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Sprinkle Me Happy!

Posted on March 12, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

How about some

CAKE BATTER OATMEAL?!

How’s that for getting your attention? I have seen SO many different bloggers riding out the cake batter wave lately, that I just had to get in on the action! There’s just something about a recipe that includes “batter” in the name, that immediately triggers a Pavlov response in me!

If you follow me on Twitter, then you’ve already gotten a sneak peek at the my morning bowl of celebratory goodness.

Is it my birthday? No.

Then what’s the special occasion you ask? Let me answer that question with this question: Is there really an occasion needed for indulging in a little childhood-reminiscent sprinkle lovin? I didn’t think so!

WARNING!

A BIB MAY BE NEEDED TO VIEW THE FOLLOWING PICTURES…

Cake Batter Protein Oats

by Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 2-5 minutes

Cook Time: 2-4 minutes

Keywords: microwave breakfast oats sprinkles birthday

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/8 cup oat bran
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 banana, sliced thin
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons yellow cake mix
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
handful of sprinkles

Instructions

1. Combine oats, oat bran, milk, and water in a pot over medium-high heat.
2. Once the mixture starts to boil, add banana slices and whisk briskly until banana “melts” into the oats.
3. Add protein powder, cake mix, and vanilla extract and continue cooking until it reaches your desired consistency (1-2 minutes for soupy oats, 3-4 minutes for thick oats).

Then add a few more sprinkles…you know, for good measure!

Special thanks to Mrs. Betty Crocker for helping create this ~~birthday wish~~ bowl!

Little FYI: Not all cake mixes and sprinkles are created equal. Don’t believe me? Check out the ingredient list the next time you’re in the grocery store…a lot of fillers and they even sneak in some partially hydrogenated oils, aka trans (artery clogging) fat.

I’ve found that the gluten-free mixes are the most legit with only a handful of ingredients.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix
Ingredients: Rice Flour, Sugar, Potato Starch, Leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Xanthan Gum, Salt

Everything in moderation is key…so don’t think I’m telling you that you HAVE to go out and by special ingredients for this. Use what you have on hand, but just know that there ARE alternatives out there! Besides, this is FAR too tasty to wait until the next trip to the store! 😉

So now that you have an opened box of cake mix, what in the world do you do with the rest? Well, besides making more bowls of cake batter oats, why not try a few of Jessica’s recipes:

Cake Batter Pancakes
Cake Batter Crispy Treats
Cake Batter Chocolate Bark (Love!), or even
Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls

And while you’re at it, how about whipping up Katie’s Cake Batter Milkshake?

Ha! Now I have that song in my head!

What’s your favorite cake flavor?
I LOVE anything with almond extract in it!

Icing or no icing?
Usually I’m a plain cake kind of gal, unless it’s a cool whip type icing…then I’m ALL over it! I have been known to eat that stuff straight out of the container! Haha!

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged bananas, coconut butter, oat bran, oats | 61 Comments

Packing It In

Posted on March 11, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Hello my favorite foodies! Can I get a T.G.I.F up in here?!

With my super early work schedule this week and meetings for various things involving the new Casa de Broccoli, I have to say this week has really flown by! Did it go by quickly for you? Any exciting plans for this weekend?

Move Day is officially two weeks away (eek!), so I guess now would be a good time to start packing, huh? I actually don’t mind packing…it can be somewhat therapeutic, if you will, especially with the right tunes to get your booty shaking. C’mon, don’t tell me you’ve never used a tape gun as a microphone!

Though, I will say:

PACKING > UNPACKING!

I don’t know what it is, but I hate unpacking boxes and trying to figure out where everything goes! It seems like it takes me forever! Am I alone on this one?

This morning…or I guess I should say last night…I practiced some packing skills on a waning jar of MaraNatha dark chocolate almond butter for some OOIAJ (overnight oats in a jar)!

Check out that marbley goodness!

What’s in the Jar:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
about 1 1/2 tablespoons dark chocolate almond butter leftover in jar

This jar was PACKED full! All of the mix didn’t actually fit in the jar, so I had a couple of spoonfuls as a breakfast “appetizer”! 😉

Topped with one chopped TJ’s semi-sweet chocolate disc

Nanner that wouldn’t fit and a Cuppa 1/2 Caff Joe!

