Well, I guess I am finally morphing into one of those granola crunching hippies (minus the granola) because I find myself more and more concerned with these sorts of things.

Ever since I started listening to approximately 475,047,022 podcasts since summer- almost all of them from the low-carb or paleo-sphere, I’ve slowly become more interested in cleaning up my act, both inside and out. It’s a very very slow process. Make no mistake, there are certain chemicals that I can’t seem to part with (I’m talking to you, Goldwell hair color, Japanese Hair Straightening and Evil Coke Zero). But I am doing my best and that’s something.

So, today’s fun find was found at Cave Girl Eats. Liz Wolfe has a whole section on body care, and is half of one of my very favorite podcasts, (Balanced Bites Podcast)

The concept is simple: to make your own deodorant from coconut oil and baking soda. So easy, so inexpensive! I suspect a box of baking soda and a large jar of coconut oil used for this purpose will last you until you become a granola crunching hippie yourself.

In the video, I discuss the supposed “invisibility” of the standard “Invisible solids” sold on the market (lies! lies!) and I pull out all the stops and do a quick experiment to see if the home-made deodorant is “invisible” (Hint: it is).  I also cover the ‘grease’-on-the-clothes” concern (hint: there is none).

What about the ‘sweat factor’? Standard deodorants are also antiperspirants because they somehow plug your pores with multi-syllabic chemicals. The coconut oil/baking soda blend does not block your pores. Granola-crunching hippies like this, but ladies wearing silk do not.  I have found that I do not sweat any more with the ‘natural’ deodorant than with the standard product. And I’ve put it through every test from the weight room to kickboxing classes to cardio sprints to hiking to plyometric circuits.

And odor? There is no odor, except for that from the coconut which gives me an odd Pavlovian response that makes me want to grab my frying pan and a mound of diced veggies.

Q: Do you have any natural beauty secrets? Do you listen to podcasts? If so, what kind or which ones? Anyone  interested in my current podcast list for a future post?

Yes, in fact I have been hiding under a rock, or really, living in a cave (paleo joke!). One day when I’m feeling chatty I’ll write an update on my ongoing Low-carb/Primal eating experience, which I still adore. But today is not that day. I will share a couple of food photos I took on our recent trip to Iceland (Warning: iphone photos ahead)

The first photo came from a little roadside diner. Not bad. Not bad at all:

Perfectly cooked egg with a side of burger

The following dish came from a nice bistro called Edinborg in Ísafjörður:

Edinborg in Iceland

Amazing shrimp and fish ‘stir-fry’, Icelandic style

This feast was nearly a disaster. At the grocery store, we grabbed a reasonably-priced packet of what looked like really good meat (?beef ?lamb?)  It was only after we got to the checkout line that someone who spoke English informed us that we were about to buy horse-meat.

I ran back and exchanged it for bacon.

Home-cooked meal,with bacon FTW

Icelandic Horses. Not tonight’s dinner.

Now, onto the reason for my post today!

My dear friend Susan is holding an online charity auction from November 14-16.  In her own words:

I’m hosting an online auction at my new blog, Air Heart for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer while blogging at The Great Balancing Act. I am quickly approaching a year in remission and felt a need to give back. So I am travelling to Scotland to run a half marathon for the society’s Team In Training. Just last month, another family member was diagnosed with lymphoma, so the need to support research in both detection and treatment for a cure is ever-present on my mind.

Susan and her master, Buster

When I had a quick look at the list of goods, I noticed the words “Trader Joe’s“, “Lululmon” and “nut butter” among other desirable objects. I’m donating a super handy and cute insulated lunch tote that (ironically) I ordered from Canada when only Canada had cute insulated lunch totes. I never used it and it still has the tags on it.

on auction: Insulated Koko lunchtote

Cute cutlery included!

Please feel free to go and check out Susan’s auction items here and bid away!

If you melt cheese (especially a soft cheese) on parchment paper in the microwave, it melts and crisps with chewy bites mixed in. I call this a pure muscle-building-protein-and-hunger-satiating-fat-base upon which to pile a bunch of veggies. That’s a win for me.

I stumbled upon this prosciutto/mozzarella roll at the market, and felt obliged to give it a try (hey, it was 50% off!) I had no intention to do anything but what the wrapper implied: slice it up thinly and serve it as an appetizer. But then it hit me: if I stick this in the microwave on parchment paper, magic could happen. Let’s look at the photos.

