grain-free

A protein-bar-alternative trail treat! (And an adorable/delish Fall recipe 😊)

Healthy Gingerbead Protein Cookie Cakes with Bone Broth on wood plate.

You guys know by now that C n I need snacks. Stacks on stacks on stacks of snacks.

And if C n I need stacks of snacks when we’re living that couch life, you can only image the number of snacks we need when we hit the trails.

Healthy Gingerbead Protein Cookie Cakes with Bone Broth in rustic serving bowl.

I have nothing against conventional protein bars, but C, who typically hikes downwind of me, most certainly does (heh heh #marriage). IDK WHY MAN, they surely work in a pinch, but they’re hyper processed and never leave my tummy feeling particularly good.

And, when we head out, it’s almost always for the entire day/days at a time. You know what sounds okay? One protein bar. You know what sounds like an apocalyptic disaster of the stomach? 4 protein bars.

Healthy Gingerbead Protein Cookie Cakes with Bone Broth on beautiful blue serving board.

So I have some favs trail treats that I can batch make in a jiffy that 1. Don’t need refrigeration, 2. Taste like, well, a treat, 3. Hold up in my backpack, and 4. Give C n I the energy we need to climb mountains, literally.

Close up of the inside of a Healthy Gingerbead Protein Cookie Cakes with Bone Broth.

These Healthy Gingerbread Cookies Cakes are really a banger to start on. They are a grain-free, refined-sugar-free one-bowl dish (HOLLA), and they use basic ingredients that I keep stocked in my cupboards. The cookie cakes pack a balanced punch of protein, fat, and carbs that keep our tummies happy and our moods high 😊

But what’s the secret adventure-fueling ingredient, you ask? Bone broth! (In the form of Ancient Nutrition’s bone broth protein.) Because we hikin, but we want glowin skin too you know what I mean??!?

Health Gingerbread Protein Cookie Cakes on the trail at Mirror Lake

And no, you don’t need this Nordic Ware cakelet pan to makes these Healthy Gingerbread Cookie Cakes, but HOW FREAKIN ADORABLE is it when your trail snacks match your trail? It’s… it’s just… TOO MUCH. But you can also make them as cookies or in a mini cupcake pan 😊

See below for the recipe! Can’t wait for you to give ’em a go!

Healthy Gingerbread Protein Cookie Cakes

Grain-free, gluten-free, low-carb, high-protein

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, holiday

Servings 14 Cookie Cakes

Calories 155 kcal

Ingredients

1/2 cup almond flour
1/8 cup coconut flour
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2-3 tbsp Ancient Nutrition Vanilla Bone Broth Protein (can sub any whey protein)
1/3 cup almond butter (can sub any nut butter)
1/8 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

Instructions

Grease your pan (can use a cookie sheet, mini muffin pan, or cakelet pan) and preheat your oven to 350F.
Combine all ingredients in one large bowl.
If your using a pan, fill pan 3/4 full with dough. If you're using a cookie sheet, make approx 1 tbsp size balls on greased cookie sheet.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until the top of your cookies/cakes/cakelets start to brown. Cookies will take less time so start checking on them at 9 minutes. Remove from oven, attempt to not immediately devour, and pack into your adventurin' daypack 🙂

Keyword breakfast, dessert, easy, fall, ginger, gingerbread, healthy, healthy dessert, holidays, one-bowl

Today I am sharing my most secret weapon on the blog. Think superman’s kryptonite. The Kardashian donkey booty. Telsa’s laptop battery. Lupita Ngyong’o’s stylist.

The secret weapon I am referring to here, my friends, is this: my coconut almond-butter muffin fat bombs.

Look, your girl loves a #thick daily dose of fat. Especially in the morning (or whenever I have my first meal of the day), a solid meal of primarily fat leaves me feeling focused, energized, and satisfied.

You know what is a great fatty meal to start the day? Some eggs cooked with some low carb and high fiber veggies. Filling and delish… EASY right?

However, during the 5-days a week that I pretend to be an engineer, this proves to be a challenge for two reasons.

REASON ONE

I’m glad I can get this off my chest right away because look, I’m not proud of what I’m about to say.

I do not have a morning routine.

THERE I SAID IT.

I like to get to work by 6am because I do my best brain work in the morning and my best butt work (hi hip thrusts) in the afternoon, and I think this leads to a common misconception that I am a “morning person”. Or that I require less sleep than the 9AM-ers. But I’m going to be honest with you here: I roll out of bed approximately 10 minutes before I leave my apartment for work.

I love sleep. I live for sleep. Going to bed is my favorite part of my day. And if I must choose between sleep and, well, pretty much anything else, I will almost always choose sleep. When I can crawl into bed at 7pm, I high-five myself for the wild success.

So no, you won’t see an everyday get-ready-with-me routine on my page because it would be a 5-minute video of me scuttling around in the dark like a rabid raccoon, okay? It’s not inspiring. A little scary maybe. Intriguing in the way a car crash can be intriguing. But it’s not inspiring.

So I think it goes without saying that I just do not have time to make myself a tantalizing veggie omelette before work. And that’s not going to change because it’s just not a priority for me. And that’s OKAY. The best first step to solving your problems is admitting them.

REASON TWO

In the morning, I do not want a savory dish. I want my coffee and a doughnut. Or a muffin. Or a cinnamon roll. Heck, I’ll take a cookie! I don’t discriminate in the baked goods department.

Of course, if you have an internet connection, you know that traditional baked goods are full of sugar and high in carbohydrates, which causes an artificial surge of energy followed by an extreme energy crash. And for a long time, this was how I lived my life. Surging and crashing. I thought that was just the way I was. Mood swings and instantaneous irritability. (My friends and family can also attest to my… wide array… of moods).

Alas, this was NOT the case.

Enter: Almond coconut fat bomb muffins.

Here are my muffins topped with some Greek yogurt, almond butter, and of course, chocolate

I will be sharing a lot of fatty muffin recipes on this site, but these ones have a special place in my heart. They have been curated through literally hundreds of iterations. They’re so easy to make and I almost always have some in my fridge. I love them, C loves them, my grandma loves them, plus they’re paleo, keto, grain-free, gluten-free, and sugar free.

They’re also light, fluffy, and fill up your tummy in a way that a packet of nut-butter just cannot. I typically have 2-3 of these a day and they’re nothing short of a WEAPON when it comes to cubicle cravings. So without further ado, lets get into it.

Coconut Almond Butter Fat Bomb Muffin

Paleo, Keto, Grain-free, Gluten-free, Sugar-free

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 13 mins

Total Time 23 mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup ghee (melted) (or butter, melted)
4 eggs
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (liquid) (or additional melted ghee)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp rice protein (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and add muffin liners or grease your muffin tin with coconut oil.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Separate the egg whites and the egg yokes. Whip the egg whites until they form a firm peak.
Combine the egg yokes and the remainder of the wet ingredients in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Fold egg whites into your mixture and spoon muffin batter into your tin, until the cups are approx 3/4 full.
Bake for about 14 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean 🙂

Notes

Full disclaimer, I live in a shit apartment with a shit oven. When I preheat my oven to 350F, I preheat my kitchen to 350F. Take all my baking times with a grain of salt!

Keyword almond, breakfast, coconut, easy, gluten-free, grain-free, healthy, keto, low carb, paleo