Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes with Berry Burst Topping #MealtimeSolutions

Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes - Horizon Products

June 2103 Jon and Davis LakehouseIn the morning, my three teen boys are as hungry bears coming out of hibernation. You don’t want to mess with them until they’ve gotten their paws on some food. I always try to offer a breakfast that will power them from early morning straight through to lunch. Pancakes are a favorite, and over the years I’ve found different ways to add a little more substance to these typically carb-laden morning meal.  For example, I’ve done protein powder in pancakes,Paleo pancakes and alternatives to sugary syrup.

Products from Horizon help me make yummy goodness for my children – I can rely on the taste and quality of the ingredients time and time again, which just takes more worry out of my day!  One meal solution I came up with for breakfast is an easy recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes (with Creamy Berry Burst Topping). 

Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes - TheFitFork.com

horizon super sqeezeThis quick recipe uses a new Horizon product the whole family is loving these days – Super Squeeze Mixed Berry Burst. While these little squeeze packets are perfect for lunch boxes and gym bags, the also make a fabulous swap for syrup on pancakes and waffles. Made with wholesome ingredients like organic skim milk, organic berry puree and organic can sugar, each pouch provides 5 grams of protein and is a good source of calcium. The other cool thing about these single-serve packets is that you can just pop off the lid and squirt as much or as little as desired. Even little toddler hands can be in charge of this fun job!

Chocolate PAncakes with Cottage Cheese  and Horizon Berry BurtsIn addition to the 5 grams of protein coming from the Super Squeeze, I’ve also pumped up the pancakes with protein from Horizon Low-Fat Cottage Cheese.  Cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein and calcium, and while many kids can’t stand the texture, I’ve run it through the blender to be super smooth and creamy. Blended with cocoa powder and a bit of stevia sweetener, it actually tastes like a decedant cheesecake!  I’ve used a traditional convenience pancake mix as my base, but if you are following a gluten-free diet, just swap in a gluten-free baking blend with a teaspoon of baking powder. Bite of Chocolate Cheesecake Pancake - TheFitFork.com

Find out more about Horizon’s New Super Squeeze Mixed Berry Burst and their other delicious, family friendly products by following them on Twitter, Facebook , or the Mealtime Solutions Board on Pinterest.

What is your favorite topping for pancakes?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon Organics. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes with Berry Burst Topping
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 mins
Total Time
9 mins
 
This breakfast recipe is a easy mealtime solution that uses low-fat cottage cheese in pancakes and milk-based berry burst packets from Horizon as a topping.
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups milk (2%, almond, coconut, etc)
  • 2/3 cup Low-Fat Cottage Cheese I used Horizon Organic
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon liquid stevia can substitute 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 1/2 cup complete pancake mix type that only requires water to make
  • 1 box Horizon Super Squeeze Mixed Berry Burst 4 squeeze packs
  • 1 cup fresh berries raspberries, blackberries, sliced strawberries, etc.
Instructions
  1. Add milk, cottage cheese, cocoa powder and stevia into blender. Blend for approximately 30 seconds until ingredients are combined and smooth.
  2. Pulse in pancake batter until combined, taking care not to over blend. Heat skillet to medium, add approximately ¼ cup batter in center of skillet and cook for 2 – 3 minutes or until bubbles appear on top and edges have set. Use spatula to flip pancake over and cook for an additional minute or until cooked through. Repeat for remaining pancakes (makes approximately 16 pancakes).
  3. To serve, stack 4 pancakes on a plate and squeeze one packet of Horizon Super Squeeze Mixed Berry Burst on top. Top each stack with ¼ fresh berries.

How To Make Burpees Fun – Did I Really Just Say That?!

How to Make Burpees More Fun - 5 Variations

Notice the headline reads “How to Make Burpees More Fun,” not “How to Make Burpees Easier.” There is just no way around the truth that this full-body, functional exercise is a a tough one – I’ve seen grown men hurl. String a bunch of burpees together and your heart rate will sky rocket and the muscles of your arms, chest, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core will be screaming for sweet mother mercy. Why do you think the burpee is a go-to conditioning exercise at military boot camp, police and special ops training, and football team practice?!  Because burpees get results!

