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Spinach Pancakes

Tried a new pancake recipe. And of course, I changed it up a bit!

They were really tasty!

Fresh berries would have been a great addition, but alas…my kids ate them all! Instead, I opted for a drizzle of 100% maple syrup. Yes, they’re green – but you won’t even taste the ‘healthy stuff’ that makes them that way. If you or your kids are veggie challenged, this is a great way to sneak em in! Just tell your kids they’re Hulk pancakes or something – they’ll love that!

Oh and they’re gluten-free (if you’re in to that kind of thing)!

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned oats (or oat flour)
  • 2 TBS ground flaxseed
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 TBS coconut sugar
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¾ cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
  • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • cooking spray

Instructions

  • Place the oats in your blender (or food processor) and blend until oats become a fine powder and look like flour. (I should have blended mine a bit longer! It might take up to a minute to get it nice and fine. No biggie if you like a little texture.)
  • Remove oats and place into a large mixing bowl.
  • Add flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut sugar and cinnamon to the oat flour and stir to combine. Set aside.
  • Add milk, Greek yogurt, banana and spinach to your blender.
  • Blend until mixture is combined and smooth.
  • Add vanilla extract and egg and pulse until just combined.
  • Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just combined and lumps are gone.
  • Heat a skillet or large pan to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
  • Let your batter sit while your pan heats up. This will help your pancakes puff up a bit when they cook.
  • Pour ¼ cup portions of pancake batter onto the griddle about 1-2” apart.
  • Cook on the first side until the edges become firm and the batter begins to bubble slightly (3-5 minutes).
  • Flip and cook on the second side until golden brown (about 3-4 more minutes).
  • Repeat until all the batter has been used!
  • Serve warm with maple syrup, fresh berries or whatever you like on your pancakes.
  • ENJOY!

Makes about 12-15 pancakes. Store leftovers in the fridge.

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Clean Eating Chicken Pot Pie

Mmmm… I’m drooling just thinking about how good this was!

I made this for a family visit yesterday, and it was a HIT! The kids loved it too! (Well…all but one, but he hates most everything I cook! Hoping he grows out of that!) 😉

This is creamy comfort food, with WHOLE food ingredients! *No red cans were opened for this recipe!

And…it’s 21 Day Fix approved! SCORE!

chicken_pot_pie

I love the way the quinoa crust on top turned out!

Feel free to get creative with your veggies and spices. There are a lot of combos that would be quite tasty I think!

Ingredients

Quinoa Crust:
    • 2 eggs, large
    • 2 egg whites
    • 1 tsp thyme, dried
    • 2/3 cups sharp cheddar cheese
    • 3 cups quinoa – cooked & cooled
Filling:
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper, ground
  • 1 bunch broccoli – chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves – minced
  • 1/2 large onion – finely chopped
  • 4 cups frozen mixed veggies – thawed
  • 3 cups cooked chicken breast – diced
  • 2 t. olive oil
 Directions
    1. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and egg whites together. Add thyme, cheese, quinoa and stir to combine. Set aside.
    2. Preheat oven to 375° F. In a small bowl, whisk broth, milk, flour, salt, pepper and set aside.
    3. Preheat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat and add oil. Add garlic and onion, saute until translucent. Slowly pour slurry (broth and milk mixture) into the skillet, whisking and making sure no flour is left at the bottom of the bowl. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from heat and add veggies and chicken and stir to combine.
    4. Transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish and flatten with a spatula. Drop spoonfuls of quinoa mixture on top and spread with a spatula to cover the filling evenly. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 – 10 minutes, cut into 8 portions and serve hot.
21 Day FIX portions:
1 serving = 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green
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FIT & LEAN in 2015

Are you READY to get FIT & LEAN in 2015?!

DEADLINE TO JOIN IS TOMORROW (MONDAY 12/29)
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IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE!before_marathon

And it’s SO much more WONDERFULLER when you feel good!

