TO START THE DAY OFF RIGHT.... is so important. Whenever you skip breakfast your blood sugar drops, you become fatigued, and you end up craving the whole pantry the rest of the day. Not only do you not have energy, but you don't allow your metabolism to "rev up its engine"and start burning calories. It is proven that if you don't eat a good breakfast filled with protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats you will end up gaining weight over time. Here are just a few recipes/ideas to eat in the morning. You can also look under smart starts at the top of my blog for more ideas!
Puffed Millet Cereal: Since I cannot have gluten anymore, I found puffed millet @ the health food store. Its unsweetened and has a popcorn style taste. For this bowl I added 1 cup of the cereal (you could use any plain cereal you would like), 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder, 2 T. peanut flour, 1 packet stevia & a splash of milk (1/4 cup about). Mix together until it starts to form together. Then add strawberries on top. Delicious!
Pumpkin Protein Pancake: MY LATEST OBSESSION...I have been eating it every morning for weeks. I found this recipe HERE.. Sorry my pictures aren't as pretty, I just mash and stir mine together in a bowl so they were a little more thick. I poured heated up PB2 or almond butter all over the top.
Liquid Egg white omelet with banana & almond butter. This is what I take to work for my snack between breakfast & lunch.
MID-DAY MUNCHIES...As I talked about on my recent posts, I tend to get the munchies after lunch and before dinner. These cookies seem to hit the spot. They are flour-less & dairy-less! Since I can't have either, that is a bonus!
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: this recipe is adapted from "The Best of Cleaning" cookbook (which is my absolute favorite by the way)
-Makes: 24 cookies
Ingredients:
-1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well or peanut butter
-3/4 cup brown sugar (can use 1/2 brown sugar & 1/2 stevia)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
3 oz. dark chocolate broken into small pieces
Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.
When I stirred these together I didn't have faith that they would make cookies because they were so gooey. But they were delicious! and Bradon loved them too!
Nutrients: 110 calories, 8 grams fat, 10 grams carbs, 3 grams sugar, 2 grams protein---per cookie!
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Homemade Healthy Granola Bars:
1 & 3/4C. Old fashioned Oatmeal
1/4 C. Raw pumpkin seeds (chopped)
1/4 C. raw sunflower seeds
1/4 C. chia seeds
1/4 C. usweeteed coconut
1/8 C. ground flaxseed
*for extra protein add about 3 scoops of vanilla protein powder
Wet:
1/2 C. Agave nectar/brown rice syrup
1/3 C. All Natural PB
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
1) Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Mix them together
2) In a separate (microwave safe) bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, then microwave them for about 20 to 30 seconds. This will make it easier to mix and add to the dry ingredients.
3) Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix, Keep mixing until the wet ingredients are as well distributed as possible.
4) Put the mixture into a 8x12 glass pan and flatten it down, pressing firmly.
5) Store in the fridge for about 20 minutes before cutting them into bars.
Yields: About 12 bars
These bars need to be refrigerated. They are so tasty! I take them on-the-go all the time! I got this recipe from here. Body of a mother was on TV making these bars.
DINNER TIME......here are 6 great options. One for every day of the week, leaving 1 day to go out!
Gluten-Free Pizza Crust: I found the recipe from "The Healthy Gluten-Free Life" Cookbook. Feel free to use any pizza crust you want. Can buy store bought to save on time(as long it is 100% whole wheat and not full of preservatives).
Chicken & Veggie Toppings: I first sautéed spinach, bell peppers & mushroom in a skillet. I spread the dough with marinara then topped with the veggie mix. I covered with shredded chicken from the can (to save time), tomatoes & sprinkled with basil . Cooked for about 10-15 minutes
Chicken Pesto Toppings: Pesto, chicken, tomatoes, olives & cheese. This was Bradon's pizza, above was mine. Bradon LOVED this pizza.
Tofu & Asparagus with Brown Rice
(I adapted this recipe from here)
1 (16 oz) block firm/extra-firm tofu
2 cups chopped asparagus
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
1 tbsp Almond Butter
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp onion powder
salt to taste
[vegan, gluten free*]
This picture was from "Hungry Hungry Hippie"s post...Mine had asparagus, her's had green beans & spinach!
First, drain and press your tofu. Once it has most of the moisture removed, cut it into cubes. Stir together soy sauce, almond butter, & agave in a small bowl.
Once the pan and sesame oil are heated, add the tofu. Let the pan warm before you add the sesame oil. While the tofu is frying, combine the soy sauce, agave, and tahini and stir until well mixed. Once the tofu has begun to bronze add the soy blend and let it continue to sizzle. Rotate sides of the cubes so that they all get exposed to the hot pan. Add the asparagus and let it cook until it is still slightly crunchy. Then turn the heat down to low and cover. After a decent amount of time (be patient!) add the onion powder and sesame seeds. Keep stirring with the heat on low and let the sauce thicken and stick to the tofu and green beans. [If you need more liquid start with 1 tbsp water]
Serve over brown rice.
By the way....Bradon would never eat tofu :) So I made half tofu & half chicken.
Salsa Chicken Tostadas: Use this recipe Salsa Chicken Tacos to make the chicken. I decided to use these leftovers and make tostadas to mix it up. All I did was heat up in the oven, 2 corn tortillas until crisp. Then I added chicken, "fat free" black bean refried beans, lettuce, hot sauce, tomatoes, & olives. I love mexican food.
(I apologize for the ugly picture, but it was yum!)
Balsamic Chicken & Peas with Brown Rice:
Instead of serving over baked butter gnocchi, I served over brown rice without the butter (you can use whole wheat pasta as well!). Instead of half & half, I used almond milk.
Paleo Chicken Alfredo
Alfredo sauce and pasta can be pretty detrimental to the waistline! However, here is a simple way to create a a better version without sacrificing flavor! I used spaghetti squash, but for Bradon I used whole wheat penne
Time: 45 minutes
• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1 spaghetti squash cooked and shredded (or whole wheat penne)
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp tarragon
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp paprika
Add the olive oil to a large skillet. Saute the garlic over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes, then add to the skillet and cook until browned on all sides.
. Add the tarragon, cover and cook on low for 30 minutes. Then, pour the liquid from the skillet carefully into a small container for use in the sauce.
Add the cashews, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, pepper, and paprika to a blender. Cover and blend into a powder. Add the reserved pan juices slowly, blending into a thick sauce. You'll have to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender periodically. Add the juices until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.
Add the sauce to the skillet, then mix well. Cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes longer, until chicken is cooked and sauce is thicker.
Healthy Taco Salad
Like I said, I love mexican food. Sometimes eating out at mexican restaurants can be a little dangerous from all the cheese & grease that is added. So try to make your own home versions!
Use the recipe Southwest Chicken Tacos to make the meat mixture for the taco salad.
All you need for the salad is lettuce, veggies of choice (like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc), and hot sauce of course! Then add guacamole & homemade corn tortilla chips on the side and walla! Here is the recipe for the chips:
Homemade Tortilla Chips: All you need is 6 small corn tortillas cut into 1/4's. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread out the tortillas on the pan. Spray the chips with cooking spray. Sprinkle with garlic salt & a little cayenne pepper. Cook in the oven at 400 degrees, for 5-6 minutes. Then flip and spray/sprinkle again with the same ingredients. Cook 5-6 more minutes until edges are starting to brown. Pull out of the oven & let cool on the cookie sheet. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Ingredients:
-6 corn tortillas
-Garlic salt
-Olive oil cooking spray
-Cayenne Pepper
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