80(ish)--- Better than Great Granola

This is an update to my Great Granola. Now it's better. It's lower in fat and calories, and incorporates pumpkin seed kernels- perfect for this time of year!

Granola can be a powerhouse of carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Unfortunately, it can also be a source of excessive calories. Granola certainly has it's place. It's a lovely breakfast, when used in moderation with yogurt or milk. It can also be a lovely snack when on a trail or camping.

Better than Great Granola contains more monounsaturated fats than your typical granola, thanks to all of the nuts, seeds, and olive oil.


Better than Great Granola
Serves 15

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup bran flakes cereal
1 cup Grape Nuts cereal
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seed kernels
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oats, cereal, nuts, seeds and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine honey, oil, and juice. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix well until coated. On baking sheets lined with parchment paper, evenly spread granola (I recommend 2 large sheets). Bake for 17-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow to cool completely before storing in airtight containers.



Nutrition Info per 1/2 cup serving: 226 calories, 14g fat (8 g monounsaturated), 6 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber

80--- Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Cottage cheese pancakes... kind of a funny concept, huh? But, the cottage cheese makes a pancake, especially a wheat one, more light and fluffy. Once they are cooked, you really do not notice the cottage cheese. These flap jacks also have more protein than your regular pancake. Serve these topped with some homemade jam or berries (I only had bananas).

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Serves 4

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp sugar

6 egg whites

1 cup 1% cottage cheese

1/2 cup skim milk

1 Tbsp canola oil

Cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine egg whites, cottage cheese, milk, and oil. add flour mixture to egg mixture and whisk until blended.

Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Place 1/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, ~5 minutes. Serve!

Nutrition Info per 2 pancakes: 249 calories, 5 g fat, 18 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber

80--- Carrot Cake Muffins

These started out as Carrot Cupcakes.... and then they got health-ified. They are really really tasty-- just little less sugary.

In this recipe I substituted mashed bananas for the majority of the oil. This is a quick fix to make baked goods a little bit leaner. Use bananas, canned pumpkin, or applesauce in place of the MAJORITY of the oil or butter (I would say 3/4 fruit to 1/4 fat) in baked goods such as muffins and breads, where you really do not notice the difference taste-wise. It will save you calories, fat, and cholesterol.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Makes 18 medium muffins

1 1/3 cups shredded carrots

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 c mashed banana

1/4 cup canola oil

5 egg whites (from large eggs)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup canned, crushed pineapple, drained

Frosting

8 oz lowfat plain yogurt
2 Tbsp confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place liners in two muffin tins. In a medium saucepan, add carrots and water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain water and set aside carrots to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon.

In a larger bowl, combine oil, banana, egg whites, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add the flour mixture and beat until well blended. Fold in carrots, coconut, and pineapple.

Fill muffin cups until 3/4 full. Bake for ~25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool.

For frosting: fold confectioner's sugar into yogurt and mix well. Lightly spread onto cooled muffins.

Nutrition info per 1 muffin: 154 calories, 4 g fat, 3.7 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber

80--- Muffin Frittatas

A frittata is an egg dish, basically a crust-less quiche. They cook quickly and you can add just about anything to them! This recipe is for cute little colorful individual-serving vegetable frittatas, made in a muffin pan.

Just in case you missed my last egg recipe: Eggs are a complete protein source-- yes including the yolk. Each lovely egg contains only 70 calories and is a wonderful source of choline-- an essential nutrient for pregnancy.

Muffin Frittatas

Serves 4

4 large eggs

4 egg whites

1/4 cup skim milk

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 cup fresh red pepper, chopped

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, pressed and minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Add garlic and onions and saute until soft. Add red pepper and saute additional 2 minutes. Add chopped spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and allow to cool ~5 minutes.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, egg whites, and milk. Whip until frothy. Stir in cooled spinach mixture.

Spray muffin tin cups with cooking spray. Add ~1/4 cup egg mixture to each cup. On top of each cup sprinkle 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.

Bake for ~20 minutes. Garnish with green onions and/or hot sauce of your choice.

Nutrition Info per 2 frittatas: 178 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 15 g protein, 4 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber

20--- Gorilla French Toast

NO WAY! You mean I REALLY get to eat all of my favorite foods combined into one breakfast (except for Thanksgiving stuffing- let's not be gross)??





