WIAW: Healthy Banana Honey Oat Pancakes

I have a thing for patriotic pancakes.  Especially healthy pancakes!

Well, it's What I Ate Wednesday time, folks.  Time to partay!
Or at least look at pictures of food.  Party in the houssseee!

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Breakfast: Healthy Pancakes with Fruit

These pancakes have 4 simple ingredients.  Can you believe it?!

Here's a "recipe" for ya:

Banana, Honey Oat Pancakes

serves 1 (makes 3 pancakes)

1 large banana

heaping 1/3 cup quick oats

1 egg

1 tsp honey

First grind the oats in a mini food processor (or blender), then add in the banana.  Lastly, add in the egg and honey and combine.

Cook on an oiled griddle until golden (flipping halfway through the cooking process).

I topped mine with a smear of reduced fat peanut butter between the layers, fresh fruit and a drizzle of sugar free syrup.  Yum yum!

It makes me happy to think that I got at least 2 fruit servings in my first meal of the day :)

A.M. Snack: Cheese & Crackers

I had a quick snack of multigrain crackers with a cheese wedge.  Just enough to hold me over til lunch!

Lunch: Cheeseburger Wrap

For lunch, I used half of a leftover burger (made with 93% lean sirloin) and made a wrap.  In the mix--half a burger, romaine lettuce, pickles, ketchup & mustard on a low carb wrap.  I had a side of sad looking veggies and some sweet potato chips.

For lunch dessert (it's a thing), I tried a cookie my boss's wife had made.  It was tasty.  Speaking of which, does anybody else's boss or coworkers bring junk food to your work environment??  I am mentally battling staying away from that junk in the mini kitchen back there.  "No, Nutty Bars.  Not today! I am a strong, independent woman and I do NOT need your chocolaty, peanut buttery wafer goodness!"

P.M. Snack: Apple & Almond Butter

I bought a few individual almond butter packets from Target for on the go snacks this week.  They are so yummy.  I like how grainy and salty Justin's almond butter is.  That's weird, right?  Well, it's delicious.  You should try it if you haven't.  

I had a big ole apple and some almond butter for my afternoon snack to tide me over until dinner.

Got home and had some iced coffee before boot camp.  I read somewhere that if you drink caffeine 30 minutes before you exercise, you'll have better performance.  I didn't prove that theory so much, but it was delicious and it kicked my tiredness in the bootay.

Cue the selfie.

Dinner: Leftovers Casserole 

Things may have gotten a little weird for dinner.  I'm not really sure.  I only have my judgement and my boyfriend's opinion.  We both loved it!

I had made BBQ pork loin chops with zucchini and corn for dinner on Monday and I planned to use the leftovers last night.

Now, I think I have been watching too much Chopped because I was convinced I needed to "transform" the ingredients.  So I made a leftovers casserole.  You should give it a go.  It's much better than just microwaving some meat and veg.

Leftovers Casserole
serves 2

2 leftover chopped BBQ pork loin chops (or you could use BBQ chicken..or just regular chicken)
1 1/2 cups brown rice (I used a microwavable bag and it was awesome)
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1 cup leftover vegetables (I used zucchini and corn)
1/2 cup reduced fat or fat free sour cream
2 tbsp goat cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
topping-- 1/2 cup white cheese & a sprinkle of dried basil

Combine all but the topping in a bowl and mix it up.
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees & spray a small casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Spread the mixture in the dish and top with cheese and dried basil.
Bake for 25 minutes & dig in!

I swear, this will not get you "chopped." ;)

Then for dessert, I did something I almost never do--I ate an actual serving of frozen yogurt.  I usually eat more than that!
Yay, portion control!

Also, I gotta give a shout out to my diet coach...well, she appointed herself as such.  Bizzy the dog barks at me every time I eat fro-yo.  Without fail.  She's probably just wanting it for herself, but I can guarantee she doesn't want me to eat it.

Such a little stinker!

Have a super fantastic week, all!

WIAW: 2 Ingredient Pancakes

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Well, hello there.  Fancy meeting you here, eh?

Time again to see what I ate on Tuesday...on a Wednesday.

Lots of good stuff to show you.  Let's get to it.

Breakfast, Part I: PB Toast

Back to the old classic of having peanut butter toast before 5 a.m. boot camp workout.  This was Smart Balance crunchy on some 45 calorie bread.

Breakfast, Part II: 2 Ingredient Pancakes!

So, these pancakes.  They are made with 1 banana and 1 egg.  That's it!  How crazy is that?  I've been wanting to try them for sometime since I see them on Carrots & Cake blog often.

I just blended up a mashed banana with 1 whole egg and I added in a bit of baking soda and cinnamon.  Technically I guess that makes it 4 ingredients, but whatever.

Then you just scoop out four pancakes on your griddle and flip them (oh, so carefully) when browned on the first side.  They taste like caramelized bananas.

I topped it with some Bees Knee's honey peanut butter, sugar free syrup, strawberries and walnuts.  Yum yum!  Coffee on the side, obvi.

