Eat More Fruit – Breakfast Pizza Recipe

 

This morning’s National Nutrition Month tip: Buy Fruit.

Sounds so simple doesn’t it? Sometimes, however, the simplest of things tend to be overlooked.

Listen, if you don’t buy fruit, you can’t eat fruit. More importantly, if you don’t buy fruit, your children can’t eat fruit.

Expecting children to make healthier snack choices, expecting them to realize they like actual fruit versus just drinking a fruit juice is not possible unless they are living in a home where the grocery shopping list includes fruit.

If you have children or not, every grocery list should include nature’s candy. Maybe you already purchase bananas and apples every week; why not branch out a bit? It is almost spring which means we are getting closer and closer to true berry season as well as our favorite melons, peaches, cherries….oh, I am getting excited just rattling the list off!

Pineapple is one of my favorite snacks, especially the second I walk in the door from a run because I find it so hydrating. My son loves it too so I try not to be too selfish and finish it all without giving him some first.

I love having multiple fruit options because it makes snacking and meals that much more tasty.

If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen my breakfast the other morning:

I referred to it as a Breakfast Pizza but all it really involves is a two-ingredient pancake with a layer of peanut butter topped off with fruit.

You don’t even have to spread an actual layer of peanut butter, sometimes I mix it in a bowl ahead of time with the fruit while the pancake is cooking and then pile it on.

This mix also makes a terrific sandwich filler.

The best part is that you can mix up the fruit each day depending upon what you have in the house.

Please excuse the lighting from this morning’s breakfast; the whole Daylight Savings time affects everything.

Breakfast Pizza:

• Two ingredient pancake recipe – egg or egg whites plus banana
• Fruit of choice – think berries, cherries, pineapple, chopping apple, melon….
• Nut Butter of choice – I used a mix of PB2 and Mighty Maple Peanut Butter

**Option – Add a spoonful or two of greek yogurt to the peanut butter spread

Mix egg and mashed banana in a bowl. Pour into lightly greased pan and cook on medium heat (don’t rush the flip! Let it cook for a bit). While pancake is cooking, cut up fruit. If using PB2, prepare serving with water and mix in a bowl ( I like to add a bit of regular peanut butter to PB2).

Once pancake is done, remove from stove and place on plate. Top with peanut butter and fruit.

Since the pancake batter includes banana and you topped off your pizza with berries or apples or melon, you just started your day with easily two (if not three) servings of your five-a-day.

I keep thinking that I would love this “pizza” for dessert in the evening with a sprinkle of chocolate chips in the mix and on top.

You wonder why I can’t make a chocolate chip version for breakfast? I wonder too. My favorite cereal growing up was probably Cocoa Pebbles so why I no longer crave chocolate in the morning is something to think about.

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What’s on your shopping this week?

Favorite fruits?

What are you having for breakfast today?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always Room For Cold Stone

 

Monday morning already? Seriously?

Oh well. No time to think about it since I have quite a busy week ahead of me, beginning this morning with an important meeting in Manhattan.

At least it isn’t frigid today. Wait, let me correct that – At least it isn’t frigid this morning.

It is rainy yet “warm” with temperatures scheduled to drop from 50 degrees now down to 8 degrees tonight. Uh huh.

I can’t control the weather but I can control what I eat so let’s back up a bit to where we left off on Saturday.

I did my usual Trader Joe’s stock-up thing. I have meaning to ask you – do you remember the Trader Joe’s crunchy peanut butter with the flax seeds? I know they recalled it well over a year ago (or was it two years ago?) but they never brought it back and I really liked it.

I also made a pit stop at Fairway for PB2. Still loving the PB2.

Fage was on sale for 88 cents – how do you pass that up?

Of course yesterday morning as I went through the Sunday circular coupons (or Qpons as I like to pronounce the word) I discovered two coupons for my most favorite Stonyfield Greek Yogurt.

Little savings like this excite me. If you don’t clip your coupons, you need to start.

You know what else excites me? All-You-Can-Eat Sushi.

