Have I mentioned I LOVE the fall?

Last weekend, Brad and I went to VonThun Farms to do some pumpkin and apple picking.  We wound up picking about 15 lbs. of apples, all different varieties.  I had been craving baked apples for awhile, so naturally, I made a bunch as soon as I got home.  I then stuffed the apples with bulgur wheat and it actually looked pretty presentable.

For the apples:  core 6-8 large apples (McIntosh and Rome varieties are the best for baking); place cored apples in a pyrex dish.  Sprinkle Apple Pie Spice over the apples (this is just a blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg).  Fill the pyrex with an inch and a half of Coke Zero or diet Coke.  Bake at 375 for around 30 minutes or until the apples are tender

Bulgur wheat recipe in last post!

And now, an epicly green, green smoothie:  6 oz. unsweetened iced green tea, 3/4 c. chopped broccoli, 1 c. spinach leaves, 1/2 c. frozen peaches and mangoes; Throw it all in the Magic Bullet, and blend until smooth

Can You Handle the Delicious-ness?

As you may have noticed, I have been absent from blog-land for the past couple of weeks.  My work schedule was pure insanity, and I'm currently finishing up what is ever-so-affectionately known as the "Kessler Special Plus One"....which means 13 days of work without a day off.  So, as you can imagine, I am quite exhausted, but I have still managed to make some delicious things over the last couple weeks.

Here are some highlights:

Eat-Clean Egg Salad:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 3 tbsp. Fage Total 0% Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 tbsp. Spicy Brown Mustard
• Garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika to taste

Hard boil 12 eggs, cool completely, and peel.  Break the whites up into pieces and only use 2 of the yolks (yes, wasting 10 yolks, but your cholesterol will thank you).  Mash the egg whites, 2 yolks, yogurt, mustard, and spices together and refrigerate overnight.  

I can't explain to you how delicious this is.  I LOVE egg salad, but I avoid store-bought versions at all costs because of the ungodly amount of calories and fat that can be secretly packed into it

Bulgur Wheat with Diced Nectarine

• 1/2 c. Bob's Red Mill Bulgur Wheat
• 1 c. water
• 1 medium nectarine, diced
• Cinnamon and Truvia to taste

In a saucepan, boil 1c. water.  Add bulgur and diced nectarine, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until all water absorbed and bulgur is soft.  Add cinnamon and Truvia to taste.  This makes 2 servings and can be eaten hot or cold.

 

 Last weekend, I had a couple of my girlfriends from UMD over for a wine and fondue night.  It was sooo delish.  I made the spinach and mango salad I've made before, and we had Italian Cheese Fondue with bread and tofu for dipping, followed by chocolate fondue with fruit, graham crackers, and marshmallows for dipping.  Here are some photos :o)

Last but not least, the insanely delicious and Autumn-themed cupcakes I made for a luncheon with co-workers tomorrow!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting

Cupcakes:

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 2 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. Allspice
• 1 1/2 cups All Whites Liquid Egg Whites
• 2 cups Pumpkin Puree
• 1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 2 cups Sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place paper liners in 2, 12-cup muffin tins.  In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.  In a separate bowl, mix together egg whites, pumpkin, applesauce, and sugar.  Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (don't over mix!).  Fill the muffin tins 1/2 to 1/3 full and bake for approximately 20 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting

Pumpkin Buttercream Icing: 

• 2 cups Softened Butter
• 6 cups Confectioner's Sugar
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. Pumpkin Puree
• Red and Yellow food coloring in a 1:5 ratio
• Milk (optional if consistency is too thick)

 Whip the butter with mixer until soft and even.  Add the spices and confectioner's sugar.  When fully combined, turn up speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.  Add in vanilla and pumpkin.  Add food coloring

I then put the frosting into a pastry bag and piped it out to frost the cupcakes.  FYI, these "cupcakes" are pretty dense and could easily pass as muffins without the icing.  Additionally, the cupcakes themselves are totally fat free :o)

and now, many pictures of said cupcakes...

In other news, I am finishing up my 9th week of Weight Watchers, and I've lost 12.2 lbs!!  Here's to good food, lots of exercise, and a hectic work schedule!

Squashed

The past week has been a whirlwind.  So busy I didn't have much time to make anything pretty or spectacular.  I am up to a full case load at work, I've gotten back into my pre-work workouts at the gym, which is both exhausting and exhilarating, and I've overall just been preparing mostly easy meals because I've been getting home around 7:30 every night.

