Peanut Butter Protein Waffles

With the New Year, I'm trying to be healthier. How stereotypical. But I'm talking about getting serious. Since I have a more regular schedule and a less physical job, I need to get into a regular heathly groove. Ya dig? Haha.

Step one: get new running shoes, check. Step two: join a gym, check. Step three: set a tangible goal (aka run a 5k), check. Step four: track food intake, check. 

So now that I keep track of my food I get to see what I'm overdoing and lacking. After a week of tracking my food intake, I've discovered a few things. I don't eat enough protein, I don't eat enough fiber, I don't get enough calcium and I consume too much sugar. Getting fit, is more than counting calories, it's eating a complete meal.

I normally would not eat protein until the end of the day, which is bad. I told myself I was being vegetarian for most of the day, but it backfired. So now I'm on a little protein missing. Protein in every meal, lean if possible. 

Here's my first breakfast solution: peanut butter protein waffles.

1 cup all purpose flour

4 scoops of vanilla protein powder, I used EAS

1 whole egg

2 egg whites

2 cups of milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 tablespoons of peanut butter, I used crunchy 

Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together, including peanut butter. And combine two mixes. Add more milk if the batter is too thick. Coo in waffle iron until preferred doneness. 

This recipe makes 12 regular sized waffles, or 24 mini waffles. I like the minis because they're stackable like pancakes, cuter and they get that crunchy texture faster than the bigger waffles. 

I ate mine with bananas and maple syrup, Bryan ate his with jelly, like a pbj. Next time I might add more peanut butter as a topping, just for that extra oomph.

Refrigerate any left overs for the next day, or freeze for future use. Just microwave or put in toaster.

Enjoy!

Akemi-chan

Peach Almond Crumble

It's been a long Summer and all I've wanted to do is bake. I don't want to make regular food, just cookies, pies, cobblers, biscuits and all that yummy good stuff that comes out golden brown and delicious. 

Since Boyfriend and I are heading out of town to meet friends at a Michigan beach house, I had to take extra precautions to limit grocery store spending. After all, what's the point in having a fully stocked fridge when you're going to be out of town?

I bought a few peaches a few days ago, hoping that they were going to become afternoon snacks or a fresh fruity dessert to my packed lunch for work. It didn't turn out that way. The peaches were getting ripe and I had no desire to just eat then as they were. But from this not so tragic incident, come opportunity. A small peach crumble for those with not enough peaches for a square pan, and only two mouths to feed.

Peach Almond Crumble

Topping:

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup chopped almonds, raw

1 1/2 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Filling:

3 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into slices

1/8 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of nutmeg

whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, combine all of topping ingredients and smash with a fork until combined. It should have the consistency of crumbs.

In a medium bowl, combine all of filling ingredients and stir to coat peaches. In a bread pan (like the banana bread kind) pour the filling and spread evenly over the bottom of pan. Then top with the crumb/ granola-like topping. 

Bake in oven until filling juices are bubbling and topping is crisp. About 25-35 minutes. 

After baking, let rest for a few minutes and scoop into a bowl with whipped cream. 

The whipped cream helps to add a little more decadence to the peaches, but ice cream is also highly recommended. Enjoy!

-Akemi-chan

Grilled Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

A friend recently came back from a work trip to Portland. Needless to say, I was a little jealous. Portland has become a big up and coming food hub for the young and ambitious and a big advocate of the Farm-to-Table food trend. He came back with amazing stories of innovative foods from honey, balsamic, black pepper ice cream with strawberry swirl to my newest inspiration Thai PB&J.

I was shocked and elated. Thai PB&J was introduced to our friend by a local restaurant in Portland. After doing some research, I found the masterminds behind this creation. PBJ's Grilled, took inspiration from the childhood classic and pad thai, mixing natural peanut butter, sriracha, fresh basil, curry powder and orange marmalade. Immediately, my mind went to the lettuce wrap with chicken. From that point I was gone. Here's what happened in my kitchen the next day.

Grilled Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp peanut butter
juice of 1 lime
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp curry powder

2-3 cups of grilled chicken
salt and pepper
Head of Boston lettuce

1/4 cup of chopped peanuts
4 tbsp orange marmalade
6 basil leaves, chiffonade
chopped peanuts (optional)
sliced cherry tomatoes (optional)
thinly sliced jalapeno (optional)
white rice (optional)

For peanut sauce, combine ginger, garlic, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and curry powder in a small bowl. To assemble lettuce wraps, start with one leaf of lettuce and any choice of toppings.