Nutella........... check
Bananas............check
Croissant..........check

Yep. That's all I need (no joke- that's about all the calories I need for a full day).

If you make this, please don't tell your family that you got the recipe from a dietitian-- it will completely discredit my profession.

Gorilla French Toast
Serves 4

4 medium croissants, sliced
1/2 cup Nutella
1/4 cup light cream cheese
2 medium bananas, sliced into 1/4" slices
2 eggs
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Confectioner's sugar (optional as garnish)



In a small bowl, whip cream cheese and Nutella with an electric mixer. Spread 3 Tbsp mixture onto croissant halves (1 1/2 Tbsp each half). Add banana slices on top of Nutella spread and place halves back together.



In a medium dish, mix eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Dip each side of croissant into egg mixture and then place croissant into a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Flip croissant after ~2-3 minutes or until cooked side is golden brown. When second side is golden brown, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar (if desired) and serve warm!

80--- Best Blueberry Muffins

Muffins are so easy to make! However, they can be very deceptive nutritionally. Even bran muffins can be packed with calories and fat.

These blueberry muffins have whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour has not been as "stripped" of nutrients as white flour, therefore it contains more vitamins and minerals. Wheat flour can be difficult to use because it often makes baked items dense. Therefore, I try to not substitute out ALL of the white flour. I also added in some oats for a little bit of texture (what I really mean is FIBER).

Because this recipe calls for yogurt, not a lot of oil is needed! Hooray for decreasing fat and calories, however this makes them non-vegan and not appropriate for those with severe milk allergies.

Best Blueberry Muffins

Makes 10 medium muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup white flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar (I used raw)

1 egg white

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt (I like the flavor of Nancy's Organic)

1 cup fresh blueberries (also use frozen, thawed)

Preheat oven to 385 degees. Mix flours, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, combine sugar, egg white, oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until ingedients are wet (~10 strokes). Fold in blueberries (reserve 1/4 cup). Fill lined muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Place remaining blueberries on top of each muffin. Sprinkle each muffin with sugar (optional). Bake for ~14-17 minutes.

Note: These would be wonderful served with Purple Velvet Blueberry Sauce!

Nutrition Info per muffin: 177 calories, 6.5 g fat, 4 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber

80--- Purple Velvet Blueberry Sauce

Bring on the berries! I love this time of year when the berry selection is fruitful! I always stock up and freeze a bunch for the winter months.

We had this sauce over whole wheat French toast. It was so much tastier and HEALTHIER than a sugary syrup!

My next plan is to put it over some lean cut pork chops with a side of Harvest Spinach Salad (coming up this week). How versatile! You can also make this sauce ahead of time and freeze it in an airtight container.

Blueberries are chock full of antioxidants. Many recent studies have shown that blueberry consumption may slow, or even prevent, prostate cancer. For example: Blueberry flavonoids inhibit matrix metalloproteinase activity in DU145 human prostate cancer cells: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16234852

Yippee! What great news! Men, eat up!

Purple Velvet Blueberry Sauce

Serves 6

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

1 cup 2% Greek yogurt, or lowfat plain yogurt

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp lemon zest

In a medium saucepan mix berries, lemon juice, honey, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and maintain simmer for approximately 15 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in yogurt and heat through. Serve warm.

Nutrition Info per 1/4 cup serving: 46 calories, 0.8g fat, 3.2g protein, 7.5g carbohydrates

80(ish)--- Brown Rice Pudding

Confession: I LOVE rice pudding. Not sure how many people do. No one else in my family likes it.... my friend's six year old likes it (Marshal, this one's for you). I'm not sure how I acquired a taste for it, but I did, and I had to find some way to make it healthier (cause that's what I do).

So...... I traded out the traditional white rice for brown rice. Brown rice is milled to a lesser extent than white rice, and only the outermost hull is removed, thereby retaining more valuable nurition than white rice. Therefore, brown rice contains many valuable nutrients such as vitamins B1, B3, and B6, manganese, iron, FIBER, and essential fatty acids.

