Overnight Steel Cut Oats and Weekday Egg Bake

My husbands work has moved offices, so instead of a 40min commute he now has to leave the house at 5:20 am to sit on a bus for an hour.
So to help with cutting down time preparing breakfast we make these two recipes and that is what we eat for breakfast Monday - Friday. For the Oats you can add different fruits after, or maple syrup. We like to put a bit of diary free yogurt and some berries on it.

Here we go:

Overnight Steel Cut Oats:
1/2 Cup Steel Cut Oats (we use Red Mill's)
1 Gala Apple grated (leave the core out, but I don't peel mine)
1tbsp Coconut Sugar
1tsp Cinnamon
1 cup of unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
I have a small one quart crock pot that I used to use for queso, I put all the ingredients in and turn it to low at 10pm and my hubby has yummy oatmeal at 4:30am and then he turns it on warm and i have yummy oats at 6am.
Nutriton:
169 Calories, 32 Carbs, 3gr Fat, 4gr protein, 15 sugar


Weekday Egg Bake:
the reason I call this weekday egg bake, it cause I make it on Sundays and cut up the portions and then my husband and I heat it up in the morning in the micro wave.

1lb. Ground lean Turkey
2 cups of sliced Mushrooms
4 cups of Baby Spinach
1 Bell Pepper diced
one carton liquid eggwhites (20 servings)

Heat your oven to 350F. Brown the turkey in a pan and season to your liking, once browned add the mushrooms and bell pepper, sautee for a few minutes then add the spinach. Cook until the leaves wilt just a little bit. Then put the mixture into a 9x13 glass pan and add the liquid egg whites. Put in the oven for 40mins. Let slightly cool and cut. Put into a tupper ware and store in fridge.
Nutrition:
120 Calories, 2 carbs, 1gr. Fat 24gr Protein, 16gr Sugar

Bon Apetit:

~ Claudia

Peanutbutter Banana Protein Pancakes... (dairy free and gluten free)

Every weekend my husband asks me to make Pancakes. Today was no different, but I wanted to mix it up a bit. So here is our delicious breakfast for under 300 Calories, loaded with goodness.

Ingredients:
6 eggwhites (I use all eggwhites)
1 cup of quick oates finely ground
1 scoop protein powder - I used Sun Warrior Blend  it's Vegan
2 tbsp of PB2
1 medium banana
Makes 3 servings of about 3.5 pancakes

Directions:
Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then mush the banana with a fork and add all the ingredients to the egg whites. Fold everything together, don't over mix, or the egg whites will loose their fluffyness and you will have a runny bater.
Then cook like regular pancakes.
Instead of syrup, I cook up some berries or Cherries with just a tad of water. And instead of butter, I put about 2 Tbsp of So Delicous Vanilla yogurt.
These pancakes are dairy free and gluten free

Nutrition for pancakes alone:
223 Calories,  30g carbs, 2.5g fat and 18.7g protein.


En Guete!
Claudia

Meal Plan #6

Meal Plan from 2/26/2015 - 3/3/2015

For breakfast my husband and I eat oatmeal and eggwhites with veggies. On saturdays I make protein pancakes and sometimes a casserole. The kids eat cereal but are wanting to eat oats and eggs to now (they are teenagers)

Lunches:
My daughter takes leftovers and so does my son, when he remembers to take a lunch. My husband makes a Salad to take and I eat a salad or leftovers.

As always all our meals are gluten free / dairy free

Friday:
Sweet Potato Crust with BBQ Chicken 

Saturday:
Bison Burgers on Gluten Free buns with Salad and Sweet Potato Fries

Sunday:
Pork Chops, Cauliflour Rice and roasted Brussels Sprouts

Monday:
Paleo Lasagna

Tuesday:
Fish Tacos on lettuce wraps

Wednesday:
Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash

Thursday:
Grilled Chicken, Zucchini and Pasta

Meal Plan #5

Meals from 2/18/2015 - 2/25/2015

For breakfast my husband and I eat oatmeal and eggwhites with veggies. On saturdays I make protein pancakes and sometimes a casserole. The kids eat cereal but are wanting to eat oats and eggs to now (they are teenagers)

Lunches:
My daughter takes leftovers and so does my son, when he remembers to take a lunch. My husband makes a Salad to take and I eat a salad or leftovers.

