Food Friday – Guilty pleasures with a healthy twist
We all know those moments when you desperately need some comfort food: guilty pleasures which is a true treat for yourself. Whether it is the end of a long day at work or you just finished a tough ride. But what if you want to make conscious nutritional choices? No worries, we’ve got your back! In this Food Friday, we share two guilty pleasure recipes with a healthy twist which we even serve to our riders.
Just like any person, also our riders are sometimes craving for sweet or savory snacks and this is not necessarily unhealthy. Food is, in fact, not healthy or unhealthy. All you can say is that a certain dish has a higher nutritional value compared to another one. Comfort food which you can buy in a supermarket, such as a hotdog or a brownie, contain ingredients your body doesn’t necessarily need. Added flavor, sugar, color, salt and/or other preservatives are ingredients to improve the expiration date, make a product look better or improve the taste. If you bake or make something yourself, it is custom-made food! You can choose the ingredients and it is fresh. You can choose, for example, to bake a snack rich in protein by making conscious choices when it comes to the ingredients, just like we did for the recipes below.
"Food isn't healthy or unhealthy"
These recipes are perfect for those craving moments and when you can use something extra. Moments when you want to eat a delicious and nutritious snack. If you’re tired, the temptation increases to grab something sweet, salt and/or greasy. Sugar (or carbohydrates) provide energy. The difficult thing with sugar sweet snacks is that the sugar ends up directly in your bloodstream. An effect known as the sugar rush: a temporary peek of sugar in your bloodstream. For a little while you will experience a boost in energy, but… it drops just as fast and before you know it your cravings are back.
Do you want to avoid this “sugar roller coaster” effect? Combine protein with carbohydrates. To get your inspiration flowing, we created two true guilty pleasures rich in carbohydrates, fibers and protein! Recipes which are actually served to our riders as well, as a recovery snack after a ride, an afternoon snack or a late night snack.
Recipe 1: Blueberries Protein Cake
Ingredients:
- 250 grams whole grain flour (e.g. spelt flour or oatmeal flour)
- 1 bag of baking powder
- 100 grams oatmeal
- 100 grams cane sugar
- 100 ml water
- 75 gram whey protein powder
- 1 banana
- 2 eggs
- 75 ml walnut oil
- 250 ml Skyr
- 250 grams blueberries
- A pinch of salt
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven at 175 degrees Celsius.
- Puree the banana in a batter bowl (with a fork).
- Add the water and protein powder and mix it with a hand blender until the protein powder is dissolved.
- Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add the sugar, walnut oil, pureed banana mixture and Skyr will you keep on stirring. Keep stirring for a few more minutes until everything is well-mixed together.
- Add the flour and baking powder and stir until you have a thick dough.
- Add the blueberries and stir carefully.
- Spread some baking paper in a cake mold.
- Pour 50 grams of oatmeal over the bottom of the mold and add the dough.
- Garnish with the remaining 50 grams of oatmeal.
- Place the cake for about 45-50 minutes in the preheated oven. The cake is ready if you can puncture it with a (bamboo) skewer which comes out nice and clean.
Recipe 2: Protein brownies with sea salt and orange
Ingredients:
Brownie:
- 200 grams cane sugar or coconut (palm) sugar
- 200 ml orange juice
- 8 grams of butter
- Marrow from 1 vanilla stick
- 200 grams Ehrman High Protein Chocolate Pudding
- 200 grams whole grain flour
- 20 grams cacao powder
- 100 grams chocolate or vanilla protein powder
- 1 bag of baking powder
Topping:
- 100 grams pure chocolate
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Orange peel (as garnish)
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven at 175 degrees Celsius.
- Beat and mix the sugar, orange juice, vanilla marrow and chocolate pudding in a bowl.
- Melt the butter and stir through the chocolate mixture.
- Mix the protein powder through the mixture until it is dissolved.
- Add the flour, cacao powder and baking powder and stir for a few minutes.
- Spread some baking paper in a square baking mold and pour the brownie mixture into the mold.
- Place the brownie in a preheated oven for about 30-45 minutes. It’s best to keep the inside a bit moist.
- Remove the brownie from the oven and let it cool.
- Melt the chocolate au bain marie: put the chocolate in a metal bowl on top of a pan with boiling water. The chocolate will melt after a little while.
- Garnish the brownie with the melted chocolate, orange peel and some sea salt.
