Fall’s here and you know what that means … PUMPKIN SPICE!

Last October, I created a pumpkin spice recipe inspired by Diablo III. This time around, I decided to focus on another Blizzard game.

With beta around the corner, it’s time for me to start cooking up some Overwatch inspired snacks. That’s right, we’re hopping aboard the Overwatch hype train! CHOO CHOO. But this time, the hype train is fueled by PUMPKIN PROTEIN COOKIES!

Cheers love, the cookies are here!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
2. 2 tablespoons of agave nectar
3. 1 egg
4. 1/2 cup, 1 teaspoon of almond milk
5. 1/2 cup, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin puree
6. 2 pumpkin pie Quest Bars
7. 1 cup of oats
8. 1 square of dark chocolate

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is about 20 minutes. Cook time is ~14 minutes. This recipe will make 9 cookies.

Each cookie contains: 6g of Protein, 4g of Fat, and 5.5g of Net Carbs

OPENING

1. Take your protein bars and cut away the orange coating. Reserve these pieces in a bowl for later.
2. Cut the protein bar into pieces and place into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of almond milk.
3. Microwave the protein bar for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir until it makes a smooth liquid.

MID GAME

1. Put your protein mixture into a large bowl. Add in 1/2 of your oats and stir.
2. Pour in your pumpkin puree, agave, and egg. Stir until combined.
3. Add in your remaining oats and gently fold it into the rest of the mixture.
   
4. Pre-heat your oven to 325° F.
5. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking dish. Use a spoon to portion out your cookie dough mixture, and drop spoonfuls onto the baking dish.
6. Gently press the cookies into disks.
   
7. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
   

LATE GAME

1. Add 1 teaspoon of almond milk and 2 teaspoons of pumpkin puree to your reserved protein bar coating. This will make your orange frosting.
2. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave again for 30 seconds.
3. Microwave your dark chocolate in the same manner.
4. Place your orange frosting and dark chocolate in piping bags.
   
5. Pipe the Overwatch symbol onto your cooled cookies.
6. Eat!

GG WP, hero! Now you’re ready to save the world.

Or, you can wait for your beta access and bake cookies like me. The world needs more cookies.

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

Selama Ashal’anore!

Everyone’s favorite vengeful Blood Elf mage, Kael’thas Sunstrider made his way into the Nexus a few months back. I’ve had a chance to play him several times in ranked, but honestly, I’m not super comfortable with his play style.

I’m more of a Jaina kind of gal (awwwwkward). However, Kael’thas is still a super fun hero to play! I mean, c’mon, FREE living bombs?! YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. AND YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. EVERYONE GETS A LIVING BOMB!

And it’s all thanks to those magical Verdant Spheres. Those Verdant Spheres are his signature accessory. A powerful fashion statement only worn by most haute blood mages!

I’ve immortalized these iconic artifacts in food form: edamame falafels! These falafels are packed full of nutrients which will surely keep you fueled during your quest for vengeance.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 cup of tahini sauce*
4. 1 tablespoon of cumin
5. 1 tablespoon of coriander
6. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
7. 5 – 7 cloves of garlic, diced
8. 1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
9. 1/2 cup of parsley, roughly chopped
10. 1 1/2 cups of edamame, shelled
11. 1 onion, roughly diced
12. 2 jalapeños, diced

*To make homemade tahini sauce, combine: tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is roughly 15 minutes. Cook time is about 35 minutes. This makes about 3 servings (about 3 falafels each).

OPENING

1. Put your onion, edamame, onion, cilantro, 1 jalapeño, and 1/4 cup of parsley in a food processor.
2. Add in your salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander.
3. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to combine.
4. Continue until it forms a smooth paste.
5. Remove and set aside.

MID GAME

1. Set your oven to 375° F.
2. Line a pan or baking dish with parchment paper.
3. Using a spoon, scoop out golf ball sized balls of the falafel dough. Roughly shape them into a sphere and drop them onto the parchment paper. Use a butter knife to smooth out the balls.
4. Bake for 35 minutes or crispy. In order to keep them green, I decided not to flip them.

LATE GAME

1. Place tahini sauce, jalapeño pepper, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and your remaining parsley in a food processor.
2. Process until it’s a smooth paste.
3. Dip a spoon in the sauce and place the back of the spoon against a plate. Drag the spoon up and lift carefully to create a smear affect (or the flame for the verdant spheres).
4. Place one of the falafels on top of the sauce.
5. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle parsley over the plate.
6. Eat!

GG WP!

