Well, I guess you’re all as kooky as me (that may or may not be a compliment ).  I am thrilled to see that my C.R.A.B. muffins didn’t turn you away and make you think I had gone cray-cray.  In fact, my veggie-stuffed muffins seemed to peak your interest in terms of what one can sneak into baked goods (hehe, OK, I don’t mean that!).  I really enjoy experimenting with my baking and cooking.  Whether I’m making my recipes vegan-friendly, healthifying them or adding in some of my own interesting tweaks, it’s always an adventure when I arrive at the end result.  And, the adventure is even more delicious (obvi pun intended) when my creation winds up being a tasty one.

Image Source – cleartuts.com

Much to my dismay, my C.R.A.B. muffins didn’t last too long in my kitchen.  While I thought ten of them would have endured at least a week or so either on my counter or in my freezer, within a few shorts days I was left baked good-less.  But my craving for veggie-infused sweetness was still alive and kicking.  So what’s a gal to do?

Make yet another brussel sprout sweet treat!

No Need to Bake Banana Brussels Sprout Cake
Serves 1

• 1/4 cup of dry oats, ground into oat flour (dry oats ground until they reach a flour-like consistency)
• 1 TBSP of whole wheat flour
• 1/4 TSP of baking powder
• 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites
• 1/3 of a ripe banana, sliced (mine was frozen, but fresh would work, too)
• 3 raw brussels sprouts, finely chopped
• few dashes of cinnamon
• dash of pumpkin pie spice
• dash of salt
• drizzle of agave nectar or maple syrup (optional)

1) If you haven’t already done so, now would be the time to prepare the oat flour and brussels sprouts.  I’ve been really taking a liking to my food chopper.  But, you could prepare both using a food processor or blender.

2) Coat the bottom and sides of a microwaveable shallow bowl with cooking spray.

3) Mix together the oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, egg whites, banana, brussels sprouts, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in the coated bowl until well-blended.  Spread the mixture down evenly at the bottom of your bowl until you get something that resembles a pancake.  Allow the mixture to sit untouched for a few minutes.

4) Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes, covered with a paper towel.  Be careful when taking the bowl out of the microwave as it will be extremely hot!  (trust me…)

5) Allow the cake to cool for about a minute.  Be fancy and remove to a plate, or be lazy, save a dish and eat straight from the bowl.  Top with a drizzle of agave nectar or maple syrup.  Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and enjoy!

Similar to my Fee-Fi-Faux-Yum Pumpkin Cake, this little snackie hit the spot!  It was fast and easy to prepare, and I felt as if I was serving myself an instant piece of freshly baked cake.  But not just any cake, a cake injected with nutritious brussels sprouts.  In this recipe, the brussels were a bit more apparent in texture, but not in taste.  There was a mild crunch from the crispness of the veggie, which contributed to its unique nature and complexity.  Plus, the brussels helped to bulk up the volume of this snack.  The addition of the ripe banana helped to balance out this recipe with its natural sweetness, while the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice just made it more fun.  It’s truly a satisfying snack.  You feel full, you get a little dose of vegetables and your sweet tooth is quelled.  Not to mention, it literally takes a hot minute to make (or bake)!

I keep seeing more and more posts and recipes online with these mini cabbages (like here, here and here), so I know you are all no strangers nor foes to this mighty sprout.  And if you like them in your savory dishes, why not give them a try in your sweet ones?  You might just sprout a new crazy love!

If you could have a fruit tree and/or vegetable garden, what would you grow?  If you do have one, what do you have in your crop?

Namasté,
Nicole

I think it’s safe to say that we all want to feel good and be healthy.  We all want to be our best and thus, we eat right, exercise and try our hardest to maintain a positive and upbeat perspective on life.  I know I don’t feel any better than when I’m fueling my body with clean and nutritious foods, and staying active in both body and mind.  For that reason, when my friend introduced me to MonaVie (‘mo-na-vee’), I was mo’ than elated to give it a try.

My friend, Connie, was visiting from New York and wanted a group of us to sample these blends of fruit juices she had recently started promoting.  When she took out the product, I thought she was going to pour me a glass of wine.  The MonaVie blends come in these beautiful glass bottles with a sleek logo that would make you think you were imbibing on a fine merlot, versus a non-alcoholic fruit juice.  But after one sip, I knew this wasn’t any ordinary drink.  The blend of MonaVie that I sampled (which was the MonaVie Original), was thick and concentrated, yet delicious and refreshing.  Even with a small 3 – 4 oz. sample, I could immediately feel the potency of this drink flooding my system.  It was an immediate energy booster!  So I had to finally ask, what the heck is in this stuff?!

According to the MonaVie website:

• MonaVie’s extraordinary products feature a delicious blend of the Brazilian açai berry and 18 other body-beneficial fruits from around the world.

• MonaVie’s refreshing açai blends are products with a purpose. From powerful antioxidant support to joint and heart health, each formula delivers key nutrients to help you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

• MonaVie is a unique and delicious nutritional beverage. The açai berry is the foundation of the MonaVie blend, but with literally thousands of phytonutrients and antioxidants found in nature’s fresh fruits, MonaVie didn’t want to focus on just one at the expense of others.  This led to MonaVie’s selection of 18 additional fruits, each selected for its unique, beneficial properties and ability to contribute a variety of phytonutrients and antioxidants to MonaVie’s premier nutritional beverage.  Together, the synergistic effect of the fruits in the MonaVie blend reaches far beyond what any single fruit could accomplish.

