Wake-Up Waffles {A Low Calorie Breakfast!}

Waffles. Peanut butter. Bananas. How 'come I've never thought of the three put together before?

In the eternal struggle of "weight loss," I've been searching for easy breakfasts that are low in calories, taste great, and are quick and easy to prepare. I work much closer to an Aldi's now and I love that they have a "Fit and Active" line of foods that are inexpensive AND are healthier options, so I've been giving that a go. So far, everything has tasted really, really good, and these waffles were no exception. 

Introducing... Wake Up Waffles! (clever, eh?)

This whole Wake Up Waffle has only 213 calories for one and packs six grams of protein! Ready to make your own? You'll need:

• A half of a banana

• 1 tbsp of peanut butter

• 1 multigrain waffle 

You'll also want:

• A toaster oven (or toaster)

• A butter knife

Prepare your waffle as directed (I toasted mine in the toaster oven). When it's complete, smear a tablespoon of peanut butter ( I eyeball it, and probably used less than a tablespoon), and slice your bananas, setting them atop the waffle.

Easy and so tasty! The banana's stick pretty well to the peanut butter so you could possibly make this grab and go, too! Thanks for following along, enjoy!

It's Pinspired Friday! {Kale Chips}

It's Pinspired Friday!

Today, I'm going to be talking about Kale chips. It's all started when yesterday at about 3:30 pm, I was starting to get really. really. hungry. The diet is going good... 3.8 pounds (as of this morning) down since we started this on the 27th... so I didn't want to throw all of my progress out the window. I needed something to satisfy that slightly salty, crunchy craving. I took a look at other pinner's ideas and enter...

Now, stay with me here. Kale? Chips? How could basically cabbage taste anything like chips? Well, they don't taste like your sour cream and cheddar chips, no, but kale is a great source of vitamins, nutrients, and it's ultra low in calories. And when you bake the kale, something amazingly awesome happens and it takes on a potato like taste. Plus, a whole bundle of kale is cheap cheap!

"One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus." - WebMD, The Truth About Kale

 So yay kale! And now you want to try these out for yourself, right??

Here's what you'll need:
• Kale - I used about 3 or so large leaves.
• Olive oil
• Salt (I just used table salt, I imagine sea salt would be pretty tasty too)

You'll also want:
• An oven
• A baking sheet

First, start preheating your oven to 350. Remove the stem and chop up your leaves to small potato chip size. I just cut around the stem and threw it away. Now, with clean hands, drip a little olive oil into your palm (about the size of a quarter.) and rub your leaves all over. Try to coat them all, but don't go overboard with the oil, otherwise they won't crisp up right.

Lay the leaves on your baking sheet in a single layer to ensure even cooking. Then, place the pan in the oven (make sure it's fully preheated to 350!) and cook for 9-10 minutes. You will want to keep an eye on them as all ovens are different. You're watching for that perfect moment where they are crispy, but not brown and burnt. They will take on a bitter taste if they're left in too long too!

Take them out of the oven, sprinkle a little salt on them and enjoy! This ultra low calorie snack is a snap to prepare and they'll get eaten quickly! :)

Thanks for following along and have a great weekend!

It's Pinspired Friday! {3-2-1 Cupcakes in a Cup}

It's time for...

I am visiting my parents this week, and Mama LOC showed me this other alternative "few ingredient dessert", similar to my pumpkin muffins. Like the pumpkin muffins, these cupcakes in a cup have only three ingredients, and even better, a simple recipe formula - 3, 2, 1.

So why is this pinspiring? Is pinspiring even remotely a word? I put this in Pinspired Friday as I have seen very similar recipes on Pinterest, but have never given them a try. I've always wondered how they would taste, and I've always thought they would be a good alternative to a whole bunch of cupcakes that I'd just have to eat. ;) Hopefully, you'll share Mama LOC's recipe on Pinterest too so that others can try out the magical 3-2-1 cupcakes in a cup! :)

Here's what you'll need:
•  A box of angel food cake mix
• A box of funfetti cake mix (or any flavor you like...we like funfetti!)
• Water

You'll also want:
• A microwave
• A mug
• A tablespoon

And... that's it! How easy, cheap and awesome is that?

First, dump your angel food cake  mix and funfetti cake mix into a resealable bowl, and mix the flavors well. You can make a LOT of cupcakes in a cup out of these two mixes so make sure you can put your lid on tight to avoid it spoiling. Now, here's where the 3-2-1 comes in.

3 - add three tablespoons of mix to your mug.
2 - add two tablespoons of water to your mug and mix.
1 - cook for 1 minute in the microwave! (Mama LOC's microwave is older - you may find that 45 seconds will be adequate but 3-2-1 sounds so much better than 3-2-45. ;)

Here is the water and mix before you mix it up...

Cook it up (told you the microwave was old! ;)

And presto! A yummy, easy and low fat treat in less than a minute. Now, if you're like me, the angel food smell threw me off when I took it out of the microwave...but the taste is AWESOME...

And it's even better with a little cream cheese on top! :)

Thanks for following along! :) Let me know how these turned out for you! :)

I'm linking up to: