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Angel Food Cake

20 Jan

This is a treat that everyone knows is a great low-calorie substitute for some of the heavier, richer cakes.  I love it, and I buy it at the grocery store pretty regularly in the summer.  I thought I’d try my hand at scratch making it, and I was pleased with both the calorie count, and the taste.  If you’re up for making a cake from scratch, this will save you some calories.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 13 room temperature egg whites (large eggs)
  • 2 TBSP cream of tarter
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 TSP Vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Sift and blend your flour and powdered sugar together into a small bowl.  Set aside for now.
  2. In a large bowl (in your stand mixer if you have one), beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue mixing on medium speed until the mixture becomes forms soft peaks.  Slowly Begin adding in granulated sugar, about 3 tablespoons at a time.   Continue mixing on medium-high speed until egg whites form stiff peaks when mixer is turned off and removed. Stir in Vanilla Extract.
  3. By hand, mix flour mixture into egg whites, just until you can no longer see the flour.  Do not overmix, but be sure to mix from the bottom of the bowl so the flour is mixed thoroughly throughout.
  4. Spoon batter into a pre-coated (nonstick spray) bundt or tube (angel food) pan.
  5. Bake at 375  for 35 minutes.

Note: you may need to run a plastic knife around edges of cake in order to invert it onto a cooling rack to cool.

Makes 12 Servings= 155 Calories Per Serving

16 Servings= 112 Calories Per Serving

Appx 4 weight watchers points for 12 servings/ 3 for 16 servings.

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Chocolate banana milkshake

5 Jan

So, I love sweets, and ice cream is really a weakness for me. This is a little high calorie for a midnight snack, but…sometimes you need a shake. This one guarantees that you also get some potassium and fruit too. Makes about 10 oz.

– 1 cup of breyers fat free vanilla ice cream
– 1/2 a banana
– 1/3 cup 1% milk
– 1 tsp cocoa powder

Everything goes in the little personal smoothly blender until smooth.

Makes 1 10 oz shake= 265 calories
Appx 7 weight watchers points plus

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Roasted cabbage and carrots

3 Jan

This is an adaptation from a recipe I found in a magazine, and it was definitely a “make again” in my house. I love cabbage as it is, but this take resulted in a sweet, tangy treat, with just enough smokey char flavor. I served it with grilled turkey kielbasa, which was a good pairing.

Ingredients:

– 1 head of cabbage, cubed into 1 inch cubes
– 1 yellow onion, sliced
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp sugar
– 1/2-1 tsp salt (to taste)
– 1 tsp pepper
– 3 carrots
– 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
– 2 tsp franks red hot sauce
– 1 tbsp melted light butter or margarine

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together cabbage, onion, oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with foil, and spread cabbage mixture evenly between them.

3. Bake 10 min at 450, then stir cabbage around on pan and continue baking another 10 min.

4. Wash and peel your carrots, then continue using peeler to “peel” layers of carrot into “ribbons.”

5. In same large bowl Mix carrots, butter, hot sauce and vinegar.

6. Remove pans from oven, and spoon cabbage back into bowl with carrot mixture. Stir together.

7. Redistribute mixture back onto 2 pans and broil on high about 3 minutes.

Makes 4 servings= 100 calories per serving

Appx 1 weight watchers point per serving

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Hot Fudge Cake

24 Nov

I have a long history with chocolate.  It’s a love hate relationship. I love it. It hates my diet.  I grew up with my mom, a true chocoholic…and my best friend, who used to sneak entire tubs of fudge icing into the attic with me, where we’d eat them with 2 spoons.  Chocolate is part of who I am.  It’s one of those “necessary evil’s” I’ve come to accept in life.  There will be chocolate, and I can either hold out for cheat day, or I can find a way to do it without breaking the calorie bank.  So, that’s what I did.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp splenda
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 1 tbsp light margarine or butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 egg yolk
  • dash of salt

 Fudge sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon light margarine
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup water

Cake Directions:

1. Mix sugar and splenda together, and divide mixture in half.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix 1/2 the sugar mixture, butter, 1/4 cup water, and egg yolk.  Wisk until smooth.

3. In a small bowl, mix flour, corn starch, salt, and cocoa powder.  Stir all ingredients together, and then wisk into yolk mixture until smooth.

