Sometimes I feel like something savory for breakfast, but this morning I wanted something sweet. As I was looking in my fridge, I didn’t have time to make pancakes, or something more complicated, but I thought about french toast. Instead of using bread though, I used a 100 calorie skinny bagel.

And I wanted a little crunch factor, so after dipping the bagel in the egg I then dredged it with 1/4 cup of crushed Cornflakes. Start to finish was 10 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 skinny bagel
1/2 banana
1 tsp. country crock spreadable margarine
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 Cornflakes
splash of vanilla extract

In a small skillet, I melted the margarine and the brown sugar. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, I beat one egg and added a little of the vanilla extract.

Take the outside of the bagel, dip it in the egg mixture, then dredge it in the crushed Cornflakes making sure to reserve enough for the other half of the bagel.

Place Cornflake side down in the skillet, add the banana and the other half of the bagel.

Flip once the bottom side gets browned and flip and continue cooking. It only takes a few minutes per side.

The verdict? Fantastic! The brown sugar/Cornflakes made a crispy sugary crust on the outside, the banana’s were softened on the inside. I’m glad I made only one because I definitely could have eaten another!

Calorie breakdown

1 tsp. brown sugar 15 calories
1 tsp. margarine 20 calories
egg mixture for dipping 30 calories
skinny bagel 100 calories
1/4 cup Cornflakes 20 calories
1/2 banana 40 calories

ONLY 225 CALORIES FOR THIS AWESOME BREAKFAST!

What’s your favorite healthy breakfast??

Yeah, my first tomato!!

OK, I have to start with my tomato!!! Last year for Mother’s Day, my husband got me 2 Topsy Turvy Tomato planters. Granted it was cooler last summer, but I kind of didn’t keep on top of them and I hung them too high, so it was hard to water, and I just let them die…

Fast forward to this year, I got a later start, but set them up again. Last night when I got home from work, my daughter shouted that there was “A red tomato!” So sure enough, as she grabbed it to show me, it came off in her hands. You can’t tell from the picture but it’s only a little bigger than a cherry tomato! Oh well, I plopped it into the blender with other veggies/tomatoes to make my homemade sauce and I was happy!

On the other plant, I have lots of flowers, and see new tomatoes coming!

More tomatoes coming soon....

So, taking care of my plants this year is paying off so far!

Speaking of veggies, I know a lot of people grow zucchini’s and the next thing you know you have too many to know what to do with! A few weeks ago, I was reading Kevin’s blog and he made zucchini blueberry bread and I knew I had to make it.

A friend of mine at work brings me blueberries from a blueberry farm by her cottage, and what I couldn’t eat fresh, I froze, so I used those berries in this bread. I changed a few things with the ingredients I had on hand, but it turned out great!

If you’ve never been to Kevin’s site, you have to. He makes the most amazing food and his food photography makes me jealous!

Blueberry Zucchini bread adapted from Kevin @ Closet Cooking

Makes 10 slices

1.5 cups zucchini, grated, squeezed and drained)
1/2 sugar
1/4 cup Canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

In a small bowl, add the zucchini thats been grated and squeezed of excess moisture, the egg, oil, milk, vinegar, and mix until it’s all incorporated.

In a separate bowl add all the dry ingredients. Then dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon. I didn’t even use a mixer, it took about 1 minute to stir the batter together and incorporate the flour.

Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

My kitchen smelled so good!

And, the nutritional info isn’t bad either!

Calories computed using www.caloriecount.com

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And another update! A few weeks ago (18 days ago in fact), I vowed to kick this to the curb!

I kind of felt like I was addicted to the stuff! I would have at least one, sometimes two, and there were bunches of times where I would have three in one day. I started to think that’s way too many chemicals to put in my body and the money I was spending on it was a big waste.

So how has it been? Actually, when I first started I didn’t think I could do it. I miss drinking it with my lunch at work, and while I am making dinner. But, I either drink water, or make tea, or an iced coffee and it’s been fine!

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And one last favor! If you can still vote for my friend John who is vying to win $10,000 from Stride Gum. He wants to run 40 races by his 40th birthday. He’s lost an amazing 109 pounds since December!

VOTE FOR HIM HERE!

Have a fantastic day everyone!

2 cups mixed fruit (I used the fruits mentioned above) pineapple, blueberries, mango.
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice (I used fresh)
Put all fruit in a blender and blend until smooth.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of water, if necessary.
Add sugar and lemon juice. Cover and blend until well mixed.
Pour into 4 oz. ice-pop molds or paper cups. Insert sticks. Freeze until solid.

Each cup is only 36 calories!

I don’t have a Popsicle molds, or sticks. I just put them in styrofoam cups and my kids dig it out with a spoon. It’s so good! Trader Joe’s frozen fruits are so inexpensive. Almost all of them are $2-$3 dollars a bag vs. $6 and up at a regular store.

Aldi is another great store to purchase frozen fruits, most of theirs are $2.00 -$2.50 for a bag.