Good stats.

Slice cheese very thin

Grab a long piece of parchment

Lay the paper on a large plate

This is just under 2.5 servings: 175 calories; 17g protein; 2.5g carbs; 13g fat.

Lay out the cheese concentrically

The cheese will melt toward the center- the further apart you lay the discs, the thinner the pizza will be.

Fold paper over cheese to prevent splatter

Microwave for 30″ at a time

Keep microwaving until crispy on edges

Top with all sorts of veggies

Other ideas:

• Use shredded or chopped mozzarella, jack or other soft cheese. I once used a jalapeno gouda that was amazing!
• While still warm, mold the warm cheese into a bowl to cool so that you create a ‘cheese bowl’
• While still warm, slice cheese into thin strips or squares and let cool for protein ‘croutons’ to top a salad.
• For ‘cheese crackers’, grate a hard or aged gouda, parmesan or cheddar, then cut into pieces when warm. These won’t be partly-chewy like when softer cheese is used. They will be light, airy and crispy. Use with a dip or top with veggies.

I try to live healthfully. Really I do. But there is one evil, horrible, delicious, (did I mention addictive?) habit that I have ‘quit’ about 10 times. And that substance is Coke Zero. Well, in order to make this eleventh detox as pleasant as possible, I am once again turning to other beverages that are better for my health. I did a post on basil-water about 2 years ago while trying a Coke Zero detox.

First I take either plain water, iced tea or soda water. Then I take anything that looks squeezable or muddlable (is that a word?) and squeeze/muddle my heart out.

I’m about to head out of town for a few days and I have a perfectly good cucumber in the fridge that I just can’t send to an untimely death in the compost heap, mainly because I don’t have a compost heap. So my motto is “When in doubt, FREEZE.”

I pulled out my ice cube trays and within a few hours, I had day-spa-worthy ice cubes.

Fresh cucumber

Cut lengthwise, then slice

Place slices in water

Muddle herbs of choice

Iced tea & soda water

Cubes done

Pretty and tasty

My current favorite combo: Iced tea + Soda water + muddled mint + pink grapefruit slices + cucumber. Yes, all together. Yes, it’s delicious. Almost as delicious as Coke Zero. Maybe AS delicious. Hey, if it stacks the odds in my favor against that formidable adversary, I’m willing to try it.

Q: Are you trying to kick a habit for the eleventy billionth time? Do you have tips?

But once in a while, I do love a nice piece of chocolate.

Rather than buying one of the ‘sugar-free’ chocolates made with sugar-alcohols, I decided to try to make some sugar-free chocolate at home with stevia. The good news: it couldn’t be easier. The great news: It tastes delicious!

Plain Baker’s Chocolate

Technically, this is 2 servings

150 calories, not bad

Ingredients: Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 100% chocolate or Baker’s Chocolate (no sugar or other ingredients)
• Stevia drops (or powder if you have a very very gentle hand. Stevia is approximately a zillion times sweeter than sugar)
• Coarse salt (optional, but extremely tasty)

Method:

1. Melt chocolate- either on the stove in a double boiler or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. (I used the microwave route and it took 1.5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds)
2. Add a few drops of stevia- to taste
3. Spread on a non-stick surface of your choice (I used parchment paper)
4. Put in fridge or freezer
5. Eat!

Microwave on high for 30 second increments

Add Stevia to melted chocolate (I used 7 drops)

Pour melted chocolate/stevia onto non-stick surface

Spread to desired thickness

Sprinkle with coarse salt

Pop in freezer for 5-10 minutes til solid

Size comparison with the OLD iphone

Salty & Sweet!

Be aware that this WILL melt in your hot little hands and most definitely melts in your mouth. In fact, I find that it has a much thicker ‘mouthfeel’ than most chocolates (probably due to the higher fat percentage).

You can obviously eat this plain, or use as a topping by chopping it up or grating it on top of yogurt, smoothies or cereal.

