Please excuse my absence.... and a summer breakfast idea!

I must start by apologizing.  Thing have been super crazy here!   I've changed careers (I'm now a personal trainer).... I'm still planning my wedding..... and we are in the process of moving - twice!  But I've been here the whole time (just not posting) - and I've still been experimenting with easy healthy recipes!  

It definitely feels like summertime here already, even though the first official day of summer isn't until next Friday!  It's been hot and humid - and exercising outside is only advisable now if it's early in the morning or late in the evening (though I left for work at 4am yesterday and it was already super humid out then!)

If you know me, you know I'm a huge advocate of eating breakfast!  It starts your day off right, fuels your body, and gets your metabolism going.  

I LOVE greek yogurt.... and I also enjoy oatmeal.  Today I combined them for a quick easy breakfast packed with protein! 

I used: 

1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein (Body Fortress)

1 packet Better Oats Oat Fit Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 packet stevia (Or sweetener of choice)

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well.  I added about 1 tbsp water to make everything mix easier (since oatmeal is dry and greek yogurt is super thick).  Eat as is!  You can also mix this up the night before and put in the fridge for a grab & go breakfast.  This would also be great with added chia seeds! 

Home Made Kale Chips.... And some exciting news!

So I know I've kind of been MIA here lately..... Things have been so crazy!  I've recently decided to go ahead and work on getting my Personal Trainer certification and make a major career move!  I'm super excited, but kind of nervous at the same time!  I think my experiences will help me in this field, but at the same time, sometimes I have moments of self doubt (don't we all?)  So now I am still working my full time job (not for much longer) - working at my amazing gym part time - and studying for certification!  Whew.  it's crazy!  But it's all totally worth it!!

 

 

My lovely friend Jamesa shared with me how to make kale chips yesterday.... so I stopped, got some kale, and put the oven to good use.  They are super easy, and super tasty.  You can actually flavor them however you want -- I think cumin and cayenne pepper would be good too, but I used garlic when I made them yesterday. 

 

You'll need:

kale, pulled off the stem

olive oil

salt (I used salt substitute)

seasnoning of choice (I used garlic powder)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Toss kale in olive oil so it's lightly coated.  I used my Misto to spray/coat but not go too heavy with it. 

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil - Place kale on baking sheet in single layer. 

Bake 12 minutes.

Sprinkle with seasonings & salt, to taste.

 

Enjoy!

Veggie-fied Spaghetti Squash Bake

Seems like I've been getting bombarded from all sides with Kale!  I know it's great for you but it's suddenly in my face all the time, so I have been trying to figure out new yummy ways to use it.  One of my trainers sent me a chili recipe the other day - it included kale & broccoli. Yep, Chili - with kale and broccoli.  It was amazingly delish.  My cousin sent me a link to a spaghetti squash bake she found on pinterest.  It looked pretty good, but I knew I could make it better, and here's what I came up with!

 

You'll need:

3 cups kale

1 small spaghetti squash (yields about 2 cups cooked squash)

5oz ground turkey (93/7)

4-5 chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup white kidney beans (drained/rinsed)

1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 can no salt added tomato sauce - 8oz can
seasonings - I used garlic powder, salt substitute, mrs dash tomato basil garlic
1/4 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Brown turkey - season with all seasonings - to taste.  Set aside in a bowl.
Poke holes with a knife in spaghetti squash - cook in microwave for 8-12 minutes, until tender.  Cut in half, carefully - will be hot. Remove Seeds.  Shred with a fork (will resemble 'noodles') - put in bowl with turkey.
Sautee mushrooms for about a minute - add kale.  Sautee until it wilts down a bit (3 cups shrink up after a few minutes).  Add tomatoes & beans, season to taste with all seasonings.
When kale is cooked, remove from heat - add to squash & turkey in bowl.
Add Tomato Sauce & 1/2 of the Mozzarella.
Mix well.
Place in baking dish.  Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes. 
Makes 4 servings.

Per serving:
180 Calories
5g Fat
21g Carbs
5g Fiber
14g Protein
203mg Sodium

 



Berries & Cream Protein Rich Muffins!

So I saw a recipe for some 'strawberry shortcake muffins' that looked

good, but I knew I could improve upon it and tweak it to my 'needs'!

