Banana Oatmeal Bake

My dad has been on an oatmeal kick lately. I made him a big, yummy bowl the other morning, but unfortunately don't have time to do that every day! I wish I did...but alas...I am a working girl now. So last night I decided to quickly whip up a baked oatmeal concoction that we could eat for the rest of the week without too much hassle. We tasted a bit of of it last night and it tasted wonderful! Just like warm oatmeal in a gooey baked form with the bananas oozing out. It was absolutely delicious. I definitely want to incorporate more oats into my daily life and figure out new and tasty ways to make baked oats recipes! Here is my very first one! :)

Banana Oatmeal Bake

Dry ingredients: 1.5 cups gluten free rolled oats 1/4 cup Pamela's pancake and baking mix 1/4 cup flaxseed 1/2 cup baking Stevia 1/2 t Cinnamon 

Wet ingredients: 1 egg 1/2 cup egg whites 1/2 cup almond milk 1 mashed banana 

Neither wet nor dry: 1 banana, sliced thin 

First things first, gather all of your ingredients.

I absolutely love using Pamela's gluten free baking products!! They are the best mix I have come across and never leave me disappointed with my baking results! I also love the GF oats from Trader Joe's because they come in a huge bag at a great price! 

Okay back to the recipe, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then, mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. It's perfectly normal if it comes out a little watery, as that liquid is what will help bake the oats! Lastly, add the sliced bananas to the mixture and fold them in gently without mashing them.

Spray or grease a 9x9 baking dish and pour the oat mixture into the dish evenly. Bake for about 25-30 mins, then enjoy!

I cut mine into 9 squares, so for each square the nutrition facts are as follows: 115 calories, 3g fat, 19g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 5g protein. 

You could have these squares anytime of day! I just paired up a square with a hard boiled egg before heading out for my workout! These would also taste great with some peanut butter on top...the possibilities are endless! And it's such an easy recipe to whip up. I hope you all get to try this recipe soon! 

Have a happy and healthy day everyone!

Pumpkin Blueberry Protein Pancakes

I've decided to make Wednesdays a waffle/pancake day. I am a huge waffle and pancake lover. I also love me some eggs, but once in a while, you need a break and a nice treat to start of your day. I start work later on Wednesdays which gives me the perfect opportunity to make a nice big breakfast. Good thing I make my pancakes/waffles gluten free, high in protein, and healthy! This morning, I wanted to combine pumpkin with blueberry and came out with this amazing breakfast which was super filling and delicious! Here is my recipe for Pumpkin Blueberry Protein Pancakes!

Makes 2 servings, or 4 pancakes 

1/4 cup Pamela's gluten free pancake and baking mix 1 scoop Jaime Eason's Lean Body for Her vanilla whey protein (I can honestly say that this is the BEST tasting protein powder I have ever used, and made with clean and simple ingredients!) 1 egg 3 T pumpkin purée 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup fresh blueberries Coconut oil for the pan

Mix all the ingredients together except for the blueberries and coconut oil. Add some water until the batter becomes a pancake-like consistency. Then, melt some coconut oil on a skillet over medium heat. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the pancake batter on the skillet and drop in some blueberries while it's cooking. When the top starts to form bubbles, flip and cook for about 3 more minutes. Repeat until all your batter is done! These would also make excellent waffles if that is the route you choose to take. Either way, they are easy and quick to whip up and taste delicious without that heavy carb-flu like feeling after breakfast! 

Hope you all enjoy!

Gingerbread Bars

Gingerbread is one of my all time favorite Christmas treats. Last year, I developed a recipe using a blend of gluten free flours, including almond flour. This year, I am planning on taking gingerbread to my work Christmas party. I found out my supervisor has an almond allergy, as well as one of my best friends who just figured out she has an almond allergy too! I wanted to make an almond-free version of the recipe to make sure it still tastes good. And it does! It tastes even better. Here is my new and improved gluten free Gingerbread recipe!

Gingerbread bars (24 bars)

1.5 cups Pamela's gluten-free artisan flour blend 3 scoops lean body for her vanilla whey 1/4-1/3 cup molasses 2/3 cup applesauce 1 T olive oil 1/2 cup water 1/3 t each of baking soda & powder 2 eggs 2T coconut flour 1/2 cup stevia Spices: 1/2 t cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. I greased my casserole dish with some oil, as I'm trying to stay away from non-stick sprays and just embrace the fat! Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for about 35 mins.

