Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

I haven't had real pancakes in a long time.  Actually Nick recently reminded me that it has literally been months (maybe even a full year) since I made pancakes.  I used to make them just about every weekend.  I think I got sick of making them.  I prefer higher protein breakfasts now, so pancakes (conventional) just don't do it for me anymore (sorry Nick).

Imagine what Nick said when I told him I'd make pancakes, then handed him these.  Muahaha.

I lied.  I never made these for Nick.  I think the carrots and yogurt would freak him out too much.

Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Source: PoshFoodie.com

Serves 2 (each serving is 2 pancakes)

Ingredients 

1/2 cup egg whites (~ 4 eggs)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup pumpkin puree or carrot puree (baby food)
5 drops liquid Stevia
 Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For topping/layers

4 Tbsp. plain nonfat Greek yogurt
Liquid Stevia and cinnamon to taste
Shredded carrots (~ 1 carrot worth)

** NOTE: If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, this recipe is free of FODMAPs (other than a tiny bit from the lactose in the Greek yogurt, but there shouldn't be enough in this recipe to cause issues).  Make sure your protein powder is free of chicory root or inulin (fibers that are known as oligosaccharides).

Directions

1.  Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl (minus the ingredients for the topping).  Allow to sit for about 15 minutes at room temperature.

2.  While mixture is sitting, make the topping by mixing the yogurt, Stevia and cinnamon.

3.  Heat a large skillet to medium and spray with Pam (or whatever you typically use so pancakes don't stick).  Pour 4 pancakes onto the skillet and cook for ~2 minutes on each side.

4.  Put one pancake on each of two plates.  Top each pancake with a layer of the yogurt mixture, then top that with a second pancake.  Add more of the yogurt mixture and then add the shredded carrots.  Enjoy!

Allowing the oats and eggs to sit for about 15 minutes will cause the starch to be released from the oats a bit, making for a better texture of pancake, in my opinion.

Who needs carrot cake when you can have carrot cake protein pancakes???  Ok, I need carrot cake, these don't quite "take the cake" (haha) but seriously, very close.

I don't think I will ever make "real pancakes" anymore after trying these (and my Buckeye pancakes too, yum).  I just really enjoy the higher protein pancakes, and with nutrition facts like this, how could you not fall in love?!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1 serving (2 pancakes)

Source: CalorieCount.com

NOTE: You could definitely make this a one serving recipe and still be just under 400 calories for breakfast.  Have you been paying attention to the latest news on weight loss and calorie distribution?  Research is showing that eating most of your calories in the morning and afternoon is proving to be best for weight loss, vs. eating small breakfasts then eating large lunches and huge dinners (as most of us do). So, why not make this a 1-serving recipe? You'd also reach your 30 gram protein goal that way!

Nutrition Highlights:  Under 200 calories, good source of fiber and calcium, excellent source of protein, and vitamin A.

QUESTION:  Which do you prefer, pancakes, waffles or French toast? Just curious....

Thanks for reading!  And, Happy Hump Day (can you believe it's already Wednesday?!  I love short weeks!)

The Candid Rd

Lemon Custard with Fresh Berries (on the lighter side!)

I've never been a big fan of custard.  Why? I just don't care for desserts that don't involve chocolate or some type of starchy cake.  Custards just don't appeal to me.  Yet, I saw this recipe in Substitute Yourself Skinny, and I wanted to make it for some reason.  I think the marsala wine sort of intriqued me.  Marsala wine in a custard? What? Is it just me, or is that strange? It's strange.  But yet, delicious (I found that out after making this).  My dad loves lemon custard so being the great daughter that I am I thought I would make it for him and the family the last time we had dinner together.  It's nice, my parents make the dinner and host the dinner, I make the dessert (Nick just comes over). Easy as pie (or, custard).

 Lemon Custard with Fresh Berries

Source: Substitute Yourself Skinny
Gluten Free

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 egg yolks
1/2 Tbsp. cold water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 Tbsp. cold milk **
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
(you can choose to just use one type of berry if you want)

** NOTE: If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, the milk does contain lactose so beware. However, the small amount in this recipe shouldn't cause you problems.

Directions

1.  In a double-boiler beat the egg yolks together with the water using a hand mixer (you could use a wire whisk, but it's highly recommended that you use an electric hand mixer) until they are foamy and light.

