Easy 4 Ingredient Breakfast Casserole

Today was a lazy Saturday. I didn't do much of anything, including not going to the gym. Since we weren't busy, I decided to experiment with a new recipe.

I really need to help the kids get back into the habit of eating healthier. They were doing so well there for awhile, but got sidetracked. Now that I'm back on track, the kids need to be as well!

I'm going to start cooking more for them, especially at breakfast when they usually eat a bowl of cold not-so-good-for-you cereal. So this morning I decided to whip up this low-calorie breakfast casserole. It was very easy to make, filling and the whole family liked it.

It's high in protein, low in fat and carbs. Serve it along with some fresh fruit and you have a great breakfast!


4 Ingredient Breakfast Casserole
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 Whole Eggs
6 Egg Whites
1 1/3 cup shredded potatoes (I used Southwest Style Simply Potatoes)
1/2 cup 2% Shredded Cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, mexican blend, it's totally up to you)
2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links (sliced into small pieces)


You will see that pitcher of yellow stuff in a lot of my pictures. Those are egg whites, we buy in bulk.

Ready to go into the oven

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º
Microwave the shredded potatoes for about 3-4 minutes to pre-cook them.*
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork
Spray an 8″ pie pan with nonstick spray and pour mixture into it.
Bake for 35 minutes

Slice into 4 large servings or 8 smaller servings.

* The first time I made this, the potatoes didn't cook completely, so the next time I make this, I will microwave the potatoes for a few minutes before mixing with the other ingredients to make sure they are completely cook when the dish has finished baking.

Hot out of the oven

Nutritional Information:
Per serving, based on 4 servings total

Calories 246
Total Fat 6g
Sodium 461mg
Total Carbohydrate 9g
Dietary Fiber 0.5g
Sugars 0g
Protein 17g

I hope you enjoy! If you make it please let me know. And if you have a family favorite breakfast casserole that's healthy, I would love for you to share it. I'll be looking for new things to try with the kids! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Baked S'mores Oatmeal




1/2 cup dry oats (NOT the instant kind)
1 cup water
3 tbsp liquid egg whites
1 tbsp sugar-free vanilla syrup (I used Archer Farms from Target but there are many other brands)
1 packet splenda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips (if you can't find mini, you can use regular but the mini chips seem to distribute better, giving a lil chocolate with every bite)
1/2 sheet of of a low-fat graham cracker (crushed)
15 mini marshmallows

Directions:
Mix the first 7 ingredients together. Spray oven-proof bowl with cooking spray. Pour oatmeal batter into it. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then take the crushed graham cracker and mini marshmellows and layer on top of oatmeal. Broil for 1-3 minutes until marshmellows are toasted (not melted tho).

Nutritional Information:


Calories 305
Total Fat 8g
Carbohydrates 51g
Dietary Fiber 5.5g
Protein 9.1g
Sugars 17g

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies

Sweet Pumpkin Goodness!

Please Note: The can of pumpkin in the picture is a 29 oz. can. You do NOT want to use this much. Only 15 oz.). My store didn't have small cans so I used half of the large can.

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
 
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. (I use stone sheets so no greasing needed)
2. In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix and pumpkin until well blended.
3. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet (I use a cookie dough scoop).
4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
5. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Scooping out the dough

Optional:
You can add mini chocolate chips or chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter before cooking. Remember when doing this, it does change the nutritional information.

Nutritional Information:
Per Cookie
 
Calories 78
Total Fat 2.2g
Saturated Fat 0.8g
Sodium 150mg
Carbohydrates 13.7g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Protein 0.8g
Sugars 8.16g

Baked Banana Bread Oatmeal

Yummy Warm Goodness Right Out of the Oven!


