Sweet Treat: Mini Protein Tarts

You know those Quest Protein bar cookies I've been obsessing over lately. Well I was thinking the same process in a mini muffin tin would make great mini tarts (or mini pie shells) that you could fill with all sorts of good stuff.

Here's the first of I'm sure many adaptations, little chocolate chip mini tarts filled with a coffee flavored cannoli type filling. Chocolate and coffee. 2 of my favorite things...

Shelly's Chocolate Chip Coffee Cannoli Cream Tarts

2 Quest Nutrition Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bars
1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
2-3 Tablespoons Coffee Protein Powder (I used Chike Nutrition High Protein Iced Coffee)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (or sweetener of choice)
a few Almonds for decorating
2 Mini Muffin pans
12 Mini Muffin liners (foil)

Place muffin liners in cups of 1 set of the mini muffin pans. Cut your Quest Bars into 6 pieces each (note: different from the cookies where I do 8.)

Place 1 piece of protein bar in each muffin liner (foil, not paper)

Bake at 325 for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and use the empty muffin pan bottom to press the "tarts" down. Place it on top and apply even pressure. Umm use oven mitts one of the tins is hot, yes I forgot, ouch. Place the the tarts back in the oven for 3 more minutes and then repeat the muffin pan pressing process. You could use a metal spoon back too but... work quick while they are still warm, that's why I like to use the other pan to press... you do all 12 at the same time.

Allow to cool. Peel off liners when cool.

Mix ricotta, protein, syrup together till well blended and spoon a dollop of filling in each. Top with an almond. Chill in fridge. This filling is great on it's own too for breakfast.

A coconut cream pie version is going to happen this week maybe a strawberry cheesecake after that. It's a fun and sweet treat that doesn't do too much damage... don't eat all 12 ;)  I had 2 and it was more than enough.

P.S. Grab yours before your family spots them because they will have no idea it's a protein packed, healthified dessert and they will disappear.

More Eggface Sweet Treats

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

A day in my pouch is a series of blog posts to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world. Yesterday's healthy and delicious menu...

Breakfast: I made a batch of my Egg Bites (aka Mini Crustless Quiche) this weekend and ate the last of them. These were vegetarian. I had some leftover peas in the fridge from a dinner. Corn, beans, peas, cabbage, spinach whatever... if you have a 1/2 cup or so in a container bumping around in the fridge this is a great way to use up those leftovers.

Shelly's Cheesy Pea Bites

1/2 cup cooked Peas
1 Yellow Onion, sauteed
2 Green Onions, sauteed
5 Eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Dill
1/2 cup Shredded Swiss Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan, Grated
a few twists of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Saute onions, set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients together. Be sure onion mixture has cooled slightly before adding to egg mixture.

Spoon (I use a small ice cream scoop) into a lightly greased non-stick mini muffin tin.

Bake for 30 minutes or until centers are firm. Makes 24.

More Eggface Bites (aka Crustless Quiches)
7 Grab & Go Breakfast Ideas

Lunch: I'm taking a course online and I had a big project due so I set myself up outside to finish it and this yummy bento box lunch of finger foods fueled me.

Pink Box (top left): Cheese Cubes and Almonds
Green Box (top right): Cherries
Blue Box (bottom left): Ham & Turkey Cold Cut Roll Up, Pickles
Orange Box (bottom right): Vanilla Almond Crunch Quest Bar Protein "Cookies"

More Bento Box lunches, FAQ's and an Online Source for them
My Bento Pinterest Page (Tons of Lunch Ideas)

Dinner: Sunday we went to the beach and to one of my favorite Farmers' Markets and I bought these really cool round baseball-ish sized summer squash, a big bag for $2.

I turned them into a sort of gratin for dinner...

Shelly's Summer Squash Gratin

3 cups-ish Summer Squash, sliced
1 Sweet Onion, sliced (Maui or Walla Walla)
1/2 cup Cooked Sausage, diced
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
Salt & a few twists of Black Pepper to taste
1/3 cup Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese

Saute onion and squash till tender, add cooked sausage and seasonings. I put it all in a oven safe dish and topped it with the cheese and broil 2 minutes until cheese is gooey and golden. This was delicious. You could use any summer squash you have locally available zucchini, crookneck, patty pan.

More Eggface Healthy Italian Dishes Lots of summer squash recipes.

