Ja cię kocham…

Today is my last day of Christmas Break.  After a glorious week and a half filled with family, friends, pajamas, Wii games, and of course FOOD, it’s time to look towards 2010 with determination, spirit, and excitement.

I tell myself that I will get up a little earlier in the morning so I can sit and enjoy my cup of coffee in my jammies.  It always sounds like such a great idea until that morning when the alarm goes off, and I know I have more time to sleep.  Apparently sleep is far higher on the priority list than my morning coffee in the kitchen.

Looks like I have to take my travel mug and sip it while going to work…

Santa was very good to me and brought me an embroidered travel mug, clipboard, and lunchbox. It may seem crazy… but I’m an elementary school teacher.  I’m allowed to get cutesy things like this!  Pink fuzzy pens and cute sparkly stickers and picture frames are also widely accepted in my world filled with five, six, and seven year olds…

Plus, you know you want my travel mug.

This New Year brings me much excitement.  My little sister Emily is getting married in April and Jay and I are taking a long overdue summer vacation to Cape Hatteras, NC with a wonderful group of friends.  This means that I need to get healthy – well, healthier.  I’ve always been really good at eating my fruits and vegetables, but now I need to put those cookies down.  Well not all of the cookies… I can still have a cookie, right?

Let’s start with a healthy and incredibly filling breakfast!   What better way to start your day than with bright, vibrant fruit, and oatmeal.  I always mention that oatmeal needs to be loved.  If you leave it unloved, it can be bland and just flat-out disappointing.  Love your oatmeal and it will love you back.

I really enjoyed this breakfast but my only concern was the time it took to make it.  This is a perfect weekend breakfast, but for those of you that are like me and sleep to the last possible second before getting ready for your day’s events, you won’t have time to make this.  Although you could make it the night before and warm it in the oven while your in the shower in the morning.   That’s a thought.  Maybe I’ll try that tomorrow!

Baked Apple with Oatmeal

Source: Oprah.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lemon, cut in half
4 large red apples
3/4 cup agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 teaspoons butter (optional, I omitted this)
1 3/4 cups milk or water for cooking oatmeal
1 cup oatmeal
fruit and nuts of choice to mix into oatmeal – dried fruit, fresh berries, almonds (optional)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar (I omitted this)
Whipped cream, optional

Reserve all cut-away pieces. Place carved apples in lemon water. Chop cut-away apple pieces into small chunks, removing any core or seeds. Toss with 3 tablespoons honey and cinnamon; set aside.

Here is a little secret for you all.

I want a Canon Rebel XSi with a 100mm macro lens for Christmas.

I know what you’re thinking – “Keep dreaming…” – I know this, but a girl has to dream, right??  I’m getting pretty tired of mediocre pictures.  I made an amazing pre-Thanksgiving feast last night with pictures that do not do the meal justice whatsoever.  Boooo.  Boooo to you crappy pictures.

Even though the pictures of my meal are an absolute eye-sore, I am posting anyway.  The recipes are too good, too healthy, and too easy to ignore.  So I say just cringe at the crappy pictures and move on.  I will try my very best to do the same.

It’s November, and you know what that means, right?  Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  I cannot wait to gorge myself with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and more!!  Just the thought of Turkey Day makes my mouth water.  I decided to have a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for the hubby and I just to get into the spirit of the holiday season.  This meal consisted of recipes from the Clean Eating Magazine, which I absolutely adore.   CE Mag makes fresh food and wholesome food seem so simple and appetizing.  No bland recipes here.  They are so full of flavor that you’re family won’t know how healthy they really are.

For my first post of the pre-Thanksgiving Feast, I am sharing the cranberry sauce.  It was done in 12 minutes, and it tastes soooo much better than the canned stuff.  Oh how I love recipes that are super easy… they make my world go ’round.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Apples and Ginger

Source: Clean Eating Magazine Nov/Dec 2009

Serves: 8 (or 4-6 hungry folks)

A much prettier picture courtesy of The Food Network and Tyler Florence

Ingredients:

12 oz. cranberries, fresh or frozen and defrosted
1 apple, cored and chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup honey (CE calls for raw)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tbs. fresh ginger, finely minced
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until cranberries break down, apples soften, and mixture thickens.

Stir often.

Transfer to a serving dish or storage container and allow to chill in fridge.  Serve at room temperature.

