329/365 Blueberry Cobbler: a 6C Challenge Approved Dessert

Picture does not do it justice!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Not sure how many of y'all have decided to join me in the 6C challenge but if you are, here is an excellent dessert that does not count as one of the C's even though, yes I know it starts with a C.

Berries are in season folks and the result couldn't be sweeter! This was such an incredibly easy dessert to whip up and oh so good. The only hard part is not eating all of it in one sitting. Seriously, it's one of those where your eyes roll back into your head so you can take it all in. Find the recipe here. I added a couple shakes of cinnamon to the orange juice-blueberry mix and also made sure to put 1/4 tsp. salt because it contrasts the sweetness of the dough...make this now!

In health,

Lauren

280/365 Sinful Spinach and Ham Quiche

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

This is the last recipe I made from my cooking weekend and oh is it sinful. The part that makes it to so bad is that each serving has 14g of fat (you can see full nutrition details here); it's also low in fiber but has 12g protein. Sadly, all the nutrition from the spinach in this doesn't really cancel out the bad stuff. Despite all of this, everything in moderation. I can eat a 243 calorie slice of this mostly guilt free so long as I keep track of my other fat intake for the day. Eating it slowly is difficult but it helps me savor it more and lets my hormones tell my brain that yes, this is a good amount of calories and you're full. I made this recipe up based on a lot of ones that I saw online, I am very pleased.

Ingredients:
1 frozen deep dish pie crust, stab the bottom and sides with a fork
2 tbsp EVOO
1/2 cup onions
1 10 oz. frozen spinach package
2 eggs
4 oz. crumbled Feta
3/4 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. skim milk
1/4 lbs honey baked ham deli meat, sliced into matchsticks

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven at 350F
2. Saute onions and garlic in EVOO
3. Combine spinach, onion, and herbs. Pour into pie crust.
4. Beat eggs in bowl. Add milk and cheese. Pour mixture over veggies.
5. Bake 55 min

Too good, seriously. I can't wait to eat this right now; this picture doesn't do it justice.

In health,

Lauren

278/365 Getting in Touch with My Inner Jew...Challah!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

The food making continues! Actually, most of this was done on Saturday since it was rainy and gross but, that's okay. I want to share more happy delicious things that have been made from my tiny kitchen.

I know I wrote a post once upon a time ago about the dangers of eating yummy bread such as this: highly addictive with little nutritional value in return. However, it is the Easter season and I thought it was time to try a stab at making this bread (and yes, I do realize that bread made with yeast like this one would not be acceptable at Passover). Anyway, here is the finished result. The recipe was from Tracey's Culinary Adventures. The one downfall was that her baking time is too high and I should have kept a better eye on my bread; as you can see, it's a little too brown and not shiny enough. Next time, I will bake this at 350F for 20-25 min rather than 375F for 30 min. Still, the bread was not ruined. It is sweet and delicious just like I hoped it would be. Though it is still nice and tender, if I don't eat it (or give it away) quickly it will become hard. This isn't always a problem though; I could make Stuffed French Toast which will probably thwart my April plan...update on that soon, it's going well! Also, I did see a recipe for whole wheat flour challah; I'll explore that in the future too along with gluten-free food.

Remember: everything in moderation!! Happy Easter!

In health,

Lauren

276/365 DIY Junk Food: Milano Cookies

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I have been looking forward to this weekend because it's Holy Week and I enjoy celebrating Easter and because there are so many foods I want to make!

Here is the first: homemade Milano Cookies. I do love these Pepperidge Farm treats, so much that I ignored them at the grocery store and decided that yes in fact this is something I can do myself! Thanks to foodgawker.com, I was able to find lots of different recipes for it. I decided to go with this one. I followed the recipe exactly except that clearly I made sandwiches instead of drizzling the chocolate on top. Each cookie sandwich is 130 calories (Pepperidge Farm actually wins here, 3 cookies = 180 calories); I blame it on the ridiculous amount of butter in the dough. I want to try this again with less butter...we'll see. Still, so delicious! Since I worked hard to make it myself, I'd like to think that I'm much more inclined not to scarf them down; that is the method behind the DIY Junk Food madness.

In health,

Lauren

274/365 Strawberry Chocolate Bread

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Did I mention that I also like to bake when I'm feeling sick? Enter Strawberry Chocolate Bread!

