Hemp seed Cinnamon Roll muffins

Hemp seed Cinnamon Roll muffins!

Breakfast on the weekends is fun for me, I love creating something new and yummy for the boys!  On Sunday I really wanted to make them cinnamon buns but I hadn't thought ahead to make the dough over night in the bread machine and I really didn't want to wait all morning for a fresh batch of dough to rise so I made these Cinnamon Roll muffins. The original recipe called for chopped pecans or walnuts in the topping but I was clean out of nuts so I decided to try using hemp seeds.  

I have a huge bag of hemp seeds from Costco so I figured it would be a great way to use them up plus add a whole lot of nutrition to these tasty little muffins!  

I wasn't sure how they would taste with the hemp seeds in place of pecans but I was pleasantly surprised. I even made a healthier version of the icing to top them with and the boys went wild to see icing on them!

Hemp Seed Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons softened coconut oil
1 egg
1 cup almond milk

Topping and Filling

1 cup coconut palm sugar, loosely packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ cups ground hemp seeds
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Frosting

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
Splash of vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin or line with muffin cups.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg mixture, stirring only until just combined.
Combine all the topping/filling ingredients. Gently fold half of the mixture into the muffin batter.
Spoon the muffin batter, about ¼ cup, into each muffin tin. Top with remaining hemp seed mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until muffins spring back when pressed lightly. Remove from oven. Cool slightly, then transfer carefully to a wire rack.
Blend together all of the frosting ingredients. Drizzle over the top of the muffins and enjoy!!

Recipe Modified from Some the Wiser

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

I have a wonderful not so healthy peanut butter pretzel ball recipe that I make for christmas time but these healthier Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls can be made any time of the year and if your following the Portion Fix they count as 1 Yellow and 1 Spoon!  Just one ball though, so take your one treat and store the rest in the freezer for another day!  

This recipe is from the Fixate cooking show on Beachbody on Demand and it's just too good not to share here!  I love that the cooking show also provides the written out recipe which you can print off and a grocery list for each of the recipes!  

The filling of these little balls has peanut butter, coconut flour, corn starch and maple Syrup! I used my own Homemade Peanut Butter which is a bit thicker than store bought peanut butter (but tastes way better) so I used the food processor to mix my batter and added a bit of hot water to it to make sure it all stuck together.  

Then I used my cookie scoop to form uniform sized balls and rolled them some more with my hands to make sure they were squished together enough.  It was nice to leave the bottom of each ball slightly flat so they didn't roll around on the pan. 

Once all of the balls were formed I then added a tooth pick into each one and refrigerated them for 20 minutes. 

I melted my chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl over a about 2 inches of water in a sauce pan, but you could also microwave to melt the chocolate.  Then I dipped each one into the chocolate making sure to completely cover each ball. 

After they were all covered I removed the tooth picks and covered over the holes with a little chocolate.  

Now it's time to wait!  Place your chocolate balls into the fridge or freezer for 1 hour or until chocolate is hardened.  Now it's time to pick the best looking one, store the rest and take a bite!  Enjoy!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-natural smooth peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (preferably GMO-free)
• ¾ cup coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
• Hot water
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, 62 percent cocoa or higher, chopped
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin organic coconut oil, unrefined 

Directions

• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
• Combine Peanut Butter, Corn Starch, Coconut Flour and maple syrup in a large bowl, food processor or stand mixer.  Blend well until it becomes a uniform dough.  Add hot water as necessary to moisten it. 
• Using clean hands, shape dough until 1 inch balls; place a toothpick into the center of each ball. Place on baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 
• While you wait for the balls to chill, fill a small sauce pan with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to low. 
• Place a heat proof mixing bowl over the sauce pan.  Add Chocolate and coconut oil and stir for 2-3 minutes until melted. 
• Remove balls from refrigerator.  Hold a ball by the toothpick and dip it into the chocolate, swirl it to completely coat or use a spoon to pour chocolate over the top of it.  Repeat with each of the balls, returning them to the baking sheet. 
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chocolate has hardened.
• Store in an air tight container in the fridge or freezer. 

Portion Fix Container count:  1 Yellow 1 Spoon

Calories per ball: 134

Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon

Crazy Good Salmon for dinner tonight with Parmesan herb crust on a bed of organic wild blend rice. I'll just leave some photos here.... but seriously make it because photos don't do it justice!!!  This recipe is super simple to make and FULL of Flavour!  

Just mix fresh chopped garlic, fresh chopped parsley and fresh grated parmesan into a bowl and set on top a partially cooked salmon filet.  Then let it bake a while longer until bubbly and golden brown! 

Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon

Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon

Ingredients

1 salmon filet

Parmesan Herb Crust:

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425º F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easiest cleanup.

Place salmon, skin side down, onto lined baking sheet. Cover salmon with another piece of parchment paper. Bake salmon for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove top piece of parchment paper. 

Top with garlic, Parmesan and parsley mixture. Return to oven uncovered and allow to bake until registers 135º F when checked with an internal thermometer probe. 

The Parmesan cheese should have melted and lightly browned.

Allow to rest about 5 minutes and serve.

Portion Fix Containers: 1 Red, 1 Blue (If serving with rice measure out one yellow container)

Adapted from: Add a pinch blog

Mexican Taco Lettuce Wraps

This Fixate recipe is a huge favorite in our family.  Fraser likes his in a whole wheat wrap mostly because it's easier for his tiny hands to manage; while the rest of us enjoy ours in lettuce wraps!  

The great thing about the Fixate Cookbook is that many of the recipes refer to other recipes within the book so you can make a meal plan around prepping an item like tomato sauce and use it for a few recipes through the week.  

