Monday afternoon already! Seriously, where does the time go?!
Oddly enough I was not too upset about the start of another week as my weekend was painfully lackluster. Sure there were a few delicious moments, friday night being the most notable, but overall, my weekend gets a thumbs down! I won't bore you (or myself) with the details of what transpires "off my plate" and instead lets focus on what's been on it -
For lunch today, I had Strawberry Spinach Salad (pictured above). It's simply sliced strawberries mixed with raw baby spinach and drizzled with balsamic. Mmmmmm..... This is by far one of my favorite combinations and I eat it fairly often. If you've never tried the strawberry/spinach/balsamic combo meow is the time!! *chuckles* Strawberries and balsamic are equally amazing on grilled romaine but now I am gettin ahead of myself as I have yet to get grillin' this year.
Over the weekend, I made low fat Strawberry Shortcake Pancake Wedges in my 2 qt crockpot. (Yes, you read that correctly). They take approximately 2 hours when cooked on high, which gives me ample time to work out and/or get chores done. On this particular ocassion, I hit the gym for an hour of cardio on the treadmill while my breakfast cooked. Amazingness! I love waking up or coming home to cooked food in my slow cooker. It's as if someone spent all night/day cooking for me (=^_^=)
I must say that I am reluctant to call these pancakes because they look nothing like them and if you go in with traditional pancakes on the brain you might be dissapointed (or scared). These pancakes cook up like a cake in the slow cooker and you can then either slice it or cut it into wedges (which is what I did).
Slow Cooker Pancakes
Adapted from A Year in Slow Cooking
Note: Pancakes can be made via a from scratch recipe or from your favorite mix. I chose to make them from scratch as doing such makes it easier to regulate the nutritional content and ingredients.
1 cup + 2 tablespoons Trader Joes white whole wheat all purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup + 3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
Fresh Ground Cinnamon to taste
Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Batter should drip off your spoon but not be runny. Spray crockpot with non-stick spray (I used coconut oil). Pour batter into crockpot, top with lid, and allow to cook on high for 2 hours (or if you want pancakes for lunch/dinner cook on low for approx 4 hours). When time is up check your pancakes. You will know it is done with a toothpick (or knife) comes out clean when inserted in the middle and the edges are pulling away from the sides. Wait approximately 10 minutes for your pancakes to cool. Then remove from the crock pot and place on a plate. (If you sprayed the crock pot well enough it should slip out no problem).
Now comes the fun part: feel free to eat your pancakes any way you choose as well as play around with the recipe. Coconut extract instead of vanilla then topped with pineapple is delicious as is adding fruit, flavoring, or nuts to the actual batter. The sky is the limit with this recipe!! I had strawberry shortcake on the brain for some reason so for me, this meant fresh sliced strawberries and a vegan cream.
For the cream I used a recipe I had stumbled upon over at Chocolate Covered Katie for several reasons: it's easy to make, it's delicious and it's low in fat/calories which is what I was going for this time around. If your in the mood to throw dietary caution to the wind, click ------> Vanilla Cream (Not up for making your own cream? Feel free to purchase one from your local market. Just be sure to read the label to keep it healthy!)
1/4 cup Mori-Nu silken-firm tofu
2 Tbs +1 tsp non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese (I used Follow Your Heart Brand)
1/2 Tbs vanilla extract
Stevia to taste
Blend the tofu until smooth, then add the other ingredients and blend again.
Oddly enough I was not too upset about the start of another week as my weekend was painfully lackluster. Sure there were a few delicious moments, friday night being the most notable, but overall, my weekend gets a thumbs down! I won't bore you (or myself) with the details of what transpires "off my plate" and instead lets focus on what's been on it -
For lunch today, I had Strawberry Spinach Salad (pictured above). It's simply sliced strawberries mixed with raw baby spinach and drizzled with balsamic. Mmmmmm..... This is by far one of my favorite combinations and I eat it fairly often. If you've never tried the strawberry/spinach/balsamic combo meow is the time!! *chuckles* Strawberries and balsamic are equally amazing on grilled romaine but now I am gettin ahead of myself as I have yet to get grillin' this year.