4.  In a small bowl, beat egg whites, adding remaining sugar mixture, until stiff peaks form.

5. Fold about half of egg white mixture into sugar and yolk and flour mixture in medium bowl.  Then mix remaining whites into the bowl, stirring lightly until all ingredients are incorporated into batter.

6. Spray the insides of 3 individual ramekins or souffle dishes with nonstick cooking spray (i used square dishes, about 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches).

7. Distribute batter evenly among the 3 dishes.  Each one should get about 1/2 cup of batter.

9. Set Souffle dishes on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 for 20 min.

If you really want to kick this up a notch, and you have a few more calories to burn, I recommend making the semi-sweet fudge topping:

Fudge Sauce

In a small pan, on medium heat, melt butter.  Add sugar, cocoa, flour and water.  Wisk all ingredients together, and heat on medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.  Once it begins to thicken, remove from heat for about 2 minutes before dividing over tops of cakes.

1 cake with fudge= 227 Calories  (appx 6 weight watchers points plus)

1 cake without fudge = 166 Calories (appx 4 weight watchers points plus)

* I went a little extra crazy with these and added 1/2 a scoop of double churn ice cream, which added 55 calories.  Ice cream is not included in the calculated calories above.

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Stuffed Shells Florentine

20 Aug

This recipe is pretty classic, pretty easy, but not all that “quick” so it makes a good weekend recipe at my house. If you want to make it on a weeknight, and you’re short on time in the evenings, i’d recommend making the sauce, and stuffing the shells the night before, and then just adding the sauce, cheese, etc for the baking the next evening. Also, if you don’t want to make the sauce i’ve linked to here, you can use Prego Smart Light without affecting your calorie count. Any other jarred sauce will increase your calories.

 

Ingredients:

  • 30 Barilla Jumbo Shells
  • 1 batch (or about 3 cups) Marinara Sauce
  • 15 oz Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 Tsp Garlic powder
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • Pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 Cups mozzarella cheese shredded (divided into 1/2 cup, and 1 cup)
  • 1 Box frozen chopped spinach, thawed

 

Directions:

1. Boil a large pot of water, and boil your shells until al dente.

2. Mix ricotta, egg white, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup mozzarella in a medium sized bowl.

3. Lay about 4 stacked paper towels flat on your counter. Spread the thawed spinach out on these towels, and top with about 3 additional paper towels. Press hard to remove all the water from the spinach. This is very important. Otherwise your pasta will be watery.

4. Mix Spinach into ricotta mixture until everything is well incorporated.

5. Spread about 3/4 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of an 8X13 baking pan.

6. Carefully stuff each shell with about 2 TBSP of Ricotta mixture, and set them into the 8×13 pan on top of the sauce. Arrange them in rows. They will be a tight fit.

7. Once all shells are stuffed and arranged, pour remaining Marinara sauce evenly over the tops of the shells.

8. Sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese.

9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 min. Uncover and continue baking an additional 5-10 min.

10. Allow shells to sit/cool for about 5-10 min before serving. They will be hot.

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Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Apple Butter Filling

16 Aug

These Muffins are a “Mommy’s on a Diet” original! Far more delicious, and better yet, far lower in calories, than I could have hoped. I’m super happy with how these little gems turned out, and my kids love the little apple butter surprise in the center. You’ll be hard pressed to find another muffin under 130 calories that tastes this good!!!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup quick cook oats
  • 1/3 cup splenda brown sugar mix
  • 2 Tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 Tsp Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 an apple, diced
  • 2 Egg Whites
  • 1/2 Cup 1% Milk
  • 1/4 Cup water
  • 1 Tbsp Canola Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Lite Syrup
  • 12 Tsp Apple Butter

Directions:

1. Place the Oats in a food Processor and chop until they become more like a powder or grainy flour.

2. Mix all Dry ingredients (flour-cinnamon) in a medium sized bowl.

3. In a smaller bowl, mix all wet ingredients except Apple Butter (Egg whites-Lite Syrup). Whisk together until smooth.

4. Add wet ingredients with dry, and stir until everything’s well incorporated. Add Apples and stir them in.

5. Spray a 12 count muffin pan liberally with non-stick spray.

6. Scoop 1/4 cup of muffin batter into each cup.

7. Spoon Apple Butter into one corner of a ziplock baggie. Carefully cut a small piece from the corner of the baggie where the apple butter is contained. This allows you to use the baggie as a piping bag.