 

These muffins are super tasty, low in carbs & calories, high in protein, and flour free!  They have some old fashioned oats & berries in them so they are full of good carbs.  These would make a perfect breakfast (I'd eat two of them for breakfast) or a great snack!!  You could even have them for dessert and top them with a little vanilla icecream or cool whip (sugar free or fat free if you like!).

 

You'll need:

1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats

3 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used Body Fortress)

2 large eggs

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1-2 tsp stevia (to taste)

2tsp reduced sodium baking powder

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used Wyman's triple berry blend w/ blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

 

Preheat oven to 400.

Line muffin tin with paper liners - spray with baking spray (to allow them to be removed from the muffins more easily)

In a blender combine all ingredients (except for berries).  Blend until a batter is formed.

Pour into bowl, fold in berries.

Divide into 12 muffin cups.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

 

Per muffin:

98 Calories

2g Fat

10g carbs

1g Fiber

11g Protein

85mg Sodium

 

and here's a video I always think of when I hear berries & cream!

 

 



Sweet Potato Protein Rich Brownies

I've been a little quiet as of late, I know..... I've been busy, and thinking about my upcoming 2 year anniversary since I made my lifestyle change....  But here's a yummy recipe I had to try!!  The original was here and as is my normal style, I tweaked it a bit to fit what I want a bit better! 

 

Here we go:

1 large sweet potato - baked

2 large eggs & 1 egg white (2tbsp liquid egg whites)

1/4 cup coconut oil - melted

1tbsp stevia powder

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels)

3tbsp coconut flour

2tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder (I used Body Fortress)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, or grease with coconut oil.

Mash potato in a bowl.

Whisk together vanilla, eggs & egg white, & coconut oil.

Add to potato - mix well. 

Add in dry ingredients (stevia, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, coconut flour, cinnamon) - Mix well.

Pour into baking dish & top with chocolate chips.

Bake 30 minutes.

 

Makes 24 servings.

 

80 calories

5g Fat

7g Carbs

1g Fiber

5g Protein

24mg Sodium

Brussels sprouts with turkey bacon

I have seen brussels sprouts with bacon recipes floating around the internet..... and I've heard that they are delicious prepared with bacon.... but I hadn't ever tried it.  Today I found this recipe - and it looked too good not to try.

 

Here's what I did:

 

1 bag frozen brusels sprouts (I used PictSweet - there's about 24 sprouts in the bag)

3 slices low sodium turkey bacon (I used ButterBall)

1/3 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp minced garlic

dash black pepper

dash nutmeg

dash salt (I use salt substitute)

non-stick cooking spray or olive oil

 

Boil Brussels Sprouts about 5-6 minutes until tender.

Saute Bacon - until done - then crumble or tear up if you like larger pieces.

Saute onion until tender. Cut brussels sprouts in half, then add to pan with onions.  Sautee until they start to brown up... Add in s&p, garlic & nutmeg.  Add in bacon.  Toss in the pan a couple times.  Remove from heat. Serve hot.

 

For me, this is only making 2 servings. 

 

150 calories

3g fat

21g carbs

8g fiber

10g protein

155mg Sodium

Breakfast for dinner - check this out!

I love breakfast food, but I had been avoiding it for a long time - Until I discovered almond flour!!  Hot damn - it's amazing!

 

I already posted my recipe for pumpkin protein pancakes here, but I wanted you to see what my whole dinner looks like - and tonight I came up with something new and amazing!

 

So tonight, I had three slices of low sodium turkey bacon (25 calories a slice), 1/2 cup 100% liquid egg whites scrambled with 1 cup baby spinach and 3 medium mushrooms, and four pumpkin protein pancakes.  Oh I started making slightly smaller pancakes and got 9 out of tonight's batch (my previous recipe made 7) so now they are 91 calories and 11g protein each!

 

The topping for these pancakes is made of 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, dash vanilla extract, dash stevia, and 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt.  Mix it all up, and put it on top - and in between your pancakes if you so desire (that's what I did and it was like a cake!)

 

The stats for my dinner:

 

588 Calories

20g Fat

31g Carbs

8g Fiber

72g Protein

801mg Sodium

 

This is 588 calories of healthy good for you great tasting food - and breakfast for dinner?  Who doesn't like that?!