Zesty Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

A fresh and flavorful twist on classic pancakes, these fluffy zingers are best topped with blueberry preserves!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

• 2 eggs (yolks separated)

• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoons sugar

• 2 tablespoons lemon zest

• nonstick spray or coconut oil

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Then mix buttermilk, egg yolks, sugar, ricotta and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat egg whites with a mixer in a clean bowl until soft peaks form. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with buttermilk mixture and stir until combined, then gently fold in the egg whites. Put your griddle or pan on medium heat and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle and cook until light golden brown on both sides. Keep cooked pancakes in a warm oven to finish the whole batch, or serve as you go. If your meal prepping, allow pancakes to cool on racks before storing in fridge or freezing.

Makes about 12 pancakes.

Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

• 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 cup almond milk

• 1/2 cup blueberries

• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)

• 2 tablespoons chopped nuts (optional)

Add rolled oats, chia seeds, ground flax and cinnamon to a pint (or larger) mason jar. I highly recommend using the wide mouth jar for this. Then pour in the almond milk and maple syrup and stir thoroughly. Cover with lid and refrigerate overnight. You can “rush” this time to a minimum of 1 hour, but for best results I recommend 6-8 hours. Top with blueberries and chopped pecans before serving. You can substitute any berries and/or nuts of your preference. Occasionally I use sliced banana and a few spoons of peanut butter instead, the topping combinations can be anything that sounds good to you. As a meal prep, overnight oats will last 3-5 days in the fridge without toppings.

Banana Crisp Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 3/4 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 2 sticks butter (melted and cooled)

• 3 bananas (2 mashed, 1 chopped)

• 1 cup granola

• 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

• 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

• additional 3/4 cup each of granola and coconut mixed together for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and butter and stir until combined (do not over-mix). Add mashed banana, chopped banana, granola, coconut and chopped nuts and stir until combined. Spoon batter into lined muffin tin and top with additional granola and coconut (about a tablespoon of toppings per muffin). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, allow to cool 5 minutes and then remove from muffin pan and place on cooling racks.

Makes 24 muffins. Store in fridge for 2-3 days.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Ingredients:

9” pie crust

8 strips of bacon

16oz fresh spinach

9 eggs

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese of choice

Cook bacon per package instructions. After removing bacon from pan, reserve 1 tbsp of bacon grease and discard the rest (not down the drain!). Over medium heat, saute spinach in bacon grease until wilted, remove from pan. Chop bacon.

Spread spinach over pie crust, then add chopped bacon. Whisk eggs with milk, salt and pepper and pour over top of bacon. Cover in cheese and bake until center is no longer jiggly, about 20-30 minutes. Slice and serve immediately.

Cottage Cheese and Oat Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 cup pecans

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 16oz cottage cheese

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup milk

Pulse oats, baking soda, pecans and salt in a blender or food processor until oats are ground. Then add cottage cheese, cinnamon, vanilla, milk and blend until combined. Be careful not to over mix or pancakes will be flat and dense. Put large skillet or griddle on medium high heat and use coconut oil or nonstick spray. Pour out pancake mix into 5-6” cakes and cook until bubbly, then flip. Pancakes are ready when golden brown on both sides.

Makes 10-12 pancakes depending on size. For meal prep- spread out on cooling racks and store in freezer bags after they come to room temperature. Freeze for up to a month.