Now you can embrace AND eat the power of Verdant Spheres! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ GLORY TO THE SIN’DOREI! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

We’re headed back to Draenor for another delicious treat! This time, we’re looking to the skies for our meal… It’s RYLAK CREPES!

As a Hunter, it’s always awkward to create a dish from a beast that could have easily been one of your own companions.

LOOK AWAY, MOCHI! JUST… LOOK AWAY.

 However, I’ve gotta eat somehow… You can’t fight the Iron Horde when your stomach is rumbling. Besides, those Rylak crepes do look mighty tasty.

In Draenor, Rylak crepes only require five Rylak eggs. Unfortunately, since I couldn’t find any Rylak eggs where I live, I had to improvise with a few more ingredients.

Rylaks are predators, so I would assume that any dish made from them would be packed full of lean protein. My version of Rylak crepes features chicken breast and Quest protein!

UNIT COMPOSITION

FOR THE CREPE

1. salt
2. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3. 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
4. 1 scoop of Quest protein powder
5. 2 eggs
6. 1 cup of milk

FOR THE FILLING

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
4. 1 egg
5. 1/2 cup of whole wheat powder
6. 1/2 scoop of Quest protein powder
7. 2 bags of Quest BBQ protein chips
8. 1 lb of chicken breast, cut into strips
9. 1/2 cup of arugula or baby spinach, washed
10. 1/3 lb of asparagus
11. 2/3 lb of fingerling potatoes, cut into fries

FOR THE SAUCE (optional)

1. 1 tablespoon of honey
2. 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise
3. 2 tablespoon of mustard

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this dish is about 45 minutes. Total cook time is about 35 minutes. This will make about 4 servings. Each serving contains about ~57g of protein.

OPENING

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Open your bag of chips to let out the air. Then, crush the chips in the bag to create the crispy coating for your chicken.
3. Place your sliced chicken, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, mixed egg and crushed chips into separate dishes. This will be your dredging station.
   
4. Add in 1/2 scoop of protein powder to your whole wheat flour and mix to combine.
5. Take your chicken breast and dip it in the whole wheat flour. Then, dip it in the egg. Then, lightly coat it with the crushed chips. You will want to different hands for this to avoid getting the flour and egg mixture stuck to your hand (something that Alton Brown refers to as “club hand”).
   For example, use your left hand for the flour to egg portion. Then, use your right hand for the egg to chips portion.
6. Place the coated chicken strips on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
   
7. Lightly drizzle 1 table spoon of olive oil over the chicken strips.
8. Bake them for about 14 minutes. While your chicken is baking, prepare the rest of the filling.

MID GAME

1. In a medium sized pan, add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set it on medium high heat.
2. Once your olive oil comes up to temperature, place your sliced potatoes in the pan.
   
3. Let them cook for about 2 -3 minutes on each side or until browned.
4. Once they’re crispy, remove them from the oil and let them dry on over a paper towel. This paper towel will be used to absorb any extra oil.
5. Steam your asparagus or boil (you can cheat by throwing them in the microwave for about 2 minutes in a dish with water!).
6. Carefully wipe your skillet with a paper towel. You will be using this same skillet to make your crepes.

LATE GAME

1. In a bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 scoop of protein powder and 1 cup of milk. Add in salt for seasoning.
   
2. Set your pan to medium heat.
3. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small bowl. Dip a paper towel into the olive oil and use it to coat the pan with olive oil. You will be doing this between each crepe.
4. Use a ladle or measuring cup to add your crepe batter to the pan. Quickly swirl the pan to ensure that the batter evenly coats the surface of the pan.
   
5. Allow the crepe to cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. Then, flip it over.
   
6. Continue cooking for another minute and a half. Remove the crepe and repeat the process. Be sure to wipe down the pan with olive oil.
   
7. Once you’ve finished making all your crepes, it’s now time to assemble them. Place a fresh crepe on a plate.
8. Place your asparagus, spinach/arugula, chicken, and potatoes in the center of the crepe.
   
9. Then, roll the crepe up and use a toothpick to hold the crepe in place. ‘
10. OPTIONAL: Create a honey mustard dipping sauce by combining mayonnaise, honey and mustard.
11. Eat!

GG WP!

As you can see, I had a lot of fun making this recipe. Hopefully you’ll have as much fun as I did!

Happy travels, adventurer!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

OH HEY GUYS WHATCHA DOIN??

The Arena team I run with is comprised of a Hunter (that’s me!), a Paladin and a Warlock. Before each match, our Warlock slaps down a Soulwell so we can create Healthstones. Of course, I always saw it as tasty tasty food.