• Designed for easy absorption in the body, just 2–4 ounces of MonaVie per day provides you with the phytonutrients and antioxidants found in many of the world’s most nutritious fruits—including açai.

• Açai contains concentrated levels of anthocyanins—a powerful family of antioxidants that assists in neutralizing the harmful effects free radicals can have on your body.  Through an exclusive freeze-drying process, MonaVie is able to capture the vital nutrients found in this delicate fruit.  MonaVie’s freeze-dried açai powder boasts an ORAC score (a measure of antioxidant power) higher than any other fruit or vegetable tested to date, on a gram-for-gram basis.

While I love my fruits and vegetables, I have to say that I’m not a huge juicer.  The thought of throwing back a glass of orange, grapefruit or even pomegranate juice (sorry, POM) just doesn’t do it for me.  I would much rather get my vitamins and nutrients by eating the fresh produce, not drinking it.  But, sometimes, I just don’t think I am getting enough of those nutritious properties.  Knowing that I can get the antioxidant capacity of approximately 13 servings of fruits and vegetables in just four ounces of MonaVie is appealing to me.  I’ll still continue to eat my produce, but if I can drink this fruit blend a couple times a day as a supplement to my healthy eating ways, I can’t fail!

Because I practice hot/power yoga close to a daily basis, Connie gave me a bottle of the MonaVie Active to take home and try.  She mentioned that this blend contained glucosamine, which promotes healthy joint function, targets mobility and flexibility and it is designed to support joint performance and recovery.  While I don’t have bad joints, nor do I experience many aches or pains, my muscles do tend to get tired and sore from yoga.  Thus, sampling a bottle of the MonaVie Active for a week was something I gladly volunteered to do.

When I drank my first 2 oz. ’shot’ of MonaVie active (a blend of Açai, white grape, apple, acerola, aronia, purple grape, cranberry, passion fruit, prune, kiwi, blueberry, bilberry, wolfberry, pomegranate, lychee fruit, camu camu, pear, banana, and cupuaçu), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I had eaten pretty lightly during the day and was on my way out the door for an evening yoga class.  I figured drinking my juice blend couldn’t hurt and if anything, it would just be a tasty treat before exercising.  But, I had this enormous burst of energy.  My mind felt clear, my breathing was smooth and I wasn’t tired at all.  In fact, I was surprised when my class came to an end.  I felt as if I could go on for hours!  However, when I took my subsequent shots, I didn’t quite get the same effect.  Don’t get me wrong, they still tasted fantastic.  But, I just didn’t feel ‘different’.  I’m not quite sure if I was expecting to feel a significant surge in energy, or if I was expecting the MonaVie Active to transform me into a whole new person.  I just thought this fancy drink was going to do more than just taste fancy.  I emailed Connie to get her opinion and she wasn’t surprised by my reaction.  Her exact words were, “I think because you are a healthy gal to begin with, your body won’t have too many changes, but I can assure you that it is getting exactly what it needs.  Sometimes it takes a few weeks to feel major changes.  Preventative care and wellness should just feel good and normal.”  So true!  I guess I just never looked at it that way.  I thought the MonaVie was going to cast a magical spell on me.  But, when you’re already doing all the right things, the magic’s already there.

All in all, I really enjoyed MonaVie.  It has a unique taste, it’s chock full of fruits I wouldn’t even begin to know where to find and it’s good for me.  While it is a bit on the pricey side, I would recommend it.  Plus, when you know you’re starting your day (I decided to drink it with my breakfast) with something that is high in vitamins and nutrients as this little drink is, it certainly sets a positive tone.  When you start off healthy, you want to continue healthy, and do all the things that will prolong and accentuate that feeling.  Whether that feeling stems from exercising in the morning, having a shot of MonaVie or perhaps a practicing a morning meditation, it all begins with just taking that first step.  And I think we can all drink to that!

*If you’re interested in purchasing MonaVie, or in becoming a distributor of this amazing product (they have some pretty fantastic business opportunities), you can contact Connie through her website or via email at conx123[at]gmail.com

What’s one beauty ritual you must do every day?  What is one food that you swear makes you feel healthy as soon as you consume it?

Namasté,
Nicole

I love that saying.  I love it because it’s simple and because it’s so true.  It’s a saying that I like to remind myself of whenever I am feeling challenged or whenever I begin telling myself I can’t accomplish something.  It’s definitely a good motivator and a good way to maintain a healthy mindset.

When Elizabeth posted about the Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge, I knew it was something in which I had to participate.  Elizabeth, along with Jessica, Janel, Corinne, and Lindsey, all decided to create a breakfast challenge involving five main ingredients.  For each day of the five day challenge, a certain ingredient would be highlighted.  Participants are asked to create a breakfast dish/recipe with the star ingredient and enter it into their contest.  At random (using random.org), the winner will be selected and thus will be rewarded with fabulous prizes.  In addition, the winner of each day/ingredient will be highlighted on all five of the bloggers’ blogs.  Again, there are five ingredients in this challenge, therefore giving participants five separate chances to win.  And, participants get to come up with a creative and fun recipe and a new way to incorporate a healthy ingredient into their breakfast.  So, you really can’t lose!

