Eggless Wholewheat Pancakes

Happy weekend, everyone!
So for today's breakfast, I decided to try taking eggs out of my pancakes, just for the sake of cutting down the cholestrol and calorie intake a little, (and maybe eat that egg seperately, just saying). The result was better than I imagined.
This is a very easy recipe, simple enough to follow without looking back at your phone/ipad/tablet to double-check its ingredients/procedures every 2 minutes. They're super fluffy and just sweet enough for them not to be too sweet nor too non-sweet, if you know what I mean.

Here it goes.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup wholewheat flour
2. 1 Tbs sugar substitute
3. 1 Tbs baking powder
4. 1 cup skimmed milk
5. 1 Tbs oil
6. 3 Tbs water
7. 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Procedures:

● Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon) in a small bowl.
● Whisk wet ingredients together, then add them to the dry ones and use a spatula to mix everything well.
● Scarcely oil (or use cooking spray on) a non-stick pan, and use a 1/4 measuring cup to unify the size of your pancakies.
● Flip your pancake when bubbles start forming on the surface.
● Yields about 5-6 small pancakes.
● Serve with fruit, yogurt, applesauce, or melted dark chocolate for a healthy breakfast, snack or dessert.

Please leave me a note if you try it.

xoxoxo

Healthy Cookie-dough Lemon Bars

Have you tried lemon desserts yet? If not, start with this healthy lemon bars recipe. It's light, tangy, non-sickeningly sweet like most lemon desserts and is such a guiltless pleasure. I know chocolate is the main go-to dessert for everyone, but it sometimes calls for non-chocolate ones. As I'm not really a cream-dessert kinda gal, I'm more inclined to fruity treats. They are generally a bit lighter than normal desserts, taking most of their sweetness and flavor from all-natural fruits. I've made a Weight Watchers lemon bars recipe before,which I didn't really like, so I decided to pursue my own.
Here is my humble attempt at healthy lemon bars, with a fiber-full crust and a rich lemony topping.
Note: I didn't sprinkle my lemon cubes in the below picture with sugar/coconut. The white surface is just the light froth from beating the lemon.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup bran
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar


Lemon Topping:

4 eggs
4 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. sugar substitute (I use Z Sweet)1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest, grated

Powdered sugar for topping, or shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
2. Prepare a small baking dish with cooking spray, or 2 overlapping parchment papers for easy removal from the dish.
3. Mix dry ingredients of the crust together. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, egg and oil until well combined. 
5. Add dry mix to wet mix and mix until everything is incorporated in the dough.
6. Press the dough into baking dish and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
7. While crust is baking, prepare lemon topping. Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add sugar, honey, lemon juice, cornstarch, baking powder and lemon zest and stir until well mixed. 
8. Pour egg mixture over baked crust. Return pan to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (do not overbake)
9. Cut into cubes while still warm. Sprinkle powdered sugar/ shredded coconut when cooled. Yields 24 cubes.
10. Serve in room temperature or cold.

Turkey Vegetable Roast

Who doesn't like a good hearty roast dinner, especially in this cold weather?
I found some interesting turkey cuts at my local poultry shop, and decided to give cooking them a try. Turkey is a rich source of protien, and also of zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus. It is also packed with vitamin B6 and niacin, which are both essential for the body energy production. Moreover, regular turkey cosumption can help lower cholestrol levels, and keep insulin levels stable. It is also rich in selenium which is essential for thyroid hormone metabolism. Finally, turkey meat boosts immunity and acts as an antioxidant.
But don't over stock on turkey just yet. Turkey meat can be high in sodium, so go easy with the salt on it. Its skin can be VERY high in fat, thus be sure to remove the skin and fat before cooking.

Source: www.bodyandsoul.com

Enough with the facts, now let's get cookin'.
This dish will blow your socks off with how easy and tasty it is. You should leave the turkey to marinade for at least 2 hours, but overnight would be perfect.

This's what you'll need:

• Around 500 g. of bone-in turkey thighs and/or breasts
• 8 broccoli florettes
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Marinade:
• 1 LF yogurt
• 1 tbs tomato concentrate
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 2 tsp mustard
• 1/4 tsp each of ground pepper, paprika, all-spice, cinnamon, turmeric, rosemary, ginger and oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• Juice of 1 small lemon
• 1 tsp honey

1. Rinse and dry turkey, then trim any excess skin. Give it a quick vinegar splash, then rinse with water.
2. In a deep bowl, mix all marinade ingredients very well, set 1/4 cup of that aside for the vegetables.
3. Using a knife, poke bone-deep "holes" in the turkey to help it absorb marinade faster
4. Put turkey in marinade and mix to coat every inch.
5. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours at least.
6. After 1 and 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 200° c.
7. When time is up, get a non-stick baking dish (or a regular one covered with parchment paper) and put the turkey in the middle.
8. Mix the remaining marinade that was left aside with broccoli and veggies. Transfer to baking dish, spreading them around your turkey.
9. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in preheated oven for 50 min.
10. Serve with wholegrain rice, bread or just alone.

Skinny Chicken Shawerma Wraps

Most people love shawerma for its tasty convenience, but it's usually super greasy and heavy, with fat almost dripping off. Yuck!
Here's my healthy version of a family favorite.

You need:
• 4 Boneless, skinless, chicken breast fillets
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 small onion, roughly-chopped
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup LF buttermilk

• 1/2 tsp coconut/olive oil

• 1 and 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp each of ground pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, all-spice, sumac and shawerma seasoning.

P.S. I found the latter in the spice section of a local department store(Fathalla), but you can try any local spice shop/section. If unavailable, replace with 1/4 tsp each of turmeric, ground cumin & cayenne pepper.

Steps:

1. Slice chicken into thin strips, then cut the strips into small bits.

2. Brush a non-stick skillet with olive/coconut oil, then heat it over medium heat.

3. When oil is hot enough, put the chicken bits in, along with pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon.

4. Stir "fry" the chicken until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

5. Add onions, stir until translucent. Add carrots and spring onion. Cook vegetables till softened.
6. Add the rest of seasoning/spices; salt, all-spice, sumac and shawerma seasoning/ spice blend, and mix well.
7. Pour the buttermilk in, cover  and leave to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. 
8. Serve hot in wholegrain flat bread (Brown Lebanese bread), with tahini/yogurt sauce and your desired salad. I served mine with beetroot tahini sauce and carrot-cucumber salad.