Benefits of Oat Bran + PB&J Oat Bran Breakfast (vegan/high protein)

I have fallen in love with oat bran. Ever since making my banana cream pie parfaits, I couldn’t believe where it was I was hiding that I haven’t tried oat bran before. It’s consistency is so deliciously creamy… plus the whole thing expands so much, making you actually feel like you’re eating a lot (unlike rolled oats, which don’t expand very much, imo).

I thought I should make this post to line out some cool facts about oat bran, just to deepen my new-found love for the product. We already know oats are great for us, no matter if they are rolled oats, oat bran, or steel-cut (I stay away from instant though). I have seen a cool review that Heather did on her blog how oat bran stands up against rolled oats. Impressive. She said:

“I was pleasantly surprised to learn that oat bran has a better nutritional profile when compared to rolled oats. Because oat bran is the outer husk of the oat grain, it contains the bulk of the dietary fiber, along with a large amount of useful minerals. “

After doing some research online, the basic info I found out about oat bran is that:

• Whole grains have a high dietary fiber content, but oat bran provides more than rolled oats. A 100-gram serving of dry oat bran contains just over 15 grams of fiber, while rolled oats provide 10 grams. Fiber improves cholesterol levels, regulates blood sugar and also helps to fill you up.
• Oat bran provides much more protein and a wee bit less carbs than rolled oats. A 100-gram serving of oat bran contains about 17 grams of protein and 66 grams of carbs. This same serving size of rolled oats contains about 13 grams of protein and 68 grams of carbs.
• Oat bran and rolled oats have moderate amounts of total far, but both are low in dangerous saturated fat, which is known to cause heart disease. A 100-gram serving of oat bran has 7 grams of total fat and just under 1.5 grams of saturated fat. Rolled oats contain about 6.5 grams of total fat and just over 1 gram of saturated.
• Oat bran is higher in B vitamins than rolled oats. A 100-gram serving of oat bran contains 78 percent of the daily value of thiamin, 15 percent of pantothenic acid and 13 percent of riboflavin. The most notable B vitamin in rolled oats is niacin — a 100-gram serving contains 1.1 milligrams. B vitamins play a key role in the breakdown of macronutrients for energy. They are also vital for red blood formation and nervous system function.
• Oat bran has a higher iron content than rolled oats. A 100-gram serving of oat bran contains 30 percent of the recommended daily intake and this same serving of rolled oats contains about 13 percent. Iron is used for oxygen transportation in the system, and it also helps with energy production.

MIMM #5: PB&J Protein Shake (vegan)

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a marvelous Monday like I am! Thank you to Katie for hosting this awesomely positive and uplifting link up 🙂 First things first, I felt absolutely marvelous after yesterday’s arm workout because I think my biceps are finally starting to come into shape.

The picture doesn’t show much but let me tell you, this is a huge improvement for me. I have never had any muscle. I might have been skinnier, but strong and muscular – never. So this is a big deal for me. I am very excited and can’t wait what the future will bring. I cannot wait to look like Crystal from Spoonful of Fit. Okay, a girl can dream, alright…… *daydreaming*

Also, make sure you enter into my marvelous giveaway to win 12 flavors of Arctic Zero protein ice cream! The pints have only 150 calories per pint and the bars have 85 calories. They are delicious and great as a post-workout recovery snack or dessert 🙂 The giveaway ends on Wednesday!

A marvelous recipe: Protein shakes have been replacing my regular egg breakfast. I can’t get enough. They are just SO good!

It baffles me how people can just go and get a milkshake with all those calories, fat, and sugar when you can have an even better alternative, guilt-free, with a similar (if not better) flavor? It’s such a marvelous way to fuel your exhausted muscles after a good workout.

Here comes a PB&J protein shake. Ekhem, it’s peanut butter jelly time…

Chunky Monkey Protein Shake (vegan)

I am all for protein shakes, I love ’em! I might sometimes even drink them as dessert. Tehe.

If you are a peanut butter fan, you will love this shake. It has a very predominant peanut butter flavor with subtle hints of banana. I didn’t taste very much chocolate, even though I used dutch chocolate whey protein powder (not vegan) , but you can always add cocoa powder in there if you so desire, for a more complex flavor.