Ever do the All-You-Can-Eat Sushi (from a good place of course, not just some random icky hole-in-the-wall) where they give you the little menus and a pencil and you get to keep checking off what you want so that they just keep bringing you food over and over and over again?

So fun. SO SO SO FUN!

We got all giddy about this and just checked off everything – my favorite is the broccoli teriyaki plates. I think we went with five of those but who is counting.

Of course we ordered more rolls than this. How could you not when they just keep bringing it to you?

Were we full? Never too full for dessert.

I know I said I would have birthday cake for Saturday’s birthday girls but Cold Stone was calling my name. Actually, the chocolate dipped waffle bowls were looking for me.

Is it good or bad that the owner of Cold Stone saw me and made sure to point out their supply of chocolate dipped waffle bowls? I think I made him uncomfortable one too many times on the occasions his store was lacking in the waffle bowl department.

As amazing as this looks, the best part about it is that I wasn’t the only one in my party to order it.

Why was someone else’s sundae a good thing for me? Well, I just knew part of their waffle bowl would end up mine.

The trick is to always dine with someone not only willing to share but someone who gets full easily.

No one understands where I put all of this dessert but after a lengthy discussion on the topic, I explained that my stomach just has an extra compartment for sweet stuff.

There is always room. If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to dinner followed by dessert. Bring it on.

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I NEED TO KNOW:

How is the weather by you?

Do you always have room for dessert?

Would you share your waffle bowl with me or would you be able to finish it on your own?

Ever experience All-You-Can-Eat Sushi?

Do you remember the TJ peanut butter I am talking about?

 

What I Ate Wednesday – More Carbs Please

 

I am not ready for winter. Or the snow that comes along with winter. Or the running inside that has to occur due to the ice which forms on my routine running path that follows the snow in winter.

Lucky for me, and for everyone who interacted with me yesterday, I squeezed in a 6 mile run outside right before the whole sequence of snow to ice to freezing temperatures occurred.

6 miles is a lot for me to squeeze in on a random weekday morning but lately it seems that I have been squeezing in extra miles pretty often.

So really, with all these extra miles, my recent cravings for extra carbs should come as no surprise.

If you really pay attention to your cravings, and not just the ones for the chocolate cake and ice cream, your body almost always tells you what it needs.

What I Ate Wednesday Time – Click here to enjoy what everyone else in the Peas and Crayons link-up fun is eating this week!

Last month my cravings told me to eat more eggs most likely because I needed more protein. And now, the egg craving has subsided and the cravings for carbs has kicked in.

BREAKFAST:

As you know, I always eat before I run. The other morning, after I ate my favorite two-ingredient pancake, I just felt like I needed more carbs in me. The banana in the pancake just wasn’t cutting it.

I tried adding old-fashioned rolled oats to the pancake the next morning (to make it a three-ingredient pancake). As delicious as it was, it just wasn’t hitting that carb spot for me.

I didn’t want to give up the flavors of my pancake but knew what I needed was hot bowl of steel-cut oats – So I combined them both.

Using the steel-cut oats I have already prepped for the week, I reheat a serving mixed with egg whites, banana – and chopped apple.

Peanut Butter on top goes without saying.

For now, this is my winning combo of a breakfast. Who knows what tomorrow will bring…

NEW FAVORITE SNACK:

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I discovered the many colors of carrots at Trader Joe’s the other day.

If you don’t already buy organic carrots, please do so simply because they taste that much sweeter.

I can’t get enough of the yellow carrots. So sweet. Especially when topped with peanut butter.

LUNCH:

Just because I am eating my oats at breakfast doesn’t mean I stopped eating them at lunch.. But, lunch in the last week has more often than not been some type of salad or roasted vegetable combo.

Or, like the below lunch photo, an apple with peanut butter plus a roasted vegetable topped with melted cheese salad combo. Sometimes I just can’t decide what I feel like so I combine the ideas to avoid making a decision.

I have been on a bit of a butternut squash kick for a while now and I don’t see it stopping any time soon.

As well as an onion dip kick, made with plain greek yogurt and the onion dip mix from Trader Joe’s.

