Whole Wheat with Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

Yes, I am aware that the title is a mouthful, well so are these pancakes once you get done with them! I also did add dark chocolate chips to them. I know, how terrible of me. However, I made these on a Saturday; a day my husband & I tend to wake up super late, thus having brunch. 

Obviously this is not a treat to make every day, especially since Calorie Count rated it as a C+ recipe, but it was nice to venture from the frozen waffles & cereal Saturday breakfasts.   

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats 

1 3/8 cup whole wheat flour 

1/8 cup brown sugar 

1 tbsp dry milk powder 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt 

1 1/2 tbsp egg whites 

1 cup soy milk 

1 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 banana, mashed 

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips 

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl & let the batter sit for 5 minutes (this is crucial so that the pancakes do turn out light and fluffy) 

Cook on a griddle on medium heat for 2 minutes on one side & 1 on the other. 

This batch makes 8 pancakes (more or less, depending on the spoonfuls) The nutritional information below is based off of 1 pancake from an 8 pancake batch (hope that makes sense! lol) 

Calories 155 

Total fat 2.4 g 

Saturated Fat .9g   

Cholesterol 12 mg 

Sodium 138 mg 

Total Carbs 28.8g 

Dietary Fiber 1.7g 

Sugars 5.9g 

Protein 5g 

Good points 

High in selenium 

Bad points 

Contains alcohol (for those who don't know, vanilla does contain alcohol) 

Obviously you can use whatever milk/lubricant/eggs you want, but I was trying to go for making it as healthy as possible. 

Remember, this isn't an every day type of breakfast because of the calories & the fact it was rated C+, but every now & then is good!!! 

Enjoy & bon appetit! 

xo, 

Nancy

Whole Wheat Pretzels

Yes! Homemade whole wheat pretzels! Not only are they 79 calories a piece, but I bet the entire batch (which makes 12!!!) would probably be cheaper then buying them. 

This is my first batch & next time I will play around with baking times to get them softer (right now the outside is slightly crunchy with a soft center) I will post the rest of the nutritional information down below. I also used my bread maker to make the dough & it's in the machine for 90 minutes, but I did find the breakdown on kneading & rising times! *YAY*  

Ingredients 

2 cups whole wheat flour 

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp sugar 

1 cup water 

Topping: 

1 tbsp egg whites 

2 tbsp kosher salt (I used regular salt on my hubby's & then a cinnamon/sugar mixture on mine. Still unsure at what point should I put the cinnamon/sugar mixture on the pretzel because the oven was slightly smokey from it when I pulled them out) 

Add the ingredients to your bowl (minus the egg white & kosher salt, this is going to be the topping for later) Here is the breakdown how my recipe book shows it: 

20 minutes: dough is kneaded 

20 minutes: dough begins to rise 

30 seconds: dough is punched down 

50 minutes: dough's final rise. 

Once it's done rising, you're going to cut the dough into 12 equal parts & either shape them like pretzels or just turn them into rods. Brush the egg whites onto the pretzels & then add the salt. You are going to bake them at 450 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. 

As always, I use the recipe calculator from Calorie Count. Below is the information based on 1 pretzel (which is good enough!!! lol) 

Calories 79 

Total fat  .2g 

Cholesterol 0mg 

Sodium 54mg 

Total Carbs 16.4g 

Dietary Fiber .7g 

Protein 2.5g 

Good points 

Very low in saturated fat 

No cholesterol 

Low in sugar 

High in selenium & thiamin 

No bad points other then they are so good you'll want to eat more then one!!! Bon appetit! 

xo, 

Nancy

Banana Treat

This has to be one of my favorite treats to have & easiest treats to make. This one was done with a room temperature banana, but if I remember ahead of time, I'll pop it in the freezer for a little bit so it gets chilled. It did score a B+ at Calorie Count, so every now & then is good!

