Protein Bars???

These are actually good, you'll have to give them a try if you are into protein mixes and are doing any weight lifting. My personal trainer gave them to me as a suggestion, she wasn't sure how they were going to taste. Enjoy!

Protein Bars


Ingredients

EAS 100% Chocolate flavored Whey Protein, 10 servings
Regular Oats Cereal, 1 1/2 cup (I used quick)
Kroger reduced fat Creamy Peanut butter, 1 1/2 C
honey 4 Tb
1/4 C Water (ended up with about a cup)

Nutritional Info
Fat: 11.4g
Carbohydrates: 18.9g
Calories:262.6
Protein: 23.8g

Mix all the ingredients but the powder in a bowl and microwave for 90 seconds. Stir and then microwave again until everything blends together. Stir in the powder and mix till blended. Press into a 9x9 pan or larger (if you like them thin, probably a 9x13, sprayed). Keep in fridge until solid. Cut and serve. Can put in baggies and store.
We cut our small pyrex size (4x12?)into 15 pieces, but it's really thick. I'm thinking it could be cut much smaller, so the calories were smaller.

Number of Servings: 15

Lasagna Florentine, on the low fat side

I made lasagna for dinner yesterday, which is always an undertaking. Lasagna is not a quick dinner, so it's not something we make often. It's also not very cheap, since we have developed a taste for ricotta cheese instead of just cottage. sigh. Like I said, I have gourmet tastes...grin.

So, It turned out a little browner on top because meetings ran late and kids left it in the oven, but it still tasted great. Try it, you'll like it!! ;)

Family Favorite Lasagna Florentine

Spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, 3 tall cans
Diced Tomatoes, 1 can
85% lean hamburger, 2.5 lbs, cooked, drained
Mushrooms, fresh, 1.25 cups sliced
onion, 1 cup chopped
Garlic, 4 tsp chopped (I buy the bottled stuff, already chopped)
lasagna noodles, 3 1.2 boxes (6 serving size)
fat free cottage cheese 3 containers
low fat ricotta, 2 1/2 containers
Spinach, frozen, 1/2 package defrosted
low moisture park skim mozzarella cheese grated, 6 cups
fat free mozzarella, 1 cup grated
Parsley
fennel
Italian seasoning

In a large dutch oven, (or pasta pan) Add the garlic, onion and mushrooms to the ground beef after draining, over low heat, stirring till well mixed. Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, stir, add fennel and Italian seasoning. In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, ricotta and mozzarella. Stir till well blended. Add parsley and spinach, stir till blended. Have two 9x13 pans sprayed. Ladle the sauce into each pan, just coating the bottom thinly. Put a layer of lasagna noodles. Then a layer of cheese sauce. Then a layer of noodles, and so forth, ending with the meat sauce. This might be a little thin, just make sure the noodles are all covered. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top. I made a separate end of one pan and put fat free mozzarella on my section. I had enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow.! Anyway, cover with foil and cook at 350 for an hour. Turn off the oven, remove the foil and place back in the oven to melt the cheese on top, about 10 minutes. Pull out and let sit for 5 minutes or so before cutting and serving. Cut each pan into 15 or more slices...enjoy with salad!!

Nutritional Info:
Servings Per Recipe: 32
Amount Per Serving:
* Calories: 337.9
* Total Fat: 9.7 g
* Cholesterol: 40.2 mg
* Sodium: 753.4 mg
* Total Carbs: 39.9 g
* Dietary Fiber: 3.7 g
* Protein: 25.8 g

Just look at it!!

Okay...In my other blog I stated I would be covering my food altering adventures here. In weight loss, one has to either change eating habits or fail. It has to be a life changing thing, or the weight will not stay off either. Since I have entered a phase in my life where I am paying someone to tell me how to eat and how to exercise...sigh...I am altering recipes like mad.