Most mornings during the week I wake up so early that I don’t want to have breakfast.  Sounds bad, I know, but the reason is because if I eat at 5-5:30am, I’ll be ready for a full-blown lunch by 9am.  I try to hold off breakfast until 7… at least by then it’s a suitable breakfast time that allows me to have a noonish lunch.  Mind you my breakfast is a last minute thought every morning as I’m heading out the door.  “Oh crap, I need breakfast!”  Breakfast bars are my typical breakfast during the week.  As much as I love the convenience, it gets old.  I want something more substantial to start my day.

Then I met Muesli.

This recipe is wonderful because you mix all of the ingredients with the exception of the fruit in a bowl and let it sit overnight in your fridge.  When you wake up, you have a superbly healthy breakfast.

You can also make this an oatmeal.  By cooking the oats and milk for a minute, then throwing in the rest of the ingredients once the oats are  cooked, you can have a quick, gourmet-looking, hearty breakfast.  Your choice.  Muesli or Oatmeal.  I’ve done both and they are both good.

Pick your favorite milk – soy, skim, almond, rice (or just water)…
Pick your favorite nuts and dried fruits – almonds, walnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, craisins, golden raisins…
Pick your favorite fresh fruit – nectarines, peaches, cherries, apples, pears…
Mix in some coconut flakes and brown sugar (optional)

And you will have a delicious breakfast!

Coconut and White Nectarine Muesli

Ingredients:

Adapted from Daily Unadventures in Cooking

Serves 2-3

1 cup oats
1 cup soy milk or milk of your choosing
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons golden raisins and dried cranberries
2 tablespoons almonds
1 tablespoon flax (optional)
1 fresh nectarine
2 cherries for garnish

Directions:

Combine all of above up except nectarines and stir. Cover and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning chop up your fruit and serve on top.
**This will not be super sweet.  If you prefer it to be sweeter add some brown sugar on top.**

Did I mention that I love dessert??  Did I mention that I love fresh fruit??  Let’s combine them, shall we?

I was SO excited when I found this recipe.  I made rootbeer floats for my students not too long ago so the idea of milkshakes was still lingering in the back of my head.

I also had all this fruit in my fridgie since there was a mega sale on berries last week.  Yes, I said last week.  Yes, it was time to use up my berries!

You can’t get any simpler with this recipe.  Three ingredients and one blender.  That’s all that you need!  You ready to make your blueberry milkshake???

PS – You could easily substitute the ice cream with yogurt and a few ice cubes for a delicious breakfast smoothie!

Blueberry Milkshake

Source: Noob Cook

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

3/4 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2-3/4 cup fresh blueberries
2 Tbs. milk

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into your blender.   Blend until smooth.

DONE!  YUM!

I am going to start this post with two of my favorite words especially when referring to dessert – LOW CALORIE!

I was sitting at work with my friend Nicole teasing her about looking through Seventeen Magazine when I came across an awesome dessert.  Let me preface this by mentioning that Nicole is 18 years old so reading Seventeen is totally okay.  I just happen to be almost 10 years her senior and haven’t read that magazine in years.  I had to crack some sort of joke )

Anyway, Seventeen was introducing ways for already adorable and skinny-minny girls to achieve their perfect bikini bodies.  At 17, chances are you don’t have THAT much work ahead of you.  As a full-blown matronly woman (yaaaaaaay hips!), I took a vested interest in the desserts that they provided.  I love dessert.  I know I’ve told you this before, but no matter how stuffed I am from dinner, I ALWAYS have room for dessert.  My belly has its own dessert compartment ready to go at all times.  Skipping dessert is not an option for me.  But I am willing to cut corners to make my final and favorite meal of the day more figure friendly.

I’ll be honest with you yet again – I totally forgot about the pudding in mine.  I glanced at the magazine before work and then tried to remember its ingredients afterwards.  I was CLOSE, but I forgot the pudding.  Despite this error, I must say that these little cups are quite tasty.   I’m sure that their consistency will be different WITH the pudding, but I’m not all that concerned!

These little cups are so cute!  I have a bunch stashed in my freezer for when my sweet tooth gets outta control.  I used fat-free cool whip, sugar free strawberry preserves, and reduced fat nilla wafers.  I would have used sugar free pudding had I remembered that part.  Ha.  Cutting all of those corners allows me to guiltlessly enjoy dessert.  And it was GOOD.