Snacks: Too much coffee (iced mostly it was a hot day) and for dessert a dollop of Ricotta Cheese with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of SF Maple Syrup and I dipped 1/2 a sliced peach.

More Days in my Pouch

Thinking I might do another giveaway before the month is up. Watch for it ;)

Flavor Your Adventure: Beach Day Snacks

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is grab a few snacks and find a great view to enjoy for an hour or two. It doesn't get much better than watching the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. It's an hour drive, so my Mum and I gassed up and took off to have a little 1/2 day adventure.

If you were craving something savory or sweet I had you covered. Our savory snack was: Hummus with lots of veggie dippers and Blue Diamond Salt n' Vinegar Almonds. Be sure you always have plenty of water for your adventures.

This was our view. Ahh... I could feel the stress of the week melting away with each wave.

We also made a stop at my favorite Farmer's Market. Take a look at these squash I bought...

and my favorite Reed avocados are in season...

Before heading home, we made one last stop at the ocean and ate our sweet treat... a few fresh cherries and Blue Diamond Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almonds, the combo is out of this world, like a chocolate covered cherry.

I freeze the cherries the night before my adventure so they are just thawed when I'm ready to gobble them up, cold and refreshing in the summer heat.

I'm headed to a conference in San Antonio in a few weeks and keeping a tight rein on my budget till then but a 1/2 tank of gas and some snacks I can manage. I highly recommend heading off on a 1/2 day adventure... find a park, a lake, a beautiful tree to sit under, a farmers' market to poke around.

It was a perfect day... delicious snacks, fresh air and the beauty of nature, add someone you love to the mix and some great conversation and laughs... that's stuff summer memories are made of.

This “Flavor Your Adventure” post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. For more snack ideas to “Flavor Your Adventure” this summer, visit Blue Diamond Almonds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

A day in my pouch is a series of blog posts to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world.

Breakfast: I had some leftover steamed cauliflower bumping around the fridge. I put it in a non-stick saute pan. I just sort of smashed it down with a spatula, when it was warmed through I poured 1 beaten egg over it and a couple of Tablespoons of shredded Mexican blend cheese, sprinkle of salt and a few twists of black pepper, flipped it sort of and cooked till egg was done and cheese was brown and crispy. Delicious. Odd breakfast I know but it was really tasty.

Started my day with a little grrr blood pressure rise. I saw a post on Facebook that no other way to say it... pissed me off. I spewed a comment and a tweet but thought it deserved to be sent into the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC)'s "Bias Busters" basically the Weight Bias Committee within the OAC. I don't sit on that committee... it's self preservation really... for my own health and well-being I choose to support their efforts as a member but as a board member I choose to serve on other committees. If I heard all of what people submit I'd be on blood pressure meds again for sure ;) I do however pound off emails to them on occasion when I personally spot something I think they need to be aware of, usually they are already on it. Yay! This morning I pounded off an email about this video and Facebook post. The OAC has responded to the video with a request for it's removal. Please support our efforts and send a message that the weight bias, stigma and fat shaming this video portrays is wrong and even more disturbing is comes from a medical "professional" and then was supported by a post by another medical professional is unacceptable. Dr's offices should be a safe zone, free from weight bias and stigma. I know I am preaching to the choir on this one because YOU KNOW first hand... weight bias and stigmatization can lead to patients affected by obesity avoiding preventive health services and exams, mammograms, follow up appointments, avoiding the doctor and putting off care... it's potentially deadly. Watching that video is there any wonder why some would not feel safe and supported. So yeah... blood pressure rise for the day but if we all sign the letter something good will come from it. Thank you.

UPDATE: The video has been removed.Yes! Thank you to all who signed the letter.

Lunch: I had a phone meeting and then some errands to run. One stop was the supermarket for a couple of things and I picked up some pre-cooked shrimp and voila Shrimp Cocktail was lunch.

Dinner: Repurposing leftovers was the theme of the day. I had a small piece of steak, some assorted grilled veggies (onions, mushroom, peppers, squash) from last night's dinner. I sliced up another onion and sauteed everything.

I made a bag of that Path of Life Mediterranean Quinoa (4 minutes in the microwave, they changed the look of the bag FYI) and used that as a base for some Steak and Veggie Quinoa Bowls. So good and made the little bit of leftovers go a long way.

Snacks: I made a batch of Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar Cookies and so I'll have a couple of those a little later on for dessert. Have you made these yet? Yum.

More Days in my Pouch