Peanut Butter & Jelly Parfaits

Amazingly tasty and healthy dessert. Made with fat free Greek yogurt.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Parfaits

Yield: 2 servings

• 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp strawberry jam
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 3 mini dark chocolate bars (optional)

1. Heat peanut butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
2. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, peanut butter, jam and vanilla. Whisk together until well combined.
3. Divide chopped up strawberries into two bowls, top with yogurt mixture and shavings from one chocolate bar. Top each bowl with one chocolate bar each.

Nutrition facts per serving (makes 2): 232 cals, 24g carbs, 8g fat, 17g protein (not including the chocolate)

Quinoa Mac & Cheese Muffins

Vegetarian comfort food made light (and with more protein). The soy bacon really gives this recipe a rich flavor & baking them in the muffin tins portions them perfectly.

Quinoa Mac & Cheese Muffins

Yield: about 20 Muffins

• 2 cups dry quinoa
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups 2% milk shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 egg whites
• 6 slices Morningstar Farms bacon strips, chopped
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp chipotle chilies in adobo, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp whole wheat panko bread crumbs
• Dried ground chipotle and garlic powder for panko dusting (optional)

Slender Blondie Brownies with Figs

Three of my sorority sisters just moved into the building last week and it also happened to be Batman's 2nd birthday, so we had plenty of excuses to bake some sweets. Original recipe came from the Secrets of a Skinny Chef cookbook by Jennifer Iserloh.

The recipe called for white whole wheat flour which I did not have so I used a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. A whole wheat to AP combo of 2 to 1 yielded a heartier consistency almost that of corn bread and 50/50 mix created a much softer texture. Both were good & it depends on your preference but I think I liked the 50/50 better.

I later discovered the rule of thumb substitution for all purpose flour in baking is:

...Would have been nice if I had seen that first!

Our preferred, sweeter adaptation of the recipe (without the nuts) follows.

Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup

"Holy sh*t!"

Pardon my French but that was my honest reaction when I tasted this. I was dying to have the vegetable soup from World Resource Cafe on Lincoln Road, which closed down over a year ago & I couldn't seem to find any other restaurant that had a vegetarian soup with that exact taste. On this occasion I set out to recreate it myself. The sweet, sour and hot flavors are incredibly satisfying. The best part about this recipe is that it took hardly any time at all. Whether or not this soup would be considered Vietnamese, Thai or whatever, I'm really not sure, but the most similar recipe I found called it Vietnamese.

Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 1 1/4 quarts (5 cups) water
• 1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth                                   
• 1 tsp ground peppercorn
• 2 tsp sea salt                                   
• 7 tsp Thai Tom Yum powdered soup mix (found at an Asian grocery store, although you may be able to find in the ethnic food section of a regular grocery store, I haven't looked)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp lemon grass paste (found in a tube  next to the fresh herbs in the produce section) 
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 20-oz can pineapple chunks, with syrup
• 1 8-oz package bean sprouts
• 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped into about 1" square pieces
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced 
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp tamarind paste concentrate* (My mom picked it up for me at an Indian grocery store. Can likely be found at an Asian grocery store as well; if you use the powder I believe you are supposed to triple the amount, but do some trial and error)
  

[Indian] Potato & Seitan Curry with Peas and Carrots

Indian food really is not the most attractive to look at but this recipe turned out surprisingly pretty. I took a lot of liberties with the original recipe trying to find the right flavor while stripping it down into a lower calorie meal.

 Mis en Place: to "put in place." Probably the most important lesson I've learned about cooking.

Potato & Seitan Curry

Yield: 6 servings

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 package seitan chunks, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  
• 2 large onions, chopped 
  
• 8 oz. carrots, thinly sliced  
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1" chunks  (leave skin on for added nutrients)
  
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
• 1 1/4 cups frozen peas  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder 
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper  
  
• 1 tsp ground coriander  
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger  
• 1/4 tsp garam masala *not required, but I thought it added a nice, more complete flavor
• 1 14-oz. can coconut milk  (used Iberia brand - 300 cals per can)
• 1 cup (or more as needed) water 

Favorite (Free) Foodie Apps

These are a few of my most used apps & more reasons I love my iPad!

MyFitnessPal - I know I mention & will mention this non-stop (kind of like those CrossFit people that talk about NOTHING BUT CrossFit!) but it really is my most used app. Available on the iPad, iPhone, Android Market and from your browser. It's simple and reliable and I use it to track my daily food and exercise and calculate recipe nutrition facts. You can save your own recipes and create reports on your fitness and nutrition progress. There is also a forum where people can submit their own healthy recipes.

Pepperplate - a recipe box for your iPad. Access from the iPad app or through your browser. It allows you to upload a photo, create shopping lists and menus and share recipes via email, Facebook or Twitter. Also has cooking timers in case you need an extra in the kitchen.

Carrot Cake Pancakes & Gazpacho Bloody Marys

While I try to stick with a simple, healthy breakfast, I couldn't help myself when I saw this pancake recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I actually ended up throwing away some of the leftovers (gasp! so much for not wasting food, but I swear this was before I had a renewed interest in making the most of my food!) because I knew I would eat them all otherwise & I had no one else to finish them off for me. One serving of the pancakes with topping as I made them came out to about 300 calories (not bad!), but try having just one serving ;-)

As for the Gazpacho Bloody Marys, I had one a a local restaurant recently and have been craving one ever since. I am a bloody mary fanatic and am known to mix up a virgin BM because I am just that obsessed. Mine did not turn out quite like the one at the restaurant, so I will be making a trip back there to have a little chat with the bartender to get their secrets.

Tuna & Quinoa Burgers and Zucchini Fries

Recently I was reminded how much food ends up going to waste in our homes and it motivated me to take a closer look at the way I use the food in my kitchen (to be honest, it's mostly for personal budget reasons - thanks for the frugal gene dad!). I decided that this week I would avoid the supermarket and stick to what I already have.

Yesterday I browsed for recipes based on the ingredients next in line to go bad in my kitchen: 1/2 an onion, 2 zucchini, spinach, half a jar of marinara sauce and a box of matzo meal (though not about to go bad, I need to use it up). With only slight alterations and additions, these recipes were the perfect fit (adapted from postings on the MyFitnessPal.com community forums).

 

Tuna & Quinoa Burgers

 This "burger" without a bun was definitely a healthy choice although could have used a little more spice. Next time add some Old Bay seasoning, chopped up pickled jalapenos (they would have been in there trust me, but I was out!) and maybe even add some goat cheese into the actual mix.