Apple Chai Oatmeal Cups!

(picture is from original recipe - they were eaten so quickly at our house that I didn't get the chance to snap a pic!)

Fall is here!  The leaves are golden, the air is crisp, and wafts of allspice and nutmeg are in the air.  Chai tea is a wonderful and warming favourite in the fall – so why not transport that deliciousness into something edible?  I was asked by a colleague recently to post something she can use for her kids' lunches - these little nuggets of goodness are perfect. With no sugar (aside from a little maple syrup) and no flour, I was admittedly dubious... but they turned out to be delicious! 

I switched up the coconut oil for canola in the original recipe – coconut oil, contrary to popular belief, is not good for you (read here for more on this topic).  I have also added more spice for better flavour.  We loved the apple bits – don’t skimp here!   One more tip: we tried some Roger’s Porridge (blue bag) instead of the rolled oats and they turned out perfectly.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups rolled oats (or Roger's porridge blue bag)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 large apple (or 2 small) - minced
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large banana (or 1.5 small)
• 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place rolled oats, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl and combine.
3. Peel a large apple and then finely dice. Set aside.
4. Place banana in a medium size bowl and mash. Then add in eggs, maple syrup, canola oil, and almond milk. Add wet mixture into the dry mixture and fold together. Add the apple bits and mix again.
5. Fill 12 muffin liners to the top.  Place in oven at 350ºF and bake for 19-21 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin. 

Makes 12 muffins.  Per muffin: (using rolled oats)

Calories: 137

Carbs: 21g

Fat: 4.7g

Protein: 3.9g

Follow me on twitter! @drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2017

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Por-Puffed Wheat Squares

So I'm sure you're already wondering... what on earth is a PorPuffed Wheat Square?

A couple of weeks ago, I wandered into a local cafe in Calgary, and found these enormous puffed wheat squares staring me in the face:

I bought one of these mammoth creations.... and before digging into it, I decided to cut it up just to see how many appropriately (in my opinion) portion-sized squares it would make.  I thought maybe 4, 5, 6.....

Sixteen.

SIXTEEN!!

I cut it up into 16 pieces and brought them to work to share with my work family.

(And yes ok maybe I caved and bought a Rice Krispie square too.)

ONE Rice Krispie square is cut up in the bag on the left.
ONE Puffed Wheat square is in the bag cut up on the right.

So the teaching today is about portions: sadly, portion sizes have grown by 3-4x (and in this case, 16x!) compared to what portion sizes were in the marketplace 30-40 years ago.  This is a problem especially out of control in North America (travellers may notice that portions are usually smaller on other continents).

So here's my recipe for PorPuffed Wheat Squares (short for Portioned-Puffed).  There are many permutations on this out there - this one is chocolaty, delightful, and will make a square that stays fairly soft for several days, if you follow my guidance below.

Disclaimer: the ingredients are high glycemic index and not healthy (though puffed wheat squares will have a lower calorie bill than something more dense like a brownie or granola-based bar), but portioned appropriately, they are a delectable and very reasonable little treat once in a while.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 8 cups puffed wheat

DIRECTIONS: 

1.  Melt the first 4 ingredients under low-medium heat until the mixture just starts to boil.  (don't wait any longer or the squares will be too hard)

2.  Remove from heat and fold in the puffed wheat.

3.  Press into a 9x13" pan, lightly greased with margarine. 

That's it!  Super easy. 

Makes 20 squares. Per square: 

• Calories: 135
• Carbs: 21g
• Fat: 4.8g
• Protein: 1g

Follow me on twitter! @drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2017

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Blueberry Zucchini Loaf!

This May long weekend, I'm sharing a delightful loaf that I concocted in my kitchen one Sunday afternoon.... I had a hankering for a healthy muffin, and I was fresh out of muffin cups after trying out an online recipe that produced something resembling a dough pellet (epic fail!).  I had just been to Costco and had way more zucchinis than I knew what to do with.... sooo... voilà!  And it turned out great.

Ingredients:

• 1.75 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt fat free
• 4 tbsp egg white
• 2tsp vanilla
• 1.5 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 350F. 

2.  Mix first 6 ingredients (the dry ones) together in a large bowl. 

3.  Whisk together canola oil, milk, greek yogurt, egg white, and vanilla in a separate bowl until smooth.  Stir into flour mixture until batter is just moistened.  Fold zucchini and blueberries into batter. 

4.  Spray a standard loaf pan (8.5" x 4.5") with non stick spray, and pour batter in. 

5.  Bake 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Makes 12 slices.  Per slice: 

• Calories: 169
• Fat: 4.8g
• Carbs: 28g
• Protein 3.2g

Note: I think this would also be good with half the white sugar (1/4c instead of 1/2 cup) - if you try this, let me know how it tastes (post a comment at the end of this post). 

Follow me on twitter! @drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2017

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Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Tenderloin With Apples!

One word: YUM.  Ok two words: HEALTHY!  Pulled pork is a favourite for adults and kids alike... the only problem is, it is usually made with high fat cuts of pork and doused in high sugar, high calorie barbeque sauce or something similar.   Pork shoulder has a whopping 24g of fat and 317 calories per 100g serving - contrast this with pork tenderloin, which has just 3.5g of fat and 143 calories per 100g serving!

I went on a mission to come up with a delicious concoction using pork tenderloin, which is a lean cut of pork, and voilà! Success. I used this recipe as the base, and sauced it up Dr Sue style.  It was a huge hit at our house!


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kg pork tenderloin (2 tenderloins)
• 3 Gala apples, sliced into wedges
• 1 sweet onion, sliced into strips
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 2 cups 100% apple juice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp oregano
• 3 tbsp Mediterranean spice (or Italian)
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:  It really IS this easy!

1. Put everything into your slow cooker. Put the pork tenderloin in first so that it is submerged in liquid while cooking.  Set on low and cook for 8 hours.

2. Around 5-6 hours into cooking, use two forks to start pulling the pork apart parallel to the fiber of the meat.

3.  Around 7 hours, finish pulling the pork apart - at this point it should really be looking like pulled pork (tendrils of meat).


Serve over one half of a whole wheat bun, or eat on its own!

Makes 10 servings.  Per serving: (not including the bun)

Calories: 223
Fat: 3.5g
Carbs: 19.5g
Protein: 26g

Follow me on twitter! @drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2017

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