Tag: Flexible Diet

Easy pizza dough 🍕

Two ingredient pizza dough? Must be lies.

I saw this recipe amongst the insta realms and was convinced it was one of those fake recipes, the kind where the picture isn’t an accurate representation of the actual recipe. BUT, after trying and testing, I can happily report that this recipe is true. Miracles do happen.

This recipe will most likely work with any flour, so far I’ve tried it with rye flour and self raising gluten-free flour and both were successful. I reckon oat flour will work well too, however steer away from coconut flour or almond flour as they can’t be directly subbed.

Ingredients:
45g Rye flour
75g Non-fat greek yoghurt (I used Fage 0%)
Salt to taste
Some extra flour for rolling dough on surface

Method:
Mix flour, salt and yoghurt and you’ll get a sticky dough – please note differing brands of yoghurt or flour will vary the recipe slightly eg. fage isn’t as liquid-ey as other yoghurts.

Then, pour sticky dough ball onto a floured surface and knead until it isn’t sticky anymore.

Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees C, spray a medium sized non-stick pan with oil and flatten your dough ball into it, bake for just under 10mins until base is cooked through.

Remove from oven, finish it with your preferred pizza toppings and return to oven for your cheese to melt and until dough has browned on the edges.

For this pizza I used low-fat cheese slices because I was out of mozarella, grated vegan cheese (I had some in fridge), chopped cooked ham and zero bbq sauce as the base – whole pizza came to approx 360cals.

Next time I’m going to make this recipe in bulk so i can keep some dough balls ready in the fridge for when I need them, yes need.

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All recipes are created by myself so if you find yourself using them for anything (which i don’t mind) please credit me, its the least you can do.

For discount on iherb – use my code JCB887 (multiple use code).

How to: Overnight Oats 🍨

Overnight oats became all the rage about 5 years ago, when all the health gurus were touting its awesomeness, flooding the blogosphere with grams of overflowing oat jar creations.

But, they weren’t wrong about the awesome part. There is a huge benefit in eating overnight oats (aside from the time-saving). As the oats soak overnight, their starches break down which improves digestibility. The soaking acts like a long cooking, which you won’t get from just heating them in the microwave or in a saucepan. (You’ll find that most people who suffer from digestive problems, find overnight oats much easier to stomach for this reason).

So, we are re-visiting this old craze because it’s a gem that needs to be revived!

(Not to mention all the crazy combos you can make with it!)

Here is our how to:

CHOOSE YOUR LAYERS
You are going to need a milk, a ground seed like flax or chia (or both), 30-40g oats, a filling like nut butter or jam, and fruit of choice. Extras include protein powder, yoghurt, syrups, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips (whatever you may fancy).

UPCYCLE YOUR OLD JARS
Save used jars for these overnight oats, not only do they look cool in a jar but you’re helping the environment too.

I love making them in almost over peanut butter jars as it soaks in all the hard to get to peanut butter that always gets left behind (or thrown away).

MIX IT UP
Add milk and ground seeds to your jar and mix, follow it with oats, peanut butter, jam, fruit, seeds and whatever else you may or may not wanna add. Give it a good swirl so that the oats are all soaking in the milk, helping give it a swirly pattern too!

LET IT SOAK
Leave in the fridge to soak overnight and bam. Ready to eat oats!

PEANUT BUTTER CHERRY OVERNIGHT OATS 🍒

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Coconut Milk made w/ a tiny bit of protein powder to thicken up. Use whichever one suits your diet best.
1 Tsp Chia Seeds
1 Tsp Flaxseed Meal
25g Pip And Nut Maple Peanut Butter
1 (generous 🙄) squeeze of Bulkpowders Zero Maple Syrup
Handful of Waitrose frozen cherries
1 Savia Soy Yoghurt
1 Pack Quaker Oats GF Oats (30-40g Oats)

Method:
1. Pour milk, chia, flax and oats in your jar and roughly mix.
2. Add peanut butter, cherries and yoghurt + whatever else you want in there and again mix roughly.
3. Close your jar and leave overnight.
4. Enjoy the next day with a hot cuppa!

