Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip protein Cookies Recipe

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies Recipe

Who doesn't like to dunk a cookie into milk and enjoy that yummy bite guilt-free? However, it's not possible if you are struggling with PCOS, low metabolism and weight gain issues. Its a battle of the bulge and cookies are a definite no-no.
But what if I told you, that I tried and tested a really cool recipe with a slight twist making it a tad bit healthy without compromising on the taste.

How to make Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies?

Just like all my recipes on my blog are easy to execute, these protein cookies are really easy to make. They’re easy by mixing a handful of ingredients together. You need to add protein whey to the cookie dough and mix everything together and form your protein cookie dough. Later shape them round and bake it in an oven till they rise. The peanut butter is packed with healthy fats and make the cookies healthy and super tasty. Now note the details on ingredients and methods along with some easy tips.

Ingredients 

2 eggs

200gms creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

3 scoops Protein Powder ( easily available in sports stores or Amazon) 

1 tbsp coconut flour

1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
1/2 cup blanched almonds (optional)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup choco chips

A pinch of salt

Method 

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Also line the baking tray with butter paper or butter the tray and set aside. 

2.  In a large bowl, crack the two eggs. add the peanut butter and whisk. Just mix and don't over mix. 

3. Then add the baking powder, sugar, and salt.

4. Now add the protein powder, coconut flour, vanilla essence and mix well with a spatula. 

5. Now fold in the chocolate chips, and mix until they’re evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough. 

6. This dough will look thick but yet be very soft. It will look oily in nature. 

7. Make equal shaped balls and flatten to make flat shapes using palm and fingers. Place three halves of the blanched almonds on each cookie. 

8. Place the cookies on a baking tray and place it in a pre heated oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 150°C. The cookies will rise and increase in size too. They will be firm on the outside and gooey from inside. 

9. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool before serving. 

Note

You can substitute pressed oats instead of coconut flour. 
You can use vanilla/ Chocolate Whey protein.
Do not add almonds if you want. This recipe had it so I have added. 

If you have another recipe or make cookies in another way do let me know in the comments below.

Fruity Icecream Dessert with Brooklyn Creamery Icecream

Cheat day never tasted so delicious as it actually wasn't any cheating at all. It was indulging Guilt free with #brooklyncreamery.

 You can order the icecream desserts from  swiggy, zomato, bigbasket, and nobleplus stores.
Proud of my friend Shilpa Seth Bhambri who is the #culinaryconsultant with the brand, developing such fabulous icecreams rich in taste and dietary fibre.

These ice-cream have 60 percent less calories than any regular  premiere brand ice-cream. No added sugar and12 delicious flavors to choose from. My family went gaga over the flavors we got to try.
➡️Kulfi
➡️Tutti Frutti
➡️Chocolate Fudge Brownie
➡️Holy Moly Mango

I whipped up this exciting dessert with Tutti Frutti. Added more fun with fresh fruits. It looked and tasted so yummy. Note the simple recipe.

Ingredients 

1 tub of Brooklyn Creamery Icecream
1 cup chopped pineapple
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
A few walnuts
1 tbsp Honey

Method

1. Chop the fruits in small pieces. Gently mix all the fruits in a bowl.

2. Add the honey to the fruits and mix again. 

3. Melt the icecream and fold half of  it in with the fresh fruits.

4. Take your best dessert glasses and fill it 3/4 with the fruit ice cream mixture.

5. Now top it with more icecream.

6. Garnish with walnut and pomegranate.

7. Freeze it or chill it, as you please before serving.

Note 

You can add different fruits of your choice to this Fruity Icecream dessert.
For variation take two flavors of icecream. And you can top it with chocolate or kulfi.

Homemade Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad Recipe

This Homemade Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad Recipe is super easy friends. 

It may not look like the perfectly dainty Hotel styled salad however this Homestyle Simple yet Refreshing salad is delicious.
Watermelon and feta salad with some arugula ( Rocket leaves)
party!

A watermelon feta salad with fresh lime and mint dressing, with Rocket leaves. A light and delicious summer salad, with added croutons, would make a complete meal by itself. Perfect for an alfresco lunch or dinner.
It’s safe to say that I am not a natural-born salad eater. My tendency has always been to carb-loaded meals, Rotis or rice with every meal.

If you want to make something light and low calorie for dinner then this recipe is for you
All you need to do is deseed and cut your watermelon into small cubes. Add feta cheese, mix in some arugula leaves with a dressing and you are done.

 The juicy watermelon, with peppery rocket, delicate leaves, and salty feta are a winning combo.
Simple to construct and colorfully satisfying on the palate!!

Note the ingredients you will need for this Homemade Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad Recipe 

Ingredients

Half a Watermelon
1 cup grated or cubed Feta Cheese
1 bunch of Arugula (Rocket) leaves
Juice of half lime
1 tbsp Virgin Olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
Salt to taste
15 mint leaves

Method

1. Cut the watermelon into small cubes. Deseed and keep aside

2. Wash and roughly the arugula leaves

3. Crumble the feta cheese, or for a better presentation, you can even chop it up into tiny cubes. I used Dlecta Foods- Feta Cheese for this recipe.

