Healthy Eating – THE MUSCLE BAKERY

Lower-Fat Satay Curry 🍛

I started off with every intention to make a stir-fry but the can of coconut milk lurking in the cupboard wanted otherwise.

This recipe is an amended version of this Chicken Satay, the difference would be in the marinating of the chicken and addition of red peppers (which was a sublime addition by the way).

Ingredients:
500g Chicken Breast (sliced thinly or cubed)
1 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
Drizzle of olive oil
1 Chicken stock cube
Large red pepper
1 Can of light coconut milk
3/4 Cup peanut powder
Salt to taste

Method:
In a bowl add chicken, garam, turmeric, garlic, olive oil, 1/2 crumbled stock cube and a sprinkle of salt and massage it all into the chicken pieces using your hands. Set aside.

Prepare two pans with a drizzle of olive oil, one will be for chicken which will need to be large and the other is to make your red peppers separately.

Slice the red pepper into thin strips and cook in a pan on medium-high heat with the other half of the stock cube.

Heat up larger pan until hot and cook chicken on medium-high heat until chicken has cooked over (and you can’t see any pink bits), pour in coconut milk and peanut powder and reduce heat to a simmer.

Once your red peppers have softened (I let them brown a bit, until they were a bit chargrilled) you can fold them into chicken curry.

Leave simmering for approx 10 mins.

Serve with rice, quinoa or some salad – delicious either way! The sauce is to die for and we even grabbed some bread to dip in the sauce… mmmm.

Hope you enjoy it! Don’t forget to share it with me, I love to see you making these recipes 🙂

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Easy Chia Pudding

Chia seeds are jam packed with nutrients so imma add them to everything and nobody is gonna tell me otherwise.

Seriously though, chia seeds are the powerhouse of the seed family: packed with antioxidants, fibre, protein and omega-3’s… you really can’t go wrong by adding them to your diet. For me, they really help with regulating my digestion and I won’t go a day without having them – mostly adding them to porridge and yoghurt.

Chia seeds are one of the most fibre dense foods available, specifically soluble fibre. What does this mean? In the same way that chia seeds create a gel when mixed with water, the same process happens in your digestive system; they absorb water to form a gel and in turn soften stools for easier passage.

Anyway, heres the recipe – give your body the love it deserves:

Ingredients:
160g Non-fat greek yoghurt (I used Fage brand)
2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Flavour drops of choice or vanilla extract
+ toppings of choice

Method:
Not much to it, just mix it all together until combined (without toppings), pour into a glass or bowl and refrigerate for an hour (or until you can turn the bowl/glass upside down without it falling out).

Then, top with what you like 🙂

I topped mine with some Malt-ish crumbles, sugar-free chocolate hazelnut spread and strawberries 😍

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Cheesecake-filled Easter eggs 🐣

Easter eggs but make them macro-friendly.

Easter eggs isn’t the problem, eating them in moderation is. I just want the whole egg. You know? So, with these homemade ones i can at least eat the whole egg and its still within ‘moderation’ hehe plus they look super cute AND a higher in protein.

Heres how:
100g Chocolate of choice
1/4 Tsp coconut oil
200g Light soft cheese*
10g Low-Sugar chocolate hazelnut spread
20g Whey protein powder – choc flavour
4 Drops of hazelnut flavdrops
2 Drops of white choc flavdrops
+ toppings of choice

*The lightest option available is Philadelphia brand ‘lightest’ however I used generic supermarket branded soft cheese.

To make a vegan egg alternative, use vegan cheese spread (any brand will work) and the best protein powder I would recommend is choc soy protein, like this one.

Note: if you don’t have the flavdrops don’t worry it won’t change the texture of this recipe just the taste. You can add more hazelnut spread for authentic ‘bueno’ taste or you can just add any essence/ flavouring drops to sweeten.

