POM Pancakes

Woo-wee! Today is flyin’ by.

Slow down, Sunday!

First thing this morning, Ryan, Sadie and I piled into Ryan’s car and headed to Winter Springs where Ryan had a 9 a.m. soccer game.

Since Ryan likes to arrive to all of his soccer games nice and early to have ample time to warm up, I dropped him off at the soccer field and drove to a nearby dog park to let Sadie run around until his game started.

We ended up staying at the park for a good hour and showed up to Ryan’s game about 10 minutes before halftime.

I enjoyed talking to other spectators while watching the game. Sadie, on the other hand, was all business.

She kept her eyes on the ball… and her dad the whole time.

Ryan’s game concluded around 11 a.m. and we headed home to make a big breakfast.

Since we both only ate a small meal before the soccer game, we were oh-so-hungry when we walked through the door.

I headed straight to the kitchen and got to work!

Breakfast

When I arrived home from work on Friday, a large box of POM Wonderful juice was waiting on my doorstep.

The company sent me a sample of their new flavor of juice, pomegranate cranberry to try.

 

After talking with some of my blogging friends on Friday about POM juice, they encouraged me to try cooking with it, as I’ve never really experimented with the juice in recipes.

On Sundays I often crave a big, substantial breakfast like French toast or pancakes, so I figured I would try incorporating the juice into a batch of pancakes this morning.

After tasting the batter, I could tell the POM pancakes were going to be a success!

I ate two small pancakes right off the griddle before plating the remaining ‘cakes.

I topped the pancakes with syrup and dug in!

The pancakes were light purple in color from the juice which made them look nice and purdy!

Both Ryan and I agreed that these pancakes were pretty fantastic. We’ll definitely be making these again!

POM Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 c. all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. POM Wonderful pomegranate cranberry or pomegranate juice
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

• Combine flour through baking soda in a bowl
• Whisk together pomegranate juice, egg and oil
• Pour pomegranate mixture into the bowl with the four mixture and beat until combined
• Spray griddle or pan with non-stick cooking spray
• Pour batter onto pan in individual pancakes, flipping after approximately 2 minutes
• Cook until batter is set
• Top with syrup, powdered sugar, fruit or desired toppings

Today

Today’s plans include laundry, cleaning, the Bucs game, trip to the grocery store and JoAnn’s and a frozen yogurt date with my friend Merri.

I hope your Sunday is going by nice and slowly. 😀 I’ll check back lata!

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bites

Ryan had to work late this evening, so I wanted to surprise him with one of his favorite meals.

BBQ meatloaf!

(Side note: I loved looking back at the post where I made this recipe for the first time last year, on the night when we put our Christmas tree up! Hooray for the holidays!)

This meatloaf is really easy to make and the BBQ sauce makes it extra moist and flavorful.

 

Along with the meatloaf, we enjoyed broccoli and grape tomatoes for some added nutrition.

Ryan was quite the happy camper when he arrived home and smelled this cookin’ away in the oven!

We both gobbled down our meals rather quickly. 😀

Protein Oatmeal Cookie Bites

While the meatloaf was cooking, I did some experimenting in the kitchen. I was in the mood to bake, but didn’t want bake goods chillin’ around out house since I’ve been known to polish off batch of cookies on my own in a week one day.

I decided to try my hands at creating a protein cookie and the result was pretty darn good!

Disclaimer: I would never say that these cookies are as good as full-fat, sugar-laden cookies, but for what they are (chock full of protein and whole grains), they’re pretty tasty!

To quote Ryan, “I’d eat ‘em again.” 😉

Ingredients

• 1 c. oats
• 1/2 c. flavored protein powder (I used All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup)
• 1/2 c. fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1/4 c. water

(Note: You may substitute one egg for the ground flax seeds and water)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together using a mixer. Place round spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Yogurt Mousse

Man-oh-man, I sure could use another day off!

This weekend totally flew by… Let’s hope this week does the same! 😀

Breakfast

It can be tough getting back into the swing of things on Monday mornings, so I like to start ’em out on the right foot with a tasty breakfast.

Today’s morning meal was fantastic!

Monday Morning Breakfast

I made myself a bowl of yogurt mousse (just like yogurt pudding, but today’s concoction was this was thicker and more mousse-like for some reason).

I made the mousse by combining one cup of Greek yogurt with nine grams (one large spoonful) of chocolate instant pudding mix. I stirred the two ingredients together until the chocolate powder was evenly dispersed and the mixture became super thick.

After topping the chocolate yogurt mousse with fresh berries and Gerber Graduates cherry puffs, my breakfast was ready for eatin’.

Yogurt Mousse + Berries + Puffs

Lots o' Flava

I use the Gerber Graduates cherry puffs in my yogurt bowl because they are delicious and I actually trust myself around them.

I ❤ Baby Food

The puffs are perfect because, unlike most cereal, I can manage to stop eating the them after a serving or two. They provide the sweetness, texture and crunch I desire in my yogurt bowl, but I don’t have a huge box of cereal calling my name from the pantry.

“Juuuulie. Eaaaaaat me. No, eat allllll of meeeee.”

Along with my yogurt bowl, I also enjoyed a banana.

All Together

Meant for a Monkey

Workout

Before breakfast, Ryan and headed to the gym and were talking about how great we both slept last night. I’m not sure if it was the 20 minute walk we took Sadie on late in the evening yesterday or what, but I’ll take it! I rarely sleep through the night without waking up at least once, so I was a happy camper.

