Homemade Protein Pizza Crust & Recipe

Lately I've been trying to add protein into everything I eat. I've always been a carb-lover and eaten little meat. The joys of meat eating have come full circle after having been pregnant with twins and craving steak daily. Now I see recipes, and I'm constantly thinking to myself, "how can I improve that?" I'm seeking to take foods that lack food value and make them meet daily needs. So without further adieu, here is my pizza crust recipe (made into a pepperoni pizza). It takes less than 20 minutes to make. The best part is it tastes amazing! I made never enjoy takeout pizza again.


(I can never get a photo of an uncut pizza at our house, so this will have to suffice!)


b>Protein Pizza Crust
1/2c plain Greek yogurt
1 scoop GNC whey ISO vanilla protein powder
1/2c white flour (sub:whole wheat)

Mix it up into a bowl, kneading with your knuckles until it begins to form into a ball. It'll be sticky, so just keep going and it takes shape after a minute or so. Preheat your oven to 350•






Grease your pizza pan (do not skip this step! Trust me here). I sprayed on Pam in butter flavour. As well as helping the crust come nicely off of the pan, it also bubbles and makes the crust crunchy (+ butter flavour! Who can resist that?)



Press your dough onto the pizza pan and spread it around from the centre, working outwards. Don't worry if it's not even on the edges. It only adds to the charm.

Top with pizza sauce. I didn't make my own this time, but used just under 1/2 a bottle of this one.


Then add your toppings. I used 1-1/2 pepperoni sticks cut up into slices for my kids, but you could add any toppings you desire. Then cover with shredded cheese. We used 100g Black Diamond Medium Cheddar.



Bake your pie for 18-20 minutes until the crust begins turning golden brown.

Cut. Eat. Enjoy!


I'm certain I can make this even healthier and reduce the fat and calories by adding veggies, using Turkey pepperoni sticks, and lower fat/light cheese next time, while keeping the protein high.

Here are the details:
Makes 8 large slices on a regular pizza pan

171cals each slice
Fat: 6.8g
Carbs: 17g
Protein: 11.5g

Protein "Bounty" Bars

I've been on a kick lately to eat more protein. And like any good diet that also includes desserts! My latest creation was a craving after eating a Bounty Bar this week and realizing that it's just not as mentally satisfying if you know it's empty calories. So here's my gift to you. The replica Bounty Bar with actual health benefits and much less calories! You're welcome.


Coconut Filling
3c shredded coconut
1c plain greek yogurt
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used GNC Whey Isolate in French Vanilla)

Mix it up well in a large bowl. Shape into bars and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put the whole tray into freezer.

Chocolate Coating
300g (1pkg) mini chocolate chips
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
(I used GNC Whey Isolate in Double Chocolate Royale)

Melt the chocolate in a mini crockpot.
Add the chocolate protein powder and stir until it's completely mixed in. Spoon the melted chocolate mixture over the tops of the frozen bars. Then I stuck it back into the freezer.

You could also roll the bars in the melted chocolate, but I thought that was too much messy work, so I just used a spoon to get the chocolate on top.

Makes 17 large bars.
107cals, 5.1g fat, 12.1g carbs, 6g protein per bar.

Day One (again)

Today was Day One of Insanity:Max 30. Doing it again.


This time I'm not certain if I'll stick it out every weekday for an entire 9 weeks, but I'm attending a wedding at the end of May and so I have workout 24 days to do some toning. And last time this workout series kicked my ass and felt so good.

It was nice to be back at it, sweating and doing the crazy moves. My protein shake and shower were well deserved today.

This time my husband is hopefully going to stick it out and do the program too. So here goes nothing. Month one.

Banana Chocolate Protein Shake

I've been thinking about this one for awhile and my three kids finally left enough bananas for me to make it.


Banana Chocolate Protein Shake

2 fresh bananas
2 scoops Whey ISO in chocolate flavour
3/4c Greek Okios Yogurt - Vanilla or Banana
1-2cups crushed ice (depending on how thick you want the shake)

Mix in the blender on "crush ice" setting until everything is nicely blended and enjoy!