Here are a couple highlights:

Baked Butternut Squash served with a mixture of sauteed peas, corn, mushrooms, spinach, and brown rice:

And today's breakfast:  egg whites mixed with sauteed spinach, salsa, and a little bit of reduced fat mozzarrella:

Today I also made a delicious protein smoothie with the egg white protein I mentioned before.  I used almond milk, strawberry egg white protein powder, half a banana, and a handful of blueberries.  I then proceeded to spill 90% of it on my coffee table and living room carpet!  :o(   The 10% that I got to drink was delicious!

I hope to make some more interesting things this week.  The challenge food of the week is Kabocha, which is also known as a Japanese pumpkin.  I'll let you all know what I come up with!!

A bit of spice...

As you can probably tell from most of my recipes, I enjoy using a multitude of different spices in my cooking and baking.  Spices are good for more than just flavor.  Most are actually antioxidants, so in cooking and baking, the more you add, the better!


Today's baking adventure was a recipe I got from the lovely Jamie Eason (who loves spices as much as I do) for Carrot Cake Protein Bars.  Ever since I started my new job, I have been having some difficulties keeping my energy up throughout the day.  It's so busy that there is little time to drink anything let alone throw some food in my mouth.  At the end of the day I wind up dehydrated, starving, and often with a headache (which makes workout # 2 of the day all the more unappealing).  I sent an e-mail to Jamie regarding this topic, and she suggested making various kinds of protein bars that would be easy to transport and that I could grab small bites of throughout the day.  Like myself, Jamie also eats clean, so her recipes are both perfect, and easy.  They turned out really delicious, but the main ingredient is baby food carrots, and purchasing them at Shop Rite was an experience in itself.  On my left was a mom who asked me if my baby liked a particular brand of organic food.  I proceeded to turn stutter that I don't have a child, I'm just buying baby food for a recipe.  Then, as I was leaving the aisle, with said jars of baby food in my cart, an older woman remarked on the growing numbers of teen moms in this town.  That being said, I was reallllllly hoping these bars turned out to be worth it.  And they did!

Carrot Cake Protein Bars 

 

• 1 cup Oat Flour (if you buy this in the super market, it's expensive.  I made my own by putting a cup of old fashioned oats in my Magic Bullet and blending it until it was finely ground)
•  2 scoops Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (any type you like it is fine.  I use Elite Whey's Gourmet Vanilla.  I find it to be the least protein-y of all the protein powders I've tried, and it has no sugar, which is a huge bonus)
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. Allspice
• 4 Egg Whites
• 3/4 cup Truvia (I use Truvia because it's one of few truly natural calorie-free sweeteners.  Feel free to use Splenda if you prefer)
• 8 oz. Baby Food Carrots (jars are usually 4 oz. each, so 2 jars.  I use Earth's Best Organic Baby Food Carrots for no particular reason other than that it had less sugar in it than Gerber)
• 4 oz. Water 

 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Grease an 8x8 Pyrex with non-stick spray
3.  In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, protein powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt
4. In a small bowl, mix the egg whites, Truvia, carrots, and water
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend well with a wire whisk
6. Pour the mixture into the Pyrex and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
7. Once cooled, cut into 16 squares

 

For any WW friends out there, this recipe is just 1 point per square...full of protein, fiber, and antioxidants :o)

 

 

 

Today on my trip to Vitamin World to re-stock my supply of Elite Whey and Brad's supply of Emergen-C, I came across an Egg White Protein powder made by Jay Robb.  I bought a single serve packet of the strawberry flavor, and I'm curious to see how it blends and tastes compared to whey.  I'm hoping it tastes better since it has similar nutritionals and is also sugar free.  

I will conclude this long and rambling post with a photo of my dinner tonight.  Another variation of vegetarian "chili" made with soy crumbles, salsa, spinach, peas, black beans, water chestnuts, and brown rice served in 2 of the Magic Pop rice cakes I mentioned before.  Delish!

"Oh wow...that looks awesome. What is it?"

At work, my breakfasts and lunches are always attracting attention.  I can't say that I mind.  If I am proud of the things I make, I tend to enjoy eating them more.  Tonight's dinner will also be tomorrow's lunch, which I am sure will garner the usual attention from the 1st floor therapy crew.  I used this week's challenge food (the Acorn Squash).  I made up the recipe myself, so I will re-create it here (lucky for me - and you, I measure basically everything to figure out the points, so it makes recipe making easier).

