Power Breakfast Bowl

I recently came across Panera's new menu, revamped with new breakfast and lunch bowls, encouraging customers to start the new year with a healthy diet.  I love the idea of eating breakfast in a bowl; takes me back to my childhood days when all I'd eat for breakfast was cereal (boy was I missing out on other breakfast foods).  When I browsed Panera's website and discovered these new bowls, Panera also encouraged their customers to try a bowl of their own at home.  So of course I had to create my own.

This power breakfast bowl can be varied based on your preferences but my version here provides 13g of protein to keep you full and B vitamins and iron to keep you energized until lunch.  Add a slice of whole wheat toast, a piece of fruit and a cup of coffee for a well balanced, nutritious meal.

Power Breakfast Bowl
Serves 1

Ingredients

1 egg + 1 egg white
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/8 or dash of dried rosemary
1/8 or dash of dried parsley
dash of black pepper
Cooking spray

Directions

1.  Heat a non stick skillet over medium-low heat.  Spray the skillet with cooking spray and add sliced mushrooms.  Heat about a minute until bottom of mushrooms start to glisten, then toss.  Stir occasionally until mushrooms are glistening.  Sprinkle mushrooms with dried parsley and dried rosemary and toss to fully combine.  Transfer mushrooms to a bowl.
2.  Spray skillet again with cooking spray and add spinach over medium-low heat.  Cook spinach until just wilted and transfer to bowl with mushrooms.
3.  Combine egg and egg white to a separate bowl.  Spray skillet with cooking spray then add eggs to skillet without breaking the yolk, and cook over low heat.  Once most of egg white is opaque, cover skillet with lid and allow egg whites to fully cook.  Once all of egg white is opaque and yolk is still runny, remove from skillet and transfer to bowl with mushrooms and spinach.  Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Nutrition info:  146 calories, 10 g fat, 13 g protein, 3 g carb, 125 mg sodium

Pumpkin Pancakes

So I've been busy the last few months which is why you haven't seen a post on here for a while.  In between school, volunteering and teaching, I've still managed to experiment with a few recipes but haven't had a chance to post.  Now that I'm on winter break and Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I'd share my healthier version of pumpkin pancakes.

Using pumpkin puree adds a healthy dose of vitamin A and fiber while olive oil and pecans add heart healthy omega-3's.  Not only are they good for, but these pancakes also taste good due to hints of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  When topping these pancakes with maple syrup, make sure to choose Grade A maple syrup to increase your mineral content (maple syrup has significant amounts of manganese - good for bones, potassium and calcium) but avoid those with high fructose corn syrup.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Makes 10 pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oat flour (I ground up some oats in a food processor to make the flour)

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 Tablespoon + 2 tsp brown sugar

1 cup nonfat milk

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

chopped pecans

Directions

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together in a large bowl.  Mix pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.   Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and mix well with a whisk.  If mixture is too thick, add a little water to achieve a pourable consistency.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake, pour or scoop batter onto griddle. Cook until bubble starts to form on top and is lightly brown on the bottom.  Flip and cook an additional minute or two just until brown on both sides.  Serve hot and top with chopped pecans and maple syrup.

I stuffed mine with sliced bananas, for an extra potassium and fiber boost, and pumpkin cream cheese...the possibilities are endless.

Nutritional Facts (per 2 pancakes):  200 calories, 6 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 32 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 8 g protein

Healthier Pumpkin Bread and Cream Cheese Frosting

You know what today is?  Today is the first day of the fall season, my favorite season of the year.  Why?  Because it brings all things pumpkin to every coffee shop, bakery, restaurant, and grocery store.  My sisters hate it, but I love it because I want to try anything and everything that has pumpkin in it.  My favorite, besides a pumpkin latte, is the pumpkin bread seen in most coffee shops and bakeries.  I love the smell of the spices and the flavor of pumpkin with a combination of cream cheese frosting.

I think I'm drooling as we speak.  Since most pumpkin desserts are full of unhealthy fat and sugar, I've replaced a few things in an old recipe I've used before and created a new healthier version.  And, since I replaced eggs with flaxseed, the bread can also be considered vegan.

 I've also created a lower fat cream cheese frosting to top it off with (note:  the frosting is NOT vegan).  This batter is versatile as it can be made into pumpkin bars, cupcakes or mini muffins.