Chicken, chopped peanuts, lettuce cups, toppings, marmalade, peanut sauce, rice (in pot)

Sauces, toppings, lettuce and rice

Build your own lettuce wraps

NOM

This new combination of orange marmalade, peanut butter, and curry powder is my newest obsession. I didn't even know how well these two things complement each other. The spicy, savory, sweet and salty all together is amazing. I'll be making the Thai inspired PBJs for years to come.

-Akemi-chan

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nutella Swirl

I love being in the kitchen. Sometimes I sit in the living room and I get up and walk into the kitchen just to be in there. Especially if it's late night and I haven't cooked anything in hours, I have to get in there to whip something up.

The other night I had a hard day at work and decided to treat myself with a drink. Luckily I had one last Angry Orchard Ginger Hard Cider (my new favorite). This turned into sitting on the couch watching Netflix and then turned into, "We need to make cookies!" This is what came out of that adventure.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nutella Swirl

1/2 cup peanut butter, I used smooth
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and regular sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredient and mix until incorporated. You may want to do this at a low speed and in increments to avoid flour shooting up out of bowl.

When all mixed, add the chocolate chips. Mix for a few seconds or until chips and evenly distributed. To make "swirl" take the nutella and dollop over the cookie dough. Gently fold with tablespoon once or twice until nutella is swirled into dough.

Taste the swirl

Dollop onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. After baking, let cool for 10 minutes to let cookies set and enjoy!

Have a cookie Peyton Manning, you look hungry

If these cookies last long enough, I'd want to make ice cream sandwiches. If  they last.

-Akemi-chan

Green Smoothie: Chia, Mango, Coconut and Kale

Yesterday (Sunday) I agreed to work a morning shift at the airport. Thanks to our handy trading system at work, I covered a coworker's shift as a thank you for covering me so I can rendezvous with my family in New York. So once again I was waking at 4AM to work a morning shift. Since I was working a double shift, I made anticipatory preparations for food. 

I love smoothies and when I plan on being up for 20 hours a day, it's a great snack/ light breakfast. In an effort to get my fruit and vegetable servings I made another protein packed green smoothie.

Snacking on smoothies in between flights

Mango Coconut Green Smoothie

1 tbsp chia seeds
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 mango, diced
1/2 banana
1 tsp grated ginger
1/3 cup almonds
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 cup kale
handful of ice
1/4 tbsp water

Add chia seeds to a small bowl and add coconut milk. Soak chia seeds for an hour or overnight in the fridge. Add all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.


It was a hard and complicated day and I'm glad I took the time to get easy meals together. When you spend a good amount of time running around and lifting bags, it's good to have a filling smoothie. That way I didn't have resort to fast food, like many of my coworkers do. I like burgers and fried chicken just as much as the next person, but it just leaves me feeling heavy and sluggish. Not ideal for a day full of physical labor.

I was at work from 5AM til noon, returned at 4:30PM and stayed until 1AM thanks to delays. Thank you Midwestern thunderstorms. I may not consider working another double for a while, but I know it won't last long. My love for traveling is too great and trading shifts to embrace said traveling is bound to happen. Totally worth it.


-Akemi-chan

Almond Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been on a coconut binge lately. I don't know if it's so much of a craving as it is a need. Coconut granola, coconut milk, pina coladas... everything has to have coconut! As I wan enviously watching Boyfriend eat an Almond Joy, I contemplated dessert inspiration.

Almonds, coconut and chocolate make such an incredible combination and there had to be other applications other than candy bars and coffee creamer.

One day I came home from work and felt the need to bake. Maybe it's because I haven't used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer since I made mashed potatoes. Maybe it was because I just wanted something fresh from the oven. I don't know what it was, but I had to make something.

Almonds Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, I used dark chocolate
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup chopped almonds

Preheat oven at 375 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets. In a large bowl or stand mixer cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar. When mixture is smooth, add beaten eggs and vanilla. Once incorporated, add flour,  baking soda and salt. Once mixture is smooth and combined, mix chocolate chips, coconut flakes and almonds.

Bake on oven for 8-12 minutes. Once baked, remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet before transferring to cooling rack. Makes 20-26 cookies.

