Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
Who's stoked about pumpkin spice anything?! Funny enough- most pumpkin spice products don't contain any pumpkin at all. It is generally the spice mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves/allspice (or a synthetic version of this) that we crave. And all because those spices are generally linked to positive and cozy memories!
This weekend, we tried making a pumpkin spice coffee creamer (kinda like a latte) and used real pumpkin because pumpkin is full of vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants! Here is what I came up with:
2 cups almond milk (or other milk)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 TBSP cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
dash of ginger
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Mix in a blender until well combined. Pour desired amount into coffee and then add maple syrup to sweeten to your preference. Store the rest in the refrigerator for later use!
O and yes, the pumpkin will separate out, so mix well before you use it again. And, mix into your coffee well too!
Hope you enjoy!
Strawberry Season
We absolutely love the summer and fall here in Spokane when we can go pick our own fruit. For two city kids, there is something about being outdoors picking your own food that just seems magical to us. Plus we always come home and have to come up with a million ways to use all the fruit we just picked! This week- it was strawberries!!
Strawberries are a great source of antioxidants. They are also a good source of vitamin C, folate, manganese and potassium. 1 cup of strawberries contains 99% of recommended daily vitamin C intake! Strawberries have a low glycemic index, meaning they help keep blood sugars level- which is good for everyone's health. Strawberries have a fairly low amount of calories and high amount of fiber- 1 cup has about 50 calories and about 3 grams of fiber. Overall, strawberries are a great seasonal snack and have many health benefits!
Here are some of the ways we used our strawberries:
Strawberry Salsa on Tilapia
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs tilapia
Salt and pepper
non-stick spray
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (seeds removed)
5 green onions, chopped
1/3+ cup cilantro chopped
2+TBSP lime juice
How to:
Preheat grill. Salt and pepper fish. Prepare a large piece of foil and spray with non-stick spray. Place fish in foil and fold foil so it is sealed.
Place the foiled fish on the grill and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is done.
Meanwhile, combine strawberries, jalapeno, green onion, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl. Add salt and pepper if desired.
Enjoy fish topped with salsa!
We served ours with grilled corn and asparagus and quinoa
Strawberry Salad
I feel like a kale strawberry salad is a well known salad. We spiced it up with a few extra fun vegetables and herbs!
Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, ribbed and chopped
2/3 cup strawberries, chopped
2/3 cucumber, sliced and quartered
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cup broccoli florets
1/4+ cup mint, diced
1/4+ cup basil, chopped
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, roasted or unroasted
poppyseed dressing OR olive oil and vinegar
How to:
Chop and combine all ingredients and top with dressing. Enjoy :-)
Would go great with grilled chicken!
Chocolate Pudding with Strawberries
I am a sucker for chocolate pudding! I love to make it from scratch because then I know the ingredients going into it. It is actually easier to do than you might think! This recipe is not "healthy," although I did make some substitutions to the original to make it healthier. It is a nice treat though :-)
Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 TBSP corn starch
3 cups 2% milk
5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
sliced strawberries for serving
How to:
In a medium glass or metal bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch and sugar. The mixture will be clumpy and crumbly- just make sure it gets combined.
In a medium saucepan, combine milk, chocolate and salt over medium heat. Stir frequently until chocolate melts. (heat and milk always worry me because the milk can coagulate- make sure you are stirring enough to prevent this from happening).
Once chocolate has melted, whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture (about 1/4 cup at a time). Whisk until completely combined.
Pour mixture back into saucepan and continue to whisk over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, until it thickens. It may seem hopeless at minute 8, but I promise it will thicken!!
Remove from heat and mix in vanilla.
Place in refrigerator for 3+ hours and serve with sliced strawberries on top.
Quick No-Sugar Strawberry Jam
Okay...maybe I can't call this a jam, but we use it as a spread on all sorts of things. It does not keep long, because there is nothing in it to preserve the fruit. Our favorite thing to use it on is pancakes. We have both found that pancakes are a good carbohydrate fuel source for the night before a long run or bike ride. The pancakes we make are made with whole wheat flour, oats, greek yogurt and just a bit of sugar. We did top ours with this jam this week!
Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries
2-3 TBSP water
How to:
In a small saucepan, place strawberries and water over medium-high heat.
Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring and smashing occasionally, until berries begin to breakdown and create a sauce. It is important to keep stirring so the sauce doesn't burn to the pan.
Serve and enjoy on anything you can think of!
To store- place in a container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
That is it for my strawberry recipes this year! I hope you found some inspiration to enjoy strawberries while they are in season!!
