Perfect Protein Pancakes

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I thought I’d dedicate a post just to my favorite pancakes of all time. Ok, they’re my favorite ‘healthy’ pancakes that I eat on the regular. I didn’t start making these until after I purchased my Vitamix because I think the machine is what does the recipe justice. (How do I know? Because my previous cuisinart blender was a piece of crap and even my parent’s Ninja blender can’t hold a flame to blending the ingredients just right).

What you need:

3/4 oats (I use quick oats)
3/4 greek yogurt (I use plain 2%)
2 egg whites

Directions:

Add all ingredients into blender* (i use the dry container for my Vitamix). Blend until smooth.
Pour silver dollar sized amounts of batter onto hot, sprayed skillet. Flip when you see the edges starting to look ‘dry’.

Yields: 12-16 mini pancakes

*Note: I will add egg whites first, oats then greek yogurt. If oats are placed in first, it makes it difficult to properly blend and you’ll make a couple attempts of scraping down the sized of the container with a spatula. And then when that happens, the batter will splatter around the container when you turn it back on.

Once in a while I will add a 1/4 cup fruit into the blender for a pop of color and/or flavor.

And unless we are somehow out of it (OH THE HORROR) I always top my pancakes with Canadian maple syrup. Noms.

What are you favorite pancakes?

Late Weekend Recap

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

In case you’re wondering what I’ve been up to lately, it’s only really been one thing: trying to keep a baby alive. Holy hell is it time consuming or what?! The days are pretty easy, but it’s getting him used to the nighttime schedule that has been the absolute pits. I think mostly because I’m tired + I’m convinced I’m doing it wrong + it’s kinda scary and lonely being up alone at night trying to figure out the whole baby thing. And don’t get me started on when I google all things baby on the internet, because it leaves me feeling even MORE confused and overwhelmed and anxious and any other similar adjective.

Good thing my mom is here.

She has really helped take over when I reach my breaking point and just start crying for no reason (see? I am crying now. Mostly because I’m convinced my child hates me. That’s normal, right? Because he seems to settle when anyone else makes an attempt. Except for me)

Ok, so on to actual things we did over the past few days. Note: Must type fast so I can squeeze in a nap before baby wakes up

Friday: Whitney came over to take a bunch of pics of Wes. I am DYING to see all the photos. She was really great with him and I would pay her to come over everyday to swaddle him. She already posted a sneak peak on Facebook and I’ve been staring at it nonstop.

That night, Tyler and I went to The Keg for dinner to celebrate our anniversary/first week of baby. We told the waiter, but he didn’t give us a free dessert…so that sucked. We did order a bottle of wine and I had a glass but felt so guilty about it and now I’m afraid to drink because I’m paranoid about passing it to the baby. Among other unknown guilt feelings.

Saturday: I think we did nothing? I don’t remember. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I stayed in my jammies all day and fed/changed/burped a baby. Maybe I showered. Definitely didn’t sleep. There was a hockey game on TV at some point. My mind is so fuzzy.

Sunday: After a lovely feast of bacon and eggs, my mom and I took Wes to Cross Iron Mills (outlet/regular mall combo). Yeah, BAD IDEA. Everyone from the city of Calgary was there. I don’t do well with crowds. Especially when 95% of said crowd was comprised of unruly children. We squeaked out with a few outfits for Wes then came home to a nice steak dinner. After feasting on a caramel apple, of course (we split just one of those. Guess how much they cost? $9 EACH. Insane)

{insert 60 minute break to feed/bathe Wes. Naked new babies are really cute}

Monday: Again, not too much to report. I started the day with some peanut butter banana protein pancakes. NOMSOHARD.

For six silver-dollar sized pancakes:

3/4 c oats
2 egg whites
3/4 c greek yogurt
2 T peanut butter
1/2 banana

Add first 4 ingredients to immersion blender until smooth. Pour batter on hot skillet and top with thin slices of banana. Flip. Top with maple syrup. Jam into face hole.

My mom and I then took Wes to Market Mall and bought OURSELVES some makeup. #treatyoself. Although I’m dying a little on the inside at how much it all cost. Whatever.

