Buckwheat Pumpkin Bowl

Ever since I started my righteous path on healthy eating, I constantly googled different kinds of flours to use for baking. There's always whole wheat flour, wheat cake flour, gluten free flour, and so on. I saw buckwheat flour and thought "Hmm..that's interesting." I've eaten buckwheat since it is in some Korean dishes but never have I baked with it, so I researched what it was and how it can be tamed.

Buckwheat is actually a seed, and it has a very distinctive flavor and strong fragrant. It is incredibly high in magnesium, which can be directly linked to improved cardiovascular functions including improved blood & lowered blood pressure.

That being said, I brainstormed. Hours laying in bed starring at my roof thinking what to make then BINGO! I had an idea :)

Buckwheat Pumpkin Cake! Well....kinda. No ovens or fancy equipments necessary in this recipe, you'll be using your microwave and bowl! OOoOOo!!

• Buckwheat Pumpkin Cake

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling just pumpkin puree)

1/4 cup almond milk (any milk will do)

1 large egg

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Then pour batter into a microwave safe bowl.

2. Microwave for 4 minutes. It should look like a cake. Flip the bowl onto a plate.

Behold! The great pumpkin cake...thing?? (I honestly have no idea what to name this.) It has a pumpkin pie taste but cake form if that makes sense.

Top it off with some berries. I used frozen berries and microwaved them with some honey but feel free to top it off with anything you like unsweetened shredded coconut, sliced almonds, sunflower butter, the combinations are endless. This would make an awesome breakfast it's quick & keeps you full for a long time. Enjoy <3

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

I had some left over bananas that's just been sitting on my counter, if you knew me you'll know that I HATE wasting food. I had a sudden urge for pancakes so why not make banana pancakes?! I replaced all purpose flour with whole wheat to make it a bit healthier & no sugar since you can get the sweetness from the bananas.

This recipe makes about 6-7 pancakes, hopefully you'll have some friends over for breakfast :)

• Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 large riped banana
1 cup fat-free milk
3 egg whites
2 tsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

** You can add walnuts to have some crunch.

1. Mix all dry ingredients flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Mash large banana until it looks like baby food. I like to use a fork. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl (milk, vanilla, egg, oil) with mashed bananas.

3. Combine wet ingredients to dry. Mix until all dry spots disappear. Don't over mix




4. Spray non-stick cooking spray to lightly coat skillet. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Pour batter (I used a 1/4 measuring cup) When the pancake starts to bubble and the edges look a bit golden brown, flip the pancakes and repeat with the remaining batter.

Top it off with some banana slices and viola! You have fresh pancakes <3 You can always add your favorite maple syrup but I'm not a big fan of the sweet liquid, so I spread some of my favorite jam (??)

It says "butter" but it's more like a jam consistency, for 35 calories per tablespoon who can complain? mMmMm...

Have a good breakfast guys :)

My sisters funny Easter eggs that I had to use. HAHA~

Fajitas

Everybody loves Mexican food, but in reality it's not very friendly on the waist line :( I had some left over flank steaks and thought "why not make fajitas?!" Plus, the boyfriend was getting tired of my what he calls "rabbit" food.

I got some fresh veggies & herbs for my mom's salsa recipe <3 it's so simple but has tons of flavor. And instead of those carb-filling tortillas I used some big leafy lettuce cause you know I'm a rabbit~ (I don't know what's it called in english but in Korean its "Sangchu")

• Mommy's Salsa
  
  2 Big riped tomatoes
  1 Jalapeño
  1/2 Brown Onion
  1/4 cup of cilantro
  3 tablespoons of ketchup (you can use any kind, I used Heinz reduced sugar cause I'm a calorie counter)
  N/A Tabasco
  Salt & pepper to taste

• Fajitas
  
  5 Flank steaks
  4 Cloves of garlic
  2 Large red bell peppers
  1/2 Brown Onion
  1/2 Lemon
  Salt & pepper

1. Salt & pepper your steaks on each side and grill 3 mins on each side. (I like mine medium rare but you can cook them however you like it.) Set aside steaks cover with foil & let it sit for a couple of minutes (2-3mins) so the juices can start flowing in, then cut. Do not cut right away!

** The key to a good steak is do not ''squish'' or move them around, once it hits the grill leave it alone.

2. Chop your tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and jalapeño. Put together in a bowl.

3. Add ketchup & Tabasco (you can add as much as you want depending on how spicy you like it) Mix it around and BOOM! SALSA~

4. Slice bell peppers & onions into long strips, roughly chop your garlic.

5. In a non-stick pan sautee bell peppers for 2-3mins. Add onions & garlic sautee for another 3 mins or until onions has caramelized. Top it off with squeeze of lemon juice.

This is optional but Sam loves onions & cilantro so I made an extra side. Just chop 1/2 onion and cilantro.

Now you are ready to build your fajitas :)

If you're not into the whole veggie wrap style fajitas you can always get whole wheat corn tortilla.

NOM NOM NOM~! Enjoy <3

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Did you know that a muffin can have up to 400-650 calories? In ONE muffin! Absurd isn't it? If you're a health fanatic like myself then you'll enjoy my whole wheat blueberry muffins :) It's simple &* easy but taste waaaaaay better than any market made calorie overload, M.S.G nasty muffins. (Unless you like that kind of stuff....) Best part? You won't feel like sh*t eating it since it's about *drumrolls* 170 calories per muffin! MmMmMmMm!!

Start to finish: 35 mins

makes: 12 muffins

• Topping

2 tablespoons of packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

• Muffins

3/4 cup fat-free skim milk

1/4 cup cranola oil

1/4 cup of honey

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup of fresh blueberries

For the topping, mix together brown sugar & cinnamon set aside.

1. Preheat your oven to 400F. Spray your 12 regular size muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, put milk, oil, honey, and egg whisk together until well blended.

3. Stir in flours, baking powder and salt just until dry ingredients are moistened

(The batter will be lumpy. Do not over mix.)

4. GENTLY fold in the blueberries.

5. Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups. Then sprinkle your brown sugar/cinnamon topping.

6. Bake for 18-20 mins, stick a toothpick in the center &* if it comes out clean then its done.

After a long 20 mins of your life what pops out of the oven?!?! *DRUUUUMROOLLSS*

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**ignore my water print this is when I had tumblr har har~

YUMMY in my tummy healthy blueberry muffins. NOM NOM NOM!! ENJOY GUYS <3