Frozen Strawberry Cool Whip Pudding Cups

Source: Seventeen Magazine, June 2009

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

(I chose sugar and fat free items for my cups, but you don’t have to!)

1-2 small sugar-free vanilla pudding snack packs
1 container fat-free cool whip
2 Tbs. sugar-free strawberry preserves
8-10 reduced fat Nilla wafers
8-10 cupcake liners
Sprinkles, optional
Fresh Berries for topping

Directions:

Make room in your freezer.

Place cupcake liners on a plate or cookie sheet (a size that will fit in your freezer).

Place Nilla Wafers at the bottom of each cupcake liner.

In a large bowl, mix pudding, cool whip, and preserves.  Fill cupcake liners with pudding mixture.

Add sprinkles and top with one berry.

Place in the freezer for an hour.

If my husband had to survive on anything for the rest of his life (other than Yuengling Lager), it would be chips and salsa.  I buy jars and jars of it per week, and they are gone in a few hours.  We have all types – chipotle, tequila and lime, southwestern – and they are all big hits.  This time I wanted to make something a little different.

We’ve always been big fans of the mango salsa at Costco so I took the fruit salsa to the next level – completely tropical.  It’s bright, it’s colorful, and it’s versatile.  Next time I think I’m going to be even more daring and throw a papaya in this mix.  This salsa was a crowd pleaser, and the recipe yielded PLENTY for a huge group.  If you’re a chips and salsa lover like my man, try this one out.  It’s sure to please.

Tropical Fruit Salsa

Source: Party Food, p. 36

Serves 8-12

Ingredients:

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced
2 mangoes or papayas (or one of each), seeded, peeled, and diced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 fresh red chili, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 Tbs. sugar
juice of 2 limes
6 Tbs. fresh mint
salt to taste

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a nonmetallic bowl.  Cover and let chill until served.

Well hello wonderful sandwich that is figure friendly, sweet, and simple.  Thank you for being so incredibly satisfying in that roaring belly of mine.  You make me happy, very happy.   I want to have you on my plate every night for the rest of my life.   Would you mind that?

This cute treat was a spectacularly light and satisfying dinner for Jay and me.  Typically this recipe is for a brunch but it worked well for us as night time.  I always have a huge craving for dessert after dinner but this sammie was nice and sweet and satisfied the Sugar Monster that visits me around 8 o’clock every night.  He looks remarkably similar to the big, hairy, orange Hunger Monster on the Weight Watchers commercials.  Sugar Monster doesn’t bother me all day, but as soon as dinner is over he throws Hershey kisses and ice cream sandwiches at my face.  Crazy monster.  Will you ever leave me be?  Probably not – unless, of course, I eat this sandwich for dinner every night.

Speaking of Weight Watchers, this sandwich is only 3 points (per full slice of bread with topping).  I recommend using the Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Bread because it is only 80 calories a slice.  )

Hands-on prep was all of 10 minutes and cook time was as long as your toaster takes to make your toast.

If you’re a mom or dad, Mom-Mom or Pop-Pop, you’re (grand)kids will love these!  They can be cut into hearts, stars, or whatever cookie cutter shape you’ve got!  This recipe reminds me so much of my Mom-Mom and Poppy.   I used to go on summer vacation for a week at a time at their house, and they always made me sliced strawberries mixed with sugar.  Mmmmmm…. I love the fond memories.  This takes me back to the 1980s…

I regret that I didn’t have the required raspberries for this recipe, but I definitely added some lime zest for a kick and some contrasting coloring.

Berry and Cream Cheese Open-Face Sandwiches

Source: Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites Cookbook, p. 75

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup raspberries
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar (I used turbinado)
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tsp. fresh orange juice
4 Tbs. light cream cheese
2 tsp. honey or agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 slices cinnamon-raisin bread
lime zest for garnish

Directions:

Combine the berries, sugar, orange zest and juice in a small bowl.  Let it sit for 5 minutes (or until sugar dissolves) while stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, honey, and vanilla in another small bowl.

Toast the bread; let cool about 30 seconds.

Spread 1 Tbs. of cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.  Cut each slice in quarters and top each quarter wtih about 2 tsp. of berry mixture.  Sprinkle with lime zest.  Serve immediately.

So cute!  Enjoy guilt-free!