Healthier Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

Pumpkin bread 

2 Tbsp whole flaxseed, ground
6 Tbsp water
1/2 cup olive oil (or canola)
1 cup sugar (or brown sugar or honey)
1/2 can pumpkin puree, about 7.5 ounces
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Frosting

3 Tbsp reduced fat cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
powdered sugar, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Mix the ground flaxseed with the water and let sit for about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in one bowl and whisk.
4. Combine the pumpkin, flaxseed/water mixture, oil and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix in a stand up mixer for 30 seconds on medium speed.
5. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix at medium speed until fully combined.
6. Transfer mixture to a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Place in oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. For frosting, combine the cream cheese and yogurt and whisk until semi smooth.  Add powdered sugar to taste, mixing until smooth.

BLT salad

       I've been trying to accomplish a health and fitness goal as my 30th birthday approaches (90 days away to be exact).  As you get older, your metabolism tends to slow down, so I want to prepare my body for this metabolic downgrade when it reaches the 30's.  My efforts to reach my goal has been going really, really slow (I guess I know how my metabolism feels), but I do want to increase my veggie intake so I've been trying to come up with tasty salads.  I used to have my dad's mentality regarding salads, "That's not going to fill me up", but I've found that using the right ingredients and the right proportions can actually keep you full until snack time (definitely need snack time, a girl gets hungry!). 
       While preparing my dad's Sunday lunch, a blt sandwich, I thought, why not make that into a salad for myself.  By eliminating the bread I would save 180 calories and some sodium (breads actually have a lot of sodium).  You could play around with the ingredients, like adding avocado or feta cheese (I love feta but didn't have some on hand today).  This recipe is really simple and easy and the combination of flavors, especially the grilled onions and jalapenos and roasted sweet peppers, complement each other well. 

 
   It's also a cheap, healthy dish.  I found most of the ingredients at the 99 cent store.  I did invest in uncured bacon (which is more expensive than other bacon) because it contains no nitrates or nitrites.  Nitrates/nitrites are cancer causing additives so investing in the healthier bacon was an easy choice for me.  This serving is for one person, but you can easily double this and serve it as a side dish for multiple people.

BLT Salad

Servings:  1
Ingredients
6 romaine lettuce leaves, washed, dried, and shredded
1/4 cup red onion, sliced forming round circles
5 yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
Half a jalapeno, sliced forming round circles (optional)
2 sweet peppers
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 tsp olive oil
water
2 slices center cut uncured bacon

Directions

1. Cook bacon in nonstick skillet on medium heat.  Turn occasionally, until brown on all sides, being careful not to burn it.  Drain on a paper towel (don't need that unnecessary fat) and crumble.  Set aside.
2. Using a griddle (or skillet but make sure to add a little oil), cook onions with jalapenos until slightly brown.  Set aside.
3. Roast sweet peppers using flame from gas stove (or broil) until charred on all sides. Place in plastic bag with a damp paper towel and seal.
4. After 5 minutes or so, peel the charred skin using the damp paper towel (this makes it easier to peel), then seed and slice into thin strips.
5. Combine spicy brown mustard and olive oil.  Whisk until smooth.  Add water until desired consistency is met, I added water until the dressing was pourable.
6. Add lettuce to a bowl, drizzle with half the mustard dressing and toss to coat.
7. Top with grilled onions, jalapenos, sweet peppers, tomatoes, and crumbled bacon.  Add the rest of the dressing and serve immediately.

Mini Oreo Cheesecake

So my sister has been bugging me to make her Oreo cheesecakes ever since I made mini pumpkin cheesecakes last November.  She's not a big fan of pumpkin and loves her Oreos.  I've been meaning to experiment with Oreo cheesecakes, but with my busy school schedule, I never got around to it.  During 4th of July weekend, I had the perfect opportunity.  The great thing about making your own desserts is that you can control the ingredients and the portion sizes.  These mini cheesecakes come out to around 170 calories so you can make your cake and eat it too!  And the best part is that this recipe is quick and easy.

  I decided to use the mini pumpkin cheesecake recipe and adapted it to create an Oreo cheesecake recipe.  I replaced the pumpkin with Greek yogurt, used reduced fat cream cheese instead of regular, and reduced the sugar. 

Keep your cream cheese at room temperature, this will help when you mix in the yogurt and sugar.  Most regular and Oreo cheesecake recipes that I've seen use sour cream.  So I decided to opt for the high protein, no fat content of fat free Greek yogurt because I've found Greek yogurt to have a similar taste to sour cream.  This will help to increase the protein and decrease the fat content of this cheesecake recipe.  As for the mini cheesecake molds, I would use a mini cheesecake pan which I have yet to invest in, but if you don't have one then you can also use cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.  I also found paper baking cups to be useful.  Place the liners, or baking cups, in a cupcake pan.  Scrape cream off of the cookies, and place cookies in each of the 12 cupcake slots.
Place the cream cheese, sugar, and yogurt in a mixing bowl and mix at medium speed until everything is smooth.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix again until smooth.  Crush 5 Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag using a rolling pin.  Add the cookie crumbs to the cream cheese mixture and fold in.