Snacks:
I have protein bars, protein shakes, or cooked chicken with rice.

Thursday:
Balsamic Chicken w/Pasta and Zucchini

Firday:
Turkey Burgers, with Sweet potato Friday, and Zucchini Chips

Satuday:
We are going to the Faire so we are eating out for once.

Sunday:
Salmon, Brussel Sprouts and Rice

Monday:
Lentil Soup (Recipe will be posted)

Tuesday:
Fajitas in Lettuce wraps or gluten free Tortillas

Wednesday:
Eggroll in a bowl

Thursday:
Curry Stew

That's our menu for this week. :D

Convention Prep Part 2... follow up

Well this is less of a prep post then a follow up.

I had prepared my foods and packed them. Now here are some things to consider.

Breakfast casserole was a great idea and it's still yummy cold. Ice was available at the hotel so no problem in keeping the cooler cool. I also had grilled Chicken. cherry tomatos, apples, measured out protein shakes, I brought my own coffee creamer and almond milk. I also had measured out Cashews and Lentil Chips.
My main foods were Salads in a Jar.

I made a couple of mistakes... first off I did not put the snacks in my back pack, sometimes during the convention things got hectic and I wasn't able to get back to the room and grab a bite. Also I did not get enough water, even thou I had my water bottle with me.

Also I definitely would pack more chicken.

But other then that I did well, I got a lot of walking done and I didn't bring much food home. All in all it was a very successful weekend.

This was all the food I packed, pre packed. 

Breakfast was egg casserole with a protein shake

My awesome picture with Jared.

Weekly Meal Plan #4

Friday:
Salsa Chicken

Saturday:
Trout with Pasta and Asparagus

Superbowl Sunday:
Having friends over, making Chilli, Buffalo Cauliflower, Hummus and cut up Veggies, Zucchini Brownies. Chips and Salsa

Monday:
Zucchini Boats

Tuesday:
Chicken Stir Fry

Wednesday:
Spaghetti

Thursday:
Egg Roll in a bowl

Here is a picture of the weekly grocery haul.

Peanutbutter Protein Pancakes

This makes Approx. 6 Pancakes, I ate them all for lunch yesterday.

Ingredients:
2 eggwhites or the equivalent of liquid eggwhites beaten stiff
2 tbsp PB2 prepared
1 scoop of Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein Powder ( love this protein, it's Vegan and it's low calorie and low sugar)
1/2 cup of Oatmeal grind to make flour
1/2 cup of fresh Blueberries

Beat the eggwhites to a stiff foam then add all the other ingredients and very gently mix and then cook like pancakes.

I use So Delicious cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt instead of butter and Syrup now. And it is really good.

Nutrition:
388 Calories, 6g fat, 45g Carbs, 10g sugar, 40g protein

Curried, chicken, garbanzo beans and Sweet Potato stew...

I like a good curry and I found this recipe on Pinterest, and the pictures just looked really delicous. And when I asked my family if they wanted curry my husband and daughter both said yes. So this is what happened, cause I didn't have all the ingredients and I do like Carrots in my curry.
Also I try not to eat potatoes, rice, pasta and fruits after 3pm, but this is an exception today.

Nutrition:
298 Calories, 9gr fat, 35gr Carbohydrates, 8gr fiber, 6 sugar, 20gr Protein

This makes about 5 servings:

Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion
1 tablespoon Olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 Teaspoons of yellow curry powder you can always add more.
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon ginger powder
2 Carrots peeled and cut into rounds
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
1 large sweet potato peeled and diced into 1" chuncks
1 can (15 oz) light coconut milk
10oz. of cooked Chicken Breast
brown rice, for serving

Instructions:
In a large skilled or wok heat the olive oil, and add the onion. Cook for a couple of minutes until the onion has a glazed look, then add the garlic, ginger and Curry Powder, cook for a couple of minutes this will develop the flavors. You can always add more spice later.
Now add all the other ingredients (except for the rice), I rinsed the coconut milk can with some water and added that to the pot as well, so that everything is covered. Then bring to a simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes, even better if you can let it simmer for 50minutes.