Image Credit – zazzle.com

The first ingredient in the Super Bowl Breakfast Challenge is an ingredient of which I can never seem to get enough.  The ingredient is avocado.  Because I’m a fan of savory versus sweet foods for breakfast, it didn’t take me too long to come up with my entry.  But instead of making this creation as I normally would, I gave it a little twist.

Colorful Tofu Scramble
Serves 1

• a little less than 1/2 a brick of lite silken tofu (I used Nasoya brand)
• a big handful of spinach
• 1/3 cup of tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 avocado, chopped
• few shakes of Adobo powder
• s&p

1) Lightly coat a medium frying pan with cooking spray.  Turn the heat on to medium/medium high and begin cooking the tofu.  It will be very soft and will crumble easily.  With a spatula, begin moving it around and breaking it up a bit.

2) After a few minutes of cooking, add the Adobo powder, salt and pepper to the tofu.  Mix everything around a bit; it will start looking like scrambled eggs.

3) Add your spinach and mix everything around until the spinach leaves begin to wilt.  Add your tomatoes.  Mix everything around again for another couple of minutes.

4) Add your avocado and gently mix again.  Try not to mush your avocado too much.

5) Once everything is warm, eat!

For the second ingredient in the Super Bowl Breakfast Challenge, I decided to vamp up a classic breakfast food.  I figured it would be fun to ‘healthify’ and spiff up a breakfast staple that tends to get a bum rap.  I decided to make pancakes with flax, the second challenge ingredient.  I figured if I could combine a nutritious item such as ground flax with a food that tends to lack nutrients, how could it not be a winner?  Plus, I also wanted to come up with another way to eat my beloved oats.

Banana Flax Pancakes
Serves 1

• 1/3 cup of oat flour (dry oats ground until they reach a flour-like consistency)
• 2 TSP of flax meal
• 1/8 TSP of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites
• 1/3 of a ripe banana, sliced (the more ripe, the better)
• squirt of agave nectar or maple syrup for topping

1) Grind your dry oats until you get the consistency of flour.

2) In a medium bowl, mix your oat flour, flax meal, baking powder, salt, egg whites and banana slices.  Mix until everything is well-blended and the bananas are completely mashed into the oat flour mixture.

3) Let your pancake mixture sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

4) Coat a frying pan with cooking spray.  Turn the heat onto medium/medium high and pour your pancake batter into a giant circle/pancake.  Or, you can make 2 or 3 smaller pancakes.  I made one giant pancake.

5) Let the pancake sit untouched for 5 – 7 minutes.  The batter will be quite thick if you are making just one pancake.  Once you can move the frying pan around and the pancake easily moves off of the pan, you are ready to flip.  Be careful as the inside may still be a tiny bit soft.

6) Once flipped, allow the other side to cook for another 5 minutes.

7) Place your pancake on your plate and top with agave or maple syrup.  Enjoy!

I had a blast creating both of these recipes.  Participating in this challenge gave me the chance to get the wheels of my imagination turning and to get my competitive juices flowing.  And while I know winning any of the contests in the Super Bowl Breakfast Challenge doesn’t have anything to do with who can come up with the better recipe, I definitely wanted to give it my best shot.  Unfortunately, random.org was not in my favor for either of the first two ingredients.  I may have had creativity going for me, but not dumb luck.  No worries, I certainly didn’t mind, nor was I disappointed.  Whenever I have the opportunity to challenge myself, learn something new and be creative, I can’t lose.  And as Mother Healthy Chow always told me whenever I would come home complaining about some of the mean elementary school kids, “I don’t care what you say.  You’re always a winner to me!“  Awww, thanks MHC!

***BTW, there are still two ingredients left in the Super Breakfast Bowl Challenge.  You have until the end of today to submit a recipe and pictures for quinoa, and you have until Thursday to submit a recipe and pictures for walnuts.  For more details, you can go here.***

Are there any words of wisdom you remember from your childhood that your parents or family members may have passed down to you?  Do you have a favorite quote or saying that motivates you?