The beauty of this recipe is that you can make as many different creations as you like, so long as you follow the basic how to.

Look forward to seeing what combos you guys come up with! Don’t forget to tag us if you make them, we love to see. Find us on all social outlets @themusclebakery/ @themusclebaker 🙂

Fancy some creamy oats? Check out our How to: Make Creamy Oats

For 20% discount on Bulkpowders use code: MUSCLEBAKERY20 | 10% discount on iHerb using code: JCB887

All recipes created by The Muscle Bakery and subject to copyright.

Veganuary Week Deux ✌🏼

Week Deux, still craving pizza, not missing meat, haven’t watched Earthling’s yet, the oven man farted in my kitchen and still eating loads Kale & Quinoa Salad. Check out Week Deux of Veganuary…

Wanna read our first week? Link here.

DAY 8: CRAVINGS 🙄

I was hoping I’d wake up today the most refreshed of all. It was after all, the 8th day of Veganuary and my body was (finally) getting to grips with the whole thing. Or so I thought?

However, the bathroom leak had returned and a 3am, 6am, 8am alarm (to check that we hadn’t flooded) meant I felt like death reincarnate.

The ‘Im going to get up early and be so productive’ mental plans were now ruined and I opted for slothing it out in the confines of my warm fluffy bed for an extra couple of hours. I lay drifting in and out of consciousness until the 7th alarm ‘OMG you are such a fatty’ went off. Best sign as any.

I swirl up my daily dose of Amazing Grass Lemongrass, pop on some running gear and head out into the world for a quick sweat on. Instantly I feel better, running is so therapeutical, so easy to get lost in thought; thoughts about brunch.

Best thing about a morning sweat sesh? The refuelling brunch part. The part that usually consists of creamy oats and peanut butter.

While inhaling my oats, an orchestra of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ ensue. How do people not like this? How can they not like oats. Honestly.

The rest of the day was pretty mundane. Prep invoices for Monday’s re-stocking. Wrap a few bars. Browse ASOS. Go for a massage. Crave pizza. Eat a crisps sandwich. You know. The usual.

I find myself craving foods, not because I particularly want to eat this or that, but because I miss the ‘full’ feeling or feeling of satiety. I understand that this must be a normal feeling, after all the body must still be getting used to the change.

A leftover Christmas chocolate in the form of a strawberry and cream Lindt ball stares at me from the back of the cupboard. It’s pink glistening wrapper, yearning to be touched.

NO!

Instead, I eat a Lenny and Larries cookie which has 4x more calories. Sigh. I see it. I’m gonna get fat by the end of this.

I go to bed hungry. And fat.

DAY 9: BUSY BEE 🐝 

Monday’s are always so overwhelming, the busiest day of the week for us, with approximately 500+ bars getting delivered across all stockists.

So, what does this mean? Less time for making food and/ or eating food cold. (Something I have become accustomed to over the past year.)

I attempt to re-create oats again, I had done them the day before so it was going to be a quick thing. A ‘piece of piss’ you could say. Unfortunately they didn’t turn out so well, I forgot they were on the hob heating up and then I forgot I had poured them in the bowl.

I eat it cold. Obvs.

I realise that Monday’s are not my thing. Or maybe multi-tasking? Maybe both? I’ll go with both.

I spend the rest of the day busy and simultaneously scheming up meals in my mind.

End up eating a quinoa and kale salad for the umpteenth time.

Monday. Goodnight.

DAY 10: FAT 🐷

I wake up feeling fat.

Not bloated.

Fat.

It dawns on me that MAYBE it’s not the change to veganism that is making me feel like this, but the overconsumption of Yorkshire puds, roast potatoes and Lindt balls during xmas that in fact have contributed to my demise.

I see a meme that says ‘it’s been 12 years, maybe am not bloated, just fat’ ~ I relate to it.

(Shoutout to memes though, it’s great knowing that no matter how shitty you feel… someone else has felt the same way too.)