8. Dip the cut tip of the baggie into the center of each muffin, and squeeze gently, inserting about 1 tsp of apple butter into the center of each muffin.

9. Bake Muffins on 400 for 12-15 minutes, or until they bounce back when touched on the top.

10. Allow to cool about 10 min before serving. Center is hot.

Makes 12 Muffins= 128 Calories per muffin!

Appx 3 weight watchers points plus

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Low Calorie Pumpkin Roll

11 Aug

Pumpkin Roll is one of my very favorite things about the fall. In fact, my granny makes pumpkin rolls that are so good, she would make me one every year for my birthday, and I can’t think of many things I’d rather have had. You could certainly make a smaller pumpkin roll, that was full fat, full calorie, and still not too bad for you… but you wouldn’t get a very large piece. So, I’ve made this version tonight, just to see how it stood up. I didn’t have a great deal of hope. After all, my craving bar has been set high by my dear, sweet Granny. Admittedly, this version doesn’t hold a candle to hers…but it’s pretty darn good, and much lower in calories. PS: I like to eat my pumpkin rolls frozen, because that’s how she kept mine fresh until I was home from college to get it… and I couldn’t wait for it to thaw, so frozen it was…. and now that’s just the most nostalgic way for me to enjoy them. Try it!

Ingredients for Cake:

  • 1 egg
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup splenda
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg

For the Filling:

  • 1/2 a block (4 oz) 1/3 fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 tub of cool whip light, thawed
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1 TBSP splenda

 

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, or with an electric mixer, mix eggs, whites, sugar, and splenda on low for about 4-5 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, mix Flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. Add lemon juice to egg mixture and stir. Then pour in 1/2 of flour mixture and mix until everything is well incorporated. Add 2nd half of flour mixture, and continue mixing until smooth.

4. Add pumpkin to the batter and stir until everything is well mixed.

5. Line a 10 X 15 jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Spread batter evenly over pan, and bake on 350 for about 13-15 min, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6. Allow cake to cool about 5 min in pan. Then place a clean linen kitchen towel over the top of the cake. Carefully invert the cake pan, so the cake has fallen out of the pan, and is now lying on top of the towel. Peel away the parchment paper.

7. Hold the short side of the cake, and the towel beneath it, and carefully roll both the towel, and the cake together, into a log. Place this “roll” into the fridge to cool for about 30 min or so.

8: To make the filling: beat cream cheese, sugar, and splenda together until smooth. Add in cool whip and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Don’t over beat it or it’ll get too runny.

9. Unroll your “jelly roll” and spread the frosting evenly on top. Re-roll the cake with the filling inside (leave the towel on the counter this time 🙂 ).

10. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. Or, I you eat it like I do, wrap in foil and freeze.

 

Makes 10 servings= 160 Calories per serving

Approximately 4 weight watchers points plus

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Taboule

10 Aug

Taboule (taboo-lay) is a dish near and dear to my heart. It is a Mediterranean side dish, served in various forms throughout the Mediterranean. In most Mediterranean restaurants here in the US, it has a lot of parsley, and less couscous or bulgar…and it’s spelled tabbouleh. Most Americans I know pronounce it “tab-boo-lee”.. But I began my relationship with this dish in the south of France, where it’s made just like this, spelled taboule, and served with nearly every meal in the summer…. Light, minty, refreshing salad. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup uncooked Couscous (little ones)
– 1 Roma tomato, chopped
– 3 TBSP chopped red onion
– 2 TBSP chopped fresh mint leaves
– Juice of 2 fresh lemons
– 1 TBSP olive oil
– Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Boil 1 cup water and remove from stove. Mix in couscous, cover, and set aside 7 minutes.