I tend to run into the same problem all the time.  I find an awesome recipe that requires me to buy maybe one or two things.  Quick trip to the store right?  WRONG.  I end up going to several stores trying to find one thing and end up never finding it.  Grrrr… that’s annoying.  Chutney tends to be one of those things that I can NEVER find in the grocery store.

So you know what I do?  I make it myself.  Take THAT grocery store!

I found a really easy recipe for homemade pineapple chutney using simple pantry ingredients.  Rather than using canned crushed pineapple, I decided to use fresh pineapple and crush it myself.  It turned out quite well.  I was a little nervous because the apple cider vinegar was all I could smell in my house, but when I tasted the chutney, the cider vinegar was not too powerful.  This is a great item to put on chicken or fish – and it took me far less time to cook it than to go on a county-wide hunt for the stuff.

Homemade Pineapple Chutney

Yields: 3 – 12 oz. jars.

Source: Recipezaar

4 cups fresh pineapple, crushed and well drained
2 cups brown sugar, packed tightly
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup bell pepper (any color), seeded and chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Combine pineapple, sugar, vinegar and salt in a large saucepan.

Heat to boil; simmer gently, stirring frequently for 25 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Cook slowly, stirring often, until mixture thickens.

Ladle into sterilized hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal; process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.

I didn’t worry about the jars since I used the chutney right away…

Besides a grilled veggie sandwich, my all-time favorite lunch is a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  And if anyone happens to throw in some marshmallow fluff and/or chocolate, I won’t tell.  YUM.  I used to eat two of them every day during college (can we say freshman 15???).

I had a whole bunch of very, VERY ripe bananas sitting on my counter this morning, and I had a thought.  I would LOVE to make banana bread… better yet, I would LOVE to make peanut butter banana bread!  Even though this idea was original for me, I knew that there would be a recipe online for it.  And I was right )  AND it was a healthier version to boot.  Fantastic.

Even thought this is a more “healthy” version of the bread, you can’t even tell.  It’s sweet, it’s peanut buttery, and it’s incredible.  Basically it’s a woman’s dream all wrapped up in one baked good.  My friend Nicole tried it today at work and absolutely loved it.  She’s a queen baker so that means a lot!!!  )

Peanut Butter Banana Bread (with Chocolate Chips)

Source: Peanut Butter Boy

Yields 1 to 2 loaves

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour also works well but try to use unbleached)
3/4 cup brown sugar (I used natural cane sugar)
1T baking powder
3/4t salt
1/4t cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
1t vanilla extract
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
3.5 oz dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks (I used chocolate chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans (or muffin tins).

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine mashed bananas, milk, peanut butter, vanilla and egg.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Split evenly between the two pans  and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Since the batter can easily fit  into one pan – If you want to make only one loaf, bake for 20- 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

My dear friend Nikki and her boyfriend are coming up from Florida to see us today.  Nikki is the girl that I can count on to keep me in line as far as healthy eating goes.

In honor of Nikki and her love for healthy eating, I baked these cookies with her in mind.  Not an ounce of butter was used in this.  I substituted it with coconut oil giving the cookies a rich, coconut undertone.

Natural cane sugar was also used rather than the typical processed and bleached granulated sugar.  And finally, the recipe called for whole wheat pastry flour allowing for a smoother consistency in the dough.  It is also not bleached and enriched like typical all-purpose flour.

I have to say that even though the banana chips gave the cookies a slight crunch, I enjoyed it.  It subtly heightened the coconut flavor.  I did, however, omit the walnuts.  As always, not a fan of walnuts in my baked goods.

It’s probably not a surprise that these healthy treats came from 101 Cookbooks.  If you ever want a healthy version of a favorite meal or treat, this blog will provide you with alternatives.

Double Chips Cookies: Banana and Chocolate

Yields 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose is fine but try to use unbleached, if you can!)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil
1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup banana chips, loosely chopped
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, racks in middle/upper middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil and the sugar until it is the consistency of a thick frosting.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next.

Stir in the vanilla. Add the reserved flour mix in two increments, stirring/mixing a bit between each addition (but not too much). By hand, stir in the banana chips and chocolate chips – mix just until everything is evenly distributed.

Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for about 7 – 8 minutes, until barely golden on top and bottom.  Do not over bake. I pulled the cookies out of the oven when I thought that they were underdone, and they ended up being perfect!