Thursday Nibbles

Well, it's Tuesday, and I promised you a post on Thursday.
I guess better late than never, but I am truly sorry for taking so long to share this post with you. Here are a few pictures and some quick descriptions to give you an idea of a low-carb, clean-eating day.

Breakfast was amazing! I had Banana Bliss Pancakes (as I have come to call them.)
They were soooo good, and I will definitely be making them again.

For lunch I had a plate full of greens! :)
I had a bit of salad, some green beans with garlic, and cucumber salad.

Shortly afterward, I was ready for my snack, so I had 2 tbsp. of raisins, 12 almonds, and a steaming cup of green tea.

Then, about an hour before we headed to soccer practice, I had 1 tsp. of peanut butter, a banana, and a cup of milk. 

I never got a picture of my dinner, but I had more cucumber salad, and about 3/4 can of tuna.

It was a simple day of eating, but very satisfying and rewarding. I felt wonderful filling up on healthy foods and limiting my carb intake.

Well, thank you for reading this long-overdue post. :)

If you want to see more posts like this, let me know. I would be happy to share with you some meal plans for a clean-eating day, low-carb days, or any such things. Just comment below to let me know!

Have a wonderful Tuesday! May God bless you exceedingly and abundantly today.

Lots of Love,

Mariah

Blissful Banana Pancakes

"It takes two to make a thing go right.... it takes two to make it out of sight!"

My friends, this is amazing! It is absolutely incredible! It takes two, only two ingredients to make this masterpiece. Is that not incredible? I was inexplicably delighted with the outcome of my experimentation! I have tried making banana egg pancakes before when I was introduced to them by Taralynn. However, until now all my efforts had failed. When I saw Cassey Ho tweet about her banana pancakes and saw how amazing they looked, I decided to make another attempt. How sweet is this success! Literally, it's very sweet.

I think this is my new favorite breakfast. Words cannot express how my heart thrilled upon tasting this delicacy. I am in a state of bliss at the moment - hence the name, "Blissful Banana Pancakes." These are perfect!

Mmmmm... there's no better way to start your morning than with a good breakfast.
And these pancakes are so healthy and light that I don't feel sluggish or "bad" about eating them. 

BANANA EGG PANCAKES

• 1 large banana
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp. slivered almonds (optional)
• 1 tsp. honey (optional)

According to the directions of Cassey Ho from Blogilates.com, I sliced my banana and mashed it in a bowl.

 I used a fork, but you can use a whisk - as she did. Then I cracked in my two eggs, and whisked it them together with the banana.

In my previous attempts at making these, I always used a small pan. I would make one pancake at a time, but they never would cook right, and flipping them was disastrous!

However, Cassey makes her's on a skillet. Thankfully, I have one of those, and I used it this time - SUCCESS! :)

If you don't have one, perhaps these will still turn out well for you. Maybe it was just me, and small pans are perfectly fine. You can always try and see what happens. I'm just telling you what worked for me.

I will admit that these are thin pancakes. However, they stack nicely and make a lovely little pancake tower. I made these in two batches - four in each. My first batch came out okay, but the second batch was beautiful! See their little speckles? That is my second batch. In the picture below you can see that my first batch was a bit more smooth.

Anyway, I spread coconut oil over the skillet and then used a 1/4 c. measuring cup to pour the pancake batter. I didn't feel the cup all of the way, but you can if you prefer them wider or thicker. I'm not sure what the result would be.

On my second batch I sprayed my pan with Pam olive oil spray. As I said before, the second batch was awesome, but I don't know if using spray had anything to do with that. 

When my pancakes were all finished, I placed them in the center of my plate and sprinkled 1 tbsp. of slivered almonds over them. I then drizzled a bit of honey over the pile and sprinkled some cinnamon. They looked divine!

Now it is time to admire this culinary success!

They looked so beautiful that I ended up taking so many picture of these. Aren't they perfect? :)

Okay, I won't keep posting anymore banana pancake pictures. I hope you enjoy this recipe and love it as much as I do. Please let me know if you try these, and share your recipe success stories. Did you use a small pan? Did they turn out okay? I'd love to know, so please share! Also, if you want to send me some of your beautiful pancake pictures, I just might do a special post on all of your beautiful pancakes! 

Have a blessed day everyone! Check back later to see what my meals are for today. This is the last day of my "post every meal" project, so if you're interested, keep visiting the blog to see what I'm eating.

