Sunday's Sweets: Lowfat Whole-Wheat Zucchini Bread or Muffins :)

Here's a yummy treat that you can feel good about enjoying. It's full of whole-grains and vegetables, but best of all, it's delicious without being overpowering in sweetness.

Whole-Wheat Zucchini Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs
4- 4 1/2 cups grated zucchini (tightly packed)
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup oil
3 teaspoon vanilla

optional: 1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Combine. Pour into greased pans. Bake two bread pans 40-45 min. (30 muffins= 25-30 min) Approximately 125 calories per serving. :)

Tuesday's Tips: 22

Today's tip is: Try Something New!

I don't use a lot of Cow's Milk because the men in my life have big issues digesting it. I use a lot of alternatives, and honestly, when I haven't used Cow's Milk for myself for a few days, I notice that I'm less congested, and other things work better.

I use a lot of Milk alternatives like: Coconut Milk, Rice Milk, Oat Milk, Soy Milk (sparingly), Hazelnut Milk, and Almond Milk.

My friend Melissa introduced me to a recipe for making your own Almond Milk, and I can't wait to try it out!

Here's the link: How To Make Almond Milk

I think Almond Milk is delicious. Do you have something healthy and new that you're willing to try?

Sunday Sweets: Chocolate Healthy Smoothie

I drink a lot of smoothies. It's a good way to get fresh fruits and veggies into my diet, but sometimes I want them to taste especially yummy. Today, I decided I wanted to make one chocolate-y so here's what I came up with and it's delicious!

1/2 cup Vanilla Rice Milk
1/2 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 cup Fresh Baby Spinach
1/4 cup diced Cucumber
1/4 cup Frozen Strawberries
1/4 cup Frozen Blueberries
1 Tbsp. Light Organic Agave Nectar
2 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender on High until smooth. Enjoy!

(Optional: This smoothie is also tasty without the Agave and Cocoa Powder if you just want the berry flavor.)

P.S. I use a Vitamix, it's an amazing blender although it's pricy. Since I use it everyday and multiple times a day, it's one of my favorite kitchen investments. I also use it to grind my own whole-grain flours.

Sunday Sweets: Pomegranate and Starfruit

Sometimes food in it's natural state is just what the tastebuds have ordered. Here's a simple dish that's easy, pretty and completely guilt-free.

1) Seed a pomegranate and put those seeds into a dish.
2) Wash and slice a starfruit. Place those slices on top of the seeds in a pretty fashion.
3) Eat with a spoon. :)

If you want to go a little wild, add a small dollop of whipping cream on top (but watch out for those calories =D )

Sunday Sweets- Frozen Deliciousness

I have a weakness for ice cream, but lately I've been avoiding it as much as possible. My goal for this holiday season is not to gain weight! It's not easy, but I'm finding more self-control than I thought I had.
Anyway, I've discovered how much I like eating frozen fruit like Strawberries, Banana chunks, and Raspberries with Hershey's syrup on top. It's really good and not bad on calories.

1 cup Frozen whole Strawberries = 50 calories
1 tbsp. Hershey's Syrup = 50 calories

100 calories? That's totally doable. :)

2 minute, 100 Calorie Chocolate 'Cup' Cake Recipe

I like having something warm and chocolaty once in a while. However, except for pigging out on the 'ACTUAL' holidays, I don't want to sabotage the hard work I've done, so I came up with this simple, warm, yummy treat to satisfy my cravings without leaving the rest of the pan sitting there calling my name.

Recipe
In a microwave safe mug
Mix:
1 Tbsp. Flour
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1 generous pinch of Salt
then add:
1 Tbsp. Fat-Free Milk and stir.
Microwave on high for 45 seconds (give or take depending on your microwave).

It's easy and it's yummy. Enjoy! :)

Sunday Sweets- Dark Chocolate Applesauce Brownies

So, since my niece and I are doing the no sweets Monday - Friday thing, we decided we could make a yummy treat today before going without sugar tomorrow. I made the recipe a little healthier than it normally would be, but it's still delicious. However, since I'm feeling lazy, here's the link to her blog where the recipe is posted. :)

Monday Meals: Homemade Pizza

I love my pizza! It's not bad for you and very tasty. Perhaps you'll like it too!

Prepare your favorite whole-wheat pizza crusts.

To make pizza, top the prepared crusts with pizza sauce and top with your favorite sliced veggies and other toppings. I like mushrooms, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, pineapple, ham, and lowfat turkey pepperoni. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese over the top and then bake pizzas at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are slightly golden and the cheese has completely melted. (Adjust baking temperature and time as needed, just keep checking your pizza.)

