Sweet Potato, Carrot, and Zucchini Frittata

This recipe was an accident. Wasn't actually planning on making a frittata, but it worked much better for a make-ahead meal than poached eggs (original plan here). Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, brinner... yes, anytime.

Sweet Potato, Carrot, and Zucchini Frittata

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes
2 medium carrots
1 large zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
Salt
Pepper
8 eggs, beaten
1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the carrots, sweet potatoes, and zucchini. Place in a food processor and pulse until chopped.
2. In a large, deep pan heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the vegetables and sage, stirring often until tender and golden brown (about 10 minutes). Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
3. Level out the veggies with a spatula and lower heat to medium. Pour the eggs on top of the veggies and sprinkle with the cheese. Cover and cook until eggs have set and cheese is melted (about 5-8 minutes).

Serves 4

Creamy Broccoli Slaw

A healthified version of the classic coleslaw that is just as satisfying and WAY more nutritious. Also an easy way to get in your veggies if you don't want to make the time to cook or chop them.

I add chicken to mine to complete the meal, but feel free to add grilled salmon or tofu as well! It all works.

Creamy Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients:

1 cup Mann's or Dole's Broccoli Slaw
2 tablespoons Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressing (I like the Caesar or Cilantro Avocado)
Splash of rice vinegar or white balsamic (not necessary, but helps the dressing to "spread" a little)
1/4 avocado, chopped (optional)
3-4 ounces protein of choice (tofu, chicken, salmon, etc.)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, toss together the slaw, dressing, and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients. Serve!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin French Toast

Pumpkin season never ends in my apartment. Had a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's adventure last night and found pumpkin flavored Rudi's bread and Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cream Cheese. Amazing apart, and even more amazing together.

I haven't had too many gluten-free breads (I'm not gluten-free) but I've heard they usually don't taste that great. I happen to think the texture and flavor of Rudi's is really good.

If you find another pumpkin flavored bread, it's totally fine to use!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin French Toast 

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

4 slices Rudi's Pumpkin bread
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened cashew milk (or any milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
5 drops liquid stevia (optional)
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat.
2. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese over each slice of bread and make two sandwiches.
3. Whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, stevia, and cinnamon.
4. Spray your pan with cooking spray. Dip each sandwich in the mixture (about 20 seconds each side). Add to the pan and cook about -2 minutes. Flip, then cook about 1-2 minutes on the other side. Serve!

Slow Cooked BBQ Cranberry Chicken

Another delicious crockpot recipe! You might have all the ingredients sitting around in your pantry and fridge right now. Literally dump them all in, then set it and forget it. Best solution for people who want homemade meals, but don't have a lot of time to cook!

Found this recipe on www.whoneedsacape.com and just modified the amount of chicken used.

Slow Cooker BBQ Cranberry Chicken 

2lbs chicken breast

1 can whole cranberry sauce 

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

1. Sprays our crockpot with cooking spray. Add all ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. 

Tofu Breakfast Scramble

I had an amazing tofu scramble for breakfast when I was in California a few weeks ago, and wanted to recreate it. I found this recipe on www.itdoesnttastelikechicken.com and the only thing I changed was the type of tofu and the type of salt used (because it was harder to find).

If you're not usually into tofu, I still encourage you to try this scramble. It's heartier than you may think, and has tons of flavor!

Tofu Breakfast Scramble

Ingredients:

Spice Mix:
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon tumeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Tofu Scramble:
- 2 boxes of Naysoya Lite Firm Tofu (or regular firm tofu*)
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms of choice
- 1 red pepper
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:
1. Add all of the spice mix ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine.
2. Chop the red pepper, onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
3. Place a large pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms and saute for about 8 minutes until everything just starts to brown. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.
4. Add the tofu blocks and smash apart with a spoon or spatula. Don't mash it completely - you want some good chunks in there.
5. Add the spice mix and black beans and stir everything up. Heat through for about another 8 minutes. Serve!

Maple Oatmeal Protein Muffins

I made this muffins yesterday as a snack for my brother's weight lifting competition. Glad I did because we were there FOREVER. It was so much fun though- so proud of him!

These muffins have a warm maple flavor that made my apartment smell like a bakery in the Fall. Super healthy option for a light breakfast, or mid-day snack.

Maple Oatmeal Protein Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal
1 scoop vanilla whey protein (I use Cellucor)
3 tablespoons granulated stevia
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup lite maple syrup (NOT sugar-free. You can also use regular if you prefer.)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon maple extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor or blender, mix the oatmeal, whey protein, granulated stevia, and baking powder. Place in a bowl and set aside.

3. Add the egg, syrup, apple sauce, oil, and extract to the food processor. Blend until smooth. Add the dry ingredients back into the food processor and blend until smooth.

4. Add the batter to the muffin tins. Cook about 12-15 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Optional Cream Cheese Filling:

Combine 6 tablespoons low-fat or fat-cream cheese with 1 teaspoon maple syrup. Blend until smooth. Using a knife, cut a small circle in the muffin (do not go all the way through). Add the filling to the hole (I like to place my filling in a plastic bag and cut off a small corner at the end to "pipe" my filling).

Bison Bolognese

If using ground turkey or ground chicken is a bit of a stretch for you when replacing beef, you should definitely give ground bison a try. Not only does bison taste great, but it has less fat and more iron than beef.

This bolognese is super easy. I served it over spaghetti squash for a take on "Pasta Bolognese".

Bison Bolognese

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb lean bison meat
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and coat with cooking spray. Add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the bison meat. Cook until no longer pink, stirring and crumbling occasionally.

3. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat. Simmer 30-40 minutes. Serve!

Double Chocolate Protein Pancakes

Double Chocolate Protein Pancakes 

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup finely chopped zucchini (I chop it in my Ninja Food Processor)
- 1/4 cup oatmeal
- 2 tablespoons chocolate whey protein powder (I use Cellucor)
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon psyllium husk
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 egg whites
- 1 packet stevia
- unsweetened almond milk, as needed

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Add enough almond milk to keep a thick batter.
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Once hot, add about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cover and cook until the edges set. Flip, and cook until done (about another 3-5 minutes).

Top with your favorite toppings! I love Greek yogurt and peanut butter :)

Banana Raspberry Protein Bread

I had a container of raspberries and some ripe bananas laying around and wanted to save them before they went bad. So, I threw them into this bread and it came out really good!

You can definitely leave out the raspberries and make a regular banana bread instead. Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of raspberries. Which is probably why they were about to go bad in the first place...

Raspberries are an GREAT source of fiber- about 8 grams per cup! That  is about one third of the recommended daily value for adults. Fiber is helpful for slowing down digestion, making you feel full, and getting rid of waste (aka go #2).

Either way, leave them in or out- up to you.

You can find the protein powder, stevia and flour from Vitacost. Here's a link for a discount off your first order: 

Banana Raspberry Protein Bread

Ingredients:

2 scoop vanilla whey protein (I use Cellucor)
1/2 cup coconut flour 
1 tablespoon granulated stevia (or other sweetener of choice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large bananas (about 150 grams each)
3/4 cup egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened cashew or almond milk
1/2 cup raspberries


Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large blender or food processor, blend together all ingredients except the raspberries. Fold in raspberries after.
3. Add batter to a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool, then cut into 8 slices (or however many you like).

Nutrition Information for one slice: 1.5 g Fat, 14.5 g Carbohydrates, 4 g Fiber, 10.3 g Protein