Method:
Melt chocolate with the tiny bit of coconut oil – I do this in microwave but if you don’t have a microwave place chocolate and coconut oil in a glass bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. Some chocolate brands won’t require using coconut oil, but others might be thicker and need a bit of oil for it to spread easier.

Using an easter silicone mold, spread a layer of chocolate into each cavity and freeze a couple of minutes until solidified.

In a bowl, mix together remaining ingredients and whisk until well combined. Pour into your chocolate egg shells (still in mold) and refrigerate 15-20minutes.

Lastly, top with whatever you like – I used Malt-ish crumbles, strawberries and a cheeky white choko bon. Like having an easter egg and delicious dessert rolled into one, with the added bonus of each egg coming to approx 260 cals (inc toppings).

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Recipe: Sweet Pizza 🍓

Idk, its like a pizza pero sweet.

Halfway into making breakfast muffins for my boyfriend I realised I didn’t have a muffin tray to bake them in and so, sweet pizza was born. Honestly, it felt like the most fitting description.

Made with oat flour, whey and egg – a simple and versatile recipe which you can make when you fancy something cakey, can prep in advance or even make into muffins (like i failed to do).

Heres the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 Cup oat flour (or ground oats)
1 Scoop whey protein*
1 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Cup oat milk (or milk of choice)
1 Egg (or 2x egg whites)
1/4 Cup maple zero syrup
1 Tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp agave nectar
*You can omit this completely, however the whey protein will give it a sweeter flavour so you will want to add some more sweetener – I would recommend a powdered stevia or xylitol).

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 170 Degrees C.

Chuck all your ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

Line a round tray (I only had one size which is approx 10inch) with greaseproof baking paper and pour your mix into it. Spread to the edges with a spatula – it should spread enough.

Sprinkle choc chips into batter (optional).

Bake for approx 10mins, until baked through the centre.

Remove from oven… I would say leave to cool, but is anyone ever patient enough to do that? Melted chocolate chips > not melted chocolate chips. YGM?

Spread your desired toppings; I used peanut butter, strawberries and white choc drizzle.

Yields 4 slices and approximately per slice (no toppings) was: 162 cals | 3.2F | 17.4C | 11P however macros may vary depending on brands and measurements each person uses.

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Recipe: Caesar Salad Sauce (+ vegan subs) 🥗

Did you know Caesar sauce usually has anchovies? I didn’t and let me tell you I WAS SHOOK.

Dont get me wrong, I have nothing against anchovies but I don’t like them and just knowing that they reside in Caesar Salad sauces – I just can’t do it. So, I made up my own recipe, which happens to be healthier and high in protein too. FTW.

Heres how you make it (with vegan subs):

Ingredients:
4-5 Tbsp non-fat greek yoghurt
For vegan option use Alpro ‘Greek’ style
1 Tbsp Hellmans really light mayo
For vegan option you can use vegan mayo OR more yoghurt
10g Dijon mustard
40g Parmesan
For vegan option use Violife ‘Parmesan’
3 Tbsp milk of choice
1 Tsp garlic powder
1 Tsp olive oil
1 Tsp lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Theres not much to it, put all your ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. Alternatively you can use a hand held blender too.

Note: add more milk if you prefer it runnier.

I made my salad with these delicious Chicken Goujons, pan-fried cooked ham (tastes like turkey bacon and is the best bacon hack you’ll ever try), crumbled melba toast and goats cheese cubes. Was absolutely delicious and felt like we were having a restaurant dinner 😛

Dont forget to tag / share if you try it! 🙂

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Recipe: Choc Chunk Cookies 🍪 (Gluten-Free)

Nothing says I love you like warm, freshly baked cookies.

I dont really need an excuse to bake, in fact I am a THE biggest procrastibaker – will bake/ cook before doing anything that needs done round the house (or in life). So, instead of doing something productive I decided to make freshly baked cookies to greet my boyfriend when he got back from work. Logical right?

