To satisfy my sweet tooth and my body’s need for more protein I’ve been whipping up individual batches of…

Protein Pudding

• 1/4 cup Cottage Cheese
• 1 single serve cup Sugar Free Pudding (60 calories)
• 1/2 – 1 serving Protein Powder

Blend the cottage cheese in a small blender until nice and smooth because who wants lumpy pudding, right? In a small bowl stir together the cottage cheese, pudding, and protein powder. Eat now or refrigerate for the perfect pre-bedtime snack.

Now I really must go finish my curds and whey!

There are two types of dips I have been enjoying lately:

1. Body weight dips in the gym. And..
2. Roasted red pepper hummus.

Guess which one I’ve been enjoying more? If you guessed the tricep torture chamber, you are wrong. But I’ll give you this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Hummus anyway…

• 1 can (15 ounces) Garbanzo Beans (drained/rinsed)
• 1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper (peeled and seeded…sure, you can buy them in the jar, but roasting them in the oven or on the grill is not hard)
• 1- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Tahini
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Honey
• 1/2 – 2 teaspoons Hot Sauce (like Tabasco)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Toss all ingredients into your high powered blender (I used a Vitamix) or food processor and pulse until nice and smooth. Garnish with red pepper flakes. Serve with baked pita chips, carrots, cucumbers, eggs (yes, I said eggs), or use as a sandwich spread.

Now I really must go hit the gym and then tri some more dip!

I adore everything about Halloween from the wicked-good treats, to the pumpkins, to the colorful and creative masks.

Speaking of pumpkins and masks, have you ever treated yourself to a pumpkin facial?

“Pumpkin has wrinkle-fighting properties that help to prevent aging. Its vitamins C, E, and A also cleanse and hydrate the skin,” according to chef, actress, and health advocate Bethenny Frankel.

Orange you glad you know that? Then hop into the kitchen and get everything you’ll need for this…

Pumpkin & Spice Face Mask

• 2 t Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 t Honey
• 1 t Greek Yogurt or another milk product
• 1/4 t Pumpkin Pie Spice (I’m not sure if this is really necessary, but it smells good)
• Sprinkle in some Brown Sugar if you need to exfoliate

Mix all the ingredients together. Smooth the mixture over your face and kick back for 10-15 minutes. Rinse.

I did this mask last night, and while I did look a little scary, let’s face it, it’s all-natural and affordable which in my book is awesome…so I’m giving it all A’s.

Now I really must go face the day! Happy Halloween, Bootiful!

You know what I love about blogging? The connections you make along the way, the friendships, the laughter, the tears, the celebrations…

Ok, enough about all that sappy stuff. I don’t want you to lose your appetite.

What I also love about blogging is stumbling upon delicious sites where you can’t decide what to eat, er, read first, like Elana’s Pantry, for example. Elana is beauty and so are her no-bake…

Gluten Free Almond Power Bars

• 2 cups almonds (raw)
• ½ cup flax meal
• ½ cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• ½ cup unsalted creamy roasted almond butter
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 4 drops stevia
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate 73% (optional)

Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds. In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat. Remove coconut oil from stove, stir stevia, agave and vanilla into oil.

Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste. Press mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously. Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens. Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve. Makes 20 bars.

My niece Ali and I have big plans to open a cupcake bakery one day. We have the name, menu, and Web site design already planned. Now all we have to do is wait for Ali to finish high school and college, and then we’re off to Paris for pastry school. I’ll send you an invitation to our grand opening in about 10 years.

One day when I was visiting my parents in Tennessee, my mom and I decided to visit a cupcake shop to have dessert check out our competition. While we were there we picked up a t-shirt for my friend Suzanne. It said, “I run so I can eat cupcakes.” Very appropriate for a girl with a sweet tooth and a fabulous blog called TheRunningMama.com.

When I was reading some of my favorite Web sites this week, I ran across a very healthy recipe for Tone it Up Cupcakes on Cari-fit.com. Thanks to Cari, now I don’t have to run to eat cupcakes, I can just workout a little. ;-)

I made a few adjustments to this recipe based on the ingredients I had on hand, and I have to say they are very, very tasty!  I know this because I ate 4.

Here’s the scoop:

Protein Cupcakes

Combine dry ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup Splenda for Baking

Add the following wet ingredients one at a time to the dry mix with a whisk…

• 2 egg whites (NuVal score 33)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain organic yogurt
• 3 tsp vanilla extract

Spray olive oil cooking Pam on paper liners in mini cupcake pan. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting.

Frosting

Whip together…

• 1 cup light cream cheese (I used low fat ricotta)
• 2 tbs plain low fat Greek yogurt (I used FAGE – NuVal score 94!)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup organic powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/4 cup Splenda for Baking
• Food coloring or berries for added color/flavor if desired

Give these protein cupcakes a try, otherwise visit Ali and I at our cupcake shop when we open our doors in October 2019 and we’ll whip you up a batch!

Now, I’ve got to run, I mean, walk really fast to the kitchen to grab another cupcake!