Pumpkin Protein Bread

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I have been making this bread weekly now for the past month so I thought it was time to share. If you weren’t aware, I am about 10-12 weeks out from competing in the bikini division in the NANBF. I track everything I eat and I have specific macro goals for each day which are split up into ~5 meals. This bread was designed to meet my macro goals for one meal. If you are eating more calories and get more carbs have 2 slices, top with almond butter or just enjoy as a snack. If you are a cookie and bread eating person that is not really into health and fitness this probably won’t taste good to you or your family. It is just a creative and convenient way for me to get my carbs and protein with some additional vitamins from the pumpkin. A normal breakfast on prep would be oatmeal and egg whites so I just switched it up a little.

Recipe:

  • 1 can raw pumpkin
  • 1 cup vanilla muscleegg (you can use egg whites but you will want to add additional stevia and vanilla extract)
  • 3 scoops GNC Sustained Blend Protein Powder in Peanut Butter Puffs flavor (you could use vanilla but this won’t work well with straight Whey protein)
  • 4 tablespoons powdered peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup Protein Oat Pancake Mix from Aldi (you could use Kodiak mix)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp. walden farms maple syrup
  • Stevia to taste
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 servings dark chocolate baking chips (I use food scale for all ingredients)

Mix and pour into greased bread pan, bake at 350 for ~45 min but you will want to watch it.

Makes 6 servings total, 194 calories each, 4g fat, 18g carbs and 23g protein.

Chocolate Protein Cake Brownies

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As my calories decrease in attempts to drop some fat off my body I need to get more creative with ways to still enjoy chocolate. These are perfect for a healthy sweet treat and are rich in vitamin A. I mix all the following ingredients together (wet first, then mix in dry) and pour in a square cake pan. Bake at 350 for about 40 min or until done in middle. After cooking a drizzle with Walden Farms chocolate syrup and natural peanut butter. Store in fridge and warm up before enjoying.

  • 1 can all natural pumpkin
  • 1 cup chocolate muscleegg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons Blanched almond flour
  • 5 tablespoons cacao powder
  • 3 scoops GNC sustained protein blend in peanut butter puff
  • 2 tablespoons Pb fit powdered peanut butter
  • 1-2 cups baking stevia (add until you reach desired sweetness)
  • Teaspoon salt
  • Teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes and cut into 24 squares, Store in refrigerator.

Macros per brownie: 51 calories, 1.7g fat, 4.1g carbs, 5.2g protein


Pumpkin Protein Breakfast Muffins

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Oatmeal and egg whites is the traditional breakfast for a competitive bodybuilder but I am far from traditional. My breakfast is typically eaten at the gym between my morning clients so I don’t have much time and need something that travels well. These muffins topped with a thin layer of peanut butter hit the spot every time!

What you need:

  • 1 can all natural pumpkin
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsps. of walden farms pancake syrup (for taste)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • Stevia to taste (I use at least 6 packets)
  • 48 g of PB Fit Powdered peanut butter
  • 2 scoops (66g) GNC Sustained Protein blend in Peanut Butter Puffs
  • 120 g quick oats
  • .5 – 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (for consistency)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 12 Parchment paper muffin cups

Pre-heat oven to 350, mix all wet ingredients first and then add the rest.

Fill 12 muffin cups evening and bake at 350 for 20-30 mins (check to see if cooked through. They will be dry if you overcook and too moist if undercooked)

Macros per muffin: 113 cals, 13g carbs, 11g protein, 2g fat

Peanut Butter and Banana Protein Bread

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Okay, this bread is too good not to share! I make it weekly with my overripe bananas and even my husband eats it.

First step is to mash your extra ripe bananas into a creamy consistency, beat in egg whites, vanilla, Greek yogurt and unsweetened almond milk. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased bread pan, sprinkle on chocolate chips and bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes or until center is done.

This is low fat and contains protein and quick carbs so I recommend pre and post workout.

What you need:

  • 3 extra rips bananas
  • 6 egg whites
  • 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 6 tbsp. powdered peanut butter
  • 2 scoops GNC sustained protein blend in peanut butter
  • 120g rolled oats blended into oat flour (or use oat flour)
  • 6-12 packets of stevia (personal preference, taste test)
  • 1-2 tsp baking soda
  • 1-2 tsp salt
  • 2 tablespoons dark chocolate baking chips

Macros: 8 servings

198 Calories 4g fat, 26g carbs, 17g protein

Pumpkin Protein Bread

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Alright, it’s has been way too long since I have posted a recipe so what better time than pumpkin spice season!?!? This one is amazing and I have made it multiple times with no issues. It’s all natural, low in fat, high in protein and contains whole grains. If you are a competitor then just create recipe in myfitnesspal and account for macros. You can make in bulk and freeze 1/2 or refrigerate. There are zero preservatives so do not leave this out on your counter or in the mold quickly.

What you need:

  • 1 can of all natural pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup Walden farms maple syrup (optional, you could use additional stevia)
  • 8 packets of Stevia
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 5 tablespoons of organic cacao powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 egg whites
  • 3 tbsp organic chia seeds
  • 2 scoops peanut butter GNC protein blend
  • 4 tbsp powdered peanut butter
  • 150g rolled oats blended into oat flour (or use oat flour)
  • 1 cup unsweetened cashew milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Mix all wet ingredients first, add dry ingredients, mix well and pour into greased bread pan.

