Protein Packed Skinny Cinnamon Waffles

Sound the sirens, this protein packed waffle is going down in history (or at least my history). I love waffles so much, but the store bought mixes are often high in literally everything: refined carbohydrates, salt, sugar, calories, you name it. I use mixes sometimes (I'm a big Hungry Jack fan), but in the middle of the week when I'm craving a decadent breakfast treat, this is perfect! It's sweet, fluffy, and packed with 32 grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar!

Aside from the nutritional benefits, the best part is that it's so simple to make and only 5 ingredients:

• 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I used Pure Protein from Walmart)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (you may also use skim milk)
• 1/2 (or more) tablespoons of Cinnamon, Pumpkin Spice, or All-Spice 
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• Any other mix-ins, fruit toppings, or syrup (I used honey instead of syrup) you desire!

 

Cooking Instructions:

**This is the general recipe. but don't be afraid to make it your own by adding in some additional flavor! See my ideas after this.**

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until creamy and smooth - you may want to add more almond milk depending on the consistency. 
2. Heat your waffle iron to low or medium heat. Important: these waffles get done very quickly, so check on them frequently to ensure you get them the way you like them!
3. When your waffle is done, add your desired toppings or syrup and enjoy! Easy peasy. 

 

 

Dress it Up! 

I have so many ideas for how to customize these waffles for any craving! Need a fall-crazed pumpkin spice fix? How about peanut butter, chocolate, blueberry, or any other waffle you've ever had? Make your own gourmet waffles without the sugar, fat, calories, and all that other bad stuff! Here's some add-in/add-on ideas:

• Honey or other natural ingredient in place of sugar-loaded high-fructose syrup
• Light Buttery Spread (I use SmartBalance) instead of fatty stick butter
  
• Dark Chocolate Chips (high in antioxidants, lower in sugar and fat than Milk Chocolate chips)
• Pumpkin Pureé with Pumpkin Spice
• Blueberries or other fruit
• Peanut Butter (PB2 or a good old-fashioned tablespoon of the real deal)
• Cocoa Powder & Sweetener (for a full on chocolate waffle)
• Panko Chicken on top or side (for that mid-week Chicken & Waffles craving! That happens to everyone, right...?)

 Regardless of your choices, this waffle is revolutionary in my book and I hope it will be in yours too!

 

Nutrition Facts:

For one large waffle using the base ingredients listed above and no toppings:

• 230 Calories
• 32g Protein
• 2g Sugar
• 8 Net Carbs
• 8g Fat

Isn't that amazing? I hope you enjoy this recipe and the rest of my content! If you'd like to follow my blog, use the sidebar on the right-hand side to subscribe.

Thanks for the read and as always, I am always welcoming of suggestions, comments, and recommendations!

Instagram: @the.skinny.cafe

Skinny Chocolate Chip Waffles

Skinny Chocolate Chip Waffles - Can it be???

Yes. Yes it can.

These waffles changed my life. They may be not be an everyday thing, but they are perfect for that weekend brunch where you don't want to go overboard with calories / sugar / Smart Points, etc. One day, I couldn't stop craving waffles. Not just any waffles, but good ole buttery sugary chocolate chip waffles with maple syrup. Is there any way I can do that without committing diet suicide? I really didn't think so, but when I set my mind on something, that thing becomes my mission.  In this case, a very delicious mission.

So here's how these skinny missions go: I go to Walmart (yes, I'm a Walmart girl) with my mom's Weight Watchers app or MyFitness Pal and start scanning. I went to the pancake/waffle mixes and scanned every single brand and type until I found the lowest point / healthiest option and bought it (I ended up with Hungry Jack Buttermilk Mix). I went to the chocolate chips and did the same (I ended up with sugar free Hershey's).  The catch, however, is that the Hungry Jack waffle recipe calls for large eggs and vegetable oil. Both of those things can add quick points to a recipe, and there are definitely healthier options! So, I opted for Egg Beaters (liquid egg whites that come in a carton and can be measured to match regular eggs), and a healthy oil substitute of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I also use a sugar free pancake syrup. All of these combine to make the lowest point / calorie chocolate chips waffles possible!