Ingredients 


1 sliced banana 
1/2 tbsp dark chocolate chips (melted) 
1/2 tbsp coconut flakes 


Slice the banana, melt the chocolate & drizzle on the sliced banana & then top it off with the coconut flakes. Easy peasy! 


Below is the nutritional information taken from the Calorie Count website. 


Calories 131 
Total fat 2.2 g 
Saturated fat 1.8g 
Cholesterol 0mg 
Sodium 2mg 
Total Carbs 29.8 
Dietary Fiber 3.3g 
Sugars 16.6g 
Protein 1.6g 


Good points 


No cholesterol 
Very low in sodium 
High in vitamin B6 & Vitamin C 


Bad points 


High in sugar 


Enjoy & bon appetit! 


xo, 
Nancy

Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips

So, I took yesterday's recipe & took it a step further....yes! I turned them into chips!!! Although the concept was "tortilla" chips, they sort of had the hardness & consistency of pita chips. This will be a trial & error, but it will certainly be fun! I took my whole wheat tortillas recipe, cut the tortillas in triangles (kinda like cutting a pie) & baked them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. No flavoring to this batch (but will be experimenting soon, I like to see how the original batch comes out w/o flavoring, etc & take it from there) Good news is, my husband LOVED them & we munched on them with a bowl of homemade guacamole. You can find the nutritional information to the tortillas in the link above, which will also take you to the recipe. Bon Appetit!


xo,
Nancy

Whole Wheat Tortillas

I will be honest, I was intimidating going into this recipe (that's why I own a bread maker! lol) however it was real easy & simple. I will admit, I have to learn the "rolling dough out into a perfect circle" skill!!! Either way, the oddness of them does give them that homey "made at home" feel to it. Please enjoy the recipe & the tortilla wraps. I didn't add any flavor to these, however if you have any seasonings, herbs, whatever...just experiment & see what you come up with!

Ingredients: 

2 cups whole wheat flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp olive oil 

1 cup warm water 

First mix the dry ingredients, then incorporate the wet ones. 

Knead the dough for about a minute (make sure that there are no dry bits left in the bowl) & then form into a ball. 

Cover with a moist towel & let sit for 10 minutes. 

Next divide the dough into 12 pieces & roll into balls (this was my trickiest part; trying to cut 12 equal balls lol), then cover with the moist towel & let sit for 10 minutes. 

Roll out each ball into a circle (or anything that resembles a circle) until it's slightly thicker then a piece of paper (should be approx 6" in diameter). Layer the raw tortillas one on top of another with a thick layer of flour so they won't stick. 

In a dry pan (I used a frying pan) on medium, you are going to cook each tortilla one by one (Mine took approx 1 minute on each side) 

Keep them in an airtight container once they cool. I love how these are slightly thicker then the ones you buy at the store, meaning no tearing!!! Below is the nutritional information taken from Calorie Count...and no BAD POINTS!!! Bon appetit! Info is per serving. 

Calories 83 

Total fat .9g 

Cholesterol 0mg 

Sodium 195mg 

Total carbs 16.2g 

Dietary Fiber .6g 

Protein 2.1 

Good points 

Low in saturated fat 

No cholesterol 

Very low in sugar 

High in thiamin & selenium 

Hope you've started your journey to a healthier life! 

xo, 

Nancy

Weight Loss Progress

I have been on this beautiful journey since September 27, 2011 & have managed to lose *as of today* 42 lbs all by myself. I haven't taken any pills, shakes, powders, weight loss bars or anything like that. I have changed my diet completely and now have such a healthier relationship with food. I have formed a Weight Loss Group on facebook. I share a lot of my recipes & just motivational quotes. It is nice to be surrounded by others that are in the same journey as you. Just have 96 lbs more to go! It's all me baby!

Are you ready to change your life?

xo,

Nancy

Whole Wheat Garlic Popovers

I could not believe how easy this recipe is to make! Not only are they light & yummy, you can flavor them to your liking. I am a huge garlic fan, so I did mine garlic flavor. If you have herbs or parm cheese, bacon...just have fun with it! 

