No Bake Blueberry Banana Greek Cheesecake

No Bake Blueberry Banana Greek Cheesecake

While in Houston this past month for the half marathon, I got to meet up with one of my fellow fitness food freak bloggers- Fit Foodie Le! I have been following this girl for about 2 years, through her first comp and now her second pregnancy via her blog FitFoodieLe.com  This girl can COOK and her recipes have never disappointed :) Our meet-up did not go as planned! She had thought she registered to run the 5K on Saturday but somehow did not get registered and the race was sold out! (Relatable mommy moment- something I would totally do too) So she volunteered to work the half Sunday morning instead. The morning of the half, she was going one way and I was heading out to the start line. We were bundled up! I had on my "throw" sweatshirt to toss as I got warm out on the course- yup looking REAL cute! Haha! It was awesome to meet Leah anyway, even though it was just a sec!

 

Growing up my momma made this Blueberry Banana Cheesecake for various events. It was always a hit and everyone asked her to make it. I had a luncheon and it popped in my head for some reason. I figured I could attempt a healthy re-make. Why not?!

 

It was a success. I cut out almost all of the TONS of sugar from the original recipe, and halved the calorie count. I also managed to increase the protein by 800%.  I could rejig the crust with nuts and that would improve its stats even more. Might try that sometime ;)

 

And the luncheon? Yeah they loved it. It was even sitting next to homemade pound cake that had leftovers!

 

No Bake Blueberry Banana Greek Cheesecake

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sweetener (I used Splenda)
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 32oz container 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 2 boxes Sugar Free Cheesecake Jello pudding mix
• 1 can Blueberry Pie Filling
• 2 ripe Bananas, sliced
• 1 container Sugar Free Cool Whip Topping, thawed

Do this

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13 container with nonstick cooking spray. Melt 1 stick of butter. Mix into graham cracker crumbs and sweetener. Press into the bottom of dish, evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. (You can throw it into the freezer to speed it up)

In a mixing bowl, mix the 2 boxes of Cheesecake pudding mix with the container of Greek yogurt. Evenly spread over the crust.

 

Toss the sliced bananas over the cheesecake yogurt layer.

 

 

Spread the blueberry pie filling over the bananas.

 

Spread the cool whip over the pie filling.

 

Chill until you are ready to enjoy!

 

 

Nutritional Stats-
Per 1/12th of 13x9 pan

• Cals-246
• Carbs- 31 g
• Fat- 11 g
• Protein- 9g
• Fiber 1.5g
• WW pts+ - 7 pts

Compare that to the original recipe at 519 cals per 1/12th and 1g protein! WOOHOO! Enjoy :)
 

Have Venus, Will Run

I am honored to have written the article for the Venus Factor website today. It recaps the half marathon that we ran last weekend and my suprising results :) Read the article here- http://www.venusindex.com/have-venus-will-run/

Chocolate and Berries Microwave Protein Pancakes

 

 

In training for this half marathon still, I am so glad it is next week. Even though I am just doing one long run a week, I hate that it takes time away from lifting- my true love <3

The half that we seem to be running annually as a family tradition is in Houston- the Chevron. It is always a great couples vacation time- and seeing friends and family that we do not get to see enough. The expo is fantastic, and the food is great. So I know after next week, we will be ready to go again. Haha! Training this year has been better now that we moved to the same town with my both my brother and sister in law. We have been doing our long runs together, and I really do enjoy that. A family that runs together, stays together- right?

I started cutting back down from my few weeks of holiday excess. I feel fluffy. Ugh. If you stay on top of it, it is never a big deal. Just a few weeks of calorie correction deficit days will take care of it. Much better than letting it get out of hand and having 30 lbs to deal with. Unfortunately, our weight never stays stagnant (oh how I wish it did!) so the idea is to learn to keep the swings as small as possible. That has been my key to maintaining Venus metrics for almost 2 years now!


These protein pancakes that I figured out how to do in the microwave late last year have become a favorite. I eat them almost daily. Their nutritional stats are AWESOME. And they are so delicious! So of course, variations are bound to occur. And I must share them!

 

Chocolate and Berries Microwave Protein Pancakes

Serves 1

The stuff

• 1 cup of frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 banana (can be frozen and defrosted)
• 1 scoop of chocolate whey (I used Optimum Nutrition Rocky Road)
• 1 tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)- Optional
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt

What you do

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the berries for 2 minutes until soupy and hot throughout. In a microwave safe plate, mash together the banana, whey, cocoa, and egg whites until combined. Cook in microwave on high for 3-3.5 minutes until the middle is cooked through. Top the pancake on the plate with the greek yogurt and the berries. Enjoy :)

BTW- you can do these as traditional pancakes in a pan as well!

 

Nutritional Stats

Per serving

• Cals- 325 cal
• Fats- 1g
• Carbs- 36g
• Protein- 43g

Apple Pie Muesli

New workout clothes make me happy :) I have been enjoying wearing some of my new stuff from Christmas lately...

This top by Saucony even has a removable, blinking LED light on the sleeve so that I do no get squished on the road! You charge it with a USB port too. :cool:

I am in the thick of training right now for the Houston Chevron Half Marathon, it is coming up in two weeks! So.Tired.of.Running. Earlier in the week, Map My Run sent out my year of running- pretty cool!

