What I Ate Wednesday #71: In the Kitchen [Recipe]

Since having more time to play in the kitchen, I’ve tried some pretty out-of-control recipes. I’ve also found that it’s nice to not have to rely on my packed salad or snack if I’m feeling something different when my stomach starts grumbling! In true WIAW fashion, I want to share yesterday’s eats and a fun recipe!

[Pre-Workout Snack]

Perfect snack before my workout!

FlapJacked sent me some samples of their protein pancake mix. I tried the Banana Hazelnut pancakes on their own, but decided to play with the Buttermilk mix and one of their recipes that they sent along for muffin tops. I give you my Banana Nut Protein Muffin Tops! I don’t know about you, I can’t stand going to the gym hungry and this little bite [only 45 calories!] was perfect.

[Breakfast]

Sliced almonds > whole almonds in granola. Dang. Good thing for nut butters!

My favorite, as always. Oatmeal with banana, my homemade coconut cashew butter, honey vanilla-bourbon peanut butter, and crunchy quinoa granola. I always look forward to this breakfast during my workout.. whatever pushes me to finish sooner, right? 😉

[Lunch]

GIMME ALL YOUR VEGGIES!

I’ve been feeling the pizza thing lately so I decided to try STUFTmama’s No Grain Flatbread. While that was baking, I was sauteed up some mushrooms, kale, edamame, roasted corn, & a salmon patty [Trader Joe’s is the best]. I spread some of Nathan’s homemade tomato sauce on the flatbread, piled my veggies and salmon on top, and added some avocado. Delish!

[Dinner]

Totally lived up to its hype!

So many people have been raving about the Paleo Spaghetti Squash Casserole that I had to give it a try. Nathan cooked with me last night and we whipped up something pretty fabulous! We used 1/4 lb beef chorizo and 3/4 lb turkey.. tons of flavor! We also added a bunch of extra veggies and it ended up making 8 servings.. although there are only 5 left haha! This is definitely a recipe you might see on the blog in the future.. we’re going to have some fun with it next time.

And as usual, I finished my day with an apple.. but I’m pretty sure you know what that looks like 😉 Now onto the fun stuff..

Banana Nut Protein Muffin Tops

Makes 26 muffin tops

Ingredients
– 1 cup FlapJacked Buttermilk Protein Pancake Mix
– 2 medium bananas; mashed
– 2 egg whites
– 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk [I use Almond Breeze]
– 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
– 1/4 cup roasted macadamia nuts; chopped
– 1/4 cup raisins
– 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients. Using a tablespoon, drop the batter onto the baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes until golden brown.

I love that these little guys are so light and fluffy from the pancake mix!

Nutritional Information
Per 1 muffin top

45 Calories  /  1g Fat  /  7g Carbs  /  3g Sugar  /  1g Fiber  /  2g Protein

Food for Thought

Have you tried any of these recipes from the other bloggers?
Have you ever baked using a pancake or waffle mix?

What I Ate Wednesday #69: My New Kitchen

I’m in love. Seriously, my new kitchen, while still a bit cluttered, is so wonderful. Maybe I’m excited about the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, maybe I’m just plain excited to have a real kitchen again, or maybe it’s that I have a some extra time on my hands. Whatever it is, I’m really enjoying taking my time and putting together some pretty delicious meals these past few days.

It didn’t start out so pretty though..

I call this my STUFT mama-inspired lunch! The day before we got all of our furniture delivered, supplies were limited, including plates and utensils. Luckily I had some leftover sweet potato and a packet of Naturade VeganSmart Chocolate Shake which, with only a little water, I turned into this delicious-looking mess 😉 Trust me, it tasted way better than it looks! Naturade sent me 2 packets of chocolate and 2 packets of chai; I would absolutely get the chocolate again. It has such a short ingredient list, low in sugar, and chock full of [20g] protein!

Since then, I’ve made some pretty colorful, tasty salads.

And obviously I had to roast up some squash and brussels sprouts for our first dinner here! I also made honey sriracha chicken which turned out great even though I fudged half of the ingredients.

AND!! I broke out my brand new spiralizer for a chicken stir-fry with tomatoes, broccoli, red onion, garlic, and white wine. Topped with shredded gouda, of course. Got Nathan to eat zucchini so I’d say that’s a win for me!

I’m super excited to try spiralizing more veggies! It was so fast and easy, I think this is really going to become a thing around here. If you need me, I’ll be spending some time over at Inspiralized 😉

Food for Thought

Are you a sweet or savory sweet potato fan?
Have you ever used a spiralizer?

This is a sponsored post from 4sponsor.com with my unbised thoughts. Naturade sent me these products for free to for an unpaid review.

National Cookie Day!

Have you entered my giveaway for Hail Merry Macaroons yet? You don’t want to miss it!

Today is a wonderful day; it’s National Cookie Day! I’ve been planning on testing a holiday cookie recipe and had I realized sooner, I would have had it ready for today. But since I don’t, I wanted to share a list of some of my favorite cookie recipes. And maybe a few that I’ve been eyeing but haven’t gotten around to testing yet 😉 Those are noted with a *

Healthy Treats

• Cacao Carrot Pumpkin Spice POWERCookies – PowerCakes*
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie – Chocolate Covered Katie (Ok, so maybe not a cookie, but close enough that it has to be on the list!)
• Chocolate Peanut Butter LOVE Cookies – Eating Bird Food*
• Four-Minute Coconut Macaroons – Chocolate Covered Katie
• Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies – Chocolate Covered Katie
• Protein No-Bake Cookie – STUFTmama
• Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – Eating Bird Food

Indulgences

• Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies – Divine Baking*
• Hot and Spicy Gingersnaps – Recipe Girl*
• Mini Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies – How Sweet It Is*
• The Chewy – Alton Brown
• The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies – Brown Eyed Baker
• Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies – Healthy Happy Life

I think I gave you enough to work with for a little while. Now get to baking! 🙂

Food for Thought

What are some of your favorite cookie recipes? Do you make holiday cookies every year?