Healthy Mac and Cheese Cupcakes

Holy comfort food... these are amazing. I've read a lot of mac and cheese recipes using butternut squash to make a creamy cheese sauce, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Baking them in muffin/cupcake tins is a great way to control the portion size. Although your still probably going to want to eat the whole thing :)

Creamy, cheesy, delicious mac and cheese. You wouldn't even guess they are healthy.

Make this. Now.

Healthy Mac and Cheese Cupcakes
Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package frozen cooked butternut (or winter) squash
3 minced garlic cloves
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup unsweetened cashew milk (this is what I had, cow's milk should work fine)
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby and Monterey Jack Cheeses
3 cups cooked whole wheat elbow pasta (I used Barilla Protein Plus)
3 teaspoons panko breadcrumb
Parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 6 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Nuke butternut squash in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add to a large sauce pan with the garlic, chicken broth, and milk. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Evenly distribute the pasta mixture to the muffin cups. Top with about 1/2 teaspoon panko bread crumb and then bake for about 18-20 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until slightly browned. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Per one "cupcake": 233 calories, 9 g Fat, 26 g Carbs, 12 g Protein

Apple Turkey Meatloaf with Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

This may be the best turkey muffin/mini meatloaf I've ever made. So moist and perfectly flavored. This recipe is perfect for the fall! You can easily make this into one large meatloaf and cook it longer, but they are so cute when they are baked in muffin tins. I HIGHLY recommend you serve this with a side of maple roasted butternut squash. Fall food party in your mouth!

                   

Apple Turkey Muffins

Ingredients:

- 1 lb lean ground turkey breast
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/4 onion, finely chopped (I used my Ninja)
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- dash of pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Make sure it is mixed really well!
3. Spray a muffin tin (mine had 6 cups) with cooking spray. Evenly divide the turkey mixture into the muffin tins.
4. Bake for 25 minutes and serve!

Nutrition information for 1 turkey muffin: 149 calories, 6 grams fat,  8.5 grams carbohydrates, 15.6 grams protein

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredient:

- 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
- Cinnamon
- Sugar free syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Cover a baking pan with tin foil and coat with cooking spray. Spray with  butternut squash with cooking spray and toss in a large bowl with cinnamon (I use a lot!).
2. Baked for about 30-35 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven and drizzle with a sugar free syrup. Toss to coat.

               

Butternut Squash Protein Pancakes

I love squash EVERYTHING. I always have cooked squash prepared and waiting in my fridge. Squash is  perfect for pancakes because it makes them really thick and moist. This morning's stack was nothing less than incredible. These are an absolute must-try!

Butternut Squash Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (30 grams) oatmeal 

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 scoop protein powder 

1 teaspoon psyllium husk (can omit, but adds fiber and texture)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Stevia and cinnamon to taste

2/3 cup (85 grams) cooked butternut squash

3 tablespoons egg whites

3 tablespoons almond milk 

Fruit (optional)

Directions: 

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.

2. Using a blender or food processor, blend the oatmeal into flour. Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender/food processor and blend until smooth. 

3. Add batter to the pan by the spoonful. If using fruit, place it in the center of the pancake batter at this time (if using bananas, slice them). 

4. Once the edges of the pancake set, flip. Cook on the other side about 3-4 minutes. 

5. Eat!!! I topped mine with sugar free syrup and peanut butter :)

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.

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 :)