Crock-Pot Banana Bread Breakfast Quinoa

Good morning!

I can't believe I'm already four weeks into my dietetic internship!  I only have one week left of my foodservice/management rotation!  (Woohoo!  It's been interesting, but I already knew before I started this DI that foodservice is not where I want to be in the future, so...more on this later!)

The morning began with a brisk (aka...It's 8 degrees outside I want to go back inside where it's warm) 4 mile run.  I think I was feeling spoiled earlier in the week when the weather was in the 20s and 30s, so I thought hey, no biggie that it's in the single digits.  But alas, I'm sure you get the picture. ;) (So why did I choose to go up north again?)  At least the shower I took felt glorious!

By the way, if you are interested in what I'm doing to train for the half marathon I'm doing in April, take a look at my Weekly Exercise Log!  Since I decided a little late in the game to do this half, I don't have as much time as I'd like to prepare, but nine weeks is still decent!

Now on to food...

So you know how everyone is big into the crock-pot meals? I decided to jump on that bandwagon, breakfast style!

You may remember my Zucchini & Asiago Quinoa post, so you know I love quinoa! But quinoa for breakfast? I had seen things on Pinterest floating around about "sweet" dishes involving quinoa, but I never really got around to trying it. Thinking about how nice it would be to just wake up to breakfast already made, however, especially on a morning where I have to get at 4 AM, finally convinced me to give it a go! So, here is my first (quite delicious!) take on quinoa for breakfast!

Crock-Pot Banana Bread Breakfast Quinoa 

*I used a mini crock-pot, but if you use a full-sized one, you may want to double the recipe.

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup Quinoa
- 1 cup Vanilla almond milk
- 1 cup Water
- Splash of fat free dairy milk, optional
- A few shakes of cinnamon
- 1 ripe banana, mashed

- Sprinkle with walnuts or pecans, if desired!

*Remember to rinse your quinoa really well before use!!

Simply combine all ingredients in the crock-pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours. If you doubled the recipe in a full-sized pot, cook for 5-6 hours.

Yield: Made about 4 servings for me.

Enjoy waking up to this heavenly scent!

 You may also like:

Zucchini and Asiago Quinoa

 

Italian-Infused Tomato Lentil Soup

Half Marathon, Here I Come!

Happy Summer!

Someone's not too happy with me...

Sorry for being nonexistent for so long! Thanks to those of you who inquired if I was still going to keep Hugs and Kiwis running! I'm glad that you've stumbled upon my little space of the blog world and are still following! I'll do my best to catch you up on the last few, okay more than a few, months. Let the recap begin!

Have you ever used the website MapMyRun.com? When I discovered it early last year I only used it a couple of times, but now I use it like crazy, because, let's face it, sometimes I can be pretty directionally challenged, and it's easy to use.

I've gotten lost simply walking Charlie when I decided to try a new route (bonus for Charlie since we probably walked an extra mile or two before I called my dad to look up how to get "unlost") and I've even gone the wrong way during a cross country meet in school. Fortunately, I didn't go too far before someone corrected me.

What I like about MapMyRun is that you can log/save each route you do. Now that I've signed up for my first half marathon in September, this will come in handy as I'm buckling down and doing longer runs!

Foodwise...

Here's a snapshot of some of the things I've eaten since my last post!  More details/recipes to come for some!

Veggie Scrambled Egg Whites w/Apples & PB2 Dip

Zucchini Mushroom Omelet w/Apples and PB2 Dip

Berry-Loaded Oatmeal w/PB2 and Toasted Coconut

Cheesy Mushroom Broccoli Omelet

Chicken Pineapple Scrambles w/Honey Glazed Carrots

Green Onion Asiago Omemlet

 

Pineapple Chicken Wrap

Hot Apple Cider (Which I promptly checked off my Autumn 2012 bucket list!)

 My Mom's Homemade Pizza!!

Roasted Veggie/Sweet Potato Wrap

Real Fruit Roll-up

Dark Chocolate Banana "Ice Cream"

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Green Smoothie

Cauliflower/Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes

Chicken Fajita Salad

 

Well, it's a start, right?  If any of the above looks good to you, check back later for some recipes!  Have a good night!

Creamy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

In this post:

Quick Fix Strength Circuit Workout
Creamy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
Zucchini and Asiago Quinoa

As I came down the stairs several mornings ago, who should I find lounging in the middle of the staircase?

Oh Charlie, how lucky you are that I saw you through my morning stupor!

To kickstart the launch of my fitness page, I decided to get things going with a speedy strength workout, which is basically the workout I originally did in my mushroom asiago omelet post, but with a slight adaptation.

As I did the back extensions, I held every other one for 8 seconds.

Be sure to check my workouts page periodically because I will be adding workouts as I do them. At least, the ones I deem worthy. ;) I hope you enjoy!

Breakfast was a delicious bowl of Creamy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal.

What I used:

~ 1/2 Cup oatmeal

~ 1 Cup water

~ 1/2 Banana, cut into quartered chunks

~ About 1/8 Cup blueberries

~ 1 Tablespoon Plumaisins (chopped up no sugar added dried plums)

~ Sprinkle of toasted coconut

~ 1 Tablespoon PB2 (Powdered peanut butter)

I cooked the oatmeal for about 3 to 4 minutes on high in the microwave (I didn't have the patience to use the stovetop) then mixed everything else in. Yum yum yum is all I have to say. Creamy goodness on a spoon.

Guess who I should find staring at me the whole time I ate this deliciousness? You guessed it! Sorry, Chairbear, you had food waiting for you several feet to your left, with pumpkin on top to boot!

Lunch

Who remembers the first time you saw or heard the word "quinoa?" (pronounced keen-wa) Was your reaction, "Huh?" 

No? Well, mine was. What was this foreign-sounding "grain?" 

While it is widely considered a grain, it is actually a seed. A yummy, nutritious seed, I might add.

 I don't know what exactly to call this dish, so I'm just going to say Zucchini and Asiago Quinoa. It's very simple, but might in fact be one of the best things I've put on this blog. If you love zucchini and asiago cheese (and garlic ;) ), you won't be disappointed!

What I Used:

~ 1/4 Cup dry quinoa

~ 1/2 Cup water

~ 1/3 Zucchini, cut into thin half-slices

~ About 1/3 Large, white onion, chopped into thick chunks

~ 1 Clove garlic, minced

~ Organic baby spinach

~ 2 Fresh bella mushrooms, somewhat thickly sliced

~ 3/4 oz Asiago cheese

~ Black pepper to taste (I don't like adding salt when I'm using asiago cheese, because that's salty enough for the whole dish, for my taste)

What I Did:

1. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under cold water in a strainer or cheesecloth. This gets rid of the natural bitterness (that's meant to protect it from getting eaten no less). This bitter coating is called saponin.
2. In a small/medium saucepan, add the quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Then, cover and reduce the heat and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until all the water is gone. 
3. While the quinoa is cooking, drizzle a little olive oil onto a skillet and heat over medium to medium-high heat.
4. Add the onions and sauté for several minutes, until you see it start to brown/caramelize, then add the zucchini and mushrooms, cooking for another 2 or 3 minutes.
5. When the quinoa and veggies are both done, combine them in the saucepan, along with the spinach, fresh garlic, asiago cheese, and pepper.

Done! The heat melts the cheese immediately and you're left with a cheesy, savory yumminess.

Yield: Makes about 1-2 servings.

Question of the evening: Are you a quinoa fanatic like I am? What is one of the best quinoa dishes you've ever eaten?

You might also like:

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

w/ Lemon Ginger Sauce

Garlic Hummus

Cheesy-Checkered (Almost) Hawaiian Frittata

Okay, so now let's backtrack to two or three days before yesterday. You know, before there were leftovers that I took for those beef barbacoa tostadas.

Cheesy-Checkered (Almost) Hawaiian Frittata

If you haven't noticed yet, I love eggs.

If you add egg to something, I will most likely try it.

The same goes with pineapple. So you know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to combine two of my favorite things.

What I Used:

~ 1 Whole egg

~ 3 Egg whites

~ 2-3 Organic bella mushrooms, somewhat thickly sliced

~ 1/2 Cup white onion, chopped (Red onion would be good, too!)

~ 1/8-1/4 Cup fresh pineapple chunks 

~ 1/4-1/2 Cup (Depending on how much you like spinach) Organic baby spinach

~ 1 stick "swirl" (cheddar and mozzarella) low-sodium string cheese stick

~ Pepper to taste

Yield: Makes about 2-4 servings.

What I Did:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Drizzle a little olive oil onto a pan and heat over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until they begin to brown (just slightly).
3. Add the mushrooms and pineapple and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
4. While the veggies (and pineapple) are cooking, chop up the string cheese into about 1/4 inch slices.
5. Whisk the eggs slightly with a fork and add them to the pan. When you see the edges start to set, layer the spinach on top, add the cheese, and sprinkle with black pepper, if desired.
6. Put into oven and bake or broil until the egg is completely cooked through. This shouldn't be more than 10 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

I accidentally overcooked it a little because I got distracted and almost forgot about it (oops!), but it still tasted pretty good! The sweet pineappley flavor added a refreshing change to what I normally eat in eggs, and the combination of the cheese and pineapple created a nice duo. 

And now onto dinner, from...the day after the pineapple goodness above? 

(Truer) Beef Barbacoa Tostadas

Unlike the aforementioned beef barbacoa tostadas I made yesterday, these tostadas (courtesy of my mother :) ) were probably truer to real tostadas. In this dish, the tortillas were actually crisped first in the pan, so the tortillas didn't fall apart as easily as they did yesterday.

Onto the corn tortillas, I used doctored up refried beans (tomato and season-"infused"), string cheese (we didn't have any other cheese available at the time ;) ), salsa, a poached egg, beef barbacoa, and cilantro. Plus, I squeezed some fresh lime juice on top. 

Can you say yum?! Thanks, Mom, for the flavorful meal!

Now off to catch some Zzzs!

Cinnamon Chip Banana Pancakes

I'm a bit behind the times (what's new?), so I'll start with today and work my way backwards.

Breakfast

This morning I decided to put a twist on the dark chocolate peanut butter banana pancakes I made last week.

I LOVE cinnamon, so I thought, why not try to make cinnamon-flavored pancakes?

Here's What I Used:

I cut out the pumpkin, added more water, and instead of mashing the banana, I cut it into quartered chunks. I had just a few dark chocolate chips left, so I threw those in there too.

~ 1/4 Cup whole wheat flour

~ 2 Tablespoons PB2 (Powdered peanut butter)

~ 1/4 Cup nonfat Greek yogurt

~ 1/4 Cup water

~ 1 Egg white

~ 1/2 Banana, cut into chunks

~ 1 Tablespoon cinnamon chips

~ Dark chocolate chips (optional)

Yield: Makes 3 pancakes

The batter will look a little more normal this time, with an orangish tint.

I'm not sure I loved the combination of the dark chocolate with the cinnamon, so I'll probably leave that out next time. Surprisingly, I did enjoy the cinnamon flavor with the hint of peanut butter.  

I prefer eating pancakes plain, so the cinnamon chips (vs. actual, plain cinnamon) and banana added some sweetness and flavor to the whole wheat flour and the Greek yogurt gave them the moistness and gooiness I like without me "having" to add syrup.

Workout

Breakfast was followed a little while later with a trip to the gym for some group indoor cycling. I used to do spinning a lot more, especially in the winter when my motivation to go running outside was lower, but since I hadn't done it in a while, it took me a few minutes to get back into it. Whew was I nice and sweaty at the end of the hour!

Spinning is probably one of my favorite things to do when it comes to exercise. It's easy on the joints and you still get a superb cardio workout. As another bonus, you can easily control the intensity the whole time you're on the bike. I certainly walked away with an endorphin high today! 

Lunch

Beef Barbacoa "Tostadas"

(Experimenting with a new photo editing program I just discovered.)

Lunch was delicious and easy, since I used some leftovers from yesterday. 

I sautéed some onion, red and yellow bell peppers, and seasoned them with garlic and chili powder.

Then divided it onto corn tortillas, topped with leftover beef barbacoa and homemade salsa with cilantro. Success!

Note: This food ranked a 1 on the Eatability Scale (i.e., it was VERY difficult to eat). I didn't toast or cook the tortillas in any way before I loaded them up, so they, being corn tortillas, fell completely apart. Oh well, they were delicious anyway!

Question of the afternoon: What kinds of workouts do you prefer to do? Is anyone else a spinning enthusiast like I am?