Mudslide Cookies

I am a huge sucker for chocolate. Really. No joke. The more, the merrier. Trying to keep in mind to eat things in moderation is sometimes a huge catch 22. No, no addiction. I could stop. (Wow, I even sound like an addict)

Luckily, I found this recipe and its the perfect way to help crave the want, but not intake the un-needed calories. A wife and her husband loved these cookies, but they were 300 calories a pop. WOW. So, she being a dietitian and he a doctor, they re-vamped the recipe to a whopping 142 calories a shot. What can be better. So, take it in and enjoy this recipe from MyRecipes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  tablespoons  butter
• 2  ounces  bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2  ounces  unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1  tablespoon  instant coffee granules
• 1  tablespoon  hot water
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
• 1/2  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 2 1/2  cups  sugar
• 1/2  cup  egg substitute
• 2  large eggs
• 1/2  cup  chopped walnuts
• 1/4  cup  semisweet chocolate minichips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until chocolate is almost melted. Stir until smooth. Combine coffee granules and 1 tablespoon hot water, stirring until granules dissolve. Stir coffee and vanilla into chocolate mixture.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Combine sugar, egg substitute, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed 6 minutes or until thick and pale. Gently stir 1/4 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture; stir chocolate mixture into remaining egg mixture. Stir in flour mixture, nuts, and chocolate chips.

Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets; with moist hands, gently press dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 142 (29% from fat)

Fat: 4.7g (sat 2g,mono 1g,poly 1.1g)

Protein: 2.5g

Carbohydrate: 25.2g

Fiber: 1.3g

Cholesterol: 16mg

Iron: 1.1mg

Sodium: 59mg

Calcium: 29mg

California Avocado Tacos

Alight, I’ll admit it. I am from California where the sun shines and it is always amazing. Coming with that is all the fruit and vegetables, that I can and will testify too, that are about twice as big in the supermarkets than they are here in Utah. Oh the sacrifice that I make for living in Utah and going to BYU.   Anyways, what I meant to get at was the fact that avocado’s are superb. Other than the fact that trying to remove the pit is sometimes near impossible without massacring your fingers, it is great in just about any meal. Because I am from Southern California (no, it is no called So Cal) there is huge influence of Mexican food as well as the American version of Mexican food. Either way, it is all delicious. What is more interesting about this recipe from FruitsandVeggiesMoreMatters is the fact that in these tacos, there is NO meat. It is purely spices, fruits and veggies. Weird, right? So give it a whirl… can’t hurt. Ingredients 1 cup (1 medium) tomato, diced 1/3 cup onion, diced 2 tsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped ½ clove garlic, minced ½ tsp. jalapeño pepper, minced 2 tsp. fresh lime juice pinch ground cumin 2 medium green bell peppers, cut into thin strips 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into thin strips 1 medium onion, sliced 1 ripe avocado, cut into 12 wedges ½ cup celery, chopped 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, lightly packed 12 7-8 inch flour tortillas, warmed
Directions In a small bowl, mix together the first six ingredients. Set aside. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add the bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft.   Assemble the tacos: Fill each warm tortilla with the bell pepper mixture, avocado, celery, and cilantro and top with some tomato salsa. Roll up and serve. Variation: Grilled fish or chicken is a nice addition to this recipe.
Serves: 8
½ Cup of Fruits and Vegetables per Serving
Nutrition Information per Serving:
Calories: 18 Total Fat: 0.1g Saturated Fat: 0.0g % of Calories from Fat: 2% % of Calories from Saturated Fat: 1%		Protein: 1g Carbohydrates: 4g Cholesterol: 0mg Dietary Fiber: 1g Sodium: 77mg

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Alarm goes off. Snooze. 20 minutes later I realize that I now have 40 minutes less to get ready this morning due to the previous 20 minutes that I slept through. Oh no… no time. I’ll be lucky to grab something before I have to run out the door. And there they are, the muffins that I made last night… ready to be gobbled up and eaten.

That is just one of  the reasons why muffins are so great. They’re already done (usually… if made the day before) and they are delicious. What is marvelous about this recipe from Sparkrrecipes is that it substitutes some to the sugar for applesauce, taking out many of the calories found in other muffins. I can roll with that.

Ingredients

1 cup old fashion rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup non-fat milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar
raisins or nuts (optional)

Directions

Soak the oats in milk for about one hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
Combine the oat mixture with the applesauce and egg whites, and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl measure and whisk the dry ingredients together.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Add nuts or raisins if desired.
Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough. Spoon muffin mixture into muffin pan.
Combine the cinnamon and sugar and top each muffin with some of the mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.
Remove from pan, cool and enjoy.
These can be frozen and reheated in the microwave for a quick breakfast.

