caramel pecan pancakes

hi. i had all that yumminess for breakfast this morning.

caramel pecan pancakes inspired by @Spoonfuloffit via Instagram.  she is a motivational and inspirational powerhouse! i love her recipes and spunkiness :)  she blogs too- hit her up!

i haven't made or eaten protein pancakes in a really long time - i like to get my protein from plain ol' food.  you can certainly add a scoop of your fave protein flavor to this recipe if ya like though.

i made a sweet cream (only 15 calories) to go on top using a big dollop of fromage blanc, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and half a packet of stevia. you could also use a few drops of vanilla creme stevia instead of the granules. theeeeen i drizzled the cakes with walden farms caramel sauce (calorie-free, carb-free, gluten-free, etc, etc, etc!!) and dropped a tablespoon of chopped toasted pecans on there. oh and one more shot of cinnamon to make it pretty.

caramel pecan pancakes

the stuff: 

• 1/3  cup oat flour (you can buy the flour in the store or just throw your oats in the blender yourself like i did)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or until your desired consistency)
• 1/2 tsp butter extract
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3-5 drops of vanilla creme stevia or 1 packet or stevia granules
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp fromage blanc or 0% greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp of chopped toasted pecans (you can throw these in the batter or sprinkle on top)

do this:

mix thoroughly! in a medium heated pan, cook your cakes (the size is up to you) on one side until you start to see bubbles popping, then flip.  top with the fromage sweet cream- the recipe is above!  eat. enjoy.

i needed all those good carbs after my workout this morning for sure.

stats are listed below for one big fluffy, scrumptious stack of these babies:

i used 1/2 cup of oats cause i eat a big breakfast and that adds approx. 50 more cals to those stats, fyi.

thank you for reading.  sincerely.  i started this thing a year ago and i have received some pretty awesome feedback from people i see in the street, private messages, and of course from the comments on various posts!   i loooooove and appreciate all forms of feedback.  all of it.  every acknowledgement, every like, every share.  i have so many plans for Fit Foodie Le...so many things i want to do that have been placed on my heart.  and with God's grace and direction, i'll do just that.

the Commitment Day 5K is still open! you've got EXACTLY two weeks until go time.  start 2013 off strong and DON'T LOOK BACK.  is your city participating? check and see! and if you're in Houston, come run with meeeeeeeeee!

this post was ONLY supposed to be about caramel pecan pancakes.  i knew i couldn't do it. nite.

le

mmmm....crusty

  i ate Papa Johns pizza 10 outta 10 months of my pregnancy.  it was my celebratory meal after doing my first fitness competition.  pizza is neck and neck with mac n cheese as my fav food.  i keep my eyes peeled for healthy, lower calorie/carb pizza crust recipes that i can make at home.  however.......i'm not willing to accept a tortilla, portobello mushroom :shock: english muffin, or any other item attempting to be passed off as pizza crust!  now THIS though...this is just my speed right here.  yet another recipe inspired by IG (Instagram) that i have made every day since i found it.  once i find something i love i make it until i force myself not to make it  anymore.

ok.

the crust is composed of... breakfast. oatmeal and egg whites.  together.  but you don't have to eat it for breakfast if you don't want to.  i don't.

Trader Joe's organic pizza sauce, ground chicken, goat cheese, fresh roma tomatoes, mushrooms, and cilantro went on my very first attempt at this recipe, pictured above.  your turn.

oatmeal pizza crust

the stuff:

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 2 egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic (optional)
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup water (mix until desired consistency but not too thin!)

do this:

1. pre-heat your oven to 400 degress.
2. throw the ingredients above into your blender or food processor and blend away until smooth
3.  add more water if you need to.  i like my crust with texture, so i pulsed my blender a few times and left it semi chunky.  you can put it on high and blend until completely smooth though, it's your call.  the seasoning are also up to you.  if you don't like Italian seasoning,  by all means, use somethin ya do like.
4.  spray your medium heated skillet with no-stick cooking spray, and scrape the contents of your blender right into it.
5. it starts to cook immediately, so start spreading it as soon as it hits the pan.
6. once it's cooked on one side (3-4 minutes) flip it over and let the other side cook for 2-3 minutes more.
7.  finally, slide the crust onto your oven pan (spray that with no-stick cooking spray  too) and  add your toppings.  remember, less is more.  don't over crowd!  thumbs down to soggy pizza crust. blech.