Both boys started out with lettuce wraps but Frasers
changed to a whole wheat wrap after a couple spills.

This Mexican Taco Meat recipe is used for a few recipes the the cook book gives you a few suggestions on how you can use it and what container counts you would use.  Tonight we added black beans and corn to it and then topped it with a sprinkle of shredded white cheddar then added it on top lettuce wraps.  We all love it this was but I would also love it over some Zoodles or a bed of brown rice, I just love the freshness of the lettuce wrap.

FIXATE Mexican Taco Meat

Serves: 4 (approx. 1 1/4 cup each)

Prep Time: 20 min. 

Cooking Time: 26 min. 

Container Equivalents per serving: 2 Green, 1 Red, 1/2 Purple, 1 Tsp 

Ingredients

1 tsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeds & finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. raw ground 93% lean turkey breast

1 tsp. ground chipotle chili powder (or 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder) 

1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano leaves

1 dash sea salt 

1 1/2 cups Grandma's Tomato Sauce (recipe also in FIXATE) 

3 tbsp. all natural tomato paste, no salt added 

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. 

2. Add onion and peppers, cook, stirring often for about 4-5 minuts, or until onion is translucent. 

3. Add garlic, cook, stirring often for 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to a medium bowl, set aside. 

4. Add turkey to the same skillet, cook over medium heat, stirring often to break up the turkey, for 8-10 minutes or until the turkey is no longer pink. 

5. Season with chili powder, oregano and salt. 

6. Add onion mixture, tomato paste and Grandma's Tomato Sauce. Mix well. Reduce heat to medium-low, gently boil stirring often, for 8-10 minutes, or until most of the liquid evaporates. 

Serving Suggestions

(For one serving of taco meat) 

Serve with 2 corn tortillas, 1 cup shredded lettuce and 2 tbsp. Homemade Salsa (recipe also in FIXATE) 

Containers: 2 green, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1/2 purple, 1 tbsp

Serve over 1 cup Zoodles (recipe also in FIXATE) 

Containers: 3 1/2 green, 1 red, 1/2 purple, 1 tbsp 

Serve over 1 cup cooked quinoa 

Containers: 2 green, 2 yellow, 1 red, 1/2 purple, 1 tbsp

Serve inside 2 large romaine lettuce leaves

Containers: 3 green, 1 red, 1/2 purple, 1 tbsp 

Breakfast Quesadillas

I am always looking for breakfast ideas I can prep ahead and take to work with me.  Often I'll make my Baked Oatmeal or overnight oats but this weekend I made Breakfast Quesadillas and prepped an extra for work on Monday.  

I love making egg scrambles on the weekends or days when I'm home from the office for my breakfast but it's more difficult to make the time on work days to make a hot breakfast and eat it before I go.  So I decided to give these Quesadillas a go.  

The were easily heated up in the toaster oven on the toast setting or bake setting; either would work well.  I heated them until slightly crispy and cheese is bubbling again.  These Breakfast Quesadillas made for a rare hot and cheesy breakfast in the office!  YUM!  The only thing that could have made these better was if I had brought a little salsa with me too.  Next time :)

Breakfast Quesadillas

Total Time: 30 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 15 min.
Yield: 2 servings, 1 quesadilla each
Portion Fix Container Count:  1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Blue

1 tsp. olive oil
1 portobello mushroom, chopped
1 medium Orange (or red) bell pepper, chopped
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 whole wheat tortillas
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add mushroom and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until peppers are slightly soft. Reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Add eggs; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until eggs are set. Remove from heat.
4. Top each tortilla evenly with egg mixture and cheese.
5. Fold each tortilla in half; cook in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until cheese is melted and tortilla is golden brown.

Tip: You can cook quesadillas you are going to eat or serve, and you can tightly wrap the others and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days (or freeze them). This is a great way to have breakfasts prepared in advance. 

Fixate Protein Waffles

Tonight was a breakfast for dinner kinda night! So I decided to throw together a batch of protein waffles from the fixate cookbook! We topped them with homemade blackberry jam!  #YUM

I'm currently following the Country Heat Program which I am really enjoying, and the Meal plan mirrors that of the 21 day fix so I've been referring to my Fixate cookbook for inspiration in addition to the New Fixate Cooking show on Beachbody on Demand!  Having so many recipe ideas and inspiration at my finger tips keeps me on track.

In the Fixate Cookbook these waffles are paired with chicken for a Chicken and Waffle combo as you will see in the photo below.

Fixate Protein Waffles

Ingredients

4 large egg whites, beaten to form stiff peaks
2 cups oat flour *
2 Tbsp. flaxseeds
¾ cup vanilla protein powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
A pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Pre-heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or using a mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In a medium bowl, add oat flour, flaxseeds, protein powder, baking powder, vanilla, and almond and mix to combine. Add the egg whites and gently fold to incorporate.

Drop by 2/3 cupful onto hot waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions, until golden brown and crisp.

Serve immediately with your favorite topping.

Notes

*Oat flour can be made by grinding an equal amount of regular uncooked oatmeal in a blender or food processor until it forms a powder.

Adapted from the FIXATE cookbook

Iced Coffee

We are on holiday right now in Patksville, enjoying the beach and the sun ☀️

Today we hit the beach after lunch and Had some left over coffee in the coffee pot from this morning which inspired me to make an iced coffee when we returned. ☕️

Trailer made Iced Coffee

Ingredients 

Ice

Splash of maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

Splash of milk or cream 

Cooled coffee

Directions

Add the ingredients in the order listed, at your preference (more milky, less sweet etc) stir and enjoy!