Strawberry banana pancakes

This morning, I woke up really jonesing for some pancakes. I rarely eat pancakes, but when I get a craving for them – I HAVE to have them. So, needless to say, this morning was one of those mornings. Until I realized I didn’t have eggs. In my mind I had a minor meltdown, and then I just figured out a recipe for pancakes that doesn’t use eggs. Critical thinking AND problem solving. On the weekend. Awww yeah!

Anyways, these pancakes are tasty. Feel free to doctor up the flavors to your liking, but the strawberry banana combo is pretty great. Maybe I should try these with my all time favorite food combo – peanut butter and bananas. Next time!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbl veg. oil
1 cup milk
2 Tbl Greek yogurt
2 Tbl ground flax
1 banana, diced (extra for topping if desired)
2 large strawberries, diced (extra for topping if desired)
Non-stick spray

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. Combine wet and dry and mix until just combined. Fold in bananas and strawberries.

Heat a griddle or saute pan over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Once your pan is heated, pour 1/4 cup portions of batter onto the pan. Cook on each side until lightly golden brown and cooked all the way through.

Top with sliced strawberries and bananas.

Enjoy!!

Green Machine smoothie

It is getting so hot in North Carolina! It feels like summer, but it was just winter. I’m not complaining – I am pleasantly surprised at how amazing it has been here. I am happily packing away all of my boots and coats and bringing out the shorts and bikinis 🙂 Last night, we even broke out the grill and had a little BBQ.

In the spirit of St. Patty’s day, I thought it would be appropriate to make a “green” smoothie. For those who may be a little scared about incorporating greens into your fruit smoothies, don’t be! The flavor of the fruit completely masks the flavor of any veggies that are added. Not to mention, it’s an added boost of nutrients and a great way to start your morning!

Ingredients

1/4 cup greek yogurt
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup strawberries
2 T agave
1/4 cup mango (I used a frozen puree, but fresh will work too)
1 small bunch Kale
2 T flax meal
ice

In your blender, add greek yogurt, agave, flax meal, fruit, kale and a small amount of ice (unless you used all frozen fruit). Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately!

Fruit Pizza

Over the weekend I was really jonesing for some fruit pizza.I never crave fruit pizza so I figured I might as well make one since I wasn’t sure when this would happen again. Turns out – fruit pizza is awesome!

I tried – really hard actually, to make this fruit pizza healthy. But there are just some things that you can’t mess with. Sadly, sugar cookies are one of those things.

Ingredients

1 recipe of your favorite sugar cookies. I used these

8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/4 cup agave
1 t cinnamon
Fruit of your choice – I used blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and bananas.

Form sugar cookie dough into a circle on a pizza pan and bake according to the recipe you used. Once baked, let the cookie cool completely.

Once your cookie “crust” is cooled, you can assemble your pizza. First put down a layer of the cream cheese frosting and then layer your fruit over top. Once you have done all of this, your pizza is really to be enjoyed!

Whole wheat orzo salad with strawberries, arugula, and pecans

You all are going to love this salad.

I recently went back home to Florida for my last spring break as a college student ever. Depressing, right? I guess I shouldnt be too sad considering it has taken me four FIVE years to finish my bachelors degree. Spring break has always been my favorite break we got in school. The weather is always perfect in Florida and its like being able to go on a vacation, but really I am just going home. I’m from such a beautiful place and I’m so lucky that I get to go back there so frequently during the year.

Anyways, I went back to my home and my second night there, I decided to make the AMAZING salad for my parents. It is so delicious and can be eaten hot, cold, room temperature, off of the floor…this salad is to die.

Ingredients
How Sweet It Is

1 lb Whole wheat orzo (you can use regular if you can’t find WW)
1 red onion sliced thin
1 bag of arugula
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 cup strawberries (quartered)
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T brown sugar
olive oil
goat cheese (optional)

Boil water for pasta and cook pasta until it’s cooked, but still slightly firm.

Add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar to a sauce pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Boil this mixture until it has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Should take about 10-15 minutes.

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil and red onion. Cook slowly, until onions are soft and beginning to caramelize. Set aside.

Once pasta is cooked, remove from water and add to serving bowl. Add in your strawberries, toasted pecans, arugula and caramelized onion and mix with pasta. Pour balsamic mixture over the pasta and mix until all ingredients are coated. If the pasta looks a little dry, add some olive oil to it. You can top this with goat cheese which gives it a really nice taste, but if you don’t like goat cheese, just leave it out.

Enjoy!!