Breakfast for Warriors

As you are reading this, Staci and I will be participating in the...

 WARRIOR DASH!

Even though it is almost May and has been 80 degrees in Texas for a good long while, Mother Nature decided it wanted to throw a curve ball and have it be COLD!! Projected Forecast:

Just the normal 53 - 57 degrees outside (not cool...haha). But really, it seems like every time I place to compete in a race in this state, it decides to be cold the day of the event.

Nonetheless, I am super excited about tomorrow!! But thinking of the cold, really just makes me want to curl up in my pajamas on the couch, eating a hot, toasty bowl of healthy oats. 

But normal oats are boring... I'm talking some tasty oats that feels more like dessert than breakfast. 

Enter: Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

Trust me, it is even more delicious than it looks. At it has the added bonus of sneaking in some protein to give it an extra healthy kick that will help you to feel fuller for longer.

Recipe for success? Start with 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk and 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan over medium heat.

don't forget the water too!

And drop a banana in the pot...

Now chop up your banana into a million little pieces with your wooden spoon. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be in many small pieces.

Now, let that mixture come up to a simmer. It will look like this:

Nice and bubbly... and the banana magically disappeared!! It's still there... no worries.

Now, back the heat down to medium low and add in your 1/4 cup rolled oats.

 Now cook your oats on medium low for about 10 minutes or until they are nice and tender. Next comes the protein part... Egg Whites!!

The packaged kind really do work better in this situation than egg whites from a "real" egg.

To add these 1/4 cup egg whites to your hot oat mixture, you will need to take your little pot off of the hot part of the stove. Stir the oats around to get some steam (and heat) out.

VERY SLOWLY, pour your egg whites into the oatmeal mixture, and stir the oats vigorously as you go. A little coordination is required for this maneuver.

If you thought your oats were a little too wet for you, they definitely will NOT be runny after the egg white addition. The egg whites bulk up the oats a bit and add to a nice fluffy texture.

Once all the egg whites have been combined, you are ready to serve your oats for one! Garnish with strawberries, brown sugar, chopped nuts, or whatever else you might like!

Chocolate would also be a good addition... :) 

Dessert for Breakfast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Why?

Because anything goes! If you want pancakes, have pancakes. If you want cake, eat cake. If you want a steak, because breakfast isn't your thing...well by all means go ahead.

Which brings me to my most favorite breakfast dish I have ever created...

Apple Pie Oatmeal 

Seriously, it tastes exactly like a big slice of apple pie, but for breakfast!! BONUS: it's super healthy too! (and super simple to make)

Print this recipe!

First you need an apple! 

Peel and core apple, and chop the flesh into bite sized pieces

And you'll need some oats! About 1/2 cup

 

Put the apple and oats into a small sauce pan. Add 3/4 of a cup of unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup of water to the pot.

In goes 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon next!

 You will also need three heaping teaspoons of brown sugar...it makes it tasty

Make sure everyone is in the pool!

 Cook in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low for 10 - 15 minutes or until apples and oats are tender.

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and serve.

Eat and be happy you made a healthy choice for breakfast!

Sneaky Switches

I again apologize for my lack of postings. My poor computer is still not fixed, but hopefully it will be back soon!

Anyways, onto the food!

Today I wanted to talk about a little something different.... substitutions. My whole future profession of nutrition/ dietetics essentially centers around substituting one food for another in an effort to have a well balanced diet.

In my experience, some people just really don't want to substitute one food item for another based on a pre-conceived notion that the "healthier" item doesn't taste as good (even if there is no noticeable difference). My mother and I have had many arguments regarding this exact subject which can lead to interesting "discussions" (slash arguments) that take place in the middle of the grocery store.

"Improved" Banana Bread Muffins

My favorite types of ingredient substitutions to make are in baked goods! They are super simple and it doesn't affect the overall taste! This past weekend, I used ALL of the sneaky switches in some banana bread muffins and they were some of the best breakfast muffins I've ever had! I really hope you try these tips out in your next baking adventure!

Sneaky Switch #1: Replace oil with applesauce
Oil is a very common ingredient in breakfast breads and cakes, however one of the only purposes it serves is to keep the baked product moist and tender. Oil is nothing but 100 calories per tablespoon of "tenderness" in a cake, and you could achieve the same result with applesauce (just be sure the applesauce doesn't have any added sugar). Replace the oil with applesauce in a 1:1 ratio!
(ex: 1 cup oil = 1 cup applesauce)

Look for "All Natural" Applesauce

Sneaky Switch #2: Replace eggs with ground flax seed
The eggs in baked good recipes are typically used as an emulsifier. However, ground flax seeds are a  plant based way to do the same thing! This is a really easy switch and is particularly useful if you are watching your cholesterol. For each egg called for in the recipe, substitute with 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 Tablespoons water.

Easily found at many grocery stores

Sneaky Switch #3: Use almond instead of cow's milk
Let's do some math: 1 cup of skim milk = 80 calories. 1 cup of whole milk = 180 calories. 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk = 40 calories. Almond milk has WAY less calories and once it has been baked into something, you'll never know the difference. An easy way to save your precious kcals!

My favorite brand!

Sneaky Switch #4: Use whole wheat pastry flour
99% of all baked good recipes call for the use of all-purpose flour. All purpose flour has been processed and stripped of all of its nutrients and then bleached to make it white and pretty. Nothing good can come from using white flour. Whole wheat pastry flour can easily be used in its place, and because pastry flour is finer than regular flour, your finished product will be just as light and fluffy, but with a lot more nutrients. Replace in a 1:1 ratio (You know the drill: 1 cup AP flour = 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

Sneaky Switch #4.5:
If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, you can use regular whole wheat flour. However, to make sure your baked goods don't turn into rocks, only replace half of the flour called for in the recipe with whole wheat flour.