Reduced Sugar Pumpkin Banana Bread

November 5th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

The fall leaves were gorgeous this weekend! It got me in the autumn spirit. I decided to make a fall wreath:

When I went to Michael’s to get supplies, I had trouble finding fall decor. There was Christmas stuff everywhere! No more fall decorations even though we still have a whole month left. Oh well, I love my DIY wreath projects!

Next, I made some healthier pumpkin bread, mainly because I wanted the house to smell nice. I didn’t care too much about eating the bread… it was more like another craft for me to do!

Anyway, I reduced the sugar by using some stevia/xylitol blend and it turned out amazing. Doesn’t taste “healthy”. So you could trick kids to eating it for sure. And it uses a whole 1/2 can of pumpkin so you can get some squeeze in some veggies!

Reduced Sugar Pumpkin Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf. Double for 2 loaves. Inspired by Spark Recipes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (helps to keep it light and airy). You could try cutting this in half further (1/2 cup white; 1/2 cup oat or whole wheat)
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar *You could cut out the rest of the white sugar and just use more stevia. Depends on preference.
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 1 Tbsp. molasses
  • 3 Tbsp. stevia/xylitol blend
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup 1% milk (or skim or almond milk)
  • 1/2 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine wet ingredients and sugars in another bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients until combined. Do not over-stir!
  3. Spoon batter into 1 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick.

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Halloween Weekend and Detox Kale Soup

October 29th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Busy weekend! Met up with Valerie for dinner, and then a macaroon hunt.

It was a serendipitous day! Everything worked out. We found the most delicious desserts and macaroon at Joli Kobe Bakery.

Believe it or not, I don’t think I have ever had a macaroon before! I think the texture is amazing–chewy and a little crunchy. Delicious flavor. But, the part I don’t like is that they taste almost sickeningly sweet. I may just be more sensitive to sweetness.

Still, we ended up eating quite a bit of sugar this weekend. Nutrition fail. But, that’s OK–we tried some new things and it was out of my ordinary routine. And… went out dressed up like cat woman!

So, now you see the need for this detoxifying kale soup!

Kale is jam-packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. I call it a “detox” soup, but I happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge, and it was a cool, dark fall day. Perfect weather to stay at home and cook.

Kale and Turkey Sausage Soup

Makes 8 to 10 servings. So, feel free to freeze some after making.
Recipe inspired by Skinny Taste.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 medium-small yellow onions, sliced or chopped
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 lb. bag of kale
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 white potato or 1 large sweet potato, diced
  • 1 lb. spicy, lean turkey sausage
  • 2-2.5 Qt. of your preferred broth (chicken, vegetable, or reduced sodium). *If you use the regular broth (not reduced sodium), you may want to add about 4 cups of water to make it not too salty.
  • 1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 1 tsp. ground rosemary
  • 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
  • pepper

Directions:

  1. Add the olive oil to a large stock pot, and saute the chopped onions 3-4 minutes. Next, add the carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Add the garlic.
  2. Add the turkey sausage (I squeeze out of the casing so that you get a more ground turkey texture). Stir, and break up the sausage with your spatula or spoon. Cook about 3 minutes.
  3. Add a small amount of broth (about 2 cups) and then add the kale gradually to the pot. Allow the kale to steam slightly (cover the pot), and shrink down. Continue to add kale until you have used the whole bag.
  4. Next, add the rest of your stock, potatoes, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil.
  5. When you have brought to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer about 30-45 minutes on low.

Serve by itself, or others may like some melted cheese of their choice on top!

Now time to have a healthy week! Going to enjoy the fall leaves and go for a run today. How about you?

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Fall Foodie Weekend

October 14th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Eats of the Week - (2 Comments)

Met up with the family this weekend for a little hike and a drive to the apple orchards!

We started off the morning with a breakfast casserole made by my Dad:

Not super healthy… Not my favorite anyway because of the sausage and cheese everywhere. So, this is what my plate looked like:

And then ate more nuts, and a slice of bread.

We drove to our hiking spot, and let Nala play in the water!

Stopped in town after our hike, and a few of us (not me!) got some sugary sodas. Not so good. A quote from my sister, “I never drink soda”. Except for when you do! Haha.

Stopped at the apple orchard to pick up some fresh apples. Apple season always is amazing because the rest of the year you forget how fresh apples can taste.

Picked up some winesap and cameo apples. I haven’t had many winesap apples before, but I like them for their mildly sweet and sour flavor and good crunch.

After our scenic drive home, we had family salmon dinner per usual that was delicious.

And of course, some sinfully rich brownies (from Barefoot Contessa recipe) made by Psycho Holiday Baker:

And some apple pies (blackberry, lemon, and coconut too!) that we got from the apple orchard:

And then, and arm wrestle for good measure.

Relaxing fall weekend! As always, it’s about learning how to deal with eating in moderation and what that truly means ;)

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Halloween and Fall Recipe Roundup

October 11th, 2012 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (0 Comments)

Here are some recipes and ideas I have come across on the blogosphere that I have been wanting to try! I just love the fall season–great weather and warm cozy foods!

That’s it for now! I will update this list as I find more fun and tasty recipes to add. Happy fall!

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What to Do with Leftover Canned Pumpkin?

November 30th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (2 Comments)

Make pumpkin oatmeal!

This is probably the easiest and healthiest thing you can do with that extra canned pumpkin that is leftover from holiday baking, etc. Usually leftover canned ingredients just linger in my fridge, but I told myself that I am not going to waste more food!

