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Baked Apple Oatmeal

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While I am pretty obsessed with Pinterest, the fact is that I’m one of those people that will “pin and forget”.  But last weekend, I decided to try to make something finally! Baked Apple Oatmeal! I found this recipe and really wanted to try it.  After making a few changes it was perfect. I love oatmeal, but sometimes you just need something different and this was just so yummy.

Ingredients:

–Dry
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch Sodium Alternative

–Wet
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, finely diced

–Topping
2 tablespoons brown sugar
chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.
In one bowl, mix all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients, except the apple, with a whisk. Pour the wet bowl in the dry bowl and combine well.  Stir in the diced apples and pour mixture into pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons brown sugar on top. Bake for 25 minutes or until set (not jiggly). Remove from oven and add walnuts to the top. Enjoy.

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Fruit Smoothie Recipe -Great for Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and Beyond

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One thing has been very clear during my pregnancy.  Morning times are sometimes the hardest for eating purposes. I always eat breakfast, I know the importance of it; however, many times throughout my pregnancy, the thought of certain food (eggs) make me cringe.  One thing that I have always enjoyed though is making fruit smoothies. It fills me up, is amazingly healthy, and gives the baby so many great nutrients.  This fruit smoothie recipe is amazing, packed full of flavor, and nutrients making it perfect for pregnancy.

Recipe: 
1 medium banana
1 orange
5 strawberries
1 Chobani Greek Yogurt (I used peach flavored for this)
1/2 cup Silk Fruit & Protein juice (I used strawberry banana flavor)
5 pieces of ice

Directions: 
Throw everything into a blender. Blend on high until well mixed. Add more ice or juice as necessary to reach desired consistency (ice will make thicker, juice with make thinner).

Tips:
**One great thing about smoothies is that you can change them to taste like whatever you want.  Change the yogurt flavor, add different fruits, use OJ instead of the Silk juice.  It’s really up to you!  Enjoy!
**If you are breastfeeding and have eliminated dairy due to allergies, the silk fruit juice is dairy free!  Just remove the yogurt, and add some more fruit!

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Oatmeal Pancakes – Great Pregnancy or Healthy Breakfast

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I love eating breakfast.  I know the importance of starting your day with a healthy meal.  However, during my pregnancy, I have gotten rather bored with some of my used to be favorites or some things, like scrambled eggs are no longer appeasing.   So I have had to become creative.  This oatmeal pancakes recipe was actually given to my fiance as a protein packed breakfast idea to help him with his weight lifting, but I have really enjoyed it at well through my pregnancy. It keeps me full for a long time and helps my nausea.  I’ve even made it the night before and then warmed up in the morning so I don’t have to cook as soon as I wake up.
Gather all ingredients together.

Put them all in a blender, except for the baking powder.

Blend just until smooth.  Add baking powder and blend again just until mixed.

This is enough batter for 2 pancakes, but they are so dense, you really don’t need more than this.  I usually make a bigger one for Andrew and a slightly smaller one for myself.

You will want to have your burner on medium LOW heat.  Because of the difference in just regular pancake mix, this takes a slightly longer time to cook and you don’t want to burn it 🙂

Remove from heat and enjoy with your favorite syrup!

If you or your LO is trying to get extra protein for weightlifting or just because, the original recipe sent to us called for protein powder, but since I am pregnant we eliminated this. 

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Great Pregnancy or Healthy Breakfast- Oatmeal Pancakes
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup oatmeal
  • 3/4 cup cottage cheese
  • 3 egg whites
  • 2 packets Equal or Splenda this is about 2 teaspoons
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients except for baking powder into a blender. Blend on low just until combined.
  2. Add baking powder and mix again just until ingredients are well combined.
  3. Heat a medium sized skillet on medium low temperature. Spray with cooking oil.
  4. Add approximately half the batter to the pan.
  5. When bubbles start to form and an edge is seen, flip the pancake and cook remaining side.
  6. Repeat with second pancake.
  7. Serves 2.
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Chocolate Banana Stuffed French Toast

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When I was loosing weight (obviously, not now, I’m steadily gaining as I’m almost at 7 months prego), I learned one very, very important lesson.  Occasionally, you must allow yourself to have a “cheat” day.  No, I’m not saying that on this day, you should go out an eat an entire large pizza by yourself, however, indulging in something you’ve been craving is important for weight loss too. As for this recipe, as soon as I saw the link for it here from Pinterest, I wanted it instantly.
Mix all ingredients for the batter in a medium sized bowl.