Namasté,
Nicole

Avocado Entry HealthyChow X Reply | Nicole Chow to thesuperbreakf. show details Feb 14 (2 days ago) Hello, It’s Nicole from HealthyChow.com!  I hope I’m not too late to submit my entry for avocado.  Here goes… Colorful Tofu Scramble a little less than 1/2 a brick of silken lite tofu a big handful of spinach 1/3 cup of tomato, chopped 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 avocado, chopped few shakes of Adobo powder s&p 1) Lightly coat a medium frying pan with cooking spray.  Turn the heat on to medium/medium high and begin cooking your tofu.  It will be very soft and will crumble easily.  Begin moving it around and breaking it up a bit. 2) After a few minutes of cooking, add the Adobo, salt and pepper to the tofu.  Mix everything around a bit; it will start looking like scrambled eggs. 3) Add your spinach and mix everything around until the spinach leaves begin to wilt.  Add your tomatoes.  Mix everything around again for another couple of minutes. 4) Add your avocado and gently mix again.  Try not to mush your avocado too much. 5) Once everything is warm, eat! This is SO tasty and fast to make.  It tastes just like scrambled eggs (but it’s vegan!)!  It’s filling and the colors are just amazing.  It’s a great way to start the day! Thank you, Ladies! Regards, Nicole www.healthychow.com 3 attachments — Download all attachments View all images February 2010 43 blog photos 140.JPG 1438K   View Download February 2010 43 blog photos 144.JPG 1490K   View Download February 2010 43 blog photos 176.JPG 1402K   View Download Reply Forward Super is not available to chat Super Breakfast Hi Nicole! This looks so tasty! unfortunately, random.org was not in your fav… Feb 15 (2 days ago) Reply | Nicole Chow to Super show details Feb 15 (2 days ago) Oh boo!  Well, I’m glad I wasn’t too late then!  I’ll work on my entry for flax right now.  Thanks again. Enjoy the day -Nicole - Show quoted text - On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 9:15 AM, Super Breakfast <thesuperbreakfastbowlchallenge@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Nicole! This looks so tasty! unfortunately, random.org was not in your favor today-sorry about that! There’s still time to submit other recipes though!! thanks for entering the contest and enjoy this free Monday! cheers! elizabeth On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 11:56 PM, Nicole Chow <healthychow@gmail.com> wrote: Hello, It’s Nicole from HealthyChow.com!  I hope I’m not too late to submit my entry for avocado.  Here goes… Colorful Tofu Scramble a little less than 1/2 a brick of silken lite tofu a big handful of spinach 1/3 cup of tomato, chopped 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 avocado, chopped few shakes of Adobo powder s&p 1) Lightly coat a medium frying pan with cooking spray.  Turn the heat on to medium/medium high and begin cooking your tofu.  It will be very soft and will crumble easily.  Begin moving it around and breaking it up a bit. 2) After a few minutes of cooking, add the Adobo, salt and pepper to the tofu.  Mix everything around a bit; it will start looking like scrambled eggs. 3) Add your spinach and mix everything around until the spinach leaves begin to wilt.  Add your tomatoes.  Mix everything around again for another couple of minutes. 4) Add your avocado and gently mix again.  Try not to mush your avocado too much. 5) Once everything is warm, eat! This is SO tasty and fast to make.  It tastes just like scrambled eggs (but it’s vegan!)!  It’s filling and the colors are just amazing.  It’s a great way to start the day! Thank you, Ladies! Regards, Nicole www.healthychow.com Reply Forward Super is not available to chat

If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know that I’ve been sampling POMx Iced Coffees and you’ll probably think that I’m getting obsessed with finding new ways to consume these little bevvies.  Hehe, I don’t have OCD or anything!  Well, I really don’t, but sometimes I wonder… Anyway, in my last post, I cooked with the iced coffees and put a new twist on some breakfast favorites.  While I was experimenting with my breakfast, I realized that I was missing something.  I had made oatmeal, pancakes, french toast and a frozen treat but I didn’t make the one thing that all you lovely bloggies seem to keep pumping out and tempting me with on your wonderful blogs.  Any guesses as to what it is?  And no, I didn’t make iced coffee covered tofu (although that does some quite interesting)!  I finally made my first batch of pumpkin muffins of the season!  But I decided that they weren’t going to be any ol’ pumpkin muffins.  Nope.  That’s not how Healthy Chow rolls…I gave my muffins a kick, or maybe I should say, a buzz!

Buzzy Spiced Banana Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from Cooks.com
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

For the muffins:

• 1 medium sized banana, ripened
• 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin (I used Libby’s brand)
• 1/2 cup of evaporated cane juice (I used Florida Crystals, feel free to use dry sweetener of your choice)
• 1/4 cup of POMx Chocolate flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 1 TSP of Greens Plus Omega³ Chia seeds, mixed with 2 oz. of water
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 2 TSP of baking powder
• 1 TSP of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 TSP of salt

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of dry oats
• 1 oz. of pecans, chopped (I used Green Valley Pecans)
• 1/2 TSP of pumpkin pie spice

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2) Mash your banana by hand or mix in a blender until you get a 1/2 cup.

3) In a bowl, combine your mashed banana, pumpkin, evaporated cane juice, iced coffee, applesauce and chia seeds.  Mix until everything is well-blended.

4) In a separate bowl, combine your all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix until everything is well-blended.

5) Combine your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients. Again, mix until everything is well-blended.

6) Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins or liners (I used aluminum foil liners).  Make sure the batter is evenly distributed.

7) Top each muffin with 1 tablespoon of the spiced topping.

8 ) Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

9) Let muffins cool in tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

10) Remove muffins from tins and eat!

These muffins were surprisingly good! Sometimes, when I make ‘healthier’ substitutions in my cooking and baking, I tend to get worried that the flavor will be lost.  Not true in this recipe!  The muffins were moist from the banana, pumpkin purée and applesauce.  You couldn’t tell that there wasn’t a hint of butter or oil in these little guys.  Also, the chia seed replacement for the egg worked amazingly.  It’s great to know that you can have the taste and efficiency of an egg without the added cholesterol.  In addition, you can add some omega³’s and some soluble fiber to your breakfast.  The brown sugar in the topping mixed with the chopped pecans and pumpkin pie spice was what really made these muffins sing!  I loved how the brown sugar got caramelized in the oven and made this recipe perfectly sweet.  While the POMx Chocolate Iced Coffee flavoring wasn’t very apparent, it did add a subtly unique flavor.  Plus, who doesn’t like getting an added punch with their breakfast?

As you can see, there are a number of ways you can incorporate the POMx Iced Coffee into your cooking and baking.  And, did you know you can make cocktails with these iced coffees?  Just check out what the ever-so-creative Kerstin cleverly made! Insane!  At first I had no idea what I was going to do with all my free samples and now, I’m wishing I had more (Blue – hint, hint)!  The possibilities are endless! Just as the POM Wonderful company was able to turn regular iced coffee and pomegranate juice into something extraordinary, with a little creativity and thought, one can turn a simple baked good into something un-POM-mon.  Buh-duh-bump!