As much as I enjoy the comforts of my over-sized chair, fuzzy fleece blanket, cuppa tea, and book, I also love to bake. It keeps me from being totally lethargic and rewards me with a fantastic treat. I decided to make this bread because strawberries are on sale, I love bread, and I love chocolate. This recipe was originally from allrecipes.com. I adapted it just a little and am pleased with the results; I also cut it in half since I didn't have 2 loaf pans and had to use an 8x8 container instead.

Ingredients:
1.5 c flour (I used whole wheat)
1/3 c wheat bran (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten
1/2 c applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c sugar
2 c sliced strawberries
1/2 c chocolate chips

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare loaf pan by spraying with Pam or the like
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, wheat bran, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, combine eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
4. Place sliced strawberries in another small bowl. Pour sugar on top and toss so that strawberries are coated with sugar. Set aside.
5. Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the well and mix gently until a dough forms. Now take your sugared strawberries and chocolate chips and fold them into the dough.
6. Pour dough into prepared pan and bake for 60 min if in loaf pan (my 8x8 took only 35 minutes). Check with a knife every so often if you're unsure; if it comes out clean, it's ready!

According to Livestrong.com, each serving (16 servings in my case) is 155 calories, 2g fiber, 6g sugar, 3g protein.


In health,

Lauren

241/365 DIY Junk Food: Banana Bread

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,


I never like tossing out over-ripened bananas. Generally I will make cookies with them but, this time I decided to make some banana bread. Sadly, I didn't have a loaf pan so I had to bake it in an 8x8 pan, still came out great.





The original recipe was from allrecipes.com. I made a few adjustments to make it a little healthier.
- 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce instead of butter
- 1/2 c. sugar (1 c. would have been over sweet since my bananas were really ripe = really sweet)
- added 1/2 c. ground flax seed
- omitted milk (read: forgot to add in milk)
- used whole wheat flour instead
- since my pan was not the traditional loaf pan, my baking time was decreased by about 10 minutes.

Voila! A super easy, delicious banana bread. I hope you enjoy!

In health,

Lauren

237/365 DIY Junk Food: Rich Chocolate Pie

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

In honor of Pi day, Kelby and I baked a chocolate pie...and what a pie it was! In fact, I would go so far as to call it Your Royal Pie-ness! It was insanely delicious and rich. The recipe is from allrecipes.com. I accidentally baked it for 30 minutes instead of the recommended 35-40 min but it still tastes fantastically gooey; the contributor said that it was best undercooked anyway. Definitely serve this with whipped cream or a tall glass of milk to wash it down. Enjoy!

In health,

Lauren

225/365 Bread Pudding

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

For my own little Oscar party, I had some Brie cheese and wine served with slices of apple and chunks of a French Baguette, a combination I learned from my dear friend Cole. I couldn't finish the baguette that day (I would be shocked if I or anyone else could single handedly) and was left with a hard loaf two days later. This inspired me to make some bread pudding.

Bread pudding is really easy to make. I didn't have all the ingredients for this recipe, so I made these changes:
- I only had 3 cups worth of old bread
- 1/2 cup sugar instead of 1
- 2 egg whites, 2tbsp butter, and 2 tbsp applesauce because I didn't have 2 eggs
- I didn't have pumpkin spice, vanilla extract, or raisins so I used 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and 1/4 cup craisins
- I also added 1/4 of flaxseed for extra fiber
- I didn't make the custard

Be as creative as you can with this sort of thing. You could add nuts to make it more filling and more nutritious.

In health,

Lauren

214/365 DIY Junk Food: Chocolate Chip-Pistachio-Cranberry Biscotti

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I picked up a book at my local public library called Biscotti and Other Low-Fat Cookies by: Maria Robbins. I took her recipe at tweaked it to make it a little more healthy (and because I didn't have all her ingredients).

Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour (don't worry, there isn't any bitter after taste when they're done)

3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 tbsp grated orange zest
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 c shelled pistachios
3/4 c chocolate chips
1/2 dried cranberry
1/2 c. ground flax seed

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, orange zest, and vanilla extract.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients bowl. Pour the wet mix into the well. Gently stir together making a sticky dough that holds together. Mix in pistachios, chocolate chips, cranberry, and flax seed.
5. Divide dough. Place on lightly floured surface. Shape into 2 logs about 12 inches long and 2 inches thick. Place onto baking sheet. Flatten out so that they are 3 inches wide. Bake for 30 minutes so they are firm to the touch.
6. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack. Reduce temperature to 300F.
7. With a spatula, remove biscotti logs to a cutting board. Slice diagonally into 1/2in slices with a serrated knife. Arrange back on baking sheet, cut side down.
8. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove, flip to other side and bake another 10 minutes.
9. Remove biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely before storing in air tight container. They will keep for 1 month.