Mix until well combined. Refrigerate until ready.

Cut a loaf of french bread 2 inches thick (you will need 8 pieces).

In a separate bowl, mix all filling ingredients together until well combined…

But not completely smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a large skillet on medium and spray generously with cooking spray.
Dip each piece into the batter on both sides and place in pan.

Cook until golden brown on both sides.  Remove and place in baking dish you are going put into the oven. 4 pieces will be for the bottom and 4 pieces for the top.

Divide the filling equally onto 4 of the pieces of bread.

Top with the remaining 4 pieces of bread. Place in preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Remove and serve with syrup.

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Chocolate Banana Stuffed French Toast
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
For the Batter:
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup Skim Milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon vanilla extract
Filling:
  • 1 1/2 packages 8 oz of cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 ripe banana smashed
  • 1/8 cup OJ no pulp
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional ingredients
  • 8 pieces of french bread cut into 2 in pieces
  • Syrup
  • Berries or Homemade Cool Whip optional
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the batter. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients for filling until combined, but not completely smooth.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Heat a large skillet (TIP: I try to have a skillet large enough to cook 4 pieces at a time) over medium heat and generously spray with cooking spray.
  5. Dip each piece of bread, one at a time, into the batter, coating both sides.
  6. Cook on both sides until golden brown.
  7. Remove from skillet and place into baking dish that you will be putting into oven (4 pieces will be on the bottom). Equally divide the filling across 4 of the pieces.
  8. Top with the remaining 4 pieces. Place into oven and bake for 8 minutes.
  9. Serve with syrup. Berries or homemade whipped topping are options.

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Homemade Poptarts

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The theme of my baby shower was Going to POP. We made all the food ourselves and one of my favorite things we made was Homemade Poptarts. This was one of the easiest things I’ve ever made and I will definitely be making them again in the future.
First, lay out one of the the uncooked 9in pie crusts.

Try to smooth out into as much of a rectangle as you can get. I used a pizza cutter to get a better shape.

Cut each pie crust into 24 squares. 4 rows, 6 columns. You can make them bigger than this, it’s just the POPable size we went with.

Place between 1/2 and 1 tablespoon filling in the center of half of the squares.

Place another square on top and press down the sides using a fork.

Bake according to box directions.  Usually 8-10 minutes. Some of the filling came out, but we didn’t mind.

Once they come out, place on cooling rack and let cool.  Once cool, drizzle icing and sprinkles on top.

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Homemade Poptarts
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 9 in Store Bought Rolled Pie Crust
  • 21 oz can Pie Filling any filling (we used apple and cherry)
  • Powdered Sugar Glaze 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Sprinkles
Instructions
  1. Roll pie crust into a rectangle. Use pizza cutter to make shape.
  2. Cut dough into 24 squares (4 rows, 6 columns). *Essentially this can be any size you want, but this is the perfect size for kids or parties.
  3. Lay one side on a cool cookie sheet and spoon between 1/2 and 1 tablespoon of pie filling on each square.
  4. Top with another square and use a fork to press the sides down to seal each side together.
  5. Bake at the temperature suggested on the pie crust box (usually 8-10 minutes) or until golden brown.
  6. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
  7. While they are cooling, mix together 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to make the glaze.
  8. Using a pastry bag with a very small tip or a ziploc bag with a small hole cut, drizzle the glaze over each of the poptarts.
  9. Top with sprinkles and serve.
Tips:
*Each 9in pie crust will make approximately 24-26 pops.
*Each can of pie filling is enough for 2- 9in pie crusts.
*The glaze on top can be made with either milk or water.  Water will allow you to not have to refrigerate leftovers (or use the next day). If you use milk you have to refrigerate. We used water and put them on a plate, wrapped in foil, and they tasted great the next day.
WHAT FLAVOR PIE FILLING WOULD YOU USE??
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Easiest Egg Sandwich

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*Disclosure: Affiliate Links contained within this post.  You purchase like you normally would, but we receive a small commission.

