recipe Archives - Page 7 of 15 - The Sarcastic Blonde

:: Banana Peanut Butter Overnight Oats ::

March 14, 2017

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats // via Tone It Up

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite weekday morning breakfasts. These are so simple to prepare the night before (or even 2 days before – you can make them in bulk for the week!) and pop in the fridge. In the morning, you can just grab and go. I also love these because sometimes I don’t want a big breakfast or I am running late in the morning, so I can have a few bites or half of the overnight oats and then save the rest for a mid morning snack at work. or eat it in the car 🙂 It also makes a great snack any time of the day.

A few things that I do differently.
1. I use PB2 instead of peanut butter. I am in love with PB2, especially for things like smoothies or overnight oats where you are mixing it with a lot of other ingredients. You get all of the peanut butter flavor but with a fraction of the calories. In something like this, you can’t even tell any difference. You could also use almond butter.
2. I dice the banana the morning that I am going to eat the overnight oats. I’m sure it’s fine diced the night before, but especially for the jar I’m not eating for about 36 hours, it just seems like the texture of a banana is mushy enough…. you know what I mean? ALSO, if you dislike bananas, just leave them out!
This recipe is from Tone It Up. I love their nutrition plan and their workouts, but they also post lots of “free” recipes like this that you don’t have to be a member of their nutrition plan to have access to.

Save Print

:: Banana Peanut Butter Overnight Oats ::

Author: Taylor // The Sarcastic Blonde

Recipe type: Breakfast

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 2 Servings

No cooking required for a recipe that packs in tons of protein and fiber! Perfect for busy weekday mornings.

Ingredients

Ingredients for 2 Jars :
⅔ cup rolled oats
2 Tbsp. peanut butter ( I use the PB2 equivalent)
4 tsp. chia seeds
2 tsp. honey or maple syrup
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop vanilla Perfect Fit Protein
1 banana, sliced

Instructions

STEP 1: Combine everything in a bowl.
STEP 2: Split mixture into two mason jars. Let sit in the fridge overnight.

Speaking of Tone It Up,
I just saw that they posted a video from their ‘Wine Not Wednesday” series with Kate Voegele!

Kate went to college with me and was in my sorority – and was actually the “little” of one of my best friends – so I always love when I hear her songs come on Spotify or see her face somewhere. She is so adorable and her music is really good. So check her out if you haven’t before!

recipe

:: Clean Eating : Almond Butter Cookies ::

March 7, 2017

If you are thinking I already did an almond butter cookie recipe, you are correct, but that was one from Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cookbook It’s All Good! I promise this week’s crack of the week cookie is very different and just as delicious (spoiler alert: more delicious).

Today, I have Kristin Cavallari’s recipe from her book Balancing In Heels and the recipes actually couldn’t be more different! Gwyneth’s recipe has no dairy and no sugar and much more of an “elimination diet” type of cookie, with very few ingredients.

Kristin’s recipes focus on eliminating processed foods, but allowing 100% good-for-you forms of any kind of indulgence. Butter? Yes! But grass fed so that there is no added hormones. Sugar? Yes! But not the white processed sugar, rather coconut sugar. I loved these so, so much. And my husband devoured them, so these get a full stamp of approval. These taste just like a cookie you crave, because you can taste the butter and the sugar, and they have the perfect soft, chewy, cookie consistency! You have no idea you are eating a cookie that is 100 percent good for you. I would say that these are definitely better than Gwyneth’s version, but Gwyneth’s version you can still feel good about eating when you are trying to eat super clean. When you want some butter and sugar, these are definitely the cookie to pick!

She has a bunch of other recipes in her book Balancing In Heels that I have been meaning to try for so long, so hopefully next on the list will be her Mom’s Peanut Butter Chicken and her Cauliflower ‘Potato’ Salad. I am a cauliflower addict.

Save Print

:: Kristin Cavallari's Almond Butter Cookies ::

Author: Taylor // The Sarcastic Blonde

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Healthy Cookies

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 24 Cookies

Kristin Cavallari's favorite cookie, with all of the flavor and none of the guilt.