Trail Mix Bar
Alright, I am coming at you with another post about snacks. One of my goals in life is to create a perfect bar- so I don't have to buy them. When I look for a bar I look for calories, protein, and how the bar is sweetened. Ideally, I find a bar with about 200 calories is a good snack amount. Protein is hard- but I usually look for 7g or more, but avoid ones with too much protein (because it is unnecessary). I look at the sugars and then check how that bar is sweetened. I tend to choose bars that are naturally sweetened with fruits. I also always chose one with mostly whole ingredients. On my quest for a good bar recipe, I found this one! It is sweetened with banana :). The protein comes from nuts. It is spiced up with some dried fruit, cinnamon and I added cocoa nibs too! I found it was easy to make, easy to store and quite delicious!!
Ingredients:
1.5 cups ripe banana, mashed (about 3-4 bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
How To:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mash bananas and add vanilla extract.
Add oats to a food processor and pulse until oats are coarsely chopped. Add to banana mixture
Place cherries in food processor, pulse until chopped. Add to banana mixture and mix well.
Place walnuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and almonds in the food processor and pulse a couple times until coarseley chopped. Add to banana mixture along with hemp seeds, cinnamon and 1/2 of the cocoa nibs.
Mix well. Spread into prepared dish, pressing down and evenly distributing.
Sprinkle the rest of the cocao nibs on top.
Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool. The cut into 16 pieces. I wrapped mine individually and stuck them in the freezer.
A few fun facts about the ingredients:
Hemp seeds: are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Also, high in protein. These seeds contain about 25% protein for weight, which is comparable to most meat sources. Also, they are considered a complete protein- meaning they have all the essential amino acids- which is very hard to come by in the plant world.
Cocao nibs: Come from the husk of the cocao bean- which is removed during the drying and fermentation of the cocao bean to ultimately make chocolate. The chocolate we know has things (sugar) added to it to make it sweet and delicious. The cocao nib doesn't. It still has a slightly sweet taste- but don't expect it to taste like the chocolate you are used to! It is considered a superfood. It is high in antioxidants, has caffeine, and contains nutrients like magnesium.
Bloomsday Fuel
Are you doing Bloomsday this year?! Good for you! I love Bloomsday because running or walking- 7.5 miles is a long distance, yet over 60,000+ people rise to the challenge and complete it. I also love it cause it means summer is coming :)
This Bloomsday, make sure you are fueled right! No matter what pace you are going at, having the right fuel will help you feel better during the race. Here are my suggestions:
Saturday Night: make sure your dinner includes some sort of carbohydrate, and limit fiber if you tend to get GI distress while exercising. Some good carbohydrate choices to choose are:
Sweet potatoes (avoid the skin)
Brown rice
Whole wheat bread
Pasta, orzo
Other grains: quinoa, millet, bulgur, etc.
Some easy meal ideas:
Stir fry: brown rice, chicken, vegetables (don't overdue the vegetables)
Sweet potatoes, eggs or ground turkey, guacamole, tomatoes, bell peppers
Turkey sandwich with fruits and vegetables on side
Sunday Morning: Carbohydrates should be a main focus, but do include a protein too. Limit fiber and avoid dairy. Good and easy ideas include:
Oatmeal + fruit + eggs, nut butter, or nuts (to add protein)
Whole wheat English muffin or toast with peanut butter, banana, and cinnamon
Sweet potato with eggs
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
During race: Make sure you are drinking water!!
After: refuel with a carbohydrate and protein soon after finish. I like chocolate milk :) Then, get a balanced meal as soon as possible. Drink water too!
Good luck this Bloomsday! Hopefully I will see you out there!!
A healthy muffin?!
We are always searching for new snack ideas. We often find ourselves relying on bars as snacks, which is okay-especially if you find a bar made with whole ingredients and limited added sugar. On days that we aren't working out, I try to choose a non-bar option. In my search I came across a recipe for some pretty healthy looking blueberry muffins. I decided to play with it a little and decrease the added sugar and increase the protein to make it a healthier snack option. Here is what I came up with!
PS I suggest eating with a little bit of peanut butter or almond butter:-)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup ground flax seed
1 cup oats
1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 1/2 cups nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
How to:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray
- In a large bowl, combine flour, ground flax seed, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix until combined.
- In a smaller bowl, combine maple syrup, yogurt, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix until combined and yogurt is dispersed.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined. Add blueberries (if using frozen don't allow them time to thaw or they will turn everything blue!) Fill all 12 muffin containers with equal amounts of batter.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are golden brown.
- Store in refrigerator if they will be eaten in about a week. If not, wrap individually in foil and store in the freezer.