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

120-Cal Banana Puff Muffins

These. Are. Awesome.

This morning was a little crazy, but these muffins warm out of the oven really helped me have a fantastic start to my day! SO easy and so delicious. I think it took me 15 minutes total to put them together in my sleepy state--so maybe 10 minutes of prep if I'd been fully awake!

What you'll need:

• 2 1/2 cup oats (old fashioned kind, not quick cooking)
• 1 cup of low fat greek yogurt (I used plain, but vanilla or another fruit flavor (without added sugar...) would be great! Experiment.)
• 2 eggs or 2/3 cup egg whites
• 2 TBSP (8 packets) of stevia (I used packets of truvia and it was perfect) Update: since writing this post, I have stopped using stevia after learning more about its processing. I've made the muffins without and they are still delicious! A drizzle of honey on the top is great if you need a little sweetener when you eat them.
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed 

Optional add-ins (not included in the nutritional facts below): walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, craisins...the options are endless!

The how-to:  

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tin 
2. (you cannot use paper liners with this type of recipe unless you're interested in eating them along with your muffin. Just don't go there.) 
3. Place the oats in a blender or food processor until smooth. 
4. Pour the oats into a large mixing bowl and gradually add the rest of the ingredients except the optional mix-ins.
5. Once your batter is smooth, add any additional mix-ins and gently mix them in using a spoon or spatula (or my latest favorite tool, the spoontula from Rachel Ray!)
6. Pour batter evenly into your 12 prepare muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.

7. Yum.
   
   PS--here are the nutrition facts per muffin, as taken from the myfitnesspal recipe tracker. Enjoy!

Calories: 120
Carbs: 21
Fat: 2
Protein: 6
Sugar: 4
Fiber: 3

Adapted from Keeping Up with the Joneses