Truth be told, I don’t think I’m PB fanatic enough to make this my daily protein shake, especially if I was to add 2 Tbsp of peanut flour. I prefer a more delicate peanut flavor, so I opt for using only 1 or 1 and a half Tbsp of peanut flour. But a larger amount is nice once in a while when I’m intensely craving peanut butter. Normally though, I prefer my chocolate flavors 😉 I know a lot of you PB fans will love this though!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (vegan)

This isn’t a recipe. It’s too simple to be called that. I contemplated not posting this at all but since I’m recording all of my culinary adventures, I thought I should post it after all. This is a simple post telling how I made brussels sprouts in the oven. Yes, I used the oven even though it’s hot outside. Thankfully I have air conditioning and I don’t care about the heat.

I’ve had these brussels sprouts in my fridge for about a week and I’ve been meaning to make them, finally I came around to it. It’s so simple but since I’m not exactly kitchen fluent yet, I can’t guess how many minutes to put it in or at how high of a temperature to keep it at. So then that’s why this post was written. Even though many of you might be like “duh?”, this post is FOR ME too! I have been treating my blog as an online diary and notebook, kinda, that contains all food/health/fitness related stuff. So there. That’s that.

By the way these were very yummy and reminded me of chips. Well some of the leaves got very crunchy and the salt made them really similar to chips (I never eat chips, really so I could be far off, haha) but the flavor overall is very good and perfect for a snack, not just as a side dish.

Reese’s Overnight Oats (high protein)

I loved these because of how creamy they turned out. I made them before and I had to write down the exact proportions because of how well they turned out. Now I made these again last night but I ran out of almond milk! So I improvised and used some of the nonfat kefir I had in the fridge. The original written down recipe calls for 2/3 cup almond milk so you can try it either the original way or the way I’ve written it down in the recipe. Both results in creamy delicious oaty goodness. Mmmm.

My preference is for multi grain hot cereal rather than Old Fashioned oats simply because they have less calories. But then again they are also tastier, there is more of a complex flavor to them. But both kinds will work here, of course.

I was actually surprised how much these overnight oats truly taste like a peanut butter cup. But better! Because it’s healthier, fills you up more, packed with protein, not much sugar, AND it’s creamy (who doesn’t like creaminess?). These proportions are much recommended.

Coconut Brownie for One (vegan/low cal/low fat)

As a girl living on her own, without a family to feed, I’ve come to really appreciate single serve desserts. One, I don’t have to make a whole bunch of whatever it is I’m craving and then feel obligated to overeat because I don’t want it to go to waste. Two, in case the recipe doesn’t work, I don’t feel bad because I didn’t waste a whole lot of ingredients. And three, I don’t have to share 😉

I’ve come to love coconut flour for its flavor. I’ve been craving something coconut-y… but I also wanted to use some more Arctic Zero as a topping. A combination of ice cream and cake is perfect. Obviously.

You would never guess this beautiful dessert is healthy. And the whole thing (WITH the ice cream) is under 250 calories. That’s the beauty of healthy baking. And the beauty of Arctic Zero ice cream which you can try to win if you enter in my giveaway. It’s worth it.

Molten Lava(-esque) Mocha Cake for One

This delicious microwave cake only looks and tastes sinful. Seriously, it tastes more than sinful. I feel like it’s a cheat day. Or worse, like I’m going off-track with my healthy eating. But thankfully, it couldn’t have been further from the truth – this delicious microwave cake is not only quick and simple, it is also probably the healthiest mug cake I’ve ever had. As far as I know anyway.

It started with a craving for chocolate… hard to figure out how to use that, it wasn’t just a simple chocolate craving. Actually, I initially wanted my chocolate chip cookie protein pancakes but I had no chocolate chips, and for some odd reason I kept thinking they required liquid egg whites which I’m currently out of. I didn’t check, they actually don’t require any egg whites because the recipe is vegan, haha. Oh well. Anyway, I really wanted that melty chocolatey feeling of a dessert… I also wanted it right NOW. I remember I made the peanut butter chocolate cake for one a while back and thought it would be a perfect thing to do it again. Except different this time. Changed enough to satisfy my cravings exactly.

