Protein-Rich Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

Protein-Rich Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

I love eggs for breakfast. With just the right amount of protein and fat, they are satisfying and delicious until… the burnout. Have you ever grown tired of eggs? What about your family? Maybe you make a not-so-great batch of eggs one morning and your 4-year-old then declares that she no longer likes eggs. Sigh. Only later in the week to request that I make eggs like Denny’s does. Haha. Denny’s eggs coming right up! Okay, so maybe that only happens to me…

Anyhow, burnout happens. I hear from the tribe that you need more ideas. Great news! I’ve got the perfect alternative. These protein-rich pumpkin cookies have 8g of protein, 4g of fiber and only 2g of added sugar. They are made from real food ingredients and do not contain gluten, artificial sweeteners or protein powder. You can’t beat that. See complete NUTRITION FACTS here.

  • Great for little kids. Just one cookie will meet nearly the entire day’s worth of protein needs for your little one (based on myplate servings). It is also extremely rich in iron, an important nutrient for this age group.  Not to mention you’re squeezing in a tiny serving of vegetables without them noticing. Blending the pumpkin seeds and the oats really helps make these a kid-friendly texture.
  • Great for big kids. This can be an on-the-go breakfast or after school snack. Would also be great for replenishing after a sports game or practice.
  • Great for adults. Use it as an afternoon pick-me up, a breakfast paired with fruit, or a post-workout snack when you have a really strenuous session.

They are light, fluffy and will resemble more of a muffin top than a cookie. I’ve been enjoying them with my morning coffee and they hold me over very well.  How will you enjoy them? As a breakfast or a snack? Both?

Protein-Rich Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies pack in protein, iron, vitamin A and fiber - all from real, natural foods! Enjoy for breakfast or snack.
Servings 12
Author Kristen Norton, RD, LDN

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin no sugar added
  • 1/2 cup almond butter natural
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbs maple syrup
  • 2 tbs chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds processed into a powder
  • 1/4 cup oat flour to make throw old fashioned oats into the food processor
  • 1/4 cup Raisins
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, beat the pumpkin and almond butter using a hand-held mixer until smooth. Add eggs and mix well. Mix in the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, and chia seeds. Add baking soda, oat flour and pumpkin seed powder mix until combine. Fold in raisins.
  • Scoop onto lined cookie sheet making 12 large cookies.
  • Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Notes

You can leave pumpkin seeds whole or blend them in a blender or food processor to form a flour.
To make oat flour: blend old fashioned oats in a blender or food processor until a flour consistency is reached.
This recipe was modified from a recipe by The Lean Green Bean. http://www.theleangreenbean.com/sweet-potato-protein-cookies/
What’s for dinner? 8 chicken-free dinner ideas

What’s for dinner? 8 chicken-free dinner ideas

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Because it was free range.

Hearing about people’s diets is one of my favorite parts of being a dietitian. I sure do hear about a lot of baked chicken! Of course, people tend to highlight what they consider to be the healthy parts of their diet when talking to me because they may think, “what would a dietitian want to hear?”

Perhaps, everyone is eating pounds and pounds of baked chicken every week?! If that’s you, and you are ready to eat something else, I have great news. There are a plethora of other healthy proteins besides the boneless skinless baked chicken breast. If you want to stick with chicken, that is your choice. After all, I really enjoy sardines.

Anyhow, for those of you looking for fun, delicious, simple, and well-balanced protein options that don’t include baked chicken, keep reading.

At Well Balanced Nutrition, we strongly encourage incorporating protein with every meal. Ideally, we recommend a happy and healthy protein source such as organically fed and free-range poultry and grass-fed locally raised beef or other meat. You might be thinking “oh my gosh, that stuff is so expensive!” It’s true. The good news is the protein should only be 1/4 of your plate. Ultimately, the price will even out because the rest of your plate will be covered with those yummy fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates .

Here are 8 ideas to get you started:

  1. Pork tenderloin: Honey Soy Pork Tenderloin from addapinch.com
  2. Shrimp: Easy Shrimp & Broccoli Stir-fry by skinnyfitalicious.com
  3. Grass fed beef: How to grill grass-fed burgers by heygrillhey.com (the Pro Tip: low and slow to preserve moisture!)
  4. 93/7 Ground Turkey:  Fast and Friendly Meatballs from allrecipes.com
  5. Eggs: Spring Vegetable Frittata by realsimple.com
  6. Lentils: Vegan Lentil Curry by simpleveganblog.com
  7. Tofu: Tofu with Peanut-Ginger Sauce from eatingwell.com
  8. Cod: Pan-Seared Cod with Preserved-Lemon Aioli out of Foodandwine.com

3 steps to flip upside down eating

3 steps to flip upside down eating

Monday, March 20, 2017

It’s Monday morning, you’ve decided this is the week, “I’m going to be healthy and lose weight!”

You start with a fruit and vegetable smoothie, a handful of 7 almonds for a mid-morning, a tossed salad with grilled chicken and light dressing at lunch, and a piece of fruit in the afternoon.

Then you arrive home, it’s 5:30 PM, what’s your first stop? Straight to the pantry… because you’re starving!! 

  • Handful of pretzels, check
  • A bag of snack size Doritos (bought for the kid’s lunches), check
  • Leftover cookie from the weekend, check

Now it’s time to cook dinner. Still trying to eat right, you prepare broiled salmon with asparagus and brown rice. Feeling hungry and unsatisfied at the end of the night you find yourself back in the pantry for couple more handfuls of this and that and you’re finally done. 

You ask yourself, “What happened?? Today was supposed to be different!” This is what I call upside down eating as shown in the inverted pyramid.

When we start the day trying so hard to be good we typically deny our body calories.

What is a calorie? More specifically, what does a calorie give you?

Energy!!!

When we deny our bodies the energy they require to do life we end up getting hungry signals from our body to make up for the calorie deficit at the end of the day. 

Flip your pyramid upside down

  1. Eat more energy in the morning. Yes, that means breakfast. Some find benefit by eating breakfast like a king but for people that are not hungry I recommend breakfast 1 and breakfast 2 – these include light options such as yogurt, a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, whole-grain crackers with peanut butter, or oatmeal.
  2. Eat when you’re hungry. The first step, identify what hunger feels like in your body. If you just ate, it might just be thirst. I recommend having 16 oz of water and reevaluating after 15 minutes. For the mid-afternoon crash, have high protein non-trigger foods such as unsalted nuts, cheese stick, or low-sodium deli meat. Drinking coffee or tea to postpone eating will likely lead to overeating later.
  3. Become more mindful. If you’re standing at the desk, answering emails, taking phone calls, or rushing to a meeting you are likely not in tune with the calories you are consuming. Can you take 30-60 seconds to pause before inhaling the food to thank your body and the creator for providing this nourishment? 

Food for thought: 

As a non-breakfast eater for 3 years I know this can be a challenging concept. For me, it was all about starting small – that’s where breakfast 1 and 2 helped! 

When are you eating the most energy (calories)?

When do you need more energy?

Tell us in the comments below what you’ll do to flip your pyramid this week!

Delicious ways to indulge your sweet tooth AND nourish your body

Delicious ways to indulge your sweet tooth AND nourish your body

It’s rare that I meet someone who doesn’t have a sweet tooth. Some of us struggle more than others with sweet cravings. How do we choose to indulge our sweet tooth (or not to) in a healthy way? Here are four mindfulness strategies:

Mindful Pause

Oftentimes, we crave sweets because of some underlying thought or emotion that drives a desire for something comforting. When the craving hits, taking a mindful pause allows us to become aware of our emotions, senses, and actions. We may be frustrated, stressed, tired, or bored and looking to escape those uncomfortable feelings. Unfortunately, we all know those feelings won’t disappear by eating chocolate (although that would be awesome!). Yet our brain seems to think it will work every time.  A little mindfulness and a full toolbox of ways to soothe yourself without food can go a long way when it comes to managing that sweet tooth.

Sort Through the Craving

Ask yourself, do I really want this, or is my primitive brain just craving it because it’s there, free, tempting, etc? If we always follow that primitive drive to indulge, we could end up far from our goals. Having a way to sort through a craving can help. I like to ask myself questions to gather more information. How bad do I really want this? Willt his craving pass pretty quickly? Is this craving for something special and unique? Does this help me meet my needs? Is it going to make me feel good or lousy? Is the experience going to be worth it? For instance, the candy from a jar at work… although delicious, probably not very special. I might devour it as I walk to the water jug without actually experiencing it. But a melt-in-your-mouth s’more when you are on a family camping trip or a decadent homemade pie you only get once a year around the holidays that you sit down to savor with people who mean the world to you… those are the kind of treats that I call worth it. Simply putting a little thought into your decision can help you decide to pass or go on a sweet treat.