I checked mine with a fork (as you can see) but toothpicks work best! I am so excited to make another batch next week for our work Christmas party! I hope you all get to try this new and improved recipe this weekend!

Banana Oatmeal Nut Muffins

Good morning all and happy Tuesday! How was everyone's Monday? Mine was a busy, stressful, but great one all at the same time! It started with a wonderful run and leg day workout, busy day at work, yummy dinner, yoga, and hanging out with the fiancé! All in all, I'd say a pretty successful start to the week. And I got home to beautiful red roses my fiancé had left for me earlier in the evening...it doesn't get much better than that! This morning, I thought I'd share my banana muffin recipe. This recipe turned out pretty amazing and makes the perfect quick morning snack before hitting the gym. It's healthy and delicious and I know you all will love it. Here is the recipe! 

Makes 12 muffins 

3/4 cup Pamela's gluten free pancake mix 1/2 cup oatmeal 2 T coconut flour 3 scoops vanilla whey (I use Jaime Eason's because it's THE BEST) 2 mashed bananas 1/2 cup applesauce 1 T olive oil 2 eggs 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/4 t Baking powder 1/4 cup walnuts Dash of cinnamon 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. 

For your muffin pan, either spray or brush some melted butter or coconut oil to grease the muffin pots. I used melted butter since our home as become a no-fake-spray zone, and it worked beautifully!! Drop about 1/4 cup batter in each muffin pot. 

Bake for 20-25 mins until a toothpick comes out clean. Then, enjoy!

Pancakes for Christmas Morning!

Ok, you could really make these pancakes any morning, but I'm definitely making these tomorrow for Christmas! I love love LOVE pancakes, and I've recently started experimenting with spelt flour and love the way these pancakes taste!

Spelt flour is a very nutritious whole grain that is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and even iron. It's a great substitute to use when baking and leaves baked goods even more fluffy and soft than white flour. It has a nutty and light texture, and these pancakes where the perfect vehicle to get this healthy whole grain into my belly!

Recipe makes 5 medium-sized pancakes

2/3 cup spelt flour

1 mashed banana

1 tsp coconut oil

1 egg

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup water

Dash of cinnamon

1/2 cup blueberries

First, mix all the ingredients minus the blueberries!

Add the blueberries last and fold them in.

Spray a medium sized skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet. Flip when it bubbles, then let it cook for a few more minutes! Repeat until you are out of batter...a sad moment for us all...

I topped our pancakes with PB and then added some sliced strawberries on the side! SO delicious! You could also make these a pumpkin version by using 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin instead of the banana. So many ways to make pancakes, I just love them all!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones

​I have always loved scones, especially from the tea place my mom and I went to ever since I was a little girl. I even had my bridal shower there and loved it! (Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena, CA!) There was just something so magical about tea, scones, jam, and cream. I could care less about the little sandwiches, it was those scones that did me in, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

This coming weekend, I am hosting an "afternoon tea" for my family, so I decided to test out a scone recipe yesterday. I was torn between just buying a mix (scones from scratch have always seemed so high maintenance to me!) but I decided to test out a recipe I stumbled upon for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones (link above). I made a few modifications, and the finished product was delicious!

Adapted from this recipe: http://www.kitchentreaty.com/brown-sugar-cinnamon-scones/

Makes 14 round scones

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup baking stevia (or preferred sweetener)

1 egg

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 T unsalted butter at room temp

4 T unsweetened applesauce

2 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet. I placed all my dry ingredients into my kitchen aid and mixed thoroughly. Then I added the butter (I cubed the butter so it would be easier to cut it in) then slowly added the rest of the ingredients until it became a sticky dough.

On a FLOURED cooking space (this stuff is STICKY), roll out the dough and cut into circles (I used a cup). Bake for 13-15 minutes until the bottoms start to brown. I let them cool for a few minutes and then tried one with jam...OH MY GOODNESS they were to die for!!!

I recommend hosting an afternoon tea ASAP and making these. They were way easier than I thought and with a few modifications, totally guilt free! I hope you all enjoy!

Banana White Chocolate Muffins

I've been on a baking kick lately...and I'm not mad about it. I've also been on a white chocolate kick...which I'm not mad about either. This past weekend, I spotted 3 brown bananas, so I knew I just had to bake! I decided to whip up these banana muffins with white chocolate chips and they turned out delicious!! So good fresh out of the oven and warmed up a bit the next day :) they also include chia seeds and flaxseed for some healthy fats, so you know you are getting some good stuff in there along with the treat! Here is my recipe, hope you enjoy!

Makes 12 muffins

3 bananas, mashed

1 1/4 cup Pamela's gluten free pancake mix

1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal

2 T chia seeds

1/2 cup stevia cup for cup measurement (or sweetener of choice)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 T white chocolate chips

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together and add some water until it becomes like a batter. Pour into muffin tins and fill about 2/3 of the way. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean! Super simple and SO delicious!

I enjoyed these with my morning coffee...bananas with white chocolate are such a good combo! I'll definitely be making these on the regular! Have a great Monday everyone!

Banana Coconut Loaf (gluten free)

It's FRIDAY!!! Man oh man, am I happy this week has come to an end! It's been long, and HOT, and stressful at work, so all in all I'd say I am ready for the weekend!

This week was my first week of skipping morning workouts (minus Monday) and only working out once since then (yesterday). I have to admit, it feels great to sleep in an extra 1-1.5 hours in the morning, especially since I work at a dialysis center and have to be at work by 7am most mornings. Waking up at 4 or 4:30am for my workouts was exhausting me, even though I miss my morning routine like crazy! I love the quiet of the morning, working out, and starting my day off with some activity. But, I feel chronically sleep deprived, and sleep is so important for our well being!

This week felt like a recharge, since I got about 7-8 hours of sleep every night, and am feeling much more rested. Moving forward though, I am contemplating doing some morning workouts on days that I don't have to get into work too early, but mostly doing afternoon workouts. Almost like proving to myself that I CAN workout in the PM, since I've always functioned better in the AM. It's a trial and error type thing for me. Being active is a really important part of my life, so I want to make sure I schedule it in and prioritize this time. My motivations to workout have changed. have changed. I do it now for the release of anxiety and the overflow of endorphins that it gives me. Plus I am so grateful to God for a body that can move, so why not move it, ya know?

But enough about that, and onto zee food! Last night, I felt like baking (even though it's been over 100 degrees here in so-cal!) I spotted 2 almost black bananas on our counter, and found some shredded coconut that I hadn't used in forever, and got to work. I made a banana bread loaf with some shredded coconut mixed into the batter, and it turned out better than I thought! And the best part, it is gluten free, contains healthy amounts of coconut (so good for us), and tasted awesome with a smear of PB on top this morning! Here is the recipe!

Banana Coconut Loaf (makes 1 loaf pan, about 8 slices)

1.5 cups gluten free pancake mix (I love Pamela's brand!)

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup stevia (baking blend, cup for cup measurements)

2 eggs

2 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup applesauce

2-3 T shredded coconut, unsweetened

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. First, mash the bananas with the applesauce, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Grease your loaf pan (I used coconut oil), and bake the bread for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. I let it cool off for about 20 minutes before digging in...SO delicious!

My husband came home and had a late-night slice, and immediately wanted another. I can tell this bread is going to go fast! This recipe is such a feel-good treat that won't weigh you down while also hitting the spot! I hope you get to try it soon, or at least when the weather cools down. But for now, I'll still be baking! :)

Spelt flour waffles!

Here is a delicious waffle recipe that is perfect to make in the mornings! It's full of fiber and protein from the spelt flour, plus you can make this large batch and eat them all week long! Much better than frozen waffles from the store! ;) here is the recipe...enjoy! 

Makes 7-8 waffles  

1 cup spelt flour 

3-4 cup all purpose flour or whole wheat flour 

1 banana, mashed  

1/2 cup applesauce 

2 eggs  

1 tsp baking soda  

1/2 tsp baking powder  

1 tsp vanilla extract  

Pre-heat your waffle iron to medium heat. Mix all the ingredients together. Spray or grease your waffle iron. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the waffle iron and cook based on your waffle iron's instructions! 

Enjoy with syrup, peanut butter, or microwaved frozen berries like I did above!