy ingredients! It’s amazing how microwaving can change the whole flavor of something, bringing it to a whole new cake dimension.

If you’re stuck in a breakfast rut I urge you to break the monotony with a delicious, protein packed way to start your day. Go ahead, eat cake for breakfast >: )

Marbled Mug cake

1/2C (92g) eggwhites

2tbs (40g) applesauce

3tbs (20g) oat flour

1tbs (7g) coconut flour

2tbs stevia

1tsp baking soda

Mix the base batter then pour half into a separate bowl.

For Vanilla half:

Add>

1/4 scoop (7g) vanilla or salted caramel (YUM) protein powder*

2tbs vanilla or caramel sf syrup*

Water if necessary to help make a batter.

Mix

For chocolate half:

Add>

1/4scoop (7g) chocolate protein powder*

3/4tbs (4g) coco powder

Opt. Dash chocolate superfood blend

2-3tbs cooled coffee to make a batter

Mix

Spray 2 small mugs WELL with spray oil. Then begin to layer the batters by alternating. Chocolate >vanilla>chocolate> vanilla etc.. Until all batter is used.

Don’t worry about swirling! The act of pouring the batters on top of each other swirls it for you 🙂

Microwave for 45sec; check them, then add another 30sec if not cooked yet. (Cakes will separate from edges of mug and appear porous whence cooked)

Top with chocolate sauce, melted blueberries and MORE chocolate sauce!!! 😀

**Recipe notes:

I used two small mugs and I do recommend this as it makes coking time faster and the swirls prettier since there’s less space for the batter to spill around

If you’re fake doesn’t come out marbled the batters where probably too liquidy; don’t worry though it’ll still taste great!

On the proteins I used optimum nutrition extreme chocolate and salted caramel flavors. Theses are whey isolates and worked extremely well flavor and cooking wise 🙂 as usual exchange gram for gram with proteins 

If you don’t have sf syrup ( get some from your local grocery srsly or from home goods/ koals) sub with extra stevia drops and water

Zesty Greek Chicken

Recently I have been back on the “Bro-Food” bandwagon, this is primarily due to a new training program I am doing with a trainer at my gym and I am already seeing amazing results!! The downside is that your typical bro food (chicken, veg, rice: Repeat.) can get a little boring Luckily I have never let any sort of dietary conundrums get my culinary spirit down! I just took this on as a new challenge! A chance to broaden my foodie horizon to include all those stuck in the horrid cycle of bland tasteless meals. My new motto: interesting Bro Food Only! No sorry boiled chicken or limp steamed veggies. You CAN still have flavor even on stricter meal plans!

Grilled Zesty Greek Chicken Beside roasted baby broccoli and oven dill new potatoes!)

My current favorite creation:

Zesty Greek Chicken!

This marinade comes through the chicken with a Ka-Pow! Of flavor and is sooo unbelievably easy! I have been making it at least once a week and am definitely addicted. The trick is the lemon or lime juice and marinating time. The acids in the marinade penetrate the meat better than most sauces and given time will flow through the entire piece of chicken creating flavor inside the meat and not just the outside!

This is a handy rule to keep in mind when marinating any kind of meat but I will stop my foodie babble now and let you see the recipe!

Marinade: (For 1 LARGE batch of chicken)

1/3-1/2c Lemon or lime juice ( I have been using lime recently)

1/4C Braggs liquid aminos Or worcestershire Sauce

2tsp liquid smoke

1-2tbs minced garlic

1tbs fresh cilantro

Generous shaking of onion powder

Generous shaking of chosen greek seasoning blend. I used Cavenders All Purpose greek seasoning*

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl then pour over your chicken. ( I like to marinate my chicken in a zip lock baggie because it allows the marinade to reach all areas of the meat.) Marinate for AT LEAST 24hrs. You can let this sit and get real flavorful for 2days if you want if kept refrigerated but it needs at least a full day to reach flavor potential!!

(Pan seared zesty Greek chicken over white rice with a side of steamed veg tossed in honey mustard)

I recommend grilling or sautéing the chicken once marinated because this locks in flavor better than oven-cooking.

*Recipe Notes:

Not many substitutions here but I did want to clarify that you should not be afraid of the sodium in a seasoning mix!! If you are drinking your daily water allotment, exercising, and eating balanced, some extra sodium will not harm you J Go ahead, add a shake of your favorite seasoning blend, you will live I promise!