Combining a small amount of the mix with plain yogurt makes for a fabulous salad topping and serves as a source of protein too since I use the greek yogurt.

DINNER:

So back to the carb craving thing – I am always really conscious about refilling those glycogen stores effectively so I have been super on top of getting in a giant potato in at dinner.

I always run better when I eat potatoes. Most nights of the week my meals involve either sweet or regular potatoes but some nights they don’t. Brown rice, quinoa – not the same type of complex-carb effect for me as a potato.

I can get by not eating potatoes every evening but I definitely notice the difference in my runs if I take a look at what I have eaten the night before.

My favorite way these days to eat regular potatoes is sliced up and roasted in the oven as French fries.

They get so super crispy and I just love them paired with the onion dip. I was never a chip person or a dip person or even a chip AND dip person but for some reason, I love this dip with French fries. And a side of roasted vegetables topped with avocado.

I have also been making my sweet potato pizza bites. I have posted the recipe before but it is simple enough to just list again – just dice your sweet potato in round disks, roast for, hmm, 20-30 minutes? Then top with sauce, cheese and pop back in for a quick broil.

I could certainly get all crafty and make a sweet potato pizza crust but why? I love these little pizza bites. And so much easier.

LET’S TALK DESSERT:

My winter apples have been happening, in the form of peanut butter cup apples.

Just a sprinkle of chocolate chips and a drop of peanut butter is all you need in a bowl of diced up and warmed apples to get the peanut butter cup effect.

Don’t let me stop you from using a heavy hand with the peanut butter and chocolate but for real, a little bit truly does go a long way here.

You can even use PB2 in place of regular peanut butter (or a combination of both – that works well too).

Melty chocolate all over the bowl may seem to ruin this photo for some – to me it is just beautiful.

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I NEED TO KNOW:

Do you notice a difference in your workouts when you eat differently?

Do potatoes make a significant and noticeable difference for you?

Favorite way to eat potatoes?

Last thing you craved?

Back-to-Back Long Runs, Switching Up The Sneakers And Other Smart Moves

 

I did something smart. And cost-effective.

My Asics Gel Nimbus 15’s (on the left) are quickly wearing thin. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – increasing one’s mileage will increase the frequency of purchasing new running shoes.

Don’t get me wrong – I love a new pair of shoes but spending big bucks right now to get THE EXACT SAME SNEAKERS THAT I ALREADY HAVE? Not interested.

To buy me some time (haha no pun intended), I realized I have a perfectly good pair of Brooks that just sit in my closet.

Friday morning I made the decision to take the Brooks out for a run. That run turned into a long run. Followed up by Saturday’s long run.

Back-to-back long runs? I never do that. But I felt like running. My feet felt great. In fact, I didn’t even notice my feet.

Forgetting you have feet = Great Run

Coincidentally, Friday afternoon I saw this article on the Runner’s World website which discusses why you should rotate your sneakers. A recent study has shown that rotating your sneakers is associated with a lowered risk of injury.

Rather than recite the entire article to you, what spoke to me the most was this:

“…different shoes distribute the impact forces of running differently, thereby lessening the strain on any given tissue…”

Were my back-to-back great long runs due to the sudden rotation of the running shoes? Is that why I felt so great both days, no pain or discomfort or soreness anywhere?

Who knows but I will take it.

Come to think of it, my weekend involved a bunch of smart and cost-effective things besides rotating my sneakers.

I bought the Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea for the first time in a while (had a coupon, of course).

While the aroma of the sugar cookie was the same as I remembered, the flavor was just rather eh compared to my favorite Yogi varieties.

So, rather than end up with a full box of tea sitting in the back of pantry,  I combined a bag of Sugar Cookie with a bag of Yogi Cocoa Spice.

A little bit of cocoa, a little bit of sugar cookie all warmed in a mug?  Genius.

Never thought to combine your tea? Rather new concept to me as well so don’t feel bad.

I can’t take full credit on this tea combining thing – Amanda introduced me a while back to adding flavored tea to coffee and since then I haven’t looked back.

I haven’t looked back since discovering roasted apple skins either. If you have yet to try this out, please add to the top of your to-do list.

