Sunflower Butter, Honey and Buckwheat Granola

Yogurt parfaits can be both healthy and satisfying, but can also turn into a sugary disaster....like last week when I accidentally bought Stoneyfield Farm Organic yogurt with 28 GRAMS OF SUGAR PER CONTAINER....GRRR.

After trying different brands and flavors of yogurt and granola I've finally found the perfect combination. Siggi's brand yogurt (100 calories, 9g of sugar-for the 0% fat), 1/2 a banana, and this killer Buckwheat Granola.

Sunflower Butter, Honey and Buckwheat Granola 

Ingredients: 
1.5 cups Buckwheat Groats (Raw, find them in the bulk section of the grocery)
½ cup Raw Sunflower Seeds
¼ cup Sugar
½ tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (or cinnamon)
2 Tbsp Unsweetened Applesauce
¼ cup Honey
3 Tbsp Sunflower Seed Butter (I used Sunbutter, but you could substitute Almond Or Peanut Butter)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. 
3. In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients until combined. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated and wet.
4. Spread granola onto baking sheet in a uniform layer. Bake at 300F for 20 minutes, roughly flip granola, and bake for another 18-20 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. Granola will be lightly golden on the bottom and will harden a lot during the cooling process.
5. Cool completely on the pan and then store in a glass container.


Adapted from Oh She Glows
Serving Size: 1/4 cup
Yield: About 12 servings

Kristen

Real (Simple) Mashed Potatoes

Like about half of my recipes these days, this one is based off of skinnytaste.com. My biggest thing with mashed potatoes is that I really don't buy sour cream or mayonnaise (not that anyone puts mayonnaise in mashed taters, ew). I am a huge proponent of substituting both with plain, fat free Greek yogurt, you'd never defect a difference! Try it out! I'm not on a high horse and claim to never eat either, but I just prefer not to buy because I never end up using it all, and Greek yogurt is ALWAYS in my fridge!

These potatoes are simple and clean, just a good, easy recipe to keep handy for a little comfort!

2 lbs (4 medium) yukon gold potatoes
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 cup fat free, plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons milk
1 tbsp butter
salt to taste, dash of pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs of choice: parsley, thyme, tarragon (I prefer parsley)

1. Peel and cube potatoes. Place in large pot and add enough water to  cover the potatoes, add the garlic and a little salt.

2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 min. Drain when tender and return to pan.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, and mash by hand with a potatoe masher. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Enjoy! We just finished ours this week, didn't have any left to freeze!

Perfectly Imperfect Meatloaf

After a serious hiatus from cooking, I am newly energized to get back in the kitchen and share some delicious, healthy and doable meals! Yesterday was so dreary and cold that meatloaf and mashed potatoes sounded amazing. You may think that meatloaf is old school, dry and boring, but it's actually super versatile and comforting.

Use this recipe as a guide, but think about what you have in your kitchen. Ground beef, turkey, chicken, etc., or a mix of any will work. Fresh herbs such as parsley, oregano, sage or tarragon add great flavor. Sauteed onion, garlic, peppers, mushrooms etc. can be added to help clean out the fridge. And of course add cheese for some extra zing! Get it? Anything goes! Here's how mine went down...

1.25 lb meat (I used half beef- 90% lean, and half turkey- 85% lean)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and oregano, you can also use dry herbs- about 4 tsp)
1/2 cup panko (or other bread crumbs)
3 tbsp ketchup
1 egg
1 tsp Worstecher sauce
1/4 tsp marjoram
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
BBQ sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350○
2. Saute the onion in olive oil until translucent, about 4 min. Cool slightly.
3. Mix meat, onion and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Give it a few good mixes with your hand, it's much easier.

4. Put the mixture in a loaf pan and top with a little bbq sauce if you like.
5. Bake for about 50 min. If the top starts to get brown, cover with foil. You should check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Cooking times may vary just slightly, but 50 min should work!

Stay tuned for the taters recipe!

Make Ahead Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oats

I love pumpkin. As soon as mid-September arrives, it is time for pumpkin pie, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin granola, and pumpkin-spice yogurt parfaits (all of which I ate last week)!

My favorite pumpkin dish so far this season, is Pumpkin-Spice Steel Cut Oatmeal. You can easily substitute regular oats, but consider making a batch of steel cut oatmeal at night, so that you can simply heat and enjoy in the morning. I love the thick and rich texture of oatmeal made on the stove. Another bonus with stove-top oats is that one serving seems twice as large as the overnight oats method, because of all the water used to cook the oats...one serving will certainly fill you up!

Try topping Pumpkin-Spice Oatmeal with a little pumpkin-spice granola for an added crunch. 

Make Ahead Pumpkin-Spice Steel Cut Oatmeal
Ingredients:
¼ cup Steel Cut Oatmeal
1 ½ cups Water
¼ cup Canned Pumpkin
½ Banana, sliced
Pumpkin Pie Spice (Or A Mix Of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, And Ginger)
1 tablespoon(s) Maple Syrup
1 tablespoon(s) Almond Butter
Milk (Skim, Almond, Whatever You Like!), optional

Directions:
1. Prepare oatmeal according to package directions,
2. Add pumpkin, banana, and pumpkin pie spice, to taste. Mash banana pieces while you stir until oatmeal reaches desired consistency.
3. Transfer oatmeal to a bowl, top with maple syrup, almond butter (or your favorite nut butter), and a touch of milk.

Note: I like to prepare a few days worth of this recipe at once so that I can divide it into single serving containers to take to work. Simply multiply the recipe by the number of servings you want to make (check the box for oatmeal to water ratio), and prepare through step 3. Divide into single serving containers, cool and refrigerate. Enjoy this oatmeal hot or cold, and sprinkle with a pumpkin granola if you need a little crunch!

Kristen

Spiced Lentils with Poached Eggs and Cumin-Scented Carrots

Another quick and yummy meal from Cooking Light! The red lentils give this dish a really cool color, and the poached egg makes for a rich and satisfying meal. Make sure you have everything ready before you pour the eggs into the poaching liquid, they cook quickly! Cumin-scented carrots were a perfect side dish along with a few pita chips for some crunch.

Spiced Lentils with Poached Eggs

Ingredients:
1 cup Dried Small Red Lentils
3 cups Water
1 Bay Leaf
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 cup Chopped Onion
1 cup Chopped Tomato
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tsp Curry Powder
¼ tsp Ground Cumin
½ tsp Salt, divided
⅛ tsp Ground Red Pepper
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Tbsp White Vinegar
4 large Eggs
¼ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
¼ cup Plain Low-Fat Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Directions:
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain; discard bay leaf.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, tomato, and tomato paste; saute 8 minutes or until onion is tender. Add curry, cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt, red pepper, and garlic; saute 2 minutes. Add lentils; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. Add water to a large skillet, filling two-thirds full; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer. Add vinegar to pan. Break eggs into custard cups. Gently pour eggs into pan; cook 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Carefully remove eggs from pan using a slotted spoon. Place about ¾ cup lentil mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 poached egg. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon yogurt and 1 ½ teaspoons cilantro. 

Serves 4

Cumin-Scented Carrots

Ingredients:
2 tsp Olive Oil
¼ tsp Salt
⅛ tsp Cumin
1 pound Peeled, trimmed baby carrots, halved lengthwise

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425°. Combine olive oil, salt, and cumin with carrots. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. 

Kristen