Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Pancake/Waffle Madness

I seriously need to stop thinking about waffles and pancakes. I've probably researched and googled every possible recipe that exits on the internet. I've tried so many different variations that I wound up losing the sticky note  that had my favorite one written down! I was trying to squeeze the recipe out of my brain- and although I know it's not EXACTLY what I did, the waffle I made this morning was definitely TOP notch. Here's a summary of my experiments this week:

            Here we have some protein pancake towers layered with some fitness frosting (Greek Yogurt + Truvia+ Vanilla Protein Powder). I remember wanting to name these Cake Batter Protein Pancake Towers because I think I added some Cake Batter Capella Drops to them. I'm pretty sure it was a mix that included Vanilla Protein Powder, flaxseed, egg whites, cinnamon, baking powder, and butternut squash.


Next up:

These were SO good. The syrup idea is genius. Inspired by www.eatingbirdfood.com to make them. Almost sure this is how it went down:

Butternut Squash Protein Pancake with PB Syrup

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons egg whites

3 tablespoons Vanilla Protein Powder
¼ cup butternut squash mashed into a puree (I steamed mine and threw it in my Magic Bullet)
1 teaspoon ground flax seeds
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Cinnamon and Truvia to taste
2-3 drops of Cake Batter Capella drops (optional)
1 tablespoon PB2 or other powdered peanut butter
1½ tablespoons unsweetened vanilla coconut almond milk

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix together the egg whites, protein powder, squash, flaxseed, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and Truvia until all the powder is dissolved.
2. Spray a medium sized pan with cooking spray and set heat to medium-low.
3. Pour in pancake batter and cook until little bubbles form (about 3-4 minutes). Carefully flip the pancake over to the other side. I made two pancakes.
4. Cook until pancake is done in the middle. It typically takes about about 2-3 minutes.
5. Mix your PB2 with your milk (YUM)
6. Place pancakes on a plate, drizzle with peanut butter topping.

Finally- after much experimenting, thinking, and researching, I came up with a waffle recipe that ISN'T dry and actually lets you taste some of the pumpkin or butternut squash flavors. On a side note, I actually think I prefer butternut squash. I think it might be because the squash was fresh and the pumpkin was canned. I'll have to use fresh pumpkin one day. These were DELISH and my favorite so far:

 Brown Rice Protein Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients:

1 scoops (8 grams) Brown Rice Protein Powder
1 tablespoon Almond Flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin or puréed butternut squash
3-4 tablespoons egg whites/beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon and Truvia to taste

Directions:

1. Heat waffle iron
2.Mix together the dry ingredients and the butternut squash or pumpkin in a small bowl.
3. Mix together the egg whites and vanilla in a separate small bowl. gradually add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
4. Pour mixture onto your hot waffle iron. DONE.

Topped in the picture with Greek yogurt + Truvia + Vanilla Protein Powder (I'm a little obsessed with this). 

You can easily double this recipe for a full meal.

Protein Waffles and my $8 Waffle Maker!

I NEVER participate in Black Friday Shopping Madness. First, I need my beauty sleep. Second, I feel like I'd probably feel rushed and make impulse purchases that I really don't need and I only start considering them just because they're on sale. However, I was thinking back to one of my favorite waffle recipes that I used to make all of the time early Friday morning. My old waffle maker got thrown out because it was "old" (according to the thrower-outer). I thought to myself, "It's Black Friday, maybe I can find a deal on a waffle maker?"So, I casually googled "waffle maker target" (because there's a Target super close to my house), and low and behold, really cute waffle makers for $8!!!

I wanted to try a new waffle recipe- and I wanted to venture out and see how Brown Rice Protein Powder performed in a waffle/pancake since I haven't done it before. I modified my recipe off a recipe I found:

Brown Rice Protein Waffles

2 T Brown Rice Protein
1 T oat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Cinnamon
1/2 T flax mixed with 1.5 T water (Egg substitute)
Truvia to taste

I mixed the above ingredients together and let my new waffle maker go to work...

The result? Well, I was really sad for a good five minutes that my $8 waffle maker was $8 for a reason- it didn't work well. Because this is what my waffles looked like:

However- the taste was really great! I think the brown rice protein powder gave my waffles a more traditional waffle flavor compared to the flavored whey protein I usually use. I could've used less oat flour because they seemed a little too "bread-y". So I ate my crumbling, sad-looking, yet tasty waffles topped with a greek yogurt/Truvia mixture and got right back to mixing a new batter. I needed to give my waffles AND my waffles maker a second chance. I skipped the oat flour altogether- I felt like they made my waffle too crumbly. I haven't experimented with oat flour too much, so until I do, I've decided I'm not too happy with it in this recipe. I upped the flaxseed to 1 T and added some egg whites. My new waffle still tasted great but it had a more waffle-like texture. And it looked like a waffle this time! Yay $8 waffle maker!

My Unconventional Thanksgiving Lunchbox and Protein Cookies!

