Breakfast smoothie for 2

Whip this up one morning for you and your honey and start your day off with loads of energy!

ingredients:

8 oz (1 cup) nonfat plain yogurt
1 cup 1% lowfat or nonfat milk
1 ¼ cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled
1 fresh peach, peeled and sliced, or ¾ cup canned or frozen peach slices

Scoop of whey protein powder (optional)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
2 whole strawberries (optional)

Instructions:

Place first 5 ingredients in a blender.

Purée mixture for 15 to 20 seconds.

Pour into two tall glasses and top each with 1 Tbsp chopped nuts.

Garnish glass with strawberry, if desired.

Note: If you prefer a thicker smoothie, replace the peach with 1 small sliced banana.

Apple Oatmeal Bread

This is a great breakfast bread or can even be used for a dessert. Easy to make and stays moist and delish for days!

Ingredients:
1 cup quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 egg
2 apples, diced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Beat next 4 ingredients in another bowl until blended. Stir into flour mixture just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in apples. Transfer batter to a lightly buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean when inserted in center.

Healthier Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Really moist & delish! This recipe cuts more than 1/2 the calories and 1/2 the fat!

1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup splenda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 egg
2 egg whites
5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar splenda
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

In a small saucepan, heat the milk until just below the boiling point. Don't boil. Stir in the oil, sugar and salt. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and cool until lukewarm.

In a small bowl, combine yeast and water. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the egg and egg whites using an electric mixer. Add in the yeast and milk mixture. Using a wooden spoon or a KitchenAid-style countertop mixer, mix in the flours, 1 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and, with floured hands, knead gently until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If using a countertop mixer, use a dough hook and follow the manufacturer's directions. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 balls. Cover with plastic and let sit for 10 more minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins.

Spray an 11-by-14 baking sheet with cooking spray.

Using a rolling pin, roll each ball of dough into a 16-by-8-inch rectangle. Spray the dough with cooking spray. Sprinkle each rectangle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Starting at the long side, roll up each rectangle. Slice each roll into 16 pieces and place on the prepared baking sheet. Let rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a saucepan, heat the apple juice over medium heat. Cook until the juice is syrupy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Brush each roll with the apple juice. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Breakfast Burrito

Super easy. Super yummy. Super healthy. Great way to start the day!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped tomato
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/4 cup canned corn
1/4 cup egg substitute or about 5 egg whites
1 whole wheat flour tortilla, 6 inches in diameter
2 tablespoons salsa

In a small skillet, add the chopped tomato, onion and corn. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft and moisture is evaporated. Add the egg substitute and scramble with the vegetables until cooked through, about 3 minutes.

To serve, spread the egg mixture in the center of the tortilla and top with salsa. Fold in both sides of the tortilla up over the filling, then roll to close. Serve immediately.

Breakfast of champions!

We have all heard that breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day and I can honestly attest that it is true! Back in the day I used to skip breakfast to "save" on calories but would end up so hungry & sluggish that I would over-eat at lunch and dinner. I was reading an article about some good breakfast ideas and I am using some of their ideas as well as some of my own breakfast ideas that I use to help jump start breakfast the healthy way! So here are 8 really great meals to start your day with a nutritious meal. I find it so much easier to eat healthy the whole day if you start it out eating healthy (:

Oatmeal with fruit. To me, this is the perfect breakfast. Oatmeal is probably the healthier choice, but if you are in a hurry, the instant kind will do fine (it doesn’t have as much fiber, but the other ingredients make up for that). After microwaving the oatmeal, add ground flaxseed (can get from a health food store or even the health food section of the grocery store) add some frozen blueberries, sliced almonds. You can add a little cinnamon and honey (not a lot) if you’re using the non-instant oatmeal. That’s four power foods, full of fiber and nutrients and protein and good fats, with only a couple of minutes of prep time. And very tasty!

Kashi Go-lean crunch Actually, any whole-grain, high-fiber cereal is a good choice, but I mention this particular one because it’s a favorite of mine. It has a high amount of protein and fiber, low sugar. Addskim milk (which has 1/3 the saturated fat of 1% milk), perhaps even some berries if you like.

Scrambled egg whites on a slice of whole wheat toast. By eliminating the yolks you get rid of about 80 calories per egg. Add some onions, green peppers or other veggies, some light soy sauce or tamari, maybe some garlic powder, and black pepper, stir-fry with a little olive oil. Eat with whole-grain toast. Fast and delicious.

Fresh berries, yogurt, granola. Get LIGHT yogurt, cut up some berries or other fruits, add some healthy cereal. I actually use the Kashi Golean Crunch instead of granola, as many brands of granola have way too much fat and/or sugar.

Grapefruit with whole-wheat toast & almond butter. Add a little splenda on top of the grapefruit, and it’s actually pretty good. The almond butter is healthier than peanut-butter, with lots of good protein to fill you up. At Smith's you can even grind up your own almond butter so there is NO preservatives or additives-- really yummy!

Fresh fruit salad. Cut up some apples, melons, berries, oranges, pears, bananas, grapes … any or all or whatever your favorite fruits are. Add a little bit of lime or lemon juice. Perfect.

Protein shake with extras. I use soy protein powder, but whey works well too. Blend up with skim milk, some frozen blueberries, and perhaps some almond butter or oatmeal. That may sound weird, but it’s actually pretty good, and pretty filling. A little ground flax seed works well too.

Cottage cheese and fruit. Get low-fat cottage cheese. Add any kind of fruit. Apples, citrus, berries.

Whole Wheat Banana bread (REALLY good!!)

This is an incredibly moist and delicious bread-- you would never know it is "healthy". Go on and give it a try-- I dare you!!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup SPLENDA
• 3/4 cup flax seed meal (can pick up at the health food section @ the store)
• 5 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 2 teaspoons egg whites
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar blend, flax meal, bananas, milk, sour cream and egg whites until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the banana mixture until moistened. Spoon into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the crown of the loaf comes out clean.

Whole wheat pumpkin pancakes

To die for-- try it with sugar free syrup! (It may take awhile to get used to but the difference in calories is amazing... a 1/2 cup of regular maple syrup has OVER 400 calories! That is JUST in the syrup alone! If you switch to sugar-free syrup you can have a 1/2 cup for around 50-60 calories!)

These pancakes are to DIE for!!

• 
  
• 1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground ginger
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 C. skim milk
• 1 C. canned pumpkin puree
• 2 egg whites
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 T. dark brown splenda sugar

Mix and pour pancakes on a hot griddle. Perfect for the autumn/fall season or just for anytime of year!