Clean It UP! -For Tanya

I can't believe I am saying this... I have been turned on to Pinterest. Lord help me. I said I never would... well I lied. AHH! Ok I am over it. Moving on. I am actually glad that I did it because I am able to bring you guys a recipe that originally came from Pinterest. I would like to give credit to the person but I don't know who you are or how to do it from there. The recipe is for Peanut Butter Cup Brownies. The recipe.. and picture look AMAZING, but let's face it-waist line hell awaits. So I decided to see if I could "Clean it up". Now I warn you, this is STILL a TREAT and should not be eaten every day. BUT... we all need a treat sometimes, just not all the time. So check it out, here is the picture for the ORIGINAL:


I admit that is pretty darn impressive... Here is mine:

SO their's look better. I know.. I am not a photographer. BUT I know that mine are a TAD cleaner than theirs.. so I am going with that.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup stevia for baking
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 servings dark chocolate chips
• 1 omega-3 egg
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (you could also use oat flour, almond flour..)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• another 2 servings dark chocolate chips
• 2 servings creamy all natural peanut butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray down a muffin pan (you will only make 6)
2. in a microwave safe bowl combine sugar, stevia, applesauce, water and olive oil
3. microwave for 45 seconds until its all melted together
4. stir in the first 2 servings of dark chocolate chips and cocoa powder, mix until combined
5. add in egg and mix well
6. add flour and baking soda and mix well
7. allow batter to cool to room temp and then add the other 2 servings dark chocolate chips
8. mix and then spoon into muffin tin
9. bake for 12 minutes
10. you want the tops to be fairly firm but you don't want a toothpick to come out too clean on these
11. after they are done, let them cool slightly then take a spoon and take out a hole (about the size of a tablespoon) out of the center of each
12. take your peanut butter and microwave for 30 seconds and stir, then spoon into the centers. Garnish with chocolate and Peanut butter chips (I used 2 servings TOTAL- 1 of each) between the 6 muffins
13. let them cool a bit and enjoy! (if you can wait that long...) I think these are better a little warm so when you come back for more you may warm them a bit in the micro (10 seconds?)

For fun here are the nutritional facts for the ones in the prettier picture:
Calories: 410 Carbs: 50g  fat: 25g Sat fat: 13g Protein: 7g Sugar: 38g

Stats on the "cleaner version"
Calories: 240 Carbs: 29g Fat: 13g Sat Fat: 4g Protein: 6g Sugar: 9g
... Mine aren't so bad looking now are they?? :D

Don't Tell Me It Can't Be Done! Clean...er Doughnuts Delivered!

I am NOT a doughnut person. However, I know people that can't live without their daily dose of sugar, fat, FRYING OIL and weight gain from doughnuts. I have steered very FAR away from doughnuts or even trying to make healthier ones...until, today. Pen to Paper, research for hours, kitchen destroyed and I feel I HAVE DONE IT! Behold... a CC original..(drum roll please!) doughnut:

I must say, I am pretty darn proud of myself! They look as good as they taste, even I am a little bit shocked.   Now its your turn to profit from all my toils..
Here's what you'll need:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. light butter (no hydrogentated oils please!)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup stevia for baking
• 1/2 cup milk (all I had was lactose free vitamin D whole milk so I used 1/4 cup and then added water)
• 1 omega-3 egg

Topping:

• cinnamon, to taste (I did about a 1/2 tsp)
• nutmeg, to taste (1/4 tsp is plenty)
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 heaping tsp confectioners' sugar
• 1/8 cup water
• note that you may run out, just repeat and continue-just keep stock of how much your using so you don't end up taking in too many calories...

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. put the flour in a 8 x 8 dish and add the baking powder, sugar, stevia and salt. mix together well
3. rub in the butter with your fingers through the whole mix
4. add the milk and egg and stir until you get a good dough
5. flour a surface and turn out onto the surface.
6. Pat down until you get about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness all around
7. using a glass cup (which is what I did b/c I don't have some fancy cutting thing) go around and make your doughnut shapes into the dough
8. whatever dough you have left repeat the process of pressing it out and using the glass to make your doughnut shape (you should get 12-13 doughnuts roughly)
9. now, take a small circle opening (I used one of my blender ball bottles -the ones you mix your protein shakes in-the drinking hole..) and press it into each doughnut to get your middle circle (and your doughnut holes!!) **if you need to put a bit of flour around the edge of the glass or lid to help it release the dough**
10. Spray a large baking sheet VERY well with olive oil cooking spray, place each doughnut on the sheet and don't forget the doughnut holes! Spray the doughnuts with the cooking spray as well.
11. Bake for 7-8 (maybe longer, I honestly lost track of time) minutes, until they have risen well
12. while they are cooking, mix your topping together in the water, should be slightly thick
13. when doughnuts are ready pull out of the oven and place into the topping mix, turning to coat well
14. place on a cooling rack and enjoy!!

