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!!

My solution… Order a small to minimize leftovers and make a simple salad on the side. Genius right?!? Sorry.. patting myself on the back for this one. Pizza is by far me weakness. So I had one slice and a cup of this salad for a wonderful, satisfying dinner!

You may have noticed that anytime I put "Quick" in front of an idea it using some convenience item. This time it’s a store bought light italian dressing. Normally I like to experiment with my own combination of ingredients to use as dressing but having a light italian on hand is great in a pinch!

• 1 can of Northern (White) Beans drained and rinsed
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes halved
• 1-2 cups of raw spinach chopped
• 1/4 of Red Onion chopped (or more to taste)
• 2 tbsp of your favorite Light Italian Dressing

Toss all ingredients together and eat! Really… that’s exactly what I did although letting it sit probably would have been a good idea. I’m sure it will be even better tomorrow. :) I had to make it fast to pair it with that pizza.

Nutritional Information will vary based on your dressing but here’s an estimate. My normal site is down for calculations so I couldn’t pull a sugar figure.

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’m happy to say it was! This is my 18th idea! Click here to see them all!

I made this simple salad the other night and it went perfectly on the side of leftover Spinach Feta burger along with some roasted fries and quick sugar snap peas. Perfect for the vine ripe tomatoes you may be getting from your garden or farm stand.

Here’s how I made it..

• About 6 small tomatoes quartered (Could use even more, this is just what I had)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup (34g) Crumbled Feta
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 heaping tsp dried parsley
• Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients and eat immediately or chill it. I ate half with dinner and brought the other half to work for lunch. It was simply wonderful both times.

No Nutritional Info on this one. Adjust the amount of tomatoes to meet your needs and just count the feta.. that’s what I’d do. ;)

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!!

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!!

Tuesday night is rough for us. Little Guys has karate, the husband as Gaelic Football practice and I’m on dinner duty as usual. (note: I’m never NOT on dinner duty. That’s what happens when you marry a non-cook, non-foodie.)

Anyway it was very much a leftover, fend for yourself, sandwich kind of night and this is what I made with what I had in the fridge. The hummus was leftover from my birthday dinner (the husband took me out, the only time I get a break from diner duty!) The sun dried tomatoes were from my last grocery trip, I rarely buy them. And the feta.. well.. you know. ;) Oh! and the spinach and sandwich thins are stock items for me.

I decided to grill the sandwich but it’s totally optional. For me there is just something more satisfying about a warm sandwich. Especially for dinner. And this one was tasty! The hummus was oozing out, the feta got warm and soft and the tomatoes were a nice sweet bite. It was a fun change from the typical ham and cheese I normally have.

• A Sandwich Thin or 2 slices of whole grain light bread
• 2 tbsp hummus
• 3 sun-dried tomatoes
• Baby Spinach leaves
• 1 oz ATHENS Black Peppercorn Feta in 2 slices

Smear the hummus on the bread. Top with the tomato, then spinach, then feta.

Now, you could just eat it like that OR press it in a panini press or the George Forman. I just heated a skillet over medium high heat, sprayed it with non stick olive oil and placed it cheese side down.

The I pressed it with a full tea kettle for 1-2 minutes.

Flip, press again and cook for another minute. The final result…

I served it with some frozen peas. The Little Guy’s choice. :) We always have at least 1 veggie with dinner… no matter the dinner. Oh! and don’t ask about that expression and the dinosaur. I have NO idea what he’s doing. lol

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!!

Anyway, I was armed with the cutest little heads of cabbage from the farm and, yup you guessed it, feta. :) So i decided to combine them together and I’m so glad I did! This was fabulous! I almost ate the whole bowl in one sitting. I had to force myself to save it for dinner.

I had both the husband and child taste it. The husband said it was ok but he’s not a cabbage man. His reaction was pretty much what I expected. The Little Guy, well, let’s just say he was brave to try it even though he ended up spitting it out. Hey.. you can’t win them all. :)

• 2 small heads of cabbage (about 2 cups shredded 140g) I used 1 red and one green.
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta (34g)
• 1/2 tbsp honey (10g)
• 1 tsp olive oil (5g)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Pinch of fresh ground black pepper or more to taste.

I told you. They are so stinkin’ cute I had to post a few picures of the cabbage heads.

The purple one especially.

Even shredded it’s pretty! :)

To make the dressing put the feta, honey, olive oil, oregano and vinegar in a bowl and…

… whisk with a fork, squishing the feta making a creamy dressing like so…

Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage…

and toss!

Enjoy! I could easily eat the whole batch but I’ll split it into 2, 1 cup servings. It’s a nice size. You could easily split it 4 ways for a small side with dinner.

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!!

