Gingerbread Protein Pancakes

I have been baking up a storm this week! The sixth day of “The Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes” is delivering some muscle-building Gingerbread Protein Pancakes. This morning was the perfect time to make a new breakfast recipe because I happened to have the morning off work and Oliver watches Baby Einstein when he wakes up so I had a solid 30 minutes of free time. 🙂

Protein pancakes are one of the quickest recipes to make, throw all the ingredients into a bowl, stir and throw on a hot skillet. You can make a bunch at one time and toss a couple in some Tupperware and have a healthy snack for later in the day. Genius!

All you have to do to make this a “Holiday” flavored recipe is throw in some ground ginger and molasses and you have the festive and warm flavors of gingerbread. You can also try my Gluten free Gingerbread bars for a late night snack. 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten free Oat Bran (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 scoop whey protein (I used vanilla, chocolate may work better)
1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
3 egg whites
3 teaspoons molasses
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk or water
1 + 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger *add more for a stronger flavor
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.)In a large mixing bowl, combine oat bran, whey protein powder, ground ginger and cinnamon. Stir gently with a fork.

2.) Next add the wet ingredients, Greek yogurt, egg whites and almond milk. Stir until all ingredients are completely combined.

3.) Pour batter into medium sized pancakes over a lightly greased skillet on medium heat.

4.) Flip the pancakes when they start to firm up around the edges.

*Makes 6 pancakes.

Creadted By: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.

EggNog Bread

On the night of the fifth day of “The Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes” I whipped up a new recipe for “Healthy EggNog Bread”! I have been just dying to bring you a healthy “eggnog” dessert. It’s pretty tough to do because traditional eggnog is so high in fat and sugar. Low and behold, I stumbled across a healthier version of the delicious beverage at Whole Foods, Plantation. It never fails, whenever you are looking for a healthy alternative just drive to your nearest Whole Foods!

Rice Dream EggNog flavor is my secret weapon in this recipe! Along with some vanilla extract and ground nutmeg of course. I have one more recipe for eggnog that I want to do for you but that’ll have to wait a few more days. 🙂

Back to the secret ingredient, Rice Dream Eggnog. It is lactose free, cholesterol free, gluten free, low in sodium and 100% vegetarian. In 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of Rice Dream, there are only 160 calories, 2 grams of fat and absolutely no cholesterol. In a traditional cup (8 fluid ounces) of eggnog you get a whopping 343 calories, 19 grams of fat and 150 mg of cholesterol.

Now, I will say, that while I am all for healthy alternatives to sweet treats, if eggnog is your favorite thing in the world, enjoy a glass! Yes, it’s a lot of calories but if you enjoy a glass once or twice during the Holidays, at least you won’t feel deprived. I think it is important to not get overly obsessed with calorie counting and dieting. It is my goal to help you enjoy delicious treats and meals while still getting the taste of your favorite flavors!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Oat flour
1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw
1/4 cup whole ground flax seed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Rice Dream Rice Nog
2 egg whites
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.) In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients, oat flour, stevia, ground flax seed, baking powder, baking soda and ground nutmeg. Stir until blended.

2.) In a small mixing bowl combine all the wet ingredients, applesauce, Greek yogurt, Rice Nog, coconut oil, egg whites and vanilla extract. Stir until all ingredients are blended.

3.) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir well until the batter is free of any lumps. Lightly grease a loaf pan and pour the batter in. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon.

4.) Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center is firm. *Be sure to let the bread cool completely before cutting, it needs time to firm up. If you cut it hot it will feel mushy in the center. I had great results chilling the bread in the refrigerator and then serving.

Enjoy your yummy and healthy Eggnog Bread!

Written by: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.

Twelve Days of Xmas: Chicken Parmesan Quinoa

Day 3 of “The Twelve Days of Christmas Recipes” is in the books! This amazingly healthy Chicken Parmesan Quinoa is full of protein, fiber and very low in fat. Every year on Christmas Eve my mom makes some sort of traditional Italian pasta dish. Usually either Lasagna, Stuffed Shells or Chicken Parmesan. I have a total LOVE/HATE relationship with Italian food, it is by far my favorite kind of food, but being very into fitness and nutrition I rarely indulge with an Italian dish. So today I was racking my brain thinking of a savory dish I could do for you. A healthy lasagna was my first thought but that’s been done a zillion times. I haven’t seen a very healthy Chicken Parmesan Quinoa recipe, so here we are!

I just threw this together today! I enjoyed it for lunch and will have plenty of leftovers. And the best part is that you don’t need a lot of ingredients. One ingredient that you may need to run to the store to grab is my super special ingredient, cutting a lot of calories in this dish and making it lactose-free. It’s mozzarella style Almond Cheese! It sounds strange but is so yummy and melts really well. It’s a super healthy cheese alternative you can find at Whole Foods or Fresh Market. Of course if you’re totally unwilling to try Almond Cheese, you can substitute a fat-free mozzarella cheese.

This would be a wonderful dish to bring over to a Holiday dinner or to make on New Years’ Day for a nice, healthy dinner to start your new year off right!

Ingredients:

1-2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups organic quinoa, cooked
1/2 cup mozzarella Almond cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups organic tomato sauce
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Sea salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups already cooked quinoa and one large chicken breast that has been precooked and shredded. * You can brown a few large chicken breasts on both sides and add them to the top of the quinoa/sauce mixture if you’d rather have individual chicken breasts.

3.)Add minced garlic cloves and chopped, fresh basil leaves the the chicken and quinoa mixture. Add sea salt & black pepper to taste. Next add 1 cup tomato sauce and use a fork to gently combine the ingredients. Spread the mixture into a casserole dish and pour the remaining 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on top. *I used a shallow casserole dish so if you want a large casserole that feeds many, double the recipe and use a large, deep casserole dish.

4.) Add 1/2 cup shredded Almond cheese on top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes.

Serve HOT and ENJOY!!!

Created by: Loryn Huff

Certified Personal Trainer, Champion Figure Competitor, NEW Mom and Owner of Femme FIT Company, Ft. Lauderdale.

Twelve Days of Xmas: Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bars

Here we are on Day 2 of the “Twelve Days of  Healthy Christmas Recipes”! Gingerbread is so popular this time of year, but I must admit I have NEVER made anything “gingerbread”. Wait, I lied, when I was in kindergarten I made a little, tiny gingerbread house made out of gingerbread graham crackers and icing on a miniature milk carton. I actually remember it pretty clearly. Yes,  it’s cliche’ but it is the only “gingerbread” dessert I’ve made.

This time around I’m making it healthier without the gooey white icing and sugary gumdrops. These “Gingerbread Bars” are gluten-free, naturally sweetened and made without any flour or dairy. So you can feel good about eating them. 🙂

Please give ’em a whirl and let me know how you like them! 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten-free oat bran (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup coconut flour
2/3 cup Stevia (in the Raw)
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons natural molasses
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Measure out 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free Oat Bran and pulse in a blender for 30 seconds. *I did this to make the bran into more of a flour.

3.) Transfer the blended oat bran into a large mixing bowl and add coconut flour, stevia, ginger, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir lightly until blended.

4.) Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Melted coconut oil, molasses and almond milk. Stir well until the dough is blended and no longer clumpy.

5.) Lightly spray an 8X8 inch baking dish with a light cooking spray. Spread dough into pan evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let the bars cool before sampling so flavors develop. 🙂

*Makes 16 gluten-free Gingerbread Bars. ENJOY!