Greek Oat Pancakes

These have become a new weekly staple in our house as they are so healthy and so tasty!

10 minutes of prep and you'll have beautiful, protein-packed, low-cal pancakes. 

Makes approximately 20 small (5") pancakes.










What you'll need:

• 2 cups Gluten-free oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 cups egg whites
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt (I use Chobani. Yes, you can use flavored, but it will add a lot of sugar!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

The how-to:

• Preheat a non-stick skillet to 350 degrees
• Process oats in a blender or food processor until they are turned into oat flour
• Mix oats, egg whites, yogurt, and vanilla in a large bowl
• Use a 1/4 cup measure to drop batter onto the skillet, flipping after the tops begin to look dry
• Voila! Beautiful pancakes. 
• Enjoy! (We've been eating them with these cherries and just a drizzle of local maple syrup and they are awesome!)

Nutrition facts per pancake:

68 calories, 7 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fat, 7 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar. Wow!

Taco Squares

Coworker Amy has brought these for lunch many times and I'm so glad I finally asked for the recipe! I adjusted it to be gluten-free and added my own tweaks--now GF and 155 calories per square, they are a light yet filling dinner and make great leftovers as well. Oh, and I may have been excited to eat them and forgot to take a photo of the baked version. Oops!

What you'll need:

• 1 pound ground turkey breast (You can use ground turkey but it won't be as lean. This is just our preference.)

• Taco seasoning of choice (I use a different combo each time. Usually a mix of cilantro, pepper, salt, chili powder, garlic, and cumin. Experiment! )

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (we use Bob's Red Mill GF Flour)

• 1 Tbsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 Tbsp butter (yes, real butter!)

• 1/2 cup green or pepper, chopped

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped (optional. my hubby isn't a huge fan...)

• 3/4 cup sour cream (we use Organic Valley)

• 1 14oz can of tomatoes (or freshly chopped tomatoes)

The how-to:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish
3. Chop vegetables
4. Brown the turkey breast, onions, and peppers, mixing in taco seasoning as you brown (I forgot to add the veggies as I browned--I think I was in too much of a hurry!) 
5. Set cooked mixture aside
6. Pour 1 cup of the flour, baking soda, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse until completely mixed (I found chopping the butter beforehand really helped this process)
7. Combine the processed mixture with leftover flour in a large bowl and add 1/2 cup water, mixing with a wooden spoon until dough forms (you may need to add extra water)
8. Press dough into the baking pan, going up about 1/2" on all sides
9. Layer cooked turkey, then tomatoes, on top of the crust, and add sour cream, spreading around as much as you like (I've seen dollops; I like it to be evenly spread--suit yourself!)
10. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges of the crust are brown
11. Cut into 12 squares and serve with any taco toppings you'd like (guacamole?)
12. Voila!

For a serving of one square, this works out to about 152 calories, 3 grams of fat, and a whopping 13 grams of protein! Great choice!

Adapted from bettycrocker.com, reducing from 330 calories per square

Cinnamon "Sugar" Almonds

Yesterday I told my husband that his sweet cravings are out of control. Well, mine are too :) I'm blaming the extremely long winter. Ahem.

So, I decided to try playing around with roasting (baking) almonds that would suffice as a "sweet" snack. BUT I wanted them to be low-cal.

I tried agave nectar, honey, and pure maple syrup, with combinations of stevia, cinnamon, carob powder, salt, flour, etc.

Here is the result, which I think turned out pretty awesome, and really easy!

What you'll need:

• 1 cup of raw almonds (125 if you want it to be exact)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

The how-to:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet or glass 9x13 pan with foil and spray the foil well with nonstick spray (or use the nonstick foil)
3. Measure the maple syrup or agave nectar into a large bowl
4. Add almonds, tossing well to coat
5. Add cinnamon, salt, and truvia, and mix well
6. Turn the almonds onto the lined baking sheet, spreading into a single layer
7. Bake for 32 minutes, taking time to turn and stir the almonds every 8 minutes
8. Remove from oven and remove the foil (and almonds) from the pan to make sure they don't over-roast in the hot pan
9. Wait a few minutes (yes, it's hard, but trust me on this one) and they'll be cool and wonderfully crunchy. 
10. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Yogurt Fruit Dip

We had some super fun friends over last night for a movie night, and as I was throwing some fun snacks together, this dip happened. Yes, happened. And I'm so glad it did! It's really yummy, super easy, and you probably have the ingredients already.







What you'll need:

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Honey to taste (optional...)

The how-to:
Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend well with a spoon. Serve with fruit and enjoy!

This comes out to about 50 calories and 3.5 grams of protein per tablespoon of dip.