Which brings us to today. PHEW. Wes is on somewhat of a schedule (eat, change, activity, sleep. REPEAT A BILLIONTY TIMES). And we’ve managed to have him sleep in his crib at night which is apparently a miracle? Although I’m glued to the monitor the hole night since I’m convinced he will be stolen or something.

How was your weekend??

Weekend Recap

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Not gonna lie, I’m like super uncomfortable. To the point of tears. While the time off from work has been great and I’ve been able to attempt relaxing, it’s still a struggle to find even a stretch of 20 minutes (sleep included!) where my back, my legs or my ribcage isn’t in rip-roaring pain.

I’m not complaining though, it’s only temporary pain! And heck, it could be WAY worse.

I have a pretty good support buddy, too.

Yeah, sure Tyler is here too and he’s been great. But it’s more fun to snuggle with Layla. Especially since she gets up early with me and now follows me around like a shadow.

Ok, so onto the recap. It’s not very exciting.

Friday, I had my doctor’s appt. They did that swab thingy and used an ultrasound to check the baby was head down. He is! Thank goodness. Now my appointments will be weekly until he comes OUT. That night, we had pizza for dins and watched Unbroken and several episodes of Inside Man.

Saturday we had our third childbirth class. This week there were several flashcards involved (hello 3rd grade!) and we discussed breastfeeding. Pretty sure I’m still totally grossed out by it, but it’s cheaper than formula. And God knows we could used the savings.

After the class, we went across the street to the hospital and checked out the labor and delivery floor just to get a lay of the land. It was so quiet! Which was weird, because the nurse at the check-in desk kept *quietly* running around exclaiming how busy she was! I also had a mini-anxiety attack because I don’t like hospitals. I’ve actually never been admitted to one before, so immmmmmm yeah.

We rounded off the afternoon with a trip to Home Depot. Surprise surprise! We picked up some paint and blinds for our kitchen windows (thank GOD for those blinds). I started to feel like shit, so I parked it on the couch while Tyler got to painting..supervised by Reggie…then made us dinner.

We watched Interstellar then another few episodes of Inside Man. The movie was just alright- we agreed it was like Signs meets Contact. Meh.

Sunday, I got up early and made pancakes for myself. I keep forgetting to buy maple syrup, so I had to improvise with cinnamon raisin pancakes topped with a honey yogurt drizzle. Sounds great, tasted great, looks like shit, and now I want to gag just thinking about it. I want to chug maple syrup instead.

I managed to do the laundry and Tyler managed to do just about EVERYTHING else around the house. He’s so good. I should buy him a present.

Nevermind, I’m making him a human.

We had hot dogs for dinner and I managed to NOT buy anything online, even though it was really the only thing I had the energy for. Is it just me, or does anyone else get online-shopping-happy then quit before checkout once you see how much shipping costs? I was going to order a bunch of stuff I needed from Rocky Mountain Soap, but then saw that shipping was $7 so I’ve decided to just task Tyler with the errand of going to their downtown location on his lunch break. Husbands are cheaper than Canada Post.

Ahaha, I just remembered that the woman teaching our childbirth class used a shark hand puppet and a stuffed boob to demonstrate breastfeeding. Just picture it. Maybe you’ll laugh too?

How was your weekend??

Three Things Thursday

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

1. Had an interview yesterday (nothing fancy, it was just a staffing agency. Apparently I will need some Canadian experience under my belt to be considered for more advanced positions, even though I have the education!) Since I didn’t bring any of my work clothes to Calgary when I moved last year, I had to go to the mall and find something appropriate that I would hopefully wear more than once (note: I hate work pants.) I came up with this gem of an outfit:

2. Came up with an AWESOME workout that I did yesterday. It was challenging, it incorporated both cardio and strength training, and it was entertaining (because it alleviates any boredom you might get from staying on one exercise or one piece of equipment for too long). I made it fancy on PicMonkey, but there are tons of arrows so I hope it’s not TOO confusing..

Let me explain.