Wish that there was something like that for lifting!

I also made my first wedding cake this week. It was very stressful but the couple loved it. That made it all worth it!

A little story about Bob's Red Mill Muesli.... My mom used to make it for me all the time growing up and I loved it. It is one of those things that brings me back to my childhood when I eat it. My mom was coming for Christmas, and I wanted to spurpise her by making a recipe with this muesli... And I thought this recipe up one night based on my Peach Cobbler Oatmeal.

So I made up some Apple Pie Muesli Crockpot for my mom when she came. She loved it! So did the husband- who is not into anything healthy generally speaking! So I thought it was a recipe worth sharing, and here it is.

Apple Pie Muesli

Serves 8

• 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Muesli (regular old fashioned oats would work great too)
• 4 Apples (I used Granny Smith since they hold up well during cooking)
• 1/2 cup Splenda (or any other sweetener)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• Serve with plain non-fat Greek yogurt (1/2 cup per serving)

Crockpot method- (My fave) Grab your crockpot, and roughly chop the apples and spread into the bottom. Pour over 2 cups of muesli and 2 cups of water. Sprinkle splenda and cinnamon on top. Cook on low for 4-8 hours.

Baked- Prepare in 8x8" dish as above. Cook at 350*F for 45 minutes.

Microwaved- Prepare in microwave safe 8x8" dish as above, cook for 10-15 minutes on high.

Nutritional Stats

Per 1/8 Apple Pie Muesli recipe and topped with 1/2 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt

• Calories-218 cal
• Carbs- 37g
• Fat- 3g
• Protein- 16g

Fruit Salad with Key Lime Greek Whip

Hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was pretty awesome. Lots of time with family, always nice.

My sweet husband surprised me with fitness equipment! It was a tad early, but much appreciated none the less.

Treadmill and power rack! He loves me ;)

Our home gym is coming along quite nicely. He even made me a little office space!

The best part of having a home gym is that you can train on Christmas eve...

And Christmas day!

So onto the recipe! This is a good one :) a keeper

A make again recipe, the kind you have memorized.

I am so tired of making this, but I will still happily eat it! Literally, we had SIX Christmas parties this year- and I was asked to bring this to FOUR of them. The other two must not know about it yet, or else I would have probably been making it for them too!

I think the reason this dish is such a hit is that it is super healthy but still perceived as being a delicious treat by everyone. I like to bring it because I know there is something highly filling there and on plan for me. Always a win. Take a look at the nutritional stats at the bottom too. This delicious concoction is pretty impressive!

P.S. Do not skip out on the key lime Greek whip- it is what makes it special, k?

Fruit Salad with Key Lime Greek Whip

Serves 16

Fruit Salad

Choose from the following, try to choose at least from each color of the rainbow.

• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Ruby Grapefruit
• Peaches
• Clementine Oranges
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Grapes (Green, Red, or Purple)
• Kiwi
• Blackberries

(optional)

• Lime
• 1 tsp honey

Rinse and combine, cut fruit into bite size pieces as needed. To keep fruit fresh longer, I like to squeeze one fresh lime over the fruit and toss with honey, it also gives the fruit a pretty gloss.

Key Lime Greek Whip

• 8 oz container of Cool Whip Lite
• 32 oz container of 0% Fat plain Greek Yogurt (I prefer Fage)
• 1 box Sugar Free Jello Cheesecake Pudding Mix
• 6 key limes or 2 regular limes, zest reserved

In a large bowl, combine Greek yogurt with box of pudding mix and zest of 1 lime. Add the juice of 2 limes. Mix well. Fold in container of Cool Whip. Garnish with remaining zest.

Enjoy.

Nutritional Stats

Per 1 cup of fruit salad and 1/2 cup of  key lime Greek whip

• Calories- 134 kcal
• Carbs- 27g
• Fat- 0g
• Protein- 6g

Spiced Pumpkin Brownies

From October to January, I get obsessed with pumpkin. It is an annual thing, I suppose.

Pumpkin even makes its way into my coffee. Have you tried this yet? I am addicted. I need to stockpile it.

Anyway, last year (yeah, I have been holding out on you guys) I came across this recipe on one of my fave fitness blogger's site- Fit Foodie Le. She is awesome, check her out!

I have been making these pumpkin brownies every since then. And the nutritional stats are not too shabby either, especially compared to traditional brownies!

Spiced Pumpkin Brownies

• 1 box of brownie mix (for 9x13 pans)
• 1 can pure pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice mix (or just cinnamon, up to you!)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (dark or semi sweet milk)

What you do-

Set oven to 350*F. Mix batter just until no big lumps but not too much! I reserved about a TBSP of chocolate chips for the top. Spread into a 9x13 dish (or you can use whatever pan really) and cook until toothpick comes out of the center clean. It is close to the cooking times on the box. Cut into 15 bars.

I made double for a party!

Enjoy, with some sparkly water :)

Nutritional Stats

(per 1/15th of recipe)

• Cals 141
• Fat 6g
• Carbs 23g
• Protein 2g

compared to a traditional brownie
(per 1/15th of recipe)

• Cals 356
• Fat 20 g
• Carbs 43 g
• Protein 4 g