Over the weekend, I made low fat Strawberry Shortcake Pancake Wedges in my 2 qt crockpot. (Yes, you read that correctly). They take approximately 2 hours when cooked on high, which gives me ample time to work out and/or get chores done. On this particular ocassion, I hit the gym for an hour of cardio on the treadmill while my breakfast cooked. Amazingness! I love waking up or coming home to cooked food in my slow cooker. It's as if someone spent all night/day cooking for me (=^_^=)
I must say that I am reluctant to call these pancakes because they look nothing like them and if you go in with traditional pancakes on the brain you might be dissapointed (or scared). These pancakes cook up like a cake in the slow cooker and you can then either slice it or cut it into wedges (which is what I did).
Slow Cooker Pancakes
Adapted from A Year in Slow Cooking
Note: Pancakes can be made via a from scratch recipe or from your favorite mix. I chose to make them from scratch as doing such makes it easier to regulate the nutritional content and ingredients.
1 cup + 2 tablespoons Trader Joes white whole wheat all purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup + 3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
Fresh Ground Cinnamon to taste
Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Batter should drip off your spoon but not be runny. Spray crockpot with non-stick spray (I used coconut oil). Pour batter into crockpot, top with lid, and allow to cook on high for 2 hours (or if you want pancakes for lunch/dinner cook on low for approx 4 hours). When time is up check your pancakes. You will know it is done with a toothpick (or knife) comes out clean when inserted in the middle and the edges are pulling away from the sides. Wait approximately 10 minutes for your pancakes to cool. Then remove from the crock pot and place on a plate. (If you sprayed the crock pot well enough it should slip out no problem).
Now comes the fun part: feel free to eat your pancakes any way you choose as well as play around with the recipe. Coconut extract instead of vanilla then topped with pineapple is delicious as is adding fruit, flavoring, or nuts to the actual batter. The sky is the limit with this recipe!! I had strawberry shortcake on the brain for some reason so for me, this meant fresh sliced strawberries and a vegan cream.
For the cream I used a recipe I had stumbled upon over at Chocolate Covered Katie for several reasons: it's easy to make, it's delicious and it's low in fat/calories which is what I was going for this time around. If your in the mood to throw dietary caution to the wind, click ------> Vanilla Cream (Not up for making your own cream? Feel free to purchase one from your local market. Just be sure to read the label to keep it healthy!)
1/4 cup Mori-Nu silken-firm tofu
2 Tbs +1 tsp non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese (I used Follow Your Heart Brand)
1/2 Tbs vanilla extract
Stevia to taste
Blend the tofu until smooth, then add the other ingredients and blend again.
I was feelin' groovy and in a baking kind of mood so I decided to make a batch of duffins (aka donut muffins; pictured above). Recipes for these all over the internet. Below is the one I use. It is based off the original, which uses white sugar, white all purpose flour, cow's milk, and real butter. Like the pancake recipe, duffins are versatile and can be tailored to whatever you happen to be in the mood for. Coconut or almond extracts work equally well as vanilla (which I used). Chocolate duffins can be made by adding cocoa powder to the mix (in which case consider making a glaze via confectioners sugar instead of the cinnamon/sugar mix).
Makes 24 mini's
Duffins:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup + 4 Tbs whole wheat all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbs + 2 tsp oil* (can substitute unsweetened applesauce to reduce fat)
1 egg equivelant in egg whites
1/4 + 2 Tbs Almond Milk
Topping:
4 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs vegan butter, melted
1 Tbs Fresh Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbs Unsweetened Coconut
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only to combine. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl. Set coconut in seperate bowl if using. Shake muffins out while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon or coconut. Let cool.
Makes 24 mini's
Duffins:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup + 4 Tbs whole wheat all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbs + 2 tsp oil* (can substitute unsweetened applesauce to reduce fat)
1 egg equivelant in egg whites
1/4 + 2 Tbs Almond Milk
Topping:
4 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs vegan butter, melted
1 Tbs Fresh Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbs Unsweetened Coconut
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only to combine. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl. Set coconut in seperate bowl if using. Shake muffins out while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon or coconut. Let cool.
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