Cinnamon Pecan Breakfast Quinoa Bowl

The temps are dropping here in St. Louis right along with the brightly colored leaves. The brisk, fresh air scented with the first use of fireplaces in the city drives me to comfort foods, so I've been looking for new recipes that can adapt to the healthier versions.

I noticed a bag of quinoa in my pantry when I did the fall cleanout that needed to be used, so I cooked the whole bag and put it in one of my leftover containers in the fridge and went off to look for some new recipes with it. I happened on a recipe for Cinnamon Toast Breakfast Quinoa over on cookieandkate.com which is one of my favorite cooking blogs and decided to give it a try with a few modifications to suit my new eating regime. With very few modifications, here's the end result.

Cinnamon Pecan Breakfast Quinoa Bowl: 448 calories
Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons of chopped pecans
1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 dates, finely chopped
Liberal amounts of Cinnamon to taste
Dash of Nutmeg
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:

Prepare quinoa. This recipe uses 1 cup of cooked quinoa but make as much as you think you'll need. I  make a large batch and then use it over a week, but it also freezes well in containers or ziplocs. If cooking quinoa drives you crazy like it always has me, Kate has a really great tutorial on her site. The only thing that I would add, is that I have found my nut  milk bag works the best for rinsing quinoa since none of my mesh strainers are fine enough to prevent the tiny grains from slipping through.




Toast 2 Tablespoons of chopped pecans in a dry skillet over medium low. Watch them carefully as they burn quickly. I suppose you could use other types of nuts if pecans aren't your favorite, but I find they add a special flavor to the dish.

Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan and stir till nuts are fragrant, 20-30 seconds.

 Finely chop 2 dates and add to the nut mixture. I use kitchen scissors to chop dates. It seems to work better than a knife because they don't stick to the scissors.

Stir the date/nut mixture briefly until the dates are warm and softened, around a minute.

Add the quinoa, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg, and salt and stir well to combine. Stir in 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and heat just till warm throughout.

The quantities on this recipe are easily adjustable. I've made it with 1-1/2 cups quinoa on mornings when I want a bigger breakfast without adjusting any other quantities. If you used 2 cups quinoa then you would need to double the oil, nuts, dates, and spices. If you like it sweeter you can increase the maple syrup, but it really doesn't take much at all to make it pretty sweet, especially with the dates.

You can serve this as is, with milk, or with yogurt. It's a really nice way to fill the house with warm, fall spices!

Stuffed Green Peppers

I've had some long-time readers ask why I've dropped the step-by-step instructions on the recipes, and the honest answer was that I was trying to get a lot of recipes up in a hurry. I'll begin to update the recipes as I make them again so look for the changes.

In the meantime, here's a requested recipe, including step-by-step instructions, although I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished product because I was hungry!

Stuffed Green Peppers: 415 Calories for 2 halves

1 large green peppers, cut in half from top to bottom
seeds and stem removed, 24 calories
1/2 cup browned ground chuck, drained and rinsed if
desired, 170 calories
1/2 cup cooked brown rice, 108 calories
1/2 cup marinara sauce, 40 calories
1/4 cup chopped onion, 8 calories
2 cloves garlic, minced, 4 calories
1/4 cup Kraft 2% Mexican blend grated cheese, 80 calories

Brown the meat. Add onion and garlic and saute till onion is translucent. The photos are for multiple servings so the amount in the pan doesn't reflect the recipe single-serving amounts.



Drain the meat well, and if you're looking to further reduce the fat calories, rinse briefly in hot water.

Season as desired with salt and pepper.

Place your peppers cut side down in a casserole and add a 1/4" of water. Microwave for 5-8 minutes or till crisp-tender

Drain the water from the casserole. Add 3/4 of the marinara sauce to the bottom of the casserole. Reserve 1/4 of it.

Place peppers cut side up in sauce. Sprinkle salt on inside of peppers.

Combine the meat mixture with the rice, stirring well. Add the reserved marinara.

Divide the mixture between the peppers evenly.

Top the peppers with the cheese and bake at 350° till heated throughout and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Breakfast Pizza

Pizza is one of those things that I can reasonably eat at any time of day. A long time ago at a job long since forgotten, we used to order breakfast pizza all the time. I thought I'd do a modification of my pepperoni pizza to make the breakfast pizza. A delightful way to start the day! If you happen to have room for some extra calories that day, then by all means add some crumbled bacon bits to the top.

