***My apologies for not posting on Monday.  My computer was de-fragmenting and going through a thorough scan for most of the day, and I wasn’t able to have access to it.  Thank you for your patience, as always.***

Before you scream, “eeeewwwww, that is so gross,” please know that Healthy Chow is not losing her mind.  Do you really think I would put seafood in a baked good?!  C’mon! Have a little faith in me, people!  The thought of biting into a sweet treat like a muffin and then tasting crustacean, would be awful.  But brussels sprouts?  Now we’re talkin’!

Hey, if it’s OK to put tofu in bars, pumpkin in lasagna and sweet potato in brownies, why not brussels sprouts in muffins?  I never thought blending spinach with a frozen banana would yield such an addicting smoothie (or such a lovable monster), but we all know by now how popular that turned out.  So, I figured sneaking in another green into another one of my beloved foods would be a great idea.  After all, a baked good is still a baked good, regardless if it’s filled with sugar or a nutritious little sprout from Brussels.

C.R.A.B. Muffins (Carrot. Raisin. Almond. Brussels sprout)
Makes 10 regular sized muffins

• 1/2 cup of dry oats, ground into oat flour (dry oats ground until they reach a flour-like consistency)
• 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup of evaporated cane juice (I used Florida Crystals)
• 1/2 TBSP of cinnamon
• 1/4 of TSP of nutmeg
• 1/4 TSP of ground ginger
• 1 TSP of baking powder
• 1/4 TSP of baking soda
• 1/4 TSP of salt
• 1/2 cup of raw carrots, grated
• 1/4 cup raw brussels sprouts, minced
• 1.5 oz. of raisins
• 16 raw almonds, chopped (not sure why I selected ‘16′?)
• 1 TBSP of ground flax mixed with 3 TBSP of warm water
• 1/4 cup of lite silken tofu (I used Nasoya brand)
• 1/2 cup of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1/4 cup of applesauce, unsweetened
• 1/2 TBSP of vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) If you haven’t already done so, make the oat flour (I used my food chopper, but feel free to blend the oats in a food processor or blender until you reach a flour-like consistency).  Also, now would also be a good time to mix the ground flax with warm water.  Allow the flax mixture to sit for 5 minutes.

3) In a food processor or blender, add the ground flax mixture, tofu, pumpkin, applesauce, and vanilla.  Blend until everything is smooth.  Set aside.

4) In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, whole wheat flour, evaporated cane juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Then, add in the carrots, brussels sprouts, almonds and raisins.  Finally, add in the flax/tofu/pumpkin mixture.  Mix until everything is just moistened.

5) In greased regular-sized muffin trays or paper-lined muffin trays, spoon in the batter filling the cups about 3/4 full.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the tops start browning a bit and are still slightly ’springy’ to the touch.  Allow muffins to cool in the trays for 5 – 7 minutes before removing.

Hmmm, a baked good never tasted so healthy!  Similar to how zucchini seems to ‘disappear’ into muffins and/or breads, you couldn’t taste the brussels sprouts in this recipe.  In fact, all the brussels sprouts did was add a lovely fleck of green to the muffin, as well as a subtle crunch.  Because there were raisins, carrots, evaporated cane juice and pumpkin in this baked good, it was sweet and certainly not ‘veggie-esque’ in tasting.  In fact, the ground ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon gave this muffin a nice spicy kick.  Paired with a hot cup of coffee and a light schmear of buttery spread, this muffin made for a top notch breakfast.  You’ve got your vegetables, protein and omega 3’s all rolled into one little tasty treat.  Not to mention, this muffin doesn’t have any oil, eggs, dairy (it’s vegan friendly) or added fat.

So are you still thinking that adding brussels sprouts to muffins is a zany idea?  Well, yes, it just might be, but the taste will not only surprise you, but it will make you wonder what other vegetables you can sneak into your otherwise boring foods.   Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with a chocolate chip muffin or fudge brownie, but when you make your baked goods multi-task for you in terms of tasting good, filling your tummy and pumping you with vitamins and nutrients, there’s nothing crazy about that.

What kind of food are you dying to try?  Or, what kind of food have you recently tried and loved/not-so-loved?

Namasté,
Nicole

Doh!  Just when you think you’re done posting all of your recipes for Christmas, a little birdie chirps and tells you…”Hey!  When the heck are you gonna post your recipe for that pumpkin lasagna you made?”  I totally forgot!  I blame it on the cookies…

When it’s time for the holidays, all I can think of is food.  And the more, the better!  It’s not like anyone in my family is going to go hungry if a certain dish isn’t present at the table, but for whatever reason, I just feel better knowing it’s there.  Call it what you want (insanity, cray-cray, loca, nuts, bonkers, lights are on – nobody’s home), but it’s just how I roll… For that reason, I decided we needed to have a lasagna at Christmas dinner.  Even though I knew there was already going to be a turkey and a roast beef and all the fixings present, I just couldn’t resist bringing a pasta dish.  But instead of going the traditional route, I decided to spice things up a bit and put a new spin on the ordinary lasagna.