Use a spoon to evenly distribute the cheese cake mix into each of the cupcake slots.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.  The mini cheesecakes are done when the cakes do not jiggle after shaking the pan.  Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes and chill in refrigerator.

Make the Oreo whip cream by combining heavy whipping cream and 1 Tablespoon sugar.  Whip until stiff peaks form.  Use the cookie crumbs and fold into the whipped cream.  Use a piping bag or piping gun to top cheesecakes with the whipped cream.

Makes 12 Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
1 package reduced fat cream cheese, or Neufchatel cheese, 8 oz, softened
6oz fat free Greek yogurt, plain
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
6 Oreo cookies, cream removed
5 Oreo cookies, crushed

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp sugar
Oreo cookie crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place plain cookie halves in cupcake pans or mini cheesecake pans.
Place cream cheese, sugar, and yogurt in mixer and mix on medium speed until smooth.
Add egg and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until smooth.
Fold in cookie crumbs.
Spoon Oreo cheescake mixture into each of the slots, place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes and chill in refrigerator.

Meanwhile, combine whipping cream and sugar and using a wire whisk, beat cream until stiff peaks form.  Fold in cookie crumbs.
Before serving, pipe whipped cream onto cheesecakes and serve.

SEPHA Diary: Day 5

It was our last day in Limon, Nicaragua and our last day with the FIMRC clinic.  In the morning, we went to a nearby town to give another prenatal talk with pregnant women.  The site was located at a preschool with highly energetic kids.  Two of our volunteers stayed to give the talk, while the rest of us moved to another nearby town to give physical therapy to developmentally delayed children.  Kids ranged from 3 months to 8 years old.  Jessica, our volunteer director, gave us handouts which showed how to provide physical therapy to these children.  Me and another volunteer, Doris, administered physical therapy on a 7 year old girl who had cerebral palsy.  In case you don't know, cerebral palsy is a nervous system disorder that causes physical disabilities such as difficulty with body movements and muscle coordination.  She was considered the ballerina of the group because her leg would fly up towards her head with ease!  Performing physical therapy was a task though, since she didn't relax and kept stiff most of the time.  She couldn't talk so determining if something was painful for her was a challenge. 

We found out that her diet only consisted of milk.  You could tell she was very malnourished by by her skin and bones.  Her mom was open to nutrition advice for herself and her daughter, so we gave a general nutrition talk as well as a cholesterol talk to all the parents present.  They seemed hesitant to participate at first, but once we brought out our food models, they became interested and asked a lot of questions.

After our talks, we headed over to lunch at Amparo's, a nearby restaurant and house?  The tables were set up outside on the porch, and the floors consisted of tree stumps (love all the natural decor of these places we've been to).  The hostess offered us drinks (mainly orange soda or Pepsi).  I know what you're thinking. 
"But don't nutritionists and dietitians promote avoiding soda consumption?"  We do because soda has a lot of unnecessary sugar and it is linked to many chronic diseases.  But by the end of the week, Pepsi sounded so good because it was always served ice cold which definitely sounded tempting due to the heat and humidity we've been in.  It wasn't an everyday thing, and I always say "consume in moderation".  The meal consisted of chicken served in a sauce, vegetables, rice, tostones (fried plantains) and this corn meal with vegetable side dish.  The dish was really flavorful, and I was surprised to not see any beans on my plate today.

lunch

After lunch, half of us went back to the physical therapy building to give it a makeover with some paint while the other half went back to the clinic to leave a mural.  After an hour and a half of sweat and muscle power painting, we managed to get one coat of paint on the entire building (inside and out).

had to leave our mark, CSULA....MyPlate mural

Definitely was my workout for the day.  We headed back to the clinic to see the finished product the girls made....and it came out beautifully.  The mural was a MyPlate model on the outside clinic wall so people will know how to eat healthy while waiting for their appointments.

All of us, with 2 PA students from USC and 3 volunteer ambasadors

After we said our goodbyes to the clinic volunteers and staff, we headed back to our hotel and decided to have dinner on the beach.  We had to try the best fish tacos in town (I've had better in Ensanada) but they were still really good, and the salsa had a nice kick.

fish tacos

We picked up a few souvenirs (the girls looked for sea shells while I looked at rocks) and then packed for our departure to the city the next day.

