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