Recipe: Fudgy Protein Brownies

Sunday, August 16, 2026

These Fudgy Protein Brownies from PrettyDeliciousLife came out pretty good! Once again, not amazing, but a great satisfying/filling chocolate snack. It's one of the many recipes that does not call itself "peanut butter + _insert_chocolate_option_here" that should call itself peanut butter brownies....but the peanut butter is at least not terribly overwhelming here.

Ingredients

• 16 oz cottage cheese
• 1 c natural peanut butter
• 1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 scoop protein powder (optional)
• 3 Tbsp chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Prepare to bake. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal and set aside.
2. Blend cottage cheese until smooth.
3. Transfer the cottage cheese to a mixing bowl and add peanut butter and the remaining dry ingredients (not the chocolate chips).
4. Using a fork or silicone spatula, mix the batter until combined. This batter will be very thick, much thicker than traditional brownie recipes.
5. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, smooshing down with the back of a spatula until it is evenly distributed in the pan.
6. Top the batter with chocolate chips and bake for 15-20 minutes for fudgy brownies or 25 minutes for cakey brownies.
7. Once finished baking, leave them in the pan to cool.

Fail: 3-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Unsurprisingly, these 3-Ingredient Cookies from FoodieFromVT are weird and come out nothing like the video. Taste like peanut butter and protein powder. Not ideal. Never again.

Semi-Fail: Chicken Pesto Bake

Sunday, August 9, 2026

This Chicken Pesto Bake from StayFitMom doesn't look that appetizing, and it tastes fine...but not particularly exciting. Will not make this one again, but perhaps look for a different one?

Recipe: Baked Ziti Meal Prep

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

This High Protein Baked Ziti from TheBalanceNutritionist with some fresh spinach added in is pretty good. Could be worth making again!

Ingredients

• 16 oz ziti
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb Italian ground chicken sausage, raw with casing removed or chopped fully cooked sausage
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 c marinara sauce (tomato basil is good)
• A few handfuls of fresh spinach
• 1/2 c water
• 1/3 c basil, chopped small, more for topping
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt + black pepper to taste

Cheese Layer

• 2 c shredded mozzarella, divided in half
• 16 oz cottage cheese
• 1/2 c parmesan or nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Pinch of black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large deep skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes until garlic is fragrant and onion begins to soften.
4. Add ground meat and sausage. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue cooking until meat is just cooked through.
5. Reduce heat to low and add sauce, water, basil and seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
6. While the sauce is cooking, make the cheese layer. Add cottage cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, parmesan cheese and seasonings to a small bowl. Mix until combined.
7. Add pasta and spinach to the ground meat sauce and mix until combined.
8. Add half of the pasta mixture to the bottom of a baking dish. Next, add the cheese layer by adding dollops of cheese mixture and smooth to mostly cover the pasta. Add the rest of the pasta and then top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
9. Bake for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Fail: Chicken Tikka Masala Meal Prep

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Meal prepped this Chicken Tikka Masala Meal Prep from DamnDelicious, but it doesn't taste much liek chicken tikka masala. It's good, I guess, and healthy. But I will not make again. Will look for a different recipe.

Recipe: Protein Pumpkin Loaf

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

While the Chickpea Pumpkin Loaf is pretty good, this protein pumpkin loaf is even better.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c pumpkin purée
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c maple syrup
• 1/4 c Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp [Olive/Avocado/Coconut] oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 c oat/almond flour
• 1/4 c protein powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c chocolate chips + more for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk the pumpkin purée, eggs, maple syrup, Greek yogurt, oil, and vanilla.
3. Add the flour, protein powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix until combined, then add the chocolate chips.
4. Pour into loaf pan and sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top.
5. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan before serving.