Boring oatmeal picture. But, yes, I had to show you that it actually does turn orange!

Directions:

  • Pour out about 1/2 cup dry oatmeal, and add your water or milk (I prefer milk).
  • Add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
  • Add about 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, and stir.
  • I added 1 or 2 Tbsp. of raisins to help sweeten it, and 1 packet of stevia.
We tend to pay premium, over-priced amounts for anything with pumpkin in it which I think it ridiculous. So, this is just another way to make delicious and healthy (because of all the extra vitamin A and antioxidants from the pumpkin) food.

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Pre-Turkey Dinner

November 24th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Miscellaneous | Recipes - (0 Comments)

After I slaved away for a few hours making my apple pie (non-nutritious version, sorry)…
…and my Mom (aka psycho Holiday baker) worked all day making her cute little pumpkin muffins (and stuffing, cranberry bread which got burnt, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and more)…

…my Dad made us salmon dinner after all that hard work :)  He gets a lot of his recipe ides from Publix (a grocery store in the south east for those who don’t know).

Meal Idea: Publix has this section of the store called Apron’s Simple Meals where they display one of their recipe ideas already cooked for you to try. They also have tons of recipes that you can pick up, and then get the ingredients on the list. It makes it super duper easy for those who are new to cooking.

Most recipes are not for the health conscious, but they are not completely unhealthy either. If you know how to make recipe substitutions to create a healthier dish, Apron’s meal ideas could be a great idea to help you cook at home during the week.

For example, instead of white pasta, I convinced my Dad to get whole wheat pasta. Everything else in the recipe got my seal of healthy approval. Haha.

Anyway, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

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Last Minute Thanksgiving Prep

November 21st, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (1 Comments)

My family is pretty serious about our Thanksgiving dinner. My Mom does most of the cooking, and always makes excellent food. She asked me to make the apple pie as usual, but also wants me to make some kind of vegetable side dish, or an appetizer at least.

I could make the same cheese ball as last year.
It was a big hit!

Or, here is some inspiration from other blogs and websites:

Sides

Appetizers

I will probably go with making a salad, and some other veggie side, and then probably the cheese ball, and make some sweet potato and beet chips!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving dinner?

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Apple Chips for Halloween

October 31st, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Miscellaneous | Recipes - (1 Comments)

I finally made apple chips last week. It was quite the endeavor. They take forever in the oven. They are very simple to make, but take so long to cook. You smell them cooking, and can’t wait to be able to eat them.

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 250. Slice the apples thinly on a mandolin. I highly recommend using a mandolin for this so that you get even slicing and it makes it ten times easier.
  • Place the apples on a baking sheet in a single layer. Add a little cinnamon and pinch of salt. I recommend using more than one baking sheet in the oven at a time to speed things up. During cooking, just rotate the baking sheets for more even cooking.
  • Bake for 90 minutes. Allow to cool so that the chips will crisp-up.

There you have it! A healthy and delicious fall snack that is not Halloween candy. These chips came out a little darker (I may have cooked them longer than really needed), but they still tasted great.

What are you being for Halloween? I dressed up with my sister and my man as a flight attendant, Pan Am style.
Happy Halloween!

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Healthier Apple Coffee Cake

October 19th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (6 Comments)

So far I have used 3 apples of my 10+ pound bag of apples to make apple coffee cake. At least I found one tasty use for them so far!

I decided to modify the Emeril recipe for apple coffee cake. I figured I could trust Emeril on making delicious food.

Healthier Apple Coffee Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 1/2 stick Earth Balance (about 4Tbsp.)
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 small-medium peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:

  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. stevia
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons Earth Balance, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.

2. Mix the wet ingredients thoroughly. Then, separately mix the dry ingredients. Slowly add the wet to the dry ingredients.

3. Fold in the chopped and prepared apples.

4. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Then, prepare the crumble topping by stirring together until small pea size granules form. Add the crumble topping.

5. Bake about 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

I think this recipe was very tasty for a healthier version because I still used a fat source, and some sugar. I also added a tiny drizzle of honey to the top to add somewhat of a glaze. I would definitely recommend that. Mr Cyclist said it was good, and that it “tastes healthy”. So, I guess it passes the taste test!

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What To Do with a Peck of Apples?

October 17th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole in Kitchen | Recipes - (0 Comments)

We went to an apple festival in Ellijay, GA this weekend in search of some tasty apples. I came home with a peck of apples which I figured out is supposed to be about 10.5 pounds for only $8. That means it was only about $0.76 per pound. Great deal. And they are tasty, local pink lady apples.
I also tried fried green tomatoes for the first time this weekend–I am from the North, so give me a break. I know this is not health food. I am not stupid. There were also a few fried green beans that we tried which were not as good.

I liked the flavor and texture of the fried green tomatoes, but you can’t eat very many because they are so heavy. If you fry one whole green tomato (sliced), it is about 500 calories for the whole thing. This was still a better choice than the fried onion everyone else was walking around with which was closer to 2000 calories.

The weather was in the 80′s (in October!) this weekend, so I got an ice cream cone to cool off before selecting my apples.
Then, we went on a nice long hike to work off our more unhealthy choices, and spotted the 2nd largest tree in Georgia.
 Anyway, here are my ideas so far for the ten pounds of apples I have:

Any more apple recipe ideas?

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