Check out that fancy plate!  Ha.  Paper plates leftover from the Superbowl makes doing dishes much easier ;)

Morning Snack: Luna Bar

I realize my breakfast probably did not have as much protein as I needed after a strength/cardio workout, so I packed a Luna for snack.  This is a good one, y'all.

Lunch: Bento Box

It's the return of the bento box!  It's been a while since I packed lunch in my cute little box.

Today's lunch had a Flat Out wrap (light tomato flavor) smeared with goat cheese and filled with deli turkey, roast beef and lettuce.  I dipped my carrots in plain Greek yogurt with a ranch seasoning packet (not a whole one, mind you) and had strawberries for dessert.

That's a lie.  I had these for dessert:

But I also ate the strawberries, soooo...you know.  Yay healthy balance!

Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt & Berries

A few WIAWs ago, I talked about this yogurt being my new favorite snack.  Well, I branched out and tried some new flavors this week.  I had the honeyed apricot and the blueberry.  This is obviously the blueberry.  It was really tasty.  I added some fresh blueberries in there, too.

Dinner; Bangers & Mash

So far, I've asked 3 people if they knew what "bangers & mash" was, and they have laughed and said "no."  It's a British dish (not that I've ever been out of the country, but I own a television) of sausages and mashed potatoes.

I was inspired by that and made my own, healthy version.  We'll start from the bottom and go up.  I sauteed some fresh spinach in garlic, shallots and olive oil then made some mashed sweet potatoes (mixed with goat cheese, broth, seasoning).  The sausages are low fat chicken sausage links that I found at Target.  For only 180 calories per sausage (pictured is one sausage sliced lengthwise), It was a super filling and low cal dish.

 Here it is, all chopped up.

Felt like I should try something different for dinner.  It turned out to be a pretty good plan.

Dessert: Fro Yo!

I had to run some errands last night, and that included eating frozen yogurt with lots of toppings.  This is TCBY's white chocolate mousse topped with Oreo, Butterfinger, sprinkles, cookie dough bits and hot fudge.

Worth it.

Alrighty, y'all have a lovely Wednesday!

If you missed it, I made some stuff this week.

Baked Banana Bread Donuts

Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken & Rice

WIAW: Patriotic Protein Pancakes & Fitness

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

It is the first What I Ate Wednesday in July, and it's all about fun, food & fitness.  Just a few of my favorite things ;)

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Well, I guess I'll talk a little about my fitness today after I get to the food.  And of course, there will be fun mixed in my day as well.

Breakfast, Part 1: Kind Bar

I'm a huge fan of Kind bars, but rarely buy them.  I'm not really sure why.  They are basically fruit and nut bars held together with honey or chocolate.  This one was really good!  Like a decadent trail mix in a sensible bar.  Oh, I had this before this morning's boot camp workout (it was a doozy).

Breakfast, Part 2: Patriotic Protein Pancakes

I get that these do NOT appear patriotic to the naked eye, but they have blueberries and strawberries in there just for the record.  I enjoyed these pancakes with an iced coffee.  Here's how I made the pancakes, if you are into it:

Patriotic Protein Pancakes (serves 1)

adapted from Carrots N Cake

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 scoop vanilla protein powder 

1 ripe banana

1 egg white

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup blueberries

2 big strawberries, diced

Grind the oats up in a processor.  Mash the banana in a bowl and mix all other ingredients and combine.  Scoop out 3 pancakes on the griddle and cook until brown on both sides.

Berry-licious!

 Snack: Pineapple

Fresh pineapple is the bee's knees, folks.  I enjoyed this stained tupperware full of fresh pineapple for snack.

Lunch: Leftover Pasta Bowl

I threw some leftovers in a container last night for today's lunch.  There is some wheat rotini pasta (maybe 1/2 cup), about 1 cup of broccoli, some grilled chicken and fat free shredded cheddar.  Yum!

Got off early this afternoon and am so working on my tan (FUN)!  Clearly no time for an afternoon snack today...

Dinner:  Genghis Grill

Dinner was a treat!  Went to Genghis Grill & created my own bowl full of veggies, steak & chicken and brown rice.  I also enjoyed some edamame and sake sangria.

*****

Ok, so...fitness.  I could probably talk about fitness almost as much as I talk about food.  It's just a part of my life.  Here's my before & after.

FYI: I did not write that at the bottom!  My trainer did (she posted it on her FB wall).

I am not really big on sharing my weight loss story with lots of people, because I feel like it is a little braggy.  But, long story short, I have lost about 80 lbs over the last few years and in order to keep it off and tone the bod, I work out.

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Sorry, I had to throw that in there!

Ok, so here's my week in fitness:

Monday: 30-45 minutes of power walking and/or jogging 

Tuesday: 1 hour boot camp (strength and cardio)

Wednesday: 1 hour fitness class called Fusion Fitness (high intensity dance/cardio class)

Thursday: 1 hour boot camp (strength and cardio)

Friday: sometimes I'll do a lunchtime walk, sometimes I take a day off

Saturday: 1 hr morning cardio (Fusion Fitness) followed by 30 minute Core (abs) class

Sunday: 30 minute walk

This is typical, but sometimes I do more and sometimes I do less.  It just depends on the week.