Lunch comes along and I watch my bf consume a large pizza AND burger while I nibble on some leaves (because it’s the only Vegan thing on the menu). I drown my hunger sorrow’s in 3 baskets of freshly baked spelt bread.

Sorry wheat intolerance. Please forgive me, for I was hungry.

8:30pm arrives and i’ve consumed only 20g of 140g protein, I give up on life.

Damn you delicious bread.

DAY 11: REGRET 😪
The bloat continues, except now it’s a mixture of wheat poisoning and Xmas fat.

If momma thought me anything, it’s that when you’re feeling poorly, a good ol toast and a bottle of Lucozade fixes everything. Except my mum was no where to be seen and an avo toast + smoothie is the best I can rustle up. Earning those hipster points the best way I can.

I choose to not eat much all day, par some leftover Hazelnut cookies which I forgot I had made.

This tends to happen often due to the daily baking at MB HQ. Other people find loose change in their pockets, not me. I find cookies. Who’s the real winner huh?

For dinner I opted safe, but was also inspired, mainly due to hunger (after eating basic all day) and tried to re-create Wagamama’s Warm Chilli Salad coz it’s my fave. [Emphasis on tried].

I had a bottle of generic supermarket brand sweet chilli sauce, which I assumed wasn’t TOO spicy. Pan-fried Tofu in it, added more to the salad then an extra drizzle you know, in case I wanted to take a picture of it like the true insta hoe that I am.

‘Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups.’

Do you know the quote, ‘Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups.’ ?

Yeah.

My mouth resembled the fiery pits of hell, and so after several attempts of eating the chilli with a side of salad, I gave up.

I soothed my burning mouth with a high protein Yoghurt mix (Alpro Coconut Yog + Now Foods Vanilla Soy Protein) and I was well and truly DONE.

DAY 12: OVEN MAN 🙋🏽‍♂️
After several days sans oven, (it had suddenly died on me) the man finally came to fix it. I offer him some water as i see him sweat profusely while disecting my oven to pieces.

He became so enthralled in the fixing of my oven that he let one rip.

Yeah. He farted.

Awkward level – Infinite.

I pretended not to hear it, I think he did too, it took a few seconds of silence until he applogised.

‘Its alright’ i laughed.

‘Spinach wouldnt have done that,’ I think to myself.

HOLD UP.

My first veggie joke!

Ok ok. First *lame veggie joke.

I pay him £160, and tip him a Muscle Malt.

DAY 13: MUNDANE 💤

Fridays are usually fairly busy, making sure all bars are ready to roll out on the following Monday.

So, in true busy bee fashion the day was pretty mundane.

Except maybe, the part I had a BBQ tofu Burrito Bowl which was INSANELY good.

Ok and maybe the part I attempted to try a YouTube Hair Tutorial. (It was all fun and games until I was 2 hrs in, an hour late and nowhere near looking like Kendall Jenner.)

I realise that it’s the end if the week and i legit don’t miss meat. Like mentioned before, i miss the satiety feels but the thought of meat is now is slightly off-putting.

I celebrate with a glass of vodka, lime and sparkling water. (Because I’m trying to get my summer body back.)

Note to self: Pluck up the courage to watch Earthlings.

DAY 14: RUNNERS HIGH 🏆

All week I had been mentally preparing myself for today, for tackling a Round the Rock run. For any of you reading this who are not from Gibraltar, it means running the circumference of Gibraltar (an approximate 10+km’s).

I woke up, downed my powdered greens and waited patiently for them to settle. You see, I can’t run until I go to the ‘ladies room’ or else the run itself makes me wanna. Nothing I hate more than having to stop and walk because I’m bursting or having to barge into a restaurant/ bar ‘Can I use your toilet please?’ Embarrassing. So I wait.

Eventually i set off, found a good pace and in the same way as Brian Griffin in Family Guy, I get the incredible runners high. (Watch linked video to see what a runner’s high is because it is such an accurate depiction.) I beat my time from two weeks prior. I reward myself with a Lenny & Larries Snickerdoodle Cookie.