I want to let you in on the easiest way to make an egg sandwich.

But first, I know two things about breakfast first hand:

1. It is very difficult to try to squeeze in breakfast every morning. Whether you are chasing kids around or simply can never seem to drag yourself out of bed until you only have ten minutes left to quickly shower and throw on some clothes before you will make yourself very late to work, cooking breakfast for yourself is the LAST thing on your mind.

2.While it may be difficult, breakfast literally is the most important meal of the day. While in college I wouldn’t say I gained the “Freshman 15”, however, I did gain the “College 30”.  Over the course of 6 years, I gained approximately 30lbs and one day found myself starring at my pictures from that weekend saying what in the world happened to me.  Determined to loose the weight, I did some research and found that eating healthy is often times more important than any exercise plan you can do. And eating breakfast is even more important as it starts your metabolism right away in the morning helping to aid the weight loss.

So, I found myself desperately looking for quick ways to grab breakfast. Thus I bring you the Easiest Egg Sandwich EVER. Literally, in under 2 minutes you can have the simplest sandwich.

First, add one whole egg to a large mug. (a large mug like this is really important) Proceed to beat the egg with a fork until completely mixed. Throw in two pieces of toast into the toaster and then place the mug in the microwave on high for 1 minute or until no more liquid is seen in the bowl.

Assemble sandwich and place back into the microwave for 10 seconds to melt the cheese.

Then dig in!  No more excuses for not eating breakfast!  Enjoy!!

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Easiest Egg Sandwich
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 2 pieces bread- I prefer Nature's Own Honey Wheat
  • 1 egg
  • 1 piece of sliced American cheese or your favorite sliced cheese
  • No Salt Sodium Alternative and pepper as desired
Instructions
  1. Lightly spray bowl with cooking spray. Crack and beat one egg in the bowl. Toast two pieces of bread. Put bowl in microwave on high for 1 minute or until no liquid remains. Place cheese and egg on one piece of toast. Sprinkle with No Salt & pepper as desired. Top with second piece of toast. Place back in microwave for 10 seconds to slightly melt the cheese. Enjoy!

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NY Cheesecake Pancakes

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We’ve updated this post to be even better.  View the new post for Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes including homemade whipped topping. 

We love eating out and enjoying amazing food, however, with only one of us working, its not always possible to enjoy it as much as we like.  I try to help by finding recipes on the internet that are “copycat” versions of the real thing, sometimes making my own little twists and usually it comes out great.  While it obviously takes much longer than walking in and ordering it, it’s always cheaper, and even sometimes (including this case) the homemade version actually tastes better!

My fiance is addictive-ly in LOVE with IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes. He gets them EVERY time we go.  I recently came across a recipe on Food Network and the reviews said they were spot on, so I just HAD to try it for my myself.  I went to the store and got the frozen cheesecake and buttermilk that I didn’t have on hand, and actually forgot the strawberry jam the recipe calls for so I just substituted water and sugar and it turned out perfect.  This is what I did:

Ingredients: 
Strawberry Topping:
1 1/2 cups strawberries, tops cut off and sliced thin
1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water

Batter:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of Salt
2 cups chopped frozen cheesecake (I just used a small Sara Lee cheesecake found in the frozen section and used a little more than 1/4 of it to equal 2 cups)

Other Needs:
Cooking spray
Powered sugar and whipped cream, for topping

Directions:
Mix the 3 ingredients for the strawberry together in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

In a blender, add together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, egg, and oil. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheesecake pieces, keeping them whole (I cut my pieces about 1/4 in).

Coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium low heat. One at a time, pour about 1/4 cup batter into the skillet for each pancake. Cook until bubbly on top, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 more minutes.

Transfer the finished pancakes to a baking dish and keep warm in the oven.

 Once finished serve the pancakes with sprinkled powdered sugar, strawberry topping,whipped cream, and syrup. You can see the cheesecake oozing out of the pancakes.  They were simply amazing! 🙂
ENJOY!
You can also check out our Blueberry Cheesecake Pancakes for even more inspiration!

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