I don’t often make pancakes when I’m cutting. It’s not so much that I can’t have them, but more that there are other things that I prefer most times. I love mashing a sweet potato with vanilla protein powder and cinnamon. That’s to die for. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out.

The other day I even turned down a soft serve ice cream cone just so that I could have my vanilla tater mash. Yes, that’s how much I like it. Every now and then I do get a craving for pancakes. That day happened to be this past Sunday. Right now I’ve got strict macros that I need to adhere to since I’m working towards contest.

I had already figured out my meals for the day so I needed to come up with a recipe that fit into the remaining macros that I had left. I also wanted something chocolatey so that was another recipe criteria. These double chocolate pancakes made with coconut flour hit the nail on the head. I love using coconut flour in my baking and usually have a bag of Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour in the kitchen.

It’s got plenty of protein but also is lower in carbs than regular flour. Carbs are NOT the enemy. I’m not implying that since I have my fair share of carbs every day. I just needed something lower in carbs on Sunday since I had already had quite a bit in the rest of my meals for the day. I’ve got a recipe for homemade enchiladas coming to prove it to you.

Double Chocolate Coconut Flour Pancakes

 

• 3 Tbsp coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp baking cocoa
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 Tbsp nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp butter or vanilla extract
• Stevia, sugar or sugar substitute, to taste

• 1 Tbsp baking cocoa
• 2 Tbsp nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• Stevia, sugar or sugar substitute, to taste

Mix the first 9 ingredients in a small bowl. I typically use stevia if I’m not using real sugar and I used 5 drops in my version of the pancakes. Use more or less sweetener depending on how sweet you like your pancakes. The batter will be pretty thick. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Drop 1/3 of the batter into the pan per pancake. My batter was thick enough that I had to use the spoon to smoosh the batter out into a pancake shape.

Cook over medium heat until the top starts to look dry and flip. This took about 4 minutes on my stove. I peeked under the edge of one a couple times to make sure it wasn’t burning. After flipping, cook for another few minutes on the second side until done. I pressed lightly on the top to check for doneness. It should have a pancake feel to it and no longer feel squishy. Remove from heat and put on a plate.

Mix the last 3 ingredients in a small bowl and add a little bit of water at a time until it is the consistency you like. Pour over pancakes like syrup and enjoy. Makes 3 pancakes with sauce for 160 calories for the entire recipe. Yes, just over 150 calories for THREE pancakes with chocolate sauce.

I admitted on Facebook that I actually used my fingers on the plate to make sure there was no sauce left behind. I’ll definitely be making these again. I might even try adding PB2 to the mix for a peanut butter chocolate version.

I’m pretty sure that this recipe would work with all purpose flour or whole wheat flour but I haven’t tried it. If you try it with a different flour type, let me know how it works out so that I can let everyone know.

When I was growing up, I always spent Friday night’s at my grandmother’s house. My dad would come over at 10 am Saturday morning, we’d have breakfast with my grandparents and then spend the day together. This was every Friday until I was about 15 or 16 from what I remember.

My grandmother and I always made breakfast together. She’s the main person who instilled my love of all things kitchen in me. I have thousands of memories that make me smile. One of everyone’s favorite things to have for breakfast was the cinnamon rolls that came packed in the tube with the tub of icing.

I loved tearing the paper off carefully so it didn’t pop open before I got the chance to bang it on the counter and crack it. They came packed 8 in a can, but I had my grandmother fooled for the longest time. I’d sneak one out of the can and race to the bathroom to gobble it raw. When I got back, I’d announce that there were strangely only 7!

She thought the was some sort of manufacturing error for months until she noticed the pattern. Hee hee, I was sneaky.

The Kid and I often have Waffle Sunday. I make a huge batch of waffles for her and then freeze leftovers for quick weekday morning breakfasts. Sometimes I make plain waffles, blueberry, chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar, …

I decided to get creative based on a pin I saw on Pinterest and tried it with those cinnamon rolls that come in a can. I was skeptical at first if it would work, but they turned out perfectly and were the easiest waffles ever to make. For those of you that come here strictly for healthy recipes, please forgive the deviation.