They turned out to be the best healthified cookie recipe I have made to date sooooo no regrets! 😛

Try them yourself:

Ingredients:
150g Cashew butter
(or any alternative – I just like the taste of cashew in cookies)
50g Ground almonds/ almond flour*
20g Whey protein powder
(Any you prefer will be fine. I alternate between Combat Cookie or Bulk Vanilla).
25g Brown sugar**
15g Xylitol (or preferred granulated sweetener)
1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1 Tsp melted coconut oil
1 Tsp vanilla extract / flavouring
2 Egg Whites
Chocolate chunks of choice (I used some chocolate that was still lingering in the cupboard from xmas which is Morrisons Cookie Milk Chocolate. Chopped it into chunks and was perfect – just use whichever you like best.)

* If you don’t have ground almonds I would suggest ground oats, however almonds will give you a MUCH better texture for cookies, oats will dry up more.
** You can omit the sugar and replace with granulated sweetener but the brown sugar will give it the perfect cookie texture (crispier on the outside) + perfect taste. Alternatively, use coconut sugar.

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Method: Line a baking tray with greaseproof baking paper and pre-heat oven to 170 Degrees C.

In a bowl, combine your dry ingredients then fold in wet ingredients leaving chocolate chunks for last. Place in freezer for 10 minutes – this will help roll the cookies onto the baking paper.

With a tablespoon, grab a spoonful and roll into a ball with your hands then place onto baking sheet. Repeat until all mix is used.

Dip fingers into a tiny bit of water and flatten/ shape your cookies.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes (until cookies have began to go golden brown around the edges).

Leave to cool completely.
Recipe yielded approx 12 cookies.

Enjoy with (or without) the boyfriend but definitely with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

Each cookie was approx 137cals / 8F / 9.8C / 5P (and I piled on the milk choc in this one, so play around with the amounts and you can get even better macros!)

Don’t forget to tag us if you try it 🙂

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Recipe: Healthy Chicken Goujons (Gluten-Free)🍗

KFC got nothing on this.

Honestly though, these were SO good! Reminded me of the KFC chicken tenders – dipped in bbq sauce. Except these were nicer! (obviously) and you would never tell they are baked instead of fried. Will happily bet on your kids/ husband/ boyfriend/ girlfriend/ bff/ parent/ grandchild approving this one.

Heres how I made them:

Ingredients:
For chicken marinade:
600g Chicken breast (sliced into strips)
1 Oxo Chicken stock cube (or alternative but i like the taste of oxo)
1 Tbsp Garlic and herb seasoning
1 Tbsp Smoked salt
2 Tbsp Olive oil
For batter:
50g Ground almonds
200g Gluten-free breadcrumbs*
1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tsp Smoked salt
3 Egg whites

*Gluten-Free breadcrumbs are usually made up of dried corn, so if you don’t have any handy or can find none at the supermarket you can blitz some cornflakes in a high speed blender, or even tortilla chips (doritos if you’re feeling crazy) as they too are made of corn.

Method: First, you’ll need to marinate your chicken strips. In a bowl, mix chicken with marinade ingredients. For the oxo cube you will have to dissolve it in a bit of boiling water and pour it in. I like to do this ahead of time, say in the morning for an evening meal so the chicken really soaks up the flavours. Alternatively, if you forgot to marinate ahead of time – make sure you leave it at least half an hour minimum marinating.

Once your marinated chicken is ready, prepare a baking tray with greaseproof paper and pre-heat oven to 170 Degrees C.

Grab two bowls, in one add your egg whites and in the other mix the rest of your batter ingredients.

Then, strip by strip dip chicken into egg white mix, then batter mix and place on lined baking sheet. Repeat until all strips are coated.

Note: In this recipe i made half of the chicken and kept the rest for the next day. Half the recipe yielded approx 18 strips.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (different ovens may vary) until chicken is crispy and golden.