Seriously, these are delicious and a healthier biscotti than most. Since it's got the pistachios and flax seed, it's got good fat that should tide you over for awhile. The cranberries taste wonderful with the chocolate chips. You can hardly tell that you used whole wheat flour and that there's even flax seed in it!

In health,

Lauren

102/365 Pumpkin Seeds

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

It's that time of year for pumpkin carving. Not only is it fun to make silly shapes and faces, but the pumpkin seeds are yummy to eat. Previously I wrote about roasting acorn squash seeds; pumpkin seeds are a kind of squash so the nutrition value is comparable. I didn't really use a recipe for mine. Just washed the guts off of the seeds, spread them on a baking sheet, sprinkled them with salt, cinnamon, and sugar, and baked at 350F. Not sure what the baking time was, sorry for not keeping track. Sometimes with baking, you just have to go with your (pumpkin) guts. Just check them periodically to make sure they aren't burning. Be safe tonight and Happy Halloween Eve!

In health,

Lauren

56/365 Banana Bread is Beautiful

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Some days, you just need to bake...or read a book, go for a walk, etc. However you unwind, do it. Relax and do something you enjoy.

Today I decided to make banana bread. This was mostly due to the fact that I had some over ripened bananas that needed to be utilized but, also because I was feeling stressed and knew that a baking session would cheer me up.

This recipe is from the Better Homes recipe book that my roommate has. It's fantastic!

Quick Banana Bread Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips, nuts, etc. (if desired)
1 and 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten

Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture.
3. Combine mashed bananas, sugar, butter, and eggs in another bowl.
4. Add in banana-egg mixture all at once into the flour mixture.
5. Gently fold in; batter should be clumpy. Don't overdo it or it might get way too fluffy.
6. Pour into loaf pan(s) until 2/3 full.
7. Coat topping on top of batter (see recipe after this one)
8. Bake for 55 minutes if using 9 inch rectangular bread pan. The smaller the pan, the less time you'll bake it for.
9. Once removed, let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan onto wire rack or plate. Let cool completely then wrap a towel or saran wrap. Let the ingredients mingle and settle for 8 hours or overnight.
10. Enjoy! It's so delicious and just right at the end of a long day.

Topping Recipe:
1. Pour brown sugar and flour into a bowl
2. Cut the 2 tbsp butter into the bowl (really just try to slice the butter into the sugar-flour mix)
3. With a fork, chop the butter so that it gets coated with the sugar-flour mixture as best you can.

In health,

Lauren

36/365 No Eggs? No Problem! Cookies

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Sometimes you just don't eat your bananas fast enough. If you don't have a baby, how do you use up those overripe bananas? I like to bake cookies  :)

I found this recipe called Craving Cookies. Instead of eggs or butter, you use bananas and peanut butter. The bananas give you potassium and the peanut butter gives you protein. Yes, peanut butter is fatty but, unlike butter, it has no cholesterol. I didn't have chocolate chips on hand, so I decided to add cinnamon in the batter. I also sprinkled cinnamon-sugar on top to give a Snickerdoodle effect to make up for my lack of chocolate.

In health,

Lauren

24/365 Choc-oat-late A-Sauce Cookie Bar

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Yesterday while I recovered from my wisdom teeth extraction, I was feeling out of it. Due to the narcotic, I couldn't concentrate on any of my assignments that I needed to write or anything. I decided to bake to clear my head and just do something with my hands. I find that when get caught up in an uncreative groove, I need to break from the system and do something creative. Hence, I decided to bake  :)

I wanted something that used applesauce as a substitute for oil/butter/eggs and that had chocolate. I found my savior in Applesauce Oatie Cookies. However, I used:

1. Old-fashioned oats (that's what we had in the house)
2. Whole wheat flour
3. A little less than 1 cup of brown sugar
4. 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup turbinado (raw sugar)
5. No raisins!

Also, I was lazy and didn't bake them as individual cookies. Rather I poured the batter into a 9 x 13. I had a little extra and put it in a smaller baking tin (picture above). I tell you friends, it's delicious! It's gloomy over here. I find that baking yumminess can lift your spiriits.

In health,

Lauren