Eat: Pumpkin Oat Pancakes

I have been craving pancakes for months. I don't know why because I'm not a pancake-aholic or anything. Normally, I could take 'em or leave 'em. But for many months, I've just been Jonesing for a warm, yummy pile of pancakes & syrup. But over those same many months, I've been holding to two starch servings a day so I wasn't inclined to give 'em both up on pancakes. Like I said, I'm not a pancake-aholic. But now that I'm trying to eat more (more details here), satisfying that craving became a possibility. Part of the challenge in beginning to eat more, along with worrying about exploding back to my former size, is ensuring that I continue to make really good choices nutrition wise and not just supplement my former regime with more calories spent on junk. So that, coupled with a heartsick longing for pumpkin spice lattes, sent me searching for a recipe that would offer pancakey, pumpkiny goodness that was healthy too. Hint: I added oats to my search strings to avoid fluffy white flour pancakes with a whisper of pumpkin. That led me to Caroline's recipe which I adapted to suit my own needs: different yogurt, more pumpkin, whole eggs, more oats... you get the idea. The result was a tastey, dense pancake, tangy from the Greek yogurt and not at all sweet. Next time, I think I might try grating an apple into the batter.

142g container of Greek yogurt, honey flavoured (vanilla would work too)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 cup old-fashioned oats

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. The batter will be thick. Spray your hot griddle with non-stick spray or olive oil mist. Drop batter onto griddle. Cook about 4 minutes/side, turning once.

I enjoyed with chopped pecans and maple syrup.

Serves 2, 3 pancakes each.

I plugged my ingredients in to LiveStrong and come out at 307 calories per serving but I encourage you to calculate your own version based on the brands & quantities you use.

Eat: Curried Lentils, Sweet Potatoes & Chard

Experimenting in the kitchen, with a goal of finding ways to eat more veggies, more whole foods, make healthier food choices in general, and find new favorites has been an important part of my weight loss success - particularly in the last 6 months. Here's a new combination I came up with tonight. I'm trying to boost my iron intake, without eating more red meat, and my nutritionist suggested lentils. Also high in iron: dark, leafy greens and raisins. This recipe was my starting point but I ended up changing ingredients, quantities and well - the whole flavour profile. The final product is a delicious, wholesome redefinition of comfort food. I think this would also be great with some toasted almonds and/or a bit of shredded coconut sprinkled on top.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 small sweet potatoes, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
4 big stalks of rainbow chard, tough stems removed, leaves chopped
1 cup green lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins


Heat oil in a medium-large pot. Add onion, carrots, celery & sweet potatoes - adding to pot as you chop. Saute about 6 minutes after the last of the veggies hit the pot. Add garlic & chard and stir until the chard begins to wilt. Add lentils & broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes. Add curry powder, salt & raisins. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then dig in.

Serves 4.

I plugged my ingredients in to LiveStrong and come out at 394 calories per bowl but I encourage you to calculate your own version based on the brands & quantities you use.