Lunch plans were at my sisters, and however supportive she is of me taking part in Veganuary the stress of cooking for the family got the better of her: ‘Bring something for yourself I don’t know what to make.’ Wagamama take away it is.

‘All the Edamame beans please.’

In usual post-lunch tradition, my sister (who must be a distant relative of Charlie from the chocolate factory) whips out trays upon trays of chocolates. Hey Twix. Hey Wispa. Hey Twirl. All my old homies staring at me, pleading me to unwrap them. But, I resist. I ain’t a quitter. I also happen to be REALLY stuffed from all of the 3 bowl’s of Edamame beans.

After resisting the chocolates, I got home craving something sweet. Does this happen to you? When you resist certain foods, you crave them? It does to me anyway. So, I made a giant pancake with loads of Choc Hazelnut butter and sliced strawberries. Honestly it was so good! Who said veganism is hard?

I immerse myself in sorting out accounts and emails. I tackle the longest email first: start typing and realise 3 paragraphs in that I haven’t even typed anything at all. Damn keyboard batteries have gone.

Technology.

Omg…

Are Apple products vegan?
I type this into the crystal ball that is the Google search bar…

I was NOT mentally prepared for the sudden wave of information that followed. To find out all the items that are in fact not Vegan.

Tampons, condoms, sugar, toothpaste… the list went on! This can’t be real surely?

Atleast I learn that Apple products are in fact Vegan. Thank f**k for that. Who cares about smelly teeth when you’re using your shiny 27inch 4K Retina iMac anyway? Pft. 

We hope you enjoyed our week two Veganuary. It has been slightly easier than week one, due to learning what foods we like and don’t like. Hope we are proving it is not as hard as you may believe it to be! You may feel that it is impossible to do it and give up *insert favourite animal based food here* (most people say cheese)  BUT, eating LESS also makes a positive change on our environment! Try it  😄

This text is based on the experiences of @themusclebaker.

Check out our Vegan Recipes for inspo.

Much love,

The Muscle Baker ❤️

How to: Make Creamy Oats ✨ 

Apparently there are people out there who still manage to cook their oats wrong or refrain from eating porridge because they don’t like its taste or texture. WUUUUUUUT? 

These people (also known as stupid people) CLEARLY don’t know what they are missing out on! When done right they can be super creamy and delicious. Not to mention how filling they are, packed with all the right nutrients to keep you fuelled all day. Whether you choose to have them for breakfast, for tea or post-workout, you really can’t go wrong with a good bowl ‘o’ oats! 😋

Here is our how to:

HEAT UP MILK
Choose your favourite milk, you will need 200ml per serving. Pour it into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

ADD THE OATS
You can choose to buy sachets of Quaker Oats if you like, we saw some on offer and bought some but they are the same as regular rolled oats which are a lot cheaper. Make sure to go for a Gluten-Free option if you have an intolerance.

You will need 35g of oats. Add them in and reduce heat slightly, keep stirring for several minutes.

MAKE IT SPARKLE
You can add protein powder, we have been using Now Foods Non GMO Soy Protein and it works a treat! A similar substitution would be casein, if any of you can consume dairy this is the one we suggest. One scoop is enough. Maybe you don’t want to add protein, and add matcha powder, lucuma, maca instead… stir that in too and combine it with oats. Keep stirring several minutes until oats have soaked up the mixture and you have a thick and creamy (not clumpy) mix.

PIMP IT UP
Pour into a bowl and add your toppings. We do love nut butters on our oats so you’ll always see some on there when we make them. But, it is upto you (or your macros) what you’d like to add.

DONT FORGET THE SYRUP!
We adore the Zero syrups range by Bulkpowders because they are no calorie, sugar-free yet taste great! (Meaning we get to add loads of it tee hee) However, any syrup you prefer will taste great: agave, maple, coconut nectar, date nectar etc.

