Apr 9, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Apr 9, 2010 in cookies, diabetic, News | 7 comments

Cookie experiment – and it worked!

I’ve had this cookbook for a long time now, but more recently I’ve been reading it. I never knew just how informational this book actually is! Well last night I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies for my kids lunches and I used his recipe, which is pretty much the same as the tollhouse cookie recipe. So, I got the butter out, put the brown sugar and sugar in and started to mix. I went to the fridge to get the eggs, but guess what? I had no eggs! Rats! I looked at the clock. It was 9:00 p.m., I was in my jammies…should I just put my raincoat on and run out? No, I didn’t have that much energy. Then I remembered my fried Celine who is Vegan and has a great blog called Have Cake Will Travel. I didn’t need eggs…I had ground flax seed! Did you know that a lot of Vegans use ground flax seed in place of eggs? I had read before that in place of one egg, you can use 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water. So, in place of 2 eggs, I measured out 2 tablespoons of the ground flax seed and 6 tablespoons of warm water.

I continued adding the rest of the ingredients and the batter looked just like it should have. I put the batter on the cookie sheet and set my timer for 7 minutes. I have a very unreliable oven, so I always go low in case they get burned! Well, when the timer went off, I opened the oven and the cookies were…ummm….flat and crispy! Hmmm…what to do. I hate wasting batter, so I added some more flour and tried again. This time they were a little better, but I decided to add even more flour and try a third time. Well, the third time was a charm! They turned out just like regular cookies, and you never would have known there were no eggs in the batter!

Basic Chocolate Chip cookies adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground flax seed mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix the butter and sugar together. In a small bowl, add the ground flax seed and water and stir together. Add that to the butter and sugar mixture and add the rest of the ingredients until combined.

My oven is weird, but these were done at 7-8 minutes at 375, but you oven might be more normal and it could go up to 10 minutes.

My family loved these! So, even if you don’t have all the ingredients you need, sometimes you can always improvise!

Have you ever used ground flax seed in place of eggs in recipes??

Apr 8, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Apr 8, 2010 in dessert, diabetic, News | 4 comments

Guest post – Healthy desserts!

Hi everyone! I have my first ever guest post! I would like to thank Kitty for writing this post about some healthy recipe ideas!

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!

Apr 6, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Apr 6, 2010 in News, weight loss superstars!! | 9 comments

Go Susie Go! Weight Loss Superstar 60+ pounds gone!!!!

One thing about me is that I LOVE information. I read tons of articles, books, magazines, websites, I join lots of groups, and I love learning everything I can about weight loss and eating, nutrition, etc… It’s what motivated me to get certified as a Nutrition and Wellness consultant last year. One of my main sources of information is on Linked-In. I think I belong to about 20 groups on there, one of which is where I met the beautiful Susie! She posted a link with an invitation to a webinar she was conducting talking about work and life balance, creating happiness in your life, as well as how not to diet! Once I saw she was a weight loss success story, I wanted to learn more about what she did to get there.

I signed up for her webinar and she was so inspirational and a lot of the things she talked about, it was like she was speaking my language. She like a lot of Mom’s gained weight after having kids, was feeling down and out, but had the courage to change and not only change, but start a whole new career and became an author too! Her website is here.

She graciously took time out of her day to answer my questions! Thanks Susie for answering my questions to inspire my readers!!

1. What was your AHA moment when you knew you had to change?

I was already miserable in my body and was filled with negative self-talk. We were on vacation and some older woman said, “I think it’s so cute when pregnant women wear bikinis nowadays”. I thought I would DIE. I knew I owed it to my kids, my husband and most importantly myself to be happy in my own skin.

2. What was your first step to getting your weight/body in check?

I actually bought a membership at a local gym. They had a great nursery and there were alot of other moms there trying to get their bodies back too. Misery loves company – ha!

3. Did you ever feel like giving up? How did you keep motivated?

Of course! The first 10lbs came off quite easily and then I hit a plateau and my body just didn’t budge. Walking on the treadmill just wasn’t enough. That’s when I started creating my own fitness training technique, 60 Second Circuits. THAT got me motivated because it was something I knew I would be able to share with others.

4. What kind of diet did you follow, did you just do your own thing, (like count calories or watch portions) or follow a weight loss plan such as Weight Watchers, South Beach, etc…

I tried every diet out there as well as the detoxes, shakes, pills, supplements … you name it, I failed at it. I started to get really cuckoo about food in general. I would see success with diets and as soon as I ‘got there’ the weight would creep back on. That’s when I decided to just raise my standards. I wanted to show my body love and respect. I refocused my relationship with food. It went from “diet food/junk food” to “is this good enough for my incredibly awesome body?”

5. How long did it take you to lose the 60 pounds?

I yo-yo-ed for almost a year until I lost the weight for good and then some. I look better now than I did before I had kids. It’s all about treating yourself well and constantly changing your routine to keep your body guessing. After working personally with over 700 women in my fitness training business, rapid change comes from total-body workouts and clean eating working together.