This makes a great meal replacement for those on the go.
Approx 440cals (depending on banana size) & 54g of protein.

Alternative: Add frozen bananas and instead of ice, add 1/2cup of water.

Gym, Gym, Gym

I'm branching out from workout videos for a bit. I took a workshop to learn the basics of Aerial Yoga a couple of weeks ago. Yep, suspended from the ceiling at the yoga studio. It was amazingly fun. Like circus and Cirque de Soleil kind of fun. Like being a kid again kind of fun. I was invited by a friend and I love to experience new things life.

In the past few weeks I've been travelling quite a bit and have been dropping in at local gyms. I've been to three different cities and I'm loving going back to the gym since we don't have a gym in our small town. I love the feeling of gym-one it up. Reminds me of my high school days and it's like I never left. Ahhhh. I still feel right at home in the gym and do my own thing with my headphones in. Gym monkeys beware of this momma.

I've been focusing on using machines, since I don't have that option in my normal workouts. I typically dislike machines because they tend to work muscles in an unnatural way. For example the guys who use the ab machines constantly but couldn't do a sit up on the floor if their life depended on it. So I'm picky as to which machines I use.

I like the tricep and lat pull downs, and also the leg presses and hamstring curls. Then I run sprints for 5-10 minutes on the treadmill. In between that I basically do whatever peaks my interest that day. Perhaps one of these days I'll drop in on a cross fit class to learn some of their techniques. I've been curious about them for awhile now.

I'm headed out again this weekend and hopefully can fit in another gym session Saturday evening. Yes! Feels so great. I wish I could do this everyday.

Yummy Berry Chocolate Protein Shake

I've had a lot of protein shakes in my day and the majority have tasted like chalk. I'd choke them back trying to make it as painless as possible. No more!

I've finally found a good tasting recipe! And I'm excited to share it.



Yummy Berry Chocolate Protein Shake

2 - 100g single serve Vanilla Greek Okios Yogurt (or 200g measured)



2 scoops Whey ISO in chocolate flavour



1 cup frozen mixed berries (or frozen fruit of your choice - frozen banana works great too)



1/4 cup of water



Add all ingredients in this order into your blender and mix well. The frozen fruit with the yogurt will make it nice and creamy. Enjoy!

430 calories & 55g of protein.


I enjoyed every sip and was sad when it was gone!


I realize that this has sugars from the fruit and the yogurt so it's not going to be as healthy as some people would like. But it tastes amazing and you're welcome!

Insanity Max 30 Complete!

I finished the 9 weeks of Insanity Max 30! I finished strong, doing all of the moves, in Friday Fight Round 2, unmodified!!

So very empowering to see my progress since day 1, when I had to do basically all of the moves modified. I'd set a 60-day challenge for myself just to keep motivated and I'm proud to say that even with three small kids, I never missed one day!

I did my workouts in my basement and if my kids weren't napping, then they were playing with their toys behind me, or they'd come and join in. It was really cute to see them attempting to do the moves and dancing along to the music on the videos.

I really liked that the Insanity Max 30 workouts were only five days per week (M-F weekdays). So I had my weekends free to spend with my family without guilt. I also liked that it ramps you up to being able to do the moves or that you can watch the modified video and not do all of the plyometrics (read: lots of jumping). I progressed from modified, to a semi-modified version (that I made up based on my personal training experience and years of working out since I was a teen), to doing the moves unmodified. Who knew I could do walking push-ups, push-up jacks, planks to squats (this one feels pretty cool to do), or hit the floor tuck jumps (this one is amazingly cool), or one handed burpees?

Granted I was still really tired and of course I maxed out every single day and some days, a bunch of times over the 30 minutes, but I did it. All.

In some way I'm actually sad that it's over, and maybe I'll do this series again in the coming months. I'll be posting my "before & after" photos as soon as I take my "afters". For now here's me, right after finishing the final workout.