Cinnamon Oatcakes and Cheesy Eggs

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. for absolutely no reason this morning. Just sat there wide awake for about 30 minutes. At that point, I decided I just wasn't going to fall back to sleep and suddenly got really excited to start my day. There was so much I could get done before work- workout, study for the RD exam, go to Whole Foods, work on my field work essay . . . maybe I'd even have some time to lay by my pool ; ). I got dressed and did P90X Back and Biceps followed by some planks, weighted exercise ball crunches, and leg lifts. Done by 7:20 a.m.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted eggs or pancakes for breakfast, sooo I had both! Since I was getting protein from my eggs, I decided to go protein powder free for the pancakes (WHAT?!). Yea.  Hearty, plump, cute, mini oatcakes. They were perfectly delicious.

Cinnamon Oatcakes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon oats

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 teaspoon psyllium husk

2 tablespoons egg whites

3 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Drop of butter extract (optional)

Stevia to taste

Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

1. Add your oats to a food processor (I used my Ninja) and grind into oat flour. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until mixed well. Batter will be thick!

3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. 

4. Add the batter by the spoonful and press down slightly with the back of your spoon to flatten a little. 

5. Cook until the edges set then flip!

Nutrition Facts: 88 Calories, 2.4 g Fat, 15.1 g CHO, 7.2 g Fiber, 6.4 g Protein

Tempeh Mole Meatballs

After seeing a post for Tempeh Mole Muffins from Laura's blog  I immediately decided I had to make them. I talked about my love for tempeh in a previous post that features one of my favorite ways to prepare it. I thought it was time to try something new and this recipe looked delicious! I modified the original recipe slightly and substituted the sweet potato with pumpkin, swapped fresh garlic for garlic powder (I was all out of fresh!), and adjusted some of the amounts of the spices according to my taste. I also decided to make my tempeh into the shape of meatballs instead of muffins. I ate them throughout the week (see my Instagram pictures @adena86). I loved the unique texture and flavor it gave to my meals! And look how cute they are!

Tempeh Mole Meatballs
Modified from www.sprint2thetable.com

Ingredients:

8 ounces tempeh
1/4 cup egg whites
1 1/2 tablespoons lime
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 cup canned pumpkin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Coat a baking sheet or muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Place tempeh, egg whites, and lime juice and pulse. Add all remaining ingredients except for the pumpkin and pulse until mixed. Stir in the pumpkin.
3. Form the batter into meatballs. I used a cookie scoop that is approximately one tablespoon.
4. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until browned and set. Allow to cool.

I made 15 meatballs out of my mixture (yes, I know there is 14 in my picture- I ate one before taking it!). I usually had three meatballs as a serving. This is mostly because I used them as a side dish, or small protein boost to my meals. Feel free to make your serving size larger if you'd like to make it the main protein in your meal. 

Nutrition Facts (per 3 meatballs): 98 Calories, 3.2 g Fat, 6.8 g CHO, 10.6 g Protein  

Very Banana Protein Bread

I ran out of my last batch of Orange Creamsicle Protein Muffins last night, so I was planning on making them for the third time in a row this afternoon (so yummy- recipe is in a previous post!). I love breaking up my muffins and mixing them in my protein fro-yos, cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt as a snack. So, that was the original plan: Orange Creamsicle Protein Muffins. But, as I approached my tower of protein powders, I noticed that my Banana Whey hasn't been getting any love lately. Banana bread is such a classic, so I decided to take the challenge to "clean it up". This loaf came out awesome and will be equally delicious in my protein fro-yos : ) !!

To get you a little more excited about the recipe, look at the crazy comparison between regular Banana Bread and my Very Banana Protein Bread:

 

Very Banana Protein Bread

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana (mine was large: 150 grams)
2 scoops banana whey protein powder (or vanilla)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup egg whites
1-2 tablespoons slivered almonds for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour batter into a bread loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake about 25 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.
5. Set on a cooling rack to cool.

I cut my loaf into 6 slices. You can cut them into however many servings you like. The WHOLE loaf contains 6.6 g Fat, 56.2 g CHO, 63.5 g Protein, and 20.4 g Fiber!!!

Spiced Ginger Pear Protein Pancakes

Just made these this morning for some post-fasted cardio fuel. I love doing fasted cardio first thing in the morning- I feel lighter and more energized when I don't eat before. Not everyone feels this way, but this is what works for me. Do what works for you! Listen to your body. Interested in trying out fasted cardio? Don't give up after one try. You may find it hard to do the first few times, then your body may adjust and you'll find that you love it. Everyone is different. I'm hoping to dedicate a post to this alone, but I'm still busy with some school work for the next few weeks!

Spiced Ginger Pear Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup egg whites
2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
2 teaspoons psyllium husk
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Stevia to taste
1/2 pear, thinly sliced
Ginger to taste
1/3 cup Greek yogurt 

Directions:

1. Heat a small pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add pear slices and ginger. Let these cook until they are soft.
2. In the meantime, whisk or blend together the egg whites and apple sauce (I used my Ninja)
3. Add dry ingredients and blend well. If you're hand mixing, I recommend mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, then gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. 
4. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat sprayed with cooking spray. Add pancake batter by the tablespoonful. Cook until small bubbles form and the edges start to set. Flip and cook on the other side for about a minute.
5. For the filling, mix together the Greek yogurt with stevia (to taste). You can use more or less yogurt depending on your needs/preferences. Layer your pancakes with the yogurt and pear slices.

You can probably use canned pumpkin, cottage cheese, or yogurt in place of the unsweetened apple sauce if you don't have it. Enjoy!!