Low Calorie/Low Sugar Pumpkin Cookies

Halloween is a few days away and I knew I needed to make something that would help me avoid cheating by sneaking candy out of the kiddos dreaded candy bag. I knew I wanted something that would feel seasonal so I chose to make a treat with pumpkin. After doing a little Googling I came across this recipe for a pumpkin cookies that are made with steel cut oats and Truvia. I changed it slightly because I didn't have steel cut oats, only old fashioned and the PINK suggests we don't use the powdered form of stevia only the liquid form. Other than that I remained true to the recipe and I must say they are delicious. My kids even loved them which let me tell you is great on one hand because I feel good about giving these cookies to them, how often do you get to say that you feel good about giving my kids a cookie? But bad on the other hand because as they are eating them, I am wanting them to stop because they are going to eat all of my special treats...how selfish am I?

Remember these are a treat and should only be eaten as such. Also if you are on reset, they should be avoided. This recipe made about 60 cookies that were about 2 1/2 inches in circumference.

Ingredients

 

1 15 ounce can  pumpkin puree

1 cup applesauce

3 scoops of Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

2 cups old fashioned oats ground in a blender to form a flour

20 drops liquid vanilla stevia

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Start by grinding your oats in a blender until a flour like consistence is reached. I used my magic bullet to do this.

Add the protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt to the ground oats

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, this would include the pumpkin, applesauce, stevia and egg.

Stir until it is combined

Using a tablespoon drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet or use a Silicone baking mat. The mat I used is called  a Sil-pat.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy and feel free to freeze these cookies so you won't be tempted to eat them all at once.

    

 

 

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Arroz Con Pollo Pink Style

It was Cinco de Mayo yesterday which meant we had to have some form of Mexican food for dinner. One of my favorite Mexican foods is arroz con pollo. Prior to following PINK method, it is what I would order when we would go out to a Mexican restaurant. One day when eating some cauliflower fried rice, it hit me...I should try to make arroz con pollo using cauliflower rice, this is what I came up with. Not to toot my own horn but it was really good.

"Arroz" Con Pollo (serves 4)
1 head of cauliflower
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 onion
1 red pepper
1 tomato chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method

Start by cutting up your chicken into bite size pieces and sprinkle with the tumeric, paprika, cumin and salt and pepper

Cook the chicken on medium heat with a mist of olive oil

While the chicken is cooking chop your onion and peppers either by hand or if you are lazy like me in the blender or food processor. Also mince your cloves of garlic.

Next create your cauliflower rice by adding your cauliflower florets to the food processor/blender and pulsing until the cauliflower resembles rice.

When the chicken is cooked through, add in the chopped onion, peppers and minced garlic and cook until it softens.

Add in the cauliflower rice and stir to combine the chicken and rice. Pour in the 1/4 cup of water and cover pan with a lid so that the "rice" can steam.

While the rice is cooking, chop your tomato and cilantro.

Add the chopped tomato to the pan and stir to combine.

Let cook a few more minutes and just before serving stir in the chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

A great side would be some lightened up guacamole served with some chopped vegetables.

Nachos, I want nachos!

I must admit it, I have a block right now when it comes to creating new recipes. I can't seem to find inspiration or maybe it is that I can't seem to find the time. Either way, I am bored with food and I have found myself really wanting to stray from the PINK eating plan. (Note, I said wanting to. I have remained, yeah for me and will power.)  Let's hope that changes soon or else it is going to be very difficult to get this last 40 pounds off my body.

This isn't a recipe per say, more of an idea on how you could switch up a typical taco meal if you don't want to have taco salad yet again. Last night's dinner was "nachos" if you want to call it that. I was wanting nachos all day so I started to think about what I could use for the base of my nachos that would give me the crunch that the chips give you when you are eating nachos. I decided to cut some mini bell peppers in half and use those as my "chips." Yes, I know that they don't taste like chips but they do have that crunch factor so it was a decent swap. I topped my "chips" with a couple of tablespoons of re-fried beans and some ground turkey taco meat. I also added a little homemade pico de gallo to the top. A dollop of lightened up guacamole dip would also have been great on these but of course my avocados were not rip yet so I had to go with out. Yes, I shed a tear over that one. I do love some guacamole.

Help me out, I need some inspiration, if you have a great recipe, send it my way.