Speaking of lists, I went food shopping yesterday to pick up the things I missed on Friday.

Lucky for me, the Stonyfield Greek is back on sale and since I was in smart mode over the weekend, I took the time to print out some coupons from the Stonyfield website.

50 cents may not seem like a lot but it all adds up. Especially when your grocery store doubles coupons AND runs sales on what you are buying.

Think about it – those few dollars you saved can pay for a sushi roll.

Dinner Saturday night was sushi in the city. Do you ever request brown rice in place of the white? Sometimes I do and Saturday night was one of those nights – too bad my waiter heard me, wrote it down yet didn’t deliver.

Clearly this man didn’t check the weather forecast. Not too smart of him. Only in New York. I swear.

My intelligence failed me yesterday morning:

I was at the end of the PB2 container so I decided to just add some water to the bottom and mix rather than take out a bowl and have to clean it.

Dumb move. Very dumb.

I couldn’t get to all of the peanut butter because the container is long and tall. I am now on the lookout for super long spoon to avoid this dilemma from ever occurring again.

There is just nothing worse than being unable to reach the last drop of peanut butter. Nothing.

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Don’t forget to enter my #Kindawesome Giveaway – click here to enter!

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How was your weekend?

Do you rotate your sneakers?

Ever combine your coffee and/tea?

 

 

What I Ate Wednesday – My Usual Plus Dinner at The Smith NYC

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I am still all giddy after running yesterday morning. That’s right, I ran a little over 5 miles and while I felt some sort of very slight twinge in my left foot, overall I was really fine.

I actually read through some of my past posts and realized that this shin splinty feeling on the tops of my feet is nothing new for me. Isn’t it amazing how blogging helps you to remember things about yourself that you may have otherwise forgotten?

It seems that every so often, I experience some sort of discomfort on the tops of my feet. Why, we don’t really know for sure, but I have come to the conclusion that for me, when I up my mileage or don’t take enough rest days, the tops of my feet are the first to call me out on my rigorous routine.

While going through my posts, I also noticed A TON of repetitive meals or at least repetitive ingredients. What can I say, I am a creature of habit.

I am happy to be able to check in with you on this What I Ate Wednesday to share not just my usual eats but a great dinner from last night.

Let’s take a look!

BREAKFAST:

With each morning that passes, my pancake flipping skills just keep getting better and better. Please note the abundance of peanut butter and jelly on top – winning combination.

I may eat the same breakfast every day but I DO VARY the peanut butter – sometimes I go with Mighty Maple, sometimes Crunch Time, sometimes PB2 and sometimes any combination of all three.

I love this egg/banana pancake. It is filling, delicious and satisfying.

Sometimes I make a second pancake midmorning – all depends upon the day, my appetite and what I am in the mood for come stomach rumbling time.

LUNCH:

Lunch has still been my version of overnight oats. Cooked oatmeal (served cold) mixed with plain greek yogurt, lots of berries and lots of peanut butter. Topped off with KIND granola.

I could easily eat this combo for every meal.

I always cook a big pot of oatmeal in advance and just keep it stored in the refrigerator in servings. I went crazy this week and cooked a mix of steel-cut oats and old-fashioned rolled oats to get a blend of the textures. I love having oatmeal on hand for lunch as well as for those mornings when the little boy requests a bowl of oats for breakfast.

I also made another batch of my no bake trail-mix bites this week.

My son loves them and they are the perfect anytime snack to grab.

After grabbing a Quest Bar for myself yesterday afternoon, I headed into Manhattan for a weeknight treat. There is something so fun about escaping the routine of the week for a night out on the town.

Over the last few weeks, I started noticing a trend of various bloggers on Instagram checking in and posting awesome looking meals at a Manhattan restaurant that I had never dined at before…The Smith.

You would head into the city on a random Tuesday night for house made hot potato chips too, wouldn’t you?

They were amazing. Simply amazing. I don’t often eat chips but I cannot resist the fresh, hot from the oven variety.

We also shared the Tuna Tartare.

