Holy wheat flour Batman, these are delicious

I can't take all the credit for this recipe, but I can take the credit for knocking another 40 calories off of each muffin. Here's the original, already reduced calorie recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/raspberry-cream-cheese-muffins-10000000458808/

And here's mine:

5oz fat free cream cheese
3oz fat free key lime pie yogurt
11/2 c sugar
11/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c Egg Beaters
1 c wheat flour
1 c white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 c fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries
1/4 c chopped pecans
Grated rind of one lime

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, add yogurt and beat until mixed. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Add vanilla and Egg Beaters. In a separate bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, soda and salt and add to the wet mix alternating with the almond milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the raspberries, nuts and lime rind. Bake on 350 for 22 min.

Method to my madness: So why not just be happy with the original recipe? Because there is always a way to pull more calories out and add more flavor and nutrition. Hard to do with sweets, but by golly I'll try it! Many bakers don't like to use FF cream cheese because even when room temp it's hard to keep it from separating. That's why you beat it alone first, then layer your other ingredients. Why yogurt over butter--pretty simple really; almost no calories and you can add a ton of flavor. I like to use sugar substitutes (agave, honey, etc) a lot but this needed stability so I used real sugar. I love Egg Beaters! They only have 30 calories per 1/4 cup, which is about 1 egg, and a real egg has about 70 calories. Using whole wheat flour is a product that enhances the nutritional value. Most flours have around the same calories per serving, but whole wheat flour is less processed. This is where I will add protein powder and take these muffins as an after-workout snack. Oh, my favorite newly discovered ingredient is the unsweetened vanilla almond milk. There are only 35 calories per cup and my kids love it! FF milk has 90--that's a huge savings in calories!

I hope you enjoy this amended recipe. You don't even taste the lime or I should say it's not really identifiable. There's this taste in each bite that is fresh and awakens the taste buds and it leaves you wondering. Don't guess, it's the lime!

It's PESTO, people.

I love pesto! What is this pesto, you may ask (as my good friend Crystal did)?  According to my Italian food cook book it's "a sauce consisting of usually fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and grated cheese. [Italian, from past participle of pistare, pestare, to pound;]


My favorite word in this definition is "usually" because I rarely follow a recipe verbatim. I say usually because here is my rendition of "the best pesto ever"!

2 tall stalks of fresh basil (about 30 leaves)
1/2 cup (or so) of pumpkin seeds
1 handful (or so) of parmesan cheese
1 TBSP (or so) of EVOO
1 pinch (or so) of salt


Use your food processor or blender to make this into a lovely sauce. If you want it runnier, add more olive oil. I keep it to a minimum because I am also watching the calories. Put it over whole wheat pasta for the lowest calories or make your own raviolis and use this as your stuffing. Also, SUPER delicious on homemade wheat bread!

Refrigerator Oatmeal

The name gives it away. It's easy and...yummy! I have a hard time enjoying oatmeal in all it's different forms. I didn't even like oatmeal cookies growing up--I know, I didn't like a cookie--shocker! Since I have changed my ways, I have tried really hard to enjoy the benefits of oatmeal. Refrigerator oatmeal is a really easy way to do that, plus it takes about 3 minutes to put it together and then it's ready in the morning!

Here's my example, but I got it from this link; http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2012/03/293/Overnight,+No-Cook+Refrigerator+Oatmeal+--+A+healthy+breakfast+made+in+mason+jars+in+six+different+flavors!

Copy and paste into your search engine to see all of her glorious recipes.

1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup greek yogurt (I used strawberry)
11/2 tsp dried chia seeds (found at Natural Foods)
1/4 tsp extract (I used almond)
1 tsp honey (I used a Splenda package)
1/4 cup fruit (I used strawberries)

Put all ingredients in the jar except the fruit, put the lid on and shake it. Add your fruit and gently stir it around so the fruit doesn't stay on top. Put the lid back on and store it in the fridge over night or up to 4 days. It might last longer but I ate it all before then. Also, it's ok to heat it a little, just enough to take the chill off.

Tasty breakfast

I love to eat breakfast. It's by far my favorite meal. Well, I don't know about "by far" since I LOVE to eat! Anyway, I like things that are high in protein but also contain carbs--I really love carbs!

1 Bagel thin
1 egg
2 slices turkey bacon

Pan fry the egg with Pam. Cook the turkey bacon on a plate in the micro and stick your bagel in the toaster. I will add a tablespoon of sugar free jelly or 1/2 wedge of any flavor of Laughing Cow cheese. Sometimes I even slice a strawberry and stick between the buns.

250 calories for breakfast, just what I try to stay at.

Pre/post workout brownies

1 cup dates (or about 10 whole ones)
1 cup nuts
2 TBSP cocoa
1-4 TBSP water

Place dates, nuts and cocoa in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add a TBSP of water at a time until the mixture sticks together. Line a plate or small pan with plastic wrap and spread the mixture evenly. Leave in the refrigerator for several hours to set up. Cut into 1" squares and wrap individually for on-the-go yumminess!

Yields 24--this makes them only 42 calories each, <1 g of fat, 2 g of protein. They are super rich so they hit the sweet craving and give you a great boost of energy before a workout or burn off fast after a workout.

I store them in the freezer and throw one in my bag to eat after my workout. They're still cold, but completely thawed.

Also, I really like almonds because they aren't super sweet but pistachios are a great flavor and walnuts are really sweet. Just experiment and see what you like the most.

Fruit roll ups

3 cups extremely ripe fruit
2-3 tbsp of honey or 1/2 cup sugar


Put in the amount of sweetness that you like. Using real sugar helps the texture but I think honey makes it taste more natural.

Process in a blender to make the mix smooth.







Line a cookie sheet with clear plastic wrap. Pour mixture and smooth just to the edges without touching the edge. Your mix should be thin enough to pour but thick enough to stay where you put it.

Set oven to 170* or less, if your oven will go. Takes anywhere from 4-7 hours depending on thickness of mixture, moisture content and oven.

 You know they are done when you can touch them and they are not mushy. If the edges dry out a little just brush with water and let them sit out until the water has soaked in.

Pull the plastic wrap from the fruit and place on a sheet of parchment paper then cut into 1" strips and roll up. They keep for quite a while--two weeks or so--but we eat ours pretty quick!

Other tips: I like the frozen fruit that you purchase at the grocery store. Look at the ingredients and make sure it's just fruit. Some brands will add preservatives or sugar but I like the just fruit stuff. If you intend to make your rolls in 1-2 days, just put the bag in the fridge for it to thaw completely, then follow the above steps.