1 cup water
3 tbsp liquid egg whites
1 tbsp sugar-free carmel syrup (I used Archer Farms from Target but there are many other brands)
1-2 packets splenda (depending on how sweet you want it, I use only 1 because I don't like it too sweet)
6 walnut halves, broken
1/8 tsp baking powder
cinnamon to taste ( I used about 1/8 of a tsp)

Directions:Mash banana, mix with other ingredients. Spray oven-proof bowl with cooking spray. Pour oatmeal batter into it. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


This recipe is for only 1 serving but it makes a lot! I ate about 1/2 of it this morning and will eat the other 1/2 tomorrow.

Next I'm going to experiment with "Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal" and "Baked Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal". If they turn out good, I will be posting the recipe!

Nutritional Information:
Calories 232
Total Fat 4.2g
Sodium 60.04mg
Total Carbohydrate 42.01g
Dietary Fiber 6.13g
Sugars 11.8g
Protein 9.04g

Better Kid's Snacks

OK I just wanted to share with you the changes I have made when it comes to my kid's snacks.

Where we live the kids are asked to bring in a small snack to school every day. So for the past 4 years since we have lived here, my kids have taken the pre-package snacks (cookies, chips, crackers, etc). Not very healthy at all. :(

Well since starting this lifestyle change, I have also changed what I buy for their snacks. So now instead of pre-packaged stuff they take:

• fresh fruit
• fruit & cheese kabobs
• hummus and pita
• celery with natural peanut butter
• apples with natural peanut butter
• healthy homemade muffins or bars

This is also what they eat when they get home from school instead of the pre-packaged stuff like they use to.

So little changes being made and the kids are doing ok with it so far. My daughter did ask me last night "Can we just have 1 break from this lifestyle". LOL I thought that was cute!


Here's to a healthier you,
Shelly

Getting Kids to Eat Better

One of the hardest parts of this lifestyle change is instilling the changes upon my children, who have been raised on a fast food/junk food diet.

My youngest son is very open to the changes but my daughter is a much different story. Her favorite foods are Kraft Mac n Cheese and Top Ramen. Of course two of the worse foods for you. Plus she hates veggies (cooked or raw).

She seems to complain about every meal I make, especially the dinner meals. She usually ends up eating something different than what we eat. I don't force her to eat anything but I always make her a plate and give it to her and include some of everything we are eating. For example, she usually eats meat fine but won't do veggies at all but I still put them on her plate. I have heard and I believe it was from Dr. Oz on Oprah, that you should never force a child to eat something they think they don't like, but you should always expose them to it. It takes up to 10 exposures to an unliked food for a child to take a liking to it. Well I have to agree with this theory as after several exposures to cauliflower, my daughter will now eat it. Which is pretty amazing because she wanted nothing to do with it the first time I gave it to her. So we will continue with this practice. I only put a small amount on her plate as to not be wasteful but enough to give her exposure to it.

I am also trying to make changes to the foods they do like by picking better options. This is one of the reasons why I love the book: "Eat This, Not That" Kids Edition by: David Zinczenko. They give you the best options over products my kids already like. For example, Spaghetti O's original are better than Kraft mac n cheese, Kashi frozen pizza is better than DiGiono frozen pizza, and Eggo Nutri Gran low-fat waffles are better than Nutri Grain whole wheat waffles. The book is a wealth of information. Now I know these foods aren't the "best" options for them but if I can pick the "better" of the bunch to feed them while we transition them into this new healthier lifestyle, than I am all for it.

Another change I have done is to use ground turkey in place of ground beef in things like spaghetti and sloppy joes. They don't even notice the change. I have heard there are recipes out there with "hidden" veggies in them as well and I may try some of those. We also eat as much organic, natural food as possible. All their cereal, milk, eggs, meat, etc. are all organic now.

So it's a work in progress. They didn't learn bad eating habits overnight so I know the changes won't happen overnight but hopefully by starting when they are still young, they will be able to take a healthy lifestyle into their adulthood.

I would love to hear what others are doing to get their children to eat better. Please post a comment and let us know!

Here's to a healthier you,
Shelly