HEALTHY Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Well, it's been 3 days since the Butler game and my voice still isn't back! It hasn't caused too many problems other than when I tried to tell my hair stylist how I wanted my hair cut. Thankfully I had a picture to show because if not who knows what kind of hack job I would have walked out of there with. The annoying part is even though she knew I had no voice she still persisted to ask me 100 questions. Typical. 

On Sunday night, Kyle and I were both feeling breakfast for dinner, so I tried out a recipe I've been waiting a while to make - Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes. I know, they sound sinful and unhealthy, but guess what... they are 100% healthy, gluten free, and packed with protein. It doesn't get much better than that. The best part is, you can have three pancakes for about 230 calories and 18 total grams of protein. You won't find that in your average pancake. 

Another great thing about making this pancake is your throw everything into the blender, so it's pretty quick and easy. I think Kyle and  I will finish the left overs tonight after our spinning date night! 

                                                       Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

                                                          Inspired by Dashing Dish

                                                               Makes 2 Servings 

Ingredients

1/4 C Vanilla Protein Powder

1 C Old Fashioned Oats

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 Carrots, Peeled and finely chopped

1/4 C Skim Milk

1/2 C Plain or Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Pinch of Ginger and Nutmeg

Pinch of Salt

1 T White Sugar

1 Carrot, Peeled and grated

Instructions

1. Add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the grated carrots into a blender. 

2. Blend until smooth. 

3. Fold in the grated carrots. 

4. Heat a griddle and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

5. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop batter onto the griddle and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. 

Apple and Pear Brie Crostini

I received the best package ever last week! Chobani surprised me with my own custom case of my favorite Greek yogurt: Lemon, Pomegranate, and Plain! Yum!!! I was seriously like a kid on Christmas opening up the box!

It's true, I am a "Chobaniac"

Chobani, I must tell you, you made me one happy blogger! I was tempted to skip dinner and just eat yogurt, but I decided I'd end dinner with a Chobani dessert instead! Best part of my day! What's your favorite Chobani flavor?

Chobani Time!

With Thanksgiving only a week and a half away, I have another healthy recipe for your holiday dinner...Apple and Pear Brie Crostini. I originally got this idea from the Craving Chronicles, and I knew right away that I had to make it for my Thanksgiving party. Craving Chronicles made it with apples, but I also tried it with pears and it was equally delicious. I may even try it with fig preserves next.

This recipe is so easy that I even hesitate to call it a recipe. Basically, you just throw a handful of ingredients together and it's done! Give this a try for Thanksgiving or even for a Sunday snack. Enjoy!

                                                               Apple and Pear Brie Crostini
                                                     Recipe Inspired from Craving Chronicles

Ingredients

1 Whole Wheat Baguette, Cut into thin slices
8 oz Brie Cheese, cut into small pieces that will fit on the crostini
1 Honey Crisp Apple, Slice thin
1 Pear, Slice thin
Honey
1/4 C Chopped Toasted Pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Brush both sides of each bread slice with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 2. Toast the bread for 5 minutes. Half way through the time, flip each slice to get each side extra toasty.
3. Once the bread is toasted, top each slice with a piece of brie. Return the pan to the oven and bake for a 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Make sure you keep an eye on it because you do not want the crostini or cheese to burn.
4. Top each crostini with either a pear or apple, or get crazy and top it with both! Drizzle with honey and a few pecans.
5. Eat immediately, and enjoy:)

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Month of Gratitude:
Today I am thankful for my adorable nephew. He keeps our family young, and is a gift from God. I may live 2 hours from him, but I am thankful that Facetime lets us bridge the distance. I love you Korbin!

Healthy Thanksgiving Cooking

Thanksgiving is two weeks away from tomorrow! Hope that doesn't freak anyone out too much! As stated in my earlier post, I will be hosting for a small group this year. I am very excited to host, but mostly excited to finally use all of the serving dishes that I got from my wedding!

I love Thanksgiving, but I'm always cautious to not eat too much because many traditional dishes are loaded with calories and fat. According to ACE Fitness, the average Thanksgiving meal has around 3,000 calories! Ah, just writing that number makes me feel like I just gained weight. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to not eat on Thanksgiving. That would just be cruel. Instead, over the next two weeks, I will provide you with some healthier Thanksgiving options that you can serve.

Last night, I tried out my first homemade stuffing. After doing a lot of research, I found a recipe for Cornbread and Turkey Sausage Stuffing. It was delicious! A lot of stuffing recipes are loaded with butter and pork sausage, but this one has no butter and uses Italian turkey sausage. Therefore, the fat content is drastically lower!

I also love this stuffing because it is filled with flavor, low in sodium, and extremely moist. Oh, and did I forget to mention that it's really easy to make? Give this recipe a try for your Thanksgiving dinner or for dinner tonight. Let me know what you think in the comments below, and remember that you can avoid Holiday weight gain with Fueling Strong!

Also, today I am so honored to have my blog featured on Fit Blogger. For those of you who have not checked it out yet, click here to see the feature. Fit Blogger is an awesome community of health and wellness bloggers, who share my similar passion of helping others achieve their fitness goals.

                                               Cornbread and Turkey Sausage Stuffing
                                                           Recipe from Eating Well
                                                          Serves 12 (1 C Servings)

Ingredients

1 Pound Sweet Italian Turkey Sausages (about 4 links), casings removed
1 Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped
4 Celery Stalks, Finely Chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 tsp salt
Ground Pepper, to taste
12 Cups Prepared Cornbread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1/4 C Parsley, Chopped
1 T Fresh Sage, Chopped
1.5 - 2 C Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth

Start Cookin'

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, brown the turkey sausage. Once the  meat is browned, drain the fat in a colander and rinse the meat to get rid of any extra grease.
3. Place the meat back in the saute pan and add the onion and celery. Cook this for about 10 minutes until the veggies are tender.
4. Transfer the meat mixture into a large bowl and add season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the cornbread, sage, and parsley and mix gently. Be careful not to break up the corn bread too much.
6. In a small pan, bring the broth to a simmer. Ladle 1 C of broth over the bread mixture and gently stir. Continue to add broth by 1/2 C increments until the bread is moist but not wet.
7. Transfer the stuffing into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

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Month of Gratitude:
I am grateful to have parents who have never held me back from achieving my dreams. They constantly told me to chase my dreams no matter how far from home my endeavors took me. I am grateful that to this day they still support my decisions, and encourage me to fly. Love you mom and dad!