Happy Foodie Friday!  You’re in luck, because I have three fun recipes to share with you today.  A 5-minute, delicious peach protein cake that you make in the microwave, a lentil and bok choy mixture that is a great complement to fish filets, and a few modifications of another blogger’s recipe for a scallop, vegetable, and polenta dish.  Plus, the giveaway winners from the Chia Bar giveaway will be announced at the bottom of the post!  Enjoy!

Peach Protein Microwave Cake

Apologies in advance for the horrendous photos of this one!  Not only is this dish terribly unphotogenic, but I wasn’t anticipating using it on the blog, and the photos show it.  It was SO good, though, that I couldn’t resist sharing!  And it’s perfect for the delicious peaches that are in season right now!

1. In a microwave-safe cereal bowl sprayed with cooking spray, combine all ingredients:

• 1/2 scoop Vega Vanilla Chai protein powder (or any other vanilla-flavored protein powder)
• 1/4 peach, diced small (1 used another 1/4 of the peach sliced on top of the cake)
• 2T liquid egg substitute
• 2T cottage cheese (I used fat free … if you don’t have cottage cheese, add another 1T egg substitute and another 1T milk)
• 1T canned pumpkin (or unsweetened applesauce)
• 1.5T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk or other alternative milk)
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/2t almond extract (could probably use vanilla extract instead)
• 1/2t ground ginger
• 1/2t ground cinnamon
• 4 drops liquid stevia

2. Microwave for 2.5-3 minutes, or until center no longer looks liquidy.

3. Top with other 1/4 sliced peach, and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream (I used Oikos frozen Greek yogurt).  Enjoy!

If made according to these instructions, this recipe contains 147 calories, 2g fat, 18g carbs, 10g sugar, and 15g protein.

Lentil and Bok Choy Warm Salad

You know you have a veggie “problem” when you walk into the grocery store just craving bok choy :).  I’m glad I had this “problem,” though, because the recipe turned out to be delicious!

Serves 2 as a side dish

1. Cook 1 serving of dry lentils (usually 1/4 cup dry) according to package instructions.
2. In a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray (or olive oil), saute 4-5 big leaves (and stalks) of chopped bok choy and 1/4 chopped onion.
3. After about 5 minutes, add in 10 or so chopped cherry tomatoes, 1/2t thyme, 1/2t parsley, and 1/2t Italian seasoning.
4. After another 3-4 minutes, add in cooked, drained lentils, and cook while stirring for 2 more minutes.
5. Plate and enjoy!  I loved this dish with some roasted vegetables and a filet of cod (I don’t buy cod very often, but Whole Foods had it on sale and I snatched it up.  It was great!).  The lentils will be a bit mushy, but if you don’t mind that, I think you’ll love this dish!

If made according to these instructions for 2 servings, this recipe contains just 70 calories, 0g fat, 15g carbs, 7g fiber, and 6g protein.

Scallops with Vegetables and Polenta

This delicious recipe is one that I just barely adapted from the blog Foodie Fresh.  You can find the original recipe here.  Since this isn’t my recipe, I won’t repeat Kelly’s instructions on my blog (so head to hers too if you want to make it!), but I will provide any measurements I changed and alternative ingredients I used, since I adapted her recipe.

Serves 1

1. I used about 3/4 a serving of Bob’s Red Mill organic polenta, and cooked it in water according to package instructions, but stirred in a giant handful of “power greens” (spinach, kale, and other greens mixture) and 2T shaved parmesan cheese before taking it off the heat.
2. In a small skillet sprayed with cooking spray, I cooked 6 chopped baby Portobello mushrooms sprinkled with salt.  A few minutes before they were finished cooking, I splashed in 2T of white wine (I used Sauvignon blanc because that’s what I usually have on hand) and let it simmer to absorb the flavors.  (You’ll notice that, in addition to the measurements that have changed, I’ve omitted the heavy cream, olive oil, and broth.  Even without these, the dish had a great flavor!)
3. In another skillet, I sautéed 4 large scallops in a teaspoon of olive oil.  I sprinkled them with garlic salt, pepper, and paprika (which I never think to use on my own!)
4. I layered the polenta on the bottom of a bowl, then the mushrooms, and topped with the scallops.
5. Of course, I served it up with a plate of roasted veggies, and a glass of wine (hey, I had to open the bottle for the recipe!).  It was delicious!

If made according to these instructions, this recipe contains 370 calories, 5g fat, 43g carbs, and 30g protein.

And now that we’ve gotten through three great recipes … back to the Chia Bar Giveaway!  The Rafflecopter widget I used for the giveaway entries used random.org to select three winners for me.  Each winner will get a box of 15 Chia Bars (I’ll mix the flavors so you can try many!).  Rebecca, Alexandria, and Pixel Berry Pie, please email me at megan@thelyonsshare.org to send me your mailing address.  I’ll get the bars off to you tomorrow!  Thanks to everyone who entered for your great ideas on how to use chia seeds – the comments on that post are full of great ideas!

So tell me in the comments … which recipe sounds the best to you?  What’s your favorite way to use ripe summer fruit?