The menu at The Smith had so much to choose from but I was super excited to see Vegetarian Bibimbap listed. So many bloggers post this dish and I had never tried it…until last night.

I need to search for some bibimbap recipes so I can try making this at home! It was beyond delicious and filling to the point where even I couldn’t finish my bowl. I actually brought home leftovers. Perhaps eating the giant bowl of chips had something to do with this. Or the side of brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and I think we ordered grits too.

Not to worry, I always have room for dessert.

See the candle? No, it was not my birthday but I ordered the birthday cake which comes with a candle plus a lollipop that says Happy Birthday!

I love a good hunk of chocolate cake…

I can’t wait to go back to The Smith again. Who wants to meet me there for brunch? Or lunch? Or Breakfast? Or OK, dinner?

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I NEED TO KNOW:

 Have you ever had bibimbap? Do you have a recipe for a vegetarian version to share with me? If so, please post the link in the comments!

Ever been to The Smith?

Favorite birthday cake? Chocolate Fudge cake all the way. Never ever ice cream cake unless it is the Cold Stone Creamery variety that includes layers of fudge cake with the ice cream.

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter And Jelly Apples- Recipe!

It always seems that my breakfast the morning after a long run tends to be served on a plate rather than in a bowl.

Sometimes I have trouble recognizing the plate in front of me.

I don’t understand the correlation between running lots of miles and craving eggs but it happens to me often. This egg craving was extreme and intense and hit me well before breakfast even occurred. The craving set in late Saturday night after dinner so I knew a plate of eggs and toast would be happening first thing yesterday morning.

To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed this breakfast beyond just a satisfied-craving feeling so I am hoping to crave this plate again soon.

My only issue is that I don’t think eggs are proper pre-run fuel for me on a regular basis.

Key words here – FOR ME.

Everyone is different. What I eat and when I eat it may be different from what you choose for your meals. What works for me before and after a run, may not be what works for you.

You know what doesn’t work for me before a run?

Crazy, right? I love my apples dearly but I cannot eat them before running. They just don’t sit well in my stomach before a run nor do I find that I have the same energy as I do when I consume a banana or oatmeal mixed with berries.

But I love apples. And I eat AT LEAST one a day.

Do you eat apples? OK, but do you eat them on a regular basis? Well, you should.

Apples are loaded with quercetin, a flavonoid that is rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and heart protecting properties and regular consumption can help decrease the risk of cancers and chronic diseases.

If this isn’t enough reason to eat your apple a day, according to a recent article in Runner’s World, apples have been linked to improving running performance.

Click here to read how quercetin may affect the oxidation process in muscles which may lead to fitness gains as well as the possibility of reducing muscle damage and soreness and improving strength and neuromuscular function.

I certainly didn’t need any influence in the apple eating department but this article is all the more reason to keep up my daily habit.

Lately though I have gotten creative and have taken my favorite apple with peanut butter to the next level.

Meet my newest anytime meal – peanut butter and jelly apples.

Oh yes.

This snack is so good and packed with nutrients that it can pass as a snack, dessert, breakfast, lunch or any meal you wish to call it.

Remember my Very Cherry Berry blend of frozen berries? The sweet and healthy genius that I am decided to mix in some Chocolate PB2 once the berries defrosted a bit.

A tablespoon of Chocolate PB2 simply mixed into the slightly defrosted berries created a thickened sweet sauce that was so decadent and delicious (YET COMPLETELY GUILT-FREE) that I didn’t know what to do with myself.

It isn’t very pretty but who cares? Your stomach doesn’t have eyes.

Once I regained my composure, I came up with a plan.

I used my will power to hold off  eating the mixture with a spoon while I diced up an apple, sprinkled it with cinnamon, warmed it in the microwave for one minute and then, topped off the apple with the berry blend.

Uh huh.

And then, to sweeten the plate some more, added Crunch Time peanut butter to various spots around the plate.

Voila. Peanut butter and jelly apples.

You can easily stop here and dig in, or, you can add a dollop of greek yogurt on top. Or granola. Or both.

Fruit, protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and a dose of calcium (if you add the yogurt).