Yesterday was my 18 year old's day to cook. He wanted to make Chicken Enchiladas, which is a family favorite, takes a long time to make, and is generally work intensive. I figured he was starting good, but it still took him two and half hours, but most of it was simply because he's a novice at timing things so that they're more efficient. He'll learn -- he's pretty good. This is how they turned out! Don't they look terrific?? They tasted amazing! Especially considering they were low fat! Yes, you read that right. They were low fat. We used low fat and fat free sour cream, low fat and fat free cheese too. I'm posting the recipe so you can make them, and beware, it's a large recipe -- it makes 37 enchiladas. Enjoy!!

Low Fat Chicken Enchiladas

Reduced Fat Sour Cream, 2 cups
Red Pepper, 1 1/2 large, chopped
sweet onion, 1 med, chopped
Cream of Chicken soup, 2 cans
Mushrooms, 1 pkg, sliced/chopped
Diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning, 1 can, drained
Petite diced tomatoes with sweet onions, 1 can, drained
Fat Free Sour Cream, 2 cups (1 container)
Green bell pepper, 1 1/2, chopped
flour tortillas, 37 (might be able to do 38)
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked) chopped
Kraft fat free Cheddar cheese shredded, 1 cup
2% 4 cheese blend, 2 cups
Colby jack grated cheese, 4 cups

While the chicken is cooking, chop all the vegetables. I use a large bowl to toss everything into. I cook the chicken in a frying pan with pan spray and the lid on. It really cooks rather fast. While it's cooking, I chop the onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. and toss them in the bowl. In a separate bowl (although I forgot this last night, and that's why it looks a little chunky on top) I combine all the soup and sour cream and half of the cheese. Reserve 4 cups of this sauce, and then pour the rest over the chopped veggies along with the chicken when it's done cooking, cooled and been chopped.
Take the tortillas, put a large spoonful of filling in it, roll it up, and place it in a sprayed 9x13 pan, seam side down. Each pan should hold 10 to 12, you have to kind of squish them to fit 12. After you've filled your pans (last night took three) you pour the remainder of the sauce on top and the rest of the cheese. Try and cover as much as possible, since what is not covered browns a little faster than the rest.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden brown and cheese is fully melted.
YUM!!!
Nutritional Info:
* Servings Per Recipe: 37
* Amount Per Serving
* Calories: 243.4
* Total Fat: 8.7 g
* Cholesterol: 39.6 mg
* Sodium: 627.3 mg
* Total Carbs: 24.9 g
* Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
* Protein: 17.1 g

That Favorite from the Garden

Every year we make the same thing, and every year I try a new recipe. I finally found the combination of things that I like, and my daughter made it perfectly. She was the one putting things together, I was the one suggesting the changes. Amazing how well that worked! grin. So here is our recipe...low fat and low sugar zucchini bread to die for!

3 C Applesause (we used homemade unsweetened stuff)
2 C brown sugar
6 eggs (I guess we could have tried three eggs and three egg whites, but I didn't want to push it)
1 C Olive oil
4 C zucchini (grated)
2 ripe bananas (very ripe...ugh)
2 tsp baking soda
5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

mix all the applesause and sugar and eggs together, then add the oil and the zucchini and bananas. Then mix in the rest, making sure there aren't any clumps of stuff.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour. This makes 4 large loaves. And they are the lightest stuff you'll ever eat...YUM!

Low Fat, Low Sugar Cookies!

Okay -- It's my husband's opinion that deserts are deserts and they shouldn't be altered to make them low fat or low sugar. We need to just control ourselves and not eat so much of them.

If it were a perfect world, or if I were perfect, that would be the simple answer. But it's not, and I'm not, so I keep trying. You see, I like to eat healthy. Healthy is better for me and for my family. I don't feel like I need to monitor so much how many cookies they eat if they are healthier ones than if they are just sugar. It's easier to say yes! grin.

