World Vegan Day 🌼

Today is World Vegan Day, an annual event celebrated by Vegans all over the world. The event was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, then Chair of The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation and the coining of the terms “vegan” and “veganism”.


In the beginning, The Muscle Bakery wasn’t a reaction to any culinary changes but more of a personal development in the way I saw food. However, as my clientele developed and my skills improved, the demand began evolving and I was catering to the needs of my customers as well as developing my own cooking/ baking style.

The request for Vegan food has grown incredibly over the past few years, and even more so in the last year. When I began, my Vegan customers were a very select amount. But now it seems to be the other way around which is actually surreal to see; the way our culinary culture has changed.

With the growth of knowledge, we are all becoming more conscious of the world around us and it’s up to us to change that. So in contrast to when we began, we have developed with these changes, becoming an exclusively veggie friendly bakery.

We have also completely removed plastic bags and looking into veggie friendly packaging and labels.

We also offer a discount to all customers when they return their plastic containers or bring their own bags.


Everyone’s little efforts, make a big difference.


DID YOU KNOW:


A person showering for 2 months uses up the same amount of water that it takes to produce enough livestock for one beef burger.

Broccoli has a higher protein content per calorie than beef.

Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.

Plastic is the only existing material that CANNOT break down naturally.

There is officially so much plastic in the world that any fish we eat, by default also contains plastic.

If every human skipped just ONE meal of chicken per week, environmental effects would be like removing 500,000 cars off the road.

82% of starving children live in countries where food is grown to feed animals in the west.

Brad Pitt, Beyoncé, Ellen Degeneres, Liam Hemsworth, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Lopez, Pamela Anderson, Alec Baldwin and Bill Clinton are vegans.


To celebrate this day, we have put together a collection of our best Vegan recipes to inspire you guys; to show that eating Vegan (& veggie) is also super fun and tasty (and not just about eating leaves and carrot sticks).


VANILLA WAFFLES

Vanilla Pancakes


Say yes to waffles with this tasty vanilla flavour waffle, topped with soy yoghurt, cookies, fresh berries and zero syrup.


BLUEBERRY SLICES


Imagine if you married up a cookie, a scone and a cake… this is what our Blueberry Slices are like.


COFFEE COCONUT TRUFFLES


Coffee and coconut? imma go and say yes my friends. Soft truffle centre made w/ coconut flour, infused with instant coffee and coated in luxurious dark chocolate.


CHOC BROWNIES


Fudgey brownies to brighten the day. Using Soy yogurt as a secret ingredient, a recipe to make over and over again.


CHEESY NACHOS


Cheesy nachos without the cheese? C’est pas posible. Thanks to the use of nutritional yeast, make any tortilla your b**tch and make them into badass nachos.


FLAPJACKS


Flapjacks are usually laden with butter, not these tho. With added peanut butter… theres nothing to not love!


GOJI HOB NOBS

Goji Hob Nobs


Hob Nobs minus the gluten and the buttah + added health from the goji berries. Give them a whirl.


PROTEIN PANCAKES

protein pancakes


These pancakes are so tasty, it fooled all our non-vegan friends.


BBQ TOFU

bbq tofu


The easiest way to make tasty tofu, using bbq sauce and not much else! Pair it up in a salad or a spud for maximum taste bud party.


TOFU NUGGETS


Chicken nuggets is so last year, try these tofu nuggets instead.


VEGAN BANANA BREAD

vegan banana bread


Would you believe us if we said a can of pop can replace an egg? This recipe shows you how.


BASIC VEGAN PANCAKES


The simplest and tastiest pancakes you’re ever gonna make! A firm favourite amongst our followers.


We hope these recipes inspire you and remember: even if you swap ONE meal a day to a Vegan meal… you ARE making a difference.


Join us with your feedback #WorldVeganDay \ @themusclebakery \ @themusclebaker


For 20% off Bulkpowders use code: MUSCLEBAKERY20
For 5% off iHerb use code: JCB887


HAPPY VEGAN DAY 🌱

Treat or Treat? 👻

We made a post last year about Halloween, so this year we are gonna skip all that mumbo jumbo and head straight to the treats… no tricks. Its the best part of this holiday anyway, right?


Showcasing our favourite Halloween-ey treats that we’ve rustled up to date:


SPIDERWEB SMOOTHIE BOWL


Get in the Halloween mood with this easy to make smoothie bowl, decorated with yoghurt spiderweb!


FRANKENSTEIN PROTEIN POPS


These Frankenstein Pops are a firm favourite with the kiddos! Laced with peanut butter, decorated with chocolate and coloured in green… fun to make… and EAT!