Pumped-Up Pumpkin Lasagna
Inspired by Food Mayhem and Taste of Home
Makes a 13 x 9-inch tray

• 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 TSP of olive oil
• 1 lb. of Sweet Italian Style Chicken Sausage, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s brand, about 7 links)
• 1 pound 5 ounces (or 21 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
• 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 TBSP of buttery spread (or butter)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 15 oz. cans of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 3 TBSP of light brown sugar
• 1 TBSP of agave nectar (or pure maple syrup)
• 1 TSP of  cinnamon
• 1/4 TSP of nutmeg
• 1 TSP of dried sage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• pinch white pepper
• 8 regular lasagna sheets (I used Barilla brand, NOT the no-bake kind)

1) In a large skillet on medium-high heat, sauté the mushrooms, onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt in olive oil until tender, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Then, add the chicken sausage and cook until the sausage starts to brown a little (the sausage is already fully-cooked, so you are just heating up).  Turn the heat down to medium and heat everything together for another few minutes.  Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese and 12 oz. of the mozzarella cheese.  Set aside.

3) In a medium-sized pot, melt butter on low heat.  Add garlic and brown lightly.  Stir in pumpkin, brown sugar, agave nectar, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried sage, salt and pepper.  Stir until it’s all warm.  Remove from heat and set aside.

4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4) Spray your baking dish with cooking spray.  Smear a thin layer of the pumpkin mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

5) If you’re not good at eyeballing things (like me), divide your remaining pumpkin mixture, your ricotta cheese mixture and your meat mixture into two equal portions.

6) Top the thin layer of pumpkin mixture with 3 lasagna noodles going lengthwise and 1 going widthwise (you’ll have to break/shorten this in order for it to fit).  Using one of the reserved portions of the ricotta cheese mixture, smooth it over the noodles.  Using one of the reserved portions of the meat mixture, top the ricotta cheese.  Repeat this process again starting with one of the reserved portions of the pumpkin mixture, then the noodles, then the ricotta cheese mixture, then the meat mixture and then end with the pumpkin mixture.  Top the final layer of the pumpkin mixture with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.

7) Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

One word for this dish.  OK, maybe two words.  Delicious and hearty.  I think some of my family members were a tad concerned when I told them what was on the dining room table was a pumpkin lasagna.  I’m not sure if they envisioned a dessert-like version of the multi-layered noodle treat or if they just thought it was weird that I would change up a classic and add something as odd (to them) as pumpkin.  But their faces definitely expressed some doubt and hesitation until they took a chance and finally took a bite.  Once they tasted this dish, they were pleasantly pleased (as was I).  One of my relatives actually said, “this tastes just like a regular lasagna, but only spicier and better.”

In fact, this recipe does taste very similar to a traditional lasagna, except not as acidic and a bit sweeter.  The dried sage definitely gave this lasagna a nice kick in flavor and complimented the subtle sweetness of the pumpkin.  All of the rich flavors and layers helped to make this recipe quite the filling one.  Just a tiny piece was enough to make a meal (even though I had a big piece along with turkey, roast beef, caesar salad, stuffing…but heck, that was so last year!).  And while this dish tasted great with the flavoring from the sweet Italian chicken sausage, it could easily be made without meat or with meat-free sausage.  As a side note, I used the regular lasagna noodles in this recipe.  I just put them in the recipe uncooked and baked them.  They turned out great, and not hard at all.  Actually, the noodles were perfectly al-dente.  I have found that boiling the noodles and then baking can sometimes produce a mushy lasagna.

I will definitely make this recipe again.  However, next time I’m going to make a mental note to make more than the suggested amount of pumpkin purée mixture.  Or, perhaps I will try to thin out the mixture a bit?  It seemed that I had trouble evenly spreading the pumpkin during the layering process and felt as if I was going to run out.  But if you’re a fan of this fibrous orange gourd like I am, then lather it on thick and make this dish pleasantly plump and you’ll be pumped to have this grace your dinner plate.

***And if you need another reason to try out this recipe, just check out what’s #11 on this list (thanks Kevin!)!***

After baking my cookies the other day, I noticed there were slight stains left on my baking sheet.  I didn’t spray any cooking spray or use any grease on my sheet before baking and the cookies had no problem sliding off.  Anyone know why this would have happened?  The baking sheet is pretty good quality, too. Your thoughts?

