Daily Eats

I'm ashamed to say that I've been eating a lot of crap lately and justify it with the excuse that I'm running so much.  Now, running shouldn't be an excuse, but really, after I run 16-20 miles.... I get the munchies like you wouldn't believe! My brain wants to replenish the glycogen loss.
Anyways, I can't dwell on my poor eating decisions.  I have to decide to make better decisions the next time and move on.  Here's something we've been enjoying for breakfast lately.... 

OATMEAL!  

Made with steel cut oats.  Mmm....

I added unflavored protein powder, light soy milk, fresh blueberries and walnuts.  It is delish and highly addicting!

I have been anti-carb for so long, but I find that they're good in moderation when training for marathons. LOVE me some steel cut oats! 

Valentine Cookies

Valentine M&M Cookies

Source: Unknown

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. light brown sugar

2 eggs at room temp.

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 c. flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 c. pink M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down sides.

Add in vanilla, turn mixer on medium, 

add eggs one at a time.

Add in salt, baking powder and soda.

Slowly add in flour and most of the M&M's.

Place dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls, place on a greased cookie sheet, press extra M&M's into the dough 

so they are on top and visible.

Bake for 14 minutes, or until golden and puffy.

I also baked more of my PB Banana Oat Cookies.  

*Both batches of cookies were prepared for tonight's PLC Meeting.

They were a hit!

Today was a 12-hour work day.  I taught all day and then we had "parent conferences" this evening. While most elementary teachers had conferences, I had my PLC (Professional Learning Community) meeting (3 1/2 hours).  Call me crazy, but I LOVE these meetings.  We all learn so much from each other by sharing lesson plans, trouble shooting, going over technology, etc.  I'm so blessed to work with such wonderful musicians and teachers.  

Jenn's Natural Protein Bars

A friend of mine is currently on the South Beach diet and is having great success.  In fact,  I'd even say that she's enjoying it.  ; )  I'm so proud of her!  Anyway, she was interested in my running protein bar recipe I posted the other day but was curious as to if it could be modified to be more South Beach friendly.  This would mean replacing the Jif PB and the honey with natural PB and agave syrup.  I felt like needed to figure out these modifications myself.  Oh, darn!  ; )

It turned out that some measurement modifications were necessary, but I think it was for the better.  The natural PB is a much sturdier PB and I couldn't get near the amount of oats stirred in, which means less carbs.  The fewer carbs the better in my opinion.

Here's what I came up with today...

Jenn's Natural Protein Bars

(South Beach Friendly)

Ingredients

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter 

(I used Trader Joe's PB. Ingredients: Peanuts, salt)

1/2 cup agave syrup (I used TJ's)*

1 1/4 cups protein powder (I used GNC)** 

1/3 cup quick oats (I used Walmart's Great Value)

2 Tbsp. flax seed (Whole Foods)

Directions

Microwave peanut butter and agave syrup in a microwave-safe bowl for about a minute. 

Stir well and add protein powder and flax seed until well blended.  

Add oats and stir well.

Mix might be kind of crumbly.  

Pour mixture into a lightly pammed 8x8 pan and pack mix down. 

Chill for about an hour and cut into bars. 

I get up to 36 bars out of this recipe.  

They are small, but are rich and filling

These freeze well!

I took these protein bars (along with non-diet friendly items) to a "girly party" tonight with a bunch of girlfriends.  Not only were these things disappearing, but they were disappearing FAST. The women loved them and couldn't believe they had protein powder in them.  Several women asked me for the recipe.  

Moral of the story: I should probably be more confident about my "healthy" creations and encourage others to be healthy with me.

PB Banana Oat Cookies

This is a recipe I came up with recently and have been working on perfecting during my snow days.   My husband loves these and has been requesting them since my first experimental batch.  It really is the only cookie he wants to eat right now.  

My Father In-Law came over for a bit today and had a sample.  He loved them so much that he ate several more cookies and told me he must have the recipe.  He was amazed that they are free of butter and flour.  

These cookies are "healthy" compared to the normal cookie. There is NO butter or flour.  The worst thing about it is the brown sugar, but 1/2 cup is not a lot when it's spread out over 2 dozen cookies.  The recipe only calls for 1/2 a banana (1 whole banana is just too much in my opinion).  If you don't care to enjoy the other 1/2 immediately, wrap it up and stick it in the freezer for your next Green Monster Smoothie.  If you are craving chocolate, feel free to add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghiradelli are my fav!).

I hope you enjoy these "healthified" cookies.  Be sure to let me know what you think!

Jenn's PB Banana Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jif & will be experimenting with TJ's natural PB soon)

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated Splenda for baking

1 large egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 banana, mashed

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except oats and nuts. 

When blended, mix in the oats and nuts. 

Using your fingers, form 1-inch balls (dough will be very wet and sticky) and place onto an un-greased cookie sheet. You don't want to make them too big because they do spread. 

Bake for 9 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet. 

Makes around 2 dozen small cookies.

Snow Day #2

It's still cold.

 Heatwave! 

I made homemade protein bars last night.  Yum!
I'm still working on perfecting the recipe, 
but here's what I have so far....

Jenn's Running Protein Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup (heaping) honey*
• 1 1/4 cups protein powder** 
• 1 1/3 cups quick oats
• 2 Tbsp. flax seed

Directions

• Microwave honey and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl for about a minute. 
• Stir well and add protein powder and oats until well blended.  
• Add flax seed and stir well.
• Mix might be kind of crumbly.  
• Pour mixture into a lightly pammed 8x8 pan and pack mix down. 
• Chill for about an hour and cut into bars.  
• I get about 25-30 bars out of this recipe.  They are small, but are rich and filling.
• These freeze well!