Did you get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping and take advantage of Black Friday?  Or, are you going to wait around like me and procrastinate?

***Today’s the last day to participate in my jewelry giveaway.  You have until 6pm ET tonight to enter!  The winner will be announced on Monday, November 30th.  Good luck!***

Namasté,
Nicole

***Have you entered my earring giveaway yet?…***

So if you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know that I was recently given samples of POMx™ Iced Coffee to taste and review.  While I really enjoyed the flavor of the iced coffees, I don’t think I’ll be rushing to replace my morning cup of black coffee with the POMx™ Iced Coffee anytime soon.  Sorry! They’re just a tad too sweet for me to have so early on in the day as my first consumption of caffeine.  Plus, I’m already sweet enough (*sarcasm*)!  So what did I do with the rest of my samples, you ask?  Did I throw them away?  Did I give them to someone else to finish (that would be a bit gross)?  Did I just drink them for the heck of it?  No.  No.  And no!  Since Healthy Chow isn’t one for wasting things, I decided to make good use of my free samples versus just letting them sit and and take up precious space in my fridge.

So, you wanna know what I made…?

Well, if I wasn’t going to be drinking these little ‘wonderfuls’ as part of my breakfast, I figured the next best thing was to cook with them!  Because I love the rich and decadent taste of each of the flavors, I imagined they would be the perfect component in my breakfast foods.  Now, I’m not right a lot of the times, but when I am, I hit the nail exactly on the head (she pats herself on the back)!

Are you ready to find out yet…?

Blueberry Cheesecake Oatmeal POM-erized
Serves 1

• 1/2 cup of dry oats (you can use quick oats or old-fashioned style)
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 TSP of chia seeds (I used Greens Plus brand)
• 2 TBSP of nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 TBSP of POMx™ Vanilla flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/2 TBSP of chopped raw almonds
• small handful of blueberries, fresh or frozen

1) In a small pot, bring water to a rolling boil.  Once boiling, add the oats and chia seeds.  Stir to make sure the chia seeds are well-blended with the oats.  Reduce the heat to medium/medium-low and let cook for another 3 minutes.

2) Add your cottage cheese and iced coffee.  Stir.

3) Remove oatmeal from heat and pour into a bowl.  Top with blueberries and chopped almonds.

4) Eat with a spoon, but you won’t be able to stop thinking that this is a piece of blueberry cheesecake!

Yum-to-the-O!  This was incredible! The cottage cheese made the oatmeal fluffy (and cheesy) while the chia seeds added to the thickness.  The vanilla iced coffee sweetened this whole little number and the chewiness from the almonds made me think I was eating a graham cracker crust.  And of course, the blueberries accentuated the entire recipe.  If this breakfast was a whole cake, there wouldn’t be a slice left!

POM-errific Chocolate Banana French Toast
Serves 1

• 2 or 3 slices of bread (I used Trader Joe’s Sprouted Flourless Whole Wheat Berry Bread – 2 slices and 1 end)
• 1/4 cup of POMx™ Chocolate flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/3 cup of liquid egg whites
• few shakes of pumpkin pie spice
• few shakes of cinnamon
• few shakes of nutmeg
• pinch of brown sugar
• 1/2 of banana, sliced
• sprinkling of organic dried coconut (I used Woodstock Farms brand)
• sprinkling of cocoa powder

1) Mix the iced coffee, egg whites, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar in a shallow bowl.

2) Dip each slice of bread in the iced coffee/egg white mixture.  Let each piece absorb the mixture for about 1 minute.

3) Spray your frying pan or griddler (or in my kitchen, the C.G.) with cooking spray.  Turn your heat to medium.

4) Place your dipped slices of bread on the frying pan/griddler.  Heat each side for about 2-3 minutes or until the edges start turning that nice golden brown color.

5) Flip each piece of bread and cook for another couple of minutes.

6) Serve with sliced bananas, cocoa powder and dried coconut sprinkles.  Devour!

This french toast recipe was so tasty! There was just enough chocolate flavoring from the iced coffee to give this dish a unique flavor without it being overly sweet.  Coupled with the smashed banana slices (the banana was previously frozen) and the dried coconut, this french toast didn’t even need maple syrup.  I wish I had made more than the the 2.5 pieces I inhaled!

Oatmeal POM-tein Pancakes
Serves 1

• 1/3 cup of dry oats (you can use quick oats or old-fashioned style)
• 1/4 cup of POMx™ Vanilla flavored Iced Coffee
• 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites
• 1/2 TSP of baking soda
• few shakes of cinnamon
• few shakes of nutmeg
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• maple syrup or agave nectar

1) In a small bowl, mix together the oats, iced coffee, egg whites, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2) Pour the mixture into your blender.  Add your sliced banana.  Blend until you get the consistency of a thin batter.

3) Spray your frying pan or griddler (or C.G) with cooking spray.  Turn your heat to medium/medium-high.

4) Pour your batter onto your pan or griddler.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes.  Once the pancake can be moved without sticking, flip.  Cook the other side for another 2 minutes.

5) Serve with maple syrup or agave nectar.  Enjoy!

