300+ Weight Watchers Recipes with Points

Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice

Becca Ludlum — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:04:13 +0000

This Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is quick, easy, and egg free. It’s a delicious main dish or side dish, and will crush your take-out cravings without the guilt.

Our Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is loaded with flavor and the recipe is versatile. I love this vegan fried rice recipe because it’s packed with vegetables and easy to modify by adding in a protein like tofu, egg, or even chicken if you have carnivores in the house.

Using the Instant Pot to make our Instant Pot Fried Rice means you only have one dish to clean up at the end of meal time. I love to make fried rice in the Instant Pot, and it’s the only way I will make fried rice now!

Where’s the recipe?

To better serve my community of all levels of experience here at My Crazy Good Life, I’ve made a commitment to put a ton of helpful information in all of my posts. This includes healthy eating plan information, how to meal prep, and how to easily substitute ingredients.

If you’d like to skip over the extra information, please simply scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find the printable Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice recipe.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice:

White Rice: There’s a long standing debate over whether white rice is healthy or not. While it does have some short comings, it also has some benefits.
Stir-Fry Vegetables: Usually a mixture of frozen peas, carrots, and broccoli. Some contain water chestnuts and baby corn.
Coconut Aminos: We love using coconut aminos in our Instant Pot fried rice recipe. We find it tastes less salty than using the traditional soy sauce.
Roasted Sesame Oil: Sesame oil provides a light nutty flavor to this recipe. We choose roasted or toasted sesame oil, but you are welcome to use regular sesame oil too.
Ginger: We love fresh ginger, but also understand that it can take a while to properly mince. When we are running short on time, we use the frozen ginger cubes.
Garlic: Minced garlic is a must in this recipe. We prefer using it over garlic powder in all of our Asian food recipes.
Rice Vinegar: The riced vinegar in the recipe helps balance out the slightly sweet tone of the coconut aminos – look for the one without the added flavorings and sugar.

How to make Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice:

Add the white rice and water to the Instant Pot.
Attach the lid and ensure the vent is in the “sealing” position.
Heat the Instant Pot using the Manual Pressure / Normal / High Pressure function and set the timer for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and will then begin counting down from 5. Turn off the “keep warm” button if you have one. This will help the rice release from the bottom of the pot as it cools.
Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking, release the pressure manually by switching the valve to the “venting” position. Be careful— the valve will steam and my splatter.
Turn the Instant Pot to the sauté function. Move the rice to one side of the Instant Pot. In the empty half, pour 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil. Let the sesame oil heat slightly, then add ginger and garlic. Sauté the ginger and garlic for one minute.
Add the frozen vegetables, coconut aminos. rice vinegar, and remaining sesame oil. Sauté the rice and vegetables, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes, or until the rice has started to crisp in some areas and the vegetables are hot and cooked through.
Top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve fried rice warm.

Recipe Tips:

You can also make this recipe with jasmine rice. We prefer using jasmine rice in our Instant Pot Fried Rice recipe. Although we love using jasmine rice for for this recipe, you can also use basmati rice, brown rice, or long grain white rice. Brown rice has a different cooking time than white, this posts tells you How to Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot.
Using the pressure cooker to cook your rice helps cut down on extra dishes to wash. The cooked rice in the instant pot comes out perfectly every time.
You can use fresh vegetables for this recipe, but I don’t recommend canned. They tend to get mushy. We use frozen veggies for convenience and a variety of vegetables. We prefer the stir fry frozen vegetables, but you can also go for the classic mixed frozen vegetables.
You can omit the sesame oil if you don’t have any, but I love the nutty flavor it gives.
If you like eggs in your fried rice, remove the rice after it is finished cooking and scramble as many eggs as you prefer before adding back the rice and vegetables. You may also move the fried rice to one side of the Instant Pot, scramble the egg on the empty side, then mix together when the egg has cooked.
This recipe can easily be modified to add additional protein. We love making chicken fried rice when we have any leftover chicken.
This recipe is easy to customize to your preference. I love adding bell peppers, green beans, and onions to this rice recipe.
Store leftover rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Our Instant Pot Fried Rice recipe will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Healthy Eating Plans:

Weight Watchers:

We calculated these points using the WW calculator. We use ingredients to calculate our points, not nutrition information.

Weight Watchers has told us that this is the most accurate way to calculate points for a recipe since ingredient brands can vary so much. Points were figured following the recipe exactly as written and dividing into 4 servings.

Our Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is 14 points per serving.

Ultimate Portion Fix:

White rice is not on the 21 Day Fix food list. If you swapped for brown rice, this would be a compliant recipe. The cooking time for brown rice is 20 minutes.

For the entire recipe, total counts are 8 yellow containers, 2 green containers, and 30 oil teaspoons. Per serving, 2 yellow containers, 1/2 green containers, 7 teaspoons.

Reducing the aminos and oil will reduce the teaspoons.

2B Mindset

This is a 2B Mindset lunch recipe.

Other Rice Recipes

Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice

This Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is quick, easy, vegan, and egg free. It's seriously the best fried rice, and will crush your take-out cravings without the guilt.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings

Calories 403kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Ingredients

2 c white rice dry
2 c water
2 tbsp roasted sesame oil divided
2 tsp ginger minced
2 cloves garlic
2 c stir-fry vegetables frozen
1/4 c coconut aminos
1 tsp rice vinegar

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Add the white rice and water to the Instant Pot. Attach the lid and ensure the vent is in the “sealing” position. 2 c white rice, 2 c water
Heat the Instant Pot using the Manual Pressure-Normal-High Pressure function and set the timer for 5 minutes.
Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking, release the pressure manually.
Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté function. Move the rice to one side of the Instant Pot. In the empty half, pour 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil. Let the sesame oil heat slightly, then add ginger and garlic. Sauté the ginger and garlic for one minute. 2 tbsp roasted sesame oil, 2 tsp ginger, 2 cloves garlic
Add the frozen vegetables, coconut aminos. rice vinegar, and remaining sesame oil. 2 c stir-fry vegetables , 1/4 c coconut aminos, 1 tsp rice vinegar
Sauté the mixture stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes, or until the rice has started to crisp in some areas.
Top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve fried rice warm.

Notes

You can make this recipe with brown rice. This posts tells you How to Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot.
You can use fresh vegetables for this recipe, but I don’t recommend canned. They tend to get mushy.
You can omit the sesame oil if you don’t have any, but I love the nutty flavor it gives.
If you like eggs in your fried rice, remove the rice after it is finished cooking and scramble as many eggs as you prefer before adding back the rice and vegetables.
This recipe is easy to customize to your preference, I love adding bell peppers and onions.

Weight Watchers:
Our Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is 14 2023 points per serving.

Ultimate Portion Fix:
Per serving, 2 yellow containers, 1/2 green containers, 7 teaspoons.

Nutrition

The post Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

Becca Ludlum — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:31:11 +0000

This delicious Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe with Tofu is one of our favorite weeknight meals to make. It comes together quickly, and makes delicious leftovers as well!

A few years ago we were in the habit of ordering takeout from our favorite Asian restaurant a little too often. The food was delicious, but I knew we could make delicious and healthy Asian food in our own kitchen. My husband and I made it our goal to recreate some of our favorite stir fry recipes at home.

Now that we’re creating delicious Asian recipes at home, we’re saving money, and enjoying a healthier version of our favorites. We feel good about these healthy changes, and actually prefer our own recipes at home over the restaurant recipes we used to love.

One of our favorite creations, our Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe, is so simple and yet so damn delicious. It’s made with a flavorful stir fry sauce, lo mein noodles, and a variety of crunchy vegetables. It’s the perfect Vegetable Lo Mein recipe to satisfy your cravings without all the added sodium you’d get from a restaurant.

This easy recipe will be your new family favorite. An easy weeknight meal that is flavorful, without a lot of fuss.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we love it when our readers feel successful in the kitchen. Eating healthy is so important, and we work hard to help our readers achieve all of their healthy eating goals.

In each recipe, we include detailed information, helpful tips and tricks, healthy eating plan point information, as well as nutritional information. If you are more experienced in the kitchen and ready for a more simplified version of this recipe, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe.

Ingredients in Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

Tofu: We recommend extra firm tofu for this recipe. We’ve found it makes the best crispy tofu which is exactly what we need when we make lo mein.
Brown Rice Chow Mein Noodles or Ramen Noodles: Lo mein noodles are so important in this veggie lo mein dish. We prefer using ramen noodles or chow mein noodles made out of brown rice. It’s a healthier alternative to traditional lo mein noodles.
Green Cabbage: Cabbage is a superfood that’s packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. If you’re looking for a time saver, you could purchase a bag of pre shredded cabbage from the grocery store.
Carrots: We love carrots in our vegetable lo mein dish. If you’re looking for a shortcut, you can always buy a bag of matchstick carrots from the grocery store. These are already julienned and the perfect size for a stir fry.
Broccoli Slaw: We use prepackaged broccoli slaw for this recipe. You get the flavors of broccoli without the big florets. If you aren’t able to find broccoli slaw at your grocery store, feel free to sub in other vegetables like bok choy or bell peppers.
Celery: We love the crunch of celery. It’s the perfect addition to our veggie lo mein.
Snow Peas: Snow peas are thinner than snap peas. We prefer these in our lo mein, but if you aren’t able to find these in your local grocery store, feel free to sub in snap peas. The crunch of a snap pea sounds delicious.
Garlic: Our easy vegetable lo mein recipe includes garlic. We prefer using fresh garlic over the prepackaged or dried kind.
Ginger: We love freshly grated ginger for this recipe.
Green Onions: The perfect garnish for a stir fry.

