Low Carb Seafood and Scallion Pajeon {Korean Savory Pancake}

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I’m a big fan of Asian food, but don’t always find Optavia fuelings friendly to hacking that way. The flavors just aren’t always compatible. When ‘hacking’, I like to dip into my Leans or Greens versus adding a ton of extra ingredients/condiments. Plus, I find that some days I’m just craving a bit of protein earlier in my day. Now I know a lot of people don’t count baking powder, egg whites, etc. when hacking, but it does add up, so I count them. In all transparency, I do not count salt, pepper, or cooking spray, but that’s my personal comfort level—and it doesn’t have to be yours. Do what feels right for you.

That said, this is my take on pajeon—a savory Korean pancake—one of my favorite lunchtime fuelings. Kimchi is considered a condiment; 1/4 cup equals one condiment, but I use 1/8 cup {or 1 oz}, which counts as only 1/2 a condiment and trust me, a little goes a long way. A big plus beyond the flavor it packs in there is that it has a ton of health benefits including it’s nutrient dense, contains probiotics, reduces inflammation, is purported to aid in weight loss, and supports heart health. I also add one ounce of shrimp from my daily Lean & Green. And 99% of the time, I’ll cook up the full seven ounces for the day, use the one ounce chopped up in this fueling, and then just reheat the other six ounces for dinner. 

This pancake is dense, full of flavor, and very satisfying. 

Ingredients:

  • Roasted Garlic Smashed Potato Fueling
  • 1 oz Kimchi, chopped
  • 1 oz Grilled Shrimp, chopped
  • 1 tsp Scallion, chopped

Equals 1 Fueling, 1/2 Condiment*, 1 oz of Leanest

*I think the kimchi makes a huge difference in the flavor, but if you absolutely don’t like, want, or have kimchi, feel free to leave it out. Just remove the 1/2 condiment.

Instructions:

  1. Add 2 oz of water to one smashed potato packet, mix well, and let sit
  2. Grill shrimp in a pan, measure out one ounce and chop well
  3. Measure out one ounce of kimchi and chop well
  4. Chop one tsp of green onion
  5. Mix the smashed potatoes with the shrimp, kimchi, and green onion
  6. Place mixture in sprayed non-stick pan and let cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes and then carefully flip and cook on the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. Pancake should be browned on both sides and cooked through.
  7. You can top with a sprinkling of green onions, but it’s not necessary.

Hope you love this as much as I do and if you’ve never tried kimchi, this is a great recipe to start with. On the flip side, f you love kimchi and have been looking for ways to incorporate it into your 5&1 day, give this a shot.

Enjoy!

Cheddar & {1/2} Sausage Biscuits

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I’m always looking for ways to hack my fuelings so they eat more like a mini-meal and this one DEFINITELY fits the bill!

As with many hacks, there’s a little trial and error. With this one, the first time I made it, I used full chicken sausages. Two sausages, depending on brand, generally equal one lean, but using up my entire lean between two fuelings created a not-so-great day for me, so I switched to breakfast turkey sausage links instead. Two links {much smaller than the full-sized chicken sausages} equals 1 oz off your Lean, which still left me with almost my entire Lean and the results were just as satisfying. However, because I didn’t use up all of my Leans on this batch, I added 1/4C of reduced fat shredded cheese, which is only 1/4 Lean, to create a cheesy crust—WELL worth it! 

One note about the turkey sausage: because of the sodium content, you can only have two links per day. That’s why I only used two {on half the batch} and not four {on the full batch}.

All of that said, what I hope you take away from this recipe is that the potatoes and biscuit fuelings with only 10T of water make a great base for almost anything: you could add sautéed mushrooms and mozzarella OR line the tins with thinly sliced zucchini and then pour in the batter OR place a piece of turkey pepperoni at the bottom and add some mozzarella and then dip the finished muffin in marinara. The options are truly endless, but this makes for a great base that doesn’t add any condiments. Just packets and water. What you do from there is up to you! 

Don’t forget that with two packets, this equals TWO FUELINGS. I used a mini-muffin tin, so that made 12 muffins or SIX PER fueling. You can either save half for later in the day or split them with a friend or family member doing Optavia with you. If you do split them, feel free to add sausage to ALL of the muffins, since you can each have two sausage links per day. And, of course, for a vegetarian option, you can omit the sausages altogether or use a veggie sausage. Just be sure to confirm how those sausages are counted with your coach or Optavia Nutrition Support.

PS. The ones I made are great with SF ketchup if you have a condiment to spare!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Smashed Potato packet {either flavor}
  • 1 Buttermilk Cheddar Herb Biscuit packet 
  • 10T Water {or 4 oz and 2T}
  • 2 Breakfast Turkey Sausages {subtract 1 oz from your daily Lean}
  • 1/4 C Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese {1/4 Lean}

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Mix the two packets with water and combine well 
  3. Spray muffin pan
  4. Sprinkle cheese evenly between muffin tins 
  5. Distribute the mixture evenly between muffin tins
  6. Place one piece of turkey sausage in each of SIX muffins
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until browned

Smashed Potato Bagel Hack

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In the mood for a bagel? I’d seen this hack a bunch of times, but totally got it wrong the first time—I made it per the packet instructions and the batter was too thin. So, to get a solid “bagel” you add two tablespoons of egg whites and a pinch of baking powder per smashed potato packet. I made two packets at a time and added an extra tablespoon of water. It was just too thick otherwise. I then sprayed Pam into my silicone donut mold and sprinkled a little everything bagel seasoning at the bottom. That way, you get seasoning on all sides. I placed the mixture inside two molds and then topped with a bit more bagel seasoning.

Bake in an oven for 12-15 minutes at 350. Then, remove, slice and either air fry for a few minutes or pop into a toaster to get it super crispy. Top with whatever you’d like—just be sure to account for it from your daily allotted leans/greens/fats/condiments.

Enjoy! 🥯🥯🥯

Mini Crock Pot: a worthy addition to your kitchen

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You know the saying, “Mom’s always right”? Well, in honor of Mother’s Day, I’m sharing this recipe that came about because of my mom.

My parents started Optavia in January and are rocking it SO hard! I can’t even tell you how happy I am about that!!! A few months ago, my mom saw a post in the FB group about the Mini Crock Pot. Since I always pulverized my pastas/soups and turned them into muffins or wafffles, it wasn’t even a consideration for me to buy one. Well, she kept telling me how awesome they were in the Crock Pot, so I broke down and bought one. The results? AMAZING.

Of course, I always add a twist, so I combined the pasta fueling with spaghetti squash. Here’s how I did it:

For two fuelings {you can make up to four at the same time in the mini Crock Pot}:

1. Add two packets of Spinach Pesto Mac {or any pasta you like} to the crock pot
2. Add 1C of water {4 oz per fueling ~ same as packet instructions}
3. Mix well
4. Plug Crock Pot in and cook for one hour and fifteen minutes 
5. A few minutes before that’s ready, add 1.5C cooked spaghetti squash to a pan and heat up
6. Add pasta to pan and cook until the remaining liquid/consistency is to your liking
7. Split into two fuelings and enjoy!

PS. The cheese on top is NOT necessary. It just makes for a prettier picture. 🙂 PPS. Link to the mini Crock Pot in my bio.

NOTE: if you just want to eat the pasta as-is and NOT add it to a pan with spaghetti squash, leave it to cook for an additional 15 minutes so more of the liquid absorbs.