Stats (for 1 dozen, not including doughnut holes INCLUDING glaze)
1 doughnut =
calories: 80
Carbs 16
Sugar 5g
fiber 1g
Protein 3g
Sat Fat: 0g- see that?? NO SAT FAT

Let's look at a krispy kreme...
1 doughnut (a yeast glazed doughnut, which in all fairness I believe is the closest to this) =
Calories: 200
Carbs 22g
Sugar 10g
fiber 0g
Protein 2g
Fat 12g
Sat fat 3g

I think I will stick with my version... :D  Happy Eating!

It's FALL!! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyone else COLD this evening?? BRRR! I was rummaging through my cabinets tonight feeling very "fallish"... and "cookiesh". Hmmm.. what can I throw in a bowl and bake tonight? Chocolate.. duh... oatmeal.. yumm... cookies.. hmm.. Pumpkin. YES.   Let's do this.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies-
Makes 1 1/2 dozen BIG cookies

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cup oat flour ( you can grind your own in a coffee grinder from old fashioned oatmeal)
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used half French Vanilla Creme Optimum Nutrition Whey and half Pea Protein)
• 1/8 cup whole wheat flour, (most likely can be omitted or increase the oat flour to 1 3/4 cup)
• 4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 omega-3 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup 100% pure pumpkin
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• scant 1/2 cup Stevia for Baking
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 servings dark chocolate chip morsels, chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1.       Preheat oven to 375 and spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray

2.       beat applesauce, egg and egg whites, vanilla and brown sugar together until brown sugar is dissolved. Add ½ cup pumpkin and mix until incorporated

3.       mix oat flour, protein powder, whole wheat flour (if you use), stevia, baking powder and salt together

4.       mix the wet into the dry until thoroughly combined

5.       add the chopped up chocolate chips and mix

6.       Drop by large spoonfuls onto your sprayed baking sheet

7.       Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until firm but not hard to the touch

Stats:

Calories: 60

Carbs : 8g

Fat: 1g sat fat

Protein: 3g

Sugar: 3g

Stuffed Chicken Breast

I really know how to come up with some random things sometimes! Taking inspiration from a childhood favorite, Chicken Cordon Bleu, I decided that I should try to make a health...ier version of it. I came up with... well, this:

I like a few things about this a lot. One being the "crowd" pleasing aspect of it. Who doesn't like cheese and ham, rolled up together and melted? This should cover even the most die hard "meat n' potato" lover. The other being that I can make two decent sized (around 8-9 oz) chicken breasts feed a family of four, in times like these who doesn't need that?

Here's what you'll need:

• two large chicken breast pounded out as thin as you can while keeping it together (1/2 inch or less)
• you accomplish this by placing the chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and beating it with the metal mallet that you can find at your local store in the kitchen gadget area
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 2 slices fat free ham (if you can find a reduced sodium go for that)
• 1 serving smoked turkey sausage, cut into very thin slices and then halved
• 2 slices part skim mozzarella cheese OR two- three servings shredded mozzarella cheese (what I did)
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tbsp italian style bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. season the chicken breast on one side with salt and pepper, flip over and just season with pepper
3. place one slice of ham and half of the turkey sausage on the chicken breast
4. cover with one slice cheese or half of the shredded cheese
5. roll up as tightly as possible
6. add the egg whites and bread crumbs together and mix
7. dip the chicken (rolled up) into the egg crumb mixture and spread around as you can
8. repeat with other breast
9. place in a well sprayed (or use 1 tsp olive oil) glass baking dish
10. top the chicken with any remaining bread crumb mix and spread to make as even as possible
11. bake for 20-22 minutes, turning on the broiler at the last few minutes.
12. Cut into 4 servings and enjoy!

** One thing that I did notice is I had a hard time getting the chicken to cook all the way through. I solved it my microwaving it after I'd pulled it out of the oven (not the best way but I was in a hurry). Next time I think I will turn down the heat just a bit and bake a little longer, then turn on the broiler to make sure I crisp the top. Play with it and see what works best for you!**

Banana Nut Brunch!