VEGAN WITCH FINGERS


These Witch Fingers are made with all the healthiest ingredients, but full of all the scare!


FRANKENWEENY CUPCAKES


Try these Frankenweeny cupcakes…The cutest Halloween cupcakes you ever did see.


PROTEIN WORMS


Snack on these protein worms today. Lucky for you they are choc orange flavour!


WORMY MATCHA CAKE


Dont be spooked out by this Matcha cake, what you see ain’t really worms… but walnuts!


HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR HALLOWEEN THEME RECIPES!


Don’t forget to tag us if you try any of these recipes, you can find us on all social media outlets @themusclebakery/ @themusclebaker


For 20% off Bulkpowders use code: MUSCLEBAKERY20
For 5% off iHerb use code: JCB887


HAPPY (HALLOWEENY) BAKING!

Our bars (explained)

The start of our product base began unknowingly in the creation of our very first bar: Vegan Nuttylicious (which at the time was just called Healthy Snickers).

Once we had created and tweaked this one, the thirst to create more was unleashed! With knowledge + creativity, the Mighty Bar, Coco Bliss & Toffee Crunch were then born.

The idea was to re-create all of our usual favourite bars that we would have as kids (and admittedly as adults of course), by applying healthier methods of baking, using alternative ingredients, no refined sugars and making them free from Gluten & Wheat. 

We wanted to cater to the needs of people with dietary constraints as well as those who are slightly more strict with their macronutrient intake…but, also create bars that anyone could enjoy, regardless of diet… Leaving behind the ancient ideals that healthy isn’t tasty!

Thankfully, a local supplement shop offered us the chance to sell small amounts there, a great starting point for us. The true test would lie within our new customer base and their feedback would be instrumental in the growth of more products (and outlets).

Soon after, our beautiful Muscle Malt was born… Our biggest seller from day one! To think that it only happened by chance after a promise to a friend to create it (who still rubs it in our faces btw).

Then, Party Bar came along with a few mishaps along the way, followed by Cookie Cups & Skinny Bites which have since been discontinued.

But, eventually, we landed a second outlet… Created some more bars… And approximately 2 years down the line, we have 13-14 products sold exclusively at 3 outlets, in Gibraltar & Marbella (and hopefully many more in future.)

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So, to culminate our brief history intro, here is a look into our selection of bars:

1. NUTTYLICIOUS (VEGAN)

Our first creation and still one of our popular ones due to it being Vegan. This re-creation of the Snickers bar uses natural ingredients and sweeteners including dates, agave nectar and home-roasted nuts. Topped with dairy-free dark chocolate. Luxurious and decadent, it is in a whole league of its own… it’s frickin’ Nutty-Licious! 😛

Vegan Nuttylicious Img

Each bar has 287Cals, 16.2g of Fat, 29.7g Carbs (22g sugars), 8.5g Protein. 


2. MIGHTY BAR

A creamy high protein (dairy) chocolate filling, topped with date caramel and coated in luxurious dark chocolate. This is our take on the classic favourite ‘Mars Bar’ except with way better macronutrients, less sugars and carbs yet tastes INSANE! This one is most certainly the mightiest bar in town. Try it and you’ll know what we mean…. Mars move over, we got this! (Exclusive to La Parrilla on the Go.)

Mighty Bar Img

Each bar has 225Cals, 14g of Fat, 12g Carbs (of which 1.9g fiber and 8.5g sugars) + 12g Protein.

 

3. COCO BLISS (VEGAN)

Reduced fat organic shredded coconut combined with coconut oil, sweetened with agave nectar and enriched with a rich Vegan Protein blend… Like bounty bar, but better!

We actually used to make a non-vegan and vegan version of this bar, however the macros were really similar as well as the taste so we decided to go with just making the vegan version and it has been a hugely popular one ever since.

Coco Bliss Img

Each bar has 198Cals, 15.5g of Fat, 11.2g Carbs (7.4g sugars), 6g Protein.

4. TOFFEE CRUNCH

The re-creation of this one is obvious just by looking at the name (hehe)… A beautiful mixture of crispy brown rice, whey protein, toffee flavouring and dark chocolate. Whether you love toffee or not, there is no doubt you’ll have nothing but love for this one! Perfect post-workout treat!

TOFFEECRUNCH-2016-web 

Each bar has 221cals, 12.3g of Fat, 16.7g Carbs (7.9g sugars), 9.4g Protein.