Life is all about balance, right? Every now and then it’s fine to have a treat that’s not the best thing for you just because it makes you smile at the memory. My grandmother is still around, but half a country separates us and I haven’t seen her in years. She doesn’t cook or bake anymore, but I hope somewhere in her memories she thinks back to all those times we spent in the kitchen together.

World’s Easiest Cinnamon Roll Waffles

• 1 tube ready to bake cinnamon rolls

Preheat your waffle iron according to instructions. Pop open the can of cinnamon rolls. When the iron is ready, place one cinnamon roll into each waffle well and bake just like you would waffles. Repeat for the entire tube. Ice with the icing that came in the can or top with your favorite toppings. Makes 8 sinful waffles at X calories since I didn’t want to check the totals.

See? I told you it was easy. It probably doesn’t even warrant a recipe, but I wanted to make sure that even absolute kitchen beginners could make these. Do you have childhood memories that you look back on like this? Were you as sneaky as I was?

Work has been absolutely crazy this week for me. We had a huge project ramp up and I’m smack dab in the middle of meetings most of the day. Thankfully since I pack all of my meals, I can easily eat whenever I need to.

My hours have been a little bit off since I’ve had to stay late a few nights and haven’t had much time to cook. BUT I’m not going to let a wonky schedule stop me. I’ve always loved cooking and baking. Probably even as much (if not slightly more) than working out. Shhhh, don’t tell my muscles that.

Cooking relaxes me and excites me all at the same time. Ever since coming up with the idea on Mother’s Day to really get back into fancier dinners, I’ve been planning out recipes left and right. As you can see from all of the food posts lately.

Just because something is fancier than your typical weeknight dinner, doesn’t mean it has to take longer to throw together. There are tons of shortcuts you can take to simplify life. You can buy pre-shredded cabbage in a bag. Just pull out what you need. On the weekend I buy a whole head of romaine, wash and slice it and put it in plastic containers for quick salads.

Chop up some veggies and herbs, grill some meat and presto! You’ve got dinner. This one came together really quickly and The Kid even commented on how much she liked the steak. This is a kid who says she dislikes steak.

Asian Steak Salad

 

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 lb flank steak
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 Tbsp PB2 or powdered peanut butter
• 3 cups romaine lettuce
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped mint
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup green onions, white and green parts chopped

Place the first 6 ingredients in a ziploc baggie and shake to mix. Add the flank steak and marinate for 15 minutes or up to overnight. I freeze my meats in a ziploc baggie, so I just add the marinade to the frozen meat and let it thaw overnight and marinate at the same time. Easy and doesn’t take much effort at all.

When the meat is ready, preheat your grill or oven broiler. Remove the meat from the baggie and grill or broil for about 5 minutes on each side or until it’s cooked the way you prefer. Remove from heat and let it sit while you prepare the dressing. Combine the lime juice, water, sugar, red pepper, and PB2 in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.

Toss the lettuce, cabbage, mint, cilantro and onions to make a salad. Equally divide the salad onto 4 plates. Slice the meat thinly (or skip this step like I did) and top the salad. Add dressing to taste and enjoy. Makes 4 servings at approximately 213 calories each.

I had dinner for both of us that evening, plus there were leftovers for lunch the next day. Two for the time of one. I added a tortilla under my steak for an additional 80 calories. Yes, I live on the edge here. That’s how I roll with random tortillas under my Asian steak. I’ll call mine Mexicasian Steak Salad.

Do you cook during the week? Any shortcuts you’d like to share?

I think the only thing that I like more than Mexican food might be multitasking Mexican food. I’d never actually had a fish taco until I moved to Texas, as ironic as that sounds. Yes, I grew up on the East Coast right there next to the ocean practically and never had a fish taco.

After giving them a try at a local restaurant here a few years ago, I fell in love and pretty much opt for the fish version when given a choice. Most times the fish is breaded and fried in the tacos which probably is why I like them so much. I decided to come up with a recipe to make these at home to save a few calories.

The recipe took hardly any time at all to throw together so it’s perfect for making after a long day at work. You don’t end up dirtying a bunch of stuff either since you can use the same cookie sheet for the veggies and then the fish afterwards. The best part is the sauce.