Other thoughts to make this chocolate even more exciting:

• Add ground chile pepper to melted chocolate (So so so good if you haven’t yet tried this!)
• Add other ground herbs: perhaps cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or allspice. Or a combination.
• Add peanut flour to melted chocolate
• Add ground coffee to melted chocolate
• Add chopped bacon bits to melted chocolate (don’t knock it til you try it!)
• Add extracts to chocolate: coconut, maple, almond, cherry etc
• Add chopped nuts or dried coconut on top
• Add chopped, dehydrated fruit (like the dried strawberries or blueberries sold at Trader Joe’s)
• Add crisped rice cereal

Let me know if you find any good combinations or have other recipes for simple treats.

If you have no idea who these people are, I’d be willing to bet that you are lapping up the last few spoonfuls from that delicious bowl of oatmeal. Or perhaps cleaning up the crumbs from your toast. Maybe it’s dinner time and you just finished the best pizza you’ve ever had. And to you, I say, “Congrats!” You can enjoy carbs and thrive. I can not.

So back to the question…who are these people? And the other hundreds or so that I didn’t mention? They are physicians, researchers, scientists, endurance athletes, nerds or just regular Joes who are at the forefront of the low-carb or paleo/primal way of life and who have themselves seen benefit in living the low-carbohydrate lifestyle.

Once again, I find myself in the middle of an n=1 experiment. For three months, I’ve gone in deep into the world of Low-Carb. But it’s not the first time. In fact, I went on my very first Low-Carb diet with my mom when I was 7 years old! We did the Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution together (the very first time it made the global rounds) That was 1972! So when I recently began reading (and reading and reading) about the low-carb lifestyle, it was like coming home again.

What’s old is new again

I will not use this blog to defend the details of the science behind eating low carb. For the research and the explanation of the theories, please click on the experts’ sites that I list above (Dr. Rosedale does a good job of explaining the basics here). Just know that the basic premise is that when you don’t feed your body lots of starch or sugars, it turns to its own fat stores for energy.

Most of the low-carb/primal/ancestral health community believes that there is benefit that reaches beyond fat-loss. Low carb living is credited with everything from increased athletic performance, slowing of heart disease, improvement of diabetes, prevention of cancer and other help for inflammatory diseases, just to name a few.  For the record, many paleo-enthusiasts are very athletic/active Cross-fitters.

The main reasons that I have personally enjoyed about eating this way:

• Improved mood and sense of well-being

• Lack of daily energy highs and lows (not relying on ingested sugar means a more stable level of energy)

• Genuine lack of gnawing hunger throughout the day and evening (this is huge!)

• Tons of energy for training

• No anxiety surrounding food.

• Disappearance of my near-chronic belly bloat

• Ridiculous ease of eating when in restaurants and while traveling (and never having to make an enemy out of the waitstaff or freaking out because they once again, dressed the salad)

• Minimal weight gain from trips, even lengthy ones.

Let me answer some questions you might have for me as you read this:

1. Do I miss bread, rice, pasta, tubers & popcorn? Answer: Honestly (HONESTLY!) No. I went to France last month and did not feel one bit sorry for myself that I ate no bread. Not a little bit. Nor did I crave or even slightly want it. Shockingly, I don’t even miss my beloved popcorn. I accidentally detoxed from sugar in June, and then shortly thereafter removed the rest of the starches from my diet (yes, even sweet potatoes and winter squash). Taking out the starchy carbs has had the unexpected result of a lack-of-cravings for those very foods. This has totally blown me away.

2. Am I doing Atkins? Paleo? Primal? LCHF (Low Carb High Fat)? Answer: Yes. Really, I am really doing a mix, which any purist would say is a low-carb sacrilege. But it’s what I need to do at this point in my journey. Aside from moderate amount of various proteins, I am eating cheese, nuts, lots of fats, a little bit of fruit and more veggies than Bugs Bunny could choke down.

3. Am I trying to lose weight? Answer: I would like to be, but I am really not losing much, if any. Being so close to my (possibly unattainable) goal, I would probably have to go quite deep into nutritional ketosis to lose ‘those last pounds’. Note: nutritional ketosis (when the body burns fat for fuel, thus releasing ketones into the blood) must NOT be confused with DIABETIC KETOACIDOSIS (a life-threateningly high concentration of blood ketone levels) It is shocking how often physicians do not understand this important and very basic physiological difference. For information on nutritional ketosis, please check out a good lay-man’s explanation on Mark Sisson’s Daily Apple here.

