Cranberry Pecan Breakfast Cookies

 

You may remember the Breakfast Cookies I made a bit back with currants – they were so super good, and very versatile! - so this weekend, I made them again but changed things up a bit by adding cranberries, pecans and some protein powder to give them even more staying power.

They are so easy to make!  I like to bake them up and throw them in a baggie to grab quickly during the week.  Two of these are hearty and will definitely give you the energy you need in the morning along with a bit of staying power with the added protein.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 scoops vanilla protein powder

¼ cup chopped pecans (or your favorite – be creative!)

¼ cup chopped dried cranberries (again, any dried fruit would be great!)

1 ½ cups quick oats

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mash bananas until they are creamy like so:

• Add the applesauce, extract, cinnamon and protein powder and mix.

• Mix in the pecans, cranberries, and oats.

• Set aside for about 10 minutes until the ingredients get all happy.
• Scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined or non-stick baking sheet…these babies will stick so don’t forget this part.

• Bake for about 20-30 minutes.  I like mine to be a bit softer so I took them out at 20 minutes.

• Cool and enjoy!

Nutrition:

Makes about 6-7 servings depending on how big you make the cookies – I made 14.

2 cookies/serving

Calories 174 / Carbs 29g / Fat 5g / Protein 5g / Fiber 4g / Sodium 10mg

Maple Mustard Grilled Chicken with Asian Slaw

It’s finally, officially, really and truly grilling season!!  I couldn’t be happier because there’s just nothing like grilling up some dinner, sitting on the deck, eating and enjoying a great evening.

Here’s an easy and delicious recipe for you to add to your grilling repertoire and one I’ll definitely be making again and again.  I love the sweet and spicy flavors of maple and mustard and incorporating spicy brown mustard just sends this one over the top. I served it alongside an Asian slaw for a light and healthy grilled dinner!

Ingredients:

Chicken

1/3 cup spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons yellow mustard  

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

1 package boneless skinless chicken – I used thighs because I had them on hand, but breasts would work great, too!

Slaw

2 T honey

2 T Rice Wine Vinegar

1 ½ tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1 ½ tsp sesame oil

1 ½ tsp creamy peanut butter

½ tsp chili garlic sauce or hot sauce like Siracha

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 bag coleslaw mix

½ cup thawed edamame, shelled

½ cup bell pepper (any color is fine)

Preparation:

• Combine first 9 ingredients for chicken into a bowl or jar.  Place the chicken in a zipper bag and then pour half of the mixture on top of the chicken and mix to make sure that the chicken is all nice and cozy in the marinade; marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.  Reserve the remaining mixture to serve with chicken. 

• In the meantime, make your slaw by combining the first 8 slaw ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour the mix over the vegetables, cover and refrigerate.  Toss before serving. 

• When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat your grill to medium-high heat.
• Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the bagged marinade. Spray the grill with nonstick spray and grill approximately 7 - 8 minutes on each side or until no longer pink.
• Serve with reserved mustard mixture and slaw.
• The sauce is AH-MAZING!

Nutrition:

Serves 4

Chicken (This calculation might be slightly off because 1/2 of the marinade is poured off...in other words, the numbers below for the chicken are probably less!  Good news!!)

Calories 311 / Carbs 13g / Fat 15g / Protein 28g / Fiber 0g / Sodium 361mg

Slaw

Calories 116 / Carbs 18g / Fat 4g / Protein 5g / Fiber 3g / Sodium 221mg