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving: 1

• Calories: 93.5
• Total Fat: 0.5 g
• Cholesterol: 0.4 mg
• Sodium: 196.2 mg
• Total Carbs: 20.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
• Protein: 2.9 g

Oven French Fries

One of my favorite parts of summertime when I was little were the times that my parents would cook the vegetables that we grew in our garden. Amongst all the tomatoes, corn, squash, and kale, there were also potatoes. Other than the mounds of mashed potatoes with all their garlic and butter, there were also french fries.

So even though December is quickly approaching, there is still not good reason as to why homemade french fries should not be a part of the mix of foods that we consume. They’re so good and about 100 times better than anything you can buy from a fast-food joint. Thank you to the momswhothink that provided this recipe.

Ingredients:

4 (2 lb) large potatoes
8 C ice water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Directions:

1. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch strips.

2. Place potato strips into ice water, cover, and chill for 1 hour or longer.

3. Remove potatoes and dry strips thoroughly.

4. Place garlic powder, onion powder, salt, white pepper, allspice, and pepper flakes in plastic bag.

5. Toss potatoes in spice mixture.

6. Brush potatoes with oil.

7. Place potatoes in nonstick shallow baking pan.

8. Cover with aluminum foil and place in 475 °F oven for 15 minutes.

9. Remove foil and continue baking uncovered for additional 15–20 minutes or until golden brown. Turn fries occasionally to brown on all sides.

Serving size: 1 cup

Per serving:

Calories: 238
Total fat: 4 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 163 mg
Total fiber: 5 g
Protein: 5 g
Carbohydrates: 48 g
Potassium: 796 mg

Honey Roasted Chicken with Rosemary and Dijon

Let’s hear it for some protein! Yeah! Because of the simplicity of the meat, I probably eat chicken the most out of any other meat. And you can never go wrong with honey dijon… it’s as though they were made for each other. Luckily, foodfit.com was kind enough to put this recipe out for the world to see.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 5 pounds
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup honey
1 lemon, zested, halved and juiced
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 yellow onion, quartered

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.

2. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan.

3. Roughly chop two sprigs of the rosemary. In a small bowl, mix together Dijon mustard, honey, chopped rosemary, lemon juice and lemon zest.

4. Place the remaining sprig of rosemary, a lemon half, the onion quarters and garlic in the cavity of the bird. Using a pastry brush, coat the outside of the bird with the lemon honey glaze.

5. Place the roasting pan in the oven and baste the chicken every 15 minutes with any remaining glaze. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the thigh reaches 180° and juices run clear, about one hour. Remove and discard the skin. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Serving Size: 1/4 of chicken

Per Serving

• Calories: 341
• Carbohydrate: 24 g
• Fat: 7 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 47 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Sodium: 333 mg

Porcini Mushroom Pasta

Who doesn’t love some good, fresh, and homemade Italian food? Mmm.. my mouth is watering already. What is great about this and all the other recipes is that most of the time (unless you are entertaining people), there will be leftovers. Which means some delicious lunch next day that spreads its aroma all around the office, and you got it from allrecipes.com.  See, even being an advocate for healthy food without even knowing it.  Add 5 more gold stars to your chart.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, julienned
• 1/2 cup julienned carrots
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup rehydrated porcini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (12-ounce) package jumbo pasta shells

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and saute for 4 minutes, then add red bell pepper and carrots and saute for 4 more minutes. Add red wine, raise heat and boil for 1 minute; then reduce heat to medium low, add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, basil and rosemary and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve sauce over cooked noodles.

Nutrition

• Servings Per Recipe: 6
• Calories: 310

• Total Fat: 4g
• Saturated Fat; 0.5g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 17mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 52.7g
• Dietary Fiber: 6.2g
• Protein: 12.4g
• Sugars: 4.9g

Banana Cream Pie Smoothie

1 mile left. Come on, Liz. You got it.

So sometimes I enjoy the morning run, but afterwards, I definitely don’t want to eat anything, but that does not mean that I’m not hungry. The shake becomes the perfect thing.  However, Jamba Juice and all of their friendly cousin’s tend to have drinks that are expensive and high in calories. Maybe give this a shot from cookinglight.com.

Something to consider. Sometimes banana and my taste buds are not so buddy-buddy. When these rare moments occur, I add in a little bit of orange juice or a few berries. it can never go wrong.

Ingredients

• 1  cup  sliced ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1  cup  vanilla low-fat yogurt
• 1/2  cup  1% low-fat milk
• 2  tablespoons  whole wheat graham cracker crumbs (about 1/2 cookie sheet)
• 1  tablespoon  nonfat dry milk
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 3  ice cubes (about 1/4 cup)
• Graham cracker crumbs

Directions

Arrange banana slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze until firm (about 1 hour).