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted grass-fed butter, softened
1 cup raw coconut sugar
½ cup raw almond butter
1 large egg
1½ cups oat flour (I used brown rice flour)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a mixer, cream together butter, sugar, & almond butter until fluffy. Add the egg & mix to combine. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, & salt with a spoon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients & mix well. Spoon tablespoon-size balls onto the prepared baking sheets, keeping a little distance between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. The cookies are thin, so keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn. Makes 24 cookies.

recipe

:: Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles w. Peanut Sauce ::

February 27, 2017

Today I have a fun Crack of the Week to share with you, along with a little Oscar commentary.

I love noodles of any kind, and my husband loves all Asian food, so this was a perfect recipe to combine the two. It has all of the flavor without any of the guilt, loaded with veggies and a creamy sauce. There is some prep work involved that you can do in advance to get all the veggies chopped and spiralized and cook the chicken, but after that it comes together easily! I love when a dish is super colorful too and this is one definitely met that criteria.

recipe via Joyful Healthy Eats

Save Print

:: Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles w. Peanut Sauce ::

Author: Taylor // The Sarcastic Blonde

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: Thai

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

A Delicious and Healthy take on Thai Peanut Noodles

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of grape seed oil
1 pound of chicken tenders, diced
2 tablespoon of grape seed oil
2 zucchini, inspiralized
1 large carrot, inspiralized
1 red pepper, julienned
⅓ cup of bean sprouts
¼ cup fresh cilatro, diced
¼ cup green onions, diced
sesame seeds (for garnish)
FOR THE SPICY PEANUT SAUCE :
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons of coconut aminos (or tamari sauce)
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, diced
½ teaspoon of ground ginger
¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, peanut butter, coconut aminos, lime juice, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add grape seed oil and chicken tenders. Saute each side for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit. Dice when cooled.
In the same large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil, zucchini noodles, and carrot noodles. Flash stir fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove noodles and place in large bowl along with chicken, red pepper, bean sprouts, fresh cilantro, green onions, and spicy peanut sauce. Toss until all noodles are coated.
Serve and garnish with sesame seeds.

What did you all think of The Oscars? I think that Giuliana Rancic did a good job with her dress (because I normally am not a fan of her picks) but that her spray tan was WAY too intense.

But…. then she said that she had NO spray tan and it was all from Cabo? I mean….. damn. It just didn’t look good to me? I love me a tan…..but looked like a spray tan?

There was a TON of black/white/gold on the red carpet!!

Dresses I Liked : To be honest, I found the majority of it extremely underwhelming. I mean….. I liked all of the dresses below, but but there wasn’t really anything special?

Dresses I Like : BUT did not like her hair at all or her make-up (you could’nt even see an eyelash!), and definitely did NOT like Justin’s hair.

Dresses I Did Not Like : Emma Roberts hair color was so bad (hopefully for a role?) and her side boob made me extremely nervous – in the photo it looks fine, but on TV it was as though only her nipples were covered and it was awkward (and this is coming from someone that loves a boob). Janelle just looks silly – her makeup is perfectly flawless though! And I never really care for Scarlett Johansen’s looks, last night included.

But hands down, Dakota wins for worst dress. I think she has the same stylist as the Bravo ladies do for their reunions? When your dress is worse than the bridesmaids dress meant to be hilariously ugly on Odd Mom Out, I think it is a miss.

and an honorable mention for the vagine-slit dress. How does one not realize that this is what is going to happen when the slit is placed ABOVE the vagine?

As I was going through the galleries online to see the dresses, I saw a photo of Mel Gibson and his ~~daughter~~ girlfriend/wife and had to google because she looked so young. She is 26!!! He is 61!! I mean…. there is a line where it is nothing but wrong, and I think they are so far past it they can’t even see the darn line. I mean : LOOK AT HER!!??

Happy Monday! Hope you all have a great start to your week!!!

health, Lifestyle, recipe

:: Valentine’s Day Dessert : Flourless Chocolate Brownies ::

February 11, 2017

that’s right…. I used a cookie cutter and everything. <3

I have a Saturday surprise post for you today!

I had to share my {healthy} decadent brownie recipe in time for you to bake it for your Valentine or Galentine next week!

