Day 497: Healthy Snacks

Well as I mentioned yesterday I spent the day in the kitchen baking all sorts of yummy treats for my kids to test out!  Much to my surprise they actually did eat all three recipes I made for them and loved 2 out of 3. Luckily the husband likes the third one.

The first thing we made was:

Double Chocolate Brownies
These moist, cake-like brownies are fast to make and not overly sweet, and since
you’re mixing the batter in one bowl, cleanup is easy. P.S. No one will ever
guess that there are beans in them. Kid testers gave this one “two thumbs up”!
1½ cups canned black beans, drained, 375 mL
rinsed and mashed
¾ cup whole-wheat flour 175 mL
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 125 mL
1 tsp baking powder 5 mL
½ tsp salt 2 mL
3 large eggs 3
1 cup granulated sugar 250 mL
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce 50 mL
3 tbsp canola oil 45 mL
2 tsp vanilla 10 mL
¼ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips 50 mL
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square metal baking
pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch (5 cm) overhang at opposite ends. Lightly spray
foil with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine beans, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and
salt. With a wooden spoon, beat in eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla
until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until just a few moist crumbs cling to a tester
inserted in the centre. Do not over-bake. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Using
foil overhangs as handles, remove from pan and transfer brownies to a cutting
board. Cut into squares.

A big hit with all my kids and they didnt even flinch when I let them in on the secret ingredients!

We also made:

Best-Ever Chocolate Cookies
Your family and friends will never know that bran cereal is one of the ingredients
in these delicious cookies. Make a couple of batches of these – they are sure to
be a best-seller!
1 cup all-purpose flour 250 mL
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 125 mL
1 tsp baking soda 5 mL
¼ tsp salt 1 mL
2 large eggs 2
½ cup soft, non-hydrogenated margarine 125 mL
¾ cup packed brown sugar 175 mL
1½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats 375 mL
1 cup bran cereal (not flakes) 250 mL
¾ cup white chocolate chips 175 mL
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Use ungreased baking sheets or line
baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, margarine and brown sugar. Fold in flour
mixture. Stir in oats, bran cereal and chocolate chips.
4. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls (15 mL), about 2 inches (5 cm)
apart, onto baking sheets.
5. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until just crisp. Let cool on baking sheets on a wire
rack for 5 minutes, then remove to rack to cool completely.

The kids said it was OK and Kevin has plowed through a bunch of them so I can use them for him for work.

Then there was this one:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
With mini chocolate chips, a little goes a long way to delivering big chocolate
taste that kids and teens love. A bit crispy, a bit chewy, these cookies got
“two thumbs up” from all of our testers!
½ cup soft, non-hydrogenated margarine 125 mL
¾ cup packed brown sugar 175 mL
1 large egg, beaten 1
1 tbsp canola oil 15 mL
2 tsp vanilla 10 mL
1½ cups whole wheat flour 375 mL
1½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats 375 mL
1 cup bran cereal (not flakes) 250 mL
1 tsp baking soda 5 mL
½ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips 125 mL
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly spray baking sheets with non-stick
cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat margarine and sugar until
light and fluffy. Beat in egg until creamy. Stir in oil and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, bran cereal and baking soda.
Using a wooden spoon, mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir in mini
chocolate chips.
4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (15 mL) of dough onto prepared baking
sheets. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for about 9-10 minutes, or until
cookies just start to turn golden. Let cool on baking sheets on a wire rack for
5 minutes. Remove cookies to a rack to cool completely.

This was a hit with everyone!!

All these recipes and many more are featured in a government issued cookbook for schools meeting the new guidelines for school nutrition starting the fall of 2011. This cookbook is available to everyone at:  www.eatrightontario.ca/en/resources.aspx

We plan to try a new recipe each weekend and once we have our winners I will bake massive batches to freeze.  Clean Eating over the usual fruit roll ups, dunkaroos and other crap they currently eat. I did create some sugar monsters that I need to ween back to a healthy lifestyle.

Day 352: Yummy Cookies

Ok we all know that cookies are yummy right?  and if its yummy then its very bad for you right?

WRONG

I have spent my morning making some very yummy cookies that are actually not too bad considering that they are what they are.  So today I am going to share a recipe with you! This recipe can be found in an amazing book called The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno. I did alter it a little to lighten the calorie load.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookies

1 cup brown sugar (I used brown splenda so you use only

1/2  cup of this)

1/2 cup of Olivina or light oil

6 egg whites

1/2 cup of finely chopped figs

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

2tsp of vanilla

2 cups of all purpose flour (I used one cup here)

1 cup of whole wheat flour (I used 2 cups here)

1 cup of bran flakes

4 tbsp of ground flax seed

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnimon

1/2tsp all spice

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine the sugar, Olivina and eggs in a bowl. Stir in vanilla, figs and cranberrys

In another bowl mix all the other ingrediants.

Add the dry and wet together and blend.

Drop 1 tbsp per cookie onto the tray lined with parchment paper (or use a silicone mat) and bake for 12 minutes.

Should make about 30 cookies.

Recipe book says the following for nutricinal values(but they say it will make 24 cookies not 30:

Calories: 154   Calories from fat:56 Protien:2g  Carbs: 22g  Dietary fibre: 1g  Sugar 12g  Fat 6g  Sodium 26g

Im thinking out loud here so bear with me!  This recipe says it makes 24 cookies at 154 cal each. So the total batch equals a whopping 3696 calories.  I made 30 cookies so that would make them 122 calories each.

384 calories are in a 1/2 cup of Splenda Brown Sugar blend instead of 830 in a cup of normal brown sugar which is a big differance of 446 calories saved!

So I figure that if you used my recipe you’d be looking at 30 cookies again.  The brown   3696 for 24 normal cookies or 30 cookies at  122 cal each

The normal recipe gives you 34.5 calories from brown sugar. If you switch to Splenda you have 12.8 calories per cookie

Basically you are looking at 100 calories per cookie!

YUMMY

Day 105: Recipe for Autumn Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup Stevia Extract In The Raw™ Cup For Cup

• 1/2 cup Sugar In The Raw®

• 3 cups (about 1 pound) unpeeled shredded zucchini

• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in its own juice

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pistachio or other nuts

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 (8 x 4 inch) loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.

In medium bowl combine the first six ingredients. Set aside.

In large bowl beat eggs. Add vanilla, buttermilk and vegetable oil and blend. Add Stevia Extract In The Raw and Sugar In The Raw. Blend well. Add grated zucchini and dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in pineapple and nuts and mix until blended.

Pour batter evenly into both loaf pans. Set in oven on middle rack and bake at 350°F for about 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Remove from oven and cool in pans

OK so I really didn’t feel like writing much today so I give you yet another great recipe!!!

As always, hope you have a great day!

Day 103: Recipe for Mac and cheese

Golden Macaroni and Cheese

For a divine main dish, stir in chopped cooked ham before baking, and then sprinkle top with chopped cooked bacon before serving.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1  (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked macaroni)
• 2  cups  milk
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  onion salt
• 2  (10-ounce) blocks sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 4 1/2 cups) and divided*
• 1  cup  soft breadcrumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
• 1/4  cup  butter or margarine, melted

Preparation

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain well. Set aside.

Place milk, flour, and onion salt in a quart jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously 1 minute.

Stir together flour mixture, 3 1/2 cups cheese, and macaroni.

Pour macaroni mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish or 2 (11-inch) oval baking dishes. Sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs and remaining 1 cup cheese; drizzle evenly with melted butter.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

*20 ounces loaf pasteurized prepared cheese product, shredded or cut into small cubes, may be substituted. Omit breadcrumbs if using prepared cheese product.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Kraft Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar

So it is almost 10 at night and I am just getting around to my daily entry.  I had a busy day!! Anyway I gave this recipe as I love it!

Have a great sleep!!!!

Day 93: Apple Oat Muffins

Apple Oat Muffins

The shredded apple adds moisture to the muffins. You’ll find that the batter fills the muffin cups more than most recipes, but it shouldn’t overflow in the oven.

Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  shredded peeled McIntosh apple (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  quick-cooking oats
• 2/3  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  cup  fat-free milk
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  (8-ounce) carton plain low-fat yogurt
• 1  large egg
• Cooking spray

PER SERVING: 174 CAL; 4 G PROT; 3 G TOTAL FAT (0 SAT. FAT); 32 G CARB.; 19 MG CHOL; 248 MG SOD.; 1 G FIBER; 16 G SUGARS

Another great recipe for you to try out!

Day 91: Oriental Beef Brisket

Yesterday I told you about my yummy dinner and today I am going to share the recipe with you.  I got this from Home & Gardens Special Interest DIET 2010 magazine.

A beef brisket is a tougher cut of meat so using this slow cooker recipe is well suited cooking method to bring out the flavor and make the meat more tender. It is cooked with baking and sweet potatoes in salsa and hoisin sauce, which provides a sweet and somewhat tangy flavor to this Asian-style dish.

ingredients

• 1 lb. baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 3- to 3-1/2-lb. fresh beef brisket, fat trimmed (a nice roast beef will work too)
• 1/2 cup bottled hoisin sauce (located with the BBQ sauces area or in the asian stuff)  I used a honey hoisin which was really good.
• 1/2 cup bottled salsa
• 2 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

directions

In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker place baking potatoes and sweet potatoes. Top with beef brisket. In a small bowl combine hoisin sauce, salsa, tapioca, and garlic. Pour sauce mixture over meat; spread evenly.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 5-1/2 hours. Remove meat from cooker to a cutting board. Cut across the grain into slices. Serve cooking liquid and potatoes over beef.

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving

344 calories

11g total fat (3g sat fat)

103 mg chol

382 mg sodium

22g carbs

2g fiber

38 g pro.

As always, have a wonderful day!!!