Coco is here! And I have a big wrap-up of recipes and food to show.

First up: here are two breakfasts. Cheesy grits topped with leftover chicken (1/4 cup grits, cooked in water; cheese added at the end). There was a little bit of avocado on there too (avocado came with the chicken salad that this is leftover from).

Oat bran cooked with protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of salt. Topped with sesame seeds and maple syrup.

Have you tried Averie’s raw vegan cookie dough balls yet? Okay, mine are not balls (the first batch was), nor do they have chocolate chips. They are so simple to make.

Averie-inspired Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Yum

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• a little bit of water

Directions

Mix syrup and flour together. Add a few drops of water at a time until you get your desired consistency. I like mine a little bit too wet for balls (TWSS?).

Variations

• part wheat germ, part flour (my favorite)
• part wheat bran, part flour
• ground nuts for flour (Averie’s original recipe)
• part oatmeal or oat bran, part flour
• grind oatmeal/oat bran in the blender and sub for flour

I also made bread the other day. I just took my Easy Peasy Pizza Dough recipe and subbed in a few things for the flour. Instead of 3.5 cups of flour, I used the dregs of a cornbread mix (maybe 1/4 cup – Jiffy brand), some Heart Smart Bisquick, and whole wheat flour. It came out well. It was a little dense, but yummy with soft butter.

I have 3 more pictures of healthy yums, but I’ll save them for when I’m on the road and lacking in delicious food.

I can’t wait to pick up Sophia tonight and go to the Foodbuzz Festival.

What are you doing this weekend? You know what I’m doing.

This recipe is based off of my dad’s buttermilk pancakes recipe. (Dad, you should try these! They might be too bran-ey for you though.) I loved taking these pictures with my new camera.

Brancakes (Healthy Pancakes)

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1/2 cup wheat bran
• 1/4 cup mix: oat bran & wheat germ (I did half and half)
• dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon stevia
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• wet: 2 egg whites, 1/3 cup kefir, 1/3 cup water (more or less water as needed)
• toppings: butter, real maple syrup

Directions

1. Sift together (or just mix well) all the dry ingredients (wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, salt, stevia, baking powder, baking soda).
2. Add the egg whites, kefir, and water. Add the water gradually until the batter is thin enough. It should be about the same consistency as kefir, but obviously more bran-ey. Sometimes I have to add a lot of water, other times I don’t. Experiment.
3. Heat a pan to high heat and spray with cooking oil or butter. Scoop portions of the batter (I divided mine into 3 cakes total). Reduce heat to medium. Cook on the first side until bubbles start to come through and they stay open (about 5-6 minutes).
4. Flip the cakes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Serve topped with real maple syrup and butter.

These were fantastic. They are filling, fairly low calorie, and delicious. I like to add a fair amount of butter and syrup which is why I like my base to be lower in calories. You could use 1 whole egg instead of 2 egg whites and it would come out just as well.

Yesterday’s blogger meetup was so fun! Check out Kath’s post for the details. Kath and Jenna (who I met once before) are so down-to-earth and fun. I hope I can see them both again. I also met some readers and another local blogger that I hope to meet up with again soon. When I get my pictures uploaded I’ll post about the day more.

Bobby and I ended up skipping out on the free concert (Train, Howie Day, Dashboard Confessional, Colbie Caillat) because we started walking there – and after almost 2 hours of walking (okay, very slow walking with shopping stops) we were still almost 4 miles away. We ditched it, took BART back to the Ferry Building, picked up lunch, and met up with some of Bobby’s high school friends. The we came home, exhausted, and totally zoned out all night.

What did you do this weekend?

Right now I’m in San Francisco meeting up with some bloggies More on that later.

This is my surprise!

I got a new-to-me Nikon D40 on Craigslist! It came with a different lens than the kit lens (one for longer distances), so I need to get a close-up lens too. The guy did give me the kit lens for free, but it’s broken – if I can get it fixed I might.

In between figuring out my camera and procrastinating, I found time to scare the cats.

Bo thinks I’m being stupid.

I love the camera. I made this for breakfast yesterday (recipe to come) – “brancakes“:

Nice picture, right? Back later. Happy Sunday! P.S. There’s a free concert today in Golden Gate Park featuring Train, Colbie Caillat, and Howie Day. It’s noon-5pm; Bobby and I will be there for at least some of it.

P.P.S. Bobby is going to start doing P90X and I might try some of the exercises with him. Any thoughts? (He was going to try training for a half-marathon, but I think this is a better option.)

These are protein and fiber crepes that I made two mornings ago. I also have a recipe for egg white crepes here.

Protein Fiber Crepes

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• scant 1/3 cup wheat bran (or oat bran, or whole wheat flour)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (I used PB2 powder)
• stevia or other sweetener, to taste (I did about 2 teaspoons stevia)
• dash of salt
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup water
• toppings: kefir, real maple syrup, grapes

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients (except the toppings) together. Beat it well. You may add more or less water to get the right consistency. It should be smooth, but not watery.
2. Heat a nonstick pan over high heat. Lightly spray with cooking oil.
3. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan. Let it cook through until you can flip it. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
4. Top with your desired toppings. Maple syrup (real, of course) is my favorite.

The crepes alone (no toppings, using PB2) offer up just 160 calories, 33 grams of protein, 8.3 grams of fiber, 16.3 carbohydrates, and 3.6 grams of fat. Using real peanut butter will obviously give you more healthy fats; I’ll probably try this at some point. Once you add the kefir and maple syrup you’ll have a very well-rounded breakfast. Mine came out kind of ugly, but that’s because my non-stick pan is no longer non-stick.

I recently found a fantastic deal on Coombs Family Farms maple syrup thanks to Alisa at One Frugal Foodie. I got 4 pounds (2 jugs) of organic syrup for just $26.00 on Amazon, and free shipping. All you have to do is pick your maple syrup and use the code BASCOM35 when you check out. You get an additional 15% off if you sign up for their subscription program, which you can just cancel after you get your syrup. My order arrived 2 days after I sent it in. The deal ends on September 30, so make your order quick! I picked Grade B, which is really flavorful.

I also made a version of these crepes yesterday – they included chia seeds and Amazing Grass Supergreens. For some reason they were not crepe-like in the least; they were more like a mushy bran scramble. They tasted fine, but they were quite hideous. I’ll spare you the picture.

Okay, I have no idea why I’m awake at 5AM when I went to bed after 1AM. I’m going to make the most of it and try to be productive. Off to post at A Love of Words…

P.S. Have you submitted your healthy pasta recipes yet?

P.P.S Last chance at Katie’s giveaway!