* The honey (glucose) will be burned off quickly during a workout.

** I combine vanilla and chocolate protein powder.  Banana is great too!

Homemade Granola

I found the most splendid recipe for homemade granola. I've already made it once and polished it off so I made more on Sunday. Oats are a carbohydrate, but I allow now allow it in moderation. When I say moderation I mean a couple of tablespoons, not a bowl full. It makes sense to enjoy it in small servings when you see the price on the granola at the store anyways. Have you seen how much they charge for some of that stuff? I've seen it as high as 6 dollars for a tiny bag. That's crazy!!! I make mine for a fraction of the cost.

Rolled oats and sliced raw almonds

All ready to go in the oven

While the granola was baking I cut up some unsweetened dried apricots, unsweetened dried apples, unsweetened pineapple, and unsweetened mango to add to the oat mixture after baking.

The finished product

I found the recipe somewhere on the internet, but sadly I don't know where. If you spot it somewhere please let me know so I can give the granola genius credit for this one. I'm NOT the original creator of this recipe....

HEALTHY HOMEMADE GRANOLA

In a bowl, mix...

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey

That’s it! I mixed this all together, making sure to spread the honey and olive oil evenly throughout the dry ingredients, and then spread it out on top of parchment paper in a 13×9 in pan.

Then, I put it in the oven at 350º for 20-25 minutes, mixing it around half way through.

Store it in an airtight container. I made it into 4 huge servings, but it could easily make 6 or 8. But really, you can make this with anything you have around. The honey/oil clumps it together so it gets crunchy and delicious. You can add cinnamon, dried fruit, chocolate, sunflower or pumpkin seeds… you name it. Just remember that if you’re going to put any chocolate or dried fruit (raisins, cherries, etc), you want to add those things after its done baking, but while its still fresh out of the oven and warm.

I threw in some raw pepitas and flax seeds to my granola mixture. I also added 1/4 tsp. of salt, along with some Penzey's cinnamon and cocoa powder. It is super tasty!!!

Granola meets greek yogurt and almond butter with roasted flax seeds

homemade granola + unsweetened soymilk =

match made in heaven!

Daily Eats

4/10/10

B: Coffee (2 shots espresso, 2 pumps sugar free white chocolate Torani syrup, 2 pumps sugar free caramel Torani syrup, 4 oz. unsweetened soymilk, hot water), 2% Greek yogurt with 1/2 banana, a 3 Tbsp. quick oats, some natural creamy peanut butter, and 3 pumps sugar free vanilla Torani syrup (YUMMO!!!)

I made the hubster a yummy breakfast of 3 eggs with

2% cheddar and 1/2 a pork chop. Delish!

S: Iced coffee (3 shots decaf espresso, 2 pumps sugar free white chocolate Torani syrup, 2 pumps sugar free caramel Torani syrup, unsweetened soymilk, ice, and water) and 1/2 frozen banana with some roasted salted pecans. So good!

D: Pork chop and chef salad... I'll probably have a late-night snack soon.

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Fruit

I tried a new Oatmeal Cookie recipe when my parents came to town. We enjoyed some the evening they were here and then I bagged up the rest for care packages.

This isn't my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, but I still think it's worth sharing. Everyone else seemed to really like them. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Fruit

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground nutmeg

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup dried unsweetened blueberries

1/2 cup dried unsweetened cherries

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I like to add a little more)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the two flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Then add in the honey, eggs, and vanilla.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the flour mixture. Next stir in oats, dried fruit, and pecans. Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto cookie sheets. Flatten cookies slightly.

Bake cookies until golden brown, about

12-15 minutes.

Cool completely.

These pair nicely with a cup of hot tea.

Monster Cookies

My parents made a quick trip to visit me in St. Louis so I prepared for their arrival by baking some goodies. My Dad's birthday is this month and I don't ever get to celebrate with him anymore so I sent him home with lots of deliciously edible gifts.

I thought about baking a cake for my mini celebration, but I know how much my Dad likes cookies. I decided to try out a recipe for Monster Cookies which you can find by clicking HERE or you can just check out the recipe below.

WARNING: These cookies were dangerously good. Extreme consumption may result in a sugar high, weight gain, and being dissatisfied with any other cookie on the market. I'm not responsible for any side effects. ; )

Monster Cookies

Makes about 24 large cookies

(I made about 13 XL)

1/2 lb butter, softened

8 oz. peanut butter, creamy or crunchy (I used creamy)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. baking soda

2 1/2 c. AP flour

3 c. quick cooking or old fashioned oats (I used quick cooking)

1/2 c. raisins (I used jumbo flame raisins)

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

2 c. M&Ms (I used dark chocolate M&Ms)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add butter and peanut butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, beat on medium for 3-4 minutes, until well mixed and light.

Add sugars, continue to beat for another 3-4 minutes.

Turn speed to low, add vanilla and eggs, one by one until they are incorporated.

Add baking soda, flour and oats, mix until just combined.

Add half the M&Ms, raisins and chocolate chips.

Touch dough, if it's sticky and pulls away, add another 1/4 c. flour until it's loose but rolls into a ball.

Place dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Line baking sheet with parchment. (I skipped this step and used nonstick cookie sheets)

Roll cookies into 4 oz. balls, a little bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball.

Press onto the cookie sheet and press 3-4 (I put as many as I could fit on top... 8-12) M&M's on the top of each.

Bake for 13 minutes.

Remove and place on a cooking rack. Store in an airtight dish.