Peanut Butter Brownies

November is peanut butter lovers month, now that is a holiday I can celebrate all month long!! It is no secret that I.LOVE.PEANUT.BUTTER. Actually, I love nut butter period. I have a cabinet of nut butters. Some people have a shoe addiction, well apparently I have a nut butter addiction. 

I started making these peanut butter bars back in high school and I've improved the recipe a lot over the years. One of my best friends, and lupus sister, loves these peanut butter bars. I recently made these for her and she continues to give them two thumbs up. The best thing about these bars, besides the peanut butter, is the macros. There's only 12 grams of carbs per bar and 5 grams of protein!

Peanut Butter Bars

• 1/3 cup Smart Balance light buttery spread with flaxseed, softened
• 2/3 cup zero calorie sweetener (can sub coconut or cane sugar)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons liquid egg whites (can sub 2 eggs)
• 1 cup Jif creamy peanut butter (can sub any nut butter)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (can sub whole wheat or all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• OPTIONAL: chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl combine zero calorie sweetener, brown sugar, gluten free flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add in softened butter, egg whites, vanilla, and water. Stir until batter begins to form- be patient it takes some stirring and muscle. 

Once batter begins to form, add in the peanut butter. The peanut butter will make the batter hard to stir, so you can heat up the peanut butter for 20 seconds to soften it. 

Stir in the peanut butter into the batter until the batter becomes thick and all ingredients are combined.

Lastly, add in chocolate chips if using. 

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. 

Line a 9x9 pan with tinfoil- you don't have to line the pan but it makes clean up easier and makes it easier to lift the bars out- spray with nonstick cook spray or coconut oil. 

Spread batter in pan. Make sure to even spread the batter so the dough bakes evenly. Press a few chocolate chips onto the top of the dough if desired.

Bake at 350F degrees for 30-35 minutes. Check bars to see if bars are done by inserting a toothpick in the dough. If the toothpick comes out clean the bars are done, if not bake for an additional 3 minutes and check again.

Allow the bars to cool before lifting tinfoil from pan and cutting the bars. Store bars in an airtight container. 

Nutrition per bar (based on 16 bars):

MACROS: 12C/10F/5P

Nutrition Facts
Servings 16.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 147
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 10 g	15 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	9 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 286 mg	12 %
Potassium 11 mg	0 %
Total Carbohydrate 12 g	4 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	7 %
Sugars 8 g
Protein 5 g	10 %
Vitamin A	5 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	4 %

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Happy Sunday everyone! Maybe it's just me, but this weekend has been flying by so far. I wish it would slow down a little so I could enjoy some of it. I've spent most of the weekend working on homework- a broadcasting project, writing papers, studying for an exam, and reading. BUT the end is in sight! Only one month to graduation! WHOOP WHOOP!! 

During study breaks I've been puttering (does anyone still say this?) around the kitchen. I've really really missed developing new recipes in the last few weeks. Yeah I've done some with meal prep, but no hard core let's see what happens when I combine these two. Well I did that now and the result...PUMPKIN PIE PANCAKES. These pancakes are legit guys. They are so incredibly moist, like pumpkin pie, and literally bursting with pumpkiny (totally made that word up) goodness!! Call me basic because I enjoy pumpkiny treats, but as long as I get to enjoy a DOUBLE batch of these bad boys for only 20C/6F/26P (240 calories for 2 stacks!!!!) I am so on board!!

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

• 1/3-1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin
• 6 Tablespoon liquid egg whites (or 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons)
• 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon zero calorie sweetener

In a small bowl combine all ingredients. 

Stir until everything is well combined. Add in zero calorie sweetener if you like sweeter pancakes. 

Spray a skillet with nonstick cook spray and heat to medium.

Pour 1/8 cup of batter at a time. 

When the outside of the pancake begins to brown and air bubbles form flip the pancake. Cook each side for approximately 2-3 minutes. Cook time will depend on your stove top and how crispy you like your pancakes. 

Repeat with remaining batter. This recipe can easily be double if you're extra hungry or tripled if you want to share. Leftover pancakes freeze very well! I doubled the recipe because I was hungry, so the macros for my double stack were 20C/6F/26P. 

Nutrition per single stack:

MACROS:1OC/3F/13P 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 120
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3 g	5 %
Saturated Fat 0 g	1 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 1469 mg	61 %
Potassium 237 mg	7 %
Total Carbohydrate 10 g	3 %
Dietary Fiber 4 g	14 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 13 g	26 %
Vitamin A	185 %
Vitamin C	5 %
Calcium	4 %
Iron	6 %

Meal Prep: Oven Baked Fajitas

Happy Monday and happy November! Am I the only one who gets really screwed up by daylights savings time? Most people I know sleep right through that extra hour, but not me. I wake up at my normal time, only problem is my normal time is now an hour earlier. I forced myself to stay in bed and did doze off, but it takes awhile for me to adjust. 

This weekend was crazy busy with filming a news package, study for exams, writing papers, and trying to get reading done. Sadly there was no fun activities for me, just a scary amount of homework. I feel like a broken record saying I needed easy meal prep for the week, but this semester is seriously kicking my butt! I felt like having something with a little kick to it, but it needed to be quick and easy. What's easier than a one pan meal? Not much. It's quick to prep and healthy to eat- a winning combination! 

Oven Baked Fajitas

• 5 chicken breasts (roughly 4.8oz each)
• 1 red, 1 orange, and 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 sweet onion, sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• black pepper, to taste
• garlic, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with nonstick cook spray. 

Spread sliced bell peppers and onion out on baking sheet.

Place chicken breasts on top of the pepper and onion slices.

Sprinkle seasonings over the chicken and vegetables. I flipped the chicken breasts to get seasoning on both sides.

Bake at 400F degrees for 30 minutes. The chicken is done when the juices run clear and when you slice into it and it is not pink.

I didn't have a traditional tortilla for my fajita, instead I had the chicken and veggies with acorn squash. Use whatever you like to create your own fajita!

Nutrition per serving (based on 5 servings):
MACROS:5C/3F/42P

Nutrition Facts
Servings 5.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 215
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3 g	5 %
Saturated Fat 0 g	0 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 104 mg	35 %
Sodium 139 mg	6 %
Potassium 156 mg	4 %
Total Carbohydrate 5 g	2 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	5 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 42 g	85 %
Vitamin A	24 %
Vitamin C	88 %
Calcium	4 %
Iron	8 %