Delicious Lo Mein Sauce Ingredients

Coconut aminos: We prefer to use coconut aminos over regular soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce in this delicious lo mein sauce. We love the flavor of the aminos, and find our dishes much less salty when we use this over soy sauce.
Fish sauce: The fish sauce is an important ingredient in our vegetable lo mein sauce. You should be able to find fish sauce at your local grocery store in the Asian department, or at your local Asian market.
Zhong sauce or Sichuan chili sauce or Sambal Oelek Chili Paste: If you haven’t tried Zhong sauce, I highly recommend it! It’s delicious and helps make the perfect stir fry sauce because of the depth of flavor it provides. If you aren’t able to locate Zhong sauce at your local grocery or on Amazon, feel free to track down the Sambal Oelek chili paste.
Sesame oil: Any delicious stir fry sauce most likely includes sesame oil. We love putting it in our stir fry, and love the complex and nutty flavor it provides for our vegetable lo mein sauce. For this recipe I prefer regular sesame oil, though I do often recommend using toasted/roasted sesame oil in many recipes.
Vegetable broth: The Vegetable broth helps create the vegetable lo mein sauce. We always buy low sodium broth.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch in a sauce is used to help thicken up all the sauce ingredients.

How to Make Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

Drain the tofu and slice into small strips. Air fry or bake at 350º, turning after 5-7 minutes. In the oven, I like to put the tofu on parchment paper while it cooks. Cook until the tofu dries out a bit but not so much that it browns too much. Depending on the size of your air fryer, cook in small batches and set aside as it finishes.
Boil water for your noodles, and cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse noodles with cold water when they’re finished cooking, then set them aside.
Prepare your veggies: Shred the cabbage, peel and julienne the carrots, dice the celery, and trim the edges of the snow peas. Dice the onions and set them aside to use after your meal is finished cooking.
To make the sauce combine all sauce ingredients, including cornstarch, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
When the tofu is finished cooking, spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the garlic, ginger, cabbage, carrots, broccoli slaw, celery, and snow peas to the pan.
Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and tofu to the pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium and mix everything together carefully. Cook for 3-5 minutes and allow the noodles and tofu to heat up a little.
Add the sauce to the pan and mix well. Cover the meal and turn the heat down to low and allow the food to cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
Remove from heat and add chopped green onions to the top and serve warm.

Recipe Tips

You could use soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce for this recipe, however when we were recipe testing this recipe, we found the result to be much too salty. We recommend swapping out the soy sauce and sticking with coconut aminos.
If you aren’t able to find ramen noodles or chow mein noodles, feel free to sub in udon noodles, soba noodles, or whole wheat spaghetti noodles. These choices won’t quite be the same, but will do in a pinch. We prefer using the brown rice noodles when possible.
If you are in a bind, you could use frozen veggies.
This stir fry is versatile. We love that you can include all the veggies! Feel free to swap in any other lo mein vegetables you have at home such as bell pepper, zucchini, or asparagus.
I try to always toss my cubed tofu in cornstarch before cooking it. It’s not necessary, but it really helps the tofu not stick together.

Healthy Eating Plan Points

21 Day Fix

This 21 Day Fix Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe is packed full of fresh vegetables. It has a lot of teaspoons, though – I’d reduce the coconut aminos and sesame oil where I could and make sure to drink extra water to flush out the sodium from all of the teaspoon ingredients.

Entire recipe: 1 1/2 red containers, 3 yellow containers, 7 1/2 green containers, 36 teaspoons

Per serving: 1/4 red container, 1/2 yellow container, 1 1/4 green containers, 6 teaspoons

Weight Watchers

10 2023 Plan Points – reducing the coconut aminos and sesame oil in this recipe will help you reduce those points.

Looking for more healthy Asian dinner cuisine recipes?

Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

This easy vegetable lo mein recipe will be your new family favorite. An easy weeknight meal that is flavorful, without a lot of fuss.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 495kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Toaster, Oven, or Air Fryer
Kitchen Knife
Cutting Board

Ingredients

Lo Mein Ingredients

14 oz extra firm tofu drained and lightly air fried with no seasoning or sauce
12 oz brown rice chow mein noodles or brown rice ramen
1.5 cups shredded green cabbage
2 carrots large, julienne cut
1 cup broccoli slaw
2 celery stalks diced
1 cup snow peas ends cut off
2 tsp fresh garlic minced
1 tsp fresh ginger minced
1 bunch green onions diced

Sauce Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut aminos
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp Zhong sauce or sichuan chili sauce or sambal oelek chili paste
3 tbsp light sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

Drain the tofu and slice into small strips/cubes. Air fry or bake at 350º, turning after 5-7 minutes. Cook until the tofu dries out a bit but not so much that it browns. 14 oz extra firm tofu
Boil water for your noodles, and cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse noodles with cold water when they're finished cooking, then set them aside. 12 oz brown rice chow mein noodles
Shred the cabbage, peel and julienne the carrots, dice the celery, and trim the edges of the snow peas. Dice the onions and set them aside to use after your meal is finished cooking.
Combine all sauce ingredients into a medium bowl, including cornstarch, and whisk to combine. Set aside. 1/2 cup coconut aminos 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp Zhong sauce 3 tbsp light sesame oil 1/2 cup vegetable broth 1 tbsp cornstarch
When the tofu is finished cooking, spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the garlic, ginger, cabbage, carrots, broccoli slaw, celery, and snow peas to the pan. 2 tsp fresh garlic 1 tsp fresh ginger 1.5 cups shredded green cabbage 2 carrots 1 cup broccoli slaw 2 celery stalks 1 cup snow peas
Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and tofu to the pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium and mix everything together carefully. Cook for 3-5 minutes and allow the noodles and tofu to heat up a little.
Add the sauce to the pan and mix well. Cover the meal and turn the heat down to low and allow the food to cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
Remove from heat and add chopped green onions to the top and serve. 1 bunch green onions

Notes

21 Day Fix

Entire recipe: 1 1/2 red containers, 3 yellow containers, 7 1/2 green containers, 36 teaspoons

Per serving: 1/4 red container, 1/2 yellow container, 1 1/4 green containers, 6 teaspoons

Weight Watchers

10 2023 Plan Points

Nutrition

The post Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Becca Ludlum — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 16:32:23 +0000

This Instant Pot Lemon Chicken is an easy dish bursting with fresh flavors from a delicious lemon garlic sauce. Juicy lemon garlic chicken thighs are paired together with nutrient rich vegetables for a healthy and easy dinner that your whole family will enjoy.

Lemon juice and garlic are a flavor combo that just works. When you pressure cook the two together you will create the most delicious sauce to top your golden brown chicken thighs and vegetables with.

If you are looking for a healthy one pot dinner recipe, look no further than this Instant Pot lemon chicken. Everything cooks in one pan for an easy, healthy dinner that you can have on the table in no time.

I love using my trusty pressure cooker to make a quick and easy dish on busy weeknights. Not only is this lemon chicken great for school nights, it’s also a great recipe for meal prep!

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we have visitors of all different comfort levels in the kitchen. Whether you’re new to pressure cooking, or just new to cooking in general, we want you to be able to recreate our recipes with ease.

To help our readers have a successful experience cooking, we provide a lot of information in our articles. Below you will find an informative list of ingredients, detailed cooking instructions, recipe tips, as well as healthy eating plan calculations for a couple popular programs.

If you’re comfortable in the kitchen, and with pressure cooking, and would like to skip past all of that, please go ahead and scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find our easy to print recipe card for this Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Thighs recipe.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Garlic cloves: For this lemon garlic chicken recipe we use a spice rub that gives the chicken thighs so much flavor. This recipe calls for minced garlic as opposed to garlic powder. Fresh garlic helps to season chicken thighs and the lemon sauce for an absolutely delicious flavor. Garlic powder can be used but you won’t get as much of a fresh garlic taste.
Paprika: Paprika is rich in antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals. It adds a sweet and peppery taste to the chicken thigh rub. Feel free to use sweet or smoked paprika. Smoked will give you an additional layer of flavor.
Oregano: Dried oregano is used in Italian seasoning and adds a delicious earthy flavor to the chicken thighs.
Marjoram: Dried marjoram is another Italian seasoning that is a great addition to this Instant Pot lemon chicken recipe.
Salt: We use just a little salt to help bring out the flavors in this Instant Pot lemon chicken recipe.
Pepper: Black pepper adds a subtle layer of heat to our chicken thighs rub.
Chicken thighs: I love using chicken thighs when I cook in the Instant Pot. If you think you’re not a fan of dark meat, I urge you to try this recipe using boneless skinless chicken thighs. Skinless chicken breasts can become dry and rubbery as the chicken cooks. One of the things I love most about cooking chicken thighs is, even if they are slightly over-cooked, you have moist, tender chicken when the cooking time is complete.
Lemon juice: Our Instant Pot lemon chicken uses fresh lemon juice from about 3 lemons to create a delicious lemon garlic sauce. Not only does lemon juice add bright and fresh flavors, lemon juice is also high in Vitamin C, which may give your immune system a boost!
Chicken broth: I use chicken broth or chicken stock for this Instant Pot chicken thighs recipe.
Potatoes: Use mini or baby potatoes for this Instant pot lemon chicken thighs recipe.
Baby bella mushrooms: You can’t go wrong with mushrooms. They’re fat-free, low-sodium, low-calorie, and cholesterol-free. They’re also packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Asparagus: Asparagus is a tasty vegetable that’s also a great source of vitamins and minerals, especially folate and vitamins A, C and K.
Cornstarch: We add this at the end of our cooking time to create a cornstarch slurry, which helps to thicken the delicious lemon garlic sauce.

