Filling Snacks!

When it comes to granola bars, I have to admit I’m pretty picky. Am I the only one who thinks they are always incredibly too small for 150-200 calories? These LARGE treats kick the store-bought snacks to the curb. Plus, they double up as granola bars and cookies! They are great for breakfast or a quick on-the-go snack with fiber and protein to keep you full.

So is it a granola bar, or is it a cookie? Its up to you... All I know is they are YUMMY and perfect to throw in your bag for a quick bite!

Cranberry-Almond Bar/Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup regular oats

6 tbsp whole wheat flour

6 tbsp wheat bran
1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)

4 tbsp brown sugar, not packed

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
4 tsp Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer

1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
2 tbsp Craisins, chopped into small pieces
¼ cup sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine oats, whole wheat flour, wheat bran, wheat germ, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, dissolve Coffee-mate creamer into 1/4 cup hot water. Add pumpkin and egg-substitute and mix well.

Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until completely blended. Slowly sprinkle chopped Craisins and almonds into the batter, making sure they don't stick together.

Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray (preferably butter flavored), and spoon batter into 8 evenly spaced circles (or whatever shape you desire). Spread the batter out to about ½ thick, as the batter does not expand while baking. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes (until tops are just slightly crispy). Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack.

Store your treats in the refrigerator, as the wheat bran will quickly become rancid. They also keep very well in the freezer. Just stick one in the refrigerator to thaw the night before you plan to eat it and it will be nice and ready for you.

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 156

Total Fat: 3.6g

Saturated Fat: 0.5g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 177.4mg

Carbohydrates: 25.7g

Fiber: 6.7g

Sugar: 4.1

Protein: 7.7g

Fancy Fall Flavor

I think one of my favorite things about fall is the bounty of warm, inviting flavors that come with crisp days and changing leaves. This gourmet salad recipe perfectly captures two classic fall flavors: apple and butternut squash. The inspiration for this recipe came from a Martha Stewart recipe that called for obscure ingredients and extra fat with a slathering of olive oil. I swapped out a few of the ingredients for more attainable and affordable options and slimmed down the dressing, which yielded a satisfying salad full of flavor. This salad is great as a main dish, light lunch, or served alongside roasted chicken.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple, and Onion Salad

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled and cut into ½ thick wedges

1 small yellow onion, sliced crosswise into rings

½ medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½ pieces

4-6 cups arugula (1 package)

½ tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

¼ cup sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Spray two baking sheets with olive oil cooking spray. Add apple slices and onion to one baking sheet. Add butternut squash to the other baking sheet. Season both with salt and pepper and spray the tops with olive oil cooking spray. Bake the apples and onion for 20-25 minutes and the butternut squash for 30-40 minutes until everything is tender and browned.

Meanwhile, combine oil, apple cider vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Toss arugula with oil-vinegar mixture and top with roasted apples, onions, and squash and sprinkle with sliced almonds. 

Loaded Turkey Chili

In my eyes, chili is kind of like a garbage disposal for whatever is approaching it’s expiration date in your refrigerator or pantry. You can throw in whatever veggies, beans, and canned tomatoes that have been sitting in the bottom of that vegetable crisper or cupboard and it always turns out delicious. All it takes is three simple components for a delicious chili: vegetable base, beans, and tomatoes. This method will deliver a delicious, steamy bowl of chili every time, but if you would like to add a little more protein add either extra lean ground turkey or even a bag of Boca or Morningstar “Ground Beef” Crumbles for even lower calories and fat.

This is a recipe that you can make once and eat all week, and even freeze leftovers for that night you really don’t feel like cooking but want a hot comforting meal in minutes.

Loaded Turkey Chili 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 medium green pepper, diced
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 14.5 ounce can black beans
• 14.5 ounce can red kidney beans
• 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 14.5 ounce can corn
• 1 packet chili seasoning (or a combination of chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper)

Optional Garnishes:

• Cilantro, chopped
• Fat free sour cream
• Fat free cheddar cheese
• Hot sauce 

Method: 

Preheat a large sauté pan to medium high heat. Spray liberally with cooking spray and add ground turkey. Cook until browned, while crumbling with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove turkey from dish and set aside.

Preheat a large stock pot to medium heat. Coat with cooking spray and add onion, carrots, and green pepper. Cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add canned goods, chili seasoning, and cooked turkey. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and hot sauce, if desired. 