Place frozen banana and remaining ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup

Calories:216 (12% from fat)

Fat:2.8g (sat 1.5g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.3g)

Protein:9.8g

Carbohydrate:39.3g

Fiber:1.9g

Cholesterol:9mg

Iron: 0.4mg

Sodium:145mg

Calcium:315mg

Muesli Breakfast Bars

If you’re anything like a college student, you’ll find that sometimes breakfast just isn’t possible. Alarm clock didn’t go off. Snoozed the alarm clock too many times. I was up WAY too late last night. Ok, well that’s how some of my mornings go and I find myself running out the door after just barely managing to pull on a sweatshirt and jeans. But, the Mayo Clinic has so graciously provided us with the rush-out-the-door bar that will help fight the stomach grumblings during that first few classes before there is actually time to eat. With 3 grams of fiber and only 162 calories. Why not?

Oh! What’s Muesli mean? No worries. It is just the German word meaning ‘mixture.’

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup soy flour

1/2 cup fat-free dry milk

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

1/2 cup sliced (flaked) almonds or chopped pecans, toasted

1/2 cup dried apples, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dark honey

1/2 cup natural unsalted peanut butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with olive oil cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, dry milk, wheat germ, almonds, apples, raisins and salt. Stir well to blend and set aside.

In a small saucepan, stir together the honey, peanut butter and olive oil over medium-low heat until well blended. Don’t let the mixture boil. Stir in the vanilla. Add the warm honey mixture to the dry ingredients and stir quickly until well combined. The mixture should be sticky but not wet.

Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Press firmly to remove any air pockets. Bake just until the edges begin to brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then cut into 24 bars. When just cool enough to handle, remove the bars from the pan and place them on the rack to cool completely. Store the bars in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

(per serving)

Serving size: 1 bar
Calories	162	Monounsaturated fat	3 g
Protein	5 g	Cholesterol	1 mg
Carbohydrate	25 g	Sodium	60 mg
Total fat	5 g	Fiber	3 g
Saturated fat	1 g

Glazed Chocolate-Pumpkin Bundt Cake

It’s pumpkin making time!!

Alright, so one of the best holidays is lurking around the corner, Thanksgiving. Why? Well, all the pumpkin of course.

Ok, you caught me, I’m also a big fan of the fall with all of its brilliant colors, but nonetheless, it is all wonderful. One of my biggest problems though is that the aroma of freshly baked cookies, pies, and bread seem to come out of the kitchen more frequently and all I want to do is gobble them all up. Not exactly the best since my running days of track and field have been behind me for 3 years now. Here is a recipe from eatingwell.com that makes eating this cake a little less guiltless. Yes, its not prefect because it still has its calories, but with the holidays, it is time to indulge and spend time with close friends and family. Might as well do that with treat with less negative side-effects.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose, flour

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (not Dutch-process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg white, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Glaze & Garnish

• 1/2 cup packed confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips, or toasted chopped nuts (see Tip)

Directions

1. To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Blend 1 cup buttermilk, pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Beat in whole egg and egg white. Stir in oil, corn syrup and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
4. Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the rack, about 2 hours.
5. To glaze & garnish cake: Combine confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon buttermilk in a small bowl, stirring until completely smooth. Place the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top; garnish with chocolate chips (or chopped nuts) while the glaze is still moist.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 4 up to 1 day ahead. Glaze and garnish (Step 5) shortly before serving. Equipment: 12-cup Bundt pan

• Tips: To warm an egg to room temperature, either set it out on the counter for 15 minutes or submerge it (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
• To toast chopped nuts & seeds: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 234 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 46 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 238 mg sodium; 159 mg potassium.

Jeweled Golden Rice

Oh the rice. I don’t know about you, but I am a huge fan of rice. (You’ll soon learn though, that I am a huge fan of all food).  Nonetheless, sometimes rice can become the same routine meal. With the below taken from the amazing foodnetwork.com, it is sure to wake up those taste buds and remind them of the amazing food that comes out of your kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon mild or hot curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 generous pinch finely crumbled saffron threads (see Note)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions or chives, divided
• 1 cup fresh dark sweet cherries, pitted and chopped
• 3/4 cup unsalted mixed nuts, preferably pistachios, almonds and cashews, chopped, divided

Directions

Combine rice, broth, water, curry powder, turmeric and saffron in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir once, cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes more. Fluff with a fork.

Combine oil, lemon juice, honey, orange zest, ginger and salt in a large, non-reactive bowl (see Note). Stir in the cooked rice, celery, dried cherries and 1/4 cup scallions (or chives). Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

To serve, fold fresh cherries and 1/2 cup mixed nuts into the rice mixture. Serve at room temperature, garnished with the remaining 1/4 cup scallions (or chives) and mixed nuts.

Considered the world’s most expensive spice, saffron contributes a pungent flavor and intense yellow color. It is sold in threads and powdered form. A non-reactive pan—stainless steel, enamel-coated or glass—is necessary when cooking acidic foods, such as lemon, to prevent the food from reacting with the pan. Reactive pans, such as aluminum and cast-iron, can impart an off color and/or off flavor in acidic foods.