Breakfast Pizza: 421 Calories

2 Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran and Whole Wheat
pitas, 120 calories
2 eggs, 143 calories
salt, pepper
1/3 cup Kraft 2% milk Mexican style shredded
cheese, 120 calories
4 Tbl chopped onion, 16 calories
1/2 cup chopped red pepper, 19 calories
3 Tbl chives chopped, 3 calories

Briefly saute vegetables in a skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray till crisp tender. Set aside. Season the eggs and scramble in the same skillet. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and place the pitas on the sheet. Evenly arrange eggs on pitas. Top with vegetables and cheese. Sprinkle with chives Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Thin Crust Pizza - The Lighter Version

Pizza always seems to be the one thing that anyone attempting to take on a healthy food plan struggles with. There is something so tempting and so satisfying about greasy pepperoni nestled in warm, melted cheese on a chewy crust. It's a recipe that I've worked hard to perfect in the Comfort Food section of this blog, and one that we'll still indulge in occasionally after I'm down to my goal weight.

In the meantime, I had a need for some substitute. I've tried a lot of different low-carb pizza alternatives and have found them sadly lacking. After a good bit of trial and error, though, I've found something that definitely fits the bill for pizza night for me. You start with Joseph's Flax and Oat Bran Pitas. If you haven't discovered the line of breads that Joseph's bakery makes, you're really missing out. The Flax and Oat Bran pitas are only 60 calories for  a pita. It makes a decent crispy thin pizza crust when baked with toppings. So when the rest of the family is ordering out pizza and you just really need some, never fear. This makes 2 personal sized pizzas, both of which total only 413 calories. It's a win!

Pepperoni Pizza: 413 Calories

2 Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran and Whole Wheat
Pitas, 120 calories
1/4 Cup Muir Glen pizza sauce, 45 calories
1/4 Cup chopped onion, 16 calories
1/4 Cup chopped green or red pepper, 9 calories
2 Frigo Cheese Heads Light String Cheese,
shredded, 120 cals
8 slices of Bridgeford Pepperoni, 74 calories
1 Tbl parmesan cheese, 30 calories

Preheat the oven for 375°. Briefly saute the onion and green pepper in a small skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray until crisp-tender. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the pitas on the cookie sheet and divide the pizza sauce evenly between them. Spread sauce and top with 1/2 of vegetables, cheese, and pepperoni for each pizza. Sprinkle half of parmesan on each pizza. Bake until cheese is bubbly and pepperoni is crisping at the edges. Baking time will vary depending on your oven but will generally be 15-20 minutes. Watch carefully as the pita edges will burn if left too long.

Egg Salad - The Lighter Version

Egg salad sandwiches are a go-to food for us on the boat, especially when we're underway. I wanted to make a Noom version that would still taste great because I really missed the sandwiches but I didn't want to pay the calorie price of mayonnaise. It turns out that Fage 0% Greek Yogurt makes a really tasty egg salad. Who knew? I put this on 100% whole wheat bread, but you could lighten up the calorie total by using light bread.

Egg Salad Sandwich: 415 calories

2 hardboiled eggs, chilled, 140 calories
1/4 cup Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, 33 calories
2 Tbl sweet relish, 39 calories
1 tsp prepared yellow mustard, 3 calories
2 slices Brownberry 100% whole wheat bread, 200 calories
Salt, Pepper

Grate eggs into small bowl. Add yogurt, relish, mustard and seasonings. Stir well. Makes enough for a very stuffed sandwich.

Loaded Sweet Potato

Since I have a real problem with controlling portions on trail mix, I took a bag of Omega 3 trail mix and divided it up into 1/4 cup servings and put them into little snack Ziplocs. I've been finding new ways to use trail mix lately that seems better than just eating 1/4 cup from the bag (which only leaves me wanting more.) This sweet potato topped with trail mix is a great breakfast as well as lunch - high protein, full of the good fats and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Loaded Sweet Potato: 423 Calories

1 extra large sweet potato, 214 grams, 193 calories
1/4 cup Great Value Omega 3 Trail Mix, 150 calories
1 Tbl Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread, 80 calories

Spaghetti - The Lighter Version

Spaghetti is one of my favorite dishes. My husband doesn't care for it, so I've not had it in a while. Since starting the Noom food plan, I've been cooking a lot of meals separately since we have different tastes, and spaghetti has come back into the menu. Pasta gets a really bad rep if you're trying to lose weight, but if you use whole wheat pasta it's completely workable on the Noom plann. It's a pretty easy meal to lighten up so I'm really enjoying it. It's also very filling and satisfying.