6. What is a typical food day for you now? What do you like to eat?

I LOVE great food. I’m very choosy about the quality of my meals – I never settle for sub-par.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Period. You set your metabolism in the first hour you’re awake SO I always eat a BIG breakfast.
A spinach, egg, feta in a whole-grain wrap to start… then a grapefruit about an hour later.

Lunch: Cajun Black Bean burger with avocado slices and a little salad

snack: apple slices with natural peanut butter

Dinner: Grilled Salmon with sauteed Swiss Chard and spicy rice – that’s what we had last night … my husband is an amazing cook – I know how lucky I am!

I don’t spend more than 10 minutes cooking a meal – I do believe in eating food as close to their natural state as possible. If any ingredients sound like they were cooked up in a laboratory, they probably were!
That’s pretty typical – it looks extravagant from here! I don’t believe in just eating though, I believe in creating a dining experience.

7. Did you exercise right away, or did you wait until you lost weight first?

Yes, I’m that person that buys ‘magic bullets’ off of television! I had an ab roller, thigh-master, Total-gym 2000 and more. Like most people, I would use it for a little while, get frustrated and quit. Exercise is key to losing weight and keeping it off… many people get discouraged with the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat! People can get freaked out when they start exercising to see the scale creep up after they’ve only been cutting calories. That’s why I tell everyone to just use a tape measure – you will always lose inches before pounds.

8. What tips can you give my readers that you learned on your journey back to health?

Treat yourself as you would treat your best friend – with kindness, respect and love. Negative self-talk can hold you far away from success.
Work to create a sustainable lifestyle plan – it won’t do you any good to lose 10lbs on a 10-day detox if you’re going to right back to the way you were living to begin with!

Get enough sleep every night. Lack of sleep kicks up the cortisol levels which holds weight on the body. Getting 8 hours consistently helps your body maintain weight naturally.

I love how Susie changed the way she viewed food. One thing she said during her webinar was that when you are eating food, make it special. Don’t eat in your car, or at your desk at work, make it enjoyable. And when she says “Raise your standards” for food, that has helped me avoid all the food at work. Why do I want to eat leftovers from a luncheon, or some stale donuts on the counter, I deserve better than that!

Thanks again Susie!

What do you guys think of her transformation??

Apr 5, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Apr 5, 2010 in bread, breakfast, dessert, Dinner Idea, fruit, holiday foods, News | 8 comments

Success!

Phew! Easter is OVER! I hope everyone had a great weekend. It turned out to be a beautiful weekend weather-wise so that made things really nice! I jogged on Saturday for 2.5 miles! As I was running on the track at our local high school I was thinking about Easter and Easter food! I specifically remember several Easter’s ago when I was on Weight Watchers and I told myself it’s ok to eat whatever you want, it’s Easter after all! Giving myself permission to splurge is a bad idea. I ate candy, had seconds of everything, I had several different kinds of pie at a family party. It was not pretty… How many times do we tell ourselves during our weight loss journey that it’s ok to splurge and then we completely go overboard?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!!

Apr 1, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Apr 1, 2010 in News, vegetables | 10 comments

Spring & Sugar Snap Pea Salad

You have to love Chicago where 2 weeks ago it was snowing and the past 2 days have been in the upper 70′s!! But I’ll take it for sure. I rode my bike to work, no jacket, jogged a 5k at lunch with a co-worker, it was awesome!

Before I get to the recipe, I wanted to share a picture another co-worker of mine took on their vacation to Key West, Florida.

Isn’t that awesome? It made me think about Spring and how people are kind of coming alive with the warmer weather, you hear kids outside playing, you smell people firing up their grills for dinner, I love this time of year! I consider myself kind of transforming like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. It’s been 6 weeks of really focusing on making lifestyle changes that will stick for good, and the best part is I am having a great time so far doing it! I feel so much better about myself and how much better I am going to look every day!

But, as we all know Easter is approaching! That doesn’t mean you have to stuff your face all day. In fact, if you are hosting it, or just bringing a dish, why not make it a healthy one?

I LOVE sugar snap peas, and this recipe comes from Fitness Magazine . It’s really easy too, and not that many ingredients!

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

4 servings, 3/4 cup each
INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar snap peas, (8 ounces), trimmed
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch-long slivers
DIRECTIONS
1. Cook peas in lightly salted boiling water in a medium saucepan until tender-crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water.
2. Whisk vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add scallions, bell pepper and the peas; toss to coat. Serve within 1 hour.

NUTRITION FACTS
Calories 104, Total Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat 5 g, Sodium 153 mg, Carbohydrate 4 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 2 g, Potassium 147 mg. Daily Values: Vitamin A 25%, Vitamin C 80%.

What are your plans for Easter? Are you hosting, or going somewhere??