< Here is the exact seasoning I use and love if you are at a loss for a Greek style seasoning mix.

Banana Bread Broiled Zoats

Decided to change things up this morning with some baked oats! Actually.. BROILED oats!! I was too lazy to wait for it to finish cooking so I broiled it for 4min and the result was insane! It puffed up all big and squishy with a Creme brûlée esque inside, it was like oatmeal texture in a loaf shape. I spread that puppy with snickerdoodle buff bake high protein almond butter and we good to go!

Banana bread broiled zoats:

1/2C (40g) Oats

1/2c (92g) egg whites

1 medium zucchini (100g) finely grated

1/2 a ripe banana (70g) mashed

1/2 a scoop (17g) banana protein pwd*

2-3tbs water

2-3tbs sf syrup, I used vanilla (or almond milk/more water with added stevia for the sweetener)

1tsp baking powder

**optional extra tsp liquid stevia for extra sweetness

Combine all ingredients and allow oat mixture to sit overnight in a covered container in your fridge. In the morning; preheat the oven to 350deg, pour the oat mixture into a small 4x4inch baking dish or small baking dish of choice. Bake for 25min and then broil on high for 3-4min. After baking for 25min the edges should be mostly cooked leaving an undercooked middle, after broiling the entire top should be golden brown and the cake should have risen dramatically.

*Please note this method only works if you let the oats sit overnight because the temperature of the oat mixture does effect the process! It has to be cold from the fridge J

Now when you bite in to your masterpiece you will experience a curious cross breed of warm creamy oats and firm chewy cake. Giving it a very crème brulee’ d feel accurate to the creations christening 😉

Nutrition for the entire recipe:357Cals 50g Carb, 5g Fat, 28g Protein

**Substitution Notes:

For the Protein powder I used a sample of some random Banana whey isolate, I know I normally promote casein/whey blends but for this particular recipe a whey concentrate is okay! It actually adds in the puffiness of the recipe. I would recommend subbing with vanilla or chocolate proteins (keep grams consistant) if banana is not an option!

If you are out of protein or sadly never dived into the market let me introduce you to my current favorite brand Pescience Select Protein ❤ click this pic if you need a little extra protein in your daily shenanigans and use my code JMC25 for 25% off your purchase 😀 ( Note: This brand will work for practically ALL of my recipes!)

Post recovery struggles Volume 1:

 

Mentality.

What people don’t realize is that eating disorders are not one and done. They are life changing, mind destroying cancers that take years to recover from even AFTER treatment. Just because someone is a healthy weight does NOT mean they are healed. This is a misconception I find many parents, people currently recovering physically and even I hold on too.

It is very dangerous to go through the physical motions of recovery believing that this will solve everything. Unfortunately many parents view eating disorders this way, as if once you reach a healthy weight they are in the clear and everything should return to normal. This is simply not the case and I do not want anyone to live under this delusion. I don’t want to come off as harsh but I think it is better to be forewarned than to be smacked in the face by reality.

The reality that you are going to have to work every single day to stay healthy, not just physically healthy, but mentally healthy. You will have your bad days and you will have your good days. Sometimes you will find yourself trapped mentally inside the mind of someone still extremely ill yet no one takes you seriously because your body is fine. This stage of recovery takes work and can last years. In my opinion even more work than the physical side of recovery. It takes about 1 year or less to regain your weight if you follow your doctor’s orders, but the same cannot be said for regaining your mind. If you have an eating disorder whether you know it or not you are waging war with your mind.

What you might expect:

Recurrence of old fears concerning foods. One day you are happily munching through a banana and the next week you cannot bring yourself to even touch one!

A Roller coaster ride of Self Image: I think this is pretty self-explanatory but basically be prepared to have to practice loving yourself daily. No you do not have a hideous body and you are not crazy for thinking that. We have all been there. It hurts, it’s confusing, you wonder if you could ever love yourself again (see my post weight gain in recovery for tips on bad body image days) but chin up butter cup! Like I said this is a roller coaster and after you roll through a low a high is sure to follow. The trick is learning to accept the high points as reality and the low points as lies.