At the last minute you can add some parsley to it and serve it over rice.

Bon apetit

Egg Roll in a Bowl

I  adapted this recipe to my families needs.
This made 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of olive oil or coconut oil
1lb. of ground turkey
1 med. head of Cabbage thinly sliced
2 big carrots peeled and shredded or julianne, makes about 1 cup
1 medium onion finely diced
3 gloves of carlic finely diced
1 tea spoon powdered Ginger (you can use fresh)
1/4 cup of Bragg's Amino
3 Green Onions
Salt and Pepper

I served this to my family with brown rice fettuccine.

Instructions:

Brown the turkey in a wok style pan until fully cooked.
Turn down heat to medium and add the onion and oil. Cook onions until slightly brown.
In a bowl mix the Aminos, garlic and ginger and add to pan.
Immediately add the cabbage, stir frequently. I put a lid on the pan and steamed the cabbage. Then add the carrots and cook for a couple of minutes.
Turn off the heat and add green onions, season with salt and pepper to taste, stir and serve.

It smells and tastes exactly like the inside of an eggroll. Delicious.

Nutrition:

168 Calories,  3g Fat, 11 Carbs, 4g Sugar, 22g Protein

7 Ingredients white Chicken Chili

I love Pinterest so I am browsing always to find inspiration for new recipes and I found one that I liked. it was called 5 ingredient Easy White Chicken Chili
I changed a few things and I have 7 ingredients.

Ingredients:
half an onion
Olive Oil
3 frozen Chicken Breasts ( you can use fresh)
1 can of Great Northern Beans
1 Carton of low sodium organic chicken stock
2 tsp of cumin
2 cups of Central Market Salsa Verde

Heat the Olive oil and sautee the onion in it then add all the other ingredients and then bring it to a boil. Once it boils turn it down to a low, simmer for minimum of 30mins. Then shred the chicken and serve with Cubed Avocados.

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition without the Avocado:
188 calories, 3grams fat, 14grams carbs, 25grams Protein

Stuffed Bell Peppers (Gluten free and Dairy free)

I found a recipe to stuff bell peppers with Quinoa, ground beef, spinach and mushrooms a couple of years back. Today I made it to fit my new eating clean habit. Everybody loved it. I made peppers for the family with Quinoa and I left it out for myself, as I don't eat complex carbs after 3pm.
Also finding a Vegan "Cheese" that would work was hard, but Go Veggie Brand Mozzarella Shreds seem to work and taste pretty g

This makes about 6 stuffed peppers

Ingridients:
6 bell peppers
1lb. ground tukey (I used 93/7)
3-4 Cups of Spinach
8 white mushrooms
1/4 cup and some to top Go Veggie! Mozzarella Shred
half an onion
1 cup cooked Quinoa
Salt and Pepper,
Oregano and Basil
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat oven to F350
Chop the onion and sautee in Olive oil, then add the mushrooms, let them cook for a minute or two, then add the spinach, once the spinach is a wilted, put that aside. Brown the ground turkey until no more pink, season with Salt, Pepper, Oregano and Basil. Then put the Turkey into the veggie mixture and add the Quinoa and Go Veggie. Mix. (for me, I mixed everything, but the Quinoa and stuffed my pepper, after I took my portion out I added the Quinoa)
Cut the Tops off the Bell Peppers and take all the seeds out then fill with the mixture. Sprinkle with a little bit of Go Veggie. Set the peppers into a baking dish and bake for 35mins.

