Easter Splurge Special: Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnabon Copycat

Every time I go to the mall, the smell of Cinnabon lures me in, EVERY, SINGLE TIME!!  It is one splurge that I just can't deny.  I have tried several different varieties of cinnamon rolls, even the store bought dough with the "Cinnabon" name on it and none stack up to the amazingness called Cinnabon.  I am here to tell you that I have come pretty darn close to replicating the recipe and let me say, there will not be one left once you make this recipe.  Normally my recipes are as clean and healthy as they can get, but this is a special splurge recipe, just in time for Easter breakfast.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls-Cinnabon Copycat

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour + 1/2 cup for kneading
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp salt

For the filling:

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
optional: pecans or any other nut variety

For the frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400*

For the dough:
In a large pot over med/high heat, combine milk, butter and sugar.  Heat until almost to a boil, being careful not to scald the milk.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Once cooled, add yeast to milk mixture and mix.  Transfer liquid to a bowl and add 4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.  Cover with a towel and allow to rise for one hour or until dough has doubled in size.  Once dough is done rising, knead an additional 1/2 cup of flour into dough on a clean surface.  Roll dough out into a rectangular shape, about 18"x9".

Cover dough evenly with filling ingredients.  Roll the dough tightly lengthwise, away from you, forming a roll.

Using a sharp knife or non-flavored dental floss (shown below), cut roll into 2" sections, discarding the end pieces.

Place in a greased 9"x13" baking dish, almost touching and allow to rise for an additional 20 minutes.  Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

For the frosting:
Combine butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes to incorporate ingredients.  On the slowest speed, slowly add powdered sugar, mixing until well incorporated.  Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat on medium speed for an additional minute.  When cinnamon rolls are cooled, add frosting evenly over the top.

Clean Waffle/Pancake Batter

I love waffles and pancakes!  Who doesn't?  They are one thing that has been hard for me to give up in this new clean eating lifestyle.  I have managed to clean up many of my favorite dishes, so I figured I would give waffle/pancake batter a try.  I'm going to be honest when I say that I was expecting them to taste a bit like cardboard (not that I have experience tasting cardboard, haha).  We were snowed in a good majority of last week and when I get board, I cook.  I spent some time in the kitchen this weekend toying with several different ingredients and I am happy to say that I came up with a delicious recipe for waffle/pancake batter that not only did I love, but so did my 5 year old daughter.  Win, win in my eyes!  Enjoy!

Clean Waffle/Pancake Batter

Ingredients

2 cups oat flour (grind up steel cut oats until they are the consistency of flour)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 egg
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 tsp pure honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Coconut oil for the pan, griddle or waffle iron

Optional toppings: Pure maple syrup, nut butter, fresh fruit

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well.  Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto a coconut oiled pan, griddle or waffle iron and cook until golden brown on each side.  Top with optional toppings.

Meal Prep 101

When I first put together the guidelines for my 5 week challenge (which I will share next week), I knew that meal prep would be a huge factor in my success.  If I leave my meals up to chance, more than likely, it won't be the cleanest option.  Since one of the goals of my challenge group was to eat completely clean (minus one cheat meal a week), I knew I had to meal prep.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoy meal prepping for the work week.  It's no surprise that I love to cook and the satisfaction of knowing that mine and my husbands meals were not going to be guess work, is awesome!  It most certainly has kept me on track and keeps the week free of stress and worrying about what to make for lunches.

One thing that comes to mind behind the idea of meal prepping is this quote: "by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail".  Since a lot of people struggle with the nutritional aspect of a healthier lifestyle (myself included), meal prepping is so important.  It not only sets you up for success, but it helps develop that routine that is so important when converting to a healthier self.

One thing that I have become aware of during this challenge is that eating clean does not have to be boring!  I haven't felt deprived once and i actually enjoy having everything laid out for me.  I have delicious food to eat and the best thing is knowing what amazing things I am doing for my body by fueling it with the right food.  If you know me personally, you know that I am an avid planner.  If there is a way to plan something, I am planning.  So it should be no surprise that I love my meal prepping.

I have decided that meal prepping is so important to me and important in continuing this healthy way of life, that I wanted to share some tips I have come up with so that you can also be successful!

What you will need:

Tupperware containers in various sizes
Mason jars
Ziploc baggies
Sharpie

Tips:

• Start by planning out your menu for the week (see the awesome menu planner below).
• Carve out 2-3 hours (I prep on Sundays) for meal prepping.
• Prep for the 5 day work week at the most.
• Cook a large portion of a good carb (I usually do brown rice).
• Wash all veggies and fruit.
• Steam/roast any veggies desired.
• Cut up any raw veggies or fruit you will be using.
• Cook a large batch of protein (we cook a whole chicken in the pressure cooker for the week).
• Boil some eggs-easy and a good source of protein. 
• Portion everything out amongst your containers (I placed a nice guide of portion sizes down below for ladies-I double that size for my husband)
• I usually have a good carb, protein and veggie in each container for lunch and fruit/grains for breakfast and snack.
• Label everything-since I prep for myself and my husband, I label our containers with our names and what meal it is for.  For myself, I also label mine with the calories. 

I have a couple go-to recipes that I rotate for breakfast.  You can check out my Greek Yogurt Parfait and Overnight Steel Cut Oats recipes.  Prep them in mason jars for a quick, grab and go breakfast. Grapefruit with a touch of honey is also a delicious and easy breakfast to prep and a nice veggie omelet is always a good choice as well.

For snack, I keep it pretty simple.  I will usually prep a dozen hard boiled eggs and separate them in pairs in ziploc baggies.  I keep them in their shell until I am ready to eat them to keep them fresh for a longer period of time.  Another delicious and easy snack is an apple with nut butter.  My favorite nut butter of all time is Justin's Maple Almond Butter.  Not only is it fantastic, but it comes in individual squeeze packets that make prep for this snack a cinch.  Lastly, a no fail snack is a good fruit salad.  Cut up some of your favorite fruit, squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top and sprinkle with cinnamon!  Divide it up into desired proportions and you have yourself a yummy snack.

For lunch, I tend to prep a few different varieties of similar ingredients to keep it easy but to avoid getting bored.  I almost always have a brown rice base to my lunches.  Accompanied by a protein, which mine is always black beans (they are my favorite) and a large serving of veggies.  I love making my Vegetarian "Fried" Brown Rice.  It reheats nicely and is something different than the boring rice and veggies.  Along with my fried rice, I  found this fantastic, simple idea from a vegetarian/vegan restaurant I went to on vacation.  It was so good that I thought, why couldn't I recreate this for meal prep.  It simply is wild rice, black beans, pico de gallo, and guacamole (I smash up an avocado, add a little of my pico de gallo, garlic powder and sea salt).  Mix all those ingredients together and it is so delicious!  I got some simple sauce containers with lids (the kind you see at Mexican restaurants that you can take salsa home in-from Smart and Final) and I put my toppings in them.  So easy and they can be tossed after using.  Another go-to lunch prep is brown rice, black beans and a half of a roasted sweet potato.  Sweet potatoes are an easy thing to prep and they too, heat up nicely.  Quick and easy tip on prepping sweet potatoes:  Preheat the oven to 400*, pierce your sweet potatoes, cook for 1 hour.  They come out fantastic every, single time!

The one meal that I don't prep, is dinner.  I cook my dinner's fresh because I have the time to do so.  If you don't have that option, prepping dinners is perfectly fine.  For those busy, on the go, men and women, meal prepping for dinner is a fantastic idea.  Any of my lunches above can be used for dinner as well.   A couple other recipes that I like to cook for dinner are: Coconut Chickpea Curry, Curry Pumpkin Penne Pasta, Taco Salad (meat can be prepped ahead of time and quickly added to some lettuce and veggies), Chef Salad (use prepped protein and veggies).  

Here are some fantastic resources that I have found and use weekly for my meal prepping.  

I hope some of my tips have given you a better understanding of meal prepping.  Set yourself up for success!  

Greek Yogurt Parfaits

Yesterday was meal prep day!  I love prepping my meals for the week. It definitely makes it easier to keep on track and saves a lot of time during the week. One of my favorite breakfasts to prep is a simple Greek yogurt parfait. It's delicious, easy and a quick grab and go breakfast for those on the run. It is so versatile and can be changed up so it doesn't get boring. Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Parfait 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use Fage)

1/2 Tbsp pure honey

1/4 cup chopped fruit of choice 

1 tsp chia seeds 

2 Tbsp granola (try my homemade steel cut granola here)

In a medium mason jar, layer Greek yogurt, honey, fruit and chia seeds. Add lid and refrigerate. When ready to eat, top with granola. 

Clean Steel Cut Granola

I have a hashtag that I use in everything I post on Instagram: #operationabs.  I have never had abs, but that is one of my goals this year, by summer.  I know that abs are made in the kitchen and I knew my diet needed a bit of an adjustment.  I didn't eat bad by any means, but I needed to reduce my cheat meals and cut down on added sugar and sodium.  I love granola, but I know a lot of the pre made brands have a ton of what I am looking to stay away from.  I have been eating steel cut oats for a while now and wanted to try to make my own granola with them.  I didn't want to add just any dried fruit, because along with that, comes more added sugar, so I added dates :)  It is that nice crunch to add to yogurt or even as a cereal. Enjoy!

Steel Cut Granola

Ingredients 

3 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup sliced raw almonds
1/2 cup dates, chopped
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp pure honey
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350*.  In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, dates, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, honey, almond extract, vanilla extract and cinnamon.  Mix well to make sure all ingredients are incorporated well.  Spread out evenly on a parchment paper line cookie sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to make sure ingredients toast evenly.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Store in airtight container.