Ohemgee!  These protein-packed pancakes tasted more like banana bread than flapjacks.  They were so delicious and aromatic; I couldn’t believe this breakfast was actually healthy! The vanilla iced coffee and banana kept these pancakes moist and more than flavorful.  I’m glad no one was watching me eat these because I seriously was licking the plate clean.

POM-tastic Banana Coffee Soft Serve
Serves 1

• 1 frozen banana
• 2 TBSP of POMx Café au Lait flavored Iced Coffee

1) Place the  frozen banana and the iced coffee in your blender.  Blend until you get the consistency of soft serve.  You might need to stop the blender intermittently to scrape down the sides and then blend again.

2) Pour into a dish and savor your frosty treat!

Not only did I love this but Patrick seemed to be quite fond of it as well.  He kept asking me what was in his soft serve and couldn’t believe that it was just a frozen banana and a couple of splashes of iced coffee.  The coffee flavoring gave this frozen treat a more gourmet taste than the usual banana flavor.  While we ate this for dessert, it could definitely be a fun breakfast.  After all, it is just fruit and coffee!

When I first tried these iced coffee samples, my first reaction was that they were good.  They were a bit sweet for my liking, but they were definitely tasty.  However, after I began cooking with the iced coffees, I really fell in love.  I guess that goes to show that when life (or Blue) gives you slightly over sweet iced coffee, you need to make perfectly sweet breakfast!

Do you prefer cranberry sauce from the can (the kind where you can still see the indentations from the can) or do you prefer the homemade stuff?  Or are you like me and don’t like either?

***Don’t forget!  You still have until Friday, November 27th at 6pm ET to enter my jewelry giveaway.  After all, we could all use some sparkle in our lives…***

Namasté,
Nicole

When I first started reading healthy food/lifestyle blogs, I noticed that people really seemed to like their chia seeds.  I had never heard or seen such a thing, except for those Chia Pets, and was puzzled as to why the chia was all the rage.  Then, I read on Allie’s blog that if I was interested in trying some samples, she would put me in touch with the person that could arrange it.  I was sold! This Chow needed to try some chia!

Within a few days, Allie had put me in touch with Diane from Greens Plus and my samples were on their way to Boston.  I couldn’t wait for my goodies to arrive in the mail.  I mean, who doesn’t like getting packages in the mail? Plus, who doesn’t like getting healthy food samples to try in the mail?  Healthy Chow is all over that!

Finally, my Chia seeds arrived! I couldn’t believe what a generous sample Greens Plus had sent me.  Thanks Diane! In addition to the canister of Chia, Diane also sent me a sample of the Greens Plus dietary supplement powder, a Chia single serving stick and a brochure filled with any information I would need to know about Chia seeds and about Greens Plus’ products.  It was like Christmas for your girl.  I was jumping up and down like a child for Chia…hehehehe!

According to my vat of seeds:

Chia (pronounced chee’ah) is the richest and only unprocessed, whole food source of pure Omega³.  A member of the mint family, Chia is native to Central America and has been used traditionally for over 3,000 years.  Ancient Aztec warriors prized Chia as an endurance promoting Superfood, eating it in bread just before battle, and drinking it in water before running long distances.

Due to its high fiber content, Chia seed absorbs up to ten times its weight in water, making it an excellent source of hydration.  Omega³ Chia’s soluble fiber forms a gel that slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, binds it to toxins in the digestive system, and helps eliminate waste.

Omega³ Chia is especially rich in essential fatty acids and high-ORAC antioxidants like quercetin, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid.  As a result, Omega³ Chia seeds maintain a 99% sprout rate and have a shelf life of up to 5 years.  Omega³ Chia seeds are rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, many trace minerals and biologically complete protein, making them the perfect survival food.  Omega³ Chia is organically-grown, certified kosher and is pesticide, herbicide, gluten and GMO-free.

Holy smokes!  For something as small as the head of a pin, Omega³ Chia seeds really give you a whole lotta bang for your buck.  When I was reading the facts and benefits of the Omega³ Chia seeds, I was overwhelmed by how wonderful these little creatures are and finally just had to try them.  For something as powerful and healthy as the Chia seed, I thought there was no way that they could actually taste good.

Gong! I was wrong again!  These seeds don’t taste bad and they don’t taste good.  Actually, there really isn’t a taste to the Omega³ Chia seeds.  They are a tad crunchy and may get stuck in your teeth, but there really isn’t a taste or an aftertaste.  Being that they are a blackish-grey in color and resemble little bugs, I was a bit nervous to try my new food sample.  I knew I wanted to test the Chia seeds in something safe and something that I knew had already been tried in the blogosphere.  While my selection was unoriginal, it certainly was a traditional one.  For my first meal/recipe made with my Chia seeds, I chose the green monster smoothie.

Green Monster Smoothie with Chia Seeds - 1 frozen banana, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, a handful of baby spinach and 1 TSP of Omega³ Chia seeds

I figured whirling them in my blender along with my smoothie ingredients would be a pretty risk-less first way to try these little guys out.  I couldn’t taste the Chia seeds at all.  Like the spinach in a green monster smoothie, all you can taste is the banana and a hint of the almond milk.  But knowing that I was getting a good dose of antioxidants, nutrients and omega³’s was enough for me to want to add these seeds to my list of staple ingredients for smoothie making.  It was delicious and gave the smoothie a thicker than usual consistency.  Because I let the Chia seeds sit in the almond milk in the blender for a few minutes before blending, the seeds began forming their gel and added to the chewy consistency of the smoothie.