I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING

So, I decided to recreate my own real life Healthstones so I can eat Healthstones while I eat Healthstones. Yo dawg.

I keep a lot of protein powder at home because my boyfriend and I are trying really hard to achieve sick gains. I have been religiously following the YouTube channel, Buff Dudes, for inspiration on healthy cooking and workout routines. Some of their recipes turn not-so-healthy things, such as brownies, into handheld protein-fueled snacks. My goal with Healthstones is to sneakily hide protein and nutrition into bite-sized portable snacks. A quick snack to enjoy before your next arena match!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
2. 2 teaspoons of raw agave nectar
3. 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut (optional)
4. 1 tablespoon of unsweetened matcha green tea powder
5. 1/4 cup of raw pistachios, roughly chopped
6. 1/2 cup of peanut butter or almond butter

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this is about 15 minutes (add 10 minutes of blanching the pistachios) This makes 6 servings (~6 individual Healthstones). Idle time is about 30 minutes. 

OPTIONAL: If you want squeaky clean pistachios without the skins, I recommend blanching them. To blanch them, take your shelled pistachios and toss them into boiling water for about 30 seconds.

Then remove the pistachios from the hot water and place them in a bath of ice water. Once they are cool to the touch, gently rub off the skins from the pistachios. Let them dry on a towel for a few minutes.

1. Combine your protein powder, agave, and peanut butter in a large bowl.
2. Add in your matcha green tea powder.
3. Using a spoon, stir the ingredients together, adding coconut occasionally to thicken the mixture.
   
4. Stir in half of your chopped pistachios. Leave larger pieces for later in order to decorate the stones.
5. Begin shaping them into golf-ball sized mounds. Place large pieces of pistachio on the mounds for decoration.
6. Sprinkle a little protein powder onto a plate (this is to prevent the Healthstones from sticking to the plate while cooling). Place your newly shaped Healthstones on the plate and cover with saran warp. Let cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
7. Eat!

GG WP!

Next time you queue up for arena or LFR, make sure you have some tasty Healthstones in your bag to curb your hunger. Thankfully, these Healthstones don’t have a cool down.

If you’ve had a chance to play the Garden of Terror map in Heroes of the Storm, you will completely understand the importance of eating your vegetables. LET ME IMPROVE YOUR WEAK FLESH! 

On the Garden of Terror map, players are encouraged to collect seeds by smacking Garden Shamblers and the Garden Terror.

Once your team collected 100 seeds, you can return to your base and summon your own GARDEN TERROR! When a player controls the Garden Terror, they are free to roam the map and cause havoc. Typically, what I try to do is run straight for the towers and start smacking away.

There’s just something so darn awesome about being a giant plant and rampaging across the map. ROOAAARRRRR.

However, one should not play Heroes on an empty stomach… So I’ve devised this recipe to curb your hunger while channeling your inner Hero of the Storm!

Since the seeds are key to success on this map, it seemed natural to recreate such an important feature in food.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
4. 1/2 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
5. 5-6 cloves of garlic, diced
6. 1/4 lb of crimini mushrooms, diced
7. 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
8. 1/3 lb of spinach
9. 1/3 lb of  ground turkey
10. 1 red cabbage

BUILD ORDER

Prep time is roughly 30 minutes. Total cook time is about 45 minutes. This will make 4 servings (about 2 each)

OPENING GAME

1. Set water to boil in a large pot.
2. Carefully peel the leaves from the red cabbage.
3. Place leaves in boiling water for about 6 minutes or until soft (the water will turn dark purple).
4. Remove and let cool.

MID GAME

1. Set a pan on high heat and add olive oil.
2. Add in your diced garlic. Let garlic brown. Then, add in your mushrooms and tomatoes. Saute for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
4. In a bowl, combine your ground turkey, salt, pepper and worcesteshire sauce. Add in your sauted vegetables. Mix until combined.
5. Take a tablespoon of meat and place it in center of one of the cooked cabbage leaves. Then fold the edges of the cabbage leaf to create a pouch. Use a toothpick to hold the top together.

LATE GAME

1. Place the “seeds” on a baking dish and bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 375° F.
2. While the seeds are cooking, lightly boil your spinach. It will take about 2 minutes to cook.
3. Once the spinach has cooked, drain it and arrange it to form leaves on the plate.
4. Remove the seeds from the oven and place them on top of the spinach.
5. Eat!

And BOOM, you’re done! GG WP!

Hopefully you have made enough so you can share with your teammates:

I’ll see you in the Garden of Terror… But let’s hope you’re on my side! GOOD LUCK, HEROES!