Alright.  Thanks for letting me share that with you.  I'm thinking I will be less long winded about fitness for future WIAWs ;)

Have a great day!

Still undecided about what to make for Independence Day?  Check out my Favorites for the Fourth post!

WIAW: Cinnamon Roll Protein Pancakes

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It's hump day, again!  Time to see what I put in my belly (yesterday, anyways).

Breakfast Part #1: Watermelon

This is currently my favorite thing about summertime (well, technically pre-summertime, but it feels hot enough around these parts to call it summer).  I had a little less than a cup leftover from the watermelon I pretty much single-handedly consumed on Sunday:

Yeah, I know.  That's such a happy watermelon face. 

Anyways, I ate that tiny cup before 5 a.m. boot camp & I was actually pretty hungry during and after, thus breakfast part #2 in all it's glory...

Breakfast Part #2: Cinnamon Roll Protein Pancakes

You know I'm not going to leave you hanging without a recipe ;)

Cinnamon Roll Protein Pancakes

makes 2 pancakes (1 serving)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 egg white

1/4 C almond milk

2 T wheat flour

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

pinch sea salt

1/2 t vanilla

Heat a skillet to medium heat.

While the pan is heating up, in a small bowl, mix all ingredients and whisk.

Combine this stuff in a Ziploc:

1 T melted low cal buttery spread

1 T brown sugar

1 sweetener packet

1 tsp cinnamon

plus, a little flour or protein powder to thicken...and maybe pop it in the freezer to harden up for about 5 minutes

Scoop battter onto griddle (or in pan) and cook for about a minute, then swirl your cinnamon mixture on the pancake using the Ziploc with a cut corner.  You could use a piping bag if you are fancy.

clearly the swirling of a professional

 Cook until bubbles form around the edges, flip and cook on the other side.

I served mine with a Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese Wedge and half of a banana, sliced, then I hit it with a little sugar free syrup for added moisture.

Oh, plus I had a big ole mug of this goodness:

Mid Morning Snack: Luna Bar

I munched on this Luna bar before heading out for my lunchtime walk (well, like an hour before, I guess).

Lunch: Sort of Taco Salad

You can't tell from this picture, but there is alot of shredded lettuce under all those toppings!  My salad included shredded lettuce, broccoli, matchstick carrots, little tomatoes, 1/2 cup of leftover taco meat/bean mixture from last night's dinner (93% lean beef, fat free refried beans), a little shredded cheddar and some guacamole as the dressing.

It was super tasty.

Then I had to get my chocolate fix:

dark chocolate egg, ya'll

Afternoon Snack: Carrots 

Ate a couple of these out of the bag (classy) in the late afternoon to stave off hunger til dinner.

Dinner: Salmon Burgers

For dinner I went to cook at my parents' house.  I made us some salmon burgers on bagel thins (with guac, sauteed red onions and goat cheese) and Mom made some homemade, microwave potato chips and broccoli.  So good!  We enjoyed it while watching the new Glee and New Girl.

And of course I got to hang out with these cuties:

Dessert: Fro Yo!

Yum!  Had to hit up Yo Lo and use my $2 off coupon on some frozen yogurt.  I got some caramel flavor and red velvet flavor with a scoop of Oreo topping.  It hit the spot.

And that about does it.  See you on Friday with an awesome recipe :)

**basic protein pancake recipe adapted from Fitnessista

Blood Orange Pancakes

It's official.  I have a new obsession.

And it is the blood orange.

So awesome~like a grapefruit and an orange hybrid.  

And I love the pretty colors you get when you cut into it.

So, in honor of this magnificent fruit popping up in stores this season, I am dedicating the entire week to blood oranges. 

Naturally, breakfast comes first in this scenario.

Namely, pancakes.

Blood Orange Pancakes

(Your favorite pancake recipe/mix + the juice of one blood orange and a tsp of zest)

Here's my recipe for 1 generous serving:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp butter (or butter substitute)
1/2 cup yogurt (Chobani blood orange yogurt would be cool, but I used plain)
1/4 cup milk (I used almond)
1/2 of a beaten egg
the juice of 1 blood orange (about 2-3 tbsp)
1 tsp of blood orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 splenda packet (optional-to cut the tartness)

Mix flour, salt, baking powder in a small bowl.  In another bowl, melt the butter for about 15 seconds in the microwave, then add the yogurt, milk, egg, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla & splenda.  Then incorporate the dry ingredients and combine.
Using a ladle or 1/3 cup measuring cup, spoon the pancake mix into a pan or on a griddle.  Flip when the edges start to bubble.
Top with toasted coconut and syrup.

Perfection.

For more pancake recipes, try my oatmeal protein pancakes or my yogurt short stack.