Nutrition Information (1/6^th of recipe, without garnishes):

Calories: 285

Total Fat: 2.4g

Saturated Fat: 0.3g

Cholesterol: 30mg

Sodium: 891.6mg

Carbohydrates: 41.3g

Fiber: 10.9g

Sugar: 9.1g

Protein: 28.9g

The Never-Ending Saga: Leftover Chicken

When I’m cooking chicken just for two it seems that there is always one lonely leftover piece. Eating it the next day for lunch can get redundant, but not if you dress it up in a chicken salad.

Chicken salad is one of my favorite things to do with leftover chicken. Just like there are a million and one ways to make chicken, there are a million and one ways to make chicken salad. No matter how much chicken you have left, you can quickly mix it up with just a few ingredients and have a whole new delicious meal, either on a sandwich, bed of lettuce, or just straight out of the bowl!

There is really no measuring when it comes to making chicken salad, but I’ll give you a sample recipe that I use to make my favorite version of chicken salad. It’s kind of a take on the classic Waldorf Chicken Salad, without the standard high fat and calorie counts thanks to fat free mayonnaise. This recipe is for a 1.5 lb package of boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you can scale it down for whatever amount of chicken you have leftover from last night's dinner.

Caitlin’s Slimmed-Down Chicken Salad

4 servings 

Ingredients:

1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded/chopped

¼ cup fat free mayonnaise

1 tablespoon light mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup diced white onion

1/2 cup diced grapes

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley 

Method: 

Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Enjoy! 

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 233

Total fat: 3.3g

Saturated Fat: 0.9g

Cholesterol: 104.9mg

Sodium: 566.2mg

Carbohydrates: 5.9g

Fiber: 0.8g

Sugar: 4.1g

Protein: 40.9g

There are so many other ways to create delicious chicken salad. Here are two of my other favorite combinations:

• Buffalo: chicken, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, Laughing Cow Light Blue Cheese flavor, Greek yogurt, celery, onion, salt, pepper
• Mediterranean: chicken, Greek yogurt, canned artichoke hearts, cucumber, onion, calamata olives, salt, pepper, oregano  

Florentine Stuffed Chicken

Creamy spinach and mushrooms packed into a chicken breast? Yes, please! I’ll break down what may be a daunting task: stuffing a chicken breast. With this easy-to-make filling, stuffed chicken breasts couldn’t be easier. Better yet, once you know the method you can use almost any combination of ingredients in your kitchen. 

Florentine Stuffed Chicken Breasts 

4 Servings 

Ingredients:

1.5 lb chicken breasts or cutlets

½ cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach (thawed and liquid squeezed out)

¼ cup sour cream

2 Light Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow cheese wedges

Salt and pepper

Optional: 2 tablespoons parsley 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 375º

Bring a medium skillet to medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray and add onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Sauté for 5 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, combine thawed and dried spinach, cheese wedges and sour cream. Once mushroom-onion mixture is cooked through, add to spinach mixture. Season with salt and pepper. This is your stuffing.

If you are working with chicken breasts, butterfly the breasts into two separate pieces and pound until about ¼-½ thick.  (For instruction on how to butterfly a chicken breast, click here. To make it even easier to pound, place in a large un-zipped Ziploc bag and use a skillet if you do not have a meat mallet.)  If you are working with chicken cutlets, skip this step all together.

Depending on the shape and thickness of your chicken, you can stuff it one of two ways:

For nicely shaped oblong chicken breasts that are on the thicker side, cut a slit in the side of the chicken breast, like you are slicing a pita pocket.  Place a few tablespoons of the stuffing into the pocket, leaving space around the edge to create a seal. After stuffing the chicken, roll the stuffed part over the seam (chicken will end up seam side down)

For irregular shaped chicken breasts, simply put a few tablespoons of filling at one end of the chicken breast and roll up. 

Place chicken, seam side down, in a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray, for a nice golden color. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 260

Total Fat: 4.1g

Saturated Fat: 1.3g

Cholesterol: 109.6mg

Sodium: 367.1mg

Carbohydrates: 7g

Fiber: 1.8g

Sugar: 3.5g

Protein: 44.7g

Once you have the method for stuffed chicken breasts down, you can use whatever filling your heart (and mouth) desires!

"Meatless" Mexican Fiesta

For all of you who are skeptic of faux meat products, fear no more. They are great healthy substitutes for vegetarians and meat lovers alike! I am by no means a vegetarian, but I like to use these types of products for both their nutritional value and convenience. 

You can seriously slim down your next Mexican night by using vegetarian ground beef in this Enchilada Lasagna. Pair it with some Holy Healthy Guacamole and you’ve got yourself a fiesta!