2 years and 24 pounds ago, I did not feel so wonderful. I was at a time in my life when I figured I had tried everything, done it all, and just wasn’t getting the results I wanted. I was THIS close to giving up – throwing in the towel.

I am a busy mom of 4, and really…who cares right? WRONG!!! I cared! Of course I did! I was just trying to convince myself that I didn’t, because facing the reality that nothing I was doing was working was hard to swallow.

One more try, I told myself. Give it all you’ve got! Commit 100% and see what happens…

Fast forward 2 years I lost 24 pounds, just by eating healthy foods and working out at HOME – doing programs I LOVE! I feel better than ever, have more energy, more confidence and just a better outlook on life in general! I ran a marathon for crying out loud!!!

And now I get to pay it forward and help others find what works for them! Are you ready to find out? Give it your all? Make 2015 the best year ever! Where do you want to be NEXT December?

START with me on January 5th – set some BIG goals for the NEW year and REACH them!

You can do it and I can help!


Let’s get FIT & LEAN in 2015!

New Challenge Group - Let's Do ThisNew Challenge Group will start Monday, January 5.

  • 21 Days
  • Daily Workouts
  • Clean Eating 
  • Motivation 
  • Accountability
  • And Daily 24/7 support from me!

Will you get all of that from a gym club membership?! I don’t think so.

There are several options for this group. Dust off an old Beachbody program, or try something NEW for the new year!
Purchase a challenge pack and be eligible to win $100! Challenge Packs consist of a NEW program + Shakeology at a discounted ‘bundle’ price PLUS $2 shipping! *BEST VALUE 

DECEMBER CHALLENGE PACK SALESinvest-in-yourself

Save $95 on the Insanity Max:30 Challenge Pack! 
Save $70 on Les Mills Pump
Save $45 on Les Mills Combat
And of course, an EXCELLENT option for this group is the VERY popular 21 DAY FIX!

ANYONE WHO PURCHASES A CHALLENGE PACK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN $100 for results and participation! (I’ll help you pick a program that you will LOVE and will get you the results you want.) 

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Message me for more information and/or to save your spot!

 

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Plans for Weekly Meal Plans

So I’ve heard from enough people that they’d be interested in my weekly meal plans, that I’ve decided to start sharing them again. I’m starting with this one here, but I’ll be sending a weekly newsletter, available for FREE if you’d like to receive it every weekend, in time for shopping and planning for the week ahead. Just provide your information below, and you will receive next week’s meal plan via email.

I am a believer in a 5 dinner plan for the week. I have a list of typical breakfasts, lunches and snacks that I almost always eat from, and that just leaves dinners. I have found that we really only need FIVE dinner plans, leaving room for one night of leftovers and one night that is a flex night – either a date night, dinner out, dinner at a friend’s house, etc. There is almost always SOMETHING that comes up like that. So plan for 5 meals, and I think you’ll find that will be enough for the whole week!

Do some weekend meal prepping, for quick and easy breakfast, lunches and snacks that you can grab and GO!

Click HERE for this weeks meal plan.

 

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Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Kale Quesadillas

I have been meaning to post this recipe for quite some time! Finally, today while I was out running 16 miles with my cousin-in-law (is that a thing?)…we had a llloooonnnnggg time to talk about things! Somehow or another, the topic turned to “sweet potatoes”. It reminded me that I LOVE sweet potatoes…and loving sweet potatoes reminded me that I have this awesome recipe I really wanted to share!

