Oh! and the little guy loves the stuff! :)

Here’s a write up for those that don’t want to sit thru the distracting video. ;)

• 5 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I used wild) (70g)
• 1/2 of a banana
• 1 scoop of Protein Powder (I use Any Whey)
• 6oz Almond milk

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend!

Here’s the links I mentioned in the video…

• “My Mango, My Mango” – Ryan’s First Video Post
• Homemade Almond Milk the Video
• Homemade Almond Milk Take 1

So this morning little guy asked to make blueberry pancakes and then changed his mind to waffles. You gotta love a the fickle mind of a 5 year old. :)

Normally I would make my Quick Whole Grain Banana Pancake batter but I’m all out of ripe bananas. My next go to pancake recipe is my original 100% Whole Grain Pancakes that I made years ago but I’m all of out oatmeal (yea… I need to go shopping something fierce.) So I whipped up a new batter this morning.

It worked beautifully! I’m sure it would also make great pancakes but I haven’t tried it yet. If you’re up to it give it a whirl and let me know in the comments how they turn out. I’m pretty confident they’ll be just fine.

Here’s what we did…

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (120g)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup almond milk (8oz) (could use skim)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (61g)
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 1/2 cup of blueberries (74g)

Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside. I mix it with a fork or whisk to help aerate it a bit.

In another bowl whisk the milk, egg, vanilla, applesauce and honey together until frothy. Add the blueberries.

Pour the flour mixture into the milk mixture and continue to fold until combined but don’t over mix.

Add the batter to your skillet or waffle iron. I spray the iron with non-stick spray since these contain no additional fat. Using my square iron I get 4 batches (8 waffles) and they cook for 4-5 minutes making them nice and crisp.

Little guy loved them with a bit of jelly. I ate mine straight up with some extra fresh blueberries on top like you see next to the silly bands. ;)

Update:The DO make great pancakes. Check it out!!

This idea is the result. I based it loosely The Original All-Bran™ Muffin recipe but added some flavor with almonds and cherries. I also halved the recipe to make less. I don’t know about you but I can’t make 12 muffins in my house unless I throw them directly in the freezer. The husband is NOT a muffin man at all so he’s no help. The little guy is, but he wasn’t feeling well this morning so I knew I was on my own.

Honestly, for my first try at this, the result was better then I expected. The flavor was good, it was the right amount of the cherries and almonds, even the size was ok. The texture was a bit dense but I think that’s just how All Bran muffins come out. I can’t say for sure though I never made nor ate a basic All Bran Muffin. Have you?

Either way, I’ll make them again when I have a chance and see if I can get them a little lighter but the recipe is definitely done enough to share with you. I enjoyed 2 of them for breakfast this morning. If you have any ideas or try an iteration of this hit us up on the comments. I love to hear your ideas!

• 1 cup All Bran Cereal
• 4.5 oz almond milk (would work with regular milk to but I would maybe add a squirt of honey to add some sweetness)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp apple sauce
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup (75g) Sweet Cherries chopped
• 1 oz (28 g) almonds chopped up

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 6 cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix the All Bran with the almond milk and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Chop the almonds and cherries as small as you would like them in the muffin. I went pretty small on the almonds but left larger chunks of the cherries.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Add the egg white, apple sauce and almond extract to the All Bran/milk mixture. Mix well. Add the cherries and almonds mix well. Finally, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. the batter will be thick.

Plop the batter into the muffin tin equally over the 6 cups. They will be filled.

Bake for 20 minutes.

I decided to face my fears this morning and take your suggestion. Worst case scenario…. I don’t like it. It wouldn’t be the first time I cooked something that just didn’t work out.

Well… I know I say this a lot but… I’m SO GLAD I DID! Holy moly I was blown away. The salty bite from the creamy feta in this omelet was so awesome. I love the combo of spinach and bacon bits (note my two previous recipes.. Spinach and Bacon Egg Wraps and Mini Spinach Egg Muffins)
but the feta simply put it over the top!

Here’s how I made it..

• A nice handful of baby spinach leaves chopped
• 2 cherry tomatoes diced
• 1 tbsp real bacon bits (7g)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 oz of crumbled feta (14g) <– I went lite becuause I was nervous but I thought this was the perfect amount
• Non-stick spray
• Kohser Salt & Ground Pepper

Here’s my little omelet making station on my messy counter.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high and spray with non-stick spray. Add the spinach, tomatoes and bacon bits with a pinch of salt.

Cook until the spinach wilts, about a minute or two.

Remove the spinach filling from the pan and set aside.

Whisk the 2 eggs together with a pinch of salt and some black pepper.

Lower the heat to medium and re-spray the skillet.

Add the whisked eggs to the skillet and swirl around to cover the whole pan.

