A foodie I am not.

However, I love to take amazing recipes and give them a healthy shake. Are some of my creations worthy of being in Gourmet Magazine or Cooking Light? Um, heck no. But do they satisfy my cravings for the full calorie versions? Um, HECK YES!

So when I ran across a bag of Stevia Extract In the Raw last week at the grocery store last week I scooped it up and couldn’t wait to hit the Fitness & Spice test kitchen. Lucky for me on the same day Justin’s Nutbutter sent me a generous supply of their products so I grabbed a bowl and came up with…

Muffins Elvis Would Love Without the Fluff

• 1/2 (really ripe) banana
• 1/4 cup Stevia Extract in the Raw
• 1/2 cup nut butter (I used Justin’s Honey Almond Butter)
• 1/8 t baking soda
• Dash of salt

Mash banana until smooth and stir in Stevia. Add the nut butter, baking soda, and salt and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour into mini muffin tins prepared with non-stick spray or cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe makes about 8-10 mini muffins but I’m sure you can double or triple this recipe with ease. Oh, and if you want to make them raw, just omit the baking soda and the baking of course.

Simple enough, right? Thank you, thank you very much!

Now I really must go grab a muffin and hit the gym…it’s now or never!

One year ago one of my favorite workout accessories of all time welcomed into the world a baby, fitbook junior!

fitbook junior is just like my fitness and nutrition journal, fitbook, only it’s designed for the kiddos in mind, that and it comes with a coaches guide and stickers. Lucky kids! The cool kids who already have these activity and food based journals call fitbook junior “AWESOME” and their parents give it an over all grade “A”.

And get this, according to a research conducted by fitlosophy inc, the makers of the fitbook product suite, 87% of parents reported seeing a “noticeable change” in their child’s awareness of eating healthier, choosing more nutritious food, and being more active on a daily basis when using fitbook junior.

Let’s recap with some simple math. Encouraging…

Healthy Play + Healthy Food = Fit Kids!

Bravo, fitbook junior!

You know who else thinks fitbook junior deserves top honors? The Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) Media who announced today that fitbook junior received its coveted Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval for excellence in family products.

I think it’s safe to say the AWARD WINNING fitbook junior is going to have one heck of a happy first birthday!

I say this is grounds for celebration! Let’s make…

No Bake Protein Cake!

• 3 cups dry walnuts or almonds
• 1 cup pitted dates (I like Medjool dates)
• 2/3 cup chocolate protein powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1-2 T honey  (optional)
• Topping of your choice like strawberries, raspberries, or (my favorite) dark chocolate chips

Combine the nuts, dates, protein powder, salt, vanilla extract, and sweetener (if desired) into a food processor or high powered blender and mix well. Press the mixture into a cake pan or mini cupcake liners like I did, then add the topping of your choice. Serve chilled or even right out of the freezer!

Now I really must go clean up the kitchen, put on my tennis shoes, and get ready for my play-date!

If you’ve watched the news lately you might RECALL seeing something about some bad eggs–and I’m not talking about guys like Mel Gibson.

Indeed there are some fowl eggs out there, but there are still some good ones to be found at places like Turtle Creek Farm, right Vita?

But, in case you are in the mood to bake and you find yourself eggs-free you must not panic. We can take a lesson from The Vegans and play around with nearly a half dozen (also know as four) ways to replace eggs:

• 1/2 banana blended = 1 egg
• 1 T ground flax seed + 3 T water, whisked = 1 egg
• 1/4 cup silken tofu mixed well = 1 egg
• 1/4 cup apple sauce = 1 egg

I haven’t tried all of these options out just yet, but I have used the banana substitution successfully in pancakes and muffin recipes calling for eggs. And the slightly nutty flavor of the ground flax seed worked wonderfully in place of the egg in the protein bars I made last week.

Do you have any other suggestions for egg substitutes or should we just go ask Oprah?

Now I really must go grab another cup of coffee and some breakfast…no yolk!

I never say never, but you will never see me belly up to a juice bar waiting for a shot of wheat grass.

However, if that bar had Chocolate Amazing Grass GREEN SuperFood on tap, I’d order a round.

Thanks to Kalli, I finally got my hands on some Amazing Grass after winning it on her Amazing Blog.

I’ve tried a number of other green powdered drinks and haven’t been able to give them the green light, but this stuff is amazing and it doesn’t taste like grass, it tastes like chocolate. Seriously.

Besides the taste, here are just 3 of the many reasons I dig Amazing Grass:

• It’s organic, gluten free, vegan, and raw (which satisfies the raw-curious phase I’m going through right now)
• It’s packed full of probiotics and enzymes to aid digestion and absorption
• It naturally detoxifies and boosts your immune system

I’ve been mixing one scoop of chocolate Amazing Grass in protein shakes and yesterday I tried a scoop in about 10 ounces of cold water and loved every sip.

The good people at Amazing Grass also loaded me up with some amazing bars. Hello, chocolate peanut butter protein bar…it’s my favorite so far! You can bet I’ll be hunting more of these bad boys down at Whole Foods this weekend.

Now I really must go catch up on the World Cup, soccer is such a kick in the…(amazing) grass!

…Whoopie Pies that is!

I’m pretty sure it was our family friend Mrs. Covais who introduced me to my first Whoopie Pie when I was a little Fitness & Spice girl. Ahhhh…the sweet, sweet memories when I didn’t have a care in the world!

Now that I’m a few years older I care a little bit more about what I put into my body. When Michelle and Katy sent an email challenging me and a whole host of other writers to go vegan for a day, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to see how the vegan’s make Whoopie…pies.

A few months ago I bought a cookbook called BabyCakes by Erin McKenna. Erin is the chef and owner of vegan, gluten-free, and mostly sugar-free bakeries in New York City and West Hollywood. All sorts of cool people recommend BabyCakes like Mary-Louise Parker, Pamela Anderson, and I.

I pooled together two BabyCakes recipes and made…

Vegan Whoopie

(BabyCakes calls this recipe Cookie Sandwiches by the way)

Ingredients for the chocolate chip cookies

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 6 Tablespoons homemade applesauce or store-bought unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1/4 cup flax meal (I used Bob’s Red Mill, NuVal score – 100)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat the oven the 325 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla, and evaporated cane juice. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Using a rubber spatula, carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until a grainy dough is formed. Gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed through the dough.

Using a melon baller, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the portions 1 inch apart. Gently press each with the heel of your hand to help them spread. Bake the cookies on the center rack for 15 minutes, rotating the sheets 180 degrees after 9 minutes. The finished cookies will be crisp on the edges and soft in the center.

Let the cookies stand on the sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely before covering. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk (I used Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Milk, NuVal score – 90)
• 3/4 cup dry soy milk powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour (I forgot to buy coconut flour so I skipped it)
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups coconut oil
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (Confession? I didn’t use this either)

In a blender or mixer, combine the soy milk, soy powder, coconut flour, agave nectar, and vanilla. Blend the ingredients for about 2 minutes until well combined. With the machine running, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the 2 until both are fully mixed. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before frosting.

Once your cookies have cooled completely, frost and sandwich your cookies together. Roll the sides with extra chocolate chips.

It’s safe to say this a very grown up version of the traditional Whoopie Pie. You won’t find any Crisco, animal products, or fluff in this recipe, just good wholesome ingredients. And, while these cookies are very good and very vegan, they are not low in calories so please eat these little bundles of joy in moderation.

While I admit, I do have the cutest little BabyCakes, the vegan lifestyle isn’t exactly for me, I don’t think Little Miss Muffet would want me to live without my Curds and Whey.