2. Mix olive oil into couscous and let it cool in the fridge 10-15 min.

3. Mix couscous and add everything but tomatoes. Mix together well, incorporating all ingredients.

4. Add tomatoes and gently mix in until its all well mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 5 (2/3 cup) servings

162 calories per serving

Apps 4 weight watchers points plus

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Blueberry Orange Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

4 Aug

This was inspired by several things: My husband’s love for cheesecake, an abundance of blueberries in the house, and inspiration from a couple of other recipes I had recently pinned on pinterest. All in all, I was very happy with the results of this one. I liked how the orange flavor was just a hint of fresh orange, and not overwhelming. I like how the gingersnaps really mellowed out and were not too ginger-y (yes, it’s a word) in the crust. It makes 9 squares, each 3×3, which is a decent size. My husband’s only complaint is that he wanted more than 1 square…

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

  • 10 gingersnap cookies
  • ¼ cup pecans
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Filling:

  • 1 block (8 oz) 1/3 less fat cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract.
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1 individual tub (aobut 5.5 oz) plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 egg whites
  • Juice from 1 large orange (use the one you zested)

 

For the Blueberry Swirl:

  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Zest from one large orange (Save the rest of the orange)

 

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients for the blueberry swirl into a small saucepan, and heat, stirring frequently, until blueberries are soft, and mixture becomes syrupy. You’ll want to do this first, because it can take a while to cook down.

2. Place pecans and ginger snaps into the food processor, and pulse just until everything is nice and crumbly. You don’t have to pulverize them.

3. Melt the butter in a small container in the microwave.

4. Mix cookie/pecan crumbs with melted butter, and spread across the bottom of a 9×9 baking pan. Use the bottom of a glass, or other hard object to press down the crust mixture so it adheres together and stays in place in the pan.

5. If your blueberry mixture is getting syrupy, remove it from the stove, and place it in the fridge to cool.

6. Throw all of the filling ingredients into a medium sized bowl, and use a hand mixer to mix them until the mixture is smooth.

7. Use a spatula to carefully smooth the cheesecake mixture over the top of the crust, evenly.

8. Remove blueberry mixture from the fridge, and place it in the food processer. Blend until mixture becomes smooth.

9. Spoon blueberry mixture into about 4 lines over the top of the cheesecake. I only used about ½ the blueberry mixture, because it’s all I needed. However, I couldn’t successfully make a ½ size batch, so I just saved the rest. It would be good over ice cream, pancakes, or freeze it and use it the next time you make cheesecake bars! Note: My calorie count here only uses ½ this blueberry mixture.

10. Use a butter knife and drag it through the lines of blueberry, going the opposite direction of the blue berry lines. This creates your “marble” swirl look. Go up and down across the pan until you’re happy with the look.

11. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on the counter for about 20 min, then place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving.

1 Square= 188 Calories

Approximately 5 weight watchers points plus

 

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Lemon blueberry pancakes

2 Aug

I know, you haven’t read the recipe yet, but I am anticipating that after you do, you might say “why on Earth would I put Ricotta cheese in my pancakes!?” I’ll answer that question. Although most of us think of ricotta in savory dishes, it can be used in sweet treats too, like a marscapone almost. By adding the ricotta, you get a lighter, fluffier pancake. You can’t taste the “cheese” but it carries the lemon flavor nicely, and also bulks up the pancakes with less calories than if you used more cheeseless batter. Anyway, I liked these little guys. I hope you do too.

Ingredients:

–  1 cup buttermilk “just add water” pancake mix*
–  1 tsp sugar
–  1/2 tsp nutmeg
–  Juice from 1 lemon
–  Zest from 1 lemon
–  3 egg whites
–  1/2 cup 1% milk
–  1 tsp vanilla extract
–  1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
–  3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Mix lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and egg whites in a small bowl. Add milk and whisk until all ingredients are mixed.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix pancake mix, sugar, and nutmeg.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix until everything is incorporated and mixture is mostly smooth.

4. Stir in ricotta and blueberries.

5. Heat a large skillet or griddle and spray with nonstick spray.

6. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into pan and cook until you see bubbles form in center of pancake. Flip pancake and continue cooking until golden brown on both sides.

* the pancake mix I used has 220 cal per 1/2 cup. They vary a lot, and I don’t want to throw off your calorie count if you make these at home.

Makes 7 pancakes. Serving size = 2 pancakes. Makes 3 1/2 servings.

I served with 2 tbsp sugar free syrup, not included in calorie counts shown here.

1 serving = 220 Calories
Appx 6 weight watchers points plus

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