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Picture courtesy of Buitoni

On another note, I received a free coupon for one of my Lucky Readers to Try Buitoni’s New Frozen Meals for 2! (up to a ($9.99 value!) as part of FOOD BUZZ’s taste tester program!

So, if you leave a comment, you will be eligible for the coupon!

Two of the new flavors are Southern Italian Style Meat Lasagna and Shrimp & Lobster Ravioli!

Have you bought Buitoni pastas before??

Healthy Desserts by Kitty Holman

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about diets is that you have to starve yourself, and that you have to avoid anything that tastes good. But that’s not true! It’s possible to make and enjoy healthy desserts that won’t ruin your diet lifestyle but that still offer the same great tastes you’ve come to love. Here are just a few:

Baby tiramisu
This is an easy, low-calorie alternative to the Italian dessert, appropriate for diabetics, and low in cholesterol, carbs, sodium, and saturated fat. You’ll need:
1/2 cup nonfat ricotta cheese (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 ladyfingers (about 1 3/4 ounces)
4 tablespoons brewed espresso, or strong coffee, divided
2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips, melted

Combine the ricotta, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Arrange six of the ladyfingers in a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and lightly drizzle with 2 tbsps espresso. Spread the ricotta mix over the ladyfingers, and then place the other layer of ladyfingers over the ricotta and drizzle with the remaining espresso. Then it’s time to drizzle the melted chocolate. Refrigerate the dish until the chocolate sets (about half an hour).

Broiled mango
This is another quick, easy dessert that’s simple to make and fun to eat. All you’ll need is one mango, peeled and sliced, and some lime wedges. Lay the mango slices on a broiler pan that’s been lined with foil. Preheat your oven’s broiler and place the rack in upper third of the oven. Broil the slices for 8-10 minutes, until they’re browned in spots. That’s it! Squeeze the lime wedges over them and serve. The tasty, sweet dessert is low in calories, carbs, cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fat, and it’s a heart-healthy treat, as well.

Pineapple-raspberry parfaits
These are ridiculously easy, and a great end to a smart meal! They’re also low in calories and cholesterol, and suitable for diabetics. Here’s what you’ll need:
2 8-ounce containers (2 cups total) of nonfat peach yogurt
1/2 pint of fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh, frozen or canned pineapple chunks

All you have to do is divide the yogurt into four glasses and layer it with the raspberries and pineapples. It’s a quick, delicious dessert that’s also a great source of vitamin C.

There are more healthy desserts I’ll be highlighting on this blog over time, but these should get you started. Happy eating!

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of Nursing Schools . She welcomes your comments at her email Id kitty.holman20@gmail.com.

Thanks for those great ideas Kitty! I have never made any of those desserts before, and I especially like the idea about broiled mango!

Well, I decided this year was going to be different. Usually on birthdays/Holiday mornings, we either get Dunkin Donuts, or I made cinnamon rolls, or a breakfast casserole with Cheese and Sausage, which of course is not healthy AT ALL! And of course, nibble out of the kids Easter baskets!

As my husband was about to pass me on the track, I ran with him for a lap and said what I really wanted for our Easter morning breakfast was a healthy meal. No donuts, no cinnamon rolls, or anything of the sorts. I wanted scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, English muffins and turkey bacon.

Fresh pineapple, strawberries, eggs, turkey bacon, lite english muffin!

Everyone chipped in. My husband made the awesome scrambled eggs, my 8 year old daughter cut the tops off of the strawberries, my son Paul made blueberry smoothies for his brother and sister, and my son Mark manned the turkey bacon! It was a great way to start the day.

Since it was so nice out we went to the park for a few hours to play catch and practicing t-ball since my daughter just started on a new T-ball team. I ran around the bases a lot!

Dinner actually can be a really healthy meal too. I had the usual. Ham, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, asiago cheese drop biscuits.

Biz's drop biscuits

The biscuits were super easy and the recipe comes from my twin sister Biz

2 cups flour
1 TB. sugar
1.25 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 TB butter (which I froze the butter and used a cheese grater to grate the butter into the batter)
2 oz. Asiago Cheese (or you can use cheddar cheese)
1 cup buttermilk

Just mix altogether just until it’s incorporated. The batter will be kind of sticky. Using a small ice cream scooper, I just scooped a little of the batter out and placed it on a greased cookie sheet. They don’t spread too much, so you can place them near each other and that’s okay!

They turned out really good!

And…here’s my dinner!

Jenn's Easter Dinner!

And, since I didn’t have any candy, I did make one of my favorite pies, chocolate dream pie!

Pre-made reduced fat graham cracker pie crust
I used 1 box of fat free sugar free chocolate pudding
1 3/4 cup fat free milk
whipped topping

Mix together the pudding and milk for several minutes. Then mix in 1/2 container of fat free whipped topping (the kind that comes in a tub). Pour that into the pie crust. Freeze for several hours. About 15 minutes before you serve it, take it out of the freezer so it kind of defrosts a little.

My son Paul's piece of pie!

So, all in all it was a HUGE success!

How did everyone else do? If you did over do it yesterday, just forget about it and get back on today!!