Quest Protein Bar Review - AND - recipe for Quest Pumpkin Rolls!

Quest Bar Review

I have honestly never been so in love with a protein bar before! Quest bars are soft, chewy and taste amazing. Their flavors come in a great variety and have proved to calm my cravings for candy bars. They are also extremely versatile! You can cut them up, heat ‘em up and make cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and more! 

Sample Recipe:

Quest Bar Pumpkin Rolls:

Take a cinnamon roll quest bar, heat in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Take out and roll as flat as possible.  Spread Pumpkin Cream cheese (homemade or store bought) all over the flattened quest bar and roll up. Cut into pieces and devour!

I truly love all the flavors, but my top 5 would have to be:

Banana Nut Muffin – so soft and has chunks of real nuts. I usually heat this in the microwave for a few seconds and enjoy this before a morning workout.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – Do I really need to explain why? LOL No, seriously… these bars are chewy, soft and a perfect dessert or afternoon snack. The texture is spot on and the chocolate chunks are sweet-tooth satisfiers!

White Chocolate Raspberry – This is the newest flavor I have tried. This bar is sweet and full of white chocolate chunks.

PB Crave Cups – These are my boyfriend’s absolute favorite Quest products since he is an ultimate Reese’s PB Cup fan. Quest Peanut Butter Cups taste like the real deal! I especially love to break them into pieces and top off mug cakes, greek yogurt and oatmeal.

So, if I haven’t already convinced you to try Quest Bars – the macros on these bars are unbeatable! They have 170-200 calories, approx. 25g carbs, 17g fiber and 20g protein. Mind BLOWN. ;-) 

You can also check out tons of quest bar featured recipes on their website – www.questproteinbar.com

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

1 cup White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
18 Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses

 

 

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine sugar, peanut butter, spices, vanilla and egg - beat in a mixer until fluffy.
3. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. NOTE: If dough is too sticky, refrigerate 1/2 hour or until easy to handle.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly cracked on top, careful not to burn on the bottom. Remove cookies from oven. Press a Pumpkin Spice kiss into the center of each warm cookie.
5. Let cool completely before eating. 

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Pancakes

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Pancakes

These are BY FAR the best pancakes I ever made! Maybe I have a thing for lemon and poppy seed, but WOW. They lasted about 30 seconds on my plate.. and I practically shed a tear after I took my last bite. :-P

These are healthy, filling and a perfect summer breakfast!











Ingredients:
1 cup spelt flour*
1 T stevia
1tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Zest of one lemon + squirt of lemon juice
1 extra large egg
4 oz plain non-fat greek yogurt
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
¼ - ½ cup water
½ cup blueberries

Mix all dry ingredients together first, then mix wet and then combine. Add water as needed to thin out the batter to your liking. Fold in blueberries. Cook on griddle and chow down!! I topped mine with a few blueberries and sugar free maple syrup. These are amazing!

Makes 2 servings
Macros: per serving – 369 cals, 31g carbs, 8g fat, 19g protein and 10g fiber

*You could sub oat flour if you don't have spelt flour. Brown rice flour or whole wheat would work as well! :) 

ENJOY!!! :-D

Chicken Parmesean and Gnocchi Casserole

I adapated this recipe for mysteryloverskitchen.com. I made a few tweaks and added some whole wheat gnocchi pasta to the mix! This is my boyfriend's favorite dinner!! Hope you all enjoy! :-)

 

Ingredients:

*5-ouncepackage of garlic croutons
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*2 cloves garlic (minced)
*½ teaspoon dried oregano
*Salt and pepper
*2 pounds chicken tenders (or breasts cut into strips)
*5-6 fresh basil leaves
*1 jar of tomato sauce
*2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
*I package shredded Parmesan cheese (2.5 cups)

*1package whole wheat gnocchi



DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Place garlic croutons in a plastic bag and beatwith a meat hammer or heavy object until they’ve been crushed into smallerpieces. Do not beat into breadcrumbs. But do break down any large, chunkypieces into smaller bits. Set aside.