Recurrence of old habits. This is one I have been struggling with recently and it shocked even me. I have been considered “healthy” for about 3 years now and haven’t restricted very much for about 2. So imagine my surprise when my recent bout with the scale led to drastic decrease in caloric intake. I had no idea this beast was still lying dormant in my mind. That still had to urge and capacity to take out my emotions in such a self-devastating way. It looks like I still have some inner spring cleaning to sort through.

Some days you might feel like your brain is being torn in two. Let me just say that The longer you postpone these battles the harder it becomes to beat tehm. Eating out is still extremely hard for me because it is out of my comfort zone, I’m not in control. I could have fixed this long before but I avoided it.

Moral of the story, don’t be shocked to find you’re still a twisted ball of mess two years after recovery. You are not a failure because you have slip ups. You are not a failure because you aren’t “100% cured” because maybe we won’t ever be the same person again. No, we won’t. We are stronger now because we had to endure a fight for our lives; a fight for our very minds that rages inside us every day. How can you expect to beat that in just a year? It didn’t take one year to develop your disorder and it’s going to take more than a year to beat it.

What I am learning day by day is that recovery does not mean you won’t hear the thoughts or feel the urges. It means you are finally strong enough to say no. Instead of voice screaming inside your head it is a flippant mildly irritating thought that is brushed aside, no longer holding any weight over you. Work towards the day where you can look in the mirror and accept your appearance. The day where a couple meals out of the ordinary don’t unhinge your mind. A day when the thoughts come, but you stand strong as a rock in a gale.

Perfect Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries! Baked in the oven till the centers become perfectly creamy masterpieces encased in a crunchy outside! I use the same method every time and they ALWAYS come out perfect. Crispy, slightly charred, with melt in your mouth centers ❤ This method is so fool proof I am the designated “fry cooker” whenever my family wants these for dinner. I haven’t baked a sweet potato whole since discovering these little gems. Today I am going to share with you step by step my favorite way to prepare the sweet spud!

First off you will need to gather your troops! Tonight’s squad consisted of a lemon lime fiesta flair which is totally optional; you really only need the 4 top dogs. From left to right we have: Garlic powder, fiesta lime seasoning, braggs liquid aminos* mixed with liquid smoke, onion powder, pam spray, and lime juice. For normal roasted sweet potatoes all you need is the garlic powder, onion powder, braggs, liquid smoke and pam spray. I’m just sharing one of the many variations on the classic fry. OH! And don’t forget your tater!

To start preheat your oven to 400deg F and begin to slice your tater into good thin fry shapes. Place them on a pan lined with parchment paper. (This was a small batch, probably will hardly serve me haha) Now it’s time to apply your first flavor layer>

Spritz the spuds down with a good spray of oil, braggs, liquid smoke, lime juice, fiesta seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. It’s best to do it in that order so the spices have something to stick to 🙂

Okay these puppies are ready for round 1 of cooking! Pop em’ in the oven and set a timer for 25min. Now’s a good time to read a book, practice cart wheels, or train your pet back flips. Now is not a good time to go shopping and leave the oven unattended lol

After 25min your tats should be looking like thiiiissss >

Remove them from the oven, toss, and apply a second coating of pam spray and braggs. Spices if your feeling sassy. Turn your oven down to 375deg F and pop them in the oven for 22min. Yes I’m being specific you’ll see why.

After 22min check the tats, they should be starting to get a slight crispy burn to them. To Finish them off; turn to oven to broil on high, and broil for 3-5min until spuds reach desired crispiness!

Here was the final product of yesterday’s Batch!

Some Notes on this method:

If you’re good at math you might have noticed this is about a 45min-1hr process but let me tell you it is sooo worth it! I usually start making these about an hour before I normally have dinner. I may not be hungry but I know that waiting and starting later is a recipe for Hanger (*Hanger: anger caused by intense hunger 😉 ) These puppies are also great cold the next day OR reheated by another quick round of broiling in the oven (3-5min again).

You can of course toss them in olive oil instead of pam spray.

I have done this recipe many different ways: Cinnamon sugar spuds, rosemary olive oil spuds, plain jane smokey spuds, curried spuds, and the list goes on…..

Now you have no excuses to not make the most perfect fries ever! Whats your favorite way to eat a sweet potato?