5. MUSCLE MALT

Our greatest creation… Tastes exactly like Malteasers but made with good for you ingredients! Brown rice, cashews, hydrolysed whey, agave and luxurious dark chocolate… the only problem? They are highly addictive! (NO SERIOUSLY… THEY REALLY ARE!)

Fun fact: This bar actually started out as balls just like Malteasers, however demand began growing so much we had to cut out the hand-rolling so many balls and make them into bars instead.

This is our favourite bar to have on Leg Days, combine it with a good black coffee and you’ll good to go!!

MUSCLE MALT Img

Each bar has 223Cals, 13g of Fat, 19.5g Carbs (1.5g fiber, 11.3g sugars), 6g Protein.

 

Muscle Malt is one of our most popular bars! Evident in the #MuscleMalt search on Instagram like shown below.


6. PARTY BAR

This bar encountered some mishaps from the beginning of its creation. Without changing recipe whatsoever, the bars began solidifying… like, inedible hard after only a couple of days of making them. This had not happened before so, unsure of what to do we had to recall them and halted its sale until we could figure out how to solve this problem. The only thing we could think had affected it was the weather; we created it during summer and it began giving us problems in the colder months. Weird huh? Anyways, couple of months and a few experimentations later… we managed to nail it once again and got no more solidifying problems *crowd surf*

Containing sweet sultanas, crispy brown rice, chopped home-roasted nuts, gluten-free biscuits, prebiotic fiber, whey protein and topped with luxurious dark chocolate… it has everything you need! Think Picnic Bar meets Muscle Bakery! + Due to its varied and fuel-packed ingredient listing, this bar is the perfect choice to invigorate some energy… pre or post-workout!

Party Bar Img

Each bar is 164cals, 6.8g Fat, 19.1g Carbs (16.6g sugars) 7.1g of Protein.

7. NUTTYLICIOUS

Chewy nougat filling, peanut caramel, chopped nuts and luxurious dark chocolate… Snickers has nothing on this one!

When we end up cutting batches of these, the ends always end up in a bowl for us to enjoy. Fave way to eat it? Chopped up in a warm bowl of protein oats, the absolute perfect post-workout!

Nutty Img

Each bar is 193Cals, 10.7g of Fat, 15.6g Carbs (13g sugars), 8.6g of Protein.

8. RAZZLE BERRY

This bar has a soft raspberry flavour filling, combined with lashings of smooth peanut butter, enriched with whey protein concentrate, a chia seed crunch and finished in luxurious Dark Chocolate coat… A pleasant delight for those who love Raspberry flavour everything!

We love having this one with greek yoghurt… chop up half a bar, add some stevia, mix it up and enjoy! Tasty, filling and most importantly, won’t hurt them macros.

RAZZLE-2016-web

Each bar is 184Cals, 10.2g Fat, 13.8g Carbs (10.8g sugars), 9.1g of Protein.

9. VANILLA CRUNCH

A vanilla twist to our Toffee Crunch, made Vegan-friendly! Using brown rice, cashews, vanilla and enriched with pea protein isolate. Simple. Tasty.

This one happened just before we started selling at LPH, we knew that the customer base would be completely different to previous stockists (and a high volume of Vegans would go there) so we decided to create another bar! We took our toffee crunch recipe and made it vegan friendly while providing a different flavour for those who are not Vegan too. (Exclusive to LPH.)

Vanilla Crunch Img

Each bar has 241cals, 13.8g Fat, 23.6g Carbs (13.9g sugars), 7.2g Protein. 

10. PROTIX

Whats better than a Twix? a Protix of course! a Gluten-Free, casein enriched biscuit base, a naturally made, sugar-free, high protein caramel and a luxurious coat of dark chocolate. Lower in carbs AND higher in protein… winner winner.

This one is a big favourite at home, perfect to curb the late night cravings with a cheeky cuppa and your favourite TV series.

Protix Img

Each bar has 246cals, 14.7g of Fat, 20g Carbs (8g sugars), 13.4g Protein.

11. SKINNY DREAM

Every chocolate lover’s dream… its milky, creamy, silky and it’ll make you go ‘MMMM’ and ‘AHHHH’. A soft dairy-based centre, enriched with whey protein and coated in luxurious dark chocolate, perfect post-workout treat. (Exclusive to Strength Factory.)

SKINNY_2016

Each bar has 188Cals, 10.4g of Fat, 12.7g of Carbs (10.1g sugars), 10.4g Protein.

12. ROCKY ROAD

Packed with crushed (gluten-free) biscuits, fluffy marshmallows and enriched with whey protein. Packing a whopping 14g protein per piece… the perfect little indulgence!