In a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish, drizzle the olive oil. Add the chickentenders, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper, and stir well to coat the chickenpieces with the oil and spices. Spread the fresh basil on top of the chicken.

Pour ¾ of the jar of the tomato sauce on top of the chicken,distributing evenly. Slide into a pre-heated 350º F. oven for 30 minutes.Remove. Do not turn off oven!

**Boil Gnocchi while chicken is pre-baking. Gnocchi only takes afew minutes to cook. As soon as they float to the top, take them out and rununder cool water to stop them from cooking.

Pour gnocchi on top of chicken. Spread half of the mozzarella andParmesan evenly over the sauce. Next sprinkle all of the crushed croutons ontothe sauce. Finish with the remainder of the two cheeses.

Return the pan to your 350 degree F. oven for another 25 to 30minutes. Casserole is done when all of the cheese is well melted.

Popcorn Chicken & Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Potato Fries

Don't get stuck eating the same, boring meals every day. Don't be afraid to try new recipes & ideas! ;)

Ingredients:

For the chicken -
1lb chicken breast tenderloins
1 egg
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (blended into oat flour)
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp cumin

For the fries -
1 large sweet potato (cut into fry shapes)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (melted)
4 tsp stevia
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Beat egg in a bowl and coat chicken pieces in the egg wash. Put chicken, oat flour, flaxseed meal & spices in a ziplock bag and shake well until chicken is evenly coated.

Next, put the fries in a ziplock bag with the coconut oil, cinnamon & stevia and shake well and make sure fries are coated well.

Put fries & chicken on separate foil lined baking sheets. Put them both in the oven and bake for about 30-45 minutes or until chicken is crispy and fries are done.

ENJOY! :-)

Banana Hulk Protein Pancakes

Ever since I got my NutriBullet for Christmas, I have been creating many different spinach protein pancakes! Here is one of my simplest recipes. Although they contain over a cup of greens, they do not have a spinach taste at all. :)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups raw spinach leaves
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp stevia
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 banana
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled
1/4 cup egg whites
1/8 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preheat a skillet or griddle and coat with non-stick cooking spray. Blend all ingredients together in a blender (or Nutribullet!). Cook like you would normally cook pancakes. I top this pancake with sugar free maple syrup or plain greek yogurt and cooked blackberries.

Makes 1 serving.
Nutrition Facts: approximately 366 cals, 49g carbs, 4g fat, 37g protein

ENJOY! :-)

Double Chocolate Casein Mug Cake topped with Melted Peanut Butter & Chocolate Casein Frosting

Keep in mind that this cake was made for a hungry, chocolate-crazed bulking girl!! ;-)

This is a perfect night time treat! Casein is a slow digesting protein which is perfect to have before you enter a fasted 6-8 hour state while sleeping. It helps with muscle repair and growth. Also, this cake is full of healthy fats! Don't fear the fat! You gotta eat it to lose it! ;-)

Ingredients:
For the Cake:
1/4 scoop chocolate casein protein (I used ON chocolate cake batter)
1 tsp truvia
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
1.5 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/4 egg whites
1 tsp coconut oil
splash of unsweetened almond milk

For the Topping:
1 heaping tablespoon of Natural Peanut Butter, melted
1/2 scoop chocolate casein protein
1/4 cup almond milk(approximate, may be less)

Directions:
For the Cake:
Spray a coffee mug with non-stick cooking spray. Mix all the ingredients for the cake inside of the mug. Microwave for approx. 2 minutes. Be careful to not overcook the cake.

For the Topping:
While the cake is in the microwave: Mix approx. 1/4 cup (cold) almond milk slowly with 1/2 scoop casein protein powder until it becomes a "mousse" texture.

When Cake is finished cooking, flip the mug onto a plate to let the cake fall out. Top with melted PB and the casein frosting. Sprinkle with cocoa powder for garnish.

ENJOY!!

Nutrition Facts:
1 cake: 433 calories, 28g fat, 18g carbs, 36g protein.