McD’s in the Athlete’s Village? Try No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Bars Recipe for Olympic-Sized Snacking

Over the last couple months, I’ve developed an Olympic-sized appetite which I am attributing to my twice-a-day workout schedule. Run in the morning; CrossFit in the late afternoon.  Today, mindlessly influenced by the fact that there is a McDonald’s in the Athlete’s Village at the London Olympics, I headed on over to my local golden arches for lunch. No, I didn’t woof down a gut-busting Big Mac, fry and milkshake meal and I hope our USA athletes aren’t either! I responsibly ate the Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken which is actually quite good with a roasted corn, tomato and black bean salsa and sprinkling of cheese and tortilla chips. However, with only 290 calories (yet supplying a decent 27 gram serving of protein), I was fiercely famished a few hours later.

Today, to address the needs of my rumbling stomach, I whipped up a batch of No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Bars. Ready in no time, my afternoon treat was ready just in time to kick back on the couch and enjoy seeing the women’s marathon. Sadly, I realized that my favorite event isn’t until Sunday, August 5th.   Oh well, table tennis and badminton will have to do today!

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Protein Bars Recipe

  • 2 cups minute oatmeal
  • 4 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (my 4 scoops measured 1 ½ cups)
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • 1 tablespoon stevia sugar substitute
  • ½ cup natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup chocolate chips

Line loaf pan with plastic wrap. In large bowl, add oatmeal, protein powder, flaxseed and stevia; mix these dry ingredients together until well-combined. Next, add peanut butter and water; knead with clean hands until incorporated (you can try to use a spoon, but my wooden one busted right in half). Sprinkle in chocolate chips, knead a bit more. Press mixture into prepared loaf pan and firm up in freezer for 20 minutes. Pull mixture out of pan by plastic wrap; slice into 12 equal sized pieces. Store in the refrigerator.  Serves 12.

Nutritional info (per serving): calories 221, total fat 10g, sodium 99mg, potassium 94 mg, total carb 22g, dietary fiber 3g, sugars 10g,  protein 11.g 

‘Whey Cool’ Strawberry Sherbet Pie with Protein Powder Recipe

Pie has a bad reputation and it’s no wonder why. A small slice of apple pie with a modest ½ cup scoop of vanilla ice cream has 571 calories, 27 grams of fat and scant protein.  Of course, a piece of decadent pie on special occasions isn’t going to ruin results earned from working out, running or whatever you do; but, it just isn’t the right fuel to keep an active person feeling well and going strong.  If you have a sweet tooth (like me) and want a little slice of heaven more frequently than on July 4th and Thanksgiving, whip up my ‘Whey Cool’ Strawberry Sherbet Pie with Protein Powder tonight. Based on a super-easy summer recipe my mom used to make during my childhood in blazing hot Arizona, this no-bake pie is modified for maximum performance with no-sugar added and fat-free products along with a couple scoops of protein powder. Yeah, that’s right, I said protein powder.


‘Whey Cool’ Strawberry Sherbet Pie with Protein Powder Recipe

  • 1 quart no-sugar added sherbet
  • 2 scoops whey protein powder, vanilla flavor
  • 1 8-oz container no-fat, dairy-free whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 pre-made chocolate cookie pie crust (Keebler Ready-Crust Chocolate)
  • ½ cup fat-free chocolate syrup
  • 1 pound fresh strawberries, washed, cored and sliced

Scoop entire container of sherbet into large mixing bowl; let sit for a few minutes to soften a bit. Sprinkle protein powder over sherbet a little at a time (to prevent clumping); mix in by hand or with beaters. After all protein powder is incorporated, fold in whipped topping with spatula until combined. Spoon entire mixture into prepared chocolate cookie crust; freeze for 3 hours or overnight until firm. To serve, cut into 8 slices with knife run through hot water. Top each slice with 2 ounces of strawberries and 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup. Serves 8.

Nutrition information (per 1/8 of pie with toppings): calories 275, total fat 6g, saturated fat 1g, trans fat 2g, total carbs 48g, sugars 9g, protein 9g.

Note: If you want to clean this recipe up even more, skip the pie crust and just spoon the sherbet mixture into the pie pan.  This removes about 100 calories, 4g of total fat (2 of which are trans fat), 14g carbs and 6g sugars.

Baked-and-Better Chocolate Protein Donut Recipe for National Donut Day!

It’s all about donuts this week; National Donut Day is on Friday, June 1st! Keep reading for donut recipe below!  As far as guilty pleasures go, this sweet treat ranks right up there as a go-to goodie whether morning, noon or night. While more than 10 billion donuts are made per year in the United States alone, I never really imagined that health-conscious runner types would be consuming their fair share. But, apparently so – and not even behind closed doors! Case in point, the annual Krispy Kreme Challenge in Raleigh, NC that attracts nearly 8,000 sugar-slash-jogging junkies who run 2.5 miles, stop and eat a dozen donuts each and then turn around and gut it back to the finish. Even one of my own favorite hometown races, Chuy’s Hot to Trot in Austin, serves up glazed sugar donuts and the company of “Elvis” himself as a post-race treat.

Of course, eating these carbo-bombs on a regular basis is not such a good thing; at some point your body is going to rebel — and that’s going to manifest as sugar crashes, unwanted weight and slower finish times. But don’t start grieving the goodbye just yet. My recipe for Baked Chocolate Protein Donuts will satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you fueled up through the morning with 7.5 grams of protein (each) – that’s more than an egg!

Baked-and-Better Chocolate Protein Donuts

For Donut Batter:

  • 3/4 cup almond flour (also called Almond Meal)
  • 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder
  • 3/4 cup whole-grain flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 3 tablespoons Truvia sweetener (Stevia)
  • ¼ cup egg whites
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/3 cup water
  • Baking spray

For Glaze:

  • ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 teaspoons unsweetened coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Mix first eight ingredients together in medium mixing bowl. Add egg whites, canola oil, stirring until well-combined. You can add a tad more or less water to achieve desired batter consistency which should be fairly thick. Mist mini donut pan with baking spray. Fill each mold 1/2 full with batter with a spoon or using a Ziploc bag to “pipe” in. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

In small microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.  Stir in milk and vanilla.  While glaze is still warm, dunk tops of each donut in glaze or drizzle across the tops with a spoon. Makes 12 mini donuts.

Nutritional Information (per 1 donut with glaze):  Calories 106, Total Fat 5.4g (1.0 saturated, 1.2 polyunsaturated, 2.8 monounsaturated), Cholesterol 0.2mg, Sodium, 54mg, Potassium, 143mg, Total Carbohydrate 9.1 g (dietary fiber 2.0g, sugars 2.0g), Protein 7.5g.

Note: if you don’t have a mini-donut pan, you can substitute a muffin pan. Or, hook yourself up with one through the Amazon link below. Also, you’ll find some of the other “stuff” used in this baked doughnut recipe.