We’ve talked about the method of “counting macros,” and some of the benefits that come along with doing so, but let’s get to the good stuff. Life isn’t meant to be lived eating kale salads every day for the rest of your life, but if I’m being honest--the day I made and enjoyed this recipe, I ate two salads. That’s not a punishment for the cookie, or some weird way to counteract the ice cream, it’s because I understand the breakdown of foods and I needed to eat some lower carb meals in order to fit in that DELICIOUS treat. Loved the ice cream, loved the salads and my intake was the same as any other day…..ahh the beauty of balance.
Calories Carbs Fats Protein
Almost half the carbs and fats, but triple the protein in my version below
In my opinion, creating a diet that is truly maintainable and that allows for flexibility is key to sticking with it. And I can stick with any approach that allows me to experiment in the kitchen, have energy for the gym, and feel good doing both.
For this creation, I partnered up with two of my favorite “healthy alternative” companies Quest Nutrition and Arctic Zero. Both can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Publix, Sprouts and most grocery stores I’ve shopped.
Another way to use these bars is this breakfast bowl
Quest Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS (makes 13)
- 1 scoop Quest® Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder (I didn’t have this flavor on hand, so I used Quest’s Cinnamon Crunch flavor)
- 1 Scoop EAS Vanilla Protein Powder
- 1 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Quest Bar
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup zero-calorie sweetener (I used Ingles brand)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon hot water
- ¾ cup oat flour (I used oats and blended them in my nutribullet)
- ¼ Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I just put 4 chips on each ball of dough at the end)
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Blend Quest Bar® into a powder using your blender or Nutribullet
- Cream together the butter, sweetener, and powdered Quest Bar® until smooth.
- Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla.
- Dissolve baking soda in hot water.
- Add to batter along with salt.
- Stir in oat flour, Quest® Protein Powder and chocolate chips
- Form into small discs roughly 2½-3 inches in diameter and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Arctic Zero Ice Cream
It won’t take more than a glance at the nutrition label to understand why it’s much easier to fit a serving (or two) into your daily macros rather than regular ice cream. It does tend to freeze a little harder than regular ice cream, so I microwaved it for 15 seconds when I was ready to use it. The flavors I chose were Rocky Road (favorite) and Peanut Butter Swirl (Drew’s Favorite)
Sometimes our taste testings are more fun than others. Drew has put up with his fair share of flops, so I was happy with his review!
Leave no macro behind!
Real Talk
Some of you may try this recipe and decide it's not creamy enough, chocolaty enough, rich enough and that's fine. I'll never be offended if you try something and decide it's not for you. However, I know there plenty of people who are looking to make changes and create forward momentum, but just don't know where to start. The kitchen doesn't have too be full of off-limit foods for you and YOU can enjoy treats WITH your kids or significant other without over-thinking it. So here's a little chocolaty momentum from me to you.
Counting Macros in Recipes
- Go to Meal, Recipes & Foods in My Fitness Pal
- Input ingredients for entire recipe or copy from internet if the recipe is online
- Create serving size (my cookie dough made 13 cookies)
- Name recipe so you can search it in your daily log and input servings as they vary
Have you tried Arctic Zero's New Flavors?
Obviously, yes. My favorite is actually the cherry chocolate flavor and ate it all before this post. It's yummy!
Does tracking macros in MFP overwhelm you?
At first, I didn't understand the app and how to change around portions, but now it's so easy and I copy and paste so many meals from previous days that it takes less than 10 minutes a day to use and track meals!