My next dish I made with the Chia seeds was another blogosphere favorite.  I decided to make protein pancakes.  I love breakfast, anytime of the day, and oatmeal takes the crown.

Protein Pancakes with Oatmeal and Chia Seeds - 1/3 cup of dry oatmeal (quick oats), 1/4 cup of egg whites, 1/2 of a mashed banana, 1/2 TSP of baking powder, 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond breeze, 1/2 TBSP of Omega³ Chia seeds, cinnamon and salt.  Add everything into a bowl and then let it sit for 5 minutes.  Add the mixture to your blender and blend until smooth.  Cook on stovetop like a pancake.

I mixed my usual ingredients for my protein pancakes and then added a sprinkling of Chia.  The result was fabulous! Again, the seeds didn’t add any additional flavor to the pancakes.  However, you could see some subtle black specs.  But the best part was that these pancakes kept me full for four hours – which is rare in Healthy Chow’s world.  I topped my pancakes with some maple syrup, but you could also use nut butter (for more protein), applesauce or fresh fruit.  Delicious, nutritious and filling – that’s a winner in my book (or blog)!

After seeing pics of fruit paired with Chia like here, here and here, I knew I just had to give it a try.  Fruit is one of my snacks I try to turn to midday or after dinner when I am craving something sweet.  Why not make a healthy snack even healthier?

Chia Seed Topped Apple and Ricotta - 1 sliced Gala apple, 2 TBSP of nonfat ricotta cheese and 1 TSP of Omega³ Chia seeds

I’ll admit my version wasn’t as fancy (or labor intensive) as the versions I mentioned previously, but it tasted great.  I made this one night as I was craving something cold and sweet but didn’t have want ice cream or frozen yogurt.  This was a fantastic and nutritious call! The Omega³ Chia seeds served as a crunchy topping to my apple and was a nice contrast to my creamy ricotta cheese.

And what kind of a food blogger would I be if I didn’t incorporate Chia seeds into a bowl of hot oats? I love oatmeal (I think I’ve said that already, more than once) and I could have it for every meal, every single day of the week.  It’s just such a comforting and simple food to prepare.  I like to say it’s like a hug for my stomach !

Asian Inspired Chia Oats – 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1 cup of water, 1 heaping TBSP of freshly grated ginger, 1/2 TBSP of Omega³ Chia seeds, 2 TSP of soy sauce and a handful of frozen peas

I whipped this little diddy up the other day as an homage to my Chinese grandmothers.  Also, I knew my sister would love it!  When we were growing up, our grandmothers would make us oatmeal (but in a more porridge-like consistency) with thin slices of beef, ginger and soy sauce.  It was one of our favorites and brings back so many fond memories.  We were often given this dish to eat for lunch but I could really eat it any time of the day.  It’s a great snack and a quick hot and healthy dinner.  The freshly grated ginger is the star ingredient in this dish; be sure to use the fresh stuff.  My oats were so fragrant and warmed my belly from the inside out with the spiciness of the ginger.  I added some frozen peas to give this dish some sweetness and to give it some color.  The Omega³ Chia seeds made the oatmeal thick and chewy and gave it the gelatinous texture that I love.  While a bowl of sweet oatmeal is always welcome, savory oats really seem to take me home! Wouldn’t you agree, Sarah?

After making all those fast and easy dishes with the Omega³ Chia seeds, I decided to kick it up a notch and bake with my Chia.  Since I still had a bunch of apples left from my apple picking adventure, I decided to bake something that involved both apples and Chia.  I decided to make a hearty apple oatmeal bread.  Again, I had to involve oatmeal, because really, I feel it is the perfect food.  So why not incorporate it into everything?

Hearty and Healthy Apple Oatmeal Bread with Raisins and Chia Seeds - oatmeal, whole wheat and AP flour, apples, raisins, Omega³ Chia seeds, egg whites, applesauce and agave nectar

According to the Greens Plus Chia Seed bottle, “one tsp. of Chia seed mixed in 2 oz. of water becomes the perfect egg substitute.”  Instead of using a whole egg in my bread recipe, I used a teaspoon of Chia seeds mixed in water.  It helped to make the bread moist and added to the already chewy oatmeal texture.  This truly was a healthy bread!  It was thick, hearty and delicious.  I warmed a slice in the microwave and added a schmear of buttery spread and it was a heavenly breakfast with my cup of hot coffee.  I’ll post the entire recipe for this bread tomorrow…so stay tuned!

If you couldn’t already tell, I <3 oatmeal and I <3 these Omega³ Chia seeds! Thank you, Greens Plus and Diane for sending me the samples and thank you, Allie for hooking this up!  I really enjoyed how the Chia could be mixed into anything and everything and really wouldn’t affect the taste of the food.  Plus, being able to sprinkle the Chia seeds right from the canister and not having to grind them (like flaxseeds) is another benefit.  The seeds are rich in nutrients and really do pack a punch.  Not to be too graphic, but after having a hot bowl of oats with a teaspoon of Chia, I am ready to go, if you catch my drift.  The fiber in these little babies really work fast and seem almost magical (I guess that’s part of their ancient mystique!).  The gel that forms may seem a bit odd for some, but I actually quite liked it.  It gives foods a thicker and richer consistency without adding the extra weight.  And to think the only thing I could associate with the word ‘chia’ was those terracotta heads, makes me think I have an ex’seed’ingly amount of things to learn.

