Protein Banana Bread

So my family seems to have a love/hate relationship with bananas.  Some weeks I have to replenish them once or twice during the week; others, the ones I buy on my big Saturday shopping trip are still sitting in the fruit bowl at the end of the week and our kitchen is beginning to smell very banana-y.  This week has been one of the latter weeks, and I needed to get rid of some bananas.  My very favorite banana bread recipe is a Cooking Light recipe that has chocolate chips in it; this time, I was looking for a recipe that was cleaner and guilt-free.  And I came upon this one for Protein Banana Bread! I was a little nervous about the husband and kids liking it, but it earned a unanimous thumbs-up, especially from my husband who asked me to make it more often!

This is super easy and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand.  Those I didn't I was able to make easy substitutions for (I've noted the substitutions below).  Let me know what you think!

• 1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour (I used oat flour, just because I like it better)
• 1/2 cup Stevia or other sweetener of your choice (I used 1/4 c. Stevia and 1/4 c. organic brown sugar, to make it more husband-friendly!)
• 3 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (I was low on vanilla, so I used 1 scoop vanilla and 2 scoops chocolate)
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I never measure cinnamon--in my opinion you can never have too much!)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup mashed banana (2 large or 3 small bananas)
• 1/4 cup water (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• snack size of unsweetened applesauce (I used 1/4 cup canned pumpkin)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together.  Pour into a 8"/4" loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick can be stabbed into the middle and pulled out clean.

Enjoy!!

This week starts my "official" competition prep for my first figure show with Musclemania.
I have been using these past few weeks to put on more muscle and that is what I will continue to do for the next several weeks. My diet has been very clean whic is what I need to focus on right now. I've been eating a lot of eggs and egg whites. I have about 3 full eggs a day and then between 4-6 egg whites per day. I eat every 3-4 hours which is really important. My meals throughout the day consist of a lot of vegetables, lean meats and healthy fats. I am not eating any grains. I'm not doing the Paleo diet per say, I am actually eating more as an anti-yeast diet. Over the past couple of weeks I have had a very bad yeast infection and I am prone to get these. After much research online and talking to other health preofessionals, I found out that a diet that has any yeast or sugars in it will feed into a yeast infection. So, not yeast or fruit are included in my diet.
As for my workouts, I have been doing very little cardio, lower reps and higher sets. I'll focus on 2 or 3 body parts a day and do 3 or 4 circuits consisting of about 5 exercises hitting those body parts. Circuits keep you moving and work more muscle groups at a time which burns more calories. The reason I am doing low reps (8-10) is because the weights are heavier and I am doing at least 4 sets. I will start to do more actual steady-state cardio in a couple weeks in the morning on an empty stomach.
Lots and lots of water is very important! It keeps you hydrated, keeps your metabolism moving and makes you feel fuller longer.
I have posted a picture of the supplements that I am currently taking:

The whey protein is something I take either right after workout or as one of my meals. I don't take it every day as I am trying to stick with pure clean foods. I take the Amino energy before my workout along with a tsp. of glutamine. Right after the workout I take Cellmass (creatine) and another tsp. of glutamine. CLA pills are taken 3x a day and the Hyper Shred is taken 2x a day. Cellmass, CLA and glutamine are essential in muscle growth and recovery. Amino is for muscle repair before, during and after the workout, helps me lifts more, gives energy and supports Nitric Oxide Synthesis. The Hyper Shred is great for boosting metabolism and giving me a little extra energy.

So, that's what I have so far in my competition prep. My current weight is 142 and my body fat percentage is about 16-17%. That's an estimate as I don't have a way of getting my exact amount at the time. I'm happy with my progress so far and I'm feeling really motivated! I'll try to get picture up soon.