breakfast

It’s that time of year again, the holidays have passed and there’s no snow on the ground but you still can’t bear to peel yourself out of the covers when your alarm goes off because it just seems cruel to have to leave that warm cocoon and face the bitterly cold world. I know, it’s rough but somehow we still manage to get up and face the day, and what’s more important than a nice warm, hearty breakfast in the morning? Maybe showering, but barely.

Luckily some skinny goddess invented glorious oatmeal for us! Low fat, full of fiber – this stuff not only fills you up but lowers your cholesterol, could it get any better? Well maybe it could taste a little better. Here are some fun ideas to spruce up your oatmeal so that you can make it through the cold front a little easier this winter.

Strawberries and Cream – add 1/4 cup of non fat greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon of agave and 1/4 cup (or as many as your heart desires) of fresh cut strawberries (you can also try this with blueberries)

Chai – mix a pinch of ground cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger into your oatmeal, add 1/4 cup of fat free soy or rice milk and garnish with some slivered almonds on top

Raspberries and Chocolate -(c’mon we all have THOSE days) add 2 tablespoons of vegan chocolate chips and a handful of fresh raspberries

Pumpkin Spice – add tablespoons of pumpkin butter and drizzle a bit of maple syrup over your oatmeal

Banana Cream Pie – chop up half of a banana, add 1/4 cup of non fat vanilla greek yogurt and drizzle a tablespoon of agave

As you can probably see, I’m much more inclined to sweet in my oatmeal but if your a savory kinda gal, feel free to get even more outrageous with your oats by adding turkey/veggie bacon and maple syrup for some hard core oatmeal or by sauteing some spinach and melting cheese and an egg on top for an oatmeal florentine. The possibilities are endless and I usually make my best creations when I’m just trying to use whatever I have left in the fridge!

These muffins are a great light treat in the morning, loaded with lots of fresh fruit. Feel free to substitute blueberries for your favorite berry – cranberries strawberries or raspberries all work just as well. Enjoy!

Low Fat, Fresh Blueberry Muffins

1 cup fresh blueberries chopped

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups reduced fat bisquit baking mix (can also use whole wheat or gluten free)

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup egg substitute

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine blueberries and powdered sugar. Let stand for five minutes. Combine bisquit mix with remainging ingredients and stir till batter is moistened. (Batter will be a bit lumpy) Gently fold in your sweet blueberries and pour into a lightly sprayed muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins or till the tops start getting golden brown.

* powdered sugar can be substituted for Agave for a healthier alternative.

It’s no easy task being mother to a health fanatic like myself, but my mom tried her best to make sure she always had something in accordance to my diet du jour when I used to come home from college. This little gem of a muffin recipe is just one of a few great concoctions she whipped up for me. As always, I encourage creativity, feel free to substitute the dried cranberries for fresh cranberries, blueberries, raspberries etc! Mom was just getting creative with what she had around the house. Have fun and enjoy!


Mama’s Sweet Cranberry Muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 egg whites ( whisk seperately)
1/4 tsp almond flavoring
2 100 calorie packs of Craisins
1/2 tsp of lemon rind or less if your not a huge lemon fan
2 tsp of organic stage one sweet potato baby food
1 large tbsp of applesauce
1/2 cup of water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put Craisins in boiling water for a few minute to get them nice and soft and juicy. Combine all ingredients together, gently folding in the dried cranberries. Bake for approx 20 minutes and enjoy!

First, let me tell you about my love affair with the quiche… Not only is it delicious and protein packed it can be great for living alone because you can literally make a delicious breakfast that will last all week on Sunday night. Trust me, when you live by yourself and have early mornings, this is a miraculous feat! I also want to add that there is unlimited creativity with quiches, you can use your favorite cheese, vegetables and meat (if you so choose), just be careful cause you can easily make it fattening again if you go too crazy!haha Alright the following is my personal favorite rendition of Quick and Skinny Quiche!

Quick and Skinny Quiche

3 large eggs
2 large egg whites
12 ounces of fat free half and half
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper ( at your discretion)
2/3 cup of low fat cheddar cheese
Bag of baby spinach ( added at your discretion)
4 chopped scallions
1 frozen whole wheat pie shell.. Or a cupcake pan to make a lower carb version and individual servings! Just be sure to spray the pan.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk your eggs and whites, fat free half and half and any salt or pepper in a large bowl. Then stir in all the cheese and veggies you’d like to add and pour it all into your pie crust or cupcake pan! Easy enough?