4. Take a  bowl, mix the olive oil with the salt and pepper, add the lemon juice and mix it well.

5. In another bowl add the watermelon, feta cheese, and arugula leaves. Top it with the marinate. Miz it gently with a wooden spoon.

6. Add in the chopped mint leaves.

Here is my Youtube video of the same Recipe

Note 

The Feta Cheese can be salty so add salt accordingly.
You can even add a dash of Honey for a sweetish taste.
Add Croutons to make a wholesome meal by itself
Try garnishing with crumbled walnuts as an option.

Quick and Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Quick & Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup

When life gives you lemons, use them to make lemonade”, is an age-old adage used to encourage positivity in any situation you are put into.

Well, today I wish to add to make another saying. When life gives you broccoli, use it to make a quick & easy Broccoli cheese soup.

So are you ready to make a delicious creamy broccoli soup with me? The best part of this soup is filling and very easy to make.  Yet it is a different soup, unlike the regular ones we make eg - Tomato or Spinach soup.  It is very healthy and has fab nutrient content.

This Broccoli soup was made with a twist. I added a dash of Parmesan Cheese to it. I have used Dlecta There’s just something magical about a hearty bowl of soup in your belly sipping warm soup as you watch your favorite TV aerial on the weekend.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 chopped onion
3 cups fresh broccoli
1 potato
1/2 teaspoon  thyme (optional)
1 Chicken Stock Cube ( can use veg option)
2 garlic pods
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp fresh cream
1 heaped tbsp fresh parmesan cheese.

Method

1. Take a large saucepan, melt the butter and lightly saute the garlic.

2. Add the chopped onion, broccoli flowerets and chopped potato to this. Stir for about two minutes until vegetables soften

3. Now add the chicken cube, one glass of water to this. Simmer until broccoli is softened, about 8 minutes.

4. For faster results pressure cooker this for one whistle or maximum 5 minutes. We don't want to overcook it as the nutrients get destroyed.

5. Now transfer the vegetables into a blender and make a fine paste of it.

6. Place it back in the saucepan on low flame.to simmer. Add the pepper and thyme at this stage.

7. Lastly, add fresh cream.  At this stage no not add any water as the taste will get adulterated.

8. Turn off the heat and continue whisking until thick and bubbly.

9. Stir in cheeses & serve immediately. You can serve it with soup sticks or garlic bread.

Note 

You can even take the stems of Broccoli for this recipe.
The color of the soup can vary from yellow-green to light green. But that doesn't matter as you are definitely going to love the warm mushy soup.

Traditional Albanian Wheat Pudding

My knowledge about Albanian Cuisine was purely limited to the country Albania.

More on Albania 

However after attending the 6th edition of #wildasparagustable I got to learn so much more about this beautiful Mediterranean Country.

Albania boasts of delicious dishes like tave kosi (a spiced lamb and rice casserole with a baked yoghurt lid) and perime ne zgare (a simple dish of fresh grilled vegetables). The gang of gorgeous Homechefs researched and replicated dishes from that land. Take a bow you have overdone yourself this time.
I decided to stir up an Albanian Wheat pudding and guess what? It really turned out very well.

While the other participants had already decided what to make. Mine was a last minute entry as someone dropped out. I googled the net and discovered this very interesting Albanian Wheat pudding.

Traditional Albanian Wheat Pudding 

It was interesting to learn that this Albanian wheat pudding is also known as "asure" or  Noah's ark pudding. It is The Oldest Dessert In The World.
Turkish tales tell you that has it that the first version of 'asure' was made by Noah himself. After weeks on the ark, the waters began to recede. As food on the Ark diminished, Noah decided to use the last few grains of wheat and other bits along with sugar in a large pot.
And What he got was a delicious Tradional Albanian Wheat pudding.



You can adapt the ingredients and according to your taste or what you have on hand. Classic versions of this pudding requires over 24 hours to prepare  however you can hasten up the steps by using a pressure cooker.  It I am really not sure if it will give the same results.

Ingredients

 2 cups Whole Wheat
1/2 cup sugar ( or any other substitute sweetener)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 /2 cup golden raisins
1 apple finely chopped
1 tbsp  honey
1 tsp  cinnamon
1 litre or more water depending on the wheat

Method 

1. Wash and soak  the wheat in cold water the night before. See that there is enough water for it to soak.

2. The next morning, drain the wheat grains and transfer them to a large pot. Now pour the water in and allow it to cook . You  need to cook it until they turn very soft.

3. See that there is a little water as wheat will further swell up. Let the wheat sit in the pot overnight or for minimum 12 hours.

4. If you have less time,  pressure cooker the grains. Do not strain this water. Next day you’ll notice that the grains have absorbed the water and the thickened in size.

5. Now after 10 hours transfer the wheat grains to a large cooking vessel, add the sugar and keep stirring on low heat and for about 40-50 minutes until the wheat gets caramelized and darkened in color.