Ingredients: 


1/2 cup whole wheat flour 
1/2 cup soy milk 
3 tbsp egg whites 
1/4 tsp salt 
2 tbsp garlic powder (adjust to your liking) 


I used the mini cupcake pan & this recipe makes 12 of them. Below is the nutritional information taken from the recipe calculator at Calorie Count. 


Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix all the ingredients together & fill the pans (mine were approx 3/4 full) Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 mins (adjust if you're using a larger size cupcake pan), then reduce the heat to 350 degrees & cook for an additional 8-10 mins. Eat warm as is or with a little butter. Servings 12. 


Calories 27 
Total fat .2g 
Saturated fat 0g 
Cholesterol 0mg 
Sodium 62mg 
Total carbs 4.9g 
Protein 1.3g 


Good points 


Very low in saturated fat 
No cholesterol 
High in riboflavin, selenium & thiamin 


Great as a substitute for fatty biscuits during dinner time! Bon appetite! 


Nancy

DIY - Dishwasher Detergent

This recipe is so easy to follow that you can do it with your eyes closed. And you'll be saving so much money as well. A typical small box of dishwashing tablets (which brings 16) costs anywhere from $4-$5. This batch that I am about to show you also does 16 loads, but cost .72!!! Which comes out to .04 a load!

What you'll need: 1 cup washing soda 1 cup borax (both you can find in the laundry aisle) empty plastic container. Mix ingredients in the container (I layered it in 1/2 increments), put the lid on & shake til your heart's content. 

All you need is 2 tbsp/load!!! There are approx 16 tbsp/cup, this batch makes 2 cups, therefore you get 16 loads out of this batch. Bonus if you find the ingredients on sale or have a coupon!!! Enjoy!

Nancy

Baked Cauliflower

This has got to be one of my favorite side dishes! It leaves the cauliflower nice & crunchy to where you forget that you're eating healthy. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups fresh cauliflower (if using frozen, defrost first) 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 tsp of nutmeg 

Combine ingredients into a glass dish & bake at 450 degrees F for about 30 minutes.   

Nutritional information per serving was gathered using this recipe calculator. 

Calories 90 

Total fat 7.2g 

Saturated fat 1.2 g 

Cholesterol 0mg 

Sodium 30mg 

Carbs 5.8g 

Dietary Fiber 2.7g 

Sugars 2.7g 

Protein 2g 

Good points

No cholesterol 

Low in Sodium 

High in Dietary Fiber 

High in vitamin B6 

Very high in Vitamin C 

No bad points!!! 

So next time you're craving french fries or something crunchy, try out these bad boys! Bon Appetit! 

Nancy

Honey Garlic Stir Fry

I swear, stir fry is just the easiest to make! This is actually one of my favorite ones that I do. Despite having so many calories and carbs per serving, it actually has "nothing else wrong with it" No, this isn't a wok however works just as good as one!

Ingredients (this makes approx 4 servings at 1 cup ea): 
1 chicken breasts 
2 cups of brown rice (I used the boil in the bag rice) 
2 cups of cooked veggies. 
2 tbsp honey
garlic & ginger to taste


I cook the rice according to the package in a separate pot. In the "wok" I cook the chicken breast first, cubing it and tossing it in. Once the chicken is cooked, toss in the cooked veggies and the brown rice. Add 2 tbsp of honey and garlic and ginger to taste. Let it simmer for a few minutes and you're done! 


As always, I used the recipe calculator from Calorie Count to get the nutritional info. Bon appetit! 


Calories (per 1 cup serving) 461 
Total fat 4.2 g 
Saturated Fat 1g 
Cholesterol 36g 
Sodium 50mg 
Carbs 83.9 
Dietary Fiber 4.4g 
Sugars 9.4g 
Protein 21.6g 


Good points 


Low in saturated fat 
Very low in sodium 
Very high in manganese 
High in niacin 
High in Vitamin C. 


Want less carbs? Simple fix, add more veggies and less brown rice! Enjoy!


Nancy

The "I can't believe it's not meat" meat sauce

When making my meat sauce, I typically use ground turkey, however I wanted to experiment with lentils! And guess what?! My hubby didn't even know he was eating lentils til after the fact! I mainly decided to play around with the switch due to cost (a 16 oz bag of dried lentils is only roughly $1 & has 14 servings!) And it is not as hard to cook these dried beans, believe it or not. Here is what I did:


I cooked 1/4 cup of dried lentils (1/4 cup of dried lentils makes approx 1/2 cup of cooked lentils). How you cook them? Easy. I tossed 1/4 cup of dried lentils in with 1/2 cup of water (you double the amount, so if you're cooking 1 cup of dried lentils, you add 2 cups of water) & bring the water to a boil, once it starts boiling, lower the heat & allow it to simmer, covered for approx 15-20 mins (the more beans you add, the more cooking time is required).


Once done, remove from heat. I used my old fashion mortar and pestle to "ground" my lentils. You can flavor at this point or just add to your favorite marinara sauce (marinara sauce recipe for another day) and add to your pasta! 


Keep in mind, when using this as a substitute, you will end up with more carbs because of the lentils, however below is the nutritional information taken from the recipe calculator from Calorie Count, based off of 1/8 cup of lentils (which is what I typically use on a per person basis). 


Calories 85
Total Fat .2 g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 1mg
Total Carbs 14.4g
Dietary Fiber 7.3g
Protein 6.2g


Good points
Very low in saturated fat
No cholesterol
Very low in sodium
Low in sugar
Very high in dietary fiber
High in iron
High in manganese
High in phosphorus
High in thiamin


No bad points!


Hope you've enjoyed this post & bon appetit!


Nancy

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 29th birthday, my last & final year I'll be in my 20s. Believe it or not, I try not to think of my age because I feel so much younger & youthful that I don't need a number to remind me that I am or not! My hubby surprised me today with a nice dinner at The Melting Pot!!! I always love that place, so was excited to be sitting in the dim light, tucked away in a 2 person booth with my cutie. Here are some of the pictures! 

More goodies tomorrow!


Nancy

Liquid Detergent

This was my first attempt creating this good smelling concoction, however there is one thing I would have done differently & that would be to add less glycerin. Once everything cooled down, it was too gelatinous & looked unpleasant (can we think of something else that's yellow, unpleasant to look at & gelatinous?) I didn't mind the yellow, it was the gookiness that it formed into as a result of too much glycerin.

Ingredients

3 cups of hot water

1/4 cup of soap flakes (I bought Fels-Naptha & grated it)

1/4 cup glycerin (this is what the recipe called for, next time I will try with maybe 1/8 cup & start from there)

Essential oils (I ended up using lemon & tangerine peels put in a tea ball & the smell is really intense)

Instructions:

Combine water & soap flakes in a pot & stir over medium heat until the soap flakes are dissolved. Remove from heat & let it cool down to lukewarm. Once it's warm, mix in the glycerin & add the essential oils & let it cool down. Once it's completely cool (I let mine sit for a couple of hours), break it up with a fork (because it turned gelatinous) & using a funnel pour into a squirt bottle (I just reused an old one) and you're done. Use like normal. This recipe filled my entire bottle (picture was taken a few days after I made it, so I used a bit)

This recipe came out to $2.02, however it would have been less if I would have used less glycerin. Next time! We all learn from our mistakes.

Thanks for reading!

Nancy

Whole Wheat Corn Muffins

I remember when I was in elementary school, my mom baked cupcakes to supplement our income (and they were good!) While she did that, I stumbled across this recipe & it has been the only corn bread recipe I have used since elementary school. The only two things that have changed is that: 1 - I no longer use the bread maker to "bake" my muffins & 2 - I have substituted a few ingredients to make it healthier. Below are the instructions along with the substitutions. Bon Apetite! 

The Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour 
1 cup cornmeal 
1/2 cup sugar (will eventually substitute for stevia) 
2 eggs, beaten (will eventually substitute for 1/3 cup egg whites) 
1/2 cup applesauce 
1/2 cup soy milk 


Optional add ins:
1/2 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Mix the ingredients together (I typically just go down the list). Do not over mix. 

Pour mixture into a muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F & bake for 18 mins. 

Makes 1 dozen of the regular size muffins/cupcakes.


I use this Recipe Calculator to help me determine the nutritional information for my recipes. Below is the approx. nutritional information for this recipe. Thank you so much for reading & here's the a healthy life!


Per serving:
127 calories
Total Fat 1.4 g
Cholesterol 31 mg (if substitute for egg whites, it'll be 0)
Sodium 19 mg
Total Carbs 25.9 g
Dietary Fiber 1.2 g
Sugars 9.9 g 
Protein 3.2 g


Good points:
Low in saturated fat
Very low sodium
High in selenium


Bad points:
High in sugar (I don't use any artificial sweeteners because of the ingredients it contains. If you do want to substitute like I will next time, it will be for stevia & at that point will reduce the sugar significantly.)


Enjoy!

Nancy

Fabric Softener

Fabric softener is expensive! Don't lie because we all know it is. Well I just made my own for only $2.48. The recipe below makes little less then a gallon. Let's go and have some DIY fun!

Ingredients:

6 cups of water

3 cups of white vinegar

2 cups of conditioner

1 empty plastic gallon to store (and use if you pour the softener into the wash)

1 spray bottle & washcloth (if you prefer the dryer type sheets like I do)

Mix all the ingredients into the gallon, cover & shake til your hearts desire! And you're done at this point if you pour the fabric softener into the wash (and use what you would typically use) If you use the dryer sheet method, using a funnel pour the concoction into the spray bottle to have it readily accessible during your next laundry day.  Simply spritz the washcloth a couple of times & toss it in the dryer. Pretty much use like a regular dryer sheet. You'll get more out of this recipe if you use the spritzing method.

And you're done! Enjoy!!!

Nancy

Banana Jam

For the banana lover in us, here is a simple thing you can do during breakfast! Simply take a banana (or half of one) and mash it with a fork with a little bit of cinnamon. Once you have a jam like consistency, top off your pancakes or waffles with it. So good! To make it even healthier, use whole wheat pancakes or waffles instead; to make it even more healthy, make your whole wheat pancakes from scratch! :))) Enjoy & bon apetite! 

Lemon Chicken

Who would have thought that lemon chicken would actually taste good? Especially considering that it's LEMON! Well, it was really good & I love how the smell just spread throughout the house. Here is the awesome recipe. Please enjoy! Bon Apetit!


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F & you'll bake the chicken for 30 minutes (give or take depending on your oven) Below are the ingredients for the sauce.

Ingredients you'll need for the sauce. This amount is good enough for 1 chicken breast.


1/8 c olive oil
1 T spicy mustard
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt, pepper, garlic to taste

Add ingredients into a bowl to make the sauce & whisk with a fork for about a minute.

At this point, you can either marinade the chicken breast in the sauce in a ziplock bag overnight or you can use as soon as you're done mixing. I haven't done it marinated overnight yet, but this way comes out delicious.


Put the chicken breast & the sauce in a pan & toss in the oven for approx 30 minutes.

I loved the way it tasted & the chicken was just really moist. Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions or comments!


Nancy

Welcome!

This page was designed when a lot of changes (both good & not so good) were happening in my life. I finally decided to change my lifestyle to a more active, healthier one. In the process I have lost 60 lbs so far & still going strong. It is hard to explain how I ended up with the page, but I always had a fascination with being able to make things myself & live a crafty, diy lifestyle. That & being able to live a healthier lifestyle sorta got intertwined into me wanting to spend less on food & cleaning supplies & have less waste.  I obviously don't have all the answers, however I would love to share what I do know with you & learn new things along the way.


Nancy