This creation happened by accident while some friends were over and wanted some treats (but had nothing to give). So, in a typical mish mash the first edition of Rocky Road was born! Then, after a few amendments we decided it was good enough for all of you… It is smaller than the rest of the bars, but only because we consider it a more luxurious treat with higher calories. In basic, we keep it smaller to keep you guys safe from the fat monsters. Your welcome!

ROCKYROAD-2016-web

Each bar has 200cals, 8.8g of Fat, 15.6g Carbs (9.9g sugars), 14g Protein.

And if you don’t fancy some choc coated bars we also have these:

13. ALMOND DELIGHT (VEGAN)

Delicate almond butter fused with roasted & salted pumpkin seeds, enriched with pea protein and extra fiber. Tastes just like Turron except none of the sugar and nasty fats! Yippee!

ALMOND_2016_web

Each bar has 208cals, 11.3g of Fat, 15g Carbs, 12.4g Protein.

14. PB CHIA BAR (VEGAN)

The combo of natural peanut butter, chia seeds and blackstrap molasses makes this bar oh so beautiful! Enriched with pea protein isolate, prebiotic fiber and crunchy brown rice… an all round bar of perfection.

We used to make these in a smaller size, but due to everyone complaining they were too small… we doubled them in size! 

PBCHIA-2016_web

Each bar has 203cals, 13g of Fat, 10.4g Carbs (7.5g sugars), 10.7g Protein.

15. MATCHA BAR (VEGAN)

Simple ingredients, sweetened with agave, enriched with matcha green tea and pea protein isolate. Don’t be fooled by it’s green colouring, the taste is magnificent!

We used to make these in a smaller size, but due to everyone complaining they were too small… we doubled them in size! 

Each bar has 195cals, 10.2g of Fat, 11g Carbs (5.8g sugars), 11.5g Protein.

 

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FAQ

How long do the bars last?
Depends on each bar, if kept refrigerated they will last up to a minimum of 2 weeks if not longer. However, if left in warmer temperatures the life of each bar will be less; especially the Mighty Bar which contains dairy and Coco Bliss which contains a mix of almond milk and coconut (which tends to mould fairly quick).

Do i need to keep refrigerated?
Absolutely, especially in the warmer months. You can even freeze them if you wish for them to last a lot longer.

Do the Vegan bars contain whey?
No, any bars which are stated as Vegan DO NOT contain any dairy or egg what so ever.

Why are some bars smaller than others?
Each bar is made, cut, coated, wrapped by hand so naturally the bars will often vary in size.

When should i eat them?
It depends on preference, there is no right or wrong time to eat them. Some people prefer to eat them pre-workout, others like it as an afternoon snack to stop them from breaking their diet. As long as you eat them sensibly (not all 4 in one go) you should be fine no matter when you decide to eat them.

What sweeteners do you use?
We use a variety of different sweeteners, we tend to use agave nectar for its low GI properties (making it suitable for diabetics + we love the taste), together with stevia (liquid and granulated) or xylitol. However we do occasionally use other forms of sweetener and happy to amend bars accordingly for those who can’t have the above. You can check our pantry ingredient list to check full list of ingredients we use.

Are the bars suitable for diabetics?
All fillings are free from refined sugar, however they are coated in dark chocolate which DOES contain some sugars. If you are concerned about the amount of sugars each bar contains, they are listed above. However, we can make batches for you, using sugar-free dark chocolate via pre-order.

Are all bars Gluten & Wheat-Free?
Indeed so! All bars are 100% free from Gluten & Wheat (due to suffering those intolerances ourselves), but for any other requirements please check each description accordingly.

When are bars re-stocked?
All bars a re-stocked weekly, mostly on Mondays but depends if there has been a bank holiday or personal circumstances where day may vary.

Do you ship to UK?
Not at the moment, however we are looking at the possibility of stocking one outlet in UK… watch this space.

How accurate are the macros?
The macros are as close as possible, but like mentioned earlier, due to them being handmade there will naturally be some variance in size.

 

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We hope we have answered all your questions, if not please ask away! You can message us via FB, email us or even comment below.

 

Thanks and much love from us <3

News Update // September 15

Hello everyone!

Instead of hassling all of you with emails (which are so 1995), we have decided to create a monthly blogpost where we talk about our events, news, recipes, products, tips, fans and much more… This way you can view if you so please, and no fingers will be strained in the process of having to delete from your inbox! Win/Win really! 😀

EVENT // 17.08.15 // CLOCK TO ROCK CHEQUE PRESENTATION:

When we were approached by the fellow cyclists who were taking on the challenge to cycle from Big Ben to Gibraltar, we were more than happy to provide them with sponsorship in the form of our treats. Who would be crazy enough to take this challenge? Not us, thats for sure!