Add the spinach filling to one side of the cooking egg and top with the feta.

In about a minute you’ll notice the top of the egg just starting to get firm. At this point run a large plastic flipper under the egg and fold over the best you can. It doesn’t have to perfect you’re only gonna eat it anyway. ;)

Once it’s folded over cook for about 30 more seconds, flip and cook for another 30-1 minute depending on how done you like your egg. I leave mine on a little longer, I’d rather it browning then runny in the middle.

Turn off the heat and serve with a side of ketchup… that is.. IF you like ketchup and eggs. :)

I love that this is a nice 5 point breakfast. If I was still in losing mode I would replace one of the eggs to make it 4 points. And if my daily points were REALLY low I’d go 4 egg whites to make it 3 points. (I calculated all three scenarios and there are about 225, 185, 150 calories and 15, 10, 5g of fat respectively, rounded of course.) Everything else pretty much remains the same.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

What’s a girl to do?

I decided to whip up a quick smoothie with what I had on hand. The result was DELICIOUS! So simple and such a perfectly light protein filled breakfast.

• About 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 5 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup (4oz) chocolate almond milk
• 1 scoop of protein powder (I used Any Whey)

Blend and serve!

You could totally use fresh strawberries I just didn’t have any. If you do through a couple of ice cubes in there to get the smoothie/shake texture.

We’ve recorded ourselves making the basic recipe. Then turned it into chocolate cakes. We also use the batter in the waffle iron and we even made a dipping sauce! Today we tweaked the basic formula a little swapping chocolate almond milk for skim and cinnamon for the nutmeg. Then we added those famous frozen wild blueberries for a twist.

I’ll post the recipe below exactly how me made them today but have fun with it and make it your own. The formula of dry to wet ingredients works perfectly.

Oh! and I almost forgot the best part… The Little Guy’s quote this morning and I’m NOT making this up… “oh mom… they’re so good. I can’t stop eating them.” :)

• 1 overripe banana mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (4oz) chocolate almond milk
• 3/4 cup (90g) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• About 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries

Mash the banana in a medium bowl. Add the egg and milk. Whisk until frothy.

In a smaller bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and nutmeg. Sift into the banana mixture. Mix until just blended.

I do the wet and the Little Guy does the dry ingredients. :)

Using a soup spoon (what we call our tablespoons) pour the batter by the spoonful in a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. The batter is thick so just spread with the spoon. If you like a thinner batter add a splash more milk.

Sprinkle the desired amount of blueberries on top pressing in a bit with the spoon.

Cook about 1-2 minutes a side, small bubbles will form but not as many as traditional pancakes. Just peaked underneath for a light brown color, then flip.

Have I ever told you breakfast with the little guy is by far my favorite time of day. :) I went a little picture happy…

Today we got 8 pancakes. Normally we get 8-10 depending on how big we make them. I calculated the nutritional info for the original recipe based on 9. I’ll do this one for 8 and give you the per cake estimated figures. These are a little higher because of the almond milk and blueberries. The orginal is about 60 calories a cake. (1 WWP)

We used another VitaMix from Vitalicious. This time the BlueBran. Alone it’s good but not my favorite. It’s super sweet with a very bran texture which is fine but I thought adding a little chocolate would make it even better. I’m happy to say I was right. ;)

The toddler and I have been snacking on these for a few days. The size is right, the cocoa powder balances the sweetness and the additional blueberries and chocolate chips give you a surprise in every bite.

You do need the mix for this recipe and you can purchase it online by clicking here. Be sure to use my Roni’sWeigh code for 10% off anything in the Vitalicious online store.

Here’s what little guy and I did…

• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 box of BlueBran VitaMix (Muffin Mix)
• 4 tbsp Dark Chocolate Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (20g)
• 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries (70g)
• 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips (28g)

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Line a standard 12 cup muffin pan with baking cups.

Whisk together the egg white and water until frothy.

Add the Mix, cocoa powder, chips and blueberries to the egg whites and mix well.

Scoop about 3 tablespoons of batter into each baking cup.

Bake for 23-27 minutes until firm.

Disclosure: Vitalicious is a paying sponsor of Roni’s Weigh. They do send me free products from time to time but the opinions expressed in the post, as always, are my own. I am a fan of their mixes because they are one of the few I can find that are made with whole grains.

Anyway I used Vitalicious’s Deep Chocolate Vita Muffin Mix. I’m a fan of these mixes. Their ingredient lists aren’t perfect but they are one of the few whole wheat mixes I can find.

Instead of making muffins, the little guy and I made a loaf. Like a chocolate bread. But of course we couldn’t leave it alone. We added some simple ingredients to jazz it up a bit.

