Pancake shake-up!

Ingredients 

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, crushed walnuts or crushed pecans
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 medium bananas
• 1 cup nonfat or almond milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup mixed frozen berries
• Vegetable oil cooking spray 

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients.
2. Mash 1 banana; in another bowl, mix mashed banana with milk, egg and almond extract.
3. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients; stir until smooth. Slice remaining banana and stir into batter; add berries.
4. Warm a skillet over medium heat; coat with cooking spray. Measure 1/4 cup batter; pour onto skillet.
5. Cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Repeat until batter is gone.

Nutritional FactsServings: Makes eight 5-inch pancakes. (1 serving = 2 pancakes) 

Calories: 330
Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1g
Total Carbohydrate: 57gDietary Fiber: 8g
Protein: 11g   

Strawberries and Cream Popsicles

1 cup strawberries, pureed
6 tbsp. milk
1 (5.3-oz.) container Greek yogurt
4 tsp. agave
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup diced strawberries
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the strawberry puree, milk, yogurt, agave and vanilla.
Stir in the diced strawberries.
Scoop the mixture evenly into the Popsicle molds.
Place into freezer and freeze until hard, at least 4 hours.
Remove from freezer and run the mold under warm water to loosen Popsicle, about 20 seconds.
Serve immediately.

Strawberry/Banana Power Smoothie

1/2 cup of strawberries (frozen and fresh)
1 banana
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1/2 scoop protein powder

So easy and so yum!

209 calories

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 mashed bananas
1/3 cup natural peanut butter (or more..these weren’t SUPER peanut butter-ey)

Directions:
1. Combine Oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and baking powder.
2. Stir in vanilla and egg. Mix in mashed bananas and peanut butter
3. Bake at 350F on a greased baking sheet for 8-10 minutes (or closer to 12 if you like your cookies crunchy, I made mine moist and soft)

Teas And Your Health

There are many teas that have been drunk throughout the ages. They are basically infusions of plants, usually the leaves and sometimes the flowers, by boiling them with water. Teas can be drunk hot or cold and are used for a variety of ailments. Teas of different sorts are drunk worldwide.

The official tea that we drink is the second most popular beverage and grown in the mountainous regions of China, India, Sir Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, Georgia, Japan, Kenya, Malawi and Taiwan. The tea we drink is taken from the top leaves and the buds of the Camellia Sinensis tree. These leaves are specially dried and then crushed for maximum flavor.

Tea is a mild stimulant, with small amounts of caffeine. It has far less than its counterpart coffee. It also has small amounts of vitamin A, B2, C, D, K, and P. there are also trace amounts of some minerals. Overall it is good for your health. It is recommended that about 3 cups of tea and more should be drunk a day to get the healthful qualities of this beverage.

There are 4 common forms of tea are:

Black tea
White tea
Oolong tea
Green tea

Black tea is the most common form of tea and is known as the famous ìEnglish teaî as this is drunk predominantly in Britain and the Western world. This tea is drunk hot but can also be used to brew the famous iced tea. It is made from the leaves of the tea plant and is completely fermented. This results in its darker color. It is more of a stimulant than the other teas and a more intense taste. Sometimes it is drunk with lemon but most commonly with milk.

White tea comes from the bud of the tea plant. It undergoes little or no processing (fermenting or oxidizing) this brings out the antioxidants but will reduce the stimulant quality of this tea. Because the buds can only be harvested in the spring season this tea is not so common and fairly expensive.

Oolong tea is fermented more than green tea but less than black. Research has shown that this tea helps the digestive system and is good for metabolism.

Green tea is also not fermented like white tea but is made from more mature leaves so is much more common and affordable. This tea was predominantly drunk in the Orient namely Japan and China, but is gaining new ground in the West as research is showing the beneficial properties of this form of tea. Again it has more antitoxins (flavonoids) and is less of a stimulant. Added to this it has vitamin C and fluoride.

Tea Houses are becoming very popular especially in fashionable areas of Europe like Paris. As more research comes to light we will hear more about the benefits of this popular drink. So the next time you relax with a good refreshing cup of tea you can rest assured that your favorite beverage is also good for your health.

Choc Banana Ice-cream on a stick with raw chocolate and pistachio superfood crunch coating

Ingredients:

Makes 18 Pops
Banana Ice-cream Pops
9 large ripe bananas
18 wooden sticks

Raw Chocolate
½ cup coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp agave syrup (or maple syrup)
½ cup raw cacao powder

Pistachio Superfood Crunch
¼ cup pistachios
¼ cup cranberries
¼ cup goji berries
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp buckinis
1 tbsp bee pollen
1 tbsp chia seeds

Directions:

Banana Ice-cream Pops
1. Slice bananas in half or whatever shape you prefer. I sliced into rectangles.
2. Skewer with wooden stick.
3. Wrap each banana pop with glad wrap and put into freezer overnight.

Raw Chocolate
4. Combine coconut oil with maple syrup.
5. Add raw cacao powder. Whisk with a fork until combined and chocolate mixture is smooth.
6. Set aside.

Pistachio Superfood Crunch
7. Add pistachios, cranberries, goji berries and pumpkin seeds into a food processor and process until roughly combined.
8. Mix in the remaining ingredients.
9. Set aside.

Assembly
10. Once banana pops are frozen, take out of the freezer and decorate/drizzle or dip into raw chocolate.
11. And then immediately sprinkle or dip into the pistachio superfood crunch.
12. Eat immediately or store in the freezer in an airtight container.

Healthy Homemade Mango Fruit Roll-ups

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups diced ripe mango (from about 3 large mangoes)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 175ºF and line two rimmed baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.

Puree the mango in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Divide the purée evenly between the two prepared pans, and using an off-set spatula, spread the purée as flat and as evenly as possible until it's about 1/8-inch thick.

Bake the purée for 3 to 4 hours. The fruit roll-ups are done when the purée is dry to the touch and pliable. If the bottom side of the roll-ups is still wet after some time, flip the roll-ups over and continue baking them until they are fully dried.

Remove the roll-ups from the oven. Place a piece of wax paper on top of the roll-ups and then peel off the wax paper and the roll-ups together. Cut the sheet into long strips and then roll up the strips.