We gave them a selection of treats to set them on their way which helped them in the first leg of their journey… they however, mentioned that the rest of the time they kept guzzling down Coke’s to help keep their sugar levels up and keep them awake!

In this picture below they had just arrived into Gibraltar; faces of utter happiness.

C2R3

Here we are at the cheque presentation held at La Parrilla Restaurant with a Giant Chocolate cake donation because extra cake never goes a miss.

C2R2

In total they raised £7, 804 which was donated to the Cancer Relief Centre.

C2R1

WELL DONE BOYS!

 

EVENT // 21.09.15 // SHORJI LOCATION STORE OPENING:

We joined our little buddy Shorji down at her brand new store as she held a week-long opening, we donated a Giant Malt to a lucky winner and came along on the last day armed with tasty treats for her visitors.

Shorji 1

The creator of Shorji, Christel Mifsud, hand makes each of her creations after having designed all the patterns from scratch herself. She prides herself in bringing the best quality of sportswear, the best materials and of course all catered for with a big smile. We own 2 shorji creations and they are worth every last penny, not only does she create perfectly fitting sportswear, her customer care is second to none and is always happy to adjust each item to your comfort.
Shorji 2

To get your hands on some Shorji creations visit her at her store situated on 17A Cornwalls Lane or check out her website/ FB Page.

 

RECIPE HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH //

We have been creating lots of wonderful recipes across our site, Bulkpowders and GymVersus however we decided to highlight our latest creation of Cinnamon & Almond Cookies. Why? Because they are awesome (DUH) but also because they use an ingredient called Vitafiber. This is a high fiber sugar/ flour replacement alternative and much like in cookies, you can use in lots of wonderful recipes!

Cinnamon Almond Cookies

We buy our Vitafiber from Bulkpowders, however we have a few in stock in our online Shop for anyone based in Gibraltar who may be interested.

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH //

We decided to highlight this product after a recent bout with tummy issues led us to try these out. The doctors claimed it was IBS but without an accurate diagnosis, the need to heal the stomach issues was growing. Even scaling back our meals to its simplest and closely monitoring all foods ingested, the problem was still there, and the nudging pain still constant. So, after reading up on friendly gut bacteria we decided to try these out (which happened to be on the penny sale at Holland & Barrett at the time… yay us).

Acidophilus

Just a week after consuming them and the tummy had settled and the pain was beginning to decrease.

Research in recent decades has confirmed that supplementing with acidophilus can help our digestion and also treats diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut syndrome and reduces lactose intolerance and increases our absorption of calcium, B vitamins and can even improve appetite*

Did you know that Fage Total Yoghurts contain the very same friendly bacteria that will help your gut stay in a happy place.

*Sourced from Probiotics.org. Read more here.

DIET HACK OF THE MONTH //

Salads are awesome. No combination is ever wrong, you can tailor it to suit your taste and add all your favourite things. It’s basically a giant savoury flexbowl of gains. 

Our latest favourite salad combo involves popped potatoes as crunchy ‘croutons.’ (Promise its tasty) Not sure about you guys but, we love a bit of crunch when eating a salad. Unfortunately, most store bought croutons are quite calorific and add extra (unnecessary) calories so this is our quick fix for those who don’t have time to maybe make croutons from scratch themselves.

DietHack-Croutons

Grab your favourite bag of popped potato chips, in this case we have used some Morrisons Nume Paprika flavour (which are currently our favourite) and crumble them over your prepped salad. Garnish as you please and enjoy! You can choose to use half the bag or all of it.

If you want a higher protein alternative, Novo Chargrill Chicken Protein Bites available at GibProtein are also really tasty and go perfectly with a healthified Caesar-style salad.

 

CAKEY CREATION OF THE MONTH //

Our most popular cake to date is no doubt our Vegan Snickers Cake. Layers of cocoa sponge using an egg-less blend of flours and almond milk. Frosted with a raw caramel layer, topped with cocoa ganache, low-fat peanut butter sauce and homemade Snickers Bars. A sight (and taste) to behold!

Snickers Cake

To pre-order a cake, check our calendar to check availability then email us or FB msg us!

FAN PICS OF THE MONTH //

FanPic

Special thank you to all those amazing customers who keep buying our products, who praise us and support us in everything that we do.

We love seeing your pictures so remember to share them with us via our social media platforms 🙂

 

Have a healthy, happy day everyone.

With love

The Muscle Baker

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