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

If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know I met a new orange gourd, fell in love and now we are running off and having a gang of gorgeous gourd-y babies.  Hehehe, I don’t know, but sometimes I think Healthy Chow is losing her mind! Anyway, I recently prepped and baked a kabocha and with the cooked and well-seasoned pieces, I made some meals that were reminiscent of these posts.  If convenience is king (or queen), then I’m a huge fan of the Royal Family.  You really can’t beat whipping up a fantastic tasting and healthy meal in under 30 minutes.  Hey, no wonder that Rachael Ray is so dang popular (I promise I won’t say ‘ee-vee-oh-oh’ or ‘into the hot tub these kiddies go’ in this post)!

OK, so let’s recap what I already made with my first ever kabocha.  After baking the cubed kabocha in olive oil and a ton of spices and seasonings, I made a simple whole wheat pasta dish with baby spinach, cannellini beans and ricotta cheese.  And, with almost the same ingredients I used in the pasta dish, I converted the recipe into omelet form.  But what else can one do with a squash? Hold onto your socks and I will show you…

Wrapped Up with Kabocha

If you like pressed sammies, paninis, wraps or toasty burritos, then this little delight is for you.  On a Joseph’s Flax, Oatbran and Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla, I spread 2 tablespoons of Cedar’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus along with a Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese wedge.  Then, I layered a handful of baby spinach and a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  I rolled it up in a burrito-style fashion and toasted it on my panini press for a few minutes until the top started getting all roasty toasty.  Once the cheese starts oozing out and sizzling on the panini press (actually, don’t wait for that!), remove your wrap and cut in half to allow some of the heat to escape.  Once cooled, it’s time to devour! Oh me, oh my!  The warmed kabocha against the creamy hummus and swiss cheese was sensational.  I didn’t think a wrap as simple as this could taste so extraordinary.  Plus, how can you not love those colors together?

Everything in the Pot Kabocha Stir-Fry

With my last remaining pieces of kabocha (sniff, sniff), I decided to not only polish off my orange fibrous gourd, but I also decided to use up the remnants of anything else I could find in my fridge, freezer and cupboards.  That said, I began my hunt for anything that would taste good (fingers crossed) with my kabocha in a stir-fry.  I found about 4 oz. of Trader Joe’s firm tofu, about a cup and a half of Trader Joe’s frozen broccoli (thawed), some sliced white mushrooms, some raisins and a macoun apple.  In a large frying pan, I heated up 2 teaspoons of Smart Balance Light.  Once melted, I added my macoun apple, which I chopped into bite-sized pieces.  I then added some more spices and seasonings (it couldn’t hurt, right?): ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, white pepper, curry powder and dried cilantro.  Once the apple pieces began softening and drowning browning in the pool of spices and seasonings, I added the mushrooms.  Once those cooked up a bit, I added the rest of my ingredients.  After everything has been stirred together and warmed, it’s done.  If you could have only smelled the cooked apple with cinnamon, nutmeg and curry – to.die.for.  And was this ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ stir-fry a success?  Uh, hell to the yeah! It was everything I could ask for in my final kabocha dish.  What a way to go out!  Gangstah!

Roasty Toasty Kabocha Seeds

And finally, do you remember the mess of kabocha seeds and pulp I had from my prepping experience?  Well, those teeny babies did not go to waste.  Healthy Chow has issues with wasting food (sound familiar, Allie? ) and thus, decided to make use of every bit of her kabocha.  You should see what I did with the green peel…I made a really groovy hat.  Just kidding, folks! But let’s get back to biz’nis, shall we? After rinsing the seeds and getting rid of all the stringy pulp, I used the same tray (and aluminum foil) that my kabocha pieces were cooked on and spread out my seeds in a single layer.  I sprayed the seeds with some cooking spray (you could use olive oil) and sprinkled them with salt.  Then, since the oven was still hot, I turned down the temperature to 325 degrees and cooked my kabocha seeds for 10 minutes.  And if you forget to take your seeds out of the oven (like me), have no fear because they start popping like popcorn kernels and will scare the bejeezus out of you.  Once they are cooled, you are free to eat.  They are great as is or feel free to use them as a topping for your oatmeal, soup or yogurt.  Just store them in an air-tight container and they should keep for quite some time, if they make it that long!