I don’t know how, but these brownies have no flour, oil, or sugar, and taste like the biggest indulgence in the world.

These brownies do have a secret ingredient : PB2.

If you havent heard of PB2, it is just ground peanuts. The only ingredient is peanuts, so don’t worry it isn’t some fake/processed/bad for you ingredient. It has 85% less fat than peanut butter, and it is delicious. I eat it with apples all the time. Publix and regular supermarkets now carry it (with the peanut butter) but you can always order on Amazon, too.

It perfectly replaces the flour AND gives them a peanut butter kick.

Who doesn’t love chocolate combined with peanut butter?

I promise you will love these if you make them!

*Notes about the recipe: I have made these 3 times, and although the recipe calls for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, I have had a fully jiggly uncooked center every time at 30 minutes. I even changed pans and it still happened. I have had to cook mine for closer to 50 minutes.

:: PB2 FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE BROWNIES ::

recipe originally from Skinnytaste

cooking spray
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 cup PB2
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water
1/2 cup raw honey
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a nonstick 9 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Beat the egg and egg white in a small bowl with a whisk.

In a large bowl combine the PB2, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and mix well with a spatula. Add the egg and egg whites and stir. Add water, honey, vanilla and stir with a spatula until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool, then cut into 12 bars cutting 3 rows x 4 rows.

Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 1 bar • Points +: 4 pts • Smart Points: 6

Calories: 131 • Fat: 5 g • Protein: 6 g • Carb: 26 g • Fiber: 3 g • Sugar: 20 g

Sodium: 217 mg • Cholesterol: 20 g

Perfect way to enjoy a guilt free Valentine’s Day!

I serve mine warm,

and add in some vanilla ice cream to kick it up a notch!

{Halo Top is a great option if you’re eating clean!}

I hope you make these and love them as much as I do!

….. trying to take these photos at 9 PM was hard enough with my level of photography skills…..

…. trying to take these photos without eating everything first was even harder…..

health, Lifestyle, recipe

:: Quick Turkey Meatballs + Spinach Quiche ::

January 10, 2017

In the spirit of the new year and making good on my resolutions intentions,

I have two new recipes to share with you that I really loved, were very simple recipes to follow, and fast to make!

I did a combination of Gwyneth’s recipe and this recipe so that I was keeping it easier than Gwyneth’s with less ingredients. I do want to try Gwyneth’s when I have more time to cook! I loved them and will be making them over and over again.

I made brown rice gluten free spaghetti for Kip, and spaghetti squash for me.

They were delicious as leftovers for work the next day too!

To make them cleaner, I debated not putting in the Parmesan, but I’m so glad I kept the cheese because it gave them such great flavor (and get the good stuff, not the green non-refrigerated kind, because the taste really is so much fresher and cheesier!)

:: QUICK TURKEY MEATBALLS ::

recipe and original image

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey (I used 93% lean)

1/4 cup diced onion

1 large egg

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or I used Panko)

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups good marinara sauce (I love Rao’s, or you can get an Organic, or No Salt Added to really control the salt)

Directions

Combine the turkey, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl. Mix ingredients with hands until incorporated.

Roll the meat mixture into 1.25 inch balls, which should yield about 26-30 meatballs.

(I used a tablespoon as a guide, and used slightly larger than a tablespoon. I had 30 meatballs.)

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Place the meatballs into the hot skillet and brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side. Use tongs to rotate the meatballs so that they brown evenly on all sides

I did mine in two batches to not crowd the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomato sauce, and simmer meatballs for another 10 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through.

Serve over your favorite pasta, brown rice pasta, spaghetti squash, or greens!

Store the cooked meatballs in the fridge in the sauce for up to 3 days.

I’m hoping to make Gwyneth’s “Go-To Tomato Sauce” when I have more time, and add in extra herbs to the meatballs next time like she does for hers (she uses basil, thyme, rosemary, and sage).

:: Quiche Lorraine ::

For New Years Day, I made my first quiche! I used a recipe from the Today show that has a spinach crust, turkey bacon, and a few other things to drastically cut the calories. I made it and baked it the night before, and then just reheated it in the oven after we woke up. {I know myself well enough that first thing after a night of celebrating I will not be cooking in the kitchen upon rising.}

We both loved this. We ate it the next day too for leftovers and it was just as delicious.