1 serving = entire crust (egg whites, oatmeal, garlic & seasonings)

not too shabby, huh!  low-fat, and loaded with fiber and protein.  my skillet is not terribly big, so my first crust was thicker than i wanted it to be since i poured in all my batter at once.  the next few times, i poured half the batter in and made two thin crust pizzas.

 yall know i'm all about stretching my food!

i have been topping my crusts with whatever i have on hand.  ground chicken, ground turkey, grilled chicken, salmon, and even tuna.  same with the veggies/cheese- i have put some crazy stuff together and so will you!

le

give me CARBS. now.

i put my grill pan to work today.  this morning's breakfast was slow cooked oats over grilled bananas and dusted with cinnamon.  putting heat to a banana always helps it release more of its natural sugars.  i might not ever use brown sugar again! it was so good!  course i had my eggs too with fresh cilantro and some dijon mustard.

 i woke up feeling very loose in my mid-section...definitely not as tight all over as last week.

not being funny or insensitive at all.   as you know, i started carb cycling monday and i'm going to bed tonight like a kid at Christmas cause tomorrow is my HIGH CARB DAAAAAY!!!!! this explains my bloated/loose feeling and why when i used to skip meals in order to fit in a dress (long, long time ago when i didn't know any better), it never really worked for me.  ever.     when your body doesn't know the next time it'll get some food after an extended period of time, it begins to store whatever is left in there as fat.  thus, reversing the very thing you are trying to do!  restricting meals creates slowed metabolism, cravings, and ultimately, weight gain.  just a bad, bad domino effect.  so, when i did finally eat, i was SO HUNGRY and always ended up eating way too much. well, by then my metabolism had crashed and it couldn't work fast enough to burn all the food i just straight stuffed my face with which just makes everything worse. again, sad situation.  don't do that!  OK?

i hit it hard with my trainer this morning with chest and back supersets, then i headed to the gym this evening for some cardio on the elliptical.  this is another reason i love my Polar FT7 so much:

off by more than 100 cals!  my hr watch never tells me such lies, hmph!

per my trainer, by tomorrow, (after adding a higher amount of carbs back into my diet and after my weight workout of course)  my muscles should be popping out and waving HELLO, and i'll appear 'bigger' and more defined.  well we'll just have to see then, won't we.  will post my after pic then to see if we can spot the differences.

i hit up Sams on the way home for some sirloin and they only had the really thick cuts,  so i went with that.  got my grill pan out again for dinner tonight and put the burner on as high as it would go.  meanwhile,

my steaks were marinating in more liquid aminos, green onion, fresh cilantro, and black pepper. i trimmed the fat beforehand.

sprayed my grill pan (found at Walmart for 17 bucks) with Pam first, and cooked it for 7 min on one side,

and 6 mins after flipping.  far from dry!!! are you kidding me?? so much flavor and tenderness just after a few minutes.  key things- HIGH heat, and marinate it for at least 30 min first and you won't go wrong.

Instagram sirloin collage:)

i did some mid-week prepping after dinner tonight and cooked up a vat of brown rice and mixed it with some fresh chopped cilantro and lime juice.

i also baked some chicken breasts with those McCormick seasonings (smokehouse maple, lemon pepper, garlic and herb, and montreal chicken), and some dried parsley.

in conclusion, i should really stop complaining cause my low-carb days could be NO-carb days :lol:  about those- no-carb diets are often associated with lack of focus, low metabolism, uncontrollable cravings, and low energy levels.  carbs are so NOT the enemy when it comes to weight-loss, so bump what you heard!!!  ever wonder WHY you don't have the energy to workout and feel terrible when you try to cut carbs completely?  cause you NEED them. so don't do that either!

heading to bed to dream about CARBS.

le