Lots of Love,

Mariah <3

What I Ate Wednesday

As I was sipping on my green tea, I thought it would be the perfect time to share with you what I have eaten today. Over these next few days, I shall be focusing more on consuming fruits, veggies, and protein. Please don't misunderstand me, carbs are wonderful and important for a healthy body. However, I have discovered that my body responds better to a more veggie-full diet. It has been my observation, that by eating mostly fruits/veggies and protein, I feel lighter/leaner, more energized, and definitely healthier.

Eating wholesome carbs (brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat bread) in balance is absolutely wonderful, and I am not recommending omitting them from your diet. Honestly, I love carbs... and maybe a bit too much. It's not hard too consume to many, and even if you are eating healthy, wholesome carbs, in needs to be in moderation. 

Personally, if my typical day was like this, I know I wouldn't feel too great. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Snack: Banana, 7 almonds

Lunch: Peanut butter & jelly sandwich, salad

Snack: Green tea, granola bar

Dinner: Baked sweet potato, 1c. broccoli, grilled chicken

Dessert: 2 tbsp. chocolate chips w/ popcorn

Eat-clean/Be-lean Day

Breakfast: Chai tea, banana pancakes, 1 c. mixed berries

Snack: Green tea, 10 almonds, 1 tbsp. raisins

Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs, large salad

Snack: 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 1/4 c. applesauce

Dinner: Grilled chicken, 1/2 c. brown rice, 1 c. broccoli

Dessert: Low-fat frozen yogurt w/ berries

Anyway, I figured that sharing each meal/snack with you, would keep me accountable. I'll just be posting some picture with a brief description. If you want the recipe for anything, let me know. Otherwise, I do not intend to post these recipes.

So, here's my breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, and treat!

8:30 A.M.

This morning I was rushing to get my breakfast. I had planned on having a veggie omelet, but with all the rushing I got confused and my omelet became a veggie scramble. First I sauteed my veggies. I had 1/2 onion, garlic, some corn, and mushrooms. Then in a sprayed pan I mixed 1 large egg with 1 tbsp. of salsa. I ate the eggs over the veggies, and then topped it off with another tablespoon of salsa, and a sprinkle of feta cheese as a garnish. :)

I forgot to snap a picture of the rest of my meal, but I had 12 almonds and 1 tbsp. of raisins. Then for lunch I had this fantastic salad. Oh my, beans are sooo good on salad.

They are a great source of protein for those times when you don't want eggs or meat.

12:00 P.M.

This salad was just so scrumptious! I put white beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans over my salad. I don't know how much salad I had, but I had about 1 cup of beans.

I ate this with my favorite balsamic dressing. Yum!

I started getting hungry at around 2:30, so I made myself some turkey tomato roll-ups, and a cup of green tea. It was a the perfect light snack to hold me over.

2:30 P.M.

I took four slices of turkey, and covered them with sliced tomato. Then I squirted some mustard over them and rolled them up. This snack was inspired by Cassey Ho at Blogilates.com.

Okay, here's the last one! For dinner I had another salad - no beans this time - and a little banana treat. Everyone was eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and I wanted one so badly! I didn't give in to the craving though, I found a way to satisfy my desire without the bread!

These peanut butter banana bites hit the spot! My pb&j craving vanished. It' so rewarding to create healthy alternatives. :) I didn't know what to call these babies. They are mini pb&j sandwiches on banana, with a cottage cheese and cinnamon dip. Anyway, they're delicious, so next time you're craving a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, try this!

Now let's all just admire how cute these are and how wonderfully these pictures came out!

I sliced one banana, ate half before, and used the other half for these sandwiches.

I didn't measure anything this time. I'd guess I used about 1 tbsp. of peanut butter and 
1 tbsp. of strawberry jam. I used a heaping tablespoon of cottage cheese for the center dip, and sprinkled them with cinnamon.

I am so pleased with how these came out! They look so gourmet! Wow! Please try these and let me know how you like them. They are a perfect snack or a nice little treat for your sweet tooth. Of course you can make these even more like a desert by adding chocolate shavings, chocolate sauce, or maybe chocolate chips. If you have any other ideas on how to make these a healthy dessert, please comment below and share your thoughts.

Well, goodnight! I hope that your Wednesday was wonderful and filled with all the blessings of our Lord. :) Check back tomorrow for more healthy recipes! I will be sharing my Thursday meals with all of you. Also, I am going to my brother's soccer practice tomorrow, and will share with ya'll the exercises I'll be doing with my sis. :)

Lots of Love,

Mariah