Saturday Breakfast: Whole Wheat Pancakes

When I was younger, I have a special memory of my dad making breakfast on weekends. It was usually French Toast. Mmmmm. With Powdered sugar to top it off.

My dad traveled lot for work and then usually played golf on Saturdays, so I assume it was Sundays that he cooked breakfast, although I can't remember exactly. I don't even remember if it was every weekend, I just know that I loved the times that he did.

So here we are with our own 2-year-old daughter and Steve and I are trying to create the same memory. We typically have a "special" breakfast on Saturdays. Steve and I generally cook it together and we switch it up every so often. Since we've change our lifestyle in eating, we haven't wanted to completely give up our special breakfast. Enter the amazing Whole Wheat Pancake. It has become a Saturday staple in our house and Steve even asks for it. We even eat [one] while on the 21 Day Fix and count it as our Yellow container. It's delicious and I know I'm provided Sadie with the healthiest option there is for a pancake!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 1/2 Tbsp. Honey
1 Egg, 1 Egg White
1 Cup unsweetened Almond Milk(or whatever milk you use)
1/4 Cup Coconut oil, melted

Instructions:

In large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
Add Eggs and remaining wet ingredients while mixing.
Stir until well combined.
Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat pan on medium.
Pour mixture on pan in desired sized pancakes.
Cook 1-2 minutes until bubbles appear, flip!
Cook additional 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Makes approximately 6 pancakes, depending on size.

How I'm doing with Eating Clean

Eating clean isn't easy, but it's also not hard when you have the right motivation.

We've all heard the saying that abs are made in the Kitchen. You can work out all you want, but you're not going to see those real results until you kick the junk food!

I decided when I first started my PiYo program that I wanted to do it right this time. I don't want this to be just another diet. I want this to be my life. I decided that I would follow the "clean eating" schedule MY way. There are times I won't be perfect and I know that. The more I am okay with that, the more likely I will be okay with eating a splurge, enjoying it, and then moving on. So far it has really worked for me, considering I'm down 5 lbs in 2 weeks. If I know I am going to splurge for a certain event, I try my best to eat as clean as possible before and after the event. I still enjoy a glass of wine on the weekends, but I might eat a veggie for a snack instead of a fruit to account for the sugar in the wine. We might go out with a few friends and get a beer, but I'll order a salad instead of eating unhealthy too. It's all about balancing a lifestyle that works for you.

I would also like to add that now that my body is use to healthy and wholesome foods, I can really feel it when I eat the processed stuff. My body responds differently now, making me not want it as much. However, I don't think I'll ever give up wine completely ;-)

So as an example, here is what a normal day of clean eating looks like for me.

Breakfast: Omelet made with 1 egg, 2 egg whites, spinach sautéed in Coconut Oil and Garlic.
                 1 Piece of Rudi's Organic Whole Wheat Bread with Flax Seed
                 2 Cups of coffee with 1 Stevia each and a small amount of Almond Milk

Morning Snack: Smoothie made with Greek Yogurt, Almond Milk, and Fruit. I can't wait to replace this with my Shakeology soon!

Lunch: Sautéed 1/2 Chicken Breast on a Salad with a small amount of pecans, bleu cheese, apple chips, and this Organic Raspberry White Wine Vinaigrette dressing I've found that I'm obsessed with.

OR I will Sauté some Chicken with a side of Broccoli or Bell Peppers. Starry is easy and works too!

Afternoon Snack: 1 Cup of Green Tea with either 1/2 Stevia or Honey
10 baby carrots, 1 cup of Strawberries, and a string cheese. Weight Watchers String Cheese is my favorite.

Dinner: This changes nightly, but I usually cook a lean meat, a veggie side, and 1 starch side. My favorite is Chicken cooked in Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning, Sautéed Green Beans, and Roasted Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes. I also love Tilapia cooked in Coconut oil, garlic, and lemon juice. Below is the tilapia, sautéed carrots and bell peppers, and roasted potatoes.

Evening: I've been trying really hard not to snack in the evenings, but I do usually have either 1 cup of Chamomile tea or 1 cup of decaf coffee. This helps keep the sweet tooth at bay.


It may seem a little boring, but I've found meals that I love and I've made them in my own healthy way. I'm more likely to love my salad if I add a few small toppings proportioned correctly. I encourage you to find some easy healthy meals that you love and add them to your weekly routine. I'd love some new ideas too! Feel free to leave a comment!

[five] on friday

Happy Friday Everyone! This is going to be the best Friday yet, because it's been such a beautiful week. I can just feel it.

So... I'm linking up again. Enjoy!

[one]

Tulips anyone? I'm obsessed with the ones that have been sitting on my counter for over a week. And they still look like this. Check out my latest post to see why!

[two]

I also picked up some beautiful Hydrangea at Trader Joe's last week. While I still haven't figured out the trick to make them last longer, I sure did love them sitting on my new tray from HomeGoods.

[three]

Homemade Pizza. We made it for the first time last weekend. Seriously, why have I never done this before? It was ah-mazing. I don't think I'll ever go back to that delivery crap. You can call me out if I do.

[four]

Have I mentioned my adorable cute Golden Retriever lately? The poor guy was my whole world before Sadie came along. Now he has to share the attention. But we still love him. He's an old guy and I wouldn't trade him for the world. How pitiful is this? We were washing cars the other day and I looked back at the door to see him like this. Yes, we did take him for a long walk afterward!

[five]

Crazy Organized not only has a new look, but I now have a Facebook page! Check it out and please like my page! 

Enjoy your weekend! See ya Monday!

Recipe Spotlight: Pan Seared Chicken

Steve and I have been trying to eat "healthy" if you don't include the Wawa donuts we indulged on the other night. shhh.

Anyone heard of Wawa? I hadn't until we moved to Virginia, but let me tell you their coffee options will put QT under the table.

Anyway, Steve wanted to go to the gym last night when he got home from work, so we had an early dinner. I knew it needed to be belly friendly if we were going to fit a workout in afterward.

So I decided to pan sear some chicken with some fresh spinach I had on hand.

Ingredients:

4-6 Chicken tenderloin strips
salt
pepper
your favorite seasoning, I used garlic and Mrs. Dash
Fresh Spinach
Olive oil

Throw some olive oil in the pan on medium-high heat. Season your chicken strips and place in the pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side until almost done. When they are about 5 minutes away from being done, add the fresh spinach. I added a little more oil to the spinach as well as a little more garlic salt. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Enjoy!

As for the carrots on the side, this is one of my favorite way to eat carrots. I sautéed them in some olive oil for a minute and then added 1 packet of Splenda (you can use sugar or stevia if you want), but I love the sweetness this adds. I then covered the pan and let sit while I was cooking the chicken. They are so good when done! Like eating candy.

Add some easy brown rice in the mix and you have yourself a quick and easy weeknight meal.

On a side note, I ended up dropping Sadie and Steve off at the gym and took the time to go to Target myself. I still have a bruised tailbone from an ab class on Monday and thought I would give it a rest for day. Plus my alone time in Target was glorious!

Happy cooking!

Recipe Spotlight: Honey Crusted Fish

This has become one of my favorite fish recipes. It's also hubby approved and only takes about 30 minutes total to make, so it's a great weeknight meal. 

Ingredients: 2-3 fillets of fish (I prefer Salmon or Grouper, but I've used Cod as well)

1 tsp honey

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 oz oil (I use olive oil)

1 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions: 

Spray a pan or baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. 

Combine the melted butter and honey in a small bowl. Put Panko Bread Crumbs on a plate. Set aside.

Place oil in sauce pan and heat on medium to high heat. 

Take fish filet and drag through honey/butter, coating both sides.

Then place fish in bread crumbs, dredging both sides.

Place fish in hot pan browning both sides. Only 1-2 minutes on each side. 

Remove from pan and place in oven dish.

Bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes. Remove.

Pour the remaining honey/butter over top of fish and serve. 

Fruit Cookies

My mother in law was the first to introduce me to the fruit pizza. She basically made one big one, instead of individuals, which she would cup up like pizza slices.
I decided to make this treat a couple weeks ago as a treat to bring into my office. So heres the SIMPLE recipe:

Ingredients: Cookie dough, can be homemade, frozen, however you like it. Due to time constraints I bought a tube of Pillsbury cookie dough.
Cream Cheese, I used strawberry cream cheese, again preference.
Strawberries, Blueberries, and Kiwis.

Cut the cookie dough in slices. I put them into cup cake holders in a cup cake pan.
Cook the cookies as directed.
Once cooled, frost with the cream cheese.
Decorate with fruit and Enjoy!