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients - serves 2

• 1 medium sized Acorn Squash (either orange or green is fine)
• 1/8 tsp. Olive Oil
• Chili Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 c. canned Low Sodium Black Beans, drained and rinsed well
• 1/4 c. sliced Water Chestnuts, drained and rinsed well
• 1 c. Morning Star Meal Starters Soy Crumbles
• 2/3 c. Salsa
• 1/2 c. fresh Spinach leaves

 Instructions

Squash:

1. Cut squash in half with sharp knife and scoop out guts
2. Brush the squash with the olive oil, and season it with chili powder and red pepper flakes
3. Place the halves cut side down in a pyrex with an inch of water
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the tops begin to brown (don't under cook)
5. Remove from oven, flip halves face up, and drain water.  Let cool

Vegetarian "Chili":

1. Spray a skillet with cooking spray
2. Throw in Soy crumbles and start to brown
3. Add more chili pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
4. Add in black beans, water chestnuts, and spinach and saute about 5 minutes
5. Add salsa and continue to cook 2 minutes more

Spoon the "chili" into the squash halves, and ENJOY!  Who doesn't love an edible bowl?? (make sure to eat the actual flesh of the squash as you eat the chili).  I think I might use this idea to serve squash and pumpkin soup when I host Thanksgiving this year!

Pre-bake...cut, scooped out, and seasoned

"Chili" Mixture - soy crumbles, black beans, water chestnuts, and spinach

Finished Product!  So pretty :o)

Close-Up

My dessert tonight is pretty delicious at well.  6 oz. Fage Total 0% fat free Greek yogurt, mixed with 1 tsp. Truvia and 1/3 c. craisins.  Put the mixture in the freezer for a couple hours, sprinkle it with a few mini chocolate chips = ice cream treat!

Hello, Lover

It's only Tuesday, but I'm liking this week :o)

Good, Bad, Blog...

I realize that I seldom get very "personal" on this blog, but I want to change that up occasionally.  Since I am hard at work re-modeling my lifestyle, one of the things I promised myself I would do (that I've never done in the past) is continue to blog even when I have small setbacks or failures.  I had my WW meeting/weigh-in yesterday and I gained 1.4 lbs this week.  I sort of knew it was coming when I reflected on my eating habits last week, but it was still sort of a slap in the face to hear the word "gained."

For those of you who know me, the one thing that I am truly bad at, is being bad at something.  Failure and myself are not words that I like to have linked together.  Now, I don't mean this at all to sound like I am good at everything I attempt, because that is far from the truth, but I am someone who will work as hard as possible to be really good at everything I attempt.  And so, when I wind up "failing" at something, I get upset. I really am working on trying to decrease me anxiety levels and just live.  As my best friend Alexis said recently, "this is your life and setbacks happen...roll with it!"

And so I begin another week, as optimistic as ever, and without regard to last week's outcomes.  I am armed with a good plan for meals and snacks for the week, and ready to up my game at the gym.  Here's hoping it's a good week!


And now back to the real reason for this blog....FOOD!

First, an omelet...1 c.  egg beaters, 1 c. baby spinach, sauteed with cooking spray and minced garlic, topped with 1/4 c. reduced fat shredded mozzarella and placed on a Mission Multigrain Plus! Wrap (one of my faves)

Next, one of my favorite foods on earth, made healthy:  PIZZA! - 1 Mission Multigrain Plus! Wrap, 3 tbsp. tomato sauce, 1/4 c. of reduced fat mozzarrella, and lots of baby spinach leaves.  Pop it in the toaster oven for a few minutes, and enjoy some guilt free pizza

pre-bake

post-bake...a little overdone, but still delish!

And now, a couple of new product discoveries that I am newly obsessed with:

Kim's Magic Pop - a new machine that many stores are starting to get.  They put wheat, barley, and rice into a heated machine, and out pops a sort of thin, rice cake that can be topped with almost anything.  People were talking about it in my WW meeting yesterday, and then today at Costco, I discovered them.  They are made fresh while you're there, and the guy said they can be stored for up to a month.  Today, I blended a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Garlic Herb Cheese with some salsa, and spread it atop this airy, delicious "rice cake."  At only 15 calories each, the snacking possibilities are endless.

Lastly, another new favorite:  Cinnamon Raisin Bread flavored Raisins...I know it sounds weird, but they are DELICIOUS when mixed with plain nonfat Greek yogurt.  The flavor process doesn't add any calories to the raisins, and as far as I can tell they are just rolled in a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar with a little butter flavor added.  They really do taste like cinnamon raisin bread.

This weeks challenge food is Acorn Squash.  I haven't picked a recipe yet, but I'm thinking about cutting it in half, baking it, and putting vegetarian chili in the middle.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I should be sleeping...

...but instead I am posting pictures of my latest baking ventures :o).  Tonight I baked muffins for a co-worker's last day tomorrow, and also cupcakes for a bake sale to benefit brain injury research on Saturday.

First, the muffins.  Nutritious and really really delicious

• 4 tbsp. butter (half a stick)
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 c. old fashioned oats
• 1/2 c. craisins

 Preheat the oven to 350.  Cream butter with brown sugar; add egg.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with applesauce.  Stir in oats and craisins.  Fill paper-lined muffin tins just about full and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 12 muffins

And the cupcakes...vanilla cupcakes, with my own recipe for buttercream icing and wilton's recipe for decorating icing (basically a shortening-based frosting with powdered egg whites to stiffen it)

I hope they taste as good as they look!!