If you've ever ate at a Perkins (or any other restaurant with a bakery)-you've seen the massive gut busting muffins that are beckoning to you through the show glass more than once. I like a great muffin just like everyone else and thought I'd be nice and make some, not so gut busting versions, for my boys at home. This recipe is a classic case of healthy switching. I do it a lot at my house and it is relatively easy. Recipe call for butter or oil? Unsweetened applesauce will do the trick. Call for white or all-purpose flour? Switch out at least half for whole wheat. 1 cup of sugar? Maybe do 1/2 cup only or do half and half Stevia for baking and sugar-my guess is you won't notice the difference. Whole eggs? Maybe do one whole egg and 3 egg whites (depending on the amount needed of course). These are all little things you can do to make desserts and treats a little more like a treat instead of a trick and today's recupe is a great example So.... on to the muffins!



Now I'd like to say these turned out amazing, but I really don't know. The only person (I'm on a no sweets at all thing for right now) that had one is Gray..and he is 2. For those that know my son, you know how picky he can be and he ate 2. That should be (and is for me) evidence enough that they are pretty tasty because he is by far my worst critic. 

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 6 oz. unsweetened applesauce
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• one omega-3 egg
• 2 tbsp strong leftover coffee
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (I ended up only using around 1/8 cup-you just want about 2 cups of "wet" ingredients
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste)
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg, optional
• 1 cup (I used 3/4 cup) chopped nut of choice, walnuts, pecans, almonds (I only had almonds)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all the wet ingredients together until well incorporated
3. mix all the dry ingredients together until well incoporpated (this also helps bring air into the mix for lighter baking)
4. Mix the wet into the dry UNTIL JUST INCORPORATED. DO NOT OVERMIX- the batter may be lumpy and that is perfect. If its too smooth then you mixed too much.
5. spoon mix into well sprayed muffin tins (spray very well)
6. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins

These are great for your next office party or morning get together.. instead of those awful doughnuts or other store bought nightmares!

Sweet Sweet Potato Fries!

I almost feel bad for it... ALMOST. My son loves french fries-the grease covered, trans fat (or extremely high saturated fat-take your pick) laden white potatoes that are served at every fast food restaurant nationwide. I, on the other hand-refuse to let him have them... I won't publicly name the person that let him start on the "other" kind. Tonight for dinner- I wanted something easy-no fuss and no fuss from my kiddo. Eat and be happy. Enter in: The sweet potato. I love sweet potatoes-not only is it great nutrition, its a much better choice than your everday potato. It's time for some Healthy Switching!
I decide sweet potato fries are what's on the menu and they turned out pretty darn good, if I may say so myself! ...and the rate they are currently disappearing off my son's plate is evidence enough for me!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 medium to large (depending on how many your serving) sweet potato
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp cinnamon, to taste
• sea salt, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. lightly spray a nonstick bake sheet
3. cut up the potato into french fry shapes (it helps to go in half and then half and then make it smaller from there, to resemble like above)
4. add your oil and cinnamon and salt to a bowl and mix
5. add the cut up sweet potato and mix to coat well
6. bake on the baking sheet at 400 for 12 minutes-take out of oven and stir slightly and return to oven for 8 minutes or to desired doneness.
7. Serve!

Loaded Baked Potato!

Last night my husband tried to do a nice gesture and take me to a local steakhouse. Unfortunately the food was, at best, subpar and the service was mediocre. I AM happy to report that one good thing did come from this misadventure, however. My left over baked potato-made into dinner for 2! I don't often eat a regular russett potato and never do I eat a whole one myself. However, this little idea came to me and I could NOT resist. Check it out:

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 large russett potato (wash and wrap in plastic wrap and microwave for 7 minutes +/-)
• 1 omega-3 egg
• 4 oz turkey smoked sausage
• 2 slices low sodium turkey bacon
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1 serving reduced fat cheese
1. cut the bacon into bite size pieces
2. cut the smoked sausage into quarter inch saucers and then into 4ths
3. cook on a pan until nearly done
4. add the egg and mix well
5. towards the end of cooking add the spinach and saute until wilted
6. add in the cheese and mix to make everything stick together slightly

Cut potato in half and mash slighty-half the mixture between each potato and garnish with additional cheese if desired. Enjoy! One dish and done! LOVE IT!