Dukan blueberry pancakes

This recipe is inspired by my adorable husband who made these for me yesterday. It was a surprise breakfast in bed and I could not have been happier. 

What you'll need: 

3 tbsp oat bran 

3 tbsp blueberry Greek yogurt 

1/2 cup egg whites or equivalent of 2 whole eggs 

Step 1: 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. It will appear very runny. Don't worry that's ok. 

Step 2:

Spray a medium sized pan with no stick cooking spray over medium heat. 

Step 3: 

Once your pan is heated up, pour about half of your batter into the pan. You may need to spoon some of the oat bran into the pan since it tends to sink a little. 

Step 4: 

When the edges start to brown and the whole thing appears to be getting solid, give it a flip. You can do it!

Step 5: 

The second side will cook faster so keep an eye on it. Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of your batter. 

Step 6: 

Top with a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup. These would also be yummy rolled like a crepe with a sweetened cream cheese filling! Yum! Trying that tomorrow! 

Oh did I mention The best part? This recipe is only about 150 calories including the syrup. Less than 2 grams of fat, less than 4 grams of sugar, and 15 whopping grams of protein thanks to the Greek yogurt and egg whites! You'll feel full and satisfied all morning! 

Enjoy! 

Healthy Dukan Crackers

These healthy, Dukan friendly crackers are super easy and definitely satisfy the urge for something crunchy! And as an added bonus, they are also gluten free without having to buy any expensive specialty ingredients like almond or rice flour! Oat bran is found in any grocery store usually near the oatmeal and is very inexpensive.

This recipe is for 1 serving and has 167 calories and 12 grams of protein, so you will feel full and satisfied! 

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 22-25 minutes

Here's what you will need: 

3 tbsp oat bran

1 large egg 

1 laughing cow cheese wedge, any flavor. You could also use plain fat free cream cheese. 

1/2 tsp onion powder 

1/4 tsp black pepper 

pinch salt 

egg whites, about 1/8 cup 

Step 1: Preheat toaster oven to 400 degrees. Spray a small, foil lined, jelly roll pan with cooking spray and set aside. You could use your oven if you don't have a toaster oven, but make sure you use a small pan with sides so your mixture doesn't spill over. 

Step 2: In a small bowl mix together the oat bran, egg, cream cheese, and spices until well combined. Slowly add in egg whites as needed until the consistency is thin enough to pour onto your pan. You want it thinner than pancake batter, but not too runny. More like crepe consistency. 

Step 3: Pour mixture into your pan and help it evenly spread out as much as possible. 

Step 4: Bake for about 15 minutes until it starts to get golden brown. 

Step 5: Using a knife or small pizza cutter, cut the crackers into squares. I recommend a knife because when I tried the pizza cutter it cut right through the foil. You've been warned!

Step 6: Flip crackers over, spray with a bit of cooking spray to help them get crispy, and bake for another 8 minutes or so. 

Step 7: Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes and enjoy! 

I prefer these warm and plain, but they would be good with cream cheese or salsa. You could even use them to make little appetizer bites with sliced turkey, cheese, and a pickle. Any way you like wheat thins! I want to experiment with different seasonings and see what I can come up with!  

Any suggestions are welcome! 

Sugar free chocolate shake

This week has been CRAZY hot! It's like Mother Nature skipped right over spring and went straight for summer! So to cool off I made myself my favorite blended treat. 

What you need: 

1 cup ice

1 1/2 cup low fat or fat free milk 

2 tsps cocoa powder 

2 packets Splenda 

Splash of sugar free coffee creamer (optional) 

Fat free whipped cream 

Sugar free chocolate syrup 

Step 1: In a blender combine the ice, milk, cocoa, Splenda, and creamer. I like to add a splash of creamer just for a little creaminess. Since there is virtually no fat in this, it can turn a little icy without it. Blend away until smooth. 

Step 2: Pour into glass and top with whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate. I use fat free whipped cream instead of sugar free because the fat free only has 1g of sugar versus the sugar free which has 2g fat. You do the math. 

That's it! Enjoy! Ahhhhh 

Teriyaki Chicken with Faux Fried Rice

Chicken fried rice that is absolutely guilt free, low-carb, low-sugar, and definitely hits the spot when you are craving Chinese food! Oh and it's only about 320 calories per serving. The following recipe makes enough for 3, or 2 if you eat like my husband. 

What you'll need: 
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce 
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup zero calorie sweetener 
1 tbsp Splenda brown sugar (optional)
1 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger. Grated will be less intense so depends on how much you like ginger 
3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped, again depending on your taste for garlic 
1 cup peeled and chopped carrot (about 2 medium size carrots) 
1/2 cup defrosted frozen peas
1 head cauliflower 
1 scrambled egg (optional)

Step 1: Make your sauce.

In a medium sauce pan combine the soy sauce, water, sweetener, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic. Bring to a simmer and let it reduce by about half. It'll look something like this 

Step 2: Cut your chicken into bite size pieces and trim away any fat. 

Step 3: Once your sauce is reduced, remove it from heat. Heat a large saute pan and add the chicken to the pan over high heat. Pour on half of the sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce. 

Step 4: While your chicken is cooking, about 5-6 minutes, chop up your cauliflower. I'm not going to lie, this part was a bit messy. If you have a ricer you might be better off throwing your cauliflower through that. I think that would give you a better "rice" texture overall. It works out fine by chopping too, but it tends to fly around a bit. Be warned. 

From this ...

...to this!

Step 5: When your chicken is firm to the touch remove it from the pan. Then into the SAME pan add your vegetables. You want them to soak up that yummy flavor. Add about 1/2 cup water and cover. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. This softens the carrots just enough so they still have some crunch. No one likes mushy carrots.

Step 6: Remove the lid and add the rest of your reserved sauce. Stir to combine. Allow to simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. If you wanted to add a scrambled egg, now would be the time. When you're done it'll look something like this. Looks like real fried rice, right? 

Step 7: Serve the chicken on top of the cauliflower rice and dig in! 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These were the BEST muffins I have made on my crazy Dukan journey. They are moist, chocolatey deliciousness. The most wonderful thing? They are only 91 calories each! So they are completely guilt free! I promise you won't miss the flour, sugar, or oil that are in most muffins.  

What you'll need: 
1 1/4 cup oat bran flour (I grind mine up in the blender) 
1 tsp baking powder 
3/4 tsp baking soda 
3/4 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp salt 
3 whole eggs (I only had 1 so I used that plus 1/2 cup egg white substitute) 
3/4 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt 
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar substitute (follow your package instructions for sugar equivalent, mine was equal 1:1) 
2 tbsp sugar free banana pudding mix
1 tsp vanilla extract 
3/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips (you can find them in the grocery store or buy them at amazon) 

Step 1: Gather your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. It's important to coat the tin well with spray because these muffins have almost no fat and will stick otherwise.

Step 2: Mix your oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl

Step 3: In another bowl, mix your eggs, yogurt, sugar substitute, and pudding mix. Fold into your dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in the vanilla. Add the chocolate chips and mix well. 

Step 4: Spoon evenly into a 12 cup muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray. I prefer to bake my muffins directly in the tin because the outsides get all golden brown and delicious. 

Step 5: Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center muffin comes out clean. There will be some gooey melted chocolate on it, but that is part of the plan. 

Step 6: Remove from tin and cool on a cooling rack until you just can't stand it anymore and have to taste one.

Step 7: Do the happy muffin dance! 

Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to a month. 

Warning: You WILL want a tall glass of milk with these babies. They are best served warm. 

Dukan chicken and zucchini

This recipe is filling, super yummy, requires only one pan AND is totally healthy. And the best part it's guilt free and on your plate in less than 10 minutes! 

Prep time 3 minutes. Cook time about 6 minutes. Total calories: 280

What you need: 

1 small zucchini sliced about 1/2 inch thick

1 chicken sausage sliced to match your zucchini (I get them at Costco and I think they have red pepper and spinach inside them) 

1 package shiritake noodles cooked according to package directions. You can find these near the tofu at any grocery store. 

Salt 

Pepper

2 tsps butter substitute (I like to use I can't believe it's not butter deliciously simple) 

Directions:

In a medium size pan sauté the zucchini over med high heat in some cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once it's sizzling you can add the sausage. Let that get nice and hot too. Then dump in your noodles. You don't even have to mix it yet. Top the noodles with your butter substitute. Cover and reduce the heat for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix it all up and enjoy. 

The buttery goodness mixes with the juices from the sausage and makes a very light sauce.