Recipe Day!

So I made a great smoothie featuring a great new-to-me supplement that I want to share with you all ... and that got me thinking.  Are any of you interested in me posting a recipe every week or two?  I am thinking pasta sauce, salads, appetizers etc.  Just easy stuff I make fairly regularly that fit into a healthy diet.  Oh, and I'll try to include pictures when I remember.  What do you think?

Ready for the smoothie recipe?!?!  Lets call this ... .... excited?

DARK CHOCOLATE CHARGE-UP

1/2-1 cup coffee unsweetened (mine was luke warm and hazelnut flavor)
1 handful spinach
some soy milk/almond milk
handful frozen blueberries
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 scoops Amazing Grass Chocolate Drink Powder, Green Superfood, 8.5-Ounce Container
1 tablespoon dark chocolate almond butter
1 tablespoon chia seeds (I was out of gel)
Blend

This thing was intense!  Very, very chocolaty.  In fact, I think next time I am only going to use 1 scoop Amazing Grass.  But if you are a chocolate lover, go for it man.  I also want to note that you can, of course, use chocolate or unflavored protein powder or use chocolate milk or soy milk or whatever floats your boat.  This is what I used though and it was delicious!

Here is the nutritional profile.  This is based on the generic ingredients in My Pyramid Tracker and not on the actual ingredients I used.  If you are not a breakfast eater or you are afraid of calories and fat, these may come as a shocker ... but I like a dense, healthy breakfast and these stats are my norm.

~400 Calories
~20 Grams Fat (2.5 Saturated)
~41 Grams Carbs
~22 Grams Protein
~13 Grams Fiber

A word about Amazing Grass.  I started buying it because I'd read a lot about it and it was on sale at Amazon.  This stuff can be pricey but it is really good.  Here is the product description from their website:

"Our Chocolate Green SuperFood is a delicious chocolate drink powder to help you achieve your 5 to 9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

A full spectrum of alkalizing green superfoods, antioxidant rich fruits, and support herbs unite with organic Acai, Maca and Cacao to provide a powerful dose of whole food nutrition with a delicious dark chocolate taste. Complete with pre & probiotics and digestive enzymes to ensure rapid nutrient absorption and healthy digestion.


Chocolate Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic dutch cocoa, organic redwood cocoa, organic cacao, natural chocolate flavoring, organic acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, organic rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, organic oat fiber, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root, peppermint and organic sea salt.


100% Vegan."




I've found that this stuff is tasty and packs a serious energy punch if you are interested in giving it a try.

Breakfast

By request, a breakfast post!  I love breakfast and eat it everyday...usually around 7am (after yoga before getting dressed for work) with several cups of coffee with soy milk.  Below are some of my daily breakfasts.  I've given measurements where necessary but otherwise I just toss stuff in based on my mood, my hunger level, and the days activities.  I tend to have smoothies on sunny days, oats on rainy days, and pancakes on the weekend.  I try to drink an extra cup of soy milk of oatmeal days for added protein.

A note on chia seeds and gel.  Chia Seeds 2 Pounds (Chemical Free) regulate blood sugar, add fiber and are a great source of Omega-3s.  I keep a serving of chia gel in the fridge for smoothies.  One serving chia gel is 1 Tbsp seeds shaken with 9 Tbsps water (let it sit at least 10 minutes - shake again).  The chia gel can  be used to substitute Tbsp per Tbsp the fat in baking recipes for up to half the fat.  It can also be used to bulk up sauces, puddings and guacamole, among other items.  It is, of course, not necessary to make any of the below.  But I like it.

Green Smoothies
The ingredients are typed out in the order I put them in the blender.  I usually have to stop the blender a few times to push the ingredients down.  Also, I reference frozen berries because they are cheap and don't go moldy on me.  You can of course use whatever milk you want and add honey or agave to sweeten to taste.  I have found that adding a fat is necessary to keep me full through the morning. 

Everyday (Bill and I both enjoy this one!)
Almond Milk
Spinach (handful or two)

Grated Carrots (handful)

Frozen Strawberries, Blueberries, Mixed Berries...Whatever

Almond Butter
Vanilla Protein Powder
Chia Gel

Bill Special (the above plus chocolate milk)

LK Special
Almond Milk

Spinach (handful or two)

Grated Carrots (handful)

Frozen Strawberries

Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Vanilla Protein Powder

Chia Gel

Pre-Run/Pre-Race Special
Almond Milk

Banana (fresh or frozen in chunks)

Peanut Butter (scoop size depending on distance/intensity)

Agave Nectar

Chia Gel

Oats
I get a lot of oatmeal inspriation from Kath over at Kath Eats Real Food.  I microwave my oats because of time constraints.  I set the microwave for 3 minutes on high but watch it the whole time (coffee in hand) and stop it periodically to stir when it looks like its going to overflow.  I usually stop it with a minute left on the timer...but this is not an exact science.  Watch carefully and use a deep bowl.

Everyday
1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
1 Cup Water
Microwave
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1 Tsp Jam
Stir

Blueberry Walnut

1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal

Frozen Blueberries

1 Cup Water

Microwave

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

4 or so broken up Walnuts Halves

Stir

Basic

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 Cup Water

Microwave

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1 Tsp Jam

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Stir

Muesli

1/2 Cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli
1 Cup Water

Microwave

1 Tsp/Tbsp Jam

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Stir

Pancakes
This basic recipe is compliments of one of my Weight Watcher's buddies, LG.  I pre-heat the pan (sprayed or greased depending on your preference) before I start adding ingredients to the blender.  Yes blender.  Throw them all in but the toppings.  I like to cook an inch or so of batter in the pan as a tester, then the rest of the mix makes 2 pancakes.  My method is to set the heat to medium high and flip the pancake when bubbles start to pop in the middle of the cake.  That's my method...feel free to experiment!

Protein Pancakes
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese
3 Egg Whites
Vanilla
Cinnamon

Toppings to mix and match!
Almond Butter
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter
Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
Microwaved frozen berries with agave nectar
Agave Nectar
Jam
Maple Syrup

Lemon Ricotta Protein Pancakes

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese

3 Egg Whites

Lemon Zest 

Cinnamon

Toppings to mix and match!

Whipped cream

Microwaved frozen strawberries or Blueberries with agave nectar

Agave nectar

Flavored Yogurt of choice

Maple Syrup

Basically, as Bill says, my breakfasts are just vehicles for toppings.  Go Wild!!