It was a really great experience volunteering in Nicaragua and I have all of you to thank for allowing me to experience this adventure.  Learning about different cultures and how they manage daily tasks is truly an eye opener for me, and it reminded me a little of India.  Their access to, or lack of, fresh fruits and vegetables in the rural area was definitely surprising since I would assume most people grow their own produce.  Due to the rainy season and recent droughts, farming in Limon was not an option.  If they wanted produce they had to wait for produce trucks to come into town with deliveries, but even then that was not an option since storms prevented trucks from coming into to town due to blocked roads.  They also could travel to a larger town, located 2 hours away, but most people did not have access to transportation or couldn't find the time.  As I ponder on their lifestyle, I think about how it is here in the U.S.  We have an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, yet most people take it for granted, consuming fast food or processed foods.  Maybe once in a while, we can all appreciate and eat a salad?

SEPHA Diary: Day 4

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend (I know, it's a little late).  I had a great time relaxing with my family, but now let's get back to Nicaragua, Day 4 (in case I forget).  This day, were going to visit a prenatal group.  As part of the prenatal group's baby shower, two of my classmates were going to give a presentation on general nutrition for pregnant women.  They both worked really hard on their poster boards and Tammy even learned some Spanish to communicate with the locals.  She also did a great job demonstrating a few exercises the women can do to ease their pregnancy.  After the prenatal talk, we gave a short nutrition talk with preschoolers whose teacher was at the prenatal meeting.  The preschoolers were very interactive with our presentation (although they didn't quite understand all of the components of MyPlate).  The also sang us their national anthem and Grethel, one of my classmates who is also from Nicaragua, joined in. 

Demonstrating exercises

 After our talks we went to lunch at a host family's house then headed over to the clinic to observe with the pediatrician.  Again, we took measurements of children's weight, height, head circumference and temperature and documented the data on their charts.  I also observed developmental assessments performed by Amanda, the volunteer ambassador for FIMRC. 

Measuring head circumference

That day, there were a lot of sick children with high temperatures.  Towards the end of the day, half of my classmates visited schools and gave nutrition talks, while the other half of us stayed at the clinic.  During this time, lightning began to flash.  We weren't really worried it was going to rain, since the previous days we've seen lightning but never any rain.
This time, however, we saw lightning and then heard thunder and in a matter of minutes, it began to pour.  It felt really good to feel the cold drops of water on my skin since it was still hot.  Towards the end of our shift, our volunteer director received a call informing us that our driver's wife was in labor.  On our way back to our hotel, we told our driver to drop us off at a nearby intersection so that he can meet his wife at the hospital (the nearby hospital was about 2 hours away).  We thought our hotel was only a short walk away, so walking shouldn't be an issue....boy were we wrong.  It took us about another half an hour to get to our hotel.  We did not realize how muddy the dirt was (since it just rained).  It literally felt like quick sand with every step we took.  At one point me and two other girls had to get locals to help us cross a small puddle (especially since I didn't want to slip and fall into the mud, that would've been a great blog post).

Our taxi (or riksha)

Love the pebbles on the ground, and the log benches

When we finally reached our hotel, we thought it was best to take a taxi to a nearby restaurant instead of walking.  When I saw our taxi pull up, I realized it looked very similar to taxis in India, which are called rikshas.  When I got out of the riksha (after taking a pic with it of course) I saw a label that had Indian writing on it.  They must have imported it straight from India (when I showed my parents the photo they were very surprised and excited, go figure).  We heard so many good things about this restaurant, La Scala.  It is owned by a couple, an Italian man and an Argentinian woman, who decided to open up a pizza place in this rural area of Nicaragua.  I thought we hit the jackpot, because pizza sounded amazing at the time (I know, we're in Nicaragua so we should be eating Nicaraguan food, but you can't pass up pizza, especially one made by an Italian).  The decor of the restaurant was beautiful (I kept mental notes for my future backyard).  All the furniture was made of wood and the ground was made up of stones; it was very calming. 

Love the color of the furniture

The menu was filled with typical Italian dishes, like caprese salads, focacia bread, and let's not forget the pizzas. 
Most of my classmates ordered the vegetarian pizza, while I ordered the salami pizza (I'm such a carnivore). 

Vegetarian pizza

When the pizza came out, it smelled delicious with Italian spices and basil aromas, and the crust was just perfect, not too chewy and not too crunchy.  The salami was the best part about my pizza; I've never tasted salami this good (I'm getting cravings as I type this).

Salami pizza

 After devouring the entire pizza, I still wanted to order dessert because they had banana flambe on the menu and I've never had it before.  After some persuasion, we ordered one to split between all of us.  The dessert didn't look too appealing, but it was tasty.  You could really taste the rum in the flambe, which is a good thing if you like rum.  I would definitely go back for the pizza....or just the salami.