HEART EYES

They were so good that we ate ALL 18 STRIPS haha, the first few in a salad as seen in pic and then the rest dipped in bbq sauce.

Like I said, willing to bet on EVERYONE loving these!

Don’t forget to share your recipe making with us, we love to see! 🙂

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Recipe: Carrot & Apple Cake 🥕

It was a rainy day and i REALLY fancied something heartwarming, with lots of cinnamon and apples – to enjoy with a frothy coffee and the sound of the rain. Unsure whether to make pancakes or cake, i handed the decision making to my boyfriend and (obviously) he chose cake.

Im glad that he did though because its one of the most delicious cakes I have made to date and that says a lot coming from someone who’s profession is baking! Hope you enjoy this recipe:

Ingredients:
2 Small/medium apples (cubed)
160g Rye flour
40g Vegan protein powder*
250g Carrots (frozen is also fine)
1 Banana (mashed)
3 Egg whites
1/4 Cup light olive oil
50g Brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
50g Xylitol
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
+ a bit of grated carrot (optional)
1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1/2 Tsp Baking soda
1 Tsp Cider vinegar
*I used this one by Bulkpowders in Apple Strudel flavour and it worked perfectly, however a vanilla flavour one will work well too. Alternatively, omit completely and add more flour.

I used brown sugar in this recipe because i like the taste it gives recipes like this (with cinnamon) but you can also sub for more xylitol/ any other granulated alternative. As for flour, i presume it could be done with oat flour if you don’t have/ can’t have rye, but I have not tried this myself – so can’t vouch for it.

Method:
First, you need to sautée apples. Do this by heating a pan on med-high heat (no oil) and add 1 tbsp cinnamon until apples soften, stirring apples over regularly.

Then, make your carrot puree. You can use ready made puree OR to make your own, boil carrots with water and then blend together in a Nutribullet or with a handheld blender. I made my puree a bit chunky as i like it with carrot pieces, but you can simply blend more or with more water for a smooth puree.

Preheat oven to 170-180 Degrees C.

Now, chuck all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Pour mix into a round 8inch baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes (until a knife comes out clean when poked in centre).

Leave to cool completely before eating. Recipe yielded 8 slices.

We enjoyed it with a sprinkle of icing sugar and cream cheese frosting and it was absolutely delicious! We also shared it with some friends and they gave it raving reviews too!

Don’t forget to tag / share if you try this recipe, we love to see! 🙂

Recipe: Fluffy Pancakes

Its been a while since we shared a recipe with you guys, not because we didn’t want to but we’ve mainly been trying to survive this covid pandemic… I’m sure you can relate.

*FLUFFY PANCAKES TO THE RESCUE*

Ingredients:
80g Gluten-Free Flour (or alternative – not coconut flour)
30g Protein powder of choice (we used Bulkpowders Vanilla flavour)
25g Oat Flour (alternatively, if you can have gluten Ready Brek also works)
2 Tbsp Xylitol
2 Tsp Baking Powder

The above recipe will make your dry pancake mix, an approximate 160g. You will need half of this for the pancake batter.

Batter ingredients:
80g Pancake Mix
5 Egg whites (beaten until stiff peaks form)
1/2 Cup milk of choice (we used unsweetened almond milk)
2 Tbsp Zero syrup
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda (for fluffiness)

Method:
You may not think that the beaten eggs are important but they are, trust me… they will make your pancakes so fluffier. Mix all your ingredients then fold the egg whites in. If your mix is still too runny, add more pancake mix. If too dry, add a little more of your chosen milk.

Heat a non-stick pan with low-cal spray oil on medium heat and once hot enough (be patient enough to wait) pour spoonfuls of batter to make your pancakes, cooking for several minutes per side.

Stack them up, grab your syrup and enjoy…

Hope you enjoyed this recipe! Please tag us if you make it, we love seeing you re-make our creations! 🙂

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

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

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

PROTEIN PANCAKES

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

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

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

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