I don’t plan on stopping at just peanut butter and jelly apples now that I have discovered this guilt-free and delicious berry/PB2 mixture.

I think the berry mixture would be great loaded into a pie crust, used as a base for a fruit crisp, on top of frozen yogurt, mixed into brownies, muffins, on top of waffles, pancakes, french toast, breads….THE POSSBILTIES ARE ENDLESS.

Shouldn’t everything in life be this simple and guilt-free?

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I NEED TO KNOW:

What do you crave after running or after a hard workout?

What do you like to eat before you run?

Do you eat apples on a regular basis?

Favorite healthy dessert?

 

 

 

New Snacks and Quinoa Flakes

Remember these sneakers?

So cute, right? Yeah well, appearance is their only positive attribute at the moment for me.

Since I became all adventurous with changing my running route, I decided yesterday to throw real caution into the wind by switching up the sneakers as well.

Bad move. I barely made it a mile before running myself straight into the gym and hopping on the elliptical machine.

Sure, I could have gone home and switched my shoes but I didn’t feel like it. Besides, I have been trying to alternate my run days with cross training days to keep myself feeling super fine and injury free.

So far it is working.

I guess we can’t base all things on appearance. Including this new snack.

I thought by the looks of the package that this new squeeze fruit/veggie applesauce thing would make for a good snack for the little boy.

He really likes the novelty of the squeeze snacks and I like the novelty of hiding vegetables in his food.

But don’t get excited – he said this Del Monte Fruit Burst was disgusting.

You know  what he does like though that is squeezable?

Chocolate pudding in a squeeze pouch that is made without the funky ingredients.

I don’t know why the kids like these squeeze snacks. I recall the emergence of the squeeze yogurts and I also recall him squeezing and it landing on my ceiling.

Speaking of chocolate, I really do love the new Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bars.

I know we have discussed them already but they are worth mentioning again. For a protein bar, they are quite delicious, as are most of the Quest Bars. I really don’t eat protein bars often at all and I don’t eat these every day either but I have been making them part of my evening snack on occasion.

Don’t worry, I haven’t gone insane and given up my favorite dessert.

See, here it is, all pretty and fresh and inviting.

Can you even tell that I mixed PB2 in with regular Crunch Time peanut butter? You can’t from the picture and you really can’t tell when you eat it either. So delicious.

You know what else is delicious? Dinner. Last night. In my house.

Meet my new favorite baked eggplant parm made with an incredible “breading” using Quinoa Flakes.

Over the best spaghetti squash I have ever made. Delicious dinner to say the least. I will have to figure out the measurements for the Quinoa Flake breading so that I can share the recipe with you.  Stay tuned – it is so worth it. No bread crumb involved.

Now, to be fair, I can only take partial credit on the above plate. I had leftover linguini and garlic knots from dinner the other night so all I made was the chicken parm and roasted carrots.

I think though that it is safe to say that I was semi-homemade Italian Queen for the evening though.

I can live with that title.

Have a great Wednesday!

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I NEED TO KNOW:

Do you switch up your sneakers often?

New favorite snack?

Quick – Eggplant Parm or Chicken Parm?

 

Three Tip Tuesday – PB2 and a fab recipe.

Yes, I am still excited about the new school year.

Listen – I am not a mean mom. I do sympathize with the kids for having to sit through class all day and I hate homework as much as anyone else but what I do love is the routine and structure of the school day.

Big News: Guess who is now the Nutrition, Health and Environment PTA representative for my son’s elementary school?

Uh huh. That’s right.

I get to attend the district wide meeting today and report to our PTA tomorrow.

Please do not tell my son – he will absolutely hold me responsible for the “super side salads” and “veggie dippers” that are currently on the lunch menu even though I had no part in the cafeteria menu decision-making process.

Now, on to the fun food part of today’s post.

As if my pantry was lacking in the peanut butter department, I finally made it a point to buy a jar of PB2.

