Do you find yourself stuck in a rut of eating the same thing day in and day out for weeks? If you answered “Yes”, you’re not alone. But I make it a point to change things up when I can. As long as it’s tasty, healthy, and relatively quick to make, it’s fair game! Or should I say fair fish? See what I did there?
Enter these delicious salmon cakes that are both healthy and easy to make. Using canned salmon (tuna or crab would work too) makes these a convenient weeknight main course and are perfect to make extra for the next day.
Serve on a bed of steamed squash and green beans.
So, make a double batch of these to have dinner with the family and to take to work (or just have the next day if you stay at home like me) for a healthy and delicious lunch.
1/2 cup Coconut Flour (If you don’t have this, rolled oats also work well)
1 tsp each of cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 T Dijon mustard
2 eggs or 3 egg whites or 3 flax/chia eggs
4 T Of your favorite salsa
1 T each dried basil and dill
Pepper to taste
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to incorporate. You can also mix everything in a food processor if desired. If mixture seems too runny, add oats or coconut flour 1 tablespoon at a time until thick enough to hold together.
Scoop the mix into a lightly oiled 12 cup muffin pan (I filled 9 of the 12 cups) and bake in pre-heated oven for 25 -30 minutes, depending how toasted you want the top. It should have a crispy golden crust on top.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes.
Top each cake with your favorite mustard, salsa, or even a yogurt sauce like Tzatziki; I like them plain too. Serve with steamed veggies and maybe a tasty side of quinoa curry salad.
Not pretty, but very tasty!
If you love crab cakes, this is an easy and more affordable alternative to make at home. Unless you use imitation crab, but let’s not go down that road, I’ll save it for another post. 🙂
Mother’s Day is fast approaching, do you have a gift for the loving mothers in your life? If you’re like me, probably not (sorry, mom and wife), but never fear, PicturesOnGold.com has the perfect gift they’ll cherish for years. A personalized Sterling Silver 2 Photo Heart Locket that you create using their super simple Design Your Own Locket feature.
As is, this Sterling Silver Heart Locket makes a delightful gift for any friend or loved one. But add your personal touches with the Mother’s Day clip art and engraving options from PicturesOnGold.com along with your own pictures, and you’ll have a unique gift that’s sure to warm their heart.
The best part is that you don’t have to step foot in a store filled with the same old generic gifts. No, they deserve something special, and thanks to PicturesOnGold.com, you can Design Your Own Locket online right on your desktop or mobile phone. Just make sure there are no peeping eyes around when you’re creating this elegant locket.
The entire process is easy, and even kind of fun. Just go to the Build Your Own Locket section on PicturesOnGold.com to get started. From there, you will be guided through the steps to creating your custom photo lockets.
Customize the Front Side of the Locket by selecting clip art from the Mother’s Day category.
Click on the Next Step to add a photo to the left side. Choose to upload the file. You can then center it yourself. Click Next again and repeat to add a photo to the right side.
Click on the Next Step to add a personal message on the Back Side.
Click on Next Step and choose an 18 inch Sterling Silver Box chain with a lobster claw.
Click on Next Step, then Preview the finished locket before you add it to the cart.
This is a preview of my design. I chose to have a message on the right side instead of another photo. I didn’t do it on mine, but I think this would be a great area for cute note or a popular phrase in your home at the time.
This is a perfect way to capture pictures of your little one’s innocent (most of the time) faces inside lovely silver or gold lockets for all of the passionate mothers in your life. Years down the road, when those sweet faces are all grown up, these lockets will be a priceless way to reflect on the past. No matter where they are, they can open their personalized heart locket to the little ones when they were still….little.
Are you ready to create your own lockets to give to the deserving mothers in your life? What if you could win the chance to Design Your Own Sterling Silver 2 Photo Heart Locket on an 18 inch Sterling Silver Box Chain with Lobster Claw valued at $124.95?
Sound good? Thanks to the kind people at PicturesOnGold.com, I am able to offer one of you the opportunity to win this wonderful gift. Just follow the directions below to enter to win. The giveaway will end on Saturday, May 7th, and I will announce the winner soon after.
