Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies from Yummy Mummy Kitchen
PIN IT!Happy Friday everyone! Have any wild and crazy weekend plans? Well, in addition to baking 6 different recipes, I’m hosting a book club at my house tonight for about 15 lovely DC bloggers! So, as you can expect, I’m frantically trying to finish work so I can clean up this dump I call a house. So, without further ado, I bring you my hero for the day [aka guest poster], Marina from Yummy Mummy Kitchen. Guys, please go check out her blog and revel in her incredible photography. Oh and she’s a mom of 2 adorable girls and absolutely STUNNING. Like model stunning. Go look!
Hello Realistic Nutritionist readers! I’m Marina from YummyMummyKitchen.com and I’m so happy to be sharing a recipe with you today. Thank you, Claire for having me! This recipe has been getting rave reviews from my readers who have tried it and I hope you will enjoy it too. Nothing beats a guilt-free, delicious cookie, right?!
Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup all purpose or gluten-free flour
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chunks or chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, baking powder, flour, and chia seeds. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until creamy. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly stir in oat mixture to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Place heaping tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet. Press dough into balls with hands, as dough will be crumbly. Bake 12 minutes. Cool.
Are chia seeds new to you, or are you already a fan?
My Love for Wine & A Giveaway
HI FRIENDS!!! I’m so excited to bring y’all this giveaway that I’m practically dancing from the rooftops. Well, not really, but I’m pumped. But before we get into the giveaway goodie, we need to talk wine (since the sponsors of this giveaway are non other than the folks at Robert Mondavi Private Selection!)
So, as you know may know, I sort of like wine.
It’s my go-to. My drink of choice. My bad day cure and happy day elixir. So when I was contacted by the amazing people at Robert Mondavi, I happily jumped at the chance to help spread the word of their new web series, Tuesdays with Ted Allen and their brand new Facebook page! The web series is REALLY REALLY cool (I’ve watched all of the episodes) because you are getting tips on wine pairings and dinner party etiquette by THE expert in that area as well as some simple, delicious recipes that pair so beautifully with Robert Mondavi’s classic wines.
Now Ted Allen, who you may know, was the food/wine expert on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. In addition to this, he is a brand ambassador for RM Private Selection. What a dream job, right? He’s the face of Chopped on Food Network, as well as a famed cookbook author.
His cookbook, The Food You Want to Eat, is incredible. It’s filled with 100 simple and smart recipes that feature, you guessed it, food you want to eat! No weird fancy ingredients or sauces, just real food you love. I’m a huge fan of this book and the principle behind it. I have a copy of the book here and I honestly CAN’T WAIT to dig into it.
And guess what? One of you very lucky readers will also get the chance to make some of his simple, tasty meals because the amazing folks at Robert Mondavi Private Selection and Grand Central Marketing are giving me one copy to give away!
So how do you win? Simple.
Mandatory:
- 1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite ingredient is. [Please leave a valid email so I can contact you if you win!]
Extra: [Let me know via comment you did each of these]
- Follow me on Twitter: @realnutritioncg
- Follow Robert Mondavi Private Selection on Twitter:
@RobertMondaviPS - Like me on Facebook: The Realistic Nutritionist
- Like Robert Mondavi Private Selection on Facebook
- Follow me on Pinterest: clairev13
- Follow RM Private Selection on Pinterest: RobertMondaviPS
- Subscribe to Robert Mondavi’s new Youtube channel!
That’s 8 ways you can enter to win! So get to entering and be sure to check out Tuesdays with Ted [with a glass of RM Private Selection, of course!]
Giveaway ends Monday, March 5th at midnight. Good luck!
Claire
Tags:Chopped, featured, Robert Mondavi, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Ted Allen, Ted Allen cookbook
Guest Post from Liz of Southern Charm! Easy Pecan Ball Recipe
Happy LEAP DAY friends! I hope you have plans to do something wild and crazy! My plans include trying to knock off the rest of this terribly scary work calendar for February.