4. But what about all of the recipes on this blog? Answer: Well, in a twist of fate, I am not making most of the recipes right now. You might notice that my recent posts are either fat- or protein-rich. This is the reason.

5. Am I getting too much protein? Answer: No. Much of the current research is suggesting that eating too much protein (either within a short window of time, or over the course of the day) can spike insulin as if you had eaten carbs. I’ve been keeping my protein anywhere from 80-120g per day (and trying to avoid having much more than about 20-25g at one sitting).

6. Do I think that Low-carb living is the only way to thrive? Answer: Absolutely NOT! I know endurance athletes who eat a strict (high carb) vegan diet! Everyone must find the path that suits them the best.  I intend to keep searching until I find what works best for me. And what works for me might very well not work for you!

Now, I know what you are all thinking.”Oh, poor thing. She can’t eat any bread- she must be suffering. I feel sorry for her, wah wah”. I know this because I felt the same way when I used to hear of someone else who gave up sugar or processed foods. But please don’t feel this way. You can trust me when I tell you that I’m not suffering.

My very first home-roasted chicken!

Salmon cakes with pesto sauce

Stuffed Pepper

Cheesecake from Ingredients of a Fit Chick.

See? NOT SUFFERING!

What does the future hold for my low-carb lifestyle? Honestly, I don’t know. I intend to keep it up as long as my body and mind are happy and healthy. I intend to remain educated about the science and see where it takes me. As for this blog, I will share recipes that I think might benefit my readers. I’m definitely NOT going to start a whole new Low Carb Living blog. And in case you’re wondering, I still have smoothies every day. They are just a little bit lower in protein and higher in fat. And right now, that is working for me.

Q: Have you ever dabbled in Low carb? Paleo? LCHF? Share your experiences..

I have been using coconut oil a lot lately, especially for cooking. But today I decided to toss it in with my peanut flour and see what happened.

Why use coconut oil? Well, aside from the flavor and increased satiety of fats, there appear to be some dietary benefits due in part to their rich source of Medium Chain Triglycerides. From Wikepedia:

Some studies have shown that MCTs can help in the process of excess calorie burning, and thus weight loss.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} MCTs are also seen as promoting fat oxidation and reduced food intake.^[8] Mary G. Enig reviewed in detail the medical factors and health benefits of medium-chain triglycerides.^[9] There has also been interest in MCTs from endurance athletes and the bodybuilding community.^[10] While there seem to be health benefits from MCTs, a link to improved exercise performance is weak.^[8]

(If you are hesitant about ingesting saturated fats, however, you’ll want to avoid coconut oil and use something else).

Peanut Flour

Coconut oil

Coconut Peanut “Butter”

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanut flour

• 2-4 Tablespoons Coconut oil (I used 2 here- using 3-4T makes for a creamier result- good for drizzling!)

• Stevia or other sweetener to taste

• Dash of salt.

Just mix with a spoon and enjoy.

The calories, fat and protein grams will be similar to regular peanut butter.

You manipulate the consistency

Now here is where things get interesting: Using coconut oil changes the physical consistency based on the temperature. Storing the nut ‘butter’ at room temperature will yield a soft, creamy consistency (and this is room temperature, in Southern California, in the summertime). However, if you refrigerate the ‘butter’, it will become more solid. So if you put it on top of cold food, the nut ‘butter’ becomes hard and crunchy, but gets melts once in your mouth for a few seconds. In fact, you could have some fun with it by scraping the cold nut ‘butter’ from the jar with a fork to get peanut ‘butter’ shavings to top yogurt, ice cream or cottage cheese.

I didn’t try it on hot food, but when I tried to heat it in the microwave it actually (and oddly) became firmer!

Naturally, you can add in some shaved coconut or peanut pieces. Or vanilla, coconut or maple extract. I plan to experiment with almond meal, as well as trying other oils, such as flax, or macadamia (which are not solid when cold). Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Incidentally, if you aren’t a bit fan of coconut flavor, there are coconut oils sold that are made to taste neutral, so you can still take advantage of the benefits of the oil. This can also be a boon for cooking.

Q: Have you used coconut oil and if so, how?

I stole this recipe and method from Mark’s Daily Apple, so feel free to hop over there for the details.

