Mmm... Gingerbread

I don't know what it is with me and gingerbread, but I love it. And, I've been craving gingerbread cookies lately. So, what to do? Incorporate those fantastic flavors into a healthy (and sometimes old-hat) breakfast! 

I give you, Gingerbread Oatmeal! I will tweak to perfect, but this first go was pretty tasty. A little molasses-heavy, but it's full of iron, so that's OK. 

Gingerbread Oatmeal


1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk


Cook according to directions - 3-5 mins. in the microwave, then stir in: 


1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. molasses
1 tsp. dark brown sugar
and a dash of cloves, sea salt, and fresh-grated nutmeg


I cooked for 30 more seconds, and splashed on some milk to eat. Delish!! I might add some hemp seeds or toasted pecans at the end next time, and adjust the molasses (1.5 tsp maybe?) 

Gingerbread & a new kind of Veggie Pizza

Our house smells like gingerbread right now. I know, it's May, but we've been reading this book, so have gingerbread and Christmas on the brain. So, I tried Joy the Baker's recipe from her new cookbook, and it is fantastic! Unfortunately, I think that using more than half whole-wheat pastry flour, and replacing all the sugar with Xyla may have messed with the chemistry of the cake since it took more than 10 extra minutes to bake, and burned around the top and edges. The inside tasted good though, and I carved it nicely and slathered it in the vanilla-bean flecked low-fat cream cheese frosting that I just didn't mess with too much. I just ate a small slice and saved up carbs for dinner time!

I've also been experimenting with low-carb, high-fiber/veggie pizza! And, so far, I've loved it. Instead of crust, I use a veggie, so far I've tried Acorn Squash (delicious!), and eggplant (less sweet, but very tasty). This is topped with a low-sugar/carb Arabiatta sauce from Trader Joe's, turkey pepperoni, mozzarella and a little fresh parmesan. So yummy, easy, and way healthier than regular pizza!

 It looks like a lot of cheese, but it really isn't, and these zucchini rounds are pretty small. Turkey pepperoni is the best - all the flavor, and only 70% of the fat and calories!