We arrived at the gym a little before 5:45 a.m. and I  headed to BodyPump for a sweaty strength-training workout. Loved it!

Post ‘Pump, I came home and took Sadie on a 40 minute walk without my iPod.

Sadie Girl

I’ve been leaving my iPod at home a lot lately on my morning walks with Sadie and have really enjoyed the quiet calm of the morning before the hustle and bustle sets in.

Plus, now I can hear the passersby talk trash about how skinny Sadie is and curse them under my breath. 😉

(For those of you new to the blog, Sadie is quite a skinny-minnie. She has access to food at any time and our vet said it’s very common for vizslas to be so trim because of their energy levels. We’re workin’ on gettin’ a few extra pounds on those bones and have people stop us alllllll the time telling us how skinny she is. I feel like whenever I take her running with me people think I’m like a drill sargent trying to make her lose those last five pounds or someting. Not the case AT ALL. 😀 I love my skinny beast.)

Off to work I go!

Question of the Morning

Do you workout with or without music?

I LOVE listening to music during my workouts and find it very motivating to get lost in the music and sweat it out! 😀

Spending the 4th on the Road

My 4th of July was spent on the road. 

Key Largo –>Sarasota –>Bradenton –>Orlando 

After seven hours on the road and a few pit stops, Ryan and I finally made it home. 

The morning began with a yummy protein-packed breakfast. 

Egg Sandwich

I made  myself and egg sandwich with ham on a whole wheat sandwich thin. 

On the side I enjoyed a Florida-fresh orange! 

Peeled Orange

After packing up and saying goodbye to my family, Ryan and I headed to Sarasota for a pit stop at his mom’s house. 

We arrived there around 2 p.m. just in time for a yummy lunch of summer salad, sweet corn on the cob, caramelized onions, a deviled egg and a homemade oatmeal cookie. 

4th of July Lunch

I refilled my plate with potato salad and lots of fruit and also enjoyed four chocolate mousse-stuffed strawberries that were delicious! 

After hanging out for two hours, we headed to Ryan’s dad’s house in Bradenton to pick up Sadie. We were so excited to see our little girl! 

Ryan’s dad and his girlfriend took great care of Sadie and she seemed to feel right at home when we arrived. We spent some time hanging out in Bradenton for a bit before piling back in the car for Orlando. 

We arrived in Orlando late in the evening. All three of us felt tired and decided the rest of the 4th of July would be spent cuddled up on the couch with some pizza! 

I made homemade pizza using a super simple pizza crust recipe. 

Pre-Cooked Pizza

After 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, the pizza was ready! 

Cheesy Goodness

Several Slices

After baking in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, the pizza was ready! 

Since the crust recipe didn’t involve any yeast or rise-time, this dinner came together in a flash. Ryan gave the pizza two enthusiastic thumbs up! 

Quick Pizza Crust 

Ingredients 

• 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 c. water

Directions 

Combine all of the dry ingredients. Add oil and water and stir until dough is sticky and soft. Knead on a floured surface for 3 – 4 minutes (I skipped this step). Spread out on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and top with sauce, cheese and desired toppings. Bake for 15 minutes in a 400-degree oven. 

Today 

Today’s plans include: 

• Gym
• Pool
• Registering at Williams-Sonoma
• Looking at wedding bands!!!
• Errands

I’ll check back in really soon!

Odd Combo

I opened a can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) to use in last night’s dinner and had several servings leftover since I only ate a cup with my salmon and broccoli.

A salad seemed like the easiest way to incorporate the beans into my lunch, so I threw together leftover roasted broccoli, salmon and grape tomatoes and included several handfuls of the beans in the mix.

Salmon + Broc + Chickpeas + Grape Tomatoes

Fishy Veggies

Pink Salmon = Pretty

Simple but tasty!

Lettuce-Free Salad

Side Order

Though this salad was pretty large, I knew I’d feel unsatisfied after lunch if I didn’t include a side of something sweet.

With another cup of garbanzo beans remaining in the can, I decided to toss them in cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and roast them for 25 minutes last night. Inspired by Angela, I topped the cinnamon-roasted beans with Crazy Richards chunky peanut butter and stirred the beans and pb until every last chickpea was covered in the creamy nuttiness.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Chick Peas

I then popped the cinnamon and peanut butter-covered chickpeas in the fridge overnight and by lunchtime rolled around today, I had a cold, sweet and nutty treat!

"So Check Me Out"

Odd combo? Sure. Tasty combo? Definitely.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 1 c. canned chickpeas
• 1 tbsp. peanut butter
• Cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice to taste

Directions:

• Toss chickpeas with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until fully coated
• Roast chickpeas on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray for 15 – 25 minutes at 375 degrees
• Remove chickpeas from the oven and place them in a bowl
• Top the chickpeas with the peanut butter and stir until the peanut butter covers all of the cinnamon-roasted chickpeas
• Enjoy hot or refrigerate for a cold treat
• (Note: You may want to add honey or maple syrup to the peanut butter before tossing if you desire a sweeter taste, though I thought it was delicious without any sweeter.)

I’ve successfully included peanut butter in both my breakfast and lunch so far today… Let’s see if dinner can complete the trifecta!