So, I thought I'd share my favorite low fat, low sugar recipe with you. I made these up last night, and they turned out pretty good. If you're used to really sweet cookies, you won't like them, so be prepared. They are not really sweet, though they have plenty of sweetener in them. I use a couple of unique ingredients, so I'll list the alternatives should you not have these items on hand.


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 4-5 dozen small (silver dollar size) cookies

1 1/2 C Bakers Helper (this is a fat substitute that I found at the surplus store, I don't know if you can still find it on shelves. It's great. I have also used canned white beans, pureed -- they just have a stronger taste -- you can also use a mashed banana -- this replaces 1 lb of butter)
1 C unsweetened applesause
1 C Brown sugar
1 pkg Truvia (or baking Splenda )
3 eggs, 2 egg whites
1 1/2 ts baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla
4 C quick oatmeal
4 C flour
1 pkg semi-sweet choc chips

Preheat oven to 325.Mix the top three items until well blended. Add eggs and baking soda and vanilla, mix till eggs are thoroughly blended. Gradually add oatmeal and then flour. The batter is really sticky and thick. Add chocolate chips. I used to use a pkg and a half and discovered one 12 oz pkg is really plenty. If you like the milk chocolate, use them, but it's too sweet for me.

Drop them by small spoonfuls on a pan prayed cookie sheet, kind of flattening them as you do so. I usually fit at least a dozen per batch. Cook for 8 minutes, they will be golden on the bottom, but not really very different on top. Cool on racks, enjoy!

Easy Lunch!

I got home from work today and had to figure out what to make for lunch. It's been that way all week, unfortunately. One day my daughter bought chinese, so that was easy. Today I remembered we had leftover mozzarella, pepperoni and pita pockets. That was a combination made in heaven and that's what we had. Just in case you need directions, I'll post them for ya.

Pita pizza's

6 whole wheat pitas
1 C spaghetti sauce (or less, depending on how much you like)
pkg of sliced pepperoni
grated mozzarella cheese
pineapple tidbits (optional)

My pita's were frozen, so I defrosted them in the microwave before putting them on the cookie sheet. Then I turned on my oven broiler to high. I slathered the sauce on the pitas and then divided out about 6 to 7 pepperoni per pita. Then I grated the cheese over the top. Not really heavy, but nice. Then I added pineappe, we are fruit bats in my house.
You slip it into the oven and let the cheese melt and get a little bubbly, perhaps even a little gold around the edges, and then pull it out. It's quick, easy and too fatning either!
Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

One of the simplest, perhaps, dishes that I like to make, is Chicken Enchiladas. The first time I had them, I'd just given birth and a neighbor brought them over for dinner. They were heavenly -- something I hadn't even tried making before. I immediately set about finding a recipe for them, and they are one of my families favorites. I still don't make them very often, because I have to make two full pans of them to make everyone happy...lol and that's a lot of work.

But yesterday, I decided I wanted them for lunch, so I whipped up a couple for my daughter and I to enjoy. Hopefully you'll like them too!


Chicken Enchiladas

12 Whole Wheat Tortillas softened
2 large or 4 small chicken breasts, fried, grilled, broiled, whatever and then sliced and chopped.
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper chopped (two if they're small)
1 -2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 container sour cream (I use low fat)
2 C grated cheese -- generally a mix of cheddar and montery jack
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 can chopped or sliced olives
1 can chopped or diced tomatoes (optional)
black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Mix chicken, onion, green pepper, mushrooms, 1/2soup and 1/2sour cream together in a bowl, sprinkle with pepper to taste. Fill tortillas, sprinkle with cheese, roll them up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish that's been sprayed with pan spray. You might need two pans. In the same bowl you mixed all the ingredients in, mix the remaining sour cream and soup, pour this over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 20 min, or until cheese is melted and edges are crispy.

If you like the taste of tomatoes, I would add the 1/2 the diced tomatoes to the filling and the other half to the top with the olives after it comes out of the oven.

Serve with Salad and you have an excellent meal.

Enjoy!