Both the little guy and I LOVED it. Actually you should see it now. He’s been picking at it all day. I had to yell at him to stop stealing bites. The husband tried it. Said he liked it and will never have another bite again. If it doesn’t come out of a box he’s simply uninterested. Don’t get me started. lol

Anyway, here’s what we did.

• 1/4 cup raw almonds (30g)
• 1/4 cup dried cherries (40g)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 and 1/4 cups of water
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 package of Vitalicious Deep Chocolate VitaMuffin mix
• non-stick spray and a bit of flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Spray a loaf pan with non stick spray and coat with a thin layer of flour. We want to avoid sticking.

Weigh out the almonds and cherries

Chop them to make smaller pieces so everyone gets a bite.

In a large bowl whisk the water, egg whites and extract until bubbles form.

Add the bag of mix and combine well.

Pour the batter in the loaf pan and enjoy a few licks off the spoon. :)

Bake for about 60 minutes until the center is solid to the touch.

Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes and then run a knife along the sides before popping out.

Here’s close up. I was a little picture happy. Can you tell? :)

oh heck. Here’s a few more. :)

If you are interested you can order VitaMixes online by clicking here. Be sure to use the Code RonisWeigh for 10%. Vitalicious sponsors Roni’s Weigh and sends me products to review now and then.

Oh! and if you are a VitaTop fan they are having a contest. Enter to win a year supply!

Western omelets have always been my favorite. The combination of onion, peppers and ham with egg dipped in ketchup is a little taste of breakfast heaven for this breakfast lover.

The little guy had NO interest in them at all. :( I can’t get him to eat eggs anymore even though they were such a staple for us for so long. I’m sure it’s just a phase so I’m going to keep offering. :)

• About 2 oz thinly sliced deli ham
• 2 thick sliced of sweet onion diced
• About 1/4 of a large green pepper diced
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• non-stick cooking spray

preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spray in a 12 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Depending on the size of your ham slices cut them in half, form a small cone and place in the mini muffin pan like this. . .

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until just starts to brown. Add the peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute before shutting off the heat.

Whisk the egg and egg white together with a bit of salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked onion and peppers.

Using a tablespoon scoop the egg mixture into the ham cups.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the egg is firm.

Enjoy!

I ate the whole batch, but you could totally share and pair with a slice of whole wheat toast or something. Just a thought. :)

I actually made this up yesterday, snapped the most awesome shots of the little guy eating it and then accidently deleted them off the camera. :(

So I decided to make it again this morning. It came out even better when I discovered dipping graham crackers in it was a little taste of heaven. Like dessert chips-n-dip. I’m seriously thinking of putting it like that for a New Years party we’re having.

The little guy liked it, although I’m thinking it was more the crackers then the yogurt. Either way, I got some good stuff in him this morning. ;)

• 1/2 cup canned pureed pumpkin (120g)
• 1/2 cup non-fat yogurt (I used greek) (115g)
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together.

Viola! :)

I used Trader Joe’s Old Fashion Graham (our favorite and the only whole grain ones I know of) crackers as my "spoon".

Nutritional is only for the yogurt, not the crackers.

We mix it up now and then. Types of cereal, adding banana, alternating between milks, sometimes skim, sometimes almond and sometimes my new favorite, light chocolate soy.

This morning I wanted a healthy breakfast but, to be honest, I ate so much over the weekend that I wanted to go a little lighter. That’s when this simple idea hit me!

I love the banana chocolate combo and the blueberries, especially the frozen ones, add fun sweetness, even turning the milk a lovely shade of purple (the little guy loves that!) :)

I realize the idea is quite simple but I hope it sparks some ideas for you. Sometimes a simple bowl of fruit is a perfect breakfast for me.

• 1 medium banana cut in half longways and then sliced
• 1/4 cup frozen wild blueberries
• 3oz light chocolate soy milk

Place all ingredients in the bowl and enjoy your fruit filled breakfast! At least that’s what I do. :)

The kid is a HUGE fan. He likes to dip them in a maple/pumpkin sauce I make. I like them straight up and the people at work preferred them with good old fashion maple syrup. I made about 3 dozen to bring for a charity event. A few people went for seconds so I’m assuming they liked them. I realize not everyone is a whole grain nut like me so if they were expecting traditional white fluffy pancakes they were disappointed. These are a bit denser, real moist and tad bit sweet. Just the way I like them! :)

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (60g)
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (120g)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey (20g)
• 1/2 cup Skim Milk or Almond or Soy

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.

In another bowl add the pumpkin, egg, agave and milk. Whisk until frothy.

Combine the flour mixture and pumpkin mixture, mix until just blended.

Pour batter in a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cook about 1-2 minutes a side, small bubbles will form but not as many as traditional pancakes. Peak underneath for a light brown color, then flip.