It makes a huge batch that you can drizzle on your tacos, but I had tons left to use as salad dressing. Multi-purpose sauce! I had enough to last me through 4 salads in addition to the tacos and leftover tacos. You could even use it to add a kick to sandwiches. I used the entire jalapeno in mine, but if you want a less spicy version you can use just half of the pepper.
Fish Tacos with Tomatillo Sauce

 

• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 medium tomatillos, cut into quarters
• 1 medium jalapeno, cut in half and seeded
• 1/2 cup cilantro stems
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 4 4 oz tilapia fillets
• 4 taco sized flour tortillas (I used Carb Balance tortillas that are 80 calories each)
• cilantro leaves, for garnish

Turn on your broiler and line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Spread the garlic, tomatillo slices, and jalapeno on the sheet. Place under the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes until blackened on the edges. Remove from the oven.

In a food processor or blender, combine the mayonnaise, sugar, cilantro stems, garlic, tomatillos, and jalapeno. I tossed everything in my Magic Bullet and it was the perfect size. Blend until smooth.

One of the coolest parts of this sauce is that you get to use those cilantro stems that you usually end up throwing out since everyone wants to eat the leaves instead. Nothing goes to waste here. Bonus for the thrifty people like me.

Place the tilapia fillets on the foiled lined cookie sheet and broil for 2 – 3 minutes per side, flipping partway through to cook both sides. Remove from oven. Place a tortilla on each plate and add a fillet on top. Top each taco with 1/4 cup of the shredded cabbage, a drizzle of lime juice, and tomatillo sauce. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.

Makes 4 large stuffed tacos at approximately 239 calories each.

You could easily do this recipe with steak, shrimp, or chicken instead. As you can see from the picture, I drizzled my tomatoes with the tomatillo sauce. That stuff is deadly good. If you’re interested in another use of tomatillos, here’s another recipe for you.

What’s your favorite Mexican food? Have you tried fish tacos yet?

Do you have a Meatless Monday or other meatless day at your house? We do every now and then. Not necessarily for health reasons or money reasons, but more to just change things up. I also love chick peas so it gives me an excuse to try out a new chick pea recipe. Doesn’t everyone need a new chick pea recipe?

When I plan out my recipes for the week, I try to find ideas that use up what we already have on hand. If one recipe calls for a few tablespoons of mint and I had to buy a bunch, I look for other recipes with mint. I’ll also buy meats in bulk and freeze them in recipe sized batches. Waste not, want not. Remember those leftover chick peas from the last recipe? Well here’s what we did with them.

There was about a cup and a quarter leftover from the can after making the quinoa salad. If you didn’t make the previous recipe, don’t worry. Just use the entire 15 oz can and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to adjust the spices or anything. You’ll just end up with extra chick peas. I’ll grab my fork and head over to your place.

Chick peas are relatively high in protein for a non-meat food, but since I’ve currently got protein requirements to meet I actually added in some grilled chicken to my pocket sammie. Get creative with this recipe to fit a range of tastes. Add more or less red pepper. Make the sammie with chicken or ground beef. Think outside the sammie box.

Roasted Chick Pea Pocket Sammies

• 1 1/4 cups chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 – 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 2 6 inch pita breads
• Romaine lettuce
• Sliced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the chick peas with the olive oil, cumin, paprika, and crushed red pepper. Place on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes until crunchy. Remove from oven.

While the chick peas are roasting, make the sauce. Combine the mint, lime juice, garlic, and diced cucumber in a bowl. Toss lightly to coat and add the almond milk. Note: Traditional tatziki uses yogurt to make a sauce, but The Kid has a dairy allergy and we couldn’t use that. Almond milk worked perfectly for us but feel free to use a few tablespoons of plain yogurt if you prefer.

Slice the pita breads in half crosswise to make four pockets total. Fill each pocket with chick peas, cucumber sauce, romaine and sliced tomatoes to taste. Makes 4 pocket sammies at approximately 261 calories each.

If you’re not in a sammie mood, roasted chick peas are perfect to munch on alone as a snack too. Do you lay out your recipe meal plans to use up what you’ve got or do you just go with the flow?