Yes, I had to work on Thanksgiving. Life as a waitress . . . until May. I really didn't mind missing out on Turkey Day especially when I have a fun packed lunchbox. Today I packed zucchini noodles with avocado sauce and veggie "chicken" strips AND a chocolate peanut butter protein cookie. I had decided that today was the day I would experiment with protein cookies. So, I did my research and used a popular recipe consisting of oatmeal, protein powder, and almond butter. I didn't have almond butter so I used PB2 instead. They looked SO pretty when they were done but they were SUPER dry.

So obviously, after I got home from work I experimented until I made the perfect protein cookie. And here it is: !!!

Cinnamon Swirl Protein  Cookie with Fitness Frosting

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
1 tablespoon Egg White Protein Powder
1 tablespoon Egg Beaters
2 tablespoons mashed banana (I mashed mine with a little unsweetened almond milk)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon to taste 
Truvia to taste
4 drops Capella Cinnamon Swirl Danish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together to form your cookie dough. Spray a cookie sheet with spray and form your cookie on the sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes.

I topped mine with some "Fitness Frosting" (which I've been putting on everything lately- great on pancakes and waffles!) made with about 2 tablespoons Greek Yogurt, couple drops of Capella Cake Batter Flav drops, and about 3/4 tablespoon vanilla protein powder. YUM!

Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cream Pancakes

I decided to make some hearty oatmeal pancakes this morning and these came out SO YUM. I'm dedicating them to those of you who still have not bought coconut flour (you can find it in the natural food section of your grocery store or buy it online-I order from Iherb.com. Use ZSG766 discount code to get money off your first order!) and still want to make yummy protein pancakes :).

Most protein pancakes recipes that are made with oats call for a larger serving size than I used. Use more if you like, I choose what fit my macros best.

These were perfectly peanut-buttery and delicious! Feel free to use any protein powder flavors you like to switch it up!

Peanut Butter Cinnamon Cream Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Cellucor Peanut Butter Marshmallow (or any flavor you like)
3 tablespoons cottage cheese
3 tablespoons quick oats

3 tablespoons egg whites
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Truvia and cinnamon to taste

1. Blend together all ingredients. Batter should be thick.
2. Cook your pancakes.

For the filling, I just mixed together cinnamon + Truvia + Greek yogurt + PB2, thinned out with a little water to dissolve the PB2. Layer it between your pancakes and eat!!

Nutrition Facts for the Pancakes (filling not included): 221 calories, 3 g Fat, 14.6 g CHO, 1.5 g Fiber, 33 g Pro!

On a side note, I am now officially a Sriracha addict!!! Packs HUGE flavor. I used some today in my new favorite egg white salad:

How do you make it? Couldn't be easier. Take the whites of a few hard-boiled eggs and throw them in a food processor/Magic Bullet/Ninja with some Sriracha and Light Silken Tofu (replaces the mayo- you won't miss it!). Wrapped my egg white salad up in a cute little nori wrap :).

I continued my obsession at dinner tonight:

This is Barramundi seasoned with Mrs. Dash Southwestern Blend, onion powder, and lemon juice. Baked it at 350 (about 4 minutes each side) then finished it off under the broiler for about a minute. Topped it with Greek yogurt, avocado and Sriracha!!! Party in my mouth :) Served with roasted paprika butternut squash with toasted pumpkin seeds, and roasted asparagus. My meals will never be the same again!!

The Most Perfect Fall Salad EVER: Roasted Butternut Squash and Arugula with Tahini Dressing

I think this might be the BEST salad I have EVER made. I made it an hour ago and made every person in my family try a bite. I still can't stop thinking about it. These ingredients are MEANT to be together. I made extra dressing so I can make the salad again for lunch tomorrow. It's a hearty salad with super healthy ingredients so you feel nutritionalized (I just made that word up), satiated, and all warm and delicious inside. Not sure if that made sense, but I really cannot describe how incredible this salad is...

The original recipe is from Redbook Magazine, but I tweaked it a bit to make it lower in fat/calories and sugar. I also added Roasted Sausage-Less Sausage to add more protein :)

Salad:

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks (Mine came out to about 3 1/2 to 4 cups)
1 1/2 t olive oil
1/4-1/2 t paprika
1/2 t salt
Less than 1/4 t black pepper
3 T pumpkin seeds
8 cups baby arugula
1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 cup raisins
4 oz fat free feta crumbles
Trader Joe's Sausage-less Sausage (optional)

Dressing:

2 T plain Greek Yogurt
2 T Tahini
1 T lemon Juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 t salt

1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. Salad: In a large bowel, toss squash, oil, paprika, salt, pepper. Spread out evenly on a sprayed baking dish. Roast about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through under squash is tender. Sprinkle squash with the pumpkin seeds for the last 5 minutes of roasting. If using the sausage-less sausage, roast in the oven during the last 10-12 minutes of the squash cooking.
3. Dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients. Whisk in 2 T boiling water.
4. In a bowl, gently toss squash, arugula, parsley, raisins, feta and sausage-less sausage (if using). Drizzle dressing over salad and EAT!!

I made enough of the squash and salad for 4 servings, but only mixed 1 serving worth of salad with the dressing since it was only me eating. I will make the salad again and toss with the dressing when I'm ready to eat it so its not soggy. SO DELISH :)