The reason that I embarked upon this endeavor was to have one of my tasty protein snacks handy but without added sugars. Yes, it’s true, since I lost my taste buds in the beginning of June, I accidentally did a ‘sugar detox’ and have been pretty much sugar-free ever since. I am telling you the truth when I say that I still don’t crave it. I do have some treats that I make with stevia, and these days berries taste like candy to me. Honestly, I never thought that I would live to see this day.

Back to the jerky: I used stevia instead of honey that he suggested. I also didn’t measure a whole lot of anything. It was just ridiculously easy.

Mix ingredients

Cut your meat (either very lean flank or London broil) across the grain into 1/4-inch strips. I would have even preferred thinner than this. I used flank steak. If you are concerned with such thing, choose grass-fed over conventional. This happened to be straight-up Ralph’s own.

Soak jerky for several minutes or hours

Set your oven to 150 or 160 (you can also use a dehydrator)

Incidentally, the USDA recommends an internal temperature of 145 for beef food safety.

Lay strips across racks

(Lay foil underneath to catch any drippings- I had one drop only!)

I decided to give this smoked salmon a try- it was already sliced thinly!

Make sure that salmon is inspected carefully, by you or your cat. For something.

Place in oven

Set your timer on phone (because you’ve forgotten how to use old-school timers)

Set timer for 6-8 hours

Jerky is done when dark and cracks a little bit when you bend it. It will shrink a bit in size.

 This turned out better than I expected. It was not rubbery or difficult to chew like some store-bought versions.

Once again, inspect the salmon jerky (for what, I don’t know)

This came out crispy!

Q: Have you ever made jerky of any kind? Any tips or great recipes or ideas for future experiments?

Let me just stop here and caution you that Intermittent Fasting can be a very dangerous and slippery slope for people who have a history of eating disorders. If this includes you, consider yourself warned and also consider clicking away from this post now. In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that women do much worse with IF than men do. And that it can affect their menstrual cycle. For more information on that you can click on this link. Anyone else who is curious about my n=1 study, read on.

I decided to poke around the resources offered to me. I won’t provide any links because I don’t necessarily endorse them and besides, you can easily google “IF” or “Intermittent Fasting” and see a bunch of resources for yourself. That night, I read and read and read. Then I took the plunge the very next day.

For the record, IF is a very flexible term and simply indicates a period without food. It can be a daily occurrence, or only once, twice or three times a week. It can also be once a month. The food-free period can be 8 hours (like when you’re asleep) or up to 18 or even 24 hours, or anything in-between. It is whatever you make it.

What did a typical IF day look like for me?

My version of IF was really a very loose one. Mornings, I typically just had coffee with some milk foam. I would train (hard) soon thereafter, while consuming one or two Blender bottles with BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids), which are 4 of the building blocks of protein. The theory goes that at least you are getting a few little bits of protein before, during and/or after you train (especially resistance training). I never once felt tired or dizzy during a workout. Never. If I was truly hungry before my workout, I might have a few sips of a protein shake and some nuts. Ironically, it was the non-training days where I felt the most hungry.

I find that I am rarely hungry right after I train, but nonetheless I subscribed to the ‘must-replenish-glycogen-stores’ theory and forced myself to have a protein shake, and sometimes a little fruit. This just served to make me even less hungry – often for many hours.

If in the afternoon I got hungry, I’d nibble on veggies, fruit, jerky, low-fat cheese, protein muffin, popcorn, a fro yo or greek yogurt. If I met someone for lunch, I’d typically have something that wouldn’t ‘wake the beast’ like a soup and salad and some protein.

Dinner was often sizable but not extravagant and quite early, as I’d be good and ready for a real meal by about 5pm or so. When I first began the experiment, I allowed myself what I was truly craving for my ‘main meal.’ But as time went on, I tended to lean the meal out, which just served to make me hungrier before bed. So, I typically had a snack in the evening as well. And then often a nibble right before bed.