2.  Whisk in the sugar, salt, lemon juice, zest, and wine.  Beat over hot, but not boiling, water until thickened and fluffy.  Add 1 Tbsp. cold milk, and stir to combine.

3.  Spoon the custard into dishes and top with berries and fresh mint to garnish (optional).  Serve warm.

Heaven.  Did I say I didn't like custard? Oops.  I guess I do.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/6th of recipe

Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Excellent source of fiber and vitamin C (thanks to the berries!)

QUESTION:  What are your thoughts on custard? Have you ever used marsala wine in a custard?

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day. Mine was relaxing, and hot.  Nick and I ended the day with a three hour TV marathon; Big Brother and Breaking Bad (lots of B's).  Sometimes it's nice to just sit around and be lazy.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

Homegrown (and huge) Zucchini Saute with Quinoa

I was nervous when Nick came in with these zucchini from our garden.  In the case of squash, bigger is not necessarily better.  I always find the smaller squash to be more sweet and less seedy.  He was so proud though, I mean, check it out....

To my surprise, these gigantic zucchini were neither bland nor seedy.  In fact, they tasted great.  These two glorious beauties made this quinoa salad I'm posting today, and about 50 delectable zucchini fritters, which I'll be posting tomorrow.  Of course, even after those two recipes I still had some zucchini leftover, which we enjoyed simply sauteed in some EVOO and topped with fresh parmesan cheese.

Zucchini Saute with Quinoa
Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Serves 5

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

2 Tbsp. tuscan or garlic olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. minced fresh marjoram

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves

2 tsp. minced fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup minced parsley leaves

3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked

Directions

1.  Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package (Typically 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water, together in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes).

2.  Cut zucchini in half crosswise.  Cut in half again and cut into thin strips.  Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook zucchini and squash until it begins to brown around the edges.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to blend well.  

3.  Combine the zucchini mixture with the cooked quinoa.  Serve warm.

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPS diet you will be happy to know that this is low FODMAPs!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/5th of recipe
Source: Calorie Count.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Under 200 calories, good source of fiber, vitamin C and iron

I didn't use this entire zucchini for the recipe, obviously, but I wanted to take these photos to give you an idea of just how massive these things were!  

Nick and I had some family friends over for a bonfire the night we served this.  Yes, we had hot dogs on a stick, fruit, beer, toasted marshmallows, and this salad.  Random? Sure. But it was a huge hit (and the sunflower seeds really added a nice savory crunch to the salad. I wasn't expecting it!).

So in terms of our garden the zucchini, herbs, and tomatoes have been a success (tomato recipes coming soon!) but the spaghetti squash, well, that's another story.  Yeah, I don't think this is a spaghetti squash.  Thoughts?

QUESTION:  Are you having success with your garden this year?

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  I have today off but tomorrow (I think) I start my new job.  I'm nervous, excited, anxious, everything all wrapped up in one.  Most of all I can't wait to get back to work again.  While it's been nice having a couple weeks off, I'm getting slightly bored.  Crazy how that works.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie

As you know, we grew mint this year.  In fact, had I not asked everyone on Facebook and Twitter whether or not we should put our mint in a pot, and had everyone not warned us that it would grow like crazy, we'd probably have a backyard taken over by mint.  At this point in the summer our mint is no longer thriving (I think we got too much rain), but a few weeks ago, when it was, I made mint chocolate chip ice cream and this mint chocolate chip smoothie (after all, mint and chocolate is my second favorite flavor combination, other than peanut butter and chocolate.).

I put my smoothies in a martini glass because I'm cool like that.  Just accept it.  Yes, this is a virgin smoothie.

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 Tbsp chia

1-cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 Tbsp. chopped dark chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped ice (optional, but I like my smoothies cold!)

4-6 drops liquid Stevia

Directions

1.  Mix the chia and almond milk in a small bowl, and allow to form into a gel in the fridge.  This should take ~40 minutes.  Be sure to stir every 10-15 minutes.

2.  Mix all the remaining ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet, from the chocolate chips through the Stevia drops.