How to Make Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Prep the Pot Start by spraying the bottom of the inner pot to your Instant Pot with a nonstick cooking spray, and then press sauté. You can also use a small amount of olive oil or avocado oil to lightly coat the bottom of your inner pot.
Make the Rub In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic, paprika, oregano, marjoram, salt, and black pepper. Then rub the mixture into the tops of your chicken thighs.
Sear the Chicken Take care not to crowd your chicken together, you may need to repeat this process several times so that the chicken thighs can sear properly. Starting with the seasoned side down, place chicken thighs into your pot. Sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Set the seared and golden brown chicken thighs aside and, when you are done searing all of the thighs, add lemon juice and chicken broth to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add the Potatoes Next, place the baby potatoes in the bottom of the pot, and then set the seared chicken thighs directly on top of the potatoes. Close and lock the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook (high) and set the cooking time for 5 minutes. When the cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure and carefully remove the lid.
Add the Mushrooms & Asparagus Now it’s time to add the mushrooms and asparagus directly on top of the chicken thighs. Close and lock the Instant Pot lid and again turn the steam release valve to sealing. Pressure cook (high) and set the cooking time for 1 minute.
Make the Cornstarch Slurry When the cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove chicken, vegetables, and potatoes to a large platter. On your Instant Pot, select Sauté and add the corn starch to the pot. Whisk together with the chicken broth to make your cornstarch slurry. Once the lemon sauce has thickened you can remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot base.
Serve Place the lemon garlic chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into individual bowls or plates, and spoon sauce on top of each serving. Serve immediately or see below for tips on storing for meal prep.

Recipe Tips

This Instant Pot Lemon Chicken is a delicious and healthy recipe for meal prep. To prep, divide equal portions of lemon chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into meal prep containers. You can serve the gravy on the side, or spoon it over the top of each serving before storing.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken and vegetables keeps in the fridge for up to 6 days, or it can be frozen for up to 2 months. To reheat, microwave each thawed serving for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
This recipe uses a quick release to release the pressure from the Instant Pot. If you’d like to learn more about quick release vs. natural release you can read this post.

Healthy Eating Plans

This Instant Pot chicken recipe serves 6.

21 Day Fix Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Entire recipe: 6 red containers, 6 yellow containers, 6 green containers

Per serving: 1 red container, 1 yellow container, 1 green container

Weight Watchers Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

8 2023 Plan Points | 8 Blue Plan Points | 8 Green Plan Points | 5 Purple Plan Points

Looking for more Instant Pot recipes?

Instant Pot Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes This Instant Pot Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes is an easy and delicious meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights.
How to Cook White Rice in the Instant Pot If you’re new to pressure cooking you will love cooking white rice in the Instant Pot! This post will teach you how to cook rice in the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Burrito Bowls with Frozen Chicken This is an easy Instant Pot meal prep recipe that uses frozen chicken breast, plus dried beans and rice for a true one pot meal that the whole family will eat.
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken Drumsticks These Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Cilantro Lime Seasoning are so delicious. The marinade can be used with any type of chicken: chicken thighs, chicken breasts or chicken legs.
Chicken Gyro Bowls with Homemade Tzatziki These healthy Chicken Breast Gyro Bowls with Homemade Tzatziki sauce are perfect for meal prep because I can prepare the main ingredients and then just assemble them for a quick recipe tonight.

Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword instant pot lemon chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 6

Total Time 21

Servings people

Calories 401kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Instant Pot 6 qt
Cutting Board
Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless
3 lemons juice from
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 lb mini potatoes any variety
1 lb baby bella mushrooms halved
1 lb asparagus halved and woody ends removed
2 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

Start by spraying the bottom of the inner pot to your Instant Pot with a nonstick cooking spray, and then press sauté. You can also use a small amount of olive oil or avocado oil to lightly coat the bottom of your inner pot.
In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic, paprika, oregano, marjoram, salt, and black pepper. Then rub the mixture into the tops of your chicken thighs. 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 tsp paprika 2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp marjoram 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper
Take care not to crowd your chicken together, you may need to repeat this process several times so that the chicken thighs can sear properly.
Starting with the seasoned side down, place chicken thighs into your pot. Sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Set the seared and golden brown chicken thighs aside and, when you are done searing all of the thighs, add lemon juice and chicken broth to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. 3 lb chicken thighs 3 lemons 1/4 cup chicken broth
Next, place the baby potatoes in the bottom of the pot, and then set the seared chicken thighs directly on top of the potatoes. Close and lock the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook (high) and set the cooking time for 5 minutes. When the cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure and carefully remove the lid. 1 1/2 lb mini potatoes
Now it's time to add the mushrooms and asparagus directly on top of the chicken thighs. Close and lock the Instant Pot lid and again turn the steam release valve to sealing. Pressure cook (high) and set the cooking time for 1 minute. 1 lb baby bella mushrooms 1 lb asparagus
When the cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove chicken, vegetables, and potatoes to a large platter. On your Instant Pot, select Sauté and add the corn starch to the pot. Whisk together with the chicken broth to make your cornstarch slurry. Once the lemon sauce has thickened you can remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot base. 2 tbsp cornstarch
Place the lemon garlic chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into individual bowls or plates, and spoon sauce on top of each serving. Serve immediately or see below for tips on storing for meal prep.

Notes

Recipe Tips

This Instant Pot Lemon Chicken is a delicious and healthy recipe for meal prep. To prep, divide equal portions of lemon chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into meal prep containers. You can serve the gravy on the side, or spoon it over the top of each serving before storing.
Instant Pot Lemon Chicken and vegetables keeps in the fridge for up to 6 days, or it can be frozen for up to 2 months. To reheat, microwave each thawed serving for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
This recipe uses a quick release to release the pressure from the Instant Pot. If you’d like to learn more about quick release vs. natural release you can read this post.

Healthy Eating Plans

This Instant Pot chicken recipe serves 6

21 Day Fix Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

Entire recipe: 6 red containers, 6 yellow containers, 6 green containers

Per serving: 1 red container, 1 yellow container, 1 green container

Weight Watchers Instant Pot Lemon Chicken

8 2023 Plan Points | 8 Blue Plan Points | 8 Green Plan Points | 5 Purple Plan Points

Nutrition

The post Instant Pot Lemon Chicken appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Weight Watchers Protein Balls

Becca Ludlum — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 22:08:24 +0000

If you’re looking for a filling a satisfying Weight Watchers snack idea to beat cravings, these WW protein balls are the perfect solution. Everyone can snack on these chewy, chocolatey, delicious granola bites.

Making Weight Watchers protein balls checks a couple of boxes on my meal prep and planning list. I can whip these up as a healthy snack for my family of busy people, a midday no bake energy balls Weight Watchers snack for me, or a quick breakfast on the go.

These are family friendly no bake protein bites for Weight Watchers. They’re protein bites but they eat like a little cookie, they are just the perfect amount of sweet and chewy. The whole family enjoys these. I usually prep a batch on a Sunday night and then I have some for everyone to enjoy all week long.

This recipe is full of healthy ingredients and is so easy to customize–You can incorporate your family’s favorite add-ins like flax seed, chia seeds, raisins, cranberries–just make sure to re-calculate the points for your snack.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we write our recipes with all readers in mind. We know that our readers have a variety of skill levels in the kitchen, and we are mindful in how we can support all of you.

In each recipe post, you’ll find detailed instructions, helpful tips and tricks, healthy eating plan points, and nutrition information. If you are ready for a simplified recipe, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Weight Watchers Protein Balls recipe.

Ingredients in Weight Watchers Protein Balls:

Making these no bake cookies is easier than you think! You’ll need just a few wholesome ingredients that I’ll list below. You can find the exact amounts of each in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Oatmeal: The combination of oats and chocolate chips just taste good. It’s the perfect combination for our no baking protein balls. We like using old fashioned rolled quick oatmeal for this recipe. Steel cut oats would be a bit too dense for this recipe. Just a reminder, you DO NOT cook the oats ahead of time.
Mini chocolate chips: The chocolate chips give a little boost of chocolate without having to make any major WW point decisions.
Coconut flakes: Unsweetened is what you need.
Peanut butter: We love making this healthy no bake snack with peanut butter. However, you are more than welcome to use a peanut butter replacement instead.
Honey: This ingredient helps the balls stay together. It also adds just a little bit of sweetness.
Vanilla

Here are some things that you can consider adding to your recipe to make these delicious Weight Watchers “cookies” even more flavorful, and packed with nutrition!

Protein Powder: Some people love adding powdered peanut butter protein to treats. We haven’t tried the powdered peanut butter protein flavor before, but I bet it’d be delicious!
Other chips: Dark chocolate chips would be delicious in this recipe.
Almond Butter or other nut butter:
Extra Coconut:
Chia Seeds: Such a powerhouse for all things nutritious. Adding these to your protein balls just make sense. I like to add chia seeds because they are high in fiber.
Flax Seeds: Flax Seeds help improve digestive health. If you don’t have actual seeds on hand, ground flaxseed would also be perfect for this recipe.