What I learned:

• I wasn’t as hungry as I always thought I was. Especially in the morning. It’s likely that what I used to believe was hunger, was actually thirst or boredom.
• A few hours without food did not make all my muscles melt away.
• A little bit of hunger was not a reason to panic as I did before this experiment. I still stand by the theory that “real hunger can wait” but emotional hunger needs to be fed right!this!minute!
• This way of eating worked for me far better when I actually allowed myself to have less ‘diet-y’ foods. Leaner, lower fat meals often just served to quiet the hunger for a while, but not really satisfy me or fill me up.
• This way of eating worked wonders for when I traveled. I was no longer coming back from trips 5-8 pounds heavier.  Also, there was no need to panic if we were stuck in transit and it happened to strike noon. Or if we were in the company of people who did not eat lunch at the stroke of noon.
• After the first week or two, it really became an effortless way to eat. It was liberating not constantly focus on food and meals. It was exhilarating to be free of tracking calories (although I still did a little bit of Rainmanning in my head).

The results:

• I did lose fat and gained lean body mass. I didn’t lose huge numbers on the scale, but at least I got back to feeling comfortable in my skin.
• I had plenty of energy to fuel my workouts (some of which became very intense as in Live Fit Trainer) and the busiest of days.
• My food anxiety went down, way down. Especially prior to trips.
• It really worked. Until it didn’t. I believe that I shot myself in the foot because I felt the need to make my meals leaner and leaner. If I would have stuck to how I ate in the beginning, I could do far better with this sort of eating pattern.
• The last big trip was not as successful and I don’t necessarily blame IF. There were just too many dinners out with too many indulgences. Truthfully, I’m sure that I would have gained even more weight this past trip, had I not been still doing IF.

September 2011 (pre-IF)

May 2012 – after 9 months of IF

Am I glad I did it?

You bet I am.

Do I recommend it for everyone?

No way!

Will I do it again?

You bet! Maybe not daily, but occasionally.

Would I do it forever?

Nope.

Would I ever do a 24 hour fast?

I doubt it.

Am I glad to know that I can skip a meal here and there without getting shaky, anxiety-stricken, grouchy or dizzy?

Absolutely.

To I plan to continue IF?

I will still listen to my body’s hunger signals. Due to the fact that I am rarely if ever hungry in the morning, I will likely pass up a classic breakfast in favor of coffee BCAAs and then a smoothie. If I meet friends for breakfast, as I did last weekend, I’ll eat in a more satiating way. If I’m hungry at traditional ‘lunch’ time, I’ll eat lunch. Same goes for ‘dinner’ time. If I’m not hungry, or mildly so, I’ll have something proportionately smaller.

Of course, you know I’m already 3 weeks into to my next experiment, and so far I’m loving it. The big test will be our upcoming trip starting on Wednesday. If it passes muster, I’ll spill the beans when I’m back in August.

Q. Have you done IF or do you know anyone who has?

I hadn’t made a protein muffin in a while and I just felt like experimenting with some fruitier options than my go-to moist and fudgy protein muffin.  As usual, it was really filling (hello 17g of fiber!) and could be made gluten free by omitting the wheat bran (and reducing the yogurt and/or egg whites).

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 3 oz. (half a container) of yogurt (I use CarbMaster brand from Kroger/Ralphs)
• 1 wedge The Laughing Cow cheese (really, cheese “product”)
• 3 Tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/4 cup raspberries, chopped (I use frozen)
• 3-4 Tablespoons of wheat bran
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• serving of sweetener (I use stevia)

Method:

Spray a microwaveable bowl or mug with a spritz of oil:

Cook cheese in microwave for about 15 seconds, until melty

Add yogurt:

Add egg whites:

Chop raspberries:

Add raspberries to bowl:

Mix baking powder & coconut flour:

Add to bowl:

Add 3-4 Tablespoons of a dry high-fiber ingredient like wheatbran (3 will make it more moist). If omitting wheat bran, you can replace flax meal or oat bran, but calories would increase significantly. If omitting any fibrous ingredient, you will want to cut back the yogurt and/or egg white by about 1/4, and add cooking time. (Gluten intolerant people will need to experiment)

Before microwaving, the mixture should not be runny nor dry:

Microwave for ~4 minutes on high:

Make a ‘frosting’ by mixing 5 g of your favorite protein powder (about a tablespoon) with a bit of water and drop of stevia or sweetener of choice. Top with a couple of raspberries.

Stats courtesy of Livestrong:

251 calories; 22 grams protein; 5.5 grams of fat; 32g of carbs (17 of them fiber!)

Q: Do you have a great version of a muffin that is high in protein? Share it here!