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did! Don’t forget to tag us if you make them, we love to see. Find us on all social outlets @themusclebakery/ @themusclebaker 🙂

For 20% discount on Bulkpowders use code: MUSCLEBAKERY20 | 10% discount on iHerb using code: JCB887

All recipes created by The Muscle Bakery and subject to copyright.

Review: Hectares Sweet Potato Crisps

The lovely team at Crisps ‘N’ stuff sent us a bag full of their Hectares Sweet Potato Crisps and ofc we (very) happily dug in to review them! We were big fans to start off with, so we were SUPER excited to get so many bags sent to us! (Thanks guys) 😋

They have a selection of 3 flavours: Lightly Sea Salted, Chorizo & Sundried Tomato and Red Onion & Black Pepper. All of which are free from Gluten, Wheat, Dairy and Vegan friendly (inclusive of the Sundried Tomato & Chorizo flavour.)

Red Onion & Black Pepper:

Perfect for those who love a bit of a peppery tang due to the predominant pepper flavour. The flavour does state ‘Onion & Pepper’ but the onion flavour is definitely more subtle.

I would use it in a combo for a recipe or as an addition to a salad or sandwich whereas the pepper flavour would compliment the meal rather than override it. Plus, crisps in a sandwich is always a winner! 

Or, you could always try out Sweet Potato Crusted Chicken Breast Recipe.

Per 35g bag: 179Cals | 11F | 17.8C | 1.2P Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Red Onion & Black Pepper Flavoured Seasoning (Black Pepper, Dextrose, Sea Salt, Rice Flour, Red Onion Powder, Colour: Beetroot Red, Natural Black Pepper Flavouring). 

 

Lightly Sea Salted:

It is what it is, like Ready Salted except made with sweet taters. Perfect if you’re not too adventurous and like your snacks plain. Unlike a lot of veggie crisps out there, these are way less greasy and super tasty! PLUS (out of all 3) these contain the least ingredients so if you are fussy like that, they are comprised simply of sweet potatoes, high oleic sunflower oil and salt!

Per 35g bag: 184Cals | 11.6F | 17.7C | 1.2P Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Salt.

Chorizo & Sun-Dried Tomato:

If a sweet potato eloped with a Bag of Lays Campesina flavour crisps you’d end up with these. No doubt my favourite flavour of the lot!

So full of smokey/ tangy/ paprika flavours Which remind me of the Lays mentioned above. Anyone who has shopped in a Spanish supermarket before will know it as the bright green packet. It’s one of my favourite crisps but it’s riddled with wheat and dairy which I cannot have so when I tried these… Ohhhhh the happiness!

Eat them solo, add to your salad for a little crunch (pic below) or try the chicken recipe with these instead!

Per 35g bag: 179Cals | 10.9F | 17.7C | 1.3P Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Red Onion & Black Pepper Flavoured Seasoning (Rice Flour, Salt, Tomato Powder, Paprika, Cayenne, Yeast Extract Powder, Sugar, Natural Flavourings, Dried Bell Pepper Powder, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Oregano, Colour: Paprika Extract, Chorizo Extract). 

You may be wondering what High Oleic Sunflower Oil is (seeing as all 3 flavours contain this ingredient). Well, hi-oleic sunflower oil is a type of sunflower oil bred to have a high concentration of the fatty acid oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid which is found in olive oil and macadamia nuts. It is also considered as a Non-GMO ingredient as it is the result of traditional plant breeding.

To get your hands on these delicious crisps, follow Crisps ‘N’ Stuff on FB and order via their page directly or buy at any of their point of sales. La Parrilla On The Go sell them AND Muscle Bakery treats so we suggest you go there best 😝

For anyone in the UK, you can find them in a variety of outlets such as Holland & Barrett, Ocado, Wholefoods and more! Check Hectares website for more info.

 

We hope you enjoyed our little review! We plan to try some recipes featuring these crisps (when we manage to get a break from making Muscle Malts) so keep an eye out! You can find us on @themusclebakery on all social outlets, or follow @themusclebaker directly on Instagram!

 

 

Tag us if your try them!

 

Much love <3