Roll with the Pumpkins...

The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were a huge hit at work!  I'm still craving fall flavors, so for tomorrow's breakfast, I just made a delicious batch of overnight oats!

1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats
1/2 cup Canned Pumpkin (leftover from yesterday!)
1/2 cup Blue Diamond Unsweetened Original Almond Milk
2 tsp. Truvia
Lots of Cinnamon and Nutmeg
10 Raw Unsalted Almonds

Mix together, and refrigerate over night!

Wishful Thinking?

Perhaps I am being a bit preemptive, seeing as it is still August, but all week I have been craving the flavors (and weather) of Fall.  Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons for an exhaustive list of reasons, some of which include:  new school supplies, a new school year, new clothes, beautiful colors, amazing weather, the return of sweatshirts, pumpkins, spices, Halloween, and all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables.  This is the first year in 20 years that is not a "back to school" year!  Crazy, but I'm enjoying it so far!

So I decided today that maybe if I start thinking like it's fall, it will start to feel like fall sooner!  I made these delicious and virtually guilt free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they came out fantastic!!!  They are a bit more cake-like than I usually like cookies to be, and they're sort of more like muffin tops, but the flavor is just incredible!

The Recipe:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (unbleached)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon almond milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and egg beaters. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the almond milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 365 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. 

 

Happy Almost-Fall!

Little Victories...

A weight-related update:

As of my Weight Watchers meeting this morning, I am up to an 8.4 lb. loss in just 3 weeks!  The rate of loss will of course slow down in the coming weeks, but I am just thrilled that I am progressing!  I'm just 0.6 lbs. away from my first goal of a 5% loss.  After that, will be 10%, and then incrementally downward until I reach my ultimate goal, hopefully by my birthday.  I am so hoping that this journey will be infinitely more successful than my previous attempts, and I am rather confident that it will be.

New Food Of The Week...

This week's challenge food:  PARSNIPS

Unpeeled

I'm having fun trying something new every week.  However, parsnips are going on the list of things i'm not super crazy about.  I peeled, sliced, and boiled them until they were fork tender, then mashed them up with a tablespoon of butter and lots of slices to eat as a side dish with some garlic mustard salmon.  The salmon was excellent, but I'm not really a fan of the parsnips.  I was hoping they would be a decent substitute for mashed potatoes, but they were sweeter, and a weird texture, and just not at all what I was hoping for.  Oh well, they can't all be successes!

Two of my Favorite "F" words...

Friends and Food.  Preferably combined.  On Saturday evening, I hijacked my good friend Christa's kitchen to cook dinner for Christa, her wonderful roommate Jeremy, and myself.  It turned out to be quite the adventurous evening, including dining outside on the deck, a long walk, delicious, fruity frozen yogurt, and a viewing of Psycho.

For dinner, I chose a recipe from my Eat-Clean Cookbook by the lovely Tosca Reno - Moroccan Chicken and Lentils.  The full recipe makes 12 servings, so I cut it down, but I will post the full recipe here:

Ingredients List:

• 8 cups water
• 3 tsp. sea salt, divided
• 1 lb. dried lentils
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp. ground cumin, divided
• 2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast or turkey breast, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions:

• LENTILS - Combine water and 1 tsp. sea salt in stock pot over high heat.  Add lentils and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer until lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain well.  Rinse under cold water and drain well.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.

• SAUCE FOR LENTILS - In small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. cumin, 2 tbsp. chili powder, the garlic, and 1 tsp. of sea salt.  Pour this dressing over the lentils.  Toss gently and let cool.

• CHICKEN - In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Add onion and saute until well cooked, about 5 minutes.  Onion should be dark brown and soft.  Add chicken or turkey and saute 2 minutes more.  Add 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 tbsp. cumin, 2 tsp. chili powder, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.  Saute until chicken or turkey is cooked through.

• SERVE - Arrange lentils on the plate.  Place sliced chicken on top of lentils.  Use remaining dressing and pour over chicken.  Serve at room temperature.

This dinner turned out so delicious, and I was happy to see that it came out looking just like the picture in the cook book!  Christa and Jeremy enjoyed the meal just as much as I did, which is always a plus :o).  Just  a note, I didn't follow the recipe to the letter in terms of quantity of spices.  I just sort of threw stuff in, and it wound up perfect!  Best of all, the recipe is healthy and completely CLEAN!

Lentils Tossed in Sauce

Finished Product :o)

Friends!