As per usual, I started with a couple of recipes from the world-wide internets, and made it my own. Feel free to do the same, but I assure you… this one is da bomb!

sweet_pot_quesadilla

 

Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Kale Quesadillas (4 servings)
    • 2 medium sweet potatoes – peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
    • ½ teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 1/4 t. chipotle chili powder (or cayenne)
    • ½ tablespoon olive oil
    • 3 cups chopped kale
    • 1/4 C. diced sweet (or red) onion
    • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 4 Ezekiel tortillas (or large whole grain)
    • 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
    • sea salt
For sauce:
  • 1/2 C. non-fat Greek yogurt (I like Fage)
  • 1 avocado
  • 1/2 C. salsa
  • 1/2 lime (juiced)
  • *BLEND until smooth
Directions:
  1. Add the potatoes to a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add ½ teaspoon of sea salt to the pot. Boil or steam potatoes until tender (about 15 minutes). Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. Add another ¼ teaspoon salt, cumin, chili powder, and chipotle seasoning. Mix until well combined.
  2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add in the kale and onions. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the kale is bright green and tender. Add the mixture to the bowl with the mashed sweet potatoes. Next add in the black beans and mix until well combined.
  3. Place the tortillas on a work surface. Use a spatula to smear about ⅓ to ½ cup of the filling on half of the tortilla. Top with a couple of tablespoons of the cheese (or to taste). Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the filling to form a semicircle. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
  4. Wipe out the skillet you used for the kale and set over medium high heat. When hot, spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Place an assembled quesadilla in the pan and cook, flipping once halfway through, until both sides are browned and the cheese is melted. Cut into triangles and serve with the sauce.

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Stuff It!

stuffed_peppersWith the bounty of veggies coming from the farm this time of year, I had a plethora of peppers to eat! (Ya, I just used the word plethora! I try to use it whenever I can!) I decided to stuff a few and call it dinner! So to make it nice and healthy, cause that’s the way I roll, I settled on lean ground turkey and quinoa with which to stuff said peppers. 🙂 And so here is what I did:

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. lean ground turkey
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 C. chopped onion
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 T. chili powder
  • 1/4 t. chipotle chili powder (or cayenne pepper, just something to add a teensy bit of heat)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 large bell peppers (any color will do), washed
  • 1 C. chicken broth (divided)
  • 1/2 c. tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 C. cooked quinoa (follow instructions on package – I cooked mine in broth)
  • 1/4 C. reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

Heat oven to 400°. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute about 2 minutes. Add ground turkey. Season with sea salt, cumin, paprika, chili powder and chipotle and brown meat until cooked through completely. Add tomato sauce and 1/2 C. chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Mix in cooked quinoa and remove from heat.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove all seeds. Place in a baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half and fill it as full as you can. Place all of the pepper halves in the baking dish, and pour the remainder of the broth into the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. With last five minutes, remove foil, top with cheddar cheese and return to oven until cheese is melted.

We liked ours topped with a little homemade salsa. Good stuff! (get it…”stuff”) 🙂

Nutritional Info per pepper half: 

Calories: 242, Fat: 8 g., Carbs: 23 g., Protein: 21 g., Fiber: 3 g.

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Over-Achieving…Just Made My Breakfast!

overnight_oats

I just whipped up two more jars of these overnight oats and remembered that I didn’t share this recipe on the blog yet. And since my mom gets mad at me if I have new recipes that I don’t share here…it needed to be posted ASAP!  My husband LOVES these and so do I! It’s so easy, and in the morning he can just grab a jar and head into work. He eats them as is, right out of the jar. I, on the other had, prefer to put mine in a fancy bowl, microwave for a couple of minutes, add some extra ingredients: more berries, slivered almonds, protein powder, almond butter, various garnishes and the like. Either way, you can’t beat a 5 minute prep the night before and an easy grab-n-go breakfast in the morning!

Go make some! And sleep tight!

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Meal Plan for March 10 – March 16

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Click here to view, print and link to recipes.

Weekly meal planner

I find myself eating basically the same things for breakfast, lunch and snacks. So rather than type it over and over again, I’m just going to show you that depending on what’s in the fridge, and what we’re doing for the day, I’m going to grab one of the options above. 🙂

I don’t even have much more to say anything about this week’s plan except that I hope you find it useful!

-Angie