However, seeing the same old burpee sets programmed into your workout can almost feel like a punishment, am I right? One way I like to make this exercise a bit more bearable (maybe FUN isn’t the right word) is by creating an interesting variation – like piggybacking on another element to create a compound exercise or doing them with a partner to create a good laugh.  Here are my five favorite takes on this essential exercise:

Disclaimer, most of these videos are sped up in double time so that you will be spared the misery of me slogging them out in real time!

Burpee Power Jack:  Drop into plank position of burpee and then simultaneously jump both feet outward past width of shoulders.  While still in plank jump feet back in and pop up from burpee to finish one rep.

Partner Leap Frog Burpee:  Grab a friend and stand shoulder to shoulder. First person drops into a plank position (or rests chest down on the ground) while second person performs a lateral tuck jump over planking person’s torso.  Upon landing, jumper drops into a burpee and then pops up, lateral jumps back over friend to start position, and drops into a plank himself.  First person now pops up from plank and takes his turn lateral jumping over second person, performing full burpee, and then jumping back over and dropping to plank.  Repeat until worn out.

Burpee Box Jump: Stand facing box or platform of a comfortable height (I do 20 to 24-inches), make sure you are a body-length distance away if you like your face. Drop into a burpee push-up, pop back up, hop toward box and then jump with both feet landing on the box. Jump off backward, hop backward to the burpee start position for one rep.

Burpee Pull Up: Stand under pull-up and drop into burpee with or without push-up.  Pop up from burpee and immediately jump to bar with both hands and pull up until chin clears bar. Land on ground in start position to finish rep.

Burpee Tuck Jump: Drop down into burpee with or with-out push up and pop back up. Instead of the little hop and hand clap that comes with a traditional burpee finish, jump explosively upward with both feet, tucking knees toward chest.  Land in the standing start position to finish one rep.

Soooo . . .do you have a favorite way to burpee? Challenge me in the comments please!

 

One-Pot Balsamic Chicken and Couscous + #Giveaway LitehouseFoods

One Pot Creamy Balsamic Chicken with Couscous - TheFitFork.com

Do you ever look around after preparing a meal and feel like you’ve dirtied up EVERY pot, pan and bowl in your collection? No one ever seems to honor the “I cooked so you clean” rule on those nights when I create a bit too much chaos in the kitchen!  But, wait until you see this delicious recipe I created for the Litehouse Foods blog —  One-Pot Cream Balsamic Chicken and Couscous!  It’s truly a busy-night blessing, only ONE dish and a couple utensils to clean up . . . and did I mention tasty?

This one-pot recipe is a well-balanced, nutritious meal inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, so pour yourself a glass of red wine if you must!  Featuring colorful red tomatoes (I love the little Cherubs) and yellow peppers, everyone’s favorite chicken breasts, whole wheat couscous, creamy balsamic sauce and a finishing crunch or garlicky croutons, I seriously doubt you’ll have any leftovers to scrape out of that one single pot!!

One Pot Balsamic Chicken and Couscous - TheFitFork.com

Please head over to Living Lighthouse to grab this recipe for One-Pot Creamy Balsamic Chicken and Couscous!

So, what’s for dessert? I love having “dressed up” fruit for dessert like my Salted Honey and Ginger Broiled Grapefruit or Watermelon with Fruit Salsa. But if you’re looking for a quick and healthy dessert that won’t dirty up any dishes in the making, how about just sticking some dark chocolate chips into raspberries and eating right out of the carton!

Chocolate Chip Stuffed Raspberries - TheFitFork.com

Win Litehouse Foods Coupons - TheFitFork.comTo encourage you to make some of these yummy recipes, I’m giving away five (5) coupons for Litehouse Food’s Products (they expire on 12/31/15).  Litehouse Foods makes all sorts of fresh products like traditional salad dressings and vinaigrettes; Greek yogurt based dressings and dips; caramels and sweet dips, freeze-dried herbs; artisanal cheeses and more. You can find most of these products in the refrigerated section of your market’s fresh produce section and gourmet cheese area. Two of the coupons are specifically designated for the Artisan Reserve Cheeses including gorgonzola, blue cheese and feta.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring (Cookie) Break! Outrageously Delicious, Gluten-Free Treats

Spring Cookie Break - Organic Gluten Free GinnyBakes.comGluten-free baking, it can be a beast. If you’ve ever attempted your own gluten-free adventures in the kitchen, you know the oh-my-gawwwd-this-is-disgusting ogre of which I speak. This monster might eat dense bread, flat cakes and cookies that could double as hockey pucks, but none of my kiddos will come near the majority of my initial gluten-free experiments. Not that I’m trying dissuade you from doing your own gluten-free baking – it can be done up right if you have a reliable recipe and know the tips for success.  I have a couple tried-and-true gluten-free goodies in my repertoire, Baked Honey Pistachio Donuts and Chocolate Chip Cranberry Pumpkin Bread , but many other recipes (like gluten free cookies) are not at all luscious and, frankly, lackluster.  I’ve got a tough crowd to please with my three teen boy taste-testers – you’d think that they’d eat ANYTHING to fill up those hollow legs, put they’re surprisingly persnickety.

cookies from ginnybakes.com

So, I’ve decided there’s no shame in buying cookies, no shame at all. Especially if they are OUTRAGEOUSLY DELICIOUS cookies— enter GinnyBakes.com into my life! Ginny Bakes creates outrageously delicious and certified organic, certified gluten-free, non-gmo cookies, bars and goodies that the whole family can enjoy. Ginny puts a lot of love and mindful attention into her products– all ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms and ionizing radiation. I appreciate that she’s treating my family with the same care and concern that she gives to her own brood.

Lucy stole our Ginny Minis!

Lucy stole our Ginny Minis!

Cookies fanatics are going to appreciate the wide variety of flavors available, included are Chocolate Chip Love, Chocolate chip Macadamia Love, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bill, Coconut Oatmeal Bliss, Double Chocolate Happiness, Buttercrisp Love, Dreamy Vegan Delight and “Ginny Minis,” little bags of bite-sized cookies that are perfect for lunchboxes or purses.

chocolate macadamia nut cookie ginny bakes

gluten free organic brownie mixOh, and if you do have the time to bake but are worried about getting “gluten-free” right or just want to make sure you have quality ingredients, GinnyBakes.com also makes several unbelievable baking mixes.  I tried Lovely Brownie Bliss Baking Mix – let me just say between the organic dark chocolate chips, coconut oil and rich cacao powder, these decadent gluten-free brownie had to HIDDEN from the family for my own personal enjoyment.

I have a couple fun ideas for using the cookies – other than eating straight out of the  box. Crumble them up on Greek yogurt, sandwich two around ice cream or decorate the buttercrisp cookies for whatever reason or season is at hand.

Ginny Bakes Crumbled on Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt, my homemade chia seed and strawberry sauce, and Ginny Bakes Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie crumbled on top!

Ginny Bakes products are available online at GinnyBakes.com or at many of your favorite retailers like Target, Whole Foods and Natural Grocers – you can even print off a coupon. Time saved, better tasting, nutritious ingredients, kids happier, mindful munching –you MUST join me at winning at this healthy mom thing!

What is your favorite flavor of cookie?

This post was sponsored by GinnyBakes.com and Sverve

Brisket Tacos with Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce and Pickled Rind Relish #TacoTakedown

Brisket Tacos with Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce and Watermelon Rind Relish - TheFitFork.comI enjoyed a one-of-a-kind, sorta-strange experience as only Austin can host at the Taco Takedown that was held this past weekend near the be-hip-or-go-home scene at SXSW (South by Southwest).  I’ve been in quite a few cook-offs including the iconic Pillsbury Bake Off in Vegas with $1 Million prize (obviously I didn’t win), the Crisco Cook Off in Nashville as part of the Country Music Festival, and even many times in my home-town Hatch Green Chile Cook Off where I hold bragging rights as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner.

Taco Takedown Contenders - TheFitFork.com

The right to battle it off as a finalist in most of these showdowns required each recipe to make it through some sort of qualifying round, being made and examined in a test kitchen by professional chefs and pre-judged on factors like presentation, fit within a certain category, creativity, convenience, taste and so on. Typically, pages of rules, do’s and don’ts, and lists of disqualifications were also involved.  However, not at the Taco Takedown – basically all the info I was given was just show up with your best taco. So, of course I started over analyzing and guessing at the non-existent details. And, in the end I decided to fly by the seat of my pants. I wondered what kind of taco would win – surely in Austin, a freaky taco would beat a traditional taco any day.

My Beefy Man Hunk Taco Model

My Beefy Man Hunk Taco Model

That’s why I wrapped all my loves, as strange as the combo might sound, in one tortilla – viola, a Beef Brisket Taco with Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce (and Pickled Rind Relish) recipe was born. Well, I guessed wrong because a Crispy Chicken with Avocado Taco dished up by Evin at Food Good, Laundry Bad took top honors.  As partial as I was to my wacky yet wonderful watermelon beef taco, I have to admit, the winner was really, super-ultra-deluxe good – and it was fried, how could I compete with that?!  But, I got to go home with the beefy man-hunk taco model — so, really, I was the WINNER!

 

Brisket Taco with Watermelon BBQ Sauce - TheFitFork.com

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of meaty beef, and summer-sweet watermelon and a surprise of spiciness, these are a few of my favorite things (is there a song here . . )?  I knew these flavors would mingle together for a memorable taco –as they did. I didn’t want to smoke the brisket, so I had four massive slow-cookers breaking down the beef into the perfect tenderness for fork shredding.  But, holy-moly, it took a long time to shred 27 pounds of brisket!    The BBQ sauce was a not-too-vinegary, not-to-tomatoey sauce sweetened with watermelon just and spiced up with Sriracha. Probably the most unique thing going on was the pickled watermelon rind that was diced up in the salsa. A true southerner uses ALL parts of the watermelon. And, of course, I topped it all off with some salty, crumbly queso fresco cheese.  Pickled Watermelon Rind Relish - TheFitFork.com

Use this Spicy Watermelon Barbecue Sauce on beef — but also on chicken, baked beans, fish, sausage, pork and more. I’ve also used it as a salad dressing!

Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce - TheFitFork.com

Because you’re probably not cooking for a 250 person crowd, I’ve scaled down the recipe for you to feed about 8 and maybe some leftovers!

What’s the craziest thing you’ve wrapped in a tortilla and called a taco? Please share in the comments!

Beef Brisket Taco with Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce and Pickled Rind Relish
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 hrs
Total Time
10 hrs 20 mins
 
Beef Brisket Taco with Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce and Pickled Rind Relish -- a strange but good recipe that will rock your next backyard party.
Course: Condiment, Main Dish
Cuisine: American, Southern
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
For Brisket:
  • 2 lbs. Beef Brisket preferably center cut
  • 4 cups water can substitute beef broth or beer!
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 medium sweet yellow onion sliced thinly
  • 3 jalapenos seeded and quartered
For Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce:
  • 3/4 cup watermelon juice
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 ounces tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp Sriracha pepper sauce more or less, to taste
Pickled Watermelon Rind Relish:
  • 1 cup diced watermelon drained of excess juice
  • 1/2 cup diced pickled watermelon rind homemade or oldsouth.com
  • 2 tbsp liquid from picked watermelon rind
  • 2 plum tomatoes seeded and diced
  • 1 jalapeno seeded and minced
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
Other:
  • 16 tortillas
  • 1/2 cup queso fresco cheese, crumbled
Instructions
For Brisket:
  1. Add ingredients for brisket into 6 - 8 quart capacity slow cooker. Cook on low setting for 10 hours. Remove brisket from cooking juices and strain out onions and peppers. Chop of onions and peppers, set aside. Cut excess fat of brisket and use fork or fingers to shred beef. Stir back in onions and peppers.
For Spicy Watermelon BBQ Sauce:
  1. Prepare BBQ sauce by adding all ingredients together in medium sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and reduce to low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Pour desired amount over beef, remainder may be stored in the refrigerator for a week. Makes about 2 cups.
For Picked Rind Relish:
  1. To make relish, toss together all ingredients in medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To Serve:
  1. To serve, place sauced, shredded brisket in tortilla. Top with relish and queso fresco.
Recipe Notes