I know that from one kabocha I was able to make quite a few meals.  However, I was actually wishing there was more once my last bite of this delicious squash was gone.  The tender texture and sweet taste of my new found love was more than mildly addicting (OK, that sounded weird).  I’m just so happy that I took the time needed to properly prepare and cook my gourd.  After reading some of the instructions online, I was worried that this krazy little thing called kabocha was not going to be worth the trouble.  Boy, was I wrong! I guess if you just take the time to learn about something and are patient during the learning process, good things will come your way.  But the first step is to try.  Besides, I think when you make something on your own, it has the tendency to taste better – even if you aren’t a Food Network star.

What’s the biggest disaster you’ve ever had in your kitchen?  How did you react?  What did you do to recover?

Namasté,
Nicole

Remember that scary moment a few weeks ago when there was that pumpkin shortage?  Well, thankfully, that rough patch is over and Libby is back!  Life can now resume, as well as fall baking.

However, when the shortage was still going on in full force, I became desperate and decided I was going to look for another gourd to gussy up my gastrointestinal goings-on (how’d you like that one, Sarah?).  I had read so much about the kabocha squash in the blogoshere like here, here, here and here, that I knew I just had to try it.  I love me some gourd and orange fiber, so I knew this was going to be right up my alley.  Plus, if I didn’t end up eating it, it was a super cute fall decoration for my home.  Resourceful (or ‘ree-zource-full’ as I heard someone saying the other day), eh?

But just finding this darn thang was a project in itself!  I looked at various grocery stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Russo’s and I could not find this squash.  I saw some things that resembled the kabocha, but none were actually called ‘kabocha’.  Then, I was enlightened by the ever so lovely and intelligent, Katharina, who mentioned to me that kabocha is also referred to as ‘buttercup’ squash and that if I was having trouble finding kabocha, the buttercup is a very close cousin and tastes pretty much the same.  DUH!  I think I’ve seen the buttercup at just about every store I visited and never once did I think they were the same.  Jeezums.

After purchasing my squash-y and bringing it home, I realized that I had to cut it before I could have the chance to savor its sweetness.  But just how do you cut into this tough skin?  I mean, I have some good knives (OK, they probably could be better), but I’m not sure if they could handle cutting through this harder-than-diamonds outer shell.  Armed with the help of my friend (aka Google), I believe I found the easiest way to tackle a kabocha.  You can read about it here.  Or watch it live (not really) here:

Kutting and Kleaning a Kabocha:

1) Wash the green guy thoroughly.  I used my trusty Veggie Wash and sprayed it generously all over the kabocha.  Then, I massaged the kabocha and gave it a good rub down for about 30 seconds.  Once cleaned, I gave it a good rinse and dried it off.

2) Using the tip of a sharp knife or a large and sharp fork, begin making several cuts/stabs/pricks all over the kabocha.  This will help to allow steam out of the kabocha while cooking and will help to avoid an explosion in your microwave.

3) Once covered in small punctures, place the kabocha in the microwave and microwave on high in increments of two minutes.  I cooked mine for a total time of six minutes.  It’s ready when the skin can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife.

4) Be careful when you take the kabocha out of the microwave.  It’s going to be very hot!  I put on my oven mitts after trying to be a hero and grabbing the kabocha bare-handed and failing miserably.  Or, you could be patient and wait for the kabocha to cool down before handling it.

5) Once cooled, cut the kabocha.  You can cut it in half or be like me, and cut it into thirds (I’m not quite sure why I did this).

6) With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the fibrous stringy pulp.  You can toss the seeds if you want, but they are divine in their own right and can be a scrumptious snack.  Start cutting the now softened green skin off from the lovely orange flesh (imagine what you’d do with a butterNUT squash).  Or, you could leave the skin on, as some like to eat the skin as it is highly nutritious.

7) You can then slice your kabocha into whatever shape you would like.  I chose to cube mine since I wanted small, bite-sized pieces.  You could also cut it into crescent moon shapes (think cantaloupe smiles).

8 ) You are now free to do whatever you want with your kabocha.  Imagine that?  To see what I did with my kabocha, keep reading…

Spiced and Roasted Kabocha

1) After my kabocha was kut, kleaned and kubed (did you see what I did just there?), I coated all the pieces in about a tablespoon of olive oil.

2) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a big bowl, I mixed together a million few spices and seasonings.  I used a generous amount (lotsa shakes) of the following: cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried cilantro, ground ginger, onion powder, paprika and ground black pepper.  And a pinch of brown sugar and sea salt.

3) Mix the olive oil coated kabocha pieces in your spice/season mixture.  Make sure the pieces are evenly coated with the mixture.  Then, on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil (spray the foil with cooking spray), spread out your kabocha in a single layer.

4) Bake your kabocha for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through the cooking time, or until your kabocha starts browning at the edges.  Enjoy the orange goodness!

The baked kabocha comes out sweet and soft, quite similar to a butternut squash, but has a more earthy, nutty taste.  It also seems to hold its shape better than a butternut during the baking process and has a less fibrous (stringy) texture.  I absolutely loved it!  While I had a hard time stopping myself from munching on the cooked pieces straight off the baking sheet, I managed to save some for some future meals and dishes.  BTW, cooked kabocha tastes great cold right out of the fridge.  It’s almost like a dessert…a healthy and low calorie dessert!  In addition to it being a cold and sweet treat, I used my cooked kabocha in a series of fast and convenient dishes.  Wanna know how?  Keep reading…

Kreamy Kabocha Pasta

After cooking and draining about 2 cups of whole wheat pasta (and reserving a cup of the pasta water), I added a big handful of baby spinach to the pot with my cooked pasta.  Once the spinach cooked down, I mixed in about a 1/3 of a cup of nonfat ricotta cheese.  Because the pasta seemed a bit dry, I added a few splashes of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.  Then, I added a 1/2 of a cup of cannellini beans, salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley.  I mixed that together until well-blended and then added some of my cooked kabocha.  Since the kabocha is already cooked, it just needs to be warmed.  Once everything has been warmed together, serve immediately and top with parmesan cheese.  Hmmm, hmmm, good!

‘Omelet’ the Kabocha Take Over

If you liked the pasta dish but don’t want to be weighed down with all those extra carbs, why not try making the same dish in omelet form?  I made my omelet by pouring a 1/2 of a cup of egg whites onto a small heated frying pan.  Once the egg whites started bubbling, I added a few dashes of salt, cracked black pepper and adobo powder.  Then, I dropped down a handful of baby spinach and a few of tablespoons of nonfat ricotta cheese.  As soon as the spinach started wilting down, I added a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  Once everything was heated through, I folded over my egg whites.  After another few minutes of cooking, the omelet is done.  Transfer to a plate and top with some salsa.  Ta dah! Kabocha with some added protein, minus the extra carbs.  This is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I loved it!

Hooray! I finally did it!  I am so glad that I finally tried the kabocha squash and was successful at prepping it and cooking it.  I have a tendency to shy away from the things people rave about and the things that seem to be the latest trend (remember this post?).  However, kabocha was just too good to resist (sorta like Justin Timberlake IMHO).  I love the versatility of this squash and the fact that with or without the seasonings and spices, it still is wonderful (just like Justin).  Perhaps opening up a can of Libby’s is a bit more konvenient than kleaning, kutting and kooking up your own gourd, but then again who wants konvenience when you can have kabocha?!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when I show you part II of My Little Buttercup, the Kabocha…

Have you tried kabocha squash yet?  If so, what is your favorite way to prepare it?

Namasté,
Nicole

I’m a sucker for a sale.  And this is especially the case if that sale is happening at the grocery store.  It’s like the stores know I am coming and know what to advertise or promote in order for me to buy (it’s not like it’s that difficult).  I walk in and immediately, I’m tempted by their ‘buy one, get one free’ or their ‘10 for $10′. I try to hide my eyes, but I just can’t deny it.  I want in on that sale!

A couple of weeks ago, because it was a day that ended in the letter ‘Y’, I was at the grocery store.  As I was breezing through the produce aisle (I was actually in a rush that afternoon and had only a few minutes to grab a few items), I saw one of my favorite snack foods, baby carrots.  And of course, those crunchy little orange delights had to be on sale and naturally, I had a 85% full bag just sitting in my fridge.  Immediately, I was caught in a big conundrum.  Should I buy the carrots?  If I buy one bag, I obviously have to get another since it’s free.  But then again, I know I won’t be able to eat that many baby carrots before they start getting all slimy slimerson (you know what I mean) and smelling less than good.  But then again, it’s such a good buy, how could I pass it up?  Then all of the sudden, a light bulb went off (it doesn’t happen too often, kiddies, but when it does, look out!).  I realized I could buy the carrots and keep them both in the freezer until I needed them.  I could get my great bargain and I could escape the slime factor.  Problem solved.

Image Credits – WiseGeek.com

Not so fast.  When I finally finished the 85% full bag of baby carrots that was sitting in my fridge, I dove into the freezer to find my frozen babies and then quickly tossed them into the fridge to defrost.  I’m not quite sure what I thought the carrots would be like once they thawed.  I guess I assumed (you know what that means) that they would be like the snappy mini veggies I normally bought and dipped into hummus.  To my disbelief, the usual crisp and hard baby carrots had now been reduced to a limp and lifeless mess (I’m not even going to say it…).  What was I going to do? Not only did I have one bag of orange mush, but I had two.  Not good.

Then, another light bulb went off.  Can you believe it? If I wasn’t going to eat the thawed baby carrots in their mushy state, then why not enjoy them in a ‘mushy-er’ state?  Why not mash them up so much that they no longer resemble carrots and no longer remind me of the silly goof-up I made?  That said, I salvaged my purchase and turned it into what I consider a stroke of luck.

Carrot Ginger Potato Soup
Adapted from AndreasRecipes.com
Serves 6

• 1 1/2 TBSP Smart Balance Light (feel free to use butter or your choice of buttery substitute)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup peeled grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I used a heaping tablespoon of minced jarred garlic)
• 4 cups chicken stock (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Low Sodium Chicken Stock – you could use vegetable stock)
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube (I only had one carton of TJ’s chicken stock on hand, I probably needed 2 more cups)
• 1 cup cooking wine (I used Goya Dry White Cooking Wine)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (mine were mushy, but feel free to use non-mushy)
• 3 small white potatoes, cubed
• 1 TSP cornstarch
• 2 TBSP of honey
• dashes of curry powder
• dashes of cinnamon
• dashes of nutmeg
• dashes of dried parsley
• juice of half a lemon juice
• s&p
• chopped chives for garnish (optional)
• Greek yogurt for garnish (optional, but highly recommended)

1) In a large pot, melt the Smart Balance Light on medium heat.  Once warmed, add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook until the onion starts getting translucent and your kitchen smells unbelievable (about 5 minutes).

2) Then add the chicken stock, wine, carrots and potatoes to the pot.  Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Stir.  Add the bouillon cube.  Stir again.

3) Reduce the heat back down to medium and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender and can be easily broken up with a spoon.

4) If you are lucky enough to have an immersion blender (I am not), this is the time to purée the mixture in your pot.  If you are using a regular blender, be sure to let the mixture cool down a bit first before dumping the mixture in batches into the blender (you don’t want to overfill your blender).  Blending hot items can be dangerous; take precaution! I blended my cooled down mixture in three different batches.

5) Once all of the mixture has been puréed, add it back to the pot.  Turn the heat back on to medium/medium-high and let the mixture get hot.  In a small cup, mix the corn starch in a tablespoon of warm water until well dissolved.  Add the corn starch mixture to the pot.  Stir the mixture.

6) Add the curry powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, parsley, salt and pepper to the pot and season to taste.  Give it a good stir.  Then add your honey and lemon juice and give your soup a thorough stirring as it heats up.

7) Once hot, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish (if you wish) with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of dried parsley or chives.   Voilà!  Soup’s on!

Not only did my kitchen smell heavenly with the scent of warmed onion, ginger and garlic, but my belly was pretty much on cloud nine, too.  Not only is this quite the hefty soup (it’s actually more like babyfood consistency), but the curry, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon warmed me from the inside out.  And while a cup of a regular broth-like soup would not normally fill up Healthy Chow, this one kept me from raiding the kitchen cupboards for at least three hours.  The Greek yogurt may have also helped to fill the usual insatiable hole that is my stomach.  I also like being able to swirl the yogurt into my soup.  The color of the stark white Greekness against the vibrant orange of the carrot was like having art in my bowl.  And the sprinkling of the green parsley just made me want to take pictures (hey wait, I always take pictures of my food ).

I was so pleased with this recipe.  It was easy to make, I pretty much had all the ingredients on hand and I managed to save my carrots on clearance from going into the trash.  Ahhh, what’s there to complain about?  When life hands you lemons, you need to make lemonade.  And when your weakness for produce bargains hands you mushy carrots, make carrot soup!

Are you a sucker like me for bargains?  What’s your favorite thing to stockpile?

Namasté,
Nicole

***Awesome Giveaway Alert! – Shannon at Tri to Cook is celebrating her blogiversary by giving away a Cuisinart ice cream maker!  If you’re interested, go to Shannon’s blog for further details…***

***It’s week two of Project Feed Me!  Please go to Natalie’s blog to see what to buy for this week.  And if you haven’t signed-up yet, you can still do so by going here.  And if you want to see how photogenic canned chili can be, please go here.***

No, not that kind of getting baked, silly!  I’m talking about apples! Remember how I said that I was slacking in the apple recipe making/baking department in comparison to some of my fellow food bloggers?  Well, slow and steady wins the race and I’m making a go at the apple recipe cooking finish line (if there is such a thing?).  Because I used only one apple in my previous recipe and still have a million (not a lie) left in my crisper, I wanted to find a dish that would call for the usage of multiple apples.  Hence, I scoured the internet and did hours of research (total lie) until I found this gem…

Getting Baked Apples
Adapted from SimplyRecipes.com
Serves 4

• 4 large good baking apples (I bucked the trend and used McIntosh apples, which is not recommended for baking)
• 1/4 cup of rolled oats
• 1 TBSP of evaporated cane juice (I used Florida Crystals, feel free to use dry sweetener of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• 14 raw almonds, chopped (you could use pecans, walnuts or no nuts)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped (dried apricots, raisins, dried figs would be good here, too)
• 1 TBSP of peanut butter (I used Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds)
• 3/4 cup boiling water

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Wash and dry your apples.  Using an apple corer or paring knife, remove the cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples.  Be careful not to cut all the way through to the bottom (I confess, I did this once)!  Then, use a paring knife to widen the cavity and a spoon to scoop out the seeds.  It’s a tad tricky at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.  Make the cavity about 3/4 inch to an inch wide.

2) In a small bowl, combine the oats, evaporated cane juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds and dried cranberries.

3) Place the apples in an 8 x 8 baking dish.  Fill each apple with the mixture and then dot the top of each apple with 1/4 of the TBSP of peanut butter.

4) Pour the boiling water into the baking dish.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the apples can be easily pierced with a knife, but not mushy.  While the apples are baking, be sure to baste the apples with the dish juices (I repeated this three different times).

5) Serve hot!

These baked apples were like whoa! I couldn’t believe how good they tasted for something that was so simple to make.  I really liked the fact that even though the apples were stuffed with goodies like cinnamon, nutmeg and dried cranberries, the natural sweetness of my personally picked produce still shined through.  And, the McIntosh apples stood up quite well in the oven.  They came out tender and did not fall apart.  So take that, you online apple experts (whoever the heck you are)!  This is one of the best DPAABs (dessert-parading-around-as-breakfast) I’ve had in a long time.  While it’s quite similar in taste to the healthified fruit crisp I made a few weeks ago, the sheer fact that I was eating a whole piece of baked fruit made this dish stand out from anything else I have ever made.  Plus, having to eat this dessert/breakfast with a fork and knife made me feel as if I was having an entire meal, versus just a snack.

And because this is a healthy food blog and I like to give recipes my own little twist, I decided to substitute the brown sugar for evaporated cane juice and reduce the amount.  And to make the dish even heartier, I decided to add one of my favorite foods, oatmeal! Instead of dabbing the tops of the apples with butter, I used a natural peanut butter.  It’s less greasy and adds more flavor to the recipe.  The original recipe called for serving this dish with vanilla ice cream, which is a tremendous call.  However, I didn’t have any on hand (just cookies and cream ) and figured a dollop of thick greek yogurt would be the next best thing.  You could also drizzle some honey or agave nectar over the entire apple for some additional sweetness, but my apples didn’t require it.  Plus, I had some of the oatmeal mixture leftover, so I sprinkled some over the greek yogurt.  I’m not gonna lie, it was a stroke of genius on my behalf…just sayin’.

Who says eating food can’t get you high?

Random question: Is there a recipe or dish that you are intimidated to make?  Or, what is the one recipe you’ve been dying to make but just haven’t had the chance to do so?

Namasté,
Nicole

I have fond memories of my dad eating and loving his apple pie.  Whether it be frozen, fresh from the bakery or homemade, my dad was like a pig in ‘you-know-what’ if he had his hot apple pie and vanilla ice cream.  While he liked the entire pastry, he definitely favored the buttery pie crust over the apple filling.  Often times, when he was done eating, he would leave the apple filling and Healthy Chow would swarm in and gobble up the leftovers.  Yeah, I’m a food scavenger, what of it?

Because fall is finally here, I’m in the mood for foods that are the epitome of this season.  Thus, items like pumpkin, hot chocolate, cinnamon, apples, soups, stews, nutmeg and anything with melted cheese (OK wait, that’s not really ‘fall-esque’.  But melted cheese is grand anytime of the year!) spring to mind and have been springing onto to my plate.

That said, I’ve decided to merge my mood for fall foods with my dad’s love for apple pie.  But, I decided to put a ‘healthier’ spin on this American classic.  I wanted something yummy, sweet, hearty, cinnamon-y and definitely dessert-like, but I didn’t want it to be loaded with butter, sugar and other unnecessary additives.  Plus, my mother-in-law (thanks El!) just gave us a big bag of apples and what better way to enjoy apples than in a crisp?   So I did some researching on my favorite blogs and remembered Lauren’s recent post (Thanks Lauren!), as well as Kath’s post on her friend, Ashley’s, healthy fruit crisp recipe.  Armed with those two recipes, I made some of my own modifications and come up with my version of the beloved fruit crisp.

Healthified Fruit and Peanut Butter Crisp, Oh My!

Serves 8

For the crisp:

• 6 small – medium sized apples, peeled (I used paula apples – you can use any kind of fruit)
• 4 southern peaches, unpeeled (again, you can use any kind of fruit)
• juice of one lemon
• 1 TBSP of cornstarch
• 1 TBSP of evaporated cane juice, I used Florida Crystals (or dry sweetener of your choice)
• dashes of cinnamon
• dashes of nutmeg
• 1 oz. chopped walnuts, 14 halves (pecans or almonds would be good, too)

For the filling:

• 3/4 cup of oatmeal (I used quick cooking oats – I don’t think instant oats would be good here)
• 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup of nonfat greek yogurt (I used Trader Joe’s Nonfat Greek Style Plain Yogurt)
• 2 TBSP of Better n’ Peanut Butter, melted (you could use any nut or soy butter here)
• 1 TBSP of ground flaxseed  (I used Trader Joe’s whole golden roasted flaxseeds that I ground)
• 2 TBSP of agave nectar (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
• dashes of cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• cooking spray

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Start prepping your fruit.  Since I used apples, I peeled the skin with a vegetable peeler and then chopped the apples into bite-sized pieces.  With the peaches, I left the skin on and chopped them into pieces similar in size to the apples (bite-sized).

2) Get yourself a large bowl.  Add your fruit and squeeze the lemon juice all over making sure to coat everything.

3) Add the remaining ingredients for the crisp, except for the nuts, to the bowl and gently turn to coat.  Make sure all the fruit is coated with the dry ingredients.  Again, do this with ease as you don’t want to mash your fruit.

4) Then, add your nuts and gently blend the fruit and nuts together. Set your fruit and nut mixture aside.

5) In another bowl, add your peanut butter.  Microwave your peanut butter for 20-25 seconds to melt.

No comments, please

6) Add your oatmeal to your peanut butter.  Mix the peanut butter with the oatmeal with a spoon.  Once the peanut butter and oatmeal are blended, add the rest of your filling ingredients, except for the cooking spray.  Then, take your hands and knead the mixture together until you get a dough-like ball.  Once your dough ball has formed, set aside.

7) Coat a pie dish or baking pan (I used an 11 x 7 x 1.5 glass baking tray) with cooking spray.  Add your fruit filling.

8 ) Take your dough ball and with your hands, begin breaking the dough ball into pieces.  Spread the pieces all over the fruit filling.  Make sure to cover the fruit filling evenly.

9) Place your fruit crisp into the oven.  Let it bake for 40-45 minutes or until you see the fruit starting to bubble.  Once it’s bubbling and looking ‘crisp’ on top, it’s done! Wait about 5 minutes for it to cool (if you can wait that long) and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream.  M-m-m-good!

I wish you could have been in my kitchen as this was baking.  The smell of the apples, peaches and cinnamon cooking and blending together was enough for me to check my watch a few hundred times.  It was the longest 40 minutes, ever!  But once my fruit crisp was finally done, it was well worth the wait (can you tell Healthy Chow is a bit impatient?).  The crisp was just crunchy enough but still had a hearty, chewy texture.  You could really taste the flaxseeds and the peanut butter which gave the crisp a unique, unexpected flavor.  The softened fruit simply melted in my mouth.  Isn’t it funny how anything sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg can taste so good?

This fruit crisp was not incredibly sweet, which is what I prefer.  If you want a sweeter crisp, I would suggest adding another tablespoon of agave nectar or some more evaporated cane juice to the crisp mixture.  Also, in most fruit crisp recipes, butter or oil is called for in the recipe.  I used peanut butter and nonfat Greek yogurt to substitute for the usual butter and/or oil and I didn’t miss it at all.  It’s a healthy recipe and you’ll feel good (and full) eating it.

As I mentioned earlier, this recipe can be made with any combination of fruit.  Adding berries such as raspberries and or blueberries would add a nice tartness to the crisp.  Kiwi and mango would also be a different spin on the traditional fruit tart and would give it a tropical flair.  In other words, the combinations are endless, so have fun mixing and matching (and eating). This recipe is also quite versatile.  It doesn’t have to be eaten as a dessert, snack and/or breakfast, it can also be used as a warm topping for your hot oatmeal, pancakes or waffles.  No matter if you eat this fruit crisp on it’s own or as an accompaniment, you can be sure there won’t be a bite left for any scavengers to find.

So, how do you like them apples?

Image Credits – blogs.msdn.com

What’s your favorite brand of Greek yogurt?  Can you tell the difference between the brands?  I’m a fan of Trader Joe’s, but I know people can’t seem to get enough of Chobani.

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