How to make Weight Watchers Protein Balls:

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, chocolate chips, and coconut.
Add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Mix well until evenly combined. I prefer using a stand mixer with this recipe because it seems to make the balls easier to roll out and stick together.
Chill mixture in the refrigerator for an hour, then roll out balls about an inch in diameter. Be sure to add your extra peanut butter and/or honey in small amounts. I usually just set aside a 1/2 cup total so I know I have more liquid ingredients if needed to make the batter more or less sticky.
Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Recipe Tips:

We really should call these energy bites, or no bake energy balls. These peanut butter protein bites give me just the perfect amount of an energy boost to get through a long day of work and working out. My son totally refers to this recipe as his favorite peanut butter energy balls. I like to leave out the little fact that they are indeed Weight Watchers energy balls, and healthy for him!
Depending on your peanut butter, the mixture might be a little dry or a little moist. Just add a little more peanut butter, honey, or oats to the mix–depending on what you need. I’ve found that thinner peanut butter like the Kirkland Organic Creamy that we buy from Costco works best because it’s so thin.
If you are using a nut butter of your choice you might want to make sure it is room temperature. If the nut butter is too stiff, it will be tough to mix.
I think that using mini chocolate chips helps these granola bites stick together better than using the regular chocolate chips–especially if you’re going to make 40 balls out of one batch. If you are using the larger chips you can always give them a quick run in the food processor to make them into smaller chunks.
Swap out your add-ins, but don’t forget to re-calculate your Weight Watchers points for any changes you make to these energy bites. Old fashioned oats work best but you can use the quick oats if that is what you have on hand.
If you can’t make balls and are over trying to make it work, take a peek at this post to see how we form and cut our granola bars–you can easily make bars instead. Honestly the protein ball recipes can be made into any shape and you will still have the same benefits without spending 30 minutes fighting with the batter. Sometimes it just doesn’t come together properly so matter how much you try. This really is a great recipe and the perfect snack, regardless of the shape it ends up.

What are the Weight Watchers Points for this recipe?

With the ingredients as listed in the card below (without any extra peanut butter or honey to make the batter stiffer / stickier) this recipe makes 40 balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. Each one is 3 Blue Plan Points | 3 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points.

The points for the new 2022/2023 points plan is 5

It’s a nice little sweet treat that I can feel good about. There are wholesome ingredients, the points are low enough that I don’t have to make a “sacrifice” to enjoy these protein bites, and fat is coming from a healthy source that I know is balance with protein.

Weight Watchers Desserts:

You can enjoy dessert recipes without going crazy trying to save up points and use your weeklies. I like when I can work dessert recipes into my meal plan without having to try too hard and after you try these…you will too!

Delicious Weight Watcher recipes

Weight Watchers Protein Balls with Peanut Butter

These Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Protein Bites are a healthy Weight Watchers snack idea! We love making these no bake cookies to replace cookie cravings.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword oatmeal, protein balls, protein bites, Weight Watchers

Prep Time 10

Chill & Roll 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings Pieces

Calories 64kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Mixing Bowls
Parchment Paper
Baking Sheet

Ingredients

2 cups oats quick oats
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2/3 cup coconut flakes unsweetened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, chocolate chips, and coconut. 2 cups oats, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, 2/3 cup coconut flakes
Add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Mix well until evenly combined. I prefer to use my stand mixer or a hand mixer for this–stirring by hand never seems to incorporate all of the ingredients well enough for me. 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chill mixture in the refrigerator for an hour, then roll out balls about an inch in diameter. Keeping the mixture in the fridge before rolling helps them to roll easier.
Store in an airtight container–I prefer the these in the refrigerator!

Video

Notes

Sometimes I use a bit more peanut butter and honey to help the balls stick together. I add about 1/4 cup peanut butter and 1/8 cup honey to what’s listed above. You could also form the balls into bars instead – I explain how to do this easily in my Healthy Granola Bar post.
With the ingredients as listed (without any extra peanut butter or honey to make the batter stiffer / stickier) this recipe makes 40 balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. Each one is 3 Blue Plan Points | 3 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points. assuming you make 40 small balls per batch. 2022/2023 Points: 5

Nutrition

The post Weight Watchers Protein Balls appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Wings (Boneless)

Becca Ludlum — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 19:32:40 +0000

Making these Weight Watchers buffalo chicken wings at home is much healthier and less expensive than eating out. You can make these boneless hot wings easily to satisfy your cravings!

While I love making these for parties – they make a great appetizer – I also like making them for snacks throughout the week. When I meal prep, I like to have some high protein options like hard boiled eggs and these Boneless Buffalo Chicken Wings on hand.

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, we write recipes so that anyone can make them – whether you’re brand new to the kitchen or have been cooking for years.

In this article you’ll find ingredient information, detailed cooking instructions, recipe tips, and WW point info. If you’d like to get right to the boneless wing recipe, scroll down to the printable recipe at the bottom of this article that includes ingredients and amounts, basic cooking instructions, nutrition information, and links to what you’ll need to make this recipe.

Ingredients in these Buffalo Chicken Wings:

Chicken Breasts: Boneless skinless chicken breast works great for this recipe. If you prefer dark meat, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you use the thighs, you’ll want to recalculate your WW points.
Franks Hot Sauce: Be sure and grab the original recipe hot sauce. The buffalo wing sauce has a significant amount of extra ingredients that don’t work well with a clean eating lifestyle. Frank’s Hot Sauce is salt, peppers, and vinegar. This is all you need. You won’t miss the extra stuff in the buffalo sauce, I promise!
Cayenne Pepper I use dried cayenne pepper. This is how you’ll adjust the heat spice in your recipe. Skip it if you’d like mild flavor, use half the amount if you’d like medium flavor.
Butter: Unsalted butter, if you have it. If the recipe needs salt when it’s cooked, you can add some to each serving.
Salt & Pepper: to taste

Instant Pot Instructions:

Prep your chicken: Slice your chicken into bite-sized strips.
Set up your pot: Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode and add the butter to the pot.
Add your ingredients: Once the butter has melted, place chicken in the pot, then add cayenne pepper (optional), salt, and pepper to taste. Coat each piece of chicken so it’s seasoned evenly. Add ½ cup hot sauce and stir the chicken so that it’s coated. Adding the hot sauce will count as your liquid that you need to pressure cook.
Pressure cook: Close and lock the lid to your Instant Pot and turn the steam valve to sealing. Using the manual or pressure cook setting, cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
Release the pressure: Once the cook time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. You can remove chicken from the pot and drizzle the remaining hot sauce on top and eat now, or skip ahead to the next step to add some more texture to your wings.
Add the rest of the hot sauce: Using tongs, remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Brush the chicken with the additional ¼ cup of hot sauce.
Broil: Place the baking sheet into the oven and broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. This will help to thicken the sauce. Let the chicken cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Tips

I like to use partially frozen chicken breast meat because it’s easier to cut.
If using completely frozen chicken, place the frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, along with ½ cup of water, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 16 minutes, then cube and continue with the recipe.
If using fully thawed chicken, reduce your cook time to 7 minutes.
If you’re short on time you can skip broiling and just toss the chicken with the remaining wings sauce, but I highly recommend broiling.
These boneless buffalo wings go great with a side of celery sticks, carrot sticks, and blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese dressing, or goat cheese.
Need some ranch dressing? You can make a simple ranch dip using a container of plain Greek yogurt and homemade ranch seasoning: 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp parsley and 1/2 tsp dill. (Need a visual? Here’s my Ranch Dressing Mix)
Leftover chicken can be store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 2 months.

WW Points info for these Buffalo Chicken Wings:

1 Serving Weight Watchers Boneless Wings (Serving size is 1/4 of the recipe) counts as:

3 Blue Plan Points
6 Green Plan Points
3 Purple Plan Points
2023 Points: 3

Looking for more WW Buffalo chicken recipes?

Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Dip This Buffalo Chicken Dip is made with blended cottage cheese and Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese, and shredded chicken. This recipe will satisfy your cravings while keeping you on track with daily points.
Weight Watchers Buffalo Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Using protein packed cottage cheese and Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream, this is a delicious and satisfying recipe!
WW Recipe for Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups Craving buffalo but not quite in the mood for wings? This recipe for Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups is so good and easy to make. If you’d feeling a little lazy, you don’t even have to roll it up – the ingredients can go right on top and make the chicken breast delicious!
Weight Watchers Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Not chicken – I get it. But if you’re in need of some veggies, you’re going to LOVE this Buffalo Cauliflower recipe!

Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Wings (Boneless)

These spicy, buttery, Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings are the perfect healthy Weight Watchers recipe. They cook right in the Instant Pot, so they’re fast and cleanup is easy.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Wings

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 11

Total Time 26

Servings

Calories 317kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Instant Pot 6 qt
Kitchen Knife
Baking Sheet

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter unsalted
2 lbs chicken breasts partially defrosted, cut into strips (I've also used frozen chicken breasts, please see tips in the recipe post)
1 tsp cayenne pepper optional, see recipe notes
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup hot sauce Frank’s original, NOT Buffalo
1/4 cup hot sauce Frank’s Original, separated, for coating

Instructions

Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode and add the butter. 2 tbsp butter
Once the butter has melted, add in the chicken, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the chicken so that each piece is seasoned. Add ½ cup hot sauce and stir the chicken so that it’s coated. 2 lbs chicken breasts, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup hot sauce
Close and lock the lid to your Instant Pot and turn the steam valve to sealing. Using the manual or pressure cook setting, cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
Once the cook time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. You can remove chicken and drizzle remaining hot sauce on top and eat now, or skip ahead to the next step.
Using tongs, remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
Brush the chicken with the additional ¼ cup of hot sauce. 1/4 cup hot sauce
Place the baking sheet and broil the chicken for 3 minutes on each side. This will help to thicken the sauce. Let the chicken cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Recipe Tips

If using completely frozen chicken, place the frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, along with ½ cup of water, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 16 minutes, then cube and continue with the recipe.
If using fully thawed chicken, reduce your cook time to 7 minutes.
If you’re short on time you can skip broiling and just toss the chicken with the remaining wings sauce, but I highly recommend broiling.
These boneless buffalo wings go great with a side of celery sticks, carrot sticks, and blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese dressing, or goat cheese.
Need some ranch dressing? You can make a simple ranch dip using a container of plain Greek yogurt and homemade ranch seasoning: 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp parsley and 1/2 tsp dill. (Need a visual? Here’s my Ranch Dressing Mix)
Leftover chicken can be store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 2 months.I like to use partially frozen chicken breast meat because it’s easier to cut.

Nutrition

The post Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Wings (Boneless) appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Simple Guacamole Recipe

Becca Ludlum — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 20:37:08 +0000

My simple guacamole recipe is a healthy snack or appetizer that’s made with fresh ingredients like avocado, cilantro, onion, and tomato.

I love making guacamole to go with tortilla chips or to use on top of tacos, enchiladas or burrito bowls.

Guacamole is a good source of vitamins C, E, and K, as well as fiber and healthy fats. Homemade guacamole is a delicious recipe that’s gluten and dairy free.

My signature simple guacamole recipe is heavy on cilantro, and includes only 5 ingredients. It’s an easy recipe to customize to your taste preferences, and I know you will love all the flavors of this homemade guacamole recipe!

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we have readers of all comfort levels in the kitchen. To better serve everyone who visits our site, we make our recipes simple and easy to follow.

If you would like to skip past the ingredient information, detailed instructions, recipe tips, and healthy eating plan calculations, you can scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find our printable recipe card for this Simple Guacamole Recipe.

Ingredients in Simple Guacamole Recipe

Avocados: Avocados are very nutritious. They’re great sources of folate, potassium, and healthy fats, as well as vitamins K, C, and E. They also contain small amounts of B vitamins and minerals, such as copper, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron, and zinc. You will want to be sure to use ripe avocados to make good guacamole. If the avocado yields to firm gentle pressure, you’ll know it’s ripe and ready to eat.
Cilantro: Fresh cilantro has a fragrant, refreshing and citrusy taste and aroma, though not everyone agrees. Some people may have a specific genetic trait where cilantro tastes like soap. I am not one of those people and I feel strongly that cilantro is essential in authentic guacamole recipes.
Onion: I use white diced onion when I make guacamole, but you can also use red onions or even onion powder if you’re in a pinch, though not suggested.
Tomato: I use roma tomatoes for this guacamole recipe. If you don’t like chopped tomato in your homemade guacamole, you can omit the roma tomato.
Salt: I use just a pinch of salt when I make guacamole. I know everyone’s tastes are different so I suggest adding a little salt, then tasting the guacamole until you get the perfect guacamole flavor.
Optional: Some other ideas to add to your homemade guacamole are fresh lime juice, jalapeno pepper or serrano pepper (if you like spicy guacamole), fresh garlic, or even grilled corn.

How to Make the Best Guacamole Recipe

Start by chopping the vegetables. Bigger is better in my opinion.
Then, in a medium bowl, gently mash the avocado with a fork or potato masher, but don’t smash too much. The best guacamole is chunky guacamole!
Mix the chopped onion, chopped cilantro, and chopped tomatoes together with the salt. This is called pico, and is an excellent topping for tacos, pulled pork, and enchiladas!
Finally, mash the avocados together with the chopped vegetables. Taste test your guacamole and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve immediately and enjoy the fresh flavor of this homemade guacamole recipe!

Recipe Tips

Guacamole is really best when it’s served fresh. If you must store leftover guacamole, it might help to add lime juice or lemon juice to keep your guac from turning brown. Simply squeeze the extra lime juice or lemon juice on top of the guacamole, and then cover with plastic wrap (laying plastic wrap directly on top of the guac, and pressing out any air bubbles.) Store guacamole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one to three days.
This is a basic guacamole recipe that is so easy to adjust to your preferences. You can omit or add to this simple guacamole recipe and it will still be delicious!

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Simple Guacamole Recipe

The entire guacamole recipe is 8 Blue Containers and 1 Green Container.

Per serving, this simple guacamole is 1.25 Blue Containers and less than 1/4 of a Green Container.

Weight Watchers Simple Guacamole Recipe

5 2023 Plan Points

Looking for recipes to go with this simple guacamole recipe?

Simple Guacamole Recipe

This easy guacamole recipe is so delicious and the perfect dip for tortilla chips!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Easy Guacamole

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings people

Calories 211kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Cutting Board
Kitchen Knife
Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

2-3 ripe avocados
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 onion
1 tomato
pinch of salt

Instructions

Chop the veggies. Bigger is better in my opinion. 1 bunch cilantro 1/2 onion 1 tomato
Smash the avocado with a fork, but don't smash too much. The best guacamole is chunky guacamole! 2-3 ripe avocados
Mix your veggies together and add a pinch of salt. This is called pico, and is an excellent topping for tacos, pulled pork, and enchiladas! pinch of salt
Mix in your avocados, then dip and enjoy.

Notes

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Easy Guacamole Recipe

The entire easy guacamole recipe is 8 Blue Containers and 1 Green Container.

Per serving, this easy guacamole recipe is 1.25 Blue Containers and less than 1/4 of a Green Container.

Weight Watchers Easy Guacamole Recipe

Per serving: 5 2023 Plan Points

Nutrition

The post Simple Guacamole Recipe appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

Becca Ludlum — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 16:07:42 +0000

This Vegan Whole Wheat Pancake recipe is my family’s favorite Saturday morning breakfast. This vegan pancake recipe is full of plant-based, healthy ingredients, and makes the most delicious breakfast.

I love making homemade pancakes on the weekend, and these vegan pancakes without eggs are my absolute favorite pancake recipe!

When I first started eliminating meat products from my diet, I had a hard time finding a breakfast recipe without eggs. I love pancakes, but they aren’t vegan. Through trial and error we came up with this eggless pancake recipe and now it’s the only one we’ll make.

If you are looking for a healthier vegan pancake recipe you have got to try this recipe!

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we have readers of all comfort levels in the kitchen. To better serve everyone who visits this page, we’re dedicated to providing a lot of information about the ingredients, detailed cooking instructions, recipe tips, as well as healthy eating plan calculations.

If you’re confident in the kitchen and want to skip past all of that, please simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find our easy to print eggless pancakes recipe.

Ingredients in this Eggless Pancakes Recipe

Chia seeds: Chia seeds and water are how we create an egg substitute for our eggless pancake batter. Learn more about egg substitutes here.
Plant based milk: I use unsweetened almond milk but you can also use oat milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. Just find the unsweetened and unflavored options.
Apple cider vinegar: We use apple cider vinegar to make a vegan butter milk alternative. You can also use white vinegar or lemon juice.
Whole wheat flour: I like to use whole wheat flour whenever I can. Whole wheat flour and white flour are pretty different. Whole wheat flour is made by grinding entire wheat kernels into a powder, whereas white flour removes the most nutrient-rich parts: the bran and germ. Whole wheat flour is a good source of protein, fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals.
Baking powder: Baking powder is what helps to make fluffy pancakes with a slightly less dense texture.
Baking soda: We use baking soda in this recipe to neutralize the acid.
Salt: In all baked goods, the correct amount of salt is essential for a final flavor that’s not too bland, not too salty, but just right.
Ground cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds a traditional flavor, and it’s a natural antioxidant.
Vegan butter: Melted butter is what we need. I use Earth Balance butter.
Maple syrup: Maple syrup is a natural sweetener. It’s our favorite liquid sweetener when needing to add a hint of sweet to our recipes because it contains a small amount of minerals, such as manganese and zinc. Bonus: It’s also vegan!
Vanilla extract: Be sure and grab the pure vanilla extract, not the imitation.

How to Make Eggless Pancakes

Add chia seeds to water and set aside to form a gel.
Add vinegar to the almond milk and set aside to allow it to curdle. The two combined will form a substitute for buttermilk.
In a medium bowl add the whole wheat flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix to create your dry ingredients.
Stir the chia seeds. This gives them a more uniform consistency and allows them to soften. If they’re hard to stir they might need more water – it’s ok to add more.
Melt your butter and into a small mixing bowl add the melted vegan butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
Add the almond milk/vinegar mixture as well as chia seeds to the other wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients together well and try to get as many clumps as you can from the chia seeds.
Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients just until mixed, and then set the pancake batter aside.
These cook differently from regular pancakes – I’ve added details instructions here for you to follow. Once you know how these cook the first time, they’ll be easier to make – I promise!
Turn the griddle onto medium heat to medium-high heat (just to the high side of medium) and spray with a neutral flavored oil cooking spray (olive oil or avocado oil work well). Allow the griddle to completely heat before adding pancake batter.
Pour your pancake batter to add 3-4 pancakes to the hot griddle – about half the amount of pancakes you’d add for a traditional recipe. Because of the absence of eggs, this eggless pancake batter spreads a bit wider and takes longer to firm up than typical batters, so you’ll want to give it some room and time to cook. Avoid the sides of the griddle where the pan won’t heat as hot. The first batch of these is a bit finicky, but it gets better with the second batch.
Allow these pancakes to cook for 8-9 minutes before you flip them for the first time. Maybe check the bottoms at 4-5 minutes to ensure your stovetop cooks like mine does. You’ll want the outsides of them to begin to turn golden brown before you flip them. Test the pancake before flipping by slowly sliding the spatula underneath the pancake to see if it’s solid underneath.
Once the pancakes are firm enough to flip, go ahead and do so. Cook for 3-4 minutes and use a butter knife to test that the pancakes are cooked through the center.
Remove the pancakes from the griddle and plate them, then move onto your next batch. The next rounds will cook a bit faster, but still take longer than traditional pancakes.
Serve your vegan pancakes warm and top with maple syrup. See recipe tips below for more delicious pancakes toppings!

