Clean eating breakfast cookie

Well...I tried a new clean eating recipe.  It really wasn't that far of a stretch for me...so, way more my speed!  

Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookies:

Yup, I know, they look much tastier in the cookbook!  Why is that the way it always works?  Ha!  So, although I usually say that I am not a breakfast eater, the truth is that I do eat it.  I just don't eat right when I get up.  Or even within the hour.  Normally I get showered, feed all the beings in my house furry and otherwise, get Ashton's lunch together, chug down some coffee and off we go.  It's in the car when my whirlwind has slowed down a bit that I realize, "Hey...I could use a bite of something".  Well, these "type" of cookies are a typical fare for my on-the-go breakfast.  I admit, my usual go-to recipe has butter and a "bit" more sugar... :) I do usually use whole wheat flour and flax though, so, points for that.  Anyhoo, here's the recipe from the Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook (pg 33):

Preheat oven to 350F

Ingredients
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. melted Olivina (recipe for this in the cookbook) or light oil
3 egg whites
1/4 c. finely chopped dried figs
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. bran flakes
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 c. slivered almonds

Combine sugar, oil and egg whites in large mixing bowl. Stir in chopped dried fruits and vanilla.

Lightly spoon all-purpose flour into measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine whole-wheat flour, bran, baking soda, flax seed and spices.  Stir with a whisk or fork.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in almonds.

Drop by tablespoon full onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat.  Bake for 12 minutes or until almost set.  Cool on pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutritional Info per cookie:
Calories 154
Protein 2g
Carbs 22g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugar 12g
Fat 6g
Sodium 26mg

These are pretty tasty little things.  They are a good substitute for my typical "breakfast cookie" since they are very similar, just less sugar and oil instead of butter.  I tend to try to use what I have on hand, so I used craisins for all of the dried fruit instead of dates.  Also, I used kashi cereal as a substitute for the bran flakes because it also had slivered almonds in it!  Am I an improviser or what?!  The important thing is that they are super yummy.  You should try them.

UPDATE
The crock-pot porridge... it was decent.  I can think of plenty of people who would like it.  I'm sure if I was a steadfast breakfast eater that would become a regular recipe of mine.  It sure would be nice to wake up and there's some hot porridge waiting for you...if you were a big breakfast eater!  :)  I'm glad I tried it and I will for sure recommend it for those looking for something filling in the mornings, especially as we watch summer leave us and the colder mornings creep up.  One side note, just as with the greek salad: it makes A LOT of porridge!  So either downsize the recipe or if you have a family of 12 you're good to go.  :)

Have a blessed evening!

Clean eating recipes

Recipes from Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean diet cookbook that I have tried:

Greek Salad

YUM!

This took some chopping, but was really pretty easy.  The one thing I will say...it made A LOT!  So, since you can't very well freeze it (ew), I would either cut the recipe in half, even for, let's say a family of four.  Otherwise, save it for an event like a potluck or BBQ.  We ate LOTS of Greek Salad for a few days!  :)

The recipe is on page 234 of The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook.  What a great summer side!

Recipe number 2:

Eat-Clean Hummus 

This was a hit!  We already LOVE hummus at my house.  My fridge is never without hummus!  We love dipping pitta chips, tortilla chips, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms...you name it.  This was so easy to make and super cheap.  The most time consuming thing was squeezing the lemon juice from the lemons.  But, it really wasn't a big deal.  The only thing that I had an issue with was finding tahini.  The store we went to didn't have it.  I wanted hummus NOW (hehe) and did not have time to go to other stores.  So, we skipped the tahini and it did just fine!  Fabulous really!  I will make it again, though, and use tahini just to compare.

Now for recipe number three!

The very first recipe in the book is Crock-Pot Porridge.

So...I'm not a breakfast girl.  Breakfast is my favorite meal, I just don't eat it for breakfast!  However, in my crock-pot right now, getting ready for me in the morning, is...

Crock-Pot Porridge

This recipe was different for me.  I had to look for rye flakes (huh??) and steel-cut oats.  Okay confession time.  I didn't exactly see the "steel-cut" when I wrote down which ingredients I needed.  Therefore...I have oats.  Just oats.  No "steel-cut".  Also, I somehow missed putting "cracked wheat" on the list.  Oops.  But, in the crock-pot you will find oats, rye flakes, brown rice, wheat germ, water (you can use a milk of your choice) raisins, craisins, diced dried apricots, vanilla and nutmeg.

Again, all of these recipes are in The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno.  You can go to www.eatcleandiet.com to find out more.

As for the other thing I am changing:

2) My workouts are changing as of tomorrow.  I have been doing TurboFire and have really enjoyed this program!  Chalene Johnson is FUN, encouraging and so motivating!  She is hardcore but in a way that is very inviting.  I have very honestly looked forward to these workouts.  Now, it's time for me to challenge myself a little more with some weights and resistance.  I have been so married to cardio for years, that it is a bit of a leap of faith for me to switch gears.  Although I know ChaLEAN Xtreme includes cardio, from my understanding it will not be the amount that I am used to, at all.  Well, I am down for trying something different!  I have wanted to push myself in this direction for a long time.  Now is that time.  I am so curious to see how my body and my fitness level responds to a new exercise regime.

Here we go!!