After breakfast, my belly was the one that was PACKED full! I didn’t get hungry again for almost 5 hours…I swear overnight oats fill me up more so than cooked ones!

When I got home from work today, I went straight home (first time all week that’s happened). And guess what! The sun was out! There hasn’t been anything but gray skies around here in over a week! Needless to say, I took the opportunity to soak up some good ol’ vitamin D and went for a light jog around the neighborhood which I followed by a leg workout that took me a few minutes to throw together. It actually kicked my butt pretty good…like seriously, my butt is going to be crying tomorrow!

Dinner tonight wasn’t necessary intended to be breakfasty, but for some reason, I cannot resist the urge to grab the cinnamon any time pumpkin is involved!

A Taste of Fall Quinoa Breakfast Bowl: (serves 1)

1/2 cup cooked quinoa (cook according to package instructions)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1 small apple, diced
1 oz walnuts, toasted*

1. After the quinoa has cooked, stir in pumpkin puree, almond milk, and cinnamon.
2. Cook over medium heat until thickened a bit and heated through.
3. Stir in raisins, apples, and walnuts.
4. Enjoy!

* To toast walnuts: Place in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring or shaking constantly for 5-7 minutes or until fragrant. Toasting nuts brings out a deeper more concentrated flavor.

I know, I know, it’s almost Spring and I’m posting a Fall-type recipe, but I just couldn’t help but think of falling leaves and cool breezes while savoring this creamy bowl of goodness! The contrast of the warm pumpkin mixture with the cool crunch of the apples and the toasty walnuts was absolutely perfect!

Well, I’m off here…gotta rest up before my “performance” tomorrow! 😉

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged almond butter, almond milk, apples, banana, chia seeds, coffee, overnight oats, pumpkin, quinoa | 29 Comments

The Day My Breakfast Smiled at Me

Posted on March 10, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Hey hey hey! Sounds like you guys had some pretty tasty eats yesterday! But c’mon, when do we food lovers eat anything that’s not yummilicous?

So I’m sitting in my kitchen looking around and wondering how in the world one simple dinner made such a disaster out of this place? I swear I can’t toast bread without pulling out half of the utensils/plates/silverware I own!

But before we get to dinner, let me show you my “start the day out happy” breakfast!

Put a smile on your face and make the world a better place!

How can you look at this and NOT smile??

Eyeball #1: Cinn/raisin toast with cottage cheese, honey, and chias

Eyeball #2: Cinn/raisin toast with TJ’s Valencia peanut butter and chias

After work and after I went to the bank to grab one of my new credit cards for bad credit, I had an appointment with the mortgage lender to go over all the paperwork for my home loan, as I got it using a mortgage schedule online…aka, sign my name until I thought my arm would fall off!

When I got home, I did a 30 minute upper body workout that I made up with inspiration from my Team HEAB days and from good ol’ J Dub! I have to say it was pretty awesome! Even after a long day at work and driving home in dreary weather, I had so much energy both during and after the workout! I even busted out the white girl moves during my “cool down” in between sets! Haha!

I didn’t get around to making dinner until around 7pm, but luckily with the help of some leftovers, my meal came together fast!

Chipolt-nay Rice & Black Bean Burger: (serves 1)

1/2 cup mixture of rice and beans from Chipolt-nay burrito bowl
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

Combine all ingredients, form into a patty, and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side. I topped my burg with chipotle salsa and sliced avocado.

Cheezy Greens: (serves 1)

~2 cups chopped collards (I used two large fistfuls)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Saute collards in olive oil until wilted and then stir in balsamic vinegar and nooch. Top with pepitas.

So…freaking…good!

I love morphing leftovers when I can to make an entirely different meal! I first learned about it years ago from a show on Food Network called Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller. She’s a nutritionist that focusses on quick and healthy dinners using bulk cooking methods and a variety of spices. Unfortunately, you can only catch reruns these days since they have a new (and personality devoid) nutritionist on the block. Ellie Krieger has some really good recipes, but can anybody actually watch her show without falling asleep?

Well, I’m off to go find my kitchen sink…it’s under there SOMEWHERE!

Are you a messy cook or do you clean as you go?
I think you all know my answer to that one!

What’s your favorite Food Network show?
I really like to catch episodes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I actually went to one of the diners that was featured from Georgia this past summer and it was ahhhhhhmazing!

If you’re ever in Marietta, Georgia, you HAVE to try this place!