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Today marks day one of my 5 week challenge.  Operation Abs is in full effect.  I spent a majority of yesterday morning prepping food for the week.  I know when food is prepped and ready, there is less room for slip ups.  Luckily, my food intake doesn't have to change too much and I have been able to use a lot of my recipes from my blog.  I made a huge batch of my Vegetarian "fried" Brown Rice, boiled some eggs, put together bags of veggies and hummus, baked some chicken for my hubby, steamed some veggies, and put together some awesome, grab and go breakfasts in mason jars.  Today I am sharing my Overnight Steel Cut Oats recipe!  I knew I wanted to use steel cut oats because they are less processed than other old fashion oats but there weren't many recipes around for overnight steel cut oats, so in pure Lacey fashion, I made up my own!  Enjoy!

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Ingredients

1/4 cup steel cut oats, uncooked
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp pure honey
1/4 cup fruit of choice, sliced (I used bananas)
Sprinkle of cinnamon

In a medium sized mason jar, combine all ingredients.  Seal and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Vanilla Protein Frappuccino

My guilty pleasure is creamer with my coffee.  The pure artificial, non-dairy creamer that comes in every flavor imaginable!  It is something I just haven't been able to remove from my life but I am a firm believer that everything in moderation is alright.  I came up with this recipe because I was out of creamer and desperate for my morning coffee.  It actually surprised me and made me think that maybe getting rid of my morning coffee with my creamer wouldn't be so hard.  Enjoy!

Vanilla Protein Frappuccino

Ingredients

1/2 cup brewed black coffee

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use non-GMO, Jay Robb egg white protein powder)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp pure honey

dash of cinnamon

ice cubes to blend

Combine all ingredients into your blender.  Blend until frappuccino reaches desired consistency.  

Pumpkin Spice French Toast

Today is Thanksgiving!  This is my first Thanksgiving that I am pretty far away from most of my family.  We usually do an early afternoon lunch/dinner feast, but things are a bit different this year.  I am one of those that hold out most of the day so that I am good and ready for a big meal.  Last year, I was not a vegetarian and indulged in everything that Thanksgiving had to offer.  This year things are going to be limited for me (and that is ok).  I am glad that I will not be going into a food coma this year like most years in the past.  I decided breakfast was a must this year and what better way to start out this great holiday than with Pumpkin Pie French Toast.  It's easy and delicious!  This is a single serve recipe and can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc to fit the size that you are serving.  Enjoy and to those who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Ingredients

1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 slices of bread
1 egg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
splash of almond milk
Pure maple syrup for serving

In a large pan, heat coconut oil.  In a large, shallow bowl, beat egg.  Add pumpkin pie spice and a splash of almond milk.  Mix together and coat each side of the bread in the egg mixture.  Add to the pan with the coconut oil and brown on each side.  Top with pure maple syrup.

Sugar Cookie Oatmeal

I finally purchased a tea that I keep seeing in the grocery store but keep bypassing.  Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea!!  Yes you read right!  I brewed a cup of it a couple days ago and was surprised just how much it really tasted like a sugar cookie (some teas are hit or miss).  I thought, what better way than to put it in my oatmeal, then it would REALLY taste like a sugar cookie.  That is when this recipe was born :)  Enjoy!

Sugar Cookie Oatmeal

Ingredients

1/4 cup steel cut oats
1 cup water

1 Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea bag
1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 packets of stevia
Optional rainbow sprinkles

In a small pan, combine oats and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Cook for 20 minutes or until oats are fully cooked.

While oats are cooking, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil.  Pour over tea bag and let seep for 10 minutes, then remove the tea bag.

When oats are fully cooked, remove them from the heat and add tea to oats.  Mix and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Mix in vanilla, protein powder and stevia.  Top with optional sprinkles.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal!!

I could eat pumpkin pie flavored food all day, every day, but only in fall. There is something about fall that makes pumpkin much more appealing.  Who doesn't love pumpkin pie (ok there are those that don't), and who wouldn't want pumpkin pie for breakfast (yes you either love it or hate it)?  For my fellow pumpkin lovers, here is a delicious recipe for Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients 

1/2 cup steel cut oats
2 cups water
1/4 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp pure honey
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Splash of almond milk

Combine oats and water in small pan.  On medium heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until oats are fully cooked. Add pumpkin purée, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, honey and brown sugar. Cook an additional 3 minutes to incorporate flavors. Serve with a splash of almond milk and enjoy!

It's a Nice Morning for......Apple Pie Oatmeal!

Oatmeal has always been one of my go-to's for breakfast.  Its fast, its easy and its good, but even better on a brisk morning like today.  As the weather gets cooler, I always love a good oatmeal recipe.  I hope you enjoy!

Apple Pie Oatmeal

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Steel Cut Oats
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Apples, chopped
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Allspice
Honey to taste (I used 2 tsp)

Combine all ingredients into a medium pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until oats are fully cooked, roughly 20 minutes.  Enjoy!