Spaghetti: 424 calories

2 oz Great Value Whole Wheat Thin spagetti, cooked, 210 calories
1/2 cup Full Circle Organic marinara sauce, 50 calories
1/2 cup chopped onion, 32 calories
1/4 red pepper, chopped, 5 calories
1/2 medium carrot, chopped, 13 calories
1/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed, 59 calories
2 Tbl grated parmesan cheese, 55 calories

Spray a small skillet with non-stick cooking spray. The olive oil version is really great in this recipe. Add the onion, pepper, and carrot. Saute till crisp-tender. Add beans and marinara sauce and heat through. Place cooked spaghetti in bowl and top with sauce. Add parmesan.

Apple Crisp - The Lighter Version

I love apple crisp, especially on these cold mornings that we've been having here in St. Louis. It fills the place with such a heavenly cinnamon smell and just makes everything seem right. This one is a lightened version, sugar free and gluten free, using Medjool dates for the sweetness. It can also be dairy free if you use the Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread.

Apple Crisp: 430 calories for a big bowl

2 medium Honeycrisp apples, chopped, 80 calories
2 Medjool dates, finely chopped, 40 calories
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free old fashioned oats, 190 calories
1-1/2 tsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread, 40 calories
cinnamon to taste
dash salt

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the oats. Toast very lightly on low until the oats are fragrant and golden. Sprinkle with cinnamon and set aside. Place chopped apples and dates in a small oven proof bowl or casserole. Stir to combine. Top with oats. Bake 375° for 20-25 minutes or until your apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.

Taco Salad

We eat a lot of these full-plate salads on the boat, and the habit has carried over to our time on land. My husband doesn't like any cooked vegetables at all, but he'll eat almost any vegetable raw, so salads are a great way to give him the vegetables he needs. I mix up the vegetables depending on what I have, but the calorie content almost always comes out within a few calories either way. This taco salad is one of our favorites, but I had to find a way to lighten it up for Noom. I usually use Doritos and real sour cream, both of which are high in calories and fat. I substituted the Tiara white corn taco shells for the Doritos, and Fage 0% Greek Yogurt for the sour cream. The Fage yogurt has been a lifesaver for me on Noom. It has a taste very close to sour cream. The only other thing I did to lighten it up some was to drain the meat well and rinse it in hot water just a touch before adding the salsa and spices.

Taco Salad: 411 calories for a full 11" dinner plate

3 cups chopped Romaine lettuce, 24 calories
1/4 red pepper, diced, 8 calories
1 stalk celery, sliced, 3 calories
1/4 cucumber sliced thin, 12 calories
1/4 cup Kraft 2% Mexican style shredded cheese, 80 calories
3 oz ground chuck, browned, draned, and rinsed, 170 calories
2 Tbl Full Circle black bean and corn salsa, 15 calories
2 Tiara white corn taco shells heated and crushed, 56 calories
1/3 cup Fage 0% Greek Yogurt 43 calories
Seasonings of choice. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika on the meat.

Layer lettuce and veggies on a large dinner plate. Brown beef, drain, and rinse with hot water briefly. Return to skillet and add salsa and seasonings. Stir and cook on low till seasonings are fragrant. Add to salad and top with cheese and yogurt.

Cornmeal Waffles-The Lighter Version

These waffles are a real treat. They are sugar free and gluten free as long as you make sure that your oats and cornmeal are certified gluten free.  The recipe makes 2 conventional waffles and I suppose would make one Belgium waffle, although I haven't tried it in the Belgium waffle iron I have so I can't say for sure.

Cornmeal Waffles: 413 calories for both waffles together

In a blender mix the following until well blended:

1 egg, 70 calories
3 Tbl Boxed egg whites, 25 calories
1/3 Cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oats 127 calories
1/3 Cup low fat cottage cheese, 53 calories
1 Tbl coconut flour 13 calories
2 Tbl cornmeal, 55 calories
pinch of baking powder
pinch of salt

Cook 1 cup of frozen blueberries on high in a microwave for 1 minute. Mash up the blueberries with a fork and cook again for another 30 seconds. Set aside.

1 Cup frozen blueberries, 70 calories

Heat waffle iron and pour 1/2 of batter in. Spread lightly with spatula. Bake till golden. Repeat with other half.  Use cooked blueberries as syrup.