Enchilada Casserole

4 servings 

14 oz Gimme Lean Ground Beef (found near the tofu, usually in the produce section)

¾ cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 4.5-ounce can green chiles

1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce

4.5 small corn tortillas

1 cup fat free cheddar cheese

¼ cup sliced black olives

¾ cup salsa

Preheat oven to 375º

Bring a large high-sided skillet to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and add “beef”. Using a flat tip spatula, break up into small chunks. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until completely crumbled. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Respray skillet with cooking spray and add onions and peppers. Sauté 5 minutes, until tender. Add cooked ground beef crumbles back to pan. Add green chiles and most of the enchilada sauce.

In a medium casserole dish or baking pan, add remaining 3-4 tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Layer one and a half tortillas, 1/3 of beef mixture, a few olives, and 1/3 cup of cheese. Repeat two more times. For the last layer, add salsa before olives and cheese. Bake in the oven, covered, for 30 minutes.

Note: You can substitute a package of Boca or Morningstar Ground Beef Crumbles if you cannot find the Gimme Lean Ground Beef. Just add them (still frozen) after cooking the onions and peppers. They will defrost in just a few minutes, then continue adding the chiles and enchilada sauce.

Nutrition Information (1/4th of casserole):

Calories: 280

Total Fat: 3.4g

Saturated Fat: 0.3g

Cholesterol: 5mg

Sodium: 1,419mg

Carbohydrates: 34.9g

Fiber: 5.3 g

Sugar: 7.7g

Protein: 26.5g

This recipe is "Guy Approved".

Some of us just can't have Mexican food without guacamole! To capture all the goodness of guacamole without feeling weighed down, try this trick: stretch the flavor and heart healthy fats of avocados with a mild and creamy mixture of Greek yogurt and fat free sour cream.  

Here is my go-to recipe for a delicious guacamole dip, sans guilt.

Holy Healthy Guacamole Dip

6 servings

Ingredients:

¼ cup fat free sour cream

¼ cup fat free Greek yogurt

½ cup chopped tomato

¼ cup chopped onion

½ teaspoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon cumin

1/8 teapoon coriandor

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

¼ teaspoon hot sauce

2 tablespoons cilantro

2 Hass avocados, diced

juice of 1 lime

Method:

Combine all ingredients except avocados and lime juice in a medium bowl.

Slice avocado lengthwise and remove pit. Slice in a criss-cross pattern and scoop out flesh with large spoon. Add to bowl and pour lime juice directly over avocados to prevent browning. Stir to combine all ingredients, slightly mashing avocado to desired consistency.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let flavors combine.

Enjoy with cut up veggies (red bell peppers work great) or baked tortilla chips. I like Guiltless Gourmet Brand. You can have 18 chips for just 120 calories and 3g fat. 

Nutrition Information (1/6 of dip, about 1/4 - 1/3 cups):

Calories: 83

Total Fat: 5.6g

Saturated Fat: 0.6g

Cholesterol: 1.5mg

Sodium: 199.9mg

Carbohydrates: 6.7g

Fiber: 2.9g

Sugar: 2.3g

Protein: 2.8g

Homemade Applesauce

The change of seasons is not just a cue for a change of wardrobe…. I like to think of a change of season as a change of flavor. With summer’s bounty behind us, it’s time for heartier, comforting meals featuring fall flavor. Using in-season fruits and vegetables is a great way to center a meal. I like to look up what’s is in season and check what’s on sale in my grocery store and then use that ingredient as a guide for my next cooking adventure. This week: Gala apples. With fall’s plentiful apple crop closely approaching, I want to share with you a delicious and easy way to enjoy homemade applesauce.

Applesauce is a wonderful way to capture the crisp, sweet flavor of fall apples. It is also a canvas for flavor; you can easily jazz up applesauce with other fruits such as cranberries, pears or plums. Simply add them while cooking the apples and continue processing. You can also experiment with different spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and ginger. 

Rustic Homemade Applesauce

Ingredients:

4 cups peeled, chopped apples (about 3 medium apples)

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (typically a mix of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and allspice)

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon fat free sour cream 

Method:          

Add first 6 ingredients to a medium saucepan. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook an additional 10 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash to desired consistency (I like mine extra chunky!) Alternatively, if you prefer more of a pureed consistency, pulse in a blender or food processor. Stir in fat free sour cream.

The touch of sour cream at the end makes this chunky, rustic applesauce extra rich and decadent.

Enjoy warm or chilled, as a side dish or a dessert.

Makes, four ½-cup servings

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 63

Total Fat: 0.2g

Saturated Fat: 0g

Cholesterol: 0.6mg

Sodium: 62.1mg

Carbohydrates: 16.6g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 11.9g

Protein: 0.6g