Many tout beans and rice as the quintessential budget foods, and rightly so - they are cheap. But as I stressed in my Budget-Friendly Essentials lists (here, here, and here), many foods can fit within a tight budget that are healthy and delicious.
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Cheesecake is one of those desserts that most people think they can never have if they’re conscious of their diet. I firmly disagree. Sure, it can be hard to make the real stuff fit within the confines of one’s macros, but there are some great recipes to make almost identical duplicates. Are they on the same level as the Cheesecake Factory? No, but they fill the cheesecake-shaped hole in one’s heart just the same.
I don’t necessarily agree with hiding healthy food within traditionally “unhealthy” foods - I think it sends the message that healthy foods are inherently unenjoyable on their own. If I did agree with hiding healthy foods, this black bean recipe is precisely how I’d do it. Low in fat, high in fiber and protein, and so easy to prepare these rich, cakey brownies make for a decadent treat without busting the macro budget! It’s always a good day when it starts with me professing my love for oatmeal (again). I can’t help it, but breakfast food has a special place in my heart - as much as I love oatmeal, I am an equal opportunity breakfast lover, which means pancakes are near and dear to me, too. So why not allow oatmeal and pancakes to join forces like some sort of breakfast dream team? Enter oatmeal pancakes. But these aren’t just any pancakes; they’re protein-packed and budget-friendly - a combination that can make the combo of two of the best breakfast foods of all time (IMO) even better. I am a bikini competitor, which means I routinely diet to sub-healthy body fat percentages. I also have the appetite of a lumberjack. This dichotomy presents some challenges, but it also grants opportunities to experiment in the kitchen. There have been a few spectacular failures -- I'm looking at you, grapefruit scrambled eggs) but they make the successes that much sweeter (although anything is sweeter than grapefruit scrambled eggs). This is where protein fluff enters the chat. But Alicyn, what is protein fluff? Glad you asked. Protein fluff is a dieter's dream. It's filling. It's sweet. It's filling. What more could you want?
Cheesecake, glorious cheesecake.
Given the choice between sweet and savory, I will pick sweet every time. But I'm not a sugary sweet kind of person - I'm a sugary and ultra-rich-to-the-point-of-stomachache kind of person. Candy? Eh, not my first choice. But if it's something loaded in fat (ice cream, doughnuts, etc.), I'm game. (Side note: cake doughnuts aren't doughnuts; they're just round cake.) Growing up, one of my favorite desserts was cheesecake. I should note, however, that I was a bit of a human garbage disposal, so whatever food I was stuffing in my mouth at the time was my favorite. Still, I had a soft spot for cheesecake. (I had a lot of soft spots, tbh). When I became mega-fitness-nutrition-obsessed, I cut out all "fun" foods, instead enjoying them vicariously through other adventurous eater's Instagram posts. As I matured and became more flexible with my approach to nutrition, I began experimenting with the standard "fit chick" recipes, which thankfully included protein cheesecake. It's been done many times and in many ways, but this is the recipe that works for me. |
AuthorHello, I'm Alicyn! I am a registered dietitian and a former fitness competitor. I love all things food, fitness, personal finance, and productivity (super exciting, right?!) Join me as I explore my passions and work to build my ideal life! Archives
May 2021
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