Bake it in your oven for 45 to 50 minutes. You can check if it’s done by sticking a knife in the center and making sure it comes out clean. Let it cool for 10 minutes and then cut it into 8 slices! Be sure to wrap it up if your going to refrigerate it and keep it for later!

Enjoy! And let me know what other fun combinations you come up with at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com

My (only slightly altered) take on the Dukan Diet’s Oat Bran Galette

1 egg (or egg white)

2 tablespoons of toasted oat bran

2 tablespoons of non fat greek yogurt (fat free yogurt like Activa Vanilla can be used and provides a slightly different flavor)

a swirl of Agave nectar (or Dukan recommends Splenda)

Mix the yogurt and oat bran together and then in a separate bowl beat the egg or egg white till fluffy. Combine the two and add any additional seasoning. My personal favorite is adding a little Pumpkin Pie Spice ( sooo yummy!) but you can also add cinnamon or a little vanilla or almond extract to switch it up. For a savory pancake, you can leave out the agave and chop up some garlic or onions in there. When your doing the all protein thing, feel free to add some turkey bacon or shrimp in the mix but my personal tastes lie on the sweeter side! Also, if your not watching your carbs, try adding some berries or bananas in for a delicious pancake-alternative.

Hope you guys enjoy! As someone who absolutely loves breakfast and all its naughty carb-loaded treats this little recipe makes me want to personally send Dr. Dukan a little thank you note. Now I can actually have my cake and eat it too!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray your muffin pan with fat-free cooking spray or whatever non-stick agent of your choosing.

In a bowl, combine Jiffy’s Oatmeal Muffin Mix, an individual cup of no sugar added, all natural applesauce and three tablespoons (or thereabouts) of coconut oil.

In a small cup, whisk three tbsps of flaxseed meal with six tbsps of water till it has an almost egg like consistency.

Combine and mix well! It should be a rather wet mixture but if you feel like it’s too wet, a quick fix is just adding some rolled oats to dry it out. Of course you can spice it up by adding raisins, craisins, blueberries, etc but I find it to be rather delicious and moist on it’s own.

Pop ‘em in the oven. I’d say approximately 5-10 minutes, more importantly till you can start to see the nooks and crannies on the top of the muffins and the edges get slightly golden brown. Drizzle ‘em with some agave nectar (lightly!!) if you want to pump up the sweet factor a notch and serve!!!

happy snacking :)

My roommate suggested when I told her about my idea for this site that I should add posts about my favorite meals. Now, this didn’t really occur to me seeing as I had already thought up a ‘coming soon’ recipe section for healthy cooking and baking but now seems like an obvious suggestion. Now I’m not going to bore  you with mundaneness of me eating an apple, or some raisins, etc. However, from time to time I’ll let you in on some yummy meals I prepare that will hopefully give you some easy to whip up healthy ideas for your day to day!

Today’s yummy selections include:

Raspberry Vanilla Soy Oatmeal : simply heat up a cup of Light Vanilla Soy Milk, add 1/2 cup of Quick Oats and fresh Raspberries or I personally heat up some frozen raspberries and make a raspberry compote of sorts and mix it in. Either way, it’s the perfect comfort food any time of day! Sweet, satisfying and healthy with the added bonus of being completely Vegan!

Scrambled Eggs with Grilled Eggplant : this one was inspired by some left over grilled eggplant I had from a few nights ago but ended up being delicious! So first, if you don’t have left over grilled eggplant – you can substitute it for any other left over veggie – or just grill it yourself. Cut the eggplant as thin as your expertise will allow and lay it out on paper towels. Press another paper towel on top of the slices to get rid of some of the moisture and put them in a frying pan with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil drizzled on top. I’d keep them their till their sufficiently browned for sweetness’ sake. Now you can simply cut them up into smaller pieces  for your eggs. I use one yolk and 3 egg whites and added a little rice milk for fluffiness. Mix em all together and throw it in your frying pan that you’ve sprayed with some fat-free non-stick cooking spray. A yummy,low- fat, delicious, protein packed, Vegetarian breakfast (or anytime meal).