What’s your favorite superfood?  Do you take any supplements or vitamins?  Do you remember the first food blog you ever read?

Namasté,
Nicole

In my not-so-lengthy tenure of being a healthy lifestyle/food blogger, I’ve made many observations and I’ve learned quite a few things.  But the one major thing I’ve noticed is that everyone seems to have the best looking darn breakfasts EVER!  See here, here and here for examples.  That said, I’ve decided to step up my efforts in making my breakfasts a bit more interesting to my stomach and to my eyes.  A girl (sorry, woman) can’t live on a plain bowl of oatmeal forever, can she?

I’ve been seeing various recipes for oatmeal, grits, pancakes and waffles and while I want to try all of them, the one thing I had a hankering for the other day was french toast (or ‘fr-INCH’ toast, as my husband from Western Massachusetts would call it).  Perhaps it has something to do with the sudden change in temperature around here?  Maybe it’s because I recently had all that French food?  Or, maybe it has something to do with this post I happened to stumble upon the other day.  Whichever the case may be, I decided to forego my ‘yoush’ of having a bowl of hot, plain oats and made Banana Stuffed Peanut Butter French Toast.

The Usual Suspects...

To make this little breakfast diddy, you will need the following:

• 2 slices of Trader Joe’s Sprouted Flourless Whole Wheat Berry bread
• 1 1/2 TBSP of Better n’ Peanut Butter – low sodium (of course you can substitute with any other kind of nut or soy butter)
• half of a small banana, sliced into 1/4 inch segments
• 1/3 cup of egg whites
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• few dashes of cinnamon
• few dashes of nutmeg (BTW, did you know that consuming large quantities of nutmeg can possibly make you ‘loopy‘? )
• pinch of brown sugar (or evaporated cane juice or any other dry sweetener of your choice)
• drizzle of agave nectar, Trader Joe’s brand (honey or maple syrup would also be good here)

1) Spread your peanut butter on both sides of your bread.  I went a bit on the lite side with the peanut butter but feel free to glob it on, if that’s how you like to roll…

2) Take your banana slices and layer them onto your bread.  Unfortunately, I only had frozen bananas in my house.  I just can’t seem to use the fresh ones fast enough before they start turning into a brown mess and my house becomes a fruit fly farm.  I would suggest using fresh banana slices.  My frozen ones started to get mushy once they defrosted.

For all those green monster smoothies...

Like baby food...

3) Sandwich the two slices of peanut buttered, banana laden bread together.  Set aside.

4) Add your egg whites, almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar together in a shallow bowl.  Whisk lightly with a fork.

Can't you just smell the cinnamon-y goodness?

5) Drop your sandwich into the milk mixture carefully.  You don’t want any bananas to fall out (hehe, Healthy Chow has a twisted mind).  Let the sandwich absorb some of the milk mixture.

Like taking a bath in milk

6) While your sandwich is soaking it all in, coat a small skillet with cooking spray and set your stove to medium.

7) Once your skillet has heated up, gingerly pick up your sandwich and place it onto your skillet.  Let it sit for about 3 or so minutes untouched.  You want the eggs to cook up a bit and give your sandwich a light crust.  You may also want to turn up the heat a bit here to medium-high.  Resist the urge to peek or flip

Check out the oozing banana, it's trying to say 'hi' to you

8 ) Then, with a spatula, flip your sandwich over.  Let the second side cook for another 2-3 minutes.  If your sandwich appears to be browning too much, turn down your heat back to medium.

Flip that french toast!

9) It’s done when both sides of the bread are lightly crunchy/toasted and have that beautiful french toast color.  Place it on your plate and then drizzle it with agave nectar.  Dig in!

Breakfast bliss...

I don't know how I waited that long before taking a bite...

YUM-MAY!

This french toast was absolutely scrumptious! It’s so basic, yet so out-of-this-world.  Why did I not make this sooner?  It literally took me ten minutes to prepare this from start to finish.  I always think that making a delicious breakfast is going to involve a lot of time and a lot of clean-up.  This proved me wrong.  There are no excuses now for not making a breakfast that is healthy, hearty and heavenly.  It’s stated that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  This could not be more true.  If one can start the day with a nutritious and tasty meal, it sets the tone for the rest of the day.  You start off feeling full of energy, feeling as if you did something to take care of your body and feeling like you can take on the world because you gave your body (and mind) the nourishment it needs and deserves.

Not only did I enjoy eating my finished product, but I also had quite a bit of fun concocting this combination.  And just think of all the other possibilities…you could use nutella as the spread, stuff the french toast with thinly sliced and softened apples, peaches, pineapple or pears and even add chopped nuts, unsweetened dried coconut, dried fruit, dark chocolate shavings, ground flax seeds or fruit preserves as a topping.  Or, you could use different kinds breads such as a cinnamon raisin, oatmeal or even brioche (maybe not as healthy, but definitely divine).  The combinations are endless!

So the next time you’re rushing around in the morning looking for something to eat for breakfast, and you consider reaching for a pop tart, I hope you’ll remember this recipe.  You can decide whether you want to stuff your face with something overly processed and filled with sugar or just simply stuff your french toast.

What’s your favorite way to start your day (a breakfast food, a hot beverage, exercise, a stretch, meditation, prayer, etc.)?

Namasté,
Nicole