pork tenderloin with homemade apricot -red pepper jelly

Several months ago, my coworker and friend, Mary, and I whipped up a double batch of apricot red pepper jelly.  It was around the holidays, so we ate it indulgently - over cream cheese with crackers.  I don't trust myself around such a treat on a daily basis, so the leftover jars have been sitting idly under a shelf since.

I subscribe to the daily Chow recipe email, and this one for pork tenderloin with spicy apricot glaze caught my eye. A quick trip to Costco for the tenderloins and a sleepless morning rendered this:

My homemade jelly was a no-brainer substitute for the apricot preserves, and in fact, I think without all the heat from the peppers, this pork roast would be too sweet.  I sliced the tenderloins thinly on an angle and doused them with the glaze.  Absolutely awesome and such a low-hassle protein to cook.  I sneaked a few slices in at breakfast, but I plan on eating this later with some simple sauteed spinach with garlic. Big flavors but so easy and healthy!

protein shake in a bowl

I know we talk a lot about protein shakes around here, but I'll be honest—if it's not wine, I don't love drinking my calories.  Drinking just doesn't say, "Wow, that was a great meal." like something that requires cutlery might.

Lucky for me, I found out that the addition of some gums transforms an ordinary protein shake into one that rivals one of my favorite foods of all time...frozen yogurt.  Frozen yogurt and I go way back; in fact, I'm pretty sure I lived on the stuff my final year of college.  A bowl full of the chunkiest frozen yogurt I could find, topped with Golden Grahams cereal, got me through many exams and morning shifts as a Starbucks barista.

Fast forward a couple years and I'm still a frozen dessert diehard, but I've cleaned up my act.  Dairy has been swapped for almond milk, Golden Grahams for organic, unsweetened shredded coconut and chocolate for unsweetened cocoa and mocha cappucino protein powder.  *Almost* the same?  As someone who had thought it'd be forever before I'd have anything close to fro-yo, the answer's a resounding "YES."

The gums and ice beef up a single-serving shake into a generous and filling bowl of creamy, almost-frozen yogurt. I happily have this for lunch, dinner or both.  Flavor combos are seemingly limitless, and it's a good excuse to buy all other kinds of mix-ins (can you say cacao nibs?!!?!).

Protein Shake in a Bowl
adapted from HEAB

1 cup Almond Breeze, unsweetened vanilla
1 heaping scoop protein (I used mocha cappucino flavor)
1.5 T unsweetened cocoa
10 drops vanilla stevia
1/2 tsp guar gum
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
ice

Blend everything but the ice.  Once mixture is smooth, blend ice in batches until it's thick like ice cream.  Stir or top with mix-ins.  Note: More ice is not necessarily better. If you add too much, you lose the flavor of the protein, so just add enough to get the consistency you want.

dukan-inspired oat bran pancake

Have you heard of the Dukan Diet?  If not, hold tight--you will.  Seemingly all the rage in France and a few neighboring countries for some time, its first release in English will be to the UK this May 13th.  A Daily Mail article spilled the main components of the plan, essentially: high protein, low-carb, nonfat (think Atkins without butter, oil, bacon).  The one last critical component?  Galette Dukan, plainly known to us as The Dukan Pancake.

Now I'm not following this diet or have plans to, but I do strive to eat high protein, low-ish carb and mostly gluten and dairy-free , so when I saw the phrase must eat oat bran pancake every day in a plan encouraging high protein but low fat, neon flashing lights went off and I've been tinkering with the idea at the stove every morning since.

If you don't care about gluten or consuming low-protein dairy, check out the original recipe straight from the Dukan Diet.  For everyone else, here's my current favorite way to make a high protein, oat bran pancake:

1 serving

1 egg
big spoonful skyr* (I use Siggi's)
2T toasted oat bran
9-12 drops vanilla stevia
small spoonful chia gel**, optional
coconut oil/spray (I use Spectrum brand spray)

Beat ingredients together using a fork.  Coat hot skillet with coconut spray.  Pour mixture onto skillet in 2-3 pancakes (if you omit the chia gel, you might get away with one large pancake).  Flip when the edges start to bubble, just like with ordinary pancakes.  Devour like you've never had pancakes in your life!  Because if you're like me, it's been a long, long time.  This will keep you full all morning, promise!

*Skyr?  Skyr is a strained yogurt, similar to Greek yogurt, but hails from Iceland. It's naturally nonfat and much more tart and sour than what you're probably used to.  I find it has a texture that errs on the side of a fresh ricotta more than a yogurt, so I love the body and sourdough taste it lends to the pancake.  I tried the 0% Fage Greek yogurt for this idea, and though it works as far as I still got a pancake out of it, it wasn't nearly as delicious.  Using the skyr, the pancake has enough flavor and crumb that no topping is needed.  I love these plain, as-is. (One word of caution, skyr is just over $3 a tiny carton! I get three morning's worth of pancakes out of one 6-oz container.)

**Chia gel?  I've started using this lately in just about everything at Kelly's suggestion.  Add 1/3c chia seeds to 2c water, stir a couple times in the first 5 minutes, then ta-da!  Chia gel.  If you add it to pancakes, don't go crazy with it, because I had pancake mush when I added too much--the pancake would never set up properly.