Recipe Tips

I’ll be the first to admit that cooking vegan pancakes without eggs isn’t the easiest thing to do at first, but you’ll find yourself coming back to this egg-free recipe every weekend like we do because it’s delicious and, after they’re cooked, has the consistency of traditional whole wheat pancakes.
I double and freeze this recipe with great success. The leftover vegan pancakes are perfect for busy mornings!
There are a variety of delicious and nutritious toppings that you can add to your vegan whole wheat pancakes. Here are a few ideas:
- Fresh fruit, such as berries (hello blueberry pancakes!), sliced banana, or sliced apples
- Maple syrup or agave nectar
- Nuts and seeds, such as walnuts, almonds, or extra chia seeds
- Nut butter, such as peanut butter or almond butter. Not only do they taste delicious, but the Mayo Clinic reports that nuts help improve cholesterol levels. A serving of nut butter is a great source of valuable nutrients.
- Yogurt, such as coconut yogurt or soy yogurt
- Chocolate chips, dried fruit, or spices

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

Entire recipe: 4 Yellow Containers, 2.65 Orange Container, 6 Sweetener Teaspoons, 7 Teaspoons

Per serving: Just under 0.75 Yellow Container, 0.5 Orange Container, 1 Sweetener Teaspoon, 1 Teaspoon

Weight Watchers Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

5 Points on the 2023 Plan

Looking for more vegan breakfast recipes?

Shredded Sweet Potato Hash Browns This delicious shredded sweet potato hash browns recipe has just a few simple ingredients and is great for vegan breakfast but it also makes an excellent side dish for brunch or even dinner!
Homemade Healthy Bagels This golden brown Homemade Bagel recipe is made with whole wheat flour and tastes absolutely delicious!
Vegan Breakfast Hash Browns Vegan Breakfast Hash Browns with Veggies is a great way to start your day! This easy gluten free recipe has crispy potatoes and a rainbow of veggies.
Baked Banana Oatmeal This Baked Banana Oatmeal recipe is a real treat–it can easily be eaten for breakfast or dessert! Mashed bananas, whole grain oats, chia seeds, almond milk, and spices make this a hearty and fulfilling gluten free dish.

Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

This Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes recipe is my family's favorite Saturday morning breakfast. This vegan pancake recipe is full of plant-based, healthy ingredients, and makes the most delicious pancakes.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword vegan whole wheat pancakes

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 13

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 175kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Mixing Bowls
Measuring Cups
Enameled Cast Iron Pan

Ingredients

1/3 cup chia seeds
1 cup water
1 cup plant based milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter melted (I prefer unsalted)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Add chia seeds to water and set aside to form a gel. 1/3 cup chia seeds 1 cup water
Add vinegar to milk and set aside to allow it to curdle, will form a substitute for buttermilk. 1 cup plant based milk 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
To a bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Stir chia seeds. This gives them a more uniform consistency and allows them to soften.
To a small bowl add melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add almond milk/vinegar mixture as well as chia seeds. Stir the wet ingredients together well and try to get as many clumps as you can from the chia seeds.
Mix wet and dry ingredients just until mixed, set aside.
Turn the griddle onto medium-high heat (just to the high side of medium) and spray with an olive oil cooking spray. Allow the griddle to completely heat before adding pancake batter.
Add 3-4 pancakes to the griddle – about half the amount of pancakes you'd add for a traditional recipe. Because of the absence of eggs, this batter spreads a bit wider and takes longer to firm up than typical batters, so you'll want to give it some room and time to cook. Avoid the sides of the griddle where the pan won't heat as hot. The first batch of these is a bit finicky, but it gets better with the second batch.
Allow these pancakes to cook for 8-9 minutes before you flip them for the first time. You'll want the outsides of them to begin to brown before you flip them. Test the pancake before flipping by slowly sliding the spatula underneath the pancake to see if it's solid underneath.
Once the pancakes are firm enough to flip, go ahead and do so. Cook for 3-4 minutes and use a butter knife to test that the pancakes are cooked through the center.
Remove the pancakes from the griddle and plate them, then move onto your next batch. The next rounds will cook a bit faster, but still take a bit longer than traditional pancakes.
I'll be the first to admit that cooking pancakes without eggs isn't the easiest thing to do at first, but you'll find yourself coming back to this egg-free recipe every weekend like we do because it's delicious and after they're cooked, has the consistency of traditional whole wheat pancakes.

Notes

Recipe Tips

I’ll be the first to admit that cooking vegan pancakes without eggs isn’t the easiest thing to do at first, but you’ll find yourself coming back to this egg-free recipe every weekend like we do because it’s delicious and after they’re cooked, has the consistency of traditional whole wheat pancakes.
I double and freeze this recipe with great success. The leftover vegan pancakes are perfect for busy mornings!

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

Entire recipe: 4 Yellow Containers, 2.65 Orange Container, 6 Sweetener Teaspoons, 7 Teaspoons

Per serving: Just under 0.75 Yellow Container, 0.5 Orange Container, 1 Sweetener Teaspoon, 1 Teaspoon

Weight Watchers Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

Per serving: 5 2023 Plan Points

Nutrition

The post Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Becca Ludlum — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 18:06:42 +0000

When the temperatures start to cool outside, my brain automatically switches gears and craves classic comfort foods like soups, lasagna, or casseroles. This Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe is the perfect healthier choice when satisfying comfort food cravings.

Traditional lasagna is filled with delicious cheesy goodness of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Balanced out with the rich flavors of marinara sauce and noodles, it’s a fan favorite. I find that when I eat traditional lasagna, it sometimes feels too heavy. Our lasagna recipe fits in perfect for those times when you’re craving lasagna, but also wanting something a little lighter.

Here at My Crazy Good Life, I’m always trying to make healthy changes to classic dishes. With our Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe, we promise you will love it just as much as traditional lasagna. It’s still filled with the delicious cheesy goodness through cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and mozzarella.

Our secret weapon to a healthier version is spaghetti squash. If you haven’t had a chance to cook with spaghetti squash yet, trust me. Spaghetti squash has a spaghetti noodle like consistency with a slightly sweet flavor. It pairs perfectly in this vegetarian spaghetti squash lasagna recipe with the cheese mixture and marinara sauce.

And, I mean – have you ever eaten lasagna out of an actual spaghetti squash? That’s just one less dish to wash. I call that a win.

Where’s the Recipe?

At My Crazy Good Life, we write our recipes to help all of our readers be empowered and successful in the kitchen. We realize that all of our readers have a variety of levels of confidence when cooking.

Each recipe post is full of detailed ingredient information and recipe instructions, tips and tricks, healthy eating plan points, and nutritional information. If you’re comfortable in the kitchen, you might want to skip the detailed instructions and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe.

Ingredients in Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Spaghetti Squash: This is the real MVP of the dish. It’s the noodle replacement of the the classic lasagna dish, and we guarantee you won’t miss the noodles in this recipe. When cutting the spaghetti squash in half, you’ll want to be sure to cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise. This will give you bigger squash boats to work with. Need more help with this vegetable? Read this article for how to cook, cut, and eat a spaghetti squash.
Cauliflower: I love adding cauliflower to recipes because it takes on the flavors of the ingredients served with it. The cauliflower also helps the sauce and cheese fillings bulk up a bit.
Cottage cheese: We prefer using the 2% fat cottage cheese when making our spaghetti squash lasagna.
Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt offers a lot of extra protein to this recipe. We prefer to use the 2% fat Greek yogurt.
Garlic: Is it even considered a lasagna if it doesn’t have the delicious flavors of fresh garlic included? I prefer fresh minced garlic for this recipe.
Basil: If you have fresh basil on hand, that’d be perfect, however you can also use dried basil for this recipe.
Oregano: Dried oregano is a classic spice of all things comfort. Often times oregano is found in Italian seasoning, however we opted to use oregano alone for our spaghetti squash lasagna boats.
Parsley: If you have fresh parsley on hand, great. If not, dried parsley will work perfectly for this. We love recipes that don’t require 3-4 fresh herbs every time you make a recipe.
Pasta sauce: Look for a spaghetti sauce with no added sugar. You’ll only need a little bit for this recipe, but did you know that you can freeze extra pasta sauce in ice cube trays? It’s perfect to have on hand when you only need a little bit of sauce.
Spinach: Baby leaf spinach is the size you are looking for in our spaghetti squash lasagna recipe. If you only have regular sized spinach, that will work too.
Mozzarella: Shredded mozzarella cheese, melted and slightly browned on top of the spaghetti squash. Does it get any better than that?