First, you do the first set of treadmill intervals
Move on to the first round of supersets. Complete the number of reps for the first exercise, then do the number of reps for the second exercise. Complete this 3x through.
Second round of treadmill intervals.
Secound round of Supersets
Same for the third round
Finish with 5 minutes of treadmill intervals.
It takes under an hour to complete (including rest times and stretching)

I sported my Lululemon Gather and Crow crops for this workout. I rarely wear them (don’t get me wrong, they’re COMFY) because they just look funny. And when I am doing my workout in front of a mirror, it just makes me feel funny. I prefer the fit of Wunder Unders (perhaps because they have a little more compression…particularly in the thigh-al region? I made up the word thigh-al in case you were wondering).

Can I just say again that I love my new gym? I don’t have to hover over machines or wait to use anything or claim my territory. Heck, no one even cares when I take dumb pictures. Like this one.

PS: That lady in the green crops is one of the personal trainers. Not only do I want her green crops, but I think her and I will be friends one day. We have already talked about water bottles, so I think it’s going places.

3. This morning, I used some leftover quinoa we had in the fridge to make some Quinoa Pancakes. I had never made them before but have always been curious as to how different they may or may not taste from the various other variety of pancakes I’ve made.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1/2 c cooked quinoa
1/4 c oats
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
dash of salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/3 large banana, mashed
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T plain nonfat greek yogurt

Here’s what you do:

Mix everything with a hand mixer or blender. Pour on skillet, flip when bottom side is lightly browned.

Easy.

I topped mine with the remainder of the banana and some PB2 (great substitute for peanut butter, I highly recommend it because the flavor and texture is pretty spot on! And it comes in powder form, so you can make it your desired consistency, add it to recipes, or eat it on its own!)

The pancakes were OK. They were fluffy and had a pretty pancake-like texture, but I could really taste the quinoa (I am used to eating it only in more savory meals) so it wasn’t my favorite. Still, a great way to get rid of leftovers! Next time, I’ll probably incorporate berries or cocoa into the batter to see if that changes my feelings about Quinoa Pancakes at all.

Question 1: Do you have a favorite Go-To workout outfit?

Question 2: What’s your favorite way to eat quinoa?

Hi There Ho There!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hi there, ho there and happy Monday morning to you all. Let’s get right to it.

I posted last Monday on my planned weekly workouts, and here’s how I did:

Sunday (3/3): Full Body Circuits and 30 minutes spin
Monday (3/4): Lower Body & Core Circuit and 30 minute run
Tuesday (3/5): Deck of Cards workout and 10-10-10 cardio
Wednesday (3/6): TRX circuits and 40 minutes spin

Thursday (3/7): 50 minute run

Friday (3/8): Upper Body Circuits, ~~10-10-10 cardio—~~I was physically exhausted and only managed to push through 10 minutes of row

Saturday (3/9): Active Rest ~~or an old BBB workout~~

Ok, now here’s what I’ve loosely outlined for this week (subject to change since I am traveling!!!!)

Sunday (3/10): Strength Circuits with cardio intervals (workout posted below!)
Monday (3/11): 40 minute run, 10 minute row, lower body pre-fatigue sets
Tuesday (3/12): 40 minute spin, abs circuit
Wednesday (3/13): 30 minute run, TRX/Cardio circuits
Thursday (3/14): Off. Travel Day!
Friday (3/15): Total body workout, run/walk intervals
Saturday (3/16): Deck of Cards workout

Here’s the workout I did yesterday:

It was challenging since most all the moves were compound exercises (target more than one area), but it was really great to be able to break them up with some cardio. Plus, the cardio got my heart rate up (more calorie burn!) and allowed me to move and groove to my playlist.

My playlist that included BSB and Whitney and TLC. It was awesome.

Moving on to recent eats…

I made this Chunky Monkey Mug Cake and it was DEEE-lish.

It was made with: 1 mashed banana, 2 tbsp PB2, 1 egg white, 2 T cocoa powder, a few drops Stevia. After fully combining the ingredients, I tossed in a couple tablespoons of chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes and you’re done!

Polenta topped with paleo turkey meatballs (the key ingredient is ALMOND MEAL!!), veggie marinara and cheddar.