While I’ve never had a real molten lava cake, I have no idea if this is what it would actually look or taste like. I only know from pictures. But either way, to ME this was a molten lava cake. I think it only has to be a cake with melty chocolate inside right? Whatever. It tasted phenomenal and it satisfied my craving. I have no idea if you would be able to take this out of the ramekin like in all those pretty pictures you see everywhere but let’s be honest – who cares about the appearance when the taste is amazing? Plus you’re clearly alone if you’re making this — this is not a very impressive recipe to make for a gathering. Hence the “for one” 😉

This tastes AH-MAY-ZING with some raspberry reduced-sugar jam on top. Oh man! Imagine this – melty chocolate and cold raspberries… Oh man, Oh man. You don’t even know what you’re in for!

Pear and Currant Bran Muffins (v)

Happy to see all the entries for the nimble/QuickieChick giveaway. Keep ’em coming! The prize is well worth it 🙂

I realize sometimes my recipes aren’t totally seasonal. This one for example would be perfect for Autumn. But you know what? I don’t care. I have dried pears and currants and I’m gonna use them no matter what the season is! And they worked out so perfect in these muffins. Delightful, I tell you.

These are perfect for breakfast or a snack. I recommend eating them with Greek yogurt or with my chocolate PB protein pudding. You know you gotta have protein at every meal, right? 😉

Strawberry Banana Bread for Virtual Vegan Potluck

First, I’d like to thank you all for positive comments on my Energy Bar Wars post. I’m really glad you guys found it helpful! I’m planning  on doing more similar posts in the future! Now, on to the feature of today:

It’s finally here – virtual vegan potluck day, that is! This awesome event was created by An Unrefined Vegan and includes a variety of different food categories and numerous different bloggers, vegan and nonvegan!

“Bringing vegan food bloggers together to share a virtual potluck, linked by a blog circle – and our love of cooking, eating and sharing. Participating bloggers will post recipes – from appetizers to desserts – and photos on the day of the event. Non-vegans welcome as long as they prepare a cruelty- and animal-free dish.”

I’m not vegan however like I said earlier, I try as much as I can to include vegan foods in my life. Especially for snacks and desserts! So here I introduce to you another vegan recipe – this time it’s a banana bread recipe.

I love that we found a whole big box of strawberries on sale at Costco. Fresh berries go super fast in our household. Well, my parents, that is. You see, I’m now on summer break. I had a week off of everything to do whatever the heck I wanted and now on Tuesday I am starting a marketing internship at a daily deals company called Brownhub.

Anyway, I haven’t made any loaf recipes because I don’t have a loaf pan in my apartment. Since I’m in my parents house for a few days, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to put the loaf pan to a good use.

And good use, it was. This bread is so moist and delicious and it makes the whole kitchen deliciously fragnant of strawberries and bananas. Such a delightful scent. While I used honey for this recipe, you can easily sub this for agave to keep it strictly vegan. I’ve read a bit about the controversy with honey, I’ve read both arguments. However, my parents do not have any agave so the choice of honey was a given for this situation. Plus I like it, and I’m not vegan.

Enjoy your virtual vegan potluck, readers!

Chocolate PB&J Cupcakes (vegan)

My roommate is graduating and moving out! So sad 😦 Although I’ve only known her for a semester, I know I’m going to miss her so much. She was a great roommate and an awesome friend – we all hung out together all the time and had a blast.

I noticed that she is all about Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches. She eats them basically everyday. So I thought, why not make her cupcakes? I’m looking for opportunities to bake for others so I can get rid of all of the AP flour and granulated processed sugar I have. I don’t want to use it for myself since I’ve shifted toward more wholesome and cleaner foods. So this was a perfect opportunity.

The cupcakes are actually, accidentally, vegan! My first time making vegan cupcakes and they turned out much different than I expected. The texture was different from a regular cupcake but none of the flavor was sacrificed. The cupcake is a perfect combination of peanut butter and jelly flavors along with deep chocolate. The cupcake part is much more moist and soft than I expected but that makes this dessert taste even more sinful – delicious delight. Good thing I didn’t make a lot cause otherwise I would definitely have had more than one.

CONGRATULATIONS to my gorgeous roommate, Joline! She will knock em dead in DC! I know it.

Side note: Have you entered my giveaway to win a box of PROBAR Fruition Superfood Snacks?? Well do it! There’s still time! 🙂