New Year's Eve!

Every year since we've moved here we have gone to St. Augustine's Beach Blast on the pier.  The kids have a blast in the "Kidz Zone."  We wander around a people watch, get dinner from the food carts, and end the evening with fireworks.  Then we go home, break out some snacks and wait for midnight with whichever kid is still awake.

This year wasn't any different, except we got to finally spend this year with Gramma and Sirr.



I love traditions.  As a neurotic scheduler, planner and list maker, traditions make life so much simpler.  I don't have to figure out what's going on, plan our day or anything. 

I packed myself a sandwich since I knew that I wouldn't be able to eat anything.  I ended up getting a meatless gyro. A pita, lettuce, tomato, onion and Tzatziki.  I ended up being miserable for most of the night.  Let's just say that tzatziki sauce is NOT fat free.  Next year I need to open a stand at the Beach Blast offering vegetarian, low-fat/fat-free food.

 

Triple F...Fat Free Frittata

Tonite's dinner was quick and simple.  I looked in the fridge and couldn't find anything to make a full "meal".  [I've never been good at that.  Mr. Amazing can look into the fridge and find 40 different meals, I see nothing...]  I did see 4 containers of egg substitute and the new oven-safe skillet that Baye gave Mr. Amazing for Christmas (so he could "cook good food" for her) 

I have been wanting to try making a frittata for forever and I finally had to tool to make it.  But, I had 6 people to feed.  A 12 inch skillet wouldn't be big enough.  I searched online and found out how to make a frittata in a casserole dish.  (Why couldn't I have found it MONTHS ago??)

It was perfect.  I served it with baked potatoes and Green Goddess muffins from Happy Herbivore.  I added a grated zucchini and substituted the applesauce for mashed carrots.  They were awesome.  Next time I'll remember to get a photo before they all disappear. 

Fat Free Frittata

Ingredients
3 cup egg substitute (I used a combination of egg whites and egg substitute)
24 oz mushrooms, sliced and sauteed with 1 T minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced and sauteed with 1 T minced garlic
Splash of skim milk
1/2 cup of shredded fat free cheddar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Line a 9x13 casserole dish with parchement and spray it with non-stick spray
3. Put the mushrooms in the bottom, completely covering the bottom of the pan
4. Scatter the onions around on top, and then sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheddar on top of that
5. Pour the egg into the casserole dish 
6. Top with remaining cheese
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the egg is set

Next time I make it  I'll try to remember to get a good picture of it.  So next time you look in your fridge and only find a bunch of eggs and some veggies, make it into a frittata!

Christmas Photos

Christmas Eve Dinner

The girls on Christmas Morning

Here are some of the photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The girls made out like bandits.  Actually everyone in the house did!  All my gifts were either food related (cake pop mold, waffle iron, cookbooks) or workout equipment (a new set of dumbbells), which I LOVE!  The girls received a ton of cool toys.  They have been busy playing and exploring all their cool stuff for the past few days.  Mr. Amazing was given a heavy bag, a new grill cover and tools.  It was a great day.  

How was your Christmas?  Did you get everything you wanted?

Resolutions and Looking Back at 2012

 [I swear this post does not want to be written!  I draft all my posts on paper before my fingers hit the keyboard.  I have drafted this post 4 times and LOST all 4.]

5 days until New Years
5 days until 2013

This year has been 25x crazier than past years.  My surgery, a new blog, starting school, vacations, camping trips, among other things made for one hectic years.  But it's been a fun, exciting year at the same time.  

This is the time that most people make New Years Resolutions and goals.   I made my goal list a few months ago.  I have spent the last week trying to figure out some resolutions.  There honestly aren't many I can make.  I already eat very healthy.  I exercise.  I'm in school.  All the typical ones have been covered.  There was only one that I could come up with.  

Here it is:

In 2013 I will cut down my soda intake.  I will stop drinking 1 or 2 a day and only have 1 or 2 a week.

My goals for 2013 and grander and more amazing I must admit.  But, I'm not going to let you in on my goals.  They are reachable but, I have a long way to go before I'll reach them so, I'd rather keep them to myself.  Honestly though, what is the difference between a resolution and a goal?  Do you know?

Merry Christmas!!

I hope your day is wonderful!  I know mine is going to be!

I'll be back soon with a Post-Christmas Post!

Fat Free Sugar Cookies....FINALLY!!

Before I talk about cookies I'd like to go on a slight rant.  I hate the word "skinny".  I think it sends the wrong message.  In my opinion it doesn't say anything about how healthy a person is.  I would never call myself skinny.  

Am I thin?  Yes.
Thin -- "lean or slender in form, build or stature"

Am I trim? Most definitely.
Trim -- "In good physical condition; fit; slim."

Am I skinny?  No.  When I weighed 107 a few days after my surgery I was skinny.  (Honestly looking back, I was downright scary skinny)

117ish...

Skinny -- "Being very thin."  

So, please, please do not call me skinny.  I work hard to look like this.  I eat clean, I workout, I take care of my body.  Call me what you will, just don't call me skinny.

But, on a totally different note, I finally found a fat free way to make sugar cookies.  I have been searching for a recipe and finally found one! I found this recipe on Happy Herbivore. (click for the recipe)  I altered it so it isn't vegan and it is basically fat free.  The whole wheat flour bumps up the fat but, also increases the healthiness of the recipe.

Honestly I'm not going to lie, I never remember that whole wheat flour has fat in it.  

Ingredients
1/4 cup Egg Beaters (equivalent to 1 egg)
5 T Fat free cream cheese (about 2.5 oz, 1 oz equals 2 T)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. In a stand mixer, beat the sugar and cream cheese together.
2. Add in egg substitute, vanilla, and baking powder
3. Working in batches add the flour.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl, wrap  in plastic wrap and refrigerate for atleast 2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
6. On a cutting board dusted with powdered sugar roll out dough to 1/8" thickness
7. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters
8. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 5-9 minutes
9. Put them on a cooling rack until completely cool.

 I'm not 100% certain how many cookies I got out of the recipe.  The original recipe says that I should have gotten 20 cookies.  I KNOW I got more than that but I'm not certain how many.  So, here are the nutritionals for the range.  

20 cookies -- 78 calories, 1 gram of fat
40 cookies -- 39 calories, .5 grams of fat

I'm going to cover them in a powdered sugar glaze.  (1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar, 3 T milk....stir together)  This adds 20 calories if you got 20 cookies and 15 calories for 40 cookies.



(Side note:  I have come to realize that at least part of the reason people (myself included) gain weight over the holidays is because instead of exercising they socialize with their relatives and guests from out of town.  I have had maybe 45 minute of exercise since my my parents arrived on Wednesday.)

Christmas Recipes

Okay, here's a little known fact about my family.  Christmas dinner takes FOREVER to decide on in this house.  I have no clue why but it takes us about a week to figure out our menu.  Christmas Eve is a no-brainer.  We do a "munching spread".  But, Christmas dinner, we have serious sit downs to decide on what we're going to have.  We normally start talking a few days after my parents get here and finalize the menu a day or 2 before Christmas Eve. 

But, here it is.  My Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner menus

Christmas Eve

Jalapeno Poppers 

Fat free and my fave!!

(adapted from Cook This!  Not That!)

1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/2 onion, minced
1/2 cup of fat free shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fat free cream cheese
12 jalapenos

1. Spray a skillet with pan spray.  Sautee onions and mushrooms until soft.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees
3. In a separate bowl, combine the onions, mushrooms, cream cheese and cheese
4. Slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds (leave them in if you want it super spicy)
5. Fill each half of jalapeno with the cheese mixture. 
6. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes until the peppers are soft and the cheese is brown and bubbly. 

Spinach Pie

(Adapted from SkinnyTaste)

(You can find the crust recipe HERE) 

Ingredients
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 T dried dill
1 T parsley
1 cup fat free feta
2 T minced garlic
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup fat free milk
1/2 cup egg substitute (equal to 2 eggs)
 1/4 - 1/2 pizza dough recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.  Spray a pie pan with cooking spray
3. Roll out pizza dough to about 1/8" thick.  Cut it out so it's a bit bigger than your pie pan, lay it inside and crimp the edges
4. Mix together the spinach, green onions, dill, parsley and feta
5. In a seperate bowl mix together all the other ingredient.
6. Mix both mixtures together.
7. Spread in the crust
8. Bake for 28-33 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Let it rest for atleast 5 minutes before cutting it.

(If you use 1/4 of the pizza dough recipe it will add about 51 calories to each slice of pie)

Sliced Fruit
Strawberries
Grapes
Pineapple
Cantaloupe
Apples
Bananas

Sliced Veggies
Mushrooms
Carrots
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Celery
Radishes
Cucumber
Grape Tomatoes

For the fruits I use a yogurt dip:  

Ingredients
2 cups fat free vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup honey (more or less to taste)
1 tsp cinnamon (to taste) 

1. Mix it all together
2. Chill until ready to use

For the veggies I use a simple  

Ranch Dip 

(I found it on the back of the ranch powder container):

Ingredients
3 T ranch dressing powder
16 oz sour cream

1. Stir it all together, cover and refridgerate

Per Mo's request we are having  

PIGS IN A BLANKET

Ingredients
1 package Hillshire Farms Lit'l Smokies
1/2 batch of pizza dough

1. Roll out pizza dough and slice into long strips about 1" wide
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3. Drain the liquid from the packages of sausages and dry them off
4. Wrap dough around sausages  
5.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown

ON TO CHRISTMAS DINNER!!

Gramma's Christmas Cake
This cake has been a Christmas tradition for many, many, many years.  I can't imagine Christmas without this cake.  When I got sick I had to doctor the recipe to make sure I could eat it.  This cake is my mom's Christmas version of a Jello Poke Cake.

White cake  

(taken from CalorieCount.About)

2 c all purpose flour
1 1/3 c sugar
2/3 c cornstarch
4 tsp baking powder
4 egg whites
1 1/3 c skim milk
2/3 c Karo syrup
2 tsp vanilla

1. Grease 2 9inch cake pans
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Mix together dry ingredients
4. In a separate bowl whisk the liquid ingredients together
5. Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix well
6. Pour into greased pans
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes
8. Remove from pan and cool (Keep the pans though, you'll need them for the next step)

Ingredients to put the cake together
1 box cherry gelatin
1 box lime geletin
2 C boiling water
8 oz whipped topping (Cool Whip, Dream Whip or fresh whipped cream)
  

1. Place the cooled cakes back in the pans.  Poke holes into each cake using a chopstick, skewer or knife.
2. Dissolve cherry gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water, do the same with the lime.
3. Slowly pour the cherry over one layer of cake and the lime over the other cake.
4. Place the pans in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to set.
5. Take the cakes out of the pans and  use the whipped topping to frost the cakes.
6. Dig in!

Honestly the rest of my Christmas menu is quite simple

Salmon

Ham

Potatoes, Green Beans and Onions

Ingredients

Petite Red Potatoes (or creamer potatoes)

Frozen or Fresh Green Beans

FROZEN Pearl Onions (Mr. Amazing made the mistake of getting me fresh pearl onions for Thanksgiving, they are a pain in the neck to peel!  But, if you can't find frozen, fresh will do)

Directions

1. Clean your potatoes and green beans 
2. If you're using fresh green beans then trim the ends
3. Put potatoes in a pot and fill with water.  
4. Bring the potatoes to a boil and let boil for 15 minutes
5. Add the green beans and onions, bring back to a boil, and boil for approximately 5 minutes.  
6. When everything is done, drain
7.  Serve

 

Rolls

You can either make your own or, if you're lazy like me, you can purchase them.  The only company that makes fat free rolls is Alexia.  Their French Rolls are fat free and very delicious.  

  

Corn 

We're just going to do frozen corn on the cob.  Nice and simple.

Squash with Wilted Spinach 
(The same one from Thanksgiving, ditch the dressing, I'm using butternut and acorn squash and sweet potatoes, and roast some garlic with the potatoes, after you put it on the plate, throw some feta on top)       

Well, there it is, my Christmas dinner and Christmas Eve spread.  Hopefully I've given you some ideas.  If you try any of my recipes please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!