Give Yourself Permission

When food is off-limits, it gains power. It’s always your choice to honor a craving or ride it out and let it pass. When you take a mindful pause and sort through it, you can then consciously ask yourself if you still want that food. Give yourself permission to say yes without any judgemental thoughts (like I’m being bad or I’m cheating). Once you do, ironically, it will be much easier to say no if you want to.

Love What You Eat

Cravings can come on for various reasons, but being too restrictive or eating bland food can definitely trigger more cravings. If you aren’t enjoying your food, maybe it’s time to look at how to put more joy and flavor onto your plate. This is different for everyone. Perhaps this means adding a bit of honey and cocoa powder into your morning smoothie, making a flavorful sauce to go on top of your meat and roasted veggies, or ending your meal with fruit or, dare I say, chocolate sometimes!

Fruit, Vegetables and Chocolate 

Incorporate some delicious AND nutritious treats in your routine for a more satisfying daily diet. Dietitians really have a knack for combining healthier ingredients like fruits and vegetables with their chocolate! So, in honor of #NationalNutritionMonth, here I highlight some tasty treats packed with healthy perks from real, quality food ingredients, including my own recipe for Chocolate Banana Nut Muffins.

Ellie Krieger’s Dark Chocolate Covered Banana Pops – 

It’s fun for kids and a great way to treat yourself on a sunny day!

Sweet Potato Avocado Muffins by The Real Food Dietitians

“An ooey-gooey fudgy brownie bite filled with healthy fats and chocolaty goodness.”

And here is my latest creation. I had bananas that were past their prime so I baked these chocolate muffins. They aren’t overly sweet so they made a good breakfast or snack. But if you wanted to dial up the sweetness a notch, just add your favorite chocolate chips and/or try adding some whipped cream cheese icing and voila! Your muffin is more like a cupcake!

Chocolate Banana Nut Muffins

These muffins are a delicious for breakfast, snack or dessert. Each muffin has 3 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. Add healthy fats with optional walnuts or bump up the fun factor with some dark chocolate chips.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 1
Author Kristen Norton, RD, LDN

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2-3 teaspoons cocoa powder
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1 egg whisked
  • 1/3 cup butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup walnuts or dark chocolate chips optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Fill a muffin tin with liners and spray with non-stick spray.
  • Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa powder.
  • In separate bowl mash bananas. Add vanilla, egg, and melted butter.
  • Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth.
  • (Optional) Fold in walnuts or dark chocolate chips
  • Scoop into muffin pans.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

4 delicious swaps | whole grains and heart health – part 3

4 delicious swaps | whole grains and heart health – part 3

Every Wednesday this month we are talking about whole grains because of their connection to good heart health. If you missed the first two posts check them out: Not all carbs are bad: whole grains and heart health part 1 and You’ve been challenged | whole grains and heart health part 2. Today, I share 4 delicious whole grain swaps.

Last week, I didn’t just challenge you, I accepted the challenge myself. I was pumped when I found these Super Grains at Aldi! It is a mixture of millet, buckwheat and quinoa – all gluten-free whole grains. I’ve had quinoa but never millet or buckwheat. So, I tried them out! I simply prepared the grains as directed, then added them to stir-fried vegetables. Voila! Pretty tasty!

SWAP #1 Replace white rice with brown rice or a super grain blend. IMG_20170130_185214156

I also had the Super Grains for breakfast with some cinnamon, almond milk and maple syrup. It was delish!

How about you? Did you get a chance to try out a new whole grain? If you didn’t try something new, I hope you’ve checked out your local grocery store to at least see what is available. I know it’s not easy to incorporate something new into your diet. So, I wanted to highlight some more common options you can SWAP OUT.

That’s right. Take those refined grains and just swap them with nutrient-rich, heart-saving whole grains. These pictures prove just how delicious whole grains swaps can be.

At my house it’s pizza night every Friday. When we make our own at home we use a store bought whole wheat crust (and use lots of veggies).

SWAP #2 Buy or make a whole wheat pizza crust.

IMG_20170203_180227715

SWAP #3 Buy whole grain/whole wheat bread products. One day last week my husband made these delicious burgers and we ate them with whole wheat buns. They were as good as they look.

IMG_20170205_173144412SWAP #4 Use whole wheat flour in place of white flour. I’ve been baking with whole wheat flour or whole white wheat flour for quite some time and I’ve never been disappointed. These are almond butter cookies made with whole wheat flour plus a little almond meal. IMG_20170205_183154933

Stay tuned! Next week I’ll talk about how to truly tell what is a whole grain and what is not. It’s confusing sometimes. I’ll show you the item that completely tripped me up!

kristen