Coconut Cauliflower "Rice"

I just have to share a funny story before we get to the coconut cauliflower "rice" because it is too funny. I apologize if you are friends with me on Facebook because you probably already heard about it but who cares laugh at me again, it is okay.

So I went to the gym today to run and as I start my run, I realize that I am going to have an issue with my panties. They just don't fit anymore due to the weight loss and with every step, they are rolling down my booty. So annoying but what is a girl to do? I decided to just let them do what they are going to do. Eventually they settle around my hips just under my booty. So I continue to run. Yes it was uncomfortable but I pressed on. At around the 1 mile mark I decide to pull them up so I reach down to grab said panties around my hips only to discover that not only have my panties rolled down around my hips but that they have taken my pants right along with them thus revealing my back side to the gentleman behind me on the elliptical. Yes, go ahead and laugh. I showed my full moon to a stranger. Well, you'd think I must have run screaming from the gym right? No I simply pulled up my pants, walked to the bathroom took off those granny panties and returned to finish my run commando. My old self would have been mortified but the new more confident me, thinks it is funny. That man behind me got a pretty good show if you ask me, my booty is looking pretty good these days thanks to the PINK workouts.

Coconut Cauliflower"Rice"
1 head of cauliflower
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup coconut milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Start by taking the cauliflower florets off the head.

Take the florets and put them in the blender or food processor.

Pulse the florets until they are chopped and resemble rice.

Add the coconut oil, onion, garlic and ginger to a large pan and saute until the onion has softened.

  Add in the cauliflower "rice" and Stir to combine.

Add in the coconut milk.

Cover and let simmer/steam for about 5-10 minutes.

Uncover and let simmer for a few more minutes just to let any standing liquid evaporate.

Taste the "rice" and add salt and pepper if you feel it is necessary.

Stir in the unsweetened coconut.

Serve with the Sticky Chicken I posted yesterday and enjoy!

Sticky Chicken

I had a great weekend, I went with my daughter on a mother daughter camping trip and had a blast! For the first time in a very long time, I felt comfortable in my own skin. I wasn't ashamed of how I looked, I had more energy than I think I have ever had. I even participated in a relay race on the beach which included doing crab crawls for about 100 feet and thanks to Jenna I kicked booty at those crab crawls. Boy was my back and shoulders sore the next day though. We had a blast and the weather was great but not much cooking happened other than things I have previously posted so I apologize for my absence here.  I am back though and today's recipe is worth the wait, it is so yummy!

Today's recipe is inspired by traditional sticky chicken which is usually made by marinating chicken in soy sauce, garlic, ginger and lots of sugar. I decided to make a version that is much more healthful by using Medjool dates in place of the sweetener and subbing in Bragg's Amino's for part of the soy sauce to limit the amount of sodium in the dish. While the chicken wasn't technically sticky, the flavor was out of this world good and would make for some great shish-kabobs on the barbeque this summer. I just baked mine in the oven and served along side some coconut cauliflower "rice" and stir-fried vegetables. I will share how to make the coconut cauliflower "rice" tomorrow.

Sticky Chicken (Serves 4-5)
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts totaling about 20 ounces
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. minced ginger
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. Bragg's Amino Acid
3 Medjool Dates

Method

Start by putting your dates in a little warm water to help soften and re-hydrate. Set aside for about 15 minutes while you cut your chicken.

Next, clean your chicken and cut it into strips, or leave it whole, it doesn't really matter. I cut mine in strips intending to put it on skewers for kabobs but then got lazy and just threw them in the oven.

After the chicken is cut, you are going to make the marinade. Take the dates that have been softening and remove the pit, then add them to your blender along with a couple tablespoons of the water they were soaking in and blend them up until a paste is formed.

To a bowl, add the garlic, ginger, tomato paste, date paste, soy sauce, Bragg's and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine.

Add in your chicken and stir to coat, making sure all pieces and all sides are covered in marinade.

Marinate in your refrigerator any where from 2 to 8 hours. I let mine sit for about 3 hours and it was super flavorful and yummy.

Ideally these would be grilled but if you are lazy like me, go a head and bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they are cooked through. If your chicken is thicker than mine it will take more time, if it is thinner it will take less.

Serve with your favorite sides and Enjoy!