3.  After blending the ingredients, add the chia gel and stir until well incorporated (you may also wish to add everything together in a blender and just pulse a couple times).  Garnish with a few extra chocolate chips and some mint if you wish.

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPS diet you will be happy to know that this is low FODMAPs!

This was just so refreshing out on my back porch one 90-degree day.  I sipped on this for about 30 minutes, and then came in to find chocolate all over my face. It was glorious.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1 smoothie
Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights: ~5 grams plant-based omega-3 (from the chia seeds), excellent source of fiber (whoa!), vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and calcium.

Question:  What's your favorite sweet or savory combination of flavors?  I've told you my two favorites; chocolate and peanut butter, and chocolate and mint.  But then there is also ketchup and mustard (Nick thinks I'm crazy to combine the two condiments on things like hotdogs. But I think he's crazy for not combining!).

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

Fresh Summer Vegetable Cod Pockets (Mess-Free and Full of Flavor)

Look mom, no clean up!  Don't you just love recipes that involve little clean-up?   Yes, there is cod under there.  I promise.  It's hard to see under all those fresh vegetables, but do some digging and you'll find it.



Speaking of vegetables, do you like them?  The other day I did an experiment in my weight loss support group; we counted the number of taste buds we have to see if we are "tolerant tasters", "tasters", or "hypertasters".  Imagine a bell curve, with "tasters" being in the middle (meaning a majority of us are tasters") and "tolerant tasters" and "hypertasters" being at the opposite ends.  According to the book I'm reading, "Taste What You're Missing", "hypertasters" are like really ticklish kids, and their taste buds get excited very easily.  With that in mind, they often have very strong likes and dislikes, and many "hypertasters" really hate vegetables because they taste extra bitter.  Get the book, it's fascinating (you'll learn there is really much more to the story than taste buds).  By the way, I found out I was a "tolerant taster", meaning I had very few taste buds.  It makes sense now why I love EXTRA bitter dark chocolate and hoppy IPA, I'm just not as sensitive to the bitterness so it takes more bitterness to excite me (keep in mind, having few taste buds doesn't mean you don't taste well.  In fact, the author of the book is a professional food taster/tester and she is also a "tolerant taster").  So, I'm a tolerant taster, plus I grew up in a household that was filled with lots of veggies (and good beer, actually) so I have always loved them.  In fact, I often crave vegetables. Strange?

Cod Pockets with LOTS O' VEGGIES!

Serves: 4

Source:  www.farmgirlgourmet.com

Ingredients

4 fresh, not frozen, cod fillets (~4 ounces each)

4 loosely packed cups of fresh baby spinach

Choose from the following list of vegetables (in all you will want ~1/2-3/4 cup of vegetables, in addition to the spinach, per packet)

• Sliced red, yellow or orange bell peppers
• Sliced shitake or crimini mushrooms **
• Thinly sliced zucchini or summer squash
• Fresh corn kernels **
• Thinly sliced fennel bulb 

~2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil, divided among four fillets (or 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter)

1 tsp. sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish and extra flavor (or use the fennel greens)

Directions

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut four large pieces of foil (pieces should be at least about 12 inches x 12 inches long).  Lay on a clean workspace.  Have ready a rimmed cookie sheet.

2.  Lay down spinach on the bottom of each piece of foil.  Drizzle each mound of spinach lightly with ~1/4 Tbsp. olive oil (or add ~1/4 Tbsp butter, solid) and sprinkle with ~1/8 tsp. salt.  Lay a fillet on top of spinach.

3.  Add remainder of the vegetables, preferably finishing with the colorful vegetable such as red pepper slices.  On top, drizzle with the remaining olive oil (or solid butter), salt, and pepper (NOTE: You can add more or less olive oil, salt and pepper if you desire, but I tried to keep this light and lower in sodium).

4.  Begin sealing the foil by folding or rolling the edges toward the center until you are left with a hole that is about 3 inches in diameter.  Do this with all four foil packets.  Bake all together for ~25 minutes, or until vegetables are done and fish is 145 degrees F.

5.  Before removing from the oven, have ready warm shallow bowls.  Carefully open the packets, being cautious of the rising steam.  Gently slide the contents of the foil into bowls, including all juices.  Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and fresh cilantro, parsley, or fennel greens (or all!)