If you aren’t familiar with PB2, it is peanut butter in a powder form. Basically the company, Bell Plantation, reduces the calories and fat in peanut butter (BY 85%) and creates PB2 using a chemical free process. With no artificial preservatives or sweeteners, we have ourselves a low cal, peanuttty delicious alternative to full fat peanut butter.

Please understand that I will NEVER give up regular peanut butter. But, PB2 does come in handy.

PB2 comes in regular peanut butter flavor as well as chocolate. It is great to have on hand for mixing into oatmeal, pancakes, shakes, baking and especially when you have super hungry days and don’t want to eat an entire jar of Crunch Time.

To make the powder into peanut butter, you simply measure out your amount and mix with water:

Voila. Peanut Butter!

So what have I been doing with my bottle of PB2?

THREE YUMMY WAYS TO ADD PB2 TO YOUR MEALS:

1. OATMEAL:

I am back to my morning bowl of oats. I have been mixing a tablespoon of PB2 directly into the oatmeal while it cooks and then a tablespoon to top it all off.

Delicious and satisfying. I am once again thrilled with breakfast.

2. APPLE AND PEANUT BUTTER:

I love my apple and peanut butter nightly dessert with a true passion.

Now, while I like the PB2, I have found that at night I need my dessert to be a bit more decadent so I have been mixing my regular peanut butters with the PB2 to creature a richer flavor and texture.

I have also experimented with mixing chocolate chips into just PB2 to put on top of my apple slices – totally recommend. And I totally ate it all before I could even get you a picture.

3. BAKE!

Make this now.

OK, you can’t make it now if you don’t have all of the ingredients, but, since it is such a simple ingredients list, it is quite possible that you can listen to me and MAKE THIS NOW!

I like simple. I like tasty. And I like healthy.

Don’t you?

Good. I am glad we agree.

I call these beauties Peanut Butter Pumpkin Things because you can bake them in any form – as a cookie, a brownie or in a loaf pan as slices of yummy goodness.

If you don’t have a can of pumpkin, you need one. Or two. Or three.

I don’t just buy pumpkin in the fall. I keep it year round because it is super tasty and filling when added to bowls of oatmeal or when making oatmeal pancakes. Or regular pancakes. Or just about anything.

It serves as a nice thickener, mild taste (half the time you wouldn’t know it was there) and it gives you a serving of vegetables without really trying plus your daily dose of Vitamin A/Beta Carotene.

I first decided to use this recipe but of course ended up tweaking it. I left out all of the granulated sugar and reduced the brown sugar significantly. I think you can even leave it out all together – totally up to you and how sweet you like your treats.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Things

• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup pumpkin
• half ripe banana (can easily use a whole banana)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter of choice
• 4 tablespoons PB2
• tablespoon of water
• scant 1/4 brown sugar (can totally leave out if you want, just add a bit more banana for sweetness)
• pinch or two of cinnamon
• tsp vanilla
• *raisins (amount to be determined by you, can leave out if you wish)
• *chocolate chips (the more the better if you ask me)

**If you do not have PB2, add in an additional 1/4 cup of peanut butter of your choice

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Dump all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

This looks good enough to eat without even mixing and baking, don’t you think?

 

Dump into a foiled lined greased 8 x 8 brownie pan or do what I did – dump into a loaf pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a fork comes out clean.

Bars/slices (whichever way you choose to bake this recipe) will still come out a bit mushy when you remove from oven, but don’t worry, they will set quick.

Eat it plain. Eat it warm. Eat it cold. Eat it out of the pan.

Top it with some more peanut butter and you will have an issue keeping up with your will power. I am being totally serious here. Best thing I have baked in a while.

I love that this is a healthy indulgence and I like the addition of the PB2 in place of half of the regular peanut butter in the recipe.

I definitely recommend you get yourself a jar or two of the PB2 – only issue: It is a bit pricey if you are going to use it regularly.

The cheapest I have found it for is $4.99 so if you buy it, I give you permission to be selfish like me and don’t share it with others.

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I NEED TO KNOW:

Have you tried PB2 – what do you think?

Are you a peanut butter eater or almond butter eater? I am allergic to almonds so I am peanut butter all the way.

What are your routine oatmeal mix-ins?