Since my Leap day will be filled to the brim with cooking, I’m so excited to introduce Liz from Southern Charm, who is going to tantalize you with some incredibly delicious looking pecan balls she made!
Hey y’all! How is everyone? I’m Liz from Southern Charm. Can I just say, well type, that I am SO excited and honored to be guest posting for Claire today! I read her blog religiously and am determined to make pretty much every recipe she posts! I don’t think she can do wrong 🙂
This weekend I stopped by my parents’ house and was greeted with a little package from my aunt.
It was a package of pecans from her pecan tree. Love! Immediately, I separated out half of the nuts to make a fresh batch of this stuff!
Also known as pecan butter since I’m fresh out. However, I was at a lost as to what to do with the other half. I went through Pinterest and recipes I have bookmarked and something caught my eye … Amazeballs, or pecan balls!
These babies are the perfect snack, filled with protein and healthy fats. Did I also mention that they are super tasty?!
Pecan Balls
Adapted from Fitnessista
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 1 hour
Yields: 4 balls
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Brown Rice Vanilla Protein Powder
- 2 Tbsp Pecan Butter
- 2 Tbsp Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
- 1 Tbsp Grade A Maple Syrup
- 1 Tbsp Pecans
Directions:
- Blend all ingredients in a food processor until it starts to clump together.
- Roll the mixture into four balls.
- Place the balls on a wax sheet or plate and place the balls into to fridge for at least an hour.
How do you feel about pecans? Have you ever tried an amazeball or something similar? How was yours different?
Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Blue Moon Applesauce Cake Recipe
Who else was up late watching the Oscars? For me, it was mildly disappointing. Besides having a, well, boring host, the show seemed to DRAG ON FOREVER. See, I’m in love with film the same way I am with food. In fact, a little tidbit of my life, I wanted to be a film maker for like 3 years of my life. I even bought a video camera and editing equipment. Then after realizing I’m much better off with a pen in my hand than a camera, I gave up that dream. However, I never lost that spark and that love I have for the cinema. Regardless, this year just didn’t wow me. In fact, here are the top 4 things I can seem to remember:
- Angelina Jolie NEEDS to eat more.
- J LO had an almost nip slip, oh shoot.
- Hugo and The Artist are incredible movies.
- Will Ferrel and Zach Galifianakis need to host the Oscars from here on out.
Did I sum it up? Either way, the night wasn’t a complete waste. In addition to enjoying Billy Crystal’s stale jokes with a glass of vino, I also enjoyed it with a slice of this incredibly moist, zesty and guilt-free applesauce cake.
Now, as you can tell by the coy use of props, applesauce isn’t all that’s in here. Nope. In fact, the key ingredient is what’s pictured in the background. Yep, you guessed it, Blue Moon.
I’ve seen this pin for Blue Moon cupcakes ALL OVER Pinterest and knew I had to re-create the recipe. Not only did they look intriguing, but they used my favorite beer. I don’t know why, but I just LOVE Blue Moon! So, I picked up a 6 pack, experimented a bit with ingredients and WALA, this beauty (paired with my light cream cheese frosting) was born.
Now, my husband saw this cake and said “EW. IT LOOKS LIKE A SPONGE!” Of course, I can’t blame him. The thing many people hate about applesauce only cakes and desserts is one of the reasons I love using it, the texture. It’s very springy, very moist and a tad-bit sponge like. I don’t know why this happens (I’m not molecular gastronomist) all I know is it tastes damn good.
If you can’t stand the texture, no problem. Just sub in butter for some of the applesauce. Another amazing thing about using applesauce instead of oil or butter is how incredibly long the cake stays moist and flavorful. Let’s see, I made this Thursday night and it was as soft and delectable last night as it was the night I made it.
Since there are just two of us here, a longer shelf life for any food keeps us from tossing anything out or gaining massive amounts of weight. Both of which are pretty damn important to us. Especially since I have a bathing suit to fit into in less than a month. Looks like y’all are going to be seeing a whole lotta applesauce cakes in my (and your) future : )
Recipe adapted from Miss Make.
