Protein Pancakes

Who doesn't want pancakes every morning? Now you can, guilt free! 

I have these probably 3-5 days a week because they are so easy and healthy!

Ingredients:

1/2 banana, mashed

1 egg white

1/4 cup almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon almond milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tiny pinch of salt

Mash the banana in a bowl and add the egg white. Wisk them together. Add the almond flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla and almond milk and mix well. It should be not thick but not watery either...ya know like typical pancake batter. Pour the mixture into a non stick pan with a teeny bit of oil or butter. Cook the pancake until the top is bubbly and the bottom is golden brown. It cooks for as long as it takes me to do my make-up :) or about 4-5 minutes. Flip it and cook for another 2 minutes.

I eat mine with a tiny pat of butter. Or, on the weekend I indulge with some real Michigan Maple syrup. 

Perfect morning....

Halibut and Antipasto Salad

Ingredients 

1/2 pound Halibut

1 jar roasted marinated red peppers, sliced

1 jar hearts of Palm, chopped into 1/2 pieces

2 tablespoons capers

6 slices salami, cut into strips

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1 wedge of lemon

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

Start by putting a sprinkling of salt and pepper on the fish.  I like to wrap the fish in aluminum foil like a present to keep it from stinking up the house. Place the wrapped fish in a sauté pan and cover with a lid. Cook for ~10 minutes, depending on the thickness. When it is finished cooking, unwrap the foil and add 1 clove garlic and butter. Wrap it back up to allow the butter to melt for about one minute. Take it out of the foil and squeeze the lemon juice over the fish.

Meanwhile, combine the roasted red pepper, hearts of Palm, capers, salami, 1 clove of garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a bowl. 

Cajun Shrimp Quinoa Alfredo

This recipe was inspired by Guy Fieri's Cajun Chicken Fettucini Alfredo. My friend Brittany and I had it at Guy's restaurant Johnny Garlics in between wine tastings in Sonoma :) 

I came home and made his recipe and it was AMAZING - I highly recommend you try it. The link is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cajun-chicken-alfredo-recipe.html

Of course I substituted milk instead of cream to keep it somewhat healthy! Then I got thinking I could make it even more healthy...drummmmmm roll "Cajun Shrimp Quinoa Alfredo"

Ingredients 

12 shrimp, uncooked, peeled and deveined

Blackening seasoning (store bought or homemade) 

         1 tablespoon powdered garlic

         1 tablespoon black pepper
         1/2 tablespoon salt
          2 teaspoons cumin
          2 teaspoons onion powder
          1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
           1 teaspoon paprika
          1/2 teaspoon chili powder

           Crunched red pepper flakes

1 cup cooked Quinoa

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (marinated - I recommend Trader Joe's)

3 green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

Splash of white wine

Wedge of lime

Start by covering the shrimp in 3/4 of the blackening spice mixture. Sauté the shrimp in a pan with olive oil for about 5 minutes or until they turn pink and no longer translucent. Meanwhile, add the sundried tomatoes, green onions, garlic, white wine, Parmesan cheese and remaining 1/4 of blacking spice to the hot quinoa. Mix together until the cheese melts into quinoa. 

Serve the shrimp over the quinoa with a splash of lime.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/cajun-chicken-alfredo-2-recipe.html?oc=linkback

        

Pumpkin patch stuffed peppers

I found the idea for these on Pinterest and I just couldn't resist!

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

2 cups cooked rice (I used wild rice)

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes 

1 can tomato sauce

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp cumin

1 Tbsp coriander

1/2 tsp oregano

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes to taste.

Carve your peppers into little jack-o-lanterns. I made them all the same for the sake of time (since I was making 20 of them!) but they would be extra cute if they were all carved differently.

Brown the turkey (or beef) with the diced onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, salt, pepper and flakes. Add the cooked rice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and coconut milk. Stir until it is mixed well. I like to let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight so that it becomes extra delicious. When you're ready to eat them spoon the mixture into the pepper.  Pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees. 

Makes ~10 peppers.