Let's Compare...

One serving of my skinny chocolate chip waffles (1/3 cup of liquid mix) is 280 Calories, 7 grams of Sugar, 3 grams of Saturated Fat, 7 grams of Protein, and 9 WeightWatchers Smart Points.

A regular Hungry Jack recipe without my skinny substitutions and regular chocolate chips and syrup (1/3 cup of liquid mix) is 385 Calories, 26 grams of Sugar, 3 grams of Saturated Fat, 6.6 grams of Protein, and 15 WeightWatchers Smart Points

Sooo you can see a pretty bug difference with some simple substitutions! Here's a recap of what I used:

What it takes:

• Hungry Jack Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix
• Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Chips 
• Sugar Free Pancake Syrup
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  

  What to do:

  1. After purchasing the mix, take note of the instructions on the box for appropriate measurements.
  2.  Replace vegetable oil with extra virgin olive oil and eggs with the equivalent measurement of Egg Beaters.
  3. After mixing thoroughly, add the desired amount of Sugar Free chocolate chips (the nutrition information suggests 1 Tbs) to the mix and proceed with the directions on the box.

    

   

   And voila! There you have it. Skinny Chocolate chips waffles!! Top with Sugar Free syrup and serve with turkey bacon if you're so inclined! 

Very Berry Yogurt Bark

A Guilt Free, Healthy Dessert!

I waited WAY too long to try this. Now that I have, it's one of my number one go-to sweet treats! And its so easy to make. I can't take all the credit since this is literally all over Pinterest, however I always enjoy adding my own twist to recipes to make it my own (or skinnier!).

  This post is short and sweet, because it really is super easy! It's also extremely flexible. You have the freedom to choose whatever flavor of yogurt, whatever berries, and whatever add-ons you's like. For me, I grabbed my ingredients from what I already had in the fridge!

This is a low sugar, high protein snack or dessert! You can hardly go wrong. The key is choosing a nonfat yogurt that is already sweet but low in sugar, and choosing healthy toppings to make it your own.

Here's what I used:

• Small to Medium Sized Baking Pan 
• Parchment Paper
• Light & Fit Greek Vanilla Yogurt (approx 18 oz)
• Mixed Berries (I used Target's frozen Antioxidant Blend) 
• Splenda/Stevia/other sugar substitute (optional)

The How-To:

1. Cut or tear enough parchment paper to cover your baking pan entirely, and lay it across your pan
2. Pour the yogurt on to the pan and spread evenly. I like mine about a quarter inch thick.
3. Spread your toppings (in this case, berries!) evenly on top of the yogurt. I pressed some lighter berries in that didn't already sink.
4. Sprinkle your sugar substitute to give your your treat extra sweetness!
5. Set pan in the freezer for at least an hour.
6. When it is completely hardened, break bark into smaller pieces. (I essentially picked up the parchment paper with the slab of yogurt attached and began breaking in half multiple times).
7. Enjoy!!

Halo Top: The Ice Cream from Above

Halo Top Ice Cream

I don't even know where to begin with my rave about this amazing product! In fact, there's a reason this is the very first product review on my website. Halo Top Ice Cream is truly a gift from heaven. A guiltless, flavorful, protein packed, low calorie, low sugar gift from heaven. Its food for angels. Truly.

The obsession began on Facebook. I started seeing all of the ads, and began my own research. I found their official website, https://www.halotop.com/ , and began searching for where I can buy it. To my great disappointment, Halo Top was not stocked anywhere near Tuscaloosa or Jasper - the two Alabama cities I call home. Birmingham did have two locations, but its not very feasible to take a trip to Bham just to have your ice cream melt in a cooler on the way home (even though I considered it several times). Out of curiosity, I searched to see if it was sold anywhere near St. Louis. Since I travel there as much as possible with Tristan, I could at least make it a point to find it and try it while there. And of course, its everywhere. All the suburbs, all the cities, many of the grocery stores. Alabama, please get with the program. There's a reason we are 49th in nutrition. 