Enjoy!

Monday Meals: Easy Low-fat Enchiladas

1/2 lb. 97% lean ground beef
1/2 lb. Pepper Stir Fry Mix
1 can enchilada sauce (10 oz)
3/4 cup Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
8 corn tortillas or 6 small Whole Wheat tortillas

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. LIghtly grease 7 x 11 inch glass baking dish. In large skillet cook beef until done. Add pepper stir fry and cook until vegetables are heated through. Add 1/2 the can of Enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of the cheese to skillet, stir and remove from heat.
2. Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish.
3. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top: sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes or until hot.

My Bread

If you'd like an almost Fat-Free, super yummy, healthy Bread Recipe, click here.

Sunday Sweets- Blueberry Muffins

Healthy and Heavenly, these muffins are one of my favorite snack foods. The recipe is low-fat, easy and the results are delectable!

Yield: 1 dozen medium sized Muffins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

In a large bowl combine:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar

In a separate bowl combine:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup water
1 large banana (mashed)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
zest of one lemon (or 1/4 tsp Lemon extract)
-mix thoroughly

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, then add

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries -mix lightly.

Bake in greased muffin tins for about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
(Each muffin is approximately 130 calories)

New Note: Substituting pureed cooked vegetables like sweet potatoes or cauliflower for the applesauce is also a great way of sneaking some extra veggies into your diet.

Sunday Sweets- Feeling Hot?

I have a couple of new favorite treats...... drumroll please.................................................... Frozen Grapes and Frozen Blueberries.... YUM! Seriously, how guilty can you feel eating something like frozen fruit.... I feel NO guilt whatsoever when it comes to these delicious sweets. I highly recommend them. Easy prep too... I just buy the blueberries and/or grapes, wash them off, stick them in a gallon size freezer bag, suck the air out and lay them flat in the freezer initially so that they don't all stick together. Then when I want something sweet, I just grab a few. On hot days, they really are a perfect snack!




Click here for some more ideas. :)

Monday Meals: Meat and Veggie Skewers

Tonight we are heating up the grill! I could call what we're making Shish kabobs because one rough translation means: shish= skewer, and kabob=meat, but if you ask a Turk, he or she may think you're serving lamb because the term normally refers to skewers of lamb and we're actually using beef. So for my weird sense of accuracy I'm calling them Meat and Veggie Skewers. No matter what meat you use though, they are yummy :)

What you need:

1 pack of skewers
Green pepper
Yellow pepper
Orange pepper
Green pepper
Medium Onion
package of Mushrooms
Cherry Tomatoes
Stew size chunks of meat
Light French Dressing

Marinate the meat in the light French Dressing.
Soak the wooden skewers in water.
Cut up the veggies into 1 or 2 inch pieces.
I use button mushrooms and leave them whole though as well as the cherry tomatoes.
Anyway, arrange the ingredients on the skewers in whatever way you like.
Heat up the charcoal, and then set your rack on the highest setting to cook the skewers.

If you get too close to the heat, the food will burn on the outside and remain raw in the middle. (YUCK!)
The idea is to cook them for a long time at a low heat that way they turn out perfectly. (DELECTABLE!)
Anyway, this is a lowfat delicious dinner that I highly recommend! :D

Monday Meals: Satay Lettuce Wraps

Here’s a lowfat yummy recipe that you might want to try. We made this for dinner last night and my husband requests it frequently. The best part is, the entire dinner is only 1100 calories, so if you want to eat the entire thing, it's still less than a Big Mac, fries and a soda. Otherwise, it makes enough to serve 2 very hungry adults and one small toddler.

Satay Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. Lean ground turkey or chicken
8 oz. packet of mushrooms sliced
1 onion minced
2 inches fresh ginger grated/minced
-1 or 2 cloves of garlic minced (optional)
2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
½ cup apple juice or pineapple juice
¼ cup soy sauce
Hot sauce to taste
Head of iceberg lettuce washed

Brown turkey in pan, add onions half way through, cook until their tender. Add mushrooms, ginger ( and garlic) and cook 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add peanut butter, juice, soy sauce and hot sauce. Stir until well coated. Serve in washed lettuce leaves rolled like burritos. ☺

Sunday Sweets- Guilt-free Creaminess :)

Just a quick idea. If you enjoy Yoplait yogurt, and you enjoy ice-cream, try freezing your Yoplait. I promise you it's creamy, delicious, better for you than ice-ceam, and relatively guilt-free if you partake in dairy anyway. Enjoy! :)