*Make sure you wrap it with foil like it says so the eggs don’t run out! I used a quiche pan because I didn’t have a spring form. And I left the nutmeg out because we were out!*

:: HEALTHY QUICHE LORRAINE ::

original image and recipe via the Today show

Serves 6. Calories are reduced from 600 per serving to only 220!

Ingredients

For the Spinach Crust:

2 packages frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained of water

(they didn’t give a size so I used two little bricks from the freezer)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup reduced fat, shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Oil spray, for pan

For the Quiche:

3 eggs

3 egg whites

6 ounces/10 strips cooked turkey bacon, chopped

1 cup shredded or grated reduced fat swiss ( I used mozarella)

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I left this out)

Preparation:

For the Spinach Crust:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix everything together until well combined. Liberally coat a spring form pan (or quiche pan/tart pan) with oil spray and cover the bottom with the spinach “dough”. Bake for about 17 minutes until spinach crust is set, firm, and slightly browned on top and edges. Remove from oven and set aside.

Lower the Oven Temperature to 375 degrees and prepare the quiche filling.

For the filling:

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and pour on top of spinach crust.

*NOTE: Be sure to cover the bottom of the spring form pan with tinfoil and place on baking sheet to prevent eggs from dripping through the small openings*

Bake for 30 minutes or until the quiche is set and fluffy.

Mine required closer to 40 minutes.

About 5 minutes before the quiche is done cooking, sprinkle a few tablespoons grated parmesan cheese over the top so it becomes melted and browned.

Enjoy!

Another recipe that I made last week (for National Spaghetti Day! pats self on back) was Turkey Meatballs.

What are some of your favorite healthy meals to make?

Any new cookbooks or cooking blogs you would recommend?!

Expect many more healthy recipes + fitness posts to come!

Lifestyle, recipe

:: oprah’s favorite things + crockpot recipe of the week ::

November 8, 2016

’tis the season…… for Oprah’s Favorite Things!!

Don’t you wish Oprah was still on every day at 4 PM?

It was just the best getting home from school and watching it.

and, of course, the best episode EV-ER was her Oprah’s Favorite Things Giveaway.

half of the show was just watching the audience expressions as they freaked out over each gift.

it was amazing.

if Oprah is ready to get the gift guides going…. I feel like I am too 🙂

it’s so strange to be thinking about Christmas when it is this warm outside, but we talked last night about putting our tree and decorations up this weekend and I feel like why not!

Check out the entire list of gifts here

:: CRACK OF THE WEEK ::

Last night I made a slow cooker chicken recipe and I’m so glad I did but I feel awful and was way too exhausted to do much of anything.

It took minutes and was delicious : Salsa Verde Chicken.

This was so simple to make and had such a strong wonderful flavor.

I am very new to eating salsa verde; my friend buys the Whole Foods 365 Brand Salsa and it is seriously crack. Prior to a few weeks ago when I had it at her place, I don’t know that I ever really ate it?

Now, I am hooked!

The salsa verde is such a nice change with an entirely different flavor from the more common red tomato salsa.

it is truly amazing.

just a warning…. because once you start dipping your chip in that bowl it just won’t stop.

recipe from skinnytaste

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs raw skinless chicken tenders
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp ground cumin
salt, to taste
16 oz roasted salsa verde (my favorite is Whole Foods 365 Brand!)

DIRECTIONS:

Season chicken with garlic powder, oregano, cumin and salt and place in
the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with salsa verde, cover and cook
HIGH 2 hours. Remove chicken, shred with 2 forks. Remove 2/3 cup of liquid from the slow cooker, and discard (unless you want it over rice). Place shredded chicken back into the crock pot with remaining salsa, adjust seasoning to taste if needed and keep warm.

For Kip, I put his in taco shells with the usual taco fixings.

I did mine with brown rice, peppers, onion, tomato, and avocado.

Let me know if you make this and love it! I

t is such a great addition to my weekly slow cooker recipes!