Please make sure to share this giveaway on your social media pages. Even if only one person will win a Sterling Silver 2 Photo Heart Locket, everyone will win by creating and giving one to who we love most…Mom.
Just the other day, I set out on the simple task of finding a new protein powder that wasn’t filled with junk. Before I knew it, 2 hours had passed as I perused the plethora of options for this popular supplement!
This made me ponder whether I should really stress over the different types, flavors, functions, and brands. I recently shared the benefits of protein and making it complete with all 23 amino acids, so it’s obviously an important macronutrient. But, do we really need protein in powder form, and, more importantly, is it even worth it?
You can find protein powders made out of things you’d never expect. We all know the common whey protein, which is broken into concentrates, isolates, and even goat whey protein. Other popular varieties are soy, egg white, and casein. Some less common, but still good types are rice, hemp, and pea proteins, but did you ever hear of beef protein powder?
Beef is an excellent source of protein, but having it in a smoothie seems a little odd. I might try it as long as the ingredients are good, but it’s also one of the most expensive forms. Expensive and very processed! I mean, I can accept processed beef when it’s put through the grinder, but how much has to happen to turn it into a flavored powder?
Can you really see yourself paying a premium to drink beef protein powder that’s Blue Raspberry, Peanut Butter, Cherry Vanilla, Fruit Punch or other some other flavor? MuscleMeds has all of these flavors if your answer is yet, but it’s filled with artificial colors and flavors that I avoid in any product.
Carnivores like meat, not blue raspberry powder….
Anyway, back to the question at hand. Do I really need protein in the form of powder instead of enjoying freshly cooked chicken, beef or fish? There are also many sustainably caught and packaged canned options like tuna, salmon, and sardines I always have around. These are just as quick and the ones with pull tabs require no can opener to lug around wherever you go. My current favorite are canned anchovies in water, and even my 2 year old daughter loves having the “little fishies” with me.
Whole food sources of protein are obviously the better choice since powder, no matter how clean, organic, or super-duper ultra filtered it is, is still highly processed.
There are many healthy plant based protein powders packed full of enzymes, superfoods, cleansing herbs, and they taste good too. I have tried several and enjoy them in smoothies as well as many recipes. But in retrospect do I really need all of these “extras” in a protein powder? Isn’t that what a good vitamin or, better yet, having a diet rich in whole foods should provide?
I was all about buying this high quality Garden of Life Raw Protein, but then thought about how I like to cook a lot with my powders. Wouldn’t cooking pretty much make the whole “Raw” aspect obsolete? Then I just paid a premium for higher quality protein and destroyed the premium part. And again, there are plenty of whole food based multivitamins that will give you everything in these superfood protein powders.
Maybe I will break down and buy a raw protein powder just for mixing into drinks or no-bake recipes like these No-Bake Quinoa Almond Protein Cookies as they are great to take along when traveling for a healthy snack option both kids and adults will enjoy.
As you can see, I enjoy protein powder and by no means am I quitting the stuff, but maybe not stressing over the the slew of extra ingredients. Now I when I’m in the market for a good protein powder, I focus on the one thing that matters, the protein!
Setting guidelines before you make a purchase will help save a lot of time and stress when choosing a protein powder. Trust me, I would really appreciate having those 2+ hours back!
Here are the main things I look for in (or not in) a protein powder:
No artificial sweeteners…EVER!
Non-GMO, preferably organic
If whey protein, I typically prefer that it’s sourced from grass-fed cows not treated with antibiotics
Very little to no sugar (less than 3g per serving); prefer no sugar and only stevia or unsweetened
No added soybean or other oil
No nonsense “super pump” marketing/gimmicky ingredients
Short, simple list of ingredients; unless it is the raw green food kind
These guidelines for a quality supplement will narrow your options in a good way. Yes, it usually means higher prices, but I’m willing to pay more when it comes to things that go in my family’s body. Plus, as long as you’re not relying on powder as your main source, it should last a while.
What type or types of protein powder do you use?
Do you get caught up searching for the “right” protein powder or anything else? Too much information makes too much confusion sometimes!
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