Falling in Love

So, I waited for that next trip to St. Louis. And then, I fell in love. Since this was a few months later, I checked the website again to see if anything had changed for Tuscaloosa - and it had! Now, Publix and Manna Grocery in Tuscaloosa both sell Halo Top Ice Cream, and its now a staple of my diet.

Its rich and creamy, just like regular ice cream. So far, I've tried: Oatmeal Cookie, Sea Salt Caramel, Peanut Butter Cup. Lemon Cake, and Vanilla.  All are amazing. I can't wait to try even more. The only con is that its best to let it sit outside of the freezer for a few minutes before eating because it freezes a bit more solid than traditional ice cream. Besides that, its golden. Halo golden.

 

How does it match up?

This is where I lost it. I could not believe the difference. Here we go. Let's compare my favorite, Halo Top Peanut Butter Cup, with Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup.

Do I even need to explain??

Check out these nutrition facts:

• SAME SERVING SIZE
• 80 Calories vs. 370 Calories
• 3g Fat vs. 26g Fat
• 1g Saturated Fat vs. 14g Saturated Fat
• 12g Carbs vs. 29g Carbs
• 5g Sugar vs. 25g Sugar

Not listed:
 
3 Weight Watchers SmartPoints vs. 17 SmartPoints

 

Are you sold on Halo Top yet?

Skinny French Toast

Skinny French Toast

Here's something I never thought I would see again until a cheat day came around. Delicious, fluffy, buttery and sweet french toast. Okay, so the diet alarms are going off. Bad idea, right? Well, not with the right ingredients.

Let's put things into perspective. The average calorie count for "regular" French Toast (with butter) is 357 calories for two slices. That's roughly 11 Weight Watchers SmartPoints (probably even more once you counted all the saturated fat and sugar).  This would be using most of the typical ingredients: egg, regular bread, maple syrup, sugar, cinnamon, milk... all of which adds up extremely quickly.

So, how does my french toast compare? Two slices of my Skinny French Toast is roughly 160 calories, and only 3 Weight Watchers SmartPoints!

How can this be? It's all about your choice of ingredients. Here's what I used for a two slice serving:

• Nature's Own 40 Calorie Honey Wheat Bread (2 slices)
• Egg Beaters (or generic egg whites) (1/4 cup)
• Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free Maple Syrup (2 tbs)
• Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (optional, 1/8 cup)
• Blue Bonnet Light 31% Vegetable Oil Spread (1 tbs)
• Ground Cinnamon (1 tsp)
• Splenda (or any sugar substitute) 
• Imitation Vanilla Extract (optional, 1/4 tsp)

I always use Nature's Own 40 Calorie Honey Wheat Bread for all of my bread needs. It's the lowest calorie bread I can find that is also wholesome and doesn't lack in taste or quality. Also, for those of you who are on WW, it's 1 SmartPoint per slice! Same exact thing goes for Blue Bonnet Light 31% Vegetable Oil Spread, which is 1 SmartPoint per tablespoon. The other ingredients you see above amount to technically 0 SmartPoints for not only their negligibly low calorie, fat, and sugar content, but also their high protein content.  In my opinion, all of these amazing ingredient substitutes are must-haves!

Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get down to business (a.k.a. the recipe itself).

1. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium-high heat and grease with 1 tbs of light butter.
2. In a bowl, combine the egg, almond milk, vanilla extract, and a small amount of cinnamon and whisk the ingredients together. 
3. Briefly soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture, coating both sides of each slice. This will only take a few seconds for each side.
4. Lay the soaked bread slices in the skillet and cook until your desired toastiness.
5. When done, drizzle the sugar free syrup over the toast along with your desired amounts of cinnamon and sugar substitute. 
6. Indulge!

Of course, you don't have to make the recipe as "skinny" as I did. Skim milk, other brands of light bread and butter, whole eggs, and various other substitutes can be made as well to suit your taste-buds and dietary preferences!

Thanks for reading, and I hope yours turns out well! I'm always open to suggestions, requests, or comments.  I hope you enjoyed the very first Skinny Cafe original recipe!