The cookies come out light and fluffy with a little sweetness from the chocolate, a little crunch from the almonds and a little chewy from the coconut. Maybe I should get some coconut flavored ice cream and make sandwiches. Oh no, I don't like where this is going...

-Akemi-chan

Coconut Oil Coconut Granola

I love coconut. Maybe it's because I'm an "island girl," and I say that very loosely. Or maybe it's just delicious and it reminds me of warm weather. Since it's almost swimsuit season (even though I have no beach to go to), a girl's gotta get into shape and eat healthier. Coconut granola sounds like a good breakfast treat.

To triple the coconut factor, I'm using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and adding coconut flakes and coconut milk instead of regular milk. I've gone coconut crazy!

Granola and strawberries with coconut milk

Coconut Oil Coconut Granola

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup coconut flakes
1 egg white, whisked
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
1 cup chopped almonds, raw
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup warmed coconut oil

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and bake at 300 at 40-45 min. You can take it out half way through and mix the granola to break up the pieces. Then return to oven. Let cool before putting it into a container for storage.

Granola and blueberries with coconut milk

I add some fruit and coconut milk to make a delicious healthy breakfast. 1 serving is roughly 1/3 of a cup. Enjoy!

-Akemi-chan

Mango, Banana, Coconut Chia Pudding

I mentioned in a previous post that I bought some seed supplements. I was most worried about the chia seeds. Then I found out that chia seeds absorb liquid and become soft like tapioca. Time for some pudding!

There were some beautiful mangoes at the grocery store. I was still in a Hawaii kind of mood, so I jumped on the opportunity to make a light tropical treat.

Mango, Banana, Coconut Chia Pudding

1 banana
1 mango, peeled and cored
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/8 cup almonds, chopped (optional)

Delicious in 5 ingredients

In a blender add banana, mango, coconut and soy milk. Blend until smooth. Add chia seeds and blend to combine. Place in fridge for 1 hour, or until chia seeds soak up liquid. Spoon into a serving bowl or glass, top with extra shredded coconut and almonds.

Enjoying my treat outside

Surprisingly, I didn't taste much of the mango, just a hint. The texture was just like pudding with the crunch from the almonds. Next time I might toast the nuts and the coconut to intensify the flavor and up the crunch factor. This recipe makes about 4-6 servings, depends on how big your serving dish is. Also, this would be a great smoothie idea. Sweet enough for dessert but fresh enough for breakfast.

-Akemi-chan

Banana Peanut Butter Chia "Ice Cream"

For my birthday I received some Amazon gift cards from Boyfriend's family. It was very nice and generous and appropriate considering my new found love for online shopping.

Before I moved to the Midwest I never ordered anything online. The shipping pricing alone were too ridiculous to pay thanks to living on the islands. Secondly, I had weird personal feelings about indulging myself with instant gratification and how it would only end in regret. Not anymore!

It probably sounds odd, but I purchased a combination of flax seeds, psylium husks, chia seeds and coconut oil with my birthday gift cards. Yeah, who needs a pair of new pumps when you can have several ingredients for a power smoothie?

My smoothie making has been at an all time high and I couldn't wait to find new ways to use my new pantry additions. Since chia seeds have a slight nutty flavor, I thought dessert would be a good start.

I was inspired by my mom's kitchen toys called Yonanas, a machine that makes soft serve from frozen fruits. I remember her talking it up and of course I had to try it. The mixture of frozen bananas and fruit was pleasantly sweet like ice cream without being loaded with sugar and butter. Since I don't have a Yonana and have no room for it in my kitchen, we'll have to make banana soft serve in a less specific device.

Banana Peanut Butter Chia "Ice Cream"

3 bananas, sliced and frozen
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp chia seeds
slivered almonds (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The original recipe I used didn't have chia seeds, but we're playing here. Also, the bananas were so thick that my blender had a hard time mixing, so I added milk to the recipe.

What a wonderful guilt free way of having dessert! Now that I have my ice cream replacement, my blender will have to work even harder on a daily basis.

-Akemi-chan

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana and Oatmeal Smoothie

My friend and I used to go to a health food store in Honolulu that specialized in peanut butter banana smoothies. Amazing! I mean, how can this combo go wrong? Now it's my turn to take a whack at it.

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana and Oatmeal Smoothie

1 banana
1 packet banana flavored quick oats
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 cup almond milk, I used original flavor
2 tbsp Greek yogurt

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Nothing like the combination of peanut butter and bananas. What can I say? Elvis knew what he was doing when he made that iconic sandwich. The goodness of bananas, oatmeal and protein powder with the sweetness from peanut butter and chocolate.

-Akemi-chan

Green Smoothie: Kale, Apple, Peanut Butter, Yogurt & Banana

There's been a massive trend in health magazines, blogs and pinterest involving green smoothies. The concept intrigues me. Add the sweetness of fruit with the heath benefits of raw leafy greens, yogurt and supplements. The meal on the go has gone green.

As my introductory green smoothie, I decided to use my new favorite vegetable: kale. I really wish I had some flaxseed or chia seed or vanilla protein powder to add, but there will be more green smoothie opportunities in the near future.

Green Smoothie

1 cup Kale, torn into little pieces
1 medium granny smith apple, cut into 1/4' pieces
1 medium banana, sliced
1 cup Greek yogurt, plain flavor
1/2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp peanut butter, smooth
1/2 cup soy milk, I used original flavor
1/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. You may need to push the ingredients down into the blade depending on your blender and in what order you dumped the ingredients.

Easy peasy

The smoothie turned out mild in flavor and beautiful in color. It had a few hints of sweetness from the banana and honey, some tart from the apple and very filling from the peanut butter, yogurt and milk. Since raw kale has very little flavor it, I didn't notice it except for the green color. 

I can't wait to try out more green smoothies. Pineapple, spinach, peaches, blueberries... the possibilities are endless.

-Akemi-chan

Strawberries with Goat cheese and Balsamic Caramel

When Boyfriend  and I returned from Japan, the fridge was like a ghost town. He was nice enough to pick up some groceries from the store, without my supervision.

Usually I'm too much of a control freak to let Boyfriend go crazy at the store without a list or any kind of direction. He brought back a variety of meats, veggies, fruits, dairy and pantry items. But what to do?

I was blankly staring at the receipt of items when I was inspired by a spinach salad with goat cheese, strawberries, walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. It seemed like a great idea for a dessert, except for the spinach part.

Strawberries with Goat cheese and Balsamic Caramel

3-4 large strawberries, stemmed and sliced
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp slivered almonds (optional)
1 tbsp shredded coconut (optional)

In a small saute pan over medium low heat melt butter and add brown sugar. Whisk until smooth. Add balsamic vinegar and whisk until evenly incorporated. On a plate (or two individual plates) place starwberries and crumble goat cheese. After the caramel sauce has cooked for a minute or two (to desired consistency) drizzle with whisk over the strawberries and goat cheese. Add slivered almonds and shredded coconut if desired.


Initially, wanted to try something like bananas foster. I intended the strawberries to be dressed with a sauce, not a caramel. Instead serendipity graced my kitchen and I added too much sugar and the sauce turned into a caramel. It turned out chewy, sticky, just a little sweet and a little tang. How fortuitous!

Boyfriend even said I should make this into some kind of caramel chew and it would be a great snack. Sounds delicious but I won't go that far, can you imagine the mess?!

This would also be fantastic over ice cream instead of cheese. Or even with yogurt and granola. Enjoy!

-Akemi-chan

Coconut Almond Raisin Granola

I fell in love with a local store in Lincoln Square Mall called Art Mart. It sells everything from housewares, cookware, clothing, toys and of course, food. A month ago I purchased a container of their cranberry, coconut granola and a light bulb went off in my head. I spend a ridiculous amount of money on cereal every month. $5 a box for granola and $3-4 a box for boyfriends cereal. The solution: make your own granola!

These are the ingredients I used for my Coconut Almond Raisin Granola: Old fashioned oats, raisins, slivered almonds, shredded coconut, brown sugar, egg whites, vanilla, water, cinnamon and honey. Easy right?

Coconut Almond Raisin Granola 
2 cups oats
1/3 cup almonds (slivered or chopped)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Separate egg whites from yolks. You can save the yolks for a different recipe, if preferred. Add water, vanilla and cinnamon to egg whites. Mix together with fork.

Combine dry ingredients (oats, raisins, almonds, coconut, brown sugar) into a medium sized bowl. Mix to combine. Break up any clumps in the brown sugar. 

Add wet mixture to dry and mix with fork to evenly coat dry ingredients. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray and pour mixture onto sheet. Place baking sheet in oven for 15 minutes. Mix granola so there are limited clumps. Bake for another 15 minutes or until desired brownness.

Finito!

-Akemi-chan