How to Make Spaghetti Squash Lasagna in Instant Pot

Place the trivet inside the inner pot and add 2 cups of water.
Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Place the spaghetti squash halves flat on the trivet. It’s ok if they’re not completely flat – lean them up against the sides if you have to.
Add the cauliflower on top of the spaghetti squash. Close and lock the lid, then turn the steam release handle to Sealing.
Press Pressure Cook (high) and cook for 7 minutes.
While the spaghetti squash is cooking, combine the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley in a food processor or blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium bowl.
When the squash is done cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally and then remove the squash and cauliflower from the pot.
Move the cauliflower to the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture and use a fork to mash and combine it with the other ingredients. Place your spaghetti squash on a baking sheet.
Preheat the broiler in your oven on high so you can brown the lasagna boats.
Using a fork, hollow out the spaghetti squash strands from the cooked spaghetti squash. Do not discard the spaghetti squash shells.
Add the spaghetti squash strands to the bowl with the cauliflower and cottage cheese mixture, then stir until well combined.
Spoon one half of the squash mixture into each of the squash shells, then top each with 1 tablespoon of the pasta sauce, a layer of the spinach, and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella.
Place the boats on the baking sheet or baking dish and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Don’t walk away from the oven while you have food broiling, as it cooks super quick and you can easily burn it.
Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

If the spaghetti squash boats (halves) don’t sit flat in the Instant Pot, you may slightly angle them against the sides of the pot.
A natural release in an Instant Pot simply means to let the sealing valve remain as is and allow the pressure to naturally release. This usually takes about 10 minutes. If your pressure isn’t released by then, you can manually release it.
The cook time for the squash can differ slightly, depending on the size and age of the squash, so adjust as needed. (A large spaghetti squash will take longer to cook in the Instant Pot). If the squash doesn’t easily scrape out of the shells, place the shells back in the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 3 more minutes with another natural release.)
Our recipe is for a vegetarian lasagna. If you prefer your spaghetti squash boats with meat, simply cook and add ground turkey or ground beef to the cheese mixture. Please note that all healthy eating plan points will need to be recalculated, and we haven’t tested this version of the recipe.
If you like a little kick in your lasagna, feel free to add some red pepper flakes.
Are you meal prepping? Store this recipe in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 6 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Reheating: Microwave each thawed serving for 1½ to 2 minutes.

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers

Our Spaghetti Squash Lasagna is 2 2023 Plan Points | 2 Blue Plan Points | 2 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points per serving. I used fat free cottage cheese, part skim mozzarella, and Newman’s Own Organic pasta sauce for these points.

21 Day Fix

1/3 red container, 3 green containers, 1/2 blue container per serving.

2B Mindset

This recipe is a perfect lunch or dinner recipe.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

This Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe is lighter than traditional lasagna. Greek yogurt gives this meal prep recipe a creamy texture and extra protein.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Lasagna, spaghetti squash

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 7

Natural Release 10

Total Time 27

Servings people

Calories 269kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

1 Instant Pot 6 qt
1 Instant Pot Trivet
1 Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 spaghetti squash small
1 ½ cups cauliflower chopped
¼ cup cottage cheese 2%
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt 2%
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried parsley
¼ cup pasta sauce no sugar added
½ cup baby leaf spinach
¼ cup mozzarella shredded

Instructions

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Add water below trivet in Instant Pot. Place spaghetti squash halves flat on the trivet. 2 cups water, 1 spaghetti squash
Add the cauliflower on top of the spaghetti squash. 1 ½ cups cauliflower
Select Pressure Cook (high) and set the cook time for 7 minutes.
While the spaghetti squash is cooking, combine the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley in a food processor or blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth and creamy. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium bowl. ¼ cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 ½ tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried parsley
When the cook time for the squash is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally.
Transfer the cauliflower to the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture and use a fork to mash and combine it with the other ingredients.
Preheat your oven broiler on high.
Using a fork, hollow out each spaghetti squash strands from the cooked spaghetti squash. Do not discard the spaghetti squash shells.
Add the spaghetti squash strands to the bowl with the cauliflower and cottage cheese mixture, then stir until well combined.
Spoon one half of the mixture into each of the squash shells, then top each with 1 tablespoon of the pasta sauce, a layer of the spinach, and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. ¼ cup pasta sauce, ½ cup baby leaf spinach, ¼ cup mozzarella
Place the boats on a baking sheet or baking dish and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers

Our Spaghetti Squash Lasagna is 2 2023 Plan Points | 2 Blue Plan Points | 2 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points per serving. I used fat free cottage cheese, part skim mozzarella, and Newman’s Own Organic pasta sauce for these points.

21 Day Fix

1/3 red container, 3 green containers, 1/2 blue container per serving.

Nutrition

The post Spaghetti Squash Lasagna appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Becca Ludlum — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 17:37:04 +0000

We love having healthy snacks in the house, and these healthy Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars are a staple in our home. These chewy granola bars are what we grab for when we need a quick snack before dinner or as we are running out the door without breakfast.

This is my years-old, family favorite base granola bar recipe that you can customize for your family. Plus, they’re no bake! When the boys were young, they were also called Mom’s Really Good Granola Bars.

These homemade granola bars are better than store bought granola bars for several reasons. The most important reason for me is that there are no preservatives to keep them shelf stable, but I also love that I am able to customize them perfectly for my favorite flavors. Store bought bars have nothing on these.

With their perfect chewy texture, these are satisfying to eat and help to kick sugar cravings to the curb. I love that they’re naturally sweetened with honey and so easy to make.

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, we write recipes that anyone can make – whether you’re brand new to the kitchen or have been cooking for years.

If you’re needing ingredient information, detailed instructions, recipe tips, and calculations for healthy eating plans like Weight Watchers and the 21 Day Fix, you’ll find that information below.

Just need the recipe? You’ll want to scroll down to the bottom of the post to the printable recipe for the ingredient amounts and basic recipe instructions for these Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars.

Ingredients in Healthy Homemade Granola Bars:

This is the base granola bar mixture.

Oats I usually use regular oats or rolled oats. I’d stay away from steel cut oats because the texture isn’t as easy to eat and they’ll need different peanut butter and honey ratios. If you’re gluten-free, you’ll want to find gluten-free oats that have not been grown in wheat fields.
Natural Peanut Butter Crunchy peanut butter or creamy peanut butter, whatever your preference is. I buy peanut butter that only has peanuts and salt as an ingredient – I try to stay away from palm oil. Other nut butter options (sunflower seed butter, almond butter) should work just as well.
Honey Typically I’d say that you could swap this with pure maple syrup, but the consistency of syrup isn’t what you need for this recipe. I’d stick with honey.

Optional ingredients:

Adding these, or other optional ingredients, might mean that you need to use additional peanut butter or honey in your recipe.

2-4 tablespoons of:

Flax seed
Chia seeds
MCT powder
7 grain cereal
Collagen powder

One quarter cup of:

protein powder
unsweetened shredded coconut
chopped nuts: I prefer almonds, walnuts, or cashews
dried fruits like dried cranberries, raisins, or goji berries (I prefer to chop them so the texture isn’t thrown off, and the bars stick together better)
chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, dairy free chocolate chips. If you’re looking for a chocolatey taste without the sugar, use chocolate protein powder or some cacao powder.

For the recipe that we make regularly, I use chia seeds, vanilla protein powder, shredded coconut, dried low sugar cranberries and raisins (or goji berries), and dairy free mini chocolate chips.

How to make these Healthy Homemade Peanut Butter Bars:

Chop the nuts and dried fruit, if you’re using them.
Add peanut butter, honey, oats, and any optional ingredients into a bowl and mix them well. This is SO much easier with a stand mixer.
Grab a 9×9 baking sheet and line it with some parchment paper. If you don’t have a 9×9 pan, any pan will do–just keep an eye on how thick your bars are.
Pour the peanut butter mixture onto the parchment paper. This will help you handle the granola bars to shape them.
Cover the mixture up with another piece of parchment paper, and begin rolling the bars flat. You can use a can of soda or beans if you don’t have a rolling pin that will fit inside the pan.
After your oat mixture is nice and flat, throw the top piece of parchment away and use the bottom one to lift out your granola bars onto a cooling rack.
Push the granola into a nice firm square on all sides, then let it sit and harden for at least an hour.
Cut your granola bars. I use a pizza cutter.

How to store these Peanut Butter Granola Bars:

I store my granola bars in a ziplock container in the fridge. I typically make at least a double batch and have had no problem storing them in the fridge for a month, but they typically don’t last that long.

These granola bars can also be frozen. I freeze them when I travel with them or when I want to prep.

Recipe Tips for making healthy homemade granola bars:

This recipe is really flexible. Don’t stress about perfect measurements.
Depending on the brand of peanut butter you’re using, you might wan to add more or leave a little out. Typically, natural peanut butter (with only peanuts and salt) is thinner than peanut butter that contains palm oil. Start by following the recipe directions and if you’re struggling to keep the bars together, add more peanut butter (or honey).

Do these Granola Bars have protein?

Each bar made with just the base recipe has 6 grams of protein before adding any optional ingredients. Adding in protein powder or collagen can increase the amount of protein per bar.

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Granola Bars

To make this recipe as compatible as possible with weight loss plans, I’d stick with the healthy additions and opt out of the ones with sugar. This is a calorie-dense recipe, and I wouldn’t rely on it as a daily snack if you’re trying to lose weight.

With all of the teaspoons for honey and peanut butter, it doesn’t work to count these in Portion Fix containers. These are a yellow container treat swap, which means that three times a week you could eat these (or another treat) and swap it for a regular yellow container.

You can read more about both yellow and purple container treat swaps right here.

Weight Watchers Granola Bars:

For 16 servings, each serving counts as 9 Blue Plan Points | 9 Green Plan Points | 7 Purple Plan Points

If you’re on the 2023 Point Plan, count each serving as 9 points. If you’d like to reduce the points, divide this recipe into more servings. 32 servings will make each bar 5 points.

More No Bake Snacks:

Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars

These Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars are a chewy, easy to make, delicious no bake snack recipe! Base recipe is just 3 simple ingredients.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Granola Bar, healthy

Prep Time 20

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 127kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Pizza Cutter
Parchment Paper
Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter crunchy or creamy
1 cup honey
3 cups oats

Now you have your basic granola bars. Add what you like from the list below to customize them! More options can be found in the recipe post.

2-4 tbsps flax seed
1-2 scoops protein powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
1/4 cup chopped nuts almonds/walnuts/cashews
1/4 cup dried cranberries raisins, chocolate chips – anything yummy :)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Chop the nuts and dried fruit, if you're using them.
Add peanut butter, honey, oats, and any optional ingredients into a bowl and mix them well. 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup honey 3 cups oats
Grab a 9×9 baking sheet and line it with some parchment paper. If you don't have a 9×9 pan, any pan will do–just keep an eye on how thick your bars are.
Pour the peanut butter mixture onto the parchment paper. This will help you handle the granola bars to shape them.
Cover the mixture up with another piece of parchment paper, and begin rolling the bars flat. You can use a can of soda or beans if you don't have a rolling pin that will fit inside the pan.
After your oat mixture is nice and flat, throw the top piece of parchment away and use the bottom one to lift out your granola bars onto a cooling rack.
Push the granola into a nice firm square on all sides, then let it sit in the fridge and harden for an hour or so if you have the time. They'll be a little easier to cut, but the rest time is optional.
Cut your granola bars. I use a pizza cutter.

Notes

21 Day Fix Granola Bars

You can read more about both yellow and purple container treat swaps right here.

Weight Watchers Granola Bars:

For 16 servings, each serving counts as 9 Blue Plan Points | 9 Green Plan Points | 7 Purple Plan Points

If you’re on the 2023 Point Plan, count each serving as 9 points. If you’d like to reduce the points, divide this recipe into more servings. 32 servings will make each bar 5 points.

Nutrition

The post Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Bars appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe

Becca Ludlum — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 16:11:56 +0000

These vegan black bean brownies are a delicious and indulgent treat. They contain no added flour or processed sugar! This is the best protein brownies recipe that the whole family will enjoy.

It doesn’t matter if I’m looking for a sweet treat at the end of the day or just coming out of the gym trying to find a snack that will feel like a reward…these vegan black bean brownies do the trick every time!

These incredible Vegan Protein Brownies are meant to be a brownie bite, a sweet and indulgent treat, nothing that should be replacing a meal or anything like that! Keep that in mind when you are dividing them for your portions.

You are probably wondering who would be crazy enough to put beans in a brownie recipe…there’s a method to the madness, I swear! Beans are a slow-digesting carb, which provides energy during your post-workout slump.

The beans in our protein brownies recipe is full of plant-based protein to help you repair and build muscles. Beans are high in fiber to help with feeling full longer and maintaining a healthy weight.

Beans, especially black beans, are a great way to give any recipes a nutrition boost…even a dessert recipe like our protein brownies.

Finally, I include black beans in this protein brownie recipe because they can easily take the place of the non-vegan ingredients that we’d need to finish the recipe.

If you are looking for a gluten free or vegan way to enjoy our high protein brownies: you’ve found it! Our Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe will be one of your new favorite healthy recipes!

Bonus! Each serving of our delicious protein brownies include four grams of protein per serving.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we strive to write detailed and helpful recipes for all of our readers. We include clear instructions, recipe tips and tricks, healthy eating plan points, as well as nutritional information.

If you are ready to start cooking with a more simplified version of the recipe, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe.

Ingredients in Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe

Black Beans: No need for protein powder with this recipe, the beans naturally give it an extra protein boost, and make these our favorite healthy protein brownies. Best part about it, no one will know there are black beans in the recipe unless you tell them!
Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is a staple of all brownie recipes. It delivers the delicious chocolate flavor without all of the extra added refined sugar.
Gluten Free Oats: By blending the oats in the food processor, this recipe essentially uses oat flour which helps hold the brownies together. That’s right, there is no whole wheat flour in these protein brownies, making it one of my favorite gluten free recipes.
Salt
Honey: (bee free honey)
Stevia: We use pure stevia in our recipes as a sugar substitute. We are careful when choosing which brands of stevia we use.
Coconut Oil: We love using refined coconut oil in our baking. Coconut oil has many health benefits. We like to buy our coconut oil in bulk at Costco.
Vanilla Extract
Almond Extract
Baking Powder
Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips: Using dairy-free chocolate chips allows this recipe to be both dairy-free and gluten-free. Feel free to use regular sized chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips. We stick to the dark chocolate for the added health benefits.

How to make Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse and drain the black beans.
Blend beans in a food processor until VERY smooth. Add in the rest of your ingredients except for the chocolate chips.
Blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spray 8×8 oven-safe pan with olive oil, then pour brownie batter into the prepared pan.
Bake brownie batter at 350º for 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (not counting melted chocolate).
Cool completely to room temperature then refrigerate, and cut in 2×2 pieces. Store brownies in the refrigerator and serve chilled.

Recipe Tips

If you are not worried about keeping the recipe gluten free or vegan, you can use whatever kind of oats you like and also use whatever type of chips you like. You can also use regular honey in that case! I usually stick to gluten free options for this recipe because then it is delicious and more people can enjoy the results.
If you are trying to keep these black bean brownies vegan I’ve linked a bee free honey substitute for you! If you are looking for other options you could use maple syrup though I’m not sure how that would impact the texture!
My vegan brownie recipe comes to about 16 brownies. I cut them into 2 inch squares to get that many, you can cut them up however you like, just know the nutrition and dietary info provided is for 16 servings from these ingredients.
We prepare the brownie pan with a little olive oil spray, you could also line the pan with parchment paper if you don’t have any olive oil on hand. You could also prepare the dish by coating a small layer of coconut oil on the bottom and sides of the pan.
You can use parchment paper and wrap them up to freeze. We like to store them in an airtight container before sticking them in the fridge. They’ll thaw out nicely and then you’ll have a nice little treat for when you are craving chocolate.
You could add more protein to this recipe by adding protein powder, however do note that we haven’t tested this version. All healthy eating plan points will need to be recalculated if you add protein powder to this recipe.
We have a lot of other incredible vegan recipes and gluten-free recipes on our blog.
If you want to add even more protein without using whey protein powder, these protein brownies can be topped with a dollop of nut butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter. Just be sure to adjust your nutrition calories or container counts and points.

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers

The great thing about Weight Watchers is that you can have just about anything as long as you are tracking it. 10 2023 Plan Points | 9 Blue Plan Points

If you are looking for ways to reduce the points in these brownies you can cut back on the oil, honey, or the chocolate chips since they are the biggest source of your points in this recipe. I’d recommend applesauce as a partial replacement for the oil and even half the amount of chips is going to give you a nice chocolatey treat to enjoy!

21 Day Fix Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe

Each brownie is considered a yellow container treat swap on the container programs.

Looking for more delicious and healthy dessert recipes?

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Our Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies use simple ingredients like oats, bananas and vanilla extract.
Healthy Apple Crumble This Healthy Apple Crumble recipe is an easy Instant Pot dessert that has less sugar than a traditional apple crisp recipe but doesn’t sacrifice taste.
Pumpkin Wonder Whip Recipe Wonder Whips get their protein from Greek yogurt. They’re a high protein snack or dessert that you will love!
Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal This Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal is a healthy and delicious way to start your day. Top with Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, chopped nuts, maple syrup, or a little peanut butter.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Protein Balls These healthy chocolate chip energy balls are made with vanilla protein powder (can also use chocolate whey protein powder), gluten free oats, peanut butter, honey, vanilla extract and other nutritious ingredients.

Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe

This Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe is a healthy dessert that's full of chocolate flavor.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword black bean, Black Bean Brownie Protein Bites, gluten free, post workout, post-workout snack

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 207kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Mixing Bowls
Measuring Cups
Food processor

Ingredients

15 oz Black Beans rinsed and drained well
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup oats gluten-free
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup honey bee free honey
1 teaspoon Stevia
¼ cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
10 oz dark chocolate chips

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Rinse and drain the black beans. 15 oz Black Beans
Blend beans in a food processor until VERY smooth. Add in the rest of your ingredients except for the chocolate chips. 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, ½ cup oats, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup honey, 1 teaspoon Stevia, ¼ cup coconut oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon almond extract, ½ teaspoon baking powder
Blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. 10 oz dark chocolate chips
Pour batter into an 8×8 pan that has been sprayed with olive oil.
Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (not counting melted chocolate).
Cool then refrigerate, and cut in 2×2 pieces. These brownies are best served chilled.

Notes

Makes 16 2×2 bites.

21 Day Fix containers: Each brownie/bite counts as a yellow treat swap.

Weight Watchers: 10 2023 Plan Points | 9 Blue Plan Points

Nutrition

The post Vegan Protein Brownie Recipe appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.