Nutrition:
320 Calories,  12g fat, 2g sat. fat, 19g carbs, 6g fiber, 3g sugar, 31g protein

the one on the right is the one without the Quinoa

Enjoy !!!

Week 5, take 3 on getting this written

This is the 3rd time I am sitting down and start to write this blog entry.

Things are going well, I survived Thanksgiving by actually loosing a lb. and I made it gluten and dairy free. The kids loved the food as well, which is always a plus.

I will add the links with the recipes to the list as I write them. Some I made up some I can just link up. :D

Our feast had the following dishes:

Turkey Breast
Mashed Sweet Potatos
Caramelized Rosmary Carrots
Green Beans with Tomatos and Pine nuts
Roasted Cauliflower
Crockpot Cranberry Chutney I used only 1/4 cup of coconut sugar and I left our the raisins and nuts.


Apple Crumble I used this Recipe for the filling, but only 1/4cup of Coconut sugar and this recipe for the topping.
Pumpkin Pie this was a little tricky, I didn't have enough walnuts so I used almonds and it made it a bit greasy. It was delicious. But it could have used less coconut oil.

I hit the gym on Thursday and it felt good, especially after hurting my knee on Tuesday. Then Friday we went to the Renaissance Fair and I was so happy that a corset I bought the year before finally fit me. My fitbit went off at noon with my walking goal. And then it messed up and didn't read right. But I was so tired the next day. I didn't get to the gym Saturday or Sunday.

But here we are, week 5.
So far I am down 8lb., 8,8 inches all over and dropped my body fat by 4%. That is amazing in 4 weeks. I thought going gluten and dairy free would be hard, but it's easier than I thought. Also I noticed my excema on my hands is almost gone. I haven't had a flareup since I started this journey.
I am also a full pants size down, I fit in a pair of Jeans I haven't worn in two years, so this makes me very happy.


Keep fighting...
Claudia

Cauliflower Rice Mushroom Risotto...

Today I was looking thru pinterest, cause I heard about Cauliflower Rice. Which upon looking at it, I realized it was just Cauliflower put thru the food processor to look like rice and it can be cooked like rice. Good thing I like Cauliflower, as I have made fake mashed potatoes with it before. So I am looking at recipes and one just struck me, mushroom risotto. I looked at the recipe and realized I had almost all the ingredients and was like, ok this will go great with Salmon. I changed the recipe a bit so this is my creation.
It was very delicious.

Serves 4

Ingridients:
1 head of cauliflower, cut and chopped. (I used my food processor, but you can use a cheese grater what I hear.)
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
3tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Onion
1 glove garlic
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups spinach

In a pot heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and then add the garlic and the onion. Sautee for a minute, then add the grated Cauliflower. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the Chicken stock and simmer, don't put a lit on. for about 15mins.
In a frying pan, heat the rest of the oil and sautee the mushrooms and spinach. Then add to the Cauliflower and mix. And Voila fake low carb Risotto.

Nutrition Info:
186 calories, 16g fat (2g saturated, 11g, monounsaturated) 9g. Carbs, 5g Protein

Brunch aka, gluten free, dairy free bread and Turkey Egg Casserole.

Today we were supposed to have brunch, but so many were sick it got cancelled.

But I still wanted brunch so I made a gluten free, dairy free bread and a Egg Casserole.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Bread:

1 pack of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free homemade wonderful Breakd mix. (you can order it here)
Now on the package it uses milk and oil or butter. I substituted those items with Unsweetened Almond Milk and I used Coconut Oil. And the bread came out delicious.
This loaf makes 16slices.

Nutrition Facts are:
141 cals, 5g fat, 23g Carbs and 3g protein.

