Almond Joy Protein Cookies

I have not been this pleased about a new sweet recipe in a LOOOONG time. Guys, these seriously knocked me over. They taste sinful, and yet they are really not too bad in calories. And a little punch of protein helps too. Both my kids liked them, and they are pretty critical judges.

They both are into Food Network shows like Chopped, so they now feel they need to critique my cooking (which sometimes makes me lose my cool admittedly). So when they give a healthy recipe two thumbs up and eat TWO, umm yeah. It is a winner. You can take these to non-health nuts and they will be just fine ;)

Banded kneeling clamshell - you have got to try this ASAP, ladies! For me this small tweak of kneeling, it really hammered my gluteus medius 🍑 be sure to switch sides. Palpate to really hit those glutes hard!

Pretty sure my muscles were popping from my love affair with stuffed peppers lately. They're magical muscle food ;) this one is 5 oz lean taco beef stir-fried with a few handfuls of cabbage, onions, and spinach all chopped. (Handy for chopping up and using whatever meat or veggies you have on hand!) Mix in a tbsp of tomato paste and 1/2 cup cooked rice then plop into a pre-cooked bell pepper. Top with 1/4 cup of cheese, because duh. They have been coming out around 450 cals and about 35 grams of protein!

Super shoulder burnout with plates - did this as a finisher this morning and it burned so good!
*lateral + front plate raises 5 each
*full front plate raise - slow eccentric 10 reps
Do for as many rounds as you can with good form. I did 4!

I have been really seeing some good changes in my delts this year trying to incorporate every plane of motion for shoulders most workouts along with mixing heavy reps with burnouts and slow eccentrics.

My MIL got me these cool shoes a while back for my bday! If you prefer minimalist shoes like me, these are the jam. I have worn them to lift in my gym during a cold spell, then running errands around town with my leggings. So comfy, like socks with a light sole. Think she said she got them Amazon, maybe. I am a fan!

Onto the recipe... I *think* you could get away with doubling the protein powder if you want to up the protein to calorie ratio. But my goal here was taste primarily, so I played it safe so that they would be closer to the real deal ;)

Almond Joy Protein Cookies

Makes 9 cookies

Ingredients:
1 medium, Bananas, raw (ripe is best, I used a previously frozen banana that I defrosted)
1/2 cup Flaked Unsweetened Coconut
1/2 cup, Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 scoop, vanilla Whey protein (I used Slap Nutriton)
1/3 cup, unsalted whole almonds (lightly chop them)
1/4 Cup, Egg Whites

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325*F. In a medium bowl, mash the bananta with the egg whites and vanilla whey. Stir in the coconut, chocolate chips, and lightly chopped almonds. Using a tablespoon, place the cookies onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the batter is set. (Mine took 12 minutes.) Enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Nutrition Facts
Servings 9.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 126
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8 g	12 %
Saturated Fat 4 g	20 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 3 mg	1 %
Sodium 28 mg	1 %
Potassium 134 mg	4 %
Total Carbohydrate 12 g	4 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	8 %
Sugars 4 g
Protein 5 g	11 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	2 %
Calcium	3 %
Iron	4 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.