Okay, so maybe just adding brown rice and using lowfat milk doesn't make this recipe a complete and total 80. There is sugar AND butter in it. Maybe it's more like a 50. So there you go-- this should only be eaten for 50% of your life. It's good for breakfast, warm or cold, or for dessert. Top if off with a little bit of milk and some fresh cut fruit.

Brown Rice Pudding

Serves 8

2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (I used Minute Brown Rice, not quite the nutrition of traditional)

1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used raw, just because)

2 Tbsp butter (I used Brummel & Brown)

2 cups 1% lowfat milk

1 egg

1 egg white

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup raisins (I used a combination of golden and regular)

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine rice, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. Mix well.

Pour into baking dish. Bake in oven until top is golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Serve warm or chill and serve (with milk and fruit if desired).

Nutrition info per 1/2 cup serving: 187 calories, 38g carbohydrates, 4.5g fiber, 4g protein, 3g fat, 2g saturated fat

80--- Jimmy Buffett Salad

Hopefully Jimmy Buffett eats breakfast-- he needs the energy for his concerts. We should ALL eat breakfast! If Jimmy does have breakfast, this is what I think he has.

If you like pina coladas & getting caught in the rain-- you will LOVE this recipe! This fruit salad is great for breakfast or a light lunch, but can be served as a side as well. You can use any fruit that you have in your house, so no need to make a special trip to the grocery store.


Fruit is obviously full of vitamins and fiber. If you struggle with getting your kids to eat fruit, this is a great way to temp their taste buds!

Jimmy Buffet Salad

Serves 8

3 cups fruit of your choice, cut into 1" cubes (I used peaches, strawberries, and blueberries)

1 cup bananas, sliced into 1/2" rounds

1/4 cup raisins or craisins (optional)

12 oz pina colada yogurt

1 Tbsp cinnamon (or to taste)

Granola or chopped walnuts (optional)

Place chopped fruit in a medium bowl. Add yogurt and cinnamon, stir gently until mixed. Serve and top with sprinkle of granola or walnuts.

Nutrition Info per 1/2 cup serving: 135 calories, 2g fat, 4.4g protein, 4g fiber

Also: vitamin C, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, folate

80--- Egg-in-a-Hole

Sunday morning, time to rejoice in have another full day to enjoy with family and friends! One of the easiest breakfasts that I have ever made is Egg-in-a-Hole. And, everyone always loves it. Eggs are a complete protein source-- yes including the yolk. Each lovely egg contains only 70 calories and is a wonderful source of choline-- an essential nutrient for pregnancy (nope, I'm not-- just throwing that out there).

For this dish I used a really beautiful, dense, multigrain bread full of seeds and fiber. Highly recommended: Dakota bread from Great Harvest (if you are a Montana-ian). My eggs are farm-fresh from my friend Heather's chickens. Her chickens get to scratch at the earth all day and run around-- their eggs have beautiful orangey-yellow yolks that are FULL of flavor. So- use whichever bread and eggs you wish, just note that with a recipe as simple as this, the quality of the ingredients really make the dish.

Egg-in-a-Hole

Serves 1

One slice multigrain bread of your choice

2tsp butter spread (I prefer Brummel & Brown- made from yogurt, great flavor)

One large egg

Salt & pepper to taste

Hot sauce (optional- my husband's choice)

With a knife, remove a circle from the center of the slice of bread, approximately the size of a golf ball (or an egg yolk!). Lightly spread each side of bread with butter.

Heat a non-stick pan on stovetop over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, place slice of bread into pan. Break an egg onto the bread, aiming for placing the yolk in the "hole".

Cook for 2-3 minutes, until brown on bottom side. Gently flip over bread, again, aiming to keep the yolk in the hole. If you prefer a runny yolk, be careful not to break it! This is slightly more difficult with farm-fresh eggs due to the fragile yolk. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until egg on underside is cooked to your liking! Season with salt, pepper, or hot sauce to taste.

Serve with a side of fresh fruit. The egg-in-a-hole can be eaten on-the-go, like a piece of toast, or with a fork.

Depending on your energy needs, a 300-500 calorie breakfast with a good balance of carbohydrate, protein, and fat (keep you feeling full longer) is a great way to start the day!

Nutrition info: 240kcal, 12g fat, 2g saturated fat, 22g carbohydrates, 12g protein, 4g fiber