Bake at 350 for ~45 minutes

Cut into 8 servings: 186 calories, 4 g fat, 23g carbs, 15g protein

Well, Week 1 was a total flop

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I woke up this morning pretty excited to see my results for my first week of trying to cut a little bit of weight only to be very discouraged. Physically I feel better and my abs look a little bit leaner; however the scale tells me I gained 3 pounds. 3 pounds?!?! WTF, F*ck you scale! So here I am back to the drawing board. I didn’t do the best job staying within my macros and I did have a total of 4 glasses of wine this week. I’m pretty confident I didn’t gain three pounds of fat and that most of my weight gain can be attributed to water retention but it still sucks. It really sucks. I’m not quitting though. Breakfast is on point and I’m heading to the gym now. #thestruggleisreal

Time to reveal my abs!

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So I’m officially going into a mini-cut to lose 5lbs. I have not purposefully tried losing weight since October. My metabolism and hormones were out of whack due to extreme dieting. In the span of 2 years I competed in 5 bodybuilding competitions. Losing fat for each competition became more and more difficult and the amount of cardio I was doing toward the end was ridiculous. The same drama happens a few months after each show where I start hating my body and can’t stand the way my clothes fit. Typically I go right back into a cut to shed some fat and then the cycle happens again. I’m no longer able to maintain a lean physique (this references my personal standards of “lean”) with just eating healthy and exercising daily. This kind of sucks and I’m ready to get my body and metabolism where I want it. First thing I did when I decided I wanted to shed some fat was not cut calories or add much cardio. Instead I kept calories up, continued to exercise regularly (~ 1 hour per day of strength and stability) and maintained my weight. This allowed my metabolism to adjust to the higher calories and gave my body a break. I try to track my macros each day using myfitnesspal and I’ve been consistently weighing myself and checking my percent body fat bi-weekly for the last few months. Things have been pretty stable and I’m ready to lose a little fat. I will be doing a mini cut that will be 3 to 5 weeks depending on the rate of my fat loss. Once I hit my goal of 5 pounds and maintain it for a couple weeks I will increase my calories up a little bit and come out of a calorie deficit. My ultimate goal is to have my abs back for summer (Vegas trip in early June to be more specific) without being on a crazy restrictive diet. I have zero plans of competing again in the next year and would like to get to a comfortable bodyweight that I can still enjoy red wine with. If it takes me 6 months to achieve I am okay with that.

I’ll post regular updates of my progress via Facebook and Instagram.

15 Min Treadmill Workout

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Quick treadmill interval workout to torch calories and increase speed!

Okay, I have been seriously struggling with cardio and running. I’d like to increase my endurance and start running some races this spring so I decided to get back on the wagon. (Losing some belly fat would be nice too, just saying) Two years ago my intervals were 6.0 and 8.0. Well, that didn’t really work for this chick today (I almost died). I changed it to 5.5 and 7.5 so I could actually recover and finish. Here is the workout, it seriously had me breathing hard and dripping in sweat. Best part, it was only 15 minutes!

Today I am celebrating

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When it comes to body image and my emotional state I’m pretty much like a roller coaster. Before the holidays I was going strong and feeling good about where I was physically. We took an extended 12 day vacation to Florida where I still exercised (mostly cardio and body weight stuff) but I allowed myself a break in my diet. Unfortunately because my body is not used to drinking alcohol continuous days in a row or skipping weight training workouts, all those extra calories immediately went to my back and waist. Nothing puts you in a bad mood like back fat hanging over you Lulu tights! Thank God for high waisted tights to hold in my pouch. So here I am 10 days after returning from vacation and I woke up feeling f*cking awesome finally! Because I noticed the weight gain while I was on vacation I immediately decided I would give up alcohol New Year’s Day and I did. New Year’s eve was the last time I had a glass of wine. I cleaned up my diet for the most part but still indulged in a few sweet treats here and there. When I returned home from Florida I came down with a horrible cold which kept me out of the gym for a few days and made getting back into my routine a bitch. My cold has lifted for the most part, I stayed within my macros the past 4 days and I trained with weights consistently. Guess what happened?!?! My belly fat has decreased and I’m slowly reducing the amount of hangover on my tight ass pants! Do I look amazing? No. Does the fact that I see progress in the right direction make me feel amazing? Hell yes! Sometimes you just need to celebrate small progress recognizing that small progress is still progress. Never quit because of small progress. Keep pushing and the results will come slow and steady. It will be worth it!!

Real talk with Nicole

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This post is for all my blog followers! I do a lot of live videos on Facebook and openly share workout and nutrition tips along with my own personal struggles. Here is a collection of some of my more recent posts.  If you want to see more just like my page @Seemomlift

Full Body Workout:

 

My dip color review over coffee:

 

What to do when you are not motivate:

Quick product review: Sweet Sweat waist trimmer and cream

Killer Core Circuit:

 

Post competition struggles:

 

Sneak peek into my home gym: