I heart pancakes, take two

 

You may remember this recent post about 100 cal. pancakes, and how they were kind of blah.  Well, I tried again this morning, and they came out much better!

Adapted from 100 Calorie Cinnamon Pancakes on SparkPeople.com.

Banana Nut Pancakes

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Splenda

1/2 cup Pecans, crushed

1 cup Skim Milk
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
2 tbsp Vanilla extract

2 Bananas, mashed

2 tbsp Cinnamon

1. Mix flour, baking soda, nuts and Splenda in bowl.
2. Mix milk, eggs, bananas and vanilla in another bowl.
3. Beat into dry mix roughly, so as to add more air to mix.
4. Stir in cinnamon last.
5. Serving size is 1/3 cup mix.
6. Use Pam on skillet when cooking and sweeten with sugar free syrup and/or fruit!

Number of Servings: 10

 

My bananas and pecans added 50 cal. to each pancake, but it also made two more than before.  I froze the last two to have during the week.  These were MUCH tastier than the original.  I upped the flour a bit to compensate for the wet bananas, and I think I made the right call.  Mine come out very well done because I still haven't got the whole pancake-flipping thing down, but they were fine.  Enjoyed, as always, with three slices of center cut bacon (60 cal.).  I'm still not a huge fan of these "fake" pancakes, though they are a decent substitute; but somehow my beloved LOVES them, so that's fine with me.

Chef Shorty: 3.5 noms

Prof. Peanutbutter: 4.5 noms

Quickie? No Mr. President, QUICHE...

Gore and Bush were in a restaurant ordering brunch. The waitress asks Gore what he would like to order. After looking at the menu, Al says, "I would like Eggs Benedict."

The waitress says, "Fine, and what will you have President Bush?"
Perusing the menu, George says, "Well, I think I'd like to have a quickie."

Taken aback, the waitress responds, "Why Mr. President, that's awful!"

