Monday, January 19, 2015

Oatmeal Bake

Holy YUM!


This recipe is a meal prepper's dream!!! I had seen one of my absolutely amazing friends, Sarina, post photos of this over and over and finally I had to make it. Sarina is a sensational mom, Beachbody coach, Zumba instructor and a great friend. She is seriously the bees-knees and she knows her stuff!!! If you are interested in her coaching, etc check out her page: Sarina's Beachbody Page - what whaaaaat! This is not my brain child at all but I had to share given the ease of making this, the flexibility to make variations and how darn GOOD it was!!! This recipe is from Broke and Boujie, although I did modify the maple syrup a little (because you guys know how I feel about sugar).


Ingredients:


  • 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats (or Steel Cut)
  • 1/4 Cup Natural Maple Syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 Cup Raspberries
  • 1 Cup walnuts, chopped
  • 2 Cups unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Banana, peeled and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, syrup, cinnamon, baking powder, half of the raspberries and walnuts. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg and vanilla. Stir until the egg and vanilla are totally beaten in.

Spray a brownie pan with cooking spray or olive oil or coconut oil. Spread the oatmeal mixture out evenly in the pan.

Pour the milk-egg mixture over top of the oat mixture. Shake the pan gently to spread the liquid evenly.

Top it with the remaining raspberries, walnut and banana slices and throw it in the oven for 35-40 minutes and enjoy the amazing smell.


Let it cool before you eat it.

 

Alternate Toppings:

-      Blueberries, banana and cashew

-      Almonds, strawberry, blackberry

-      ½ cup pumpkin puree, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice and pecans

Kale & White Bean Quesadilla

Who doesn't LOVE cheese? I know, I know, I am a dietitian and I know what cheese is and what it can do to your body. That being said- it's still amazing and delicious. If used correctly, you don't need a lot to make a flavor impact on your dish and still eat something super yummy.

I have been feeling a little uninspired as of late for some new recipes so I turned to old faithful, Pinterest. As always, I was diving through hoards of unhealthy recipes and looking for something special. Then I found the inspiration for these quesadillas from the blog Running to the Kitchen.
The original recipe looks so delicious but packs a whopping 2 cups of cheese! Now,for the purposes of my blog I knew I had to trim that don but boost up some other flavors so I didn't feel like I was missing out. After 2 attempts, I found what I was looking for! Here is my take on Kale & White Bean Quesadillas that are a high fiber, low fat, excellent source of plant protein and PACKED with yum!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well
4-5 leaves tuscan kale, stems removed and ripped into small leaves
8 tbsp. low shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese alternative)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
3 whole wheat Flat Out Wraps or whole wheat wrap of your choice
 
1. In a medium skillet, brown onions, green peppers and garlic in olive oil for about 10 minutes on low. The onions should become somewhat clear in the middle and slightly browned on the edges.
2. Add cannellini beans, black pepper, onion & garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Cook beans in onion mixture until beans are tender, on medium for about 10 minutes.
3.Take a potato smasher or a large fork/knife and mash mixture thoroughly.
4. Place 1 wrap on a griddle pan set to medium. To one half of the wrap: add 2 tbsp. of cheddar cheese and 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of bean mixture. Then add kale leaves to cover top of bean mixture. Again top with 2 tbsp. cheddar cheese.
5. Carefully fold the empty half of the wrap over the top of the filling.
6. Using a spatula, carefully flip the quesadilla over to melt the cheese you added in the final step of #4.
7. Cook until cheese is melted and enjoy!!
 
This recipe makes 3 hearty, delicious quesadillas! Enjoy!!!