Almond Raspberry Cake

Yum yum yum yum yum!  Yes, it's that good!  Growing up, I always remember my grandmother making an amazing raspberry cake topped with a raspberry sauce.  I could never get enough of it when we went to visit (that and the M&Ms she used to keep in the candy jar)!  My other grandmother, the Italian, burnt everything she baked (true story), but none the less, the flavors were always wonderful.  I wanted to create a sophisticated dessert, like the raspberry cake that my grandma made, yet still bring in the Italian flavors that I love (without the burnt flavor of course).  So here you have it, an almond raspberry cake that is full of healthy fats, high in protein, and low in simple carbs. You'll note that I use Swerve in place of sugar.  I get it at Whole Foods, but I'm sure you can find it online and if not, use your sweetener of choice.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups almond meal (you can also use cashew meal - really any nut flour would probably do)
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs (yolks & whites separated)
1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1 Tbsp almond butter

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp pure almond extract 
1/3 cup Swerve (sugar replacement) divided 

Pinch of fine sea salt

3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a spring-form pan, with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread almond flour on it.  Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and toast for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat together egg yolks, ricotta cheese, almond butter, almond extract, lemon zest and 1/6 cup Swerve until smooth.  In a separate bowl whisk together the almond flour and baking powder(I actually did this on the baking sheet). Add the flour mixture to egg yolk mixture and beat until smooth. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium high speed until they start to increase in size. Once that happens, add a pinch of fine sea salt and slowly add the remaining 1/6 cup of Swerve.  Continue to beat until soft peaks form.

Fold egg white mixture into the almond mixture a little bit at a time. Then carefully stir in the raspberries. Once fully incorporated, pour the batter into the prepared spring-form pan and place into the oven to bake for approximately 20 minutes until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. The sides and top should also start to become golden in color. 

Note that cooking time will vary based on your size pan. I use a 10" pan which results in a thin cake and a 20 min bake time. If you use a smaller pan, increase your cooking time in 5 min increments until done. 

I love this cake as is, and as such I chose not to make a raspberry sauce for the top.  It is perfect with a cup of coffee for dessert or for a morning treat. Enjoy!

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs with Veggie Marinara

Who isn't looking for a good quinoa recipe nowadays? With all of the health benefits it has to offer, I'm always looking for ways to add it into my food. Since it is kind of mealy, I am happy any time I can work it into something else.

I was surfing around on Pinterest and came across a turkey quinoa meatball recipe. I thought it looked pretty good so I started looking around some more. After checking out quite few recipes, I knew how I wanted to make them! This recipe has been adapted from formerfatdudes.com. I changed the meat to be leaner, added more veggies, and changed the type of quinoa and tomatoes. Their recipe looked good, but this one is leaner and packs more of a protein punch.

I love making many different types of marinara, so this one was a no-brainier. I actually adapted it from my own garden vegetable marinara recipe and think I might just use this as my go to sauce. :)

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

1.25 pounds ground turkey breast
3/4 cup cooked black quinoa
1/3 cup grated onions*
1/3 cup grated carrots*
1/3 cup grated zucchini*
2 tablespoons crushed tomato (buy a 28oz can & use the rest for the sauce)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 egg

*Grate the whole vegetable and save what you don't use in the meatballs for the sauce.

Preheat oven to 500F, line a large baking sheet with foil and a sheet of parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together meat, quinoa, onions, carrots, zucchini, crushed tomato, garlic, worcestershire, seasonings and egg until well combined. You will want to do this with your hands to get everything mixed well. Be careful not to over mix - this will keep the meatballs tender.

Shape in to 13 even-sized meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through about 20 minutes, turn over once about 15 minutes in so they brown evenly (although the meatballs will be light in color, the bottoms will brown up).

Place over cooked polenta and top with veggie marinara (recipe below), fresh basil and shaved Parmesan. As an aside, when I make my polenta, I add grated Parmesan but omit butter or cream.


Veggie Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp (more to taste) crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
Remainder of grated veggies
6-7 cloves garlic (sliced)
The remainder of the crushed tomatoes
Tablespoon (or more) fresh basil

Warm up oil with seasonings in a deep 10" wide pan. Add onion, zucchini and carrots and let sweat out over med+ heat for about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for and additional 10 minutes. Lower to med-low heat and allow to simmer for as long as everything else takes to come together. The natural sweetness of the veggies helps take the sharpness out of the tomatoes. The longer the sauce cooks, the less acidic it becomes.

Nutritional Info:
Meatballs (each) - 94.5 calories; 12g protein; 8g carbs; 1.5g fat
1/2 cup sauce - 123 calories; 2.8g protein; 15g carbs; 5.5g fat (don't stress over the fat, it is a good fat from the olive oil)
1/2 cup prepared polenta w/ Parmesan - 123.5 calories; 4.6g protein; 20.8g carbs; 2.7g fat

You could also serve these over spaghetti squash instead of the polenta which would cut the calories and be very tasty.

No time for breakfast & coffee - on the go smoothie

3/4 cup ice
1 cup light vanilla or plain soy milk
1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein
1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein
1/2 tsp instant expresso
banana (optional)

Place ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Note that you can substitute soy protein for the whey protein.