Then Gore leans over and whispers into Bush's ear, "George, that's pronounced 'quiche.'"

~~~~~

Mwa ha ha.  I've always loved that joke.  =)

So a friend recommended this quiche recipe to me and I had to give it a try.  I love egg-based foods, probably because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.  I substitute Egg Beaters in everything, because the reduction in calories and cholesterol is so extreme and they taste the same to me.  Some people may disagree.

Adapted from Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche on SparkPeople.com.

Spinach, Onion, and Feta Quiche

1 medium onion, diced
6 oz fresh baby spinach
1 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups non fat milk
1/2 cup reduced-fat feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a pie plate).
3. In a medium frying pan, cook diced onion with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until translucent and tender. Add in fresh spinach and cook until just wilted. Set aside to cool for a few minutes
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, then stir in spinach-onion mixture.
5. Pour quiche base into prepared pan. Top with feta cheese.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
7. Let set for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

I knocked off almost 40 cal. and 4 grams of fat per serving by subbing Egg Beaters (she had used half eggs and half Egg Beaters), whole wheat flour, and reduced-fat feta.  Prof. Peanutbutter ate three slices and I had two, plus we each had three slices of center cut bacon (because we're definitely not vegetarians!).  My meal totaled 273 calories!  That's it!  And we were both full.  Amazing meal.  Had the last slice for breakfast the next morning (we had this for dinner, though it works equally well as a breakfast).


Chef Shorty: 4.5 noms
Prof. Peanutbutter: 4 noms (He's not a huge fan of spinach.)


I'm definitely making this again and experimenting with different veggies and cheeses.  I'm thinking tomatoes, onions, peppers, and reduced-fat Mexican cheese next time!

 

Double-duty fajitas

I discovered, totally by accident, how easy it is to make fajitas one night and omelets the next morning.  Friday night, I realized I had forgotten to take the chicken breasts I was going to use for dinner out of the freezer.  I needed a back-up plan, and decided chicken fajitas would be easy enough.  I was starving, so I made enough for us to each have three fajitas, but as usual, I got full and didn't eat my last one.  Below is the recipe for 5 fajitas, which will generate some leftover fixings.  I will explain after.

Southwestern Chicken Fajitas

5 Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 cup chopped Perdue short cut chicken breast
3/4 cup Green Peppers, chopped (I used frozen)
3/4 cup Red Peppers, chopped (I used frozen)
1/2 cup Onions, chopped (I used frozen)
1 cup Yellow Sweet Corn, Frozen
5 tbsp Hood Low Fat Sour Cream
3/4 cup Sargento shredded, reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican
Chili powder, black pepper, etc. as desired

1. Spray a large pan with Pam and stir-fry the veggies on medium heat for about 5 min., longer if frozen.
2. Add the chicken and continue stir-frying for another 5 min. Add any desired spices.
3. Drain the mixture, then serve in wheat tortillas with sour cream and cheese.

Number of Servings: 5

 

Chef Shorty: 4 noms

Prof. Peanutbutter: 4.5 noms

Each tortilla contained about 2 tbsp. of the chicken and veggies mixture, and 1 tbsp. each of cheese and sour cream.  When I declared myself full, Prof. Peanutbutter stored the leftover mixture in the fridge and commented, "You know, you could put this stuff in an omelet tomorrow morning, I bet that would taste pretty good."  Did I mention I'm marrying a genius?

So the next morning I made this:

Chicken Fajita Omelettes

1/2 cup leftover chicken and veggie fajita mixture
1 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup Sargento shredded, reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican

1. Spray two small pans with Pam and place on medium-high heat.
2. When the Pam starts to brown, pour 1/2 cup Egg Beaters in each pan.
3. Flip when eggs are almost cooked through.
4. Add 1/4 cup each chicken and veggie mixture and cheese to each omelet.
5. Fold over and reduce heat to low until cheese is melted.

 

Each omelet is very low-calorie and delicious.  You may wish to serve them topped with a little low-fat sour cream (which I was going to do, but forgot).  We had whole grain white bread with I Can't Believe it's Not Butter - Light on the side.

Chef Shorty: 4.5 noms

Prof. Peanutbutter: 4.5 noms

This was such an easy way to make two meals, and now I will always have the ingredients on hand for last-minute food emergencies.  I especially like the frozen peppers and onions as they keep longer and are already chopped.  I always have frozen corn on hand.

Whatsa frittata?

One day on my SparkPeople.com calendar, there was a recipe.  Some days have quotes, some have tips, but I like the recipe ones because those mean NOMS.  I adapted this one a bit to be lower calorie (I substitute Egg Beaters in pretty much everything) and more eggy.

Adapted from Coach Nicole's Mini Vegetable Frittatas on SparkPeople.com.

Veggie and Egg Muffins

2 cups Egg Beaters
1 cup diced Tomatoes (I used 2 Roma tomatoes)
1 cup chopped Broccoli, steamed
1/2 cup Sargento Reduced Fat Colby-Jack Shredded (or your favorite low-fat cheese)
2 tbsp Milk, nonfat

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a muffin pan with Pam.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Pour the mixture into the 12 muffin cups. It should fill each almost to the top.
4. Bake for 20 min. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.

Number of Servings: 12

OM.  NOM.  This was the nommiest low-cal vegetarian breakfast item I've ever made.  Granted, we did have light sausage links on the side, but the main dish was veggie.  We almost never have veggies in our breakfast, and now that I found a nommy way to do it, I may have to nom them more often.  Seriously, 40 calories each!  Saved plenty of calories for our Valentine's dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House later.  ;-)

I also did not steam the broccoli like the original recipe called for, and it definitely would have been better if I had, so I included it above.  Steam it.  Trust me.  I'm going to make another batch soon, freeze them, and bring 3 or 4 to work for breakfast.

Chef Shorty: 4 noms
Prof. Peanutbutter: 4 noms (4.5 if I had steamed the broccoli)

 

I heart pancakes

Pancakes make a very nommy breakfast, but they're not always so healthy.  I found a wheat pancake recipe and gave it a shot for brunch.

From AMROX123's SparkPeople.com recipe.

100 Calorie Cinnamon Pancakes

1 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Splenda No Calorie Sweetener
1 cup Skim Milk
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
2 tbsp Cinnamon

1. Mix flour, baking soda, and splenda in bowl.
2. Mix milk, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl.
3. Beat into dry mix roughly, so as to add more air to mix.
4. Stir in cinnamon last.
5. Serving size is 1/3 cup mix.
6. Use Pam on skillet when cooking and sweeten with sugar free syrup and/or fruit!

Number of Servings: 8

Well, she was right on with the 1/3 cup of batter, it made exactly 8 pancakes.  They were...okay.  They DEFINITELY needed a bit more nom.  As some people commented, adding a fruit to the batter would improve it.  I want to try this next time, adding either bananas or apples, or even a few chocolate chips!  I will re-visit this when we try some variations.

Chef Shorty: 2.5 noms
Prof. Peanutbutter: 3 noms