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPS diet limit the amount of corn and mushrooms, or just use fennel, bell peppers, and zucchini.  The mushrooms contain polyols, and the corn (especially yellow corn in amounts above 1/2 cup) contain polyols and oligosaccharides.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for one pocket
** I used mushroom, fennel, red pepper and zucchini **
Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Excellent source of vitamins A and C.  Also, ~360 mg EPA/DHA. Not bad.

I just made two fillets the first time I did this recipe, which is an option.  

They smelled delicious when I opened the foil.  Quite honestly I could have simply had this with just red pepper and fennel.  If you've never tried fennel, you must.  For the longest time I thought fennel would taste like black licorice (because it smells like black licorice) so I never tried it (I hate black licorice).  I'm so glad I was forced to try it one day at work, because it's really amazing, and very low in calories.

I actually ate this out of a bowl, but didn't take a photo.  Have you ever been so excited to eat something that you forget to take one last photo of it?!   Come on, you've been there, done that. Admit it.

If you like the idea of Cod Pockets you might also like this Magic Foil Salmon from last year.

QUESTION:  Have you ever counted your taste buds?  Try the experiment at home (and use those sticky reinforcements you can find in school supply aisles instead of punching your own hole in a piece of paper).  For more fun experiments, read Barb Stuckey's book.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

The Best Quinoa Salad, EVER

Ok, I know what you're thinking...."Really, Gina, the best?  I mean, come on, how could it be the best?!".  Let me preface this post by telling you that ever since I was a young girl I have been obsessed  with olives (black, green, I don't care) and anything pickled (I can only imagine what I will crave when I'm pregnant. I have this feeling I will be making Nick go for grocery runs to get me some pickled beets. Seriously, I just know it).  Last year around this time our neighbor Katie came over with an amazing quinoa salad.  I took one bite and instantly fell in love.  I realized it was the combination of cucumber and dill that really grabbed hold of my taste buds, and sent me to heaven on Earth (haha, like that?!). When I asked her for the recipe she basically just gave me the list of ingredients and told me she just adds everything together, without measuring. Well, as strange at that sounds, when I tried it for the first time last year, it worked! And of course when I tried it again this year, it worked again (who doesn't love a recipe that involves zero measuring?!).  Of course, I know there are a handful of people who get some anxiety when a recipe doesn't tell you exactly how much of each ingredient to use, therefore I'll provide some measurements for you (and I will use these to come up for an estimate for the nutrition facts).

The Best Quinoa Salad, Ever

Serves ~5

Ingredients

Quinoa (~ 2 cups cooked)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (~ 2 Tbsp)

Carrot (~1 large)

Cherry tomatoes, halved (~5-6)

Reduced Fat Feta cheese (~1/2 cup)

Cucumber, chopped (~1-cup)

Dill (~3 loose Tbsp)

** When you make this recipe yourself be sure to add more or less of certain ingredients, based on your own preferences. **

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, allow to sit for about an hour so the flavors all blend together, then devour and thank me :)  Actually no, thank my neighbor who introduced this salad to me a couple years ago.  I'll never forget it.  It was a moment of pure bliss.  There is something about the dill and the cucumber (pickle, hello!) plus the feta and olive oil that really got me hooked.

NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, you'll be pleased to know this is low FODMAPs.  Enjoy!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/5th of recipe
Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Good source of protein, iron and fiber, and an excellent source of vitamin A

Other Nutrition Highlights

- Quinoa is a gluten free whole grain

- The olive oil contains monounsaturated fats, which may help reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol

- The tomatoes contain lycopene, which promotes skin, heart and prostate health

- The carrots and tomato contain beta carotene, which promotes skin and heart health, and may play a role in cancer prevention

- The fats from the olive oil help you absorb both the lycopene and beta carotene. Do you ever eat tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. by themselves? You should always include a bit of healthy fats to help promote the bioavailability (absorption) of their disease-fighting nutrients! Another way to promote bioavailability is to cook these foods.

I really love how salads, of all types, are basically a blank canvas.  You can do just about anything to a salad to make it fit your own taste preferences.  I've got a couple more whole grain salads coming your way soon, so get excited.

Question:  Which ingredient would you add more or less of, to make this recipe fit your unique taste preferences?

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd