Healthy Banana Pancakes

WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY THIS SATURDAY MORNING WITH SOME DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY PANCAKES!?! 

WHEN I SAW THIS RECIPE ON ALYSSA QUILALA'S FITNESS INSTAGRAM, I KNEW I HAD TO TRY IT. MY HUSBAND ABSOLUTELY LOVES PANCAKES SO EVERY SATURDAY WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING MAJOR GOING ON I TRY TO MAKE HIM A YUMMY BREAKFAST. LATELY I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO NOT EAT ANY STARCHY CARBS OR SUGAR SO IT HAS BEEN REALLY HARD RESISTING A GOOD OLD FASHIONED PANCAKE WHEN I MAKE THEM FOR HIM.  SO WHEN I FOUND THIS RECIPE FOR HEALTHY BANANA PANCAKES THAT HAS NO SUGAR AND NO FLOUR, IT WAS THEE PERFECT SOLUTION! OF COURSE RYAN HATES THEM BUT AT LEAST WHEN I MAKE HIM PANCAKES I AM NO LONGER TEMPTED TO EAT HIS BECAUSE I HAVE MY OWN! :)

IT REALLY IS SUPER EASY AND ONLY HAS 5 INGREDIENTS! SCROLL BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW FITMAMAQ FOR MORE HEALTHY RECIPES!

BELOW ARE THE PANCAKES THAT I MADE FOR RYAN. IT'S PROBABLY BETTER TO POUR PANCAKE BATTER INTO A METAL HEART COOKIE CUTTER THAT IS ON THE GRIDDLE SO YOU COOK IT AS A HEART INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY CUTTING OUT A HEART SHAPE AFTER THE FACT, BUT I ONLY HAVE PLASTIC COOKIE CUTTERS SO I IMPROVISED :)

INGREDIENTS

2 EGGS
1 BANANA
1 TBLSP FLAX OR CHIA SEEDS (I USED FLAX)
1/2 TSP PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
1/4 TSP BAKING SODA
PINCH OF SALT

DIRECTIONS

1) SMASH THE BANANA AND BEAT THE EGGS AND COMBINE

2) ADD THE FLAX OR CHIA SEEDS, BAKING SODA AND VANILLA AND MIX TOGETHER

3) SPRAY HEATED PAN OR GRIDDLE WITH COOKING SPRAY

4) POUR A LITTLE LESS THAN 1/4 CUP ONTO GRIDDLE (YOU DO NOT WANT THEM TOO BIG BECAUSE THEY ARE KIND OF HARD TO FLIP)

5) LET SIT FOR A WHILE AND THEN A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN YOU THINK AND THEN FLIP. TRUST ME, THEY DO GET MUCH BROWNER THAN YOU THINK THEY ARE GOING TO GET BUT THEY AREN'T BURNT! IT REALLY IS HARD TO FLIP THEM WHEN THEY AREN'T DONE ENOUGH.

6) SERVE WITH YOUR CHOICE OF FRESH BERRIES AND PURE/ORGANIC LOCAL MAPLE SYRUP! I USED MAPLE SYRUP FROM NONE OTHER THAN THE FINEST COUNTRY HOME AND GARDEN STORE IN THE AREA, SWEET MEADOWS. I ALSO DON'T USUALLY PUT BUTTER ON THEM BECAUSE THEY DON'T NEED IT. I DID IT MORE OR LESS FOR THE PICTURE. :P BUT ONCE I TRIED PEANUT BUTTER ON THEM AND THEY WERE HEAVENLY! THE POSSIBILITY OF TOPPINGS ARE ENDLESS! IT'S UP TO YOU!

7) ENJOY!

Avocado Deviled Eggs

OR AS MY MOTHER CALLS THEM, "ANGELED" EGGS. =) 

SO DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE A LOT OF LEFTOVER BOILED EGGS FROM EASTER LIKE ME? EVEN THOUGH MY CHALKBOARD PAINTED EGGS WERE SO CUTE I COULDN'T KEEP THEM FOREVER SO I DECIDED TO TURN THEM INTO SOMETHING ELSE BEAUTIFUL AND DELICIOUS! SINCE I AM TRYING TO EAT HEALTHIER I FOUND A COUPLE GREAT RECIPES FOR AVOCADO DEVILED EGGS WHERE YOU REPLACE MAYO WITH AVOCADO! IT'S BRILLIANT AND SO YUMMY! AND THIS AMAZING MIXTURE YOU CAN SPREAD ON TOAST TOO AND TASTES GREAT! THE RECIPE IS BELOW. ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS

6 HARDBOILED EGGS

1/2 RIPE AVOCADO

2 TSP CILANTR
1 TBLSP FRESH LIME JUICE

1/8 TSP GARLIC POWDER

1/4 TSP ONION POWDER

1/4 TSP SALT

CHOPPED OLIVES TO GARNISH

CHILI POWDER AND/OR PAPRIKA TO GARNISH

INSTRUCTIONS

1. REMOVE EGG YOLKS FROM THE HALVED EGGS AND PLACE IN A SMALL BOWL. ADD THE RIPE AVOCADO, LIME JUICE, SALT, ONION AND GARLIC POWDER AND CILANTRO.

2. USE A FORK TO MASH THE AVOCADO AND EGG MIXTURE UNTIL SMOOTH.

3. SPOON THE MIXTURE INTO THE HALVED EGGS. SPRINKLE WITH A DASH OF PAPRIKA AND/OR CHILI POWDER- I DID BOTH AND IT TASTED GREAT!

4. KEEP STORED IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER FOR UP TO 2 DAYS.

Healthy Carrot Cake

Hello Friends!

I have my first recipe to share with you!

For my family's Easter dinner I decided I was going to make the dessert. However since half of my family is on a diet, and a couple of them don't eat sugar, I figured it needed to be healthy, low fat, and sugar free (without using nasty aspartame or splenda!). So I decided that carrot cake would be a great dessert to try and would be perfect for Easter. I found a recipe which I used and modified. You can check out the original recipe here {A Healthier Carrot Cake} Below are the directions on how I made the cake.

Ingredients with modifications

Serves 6-8

3 eggs (I used farm fresh)

1-2 bananas (I used 2 bananas)

10-15 fresh dates without pits (I could only find dates with pits but they are super easy to remove- I used only 7 because I added pineapple)

6 tblsp sunflower oil

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cardamom (If you don't already own it's super expensive! So I went to our local health food store and bought only a tsp since they sell it in bulk and it only cost me .88 cents!)

3-4 carrots (medium size, grated)

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup walnuts (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup raisins

I added:

1/2 cup fresh pineapple

1 tsp stevia granulated 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. package of cream cheese (I used Neufchatel cheese which has 1/3 less fat than cream cheese)

3 tblsp honey (I used only 2 tblsp)

1/2 lime (juice)

1/2 cup hazelnuts (I didn't have any hazelnuts so I just used 1/4 cups walnuts and 1/4 cup almonds (roughly chopped)

I added:

1/2 tablespoon stevia granulated

After eating this I realized I really should have added more Stevia or honey to the cream cheese because it just kinda tasted like cream cheese and not frosting. I also suggest using a little milk in the frosting to make the consistency better. I did not do this but I will next time! 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Whisk the eggs in a medium sized bowl. Use a hand mixer or a blender to mix bananas, dates, pineapple and oil into a thick cream in another bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and stevia and stir it together with already beaten eggs and the banan-cream. Add grated carrots, coconut flakes, walnuts, and raisins and stir it until it all comes together. Pour it into a cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes. (I made a double batch and my first batch I poured the mixture into two 8 inch round cake pans, the second I poured into a 9 x 13 cake pan. Try to stick a toothpick in the center of the cake, when nothing sticks on it the cake is ready. Let it cool. 

Whip together the cream cheese, honey, milk, and stevia (bananas or dates would probably also work as sweeteners for the frosting.) Add the frosting when the cake is completely cooled. Serve with roughly chopped hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds to the top.

Enjoy! It may not be as delicious as normal carrot cake but it's definitely way healthier for you!