The husband wasn’t game but I had a friend come over and try it. She thought it was tasty and loved the cilantro. I think I may need to start cooking for others. ;)

The only thing I think I’ll do differently next time is a bit more feta. I’m not too sure I used enough. I’ll post exactly how I made it and if you give it a try you can always bump up the feta.

• Half of a sweet onion
• 1 medium yellow squash (You could always use a zucchini too!)
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat couscous uncooked (I use RiceSelect )
• 5 oz of Pomegranate Juice
• About 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup (34g) crumbled Feta

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion and sauté until browning.

Once the onion is brown, add the yellow squash and cook for a few minutes.

Add the dry couscous and Pom juice. It should almost immediately come to a boil. Stir, remove from heat and cover. Here’s what it looks like just before covering.

While the couscous is cooking, prepare the cilantro and weigh out the feta.

After 5 minutes the couscous should have soaked up the pom juice. uncover, add the the cilantro and feta.

Toss.

You could eat it warm but I preferred it chilled. :)

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!!

With all this feta in the house I had to try upgrading my traditional love of cheese and crackers. My strategy for combatting my gross overindulgence of cheese is to make a pretty snack plate instead of grabbing a knife and going to town. So I took the feta, a roasted red pepper and made myself this simple snack. Oh my… So tasty! Would be fun for a party, no? :)

• 1/2 serving of Triscuits thin crisps (7 crackers)
• 1 oz feta cheese (2 thin slices)
• 1 jarred roasted red pepper
• Sprinkle of dried parsley

Lay out the crackers.

Cut the cheese into small pieces matching the number of crackers. It won’t be much but you don’t need much! The feta flavor is great.

Cut the roasted red pepper into small pieces as well.

Top the crackers with the bit of cheese, a piece of the roasted red pepper and a sprinkle of parsley.

Enjoy!

Isn’t it pretty? :)

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!!

I couldn’t believe how many people recommended the watermelon feta combo to me. I’ve never heard of such a dish and frankly it sounded weird. Why ruin a perfectly good watermelon with feta cheese. That makes NO sense! But then I thought about Mandarin oranges on Asian salads, apples in a Waldorf salad and even my own Red White and Blue Sweet Summer Salad! Those are all examples of fruits in salads, why not watermelon?

When I saw Smitten Kitchen’s chopped vegetable, watermelon and feta salad I knew I had to give it a try. I always just imagined watermelon and feta, never once thinking of adding other veggies!

I used what I had on hand and the result was tasty! The soft sweet textured watermelon, the firm kohlrabi, the crunchy pepper and the salty feta was interesting to say the least. I think the most surprising thing about the salad was how yummy green peppers and watermelon are together.

Next time I may replace the kohlrabi with cucumber. I just thought I’d use it up since I had it in the fridge. Cucumber would probably be a better match. The kohlrabi was almost a little too firm. At least the one I had was.

I just finished the leftovers for a snack and it is one of those dishes that gets better with age. :)

• About 2 cups of watermelon cubed
• 1 small-medium kohlrabi cubed
• 1/2 large green pepper cut into squares
• 1 oz feta cheese cubed or use crumbled
• 1/2 tsp dried mint

Combine the watermelon, kohlrabi, pepper and feta.

Toss.

Sprinkle with mint.

It makes 2 servings 3 cups each but Irish was too chicken to try it. :)

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!!

I combined a few of the comments to make a light tasty salad this morning. Coming off a weekend of insane fast food indulging this was the perfect light, tasty meal I needed. I love how 6 ingredients can pack so much satisfying flavor. And I absolutely adore the combo of balsamic, feta and basil!

• 1 slice of red onion chopped (or more to taste)
• About 1/3 a pint of grape tomatoes halved (totaling 1/2 cup)
• About 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves loosely chopped
• 1 cup cut cucumber
• 1 oz crumbled feta cheese (I used the black peppercorn)
• 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Cut your red onion. I only used a small slice as I’m not the biggest raw onion fan but I do like the flavor it adds.

Halve the tomatoes

Loosely chop the basil to release some flavor.

Cut cucumber in quarter inch slices and then in half and half again. Once cut I used a cup worth of the quartered cukes.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl.

toss

Let sit for a few minute to allow the flavors to combine and then transfer the salad to a smaller bowl and enjoy!

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!!

Here’s what I cam up with. Oh! and I didn’t have any red onion although I think is would be great in this. I just decided to skip onion all together.

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 limes
• 1/2 tbsp honey (10g)
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro
• 2 oz Feta Cheese

Gather all your ingredients.

Grate the carrots.

Rinse the chickpeas.

Loosely chop the cilantro.

Start by making the dressing.

Remove some of the peel from the limes with the grater. You don’t have to get it all just about a tsp or two to bump up the flavor. Add the peel, the olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and juice from both limes to a bowl and whisk.

In a larger bowl add the chickpeas, carrots, feta and cilantro. Pour the dressing over. Toss and eat!

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!!