6. Now add the honey, cinnamon, chopped apple, walnuts and raisins and cook for 10 minutes more.

7. Once thick in consistency the wheat pudding is ready. Divide in individual bowls and serve it when cool.

Note

You can substitute sugar for any sweetener or even jaggery.
Serve it hot or cold.  Both ways it tastes brilliant.

Thanks to our dearest Salloni Malkani and Ananya Banerjee who have introduced the epic Wild Asparagus table.

Ahoy!! Let's sail to Albania. 

Maharashtrian Style Jawla Recipe

Maharashtrian Style Jawla recipe

Once in a while I prefer to visit the local fish market to purchase fresh seafood. Sometimes I just visit on my way to the vegetable market and meet up with one of my favorite fisherwomen vendors. It increases my knowledge of the types of seafood available in the market and some of the women I meet enthusiastically share their fish recipes with me too.

Last week I spotted a baby white prawn that was so tiny, each one could be just one cm. It was sold in a Vata(potion).  You cannot even clean the head or tail and the lady told me it has to be cooked along with it.

It is called Jhawla in Marathi and is either cooked with dry spices, kokum or made with a coconut-based gravy.

I decided to try out a dry spicy Maharashtrian style Jawla recipe that can be eaten with dal & rice or just with chapati too.

Ingredients 

2 cups of baby shrimp
1/2 bunch Spring onions
6- 7 Garlic pods
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 green chilies
8 - 10 fresh kokum pieces
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Juice of half lime
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method

How to make Maharashtrian Style Jawla Recipe

1. Wash and clean the prawns in a sieve under running water. Let the water drain out completely.

2. In a heavy bottom pan,  heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the chopped onions ( not greens of spring onions)  green chillies and garlic and fry till the onions are translucent in color.

3. Now add in the squeezed dry prawns and mix well with the onions.

4. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then lower the flame and add kokum and dry spices.

5. On low heat, cover the pan and let it cook in the water the baby prawns release.

6. Now toss in the greens of spring onions for about 5-7 minutes. You can toss once in between.

7. Once the prawns are cooked, add salt and lime juice. Mix well, and cover cook for about 2 minutes till completely dry.

8. Now add the chopped coriander leaves and cover for 5 minutes before you serve.

9. Serve it as a side dish with dal and rice.  Or like a main dish with roti and salad on the side.

Note

You can use a dry Jhawla for this dish too.

Kokam is optional. You can add more lime juice instead.

Pumpkin Puree Penne Pasta

A simple winter vegetation recipe today – Pumpkin Puree Penne Pasta

Always on the lookout for new and simple recipes, and this time I was bored with cooking the regular penne pasta in red sauce. So I tried to replicate a Pumpkin Puree Penne Pasta recipe that I once tasted at a Mumbai Fine Dining Restaurant.  It turned out slightly sweet yet with added spices, it was a delicious combination. This is a totally vegetarian recipe but a delightful one so go ahead and try it out.  It made such a fabulous dinner treat for my family. 

Here is the secret to this easy pumpkin pasta sauce! I never used heavy cream, just the puree of pumpkin with Extra Virgin olive oil instead, which brought in a healthy spin to the contemporary recipe.  I have used penne pasta for this recipe however you can try fusiili or Rigatoni or any other type of pasta.  

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup milk

2 cups of pasta

1 tomato 

Half  kg  pumpkin

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tsp pepper powder

A dash of cinnamon powder

Salt to taste teaspoon salt

Spring onion greens for garnish 

Method

1. Take a pot of water, let the water boil; now add the pasta, a dash of salt and oil. After it boils, keep it on simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. To check if pasta is done just press with fingers, it should feel firm yet cut through. Switch off the gas, and strain the pasta in cold water. 

2. Remove the skin of the pumpkin and chop it into large pieces. Place the pieces of pumpkin and tomato in a pressure cooker with one cup of water.  Pressure cooker the pumpkin for 3 to 4 whistles.  Let it cool, now open the pressure cooker and puree the pumpkin in a blender or mixer. 

3. Add Olive oil to a pan, to this add chopped garlic. Sauté the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes, then carefully add the pumpkin puree, milk, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well to make a good paste. Stir it on low flame.

4. Now add the boiled pasta, and toss it with a light hand. Add greens of spring onion and serve it hot.

Option

You can add parmesan cheese shavings to enhance the flavors. We generally use butter for this recipe but today I used Disano Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

, Olive oil is definitely a healthier and better choice for cooking. 

 Why Disano Olive Oil?

It is obtained from High-Quality Spanish Olives. 
It is also good for daily Indian Cooking.
It can be used in paratha, pulao, pulses & any kind of meat and vegetable preparations.
It also can be used for deep Fry, sautéing, grilling and many more cooking techniques.
It does not change the original taste of the food. 

 It gets absorbed less in food, ensuring a low intake of oil.
 It has a high smoking point which makes it ideal for deep frying.
 Active in- Rich in Mufa & Pufa/, 0 cholesterol that will keep the Heart of our family healthy.

You can even check out this very simple Pasta Recipe here
And the Pumpkin Halwa Recipe here