Gluten free and Dairy free Turkey Egg Casserole:

1lb of ground Turkey (I use 97/3) 

1Onion, 

1 glove garlic

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

1cup mushrooms sliced

1cup spinach

salt and pepper to taste

4 Eggs and 8 eggwhites

1/4 Cup of plain so delicious yogurt

Makes 8 servings

Preheat oven to 375F

Brown the Turkey meat until it is cooked all the way then add the onions and garlic, then add the bell peppers cook till softened a bit. Add the mushrooms, let them cook down a bit and then add the spinach and sautee. Fill into a glass pyrex pan mine is I think 9 by 9. Then in a bowl mix the eggs and eggwhites and add the yogurt. until smooth, season with whatever seasonings you desire, I used just salt and pepper.

Pour over the Turkey mix, put in the oven and bake for 45mins. or until you can tell that the eggs are no longer liquid. 

The leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days

Nutrition info: 

155calories, 7g fat, 4g carbs, 20g protein

Portabella Mushroom as a Bun Turkey Burger...

I was in the mood for a burger, but since I don't eat carbs after 3pm, getting a hamburger bun was a bit difficult, so I tried to figure out how to do this. And suddenly I got the idea I could use Portabella Mushroom Caps.

So here is the recipe for this yummy dinner:

2 Portabella Mushroom Caps
1 Turkey Burger Patty (I used the pre made from HEB, but you can make your own)
1/3 Avocado Slices
1 slice Tomato
Home made Hummus (for recipe click)

Preheat oven to 350F and drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the mushroom caps. Then bake them for 20mins. Meanwhile either grill your burger patty or pan sear it. (I pan seared) Once that is done you build your burger. I put Hummus on the bottom cap, then my patty, then tomato and Avocado and topped it with the second cap.
I served spinach and kale salad with it.

Nutriton:
465 cals, 21g Carbs, 31g fat (pretty much all healhty) 36g Protein,

Enjoy y'all.

Simple Hummus

I love hummus and it's delicious with veggies and it makes for great "fake" deviled eggs.

So years ago I found a recipe that I adapted, cause I did not have any Tahini. This is super easy and fast.

2 cans of Carbanzo Beans, you can also cook your own.
2 Gloves of Garlic
4-6 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
this makes about 12 two tablespoon servings

Throw it all in the food processor until smooth.

Enjoy.

Nutrtion:
70 Calories, 7g fat, 2g Carbs, 1g protein.

Chia Pudding...

Like today, I like a breakfast that I can just grab from the fridge and don't have to prep to much.
This Chia Pudding was something I found from the Instagram user hovkonditorn. She has ton's of vegan recipes.
I had never heard of Chia before, it's a seed and the texture of this dish reminds me of Tapioca. Since I love Tapioca I love this dish...
I make 4 at a time as they last in the fridge and my husband likes to eat them too.
One Serving:
2 1/2 Table spoons of Chia Seeds ( I buy the white ones)
3/4 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk (I don't like regular, so you can use plain if you like)
1/2 scoop Protein Powder (I use vanilla)
Mix, put in the fridge and after 30mins Stir. This is very IMPORTANT!!! other wise you pudding will clump.
When you ready to eat, top with fruit. I like Strawberries and Blueberries. But I wanna try other fruits as well.

Nutrition Facts:
1 serving
120 calories, 4.5g fat, 11.5 grams of carbs and 7.5g protein. This is vary with the protein powder you use. Also this is without the fruit.

Enjoy!!!

2 ingredients Nutella Brownies...

This Sunday after I came home from a exhausting day at the Faire, my house smelled delicious and I aske my hubby what it was.
He said I found a recipe for Nutella Brownies... and I had to make it, well NUTELLA.

So here it is:

4 Eggs
1 cup Nutella

Put Parchment paper in a 9"x9" glass pan.
Pre heat oven to F 350

Beat eggs for 10mins until you the volume quadrupled and its foamy and fluffy.
Then put the nutella in the microwave for 30secs. Then slowly add it to the egg mixture.
fold under until well mixed. put into pan and cook for 30mins. Makes 16 1" squares wait till cooled before cutting.

And you have yummy gluten free brownies. Now they are more of a fudge texture but oh so good.

Nutrients per serving:
146 calories, fat 9gr, carbs 14gr, protein 3 gr.