Blue Moon Applesauce Cake
Serves 8 – 10
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 – 45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup Blue Moon
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 drop red food coloring
- 3 – 6 drops yellow food coloring
- 1 tablespoon skim milk
Check out this recipe for the light cream cheese frosting!
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat applesauce and sugar with a handheld mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in vanilla and eggs, beating between each addition. Stir in food coloring, orange juice and zest.
- In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the applesauce mixture, about 2 cups of it, stirring between each addition. Add the Blue Moon and milk. Add remaining flour and stir well. [If mixture is too runny, add 1 – 2 tablespoons additional flour)
- Pour mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake for at least 40 minutes, or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let dry completely before frosting. Garnish with extra orange zest and enjoy!
Nutritional information per slice (cake should make about 12 bar slices):
Calories: 185
Fat: 7
Carbohydrates: 23
Fiber: 3
Protein: 6
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 5
Like That? Try This: Creamy Avocado Pasta w/ Chicken Recipe
AND BACON [well low-sodium, low fat turkey bacon, that is]! Sorry, I feel that was really important to point out. Not like y’all wouldn’t love a creamy avocado pasta anyway, but I added bacon too. Which, as you know, makes everything taste like rainbows and butterflies.
Although I’d glady throw bacon into everything I eat (bacon smoothie? bacon pancake? bacon coffee?) the reason behind the addition wasn’t chance. Actually, it was due to a bit of Twitter stalking! See, I had plans to make this creamy pasta ever since I ran across the original recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod. It was bookmarked and ready to go.
However, then I saw one of my friends, Maria, tweet that she liked avocado pasta but it needed bacon or tomatoes. And alas, I made a mental to note to add bacon. Which, I’ll argue, made this dish.
But then, amidst a daydream of this pulled chicken BBQ and chicken ragu, I got another idea. Hey, why don’t I add shredded chicken too that’s been slow cooking for 5 hours? Wouldn’t that just be GRAND?
You know what folks, IT WAS! I have this problem where I literally can not stop myself from eating slow cooked shredded chicken. I have no freakin’ clue why. I mean, guys, it’s just chicken. With a dash of salt and pepper and a little chicken broth. But I don’t know, there’s some magical component to it that makes it nearly impossible not to eat. Mixed with avocado and pasta and I’m one very happy girl.
This is the perfect meal if you are craving alfredo pasta but don’t want to eat 50 grams of fat in one sitting. Hey, I don’t blame you. So I tell you, if you LIKE alfredo but want a lighter, creamy pasta dish, TRY THIS.
I think all the world’s problems could be solved if everyone just sat down to this creamy, decadently, super delicious dinner. Don’t you?
Oh and don’t worry friends when you see the nutritional information, the fat grams may be high, but you have to remember, it’s HEALTHY fat. Avocados are loaded with monounsaturated fat, which has been shown to fight heart disease and lower LDL (or bad, evil cholesterol). So, keep that in mind.
Now go make this! For dinner tonight? Or, be like me, and eat it for breakfast. Because that works too.
Creamy Avocado Pasta with Chicken (and BACON!)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes [+ 5 hours for chicken]
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
- 1 large 8 ounce chicken breast
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the pasta:
- 3 cups spaghetti noodles, cooked
- 1 1/2 avocado, pitted and scooped out of skin
- 3 – 4 tablespoons light cream
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 -3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- *2 pieces of crispy cooked turkey bacon (low sodium)
Directions:
- Place chicken breast, chicken broth, salt and pepper in a slow cooker and set on low heat. Let cook for at least 5 hours, or until chicken is easily shredded. Once done, shred using two forks and set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, place avocados, cream, lime juice, salt and pepper. Blend until soft and creamy. If mixture is too chunky, add additional cream. Add additional lime juice to taste.
- In a large bowl, mix chicken, pasta and avocado sauce together. Crumble bacon on top and enjoy!
*Bacon is totally optional. If you’d prefer to cut it out, the pasta is just as good!
Nutritional information per 3/4 cup serving:
Calories: 425
Fat: 22.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 38 grams
Protein: 16.5 grams
Fiber: 14
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 11
