Staring at a Blank Screen.....

I have had a major case of writer's block.  It probably doesn't help that a few super awesome recipes I wanted to share with you have failed miserably.  {Yes, even I have failures} The past few days I've been trying to work on a few different posts.  Every one is really difficult for me to write.  

I'm a lover of a few different things:

1. Carbs
2. Breakfast for Dinner
3. Breakfast Sandwiches

I occasionally get cravings for McDonald's breakfast biscuits.  The sausage one was my favorite.  When I get that craving I make them for dinner.  Unfortunately I can't just crack open a can of biscuits like many people do.  I make my own biscuits.  I've shared the recipe with you before.  But it's a "stupid simple" recipe.  So simple you cacn't mess it up.  2 cups of flour, 8 ounces of sour cream or cottage cheese, .25 cup skim milk and 1 Tablespoon baking powder. 

For dinner the other nite I decided to add an extra healthy spin to it.  I added shredded vegetables.  I used squash and carrots but, I bet other vegetables would work well too.  Broccoli or cauliflower would probably be perfect in this.  I'm also betting that this could be done using Gluten Free flour.  Or Bisquick.  If youo  use Bisquick then omit the baking powder.  

Vegetable Biscuits
Makes 10
Calories:  117
Fat:  0.4
Carbs:  22.3
Protein:  5.6

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
8 oz fat free cottage cheese
.25 cup skim milk
1 medium yellow squash, grated
5 baby carrots, grated
1 T minced garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Whisk together flours, and baking powder
3. In a separate bowl mix together cottage cheese, milk, squash, carrots and garlic
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry {I ended up using my hands to mix it}
5. Dump dough onto a floured cutting board and knead a few times.  
6. Roll out and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out biscuits
7. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes

Luckily my kids like vegetables.  But Kaylee said the oddest thing to me when we were eating these.  She said "I don't like to know what's in my food before I eat it."  She is so used to me using unusual ingredients that she doesn't want her opinion on them swayed by knowing what the ACTUAL ingredients are.  

Hello Spring? Is That You?

The last week has been crazy!  Gorgeous one day, rainy and gross the next.  I love being outside and so does Sunny.  On every nice day we've either had errands to run, stuff to do, or I haven't been feeling well so I've promised her to goto the park the following day.  The following day it has rained each time!  Today was one of those rainy days.  

Despite the rain it's been warm the past week also.  This means {atleast to me} that winter is finally over!  And no more winter means that I can start planting my seeds.  I started my seeds today.  I'm growing peas, watermelon, dill, sunflowers, spaghetti squash, spinach and a few other things.  I'm not trying to go completely wild and I'm only planting stuff that I will eat.  I still need to pick up carrots, corn and a few different varieties of berries.  My goal is to actually eat the things I grow.  Last year I didn't use many of the vegetables that came out of my garden.

As a celebration for my new set of vegetables and the warm weather coming I made a loaf of carrot raisin bread.  It was so good!  I had to tear myself away from it.  {I'm seriously a carbo-holic}  This bread would be awesome for breakfast.  

I think you need to go run to the store and pick up the ingredients for it and make it.   

Carrot Raisin Bread
Adapted From:  Clean Eating Magazine  (/)
Serves: 8
Nutritional information follows

Ingredients
.75 cup whole wheat flour
.75 cup all pourpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
.5 T ground cinnamon
.66 cup grated apple
1 cup grated carrot
egg substitute equivilent to 1 egg
1 single serve Greek Yogurt (I used toasted coconut vanilla)
.5 cup sugar free maple syrup


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a loaf pan
2. Whisk together dry ingredients
3. In a separate bowl stir together wet ingredients, carrots and apple
4. Mix wet into dry
5. Spoon into baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (mine took about an hour)

I've got big news, and A LOT of new recipes coming for you in the near future.  I'm really excited to share all of it with you.  Share something with me.  Are you planting anything this year?  Do you prefer to be indoors or outdoors?  

Something To Go With The Smoothie....

Last nite I told you about the Spinach Smoothie.  Today I'm giving you the recipe for the muffins that were in the background of the smoothie photo.  I snuck vegetables in those too!

I adapted this recipe from Happy Herbivore Light and Lean cookbook.  My recipe isn't vegan but it's equally delicious and I'm pretty certain it has less fat.  

Orange Zucchini Muffins
Makes 12 regular or 30 mini muffins

Ingredients

1.5 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 small banana
.75 c skim milk
.5 c fat free Greek yogurt
zest and juice of a clementine/blood orange
1 cup shredded zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a muffin tin (I made mini muffins as you can see)
2. Squeeze all the water out of your shredded zucchini and set aside
3. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
4. In a blender or food processor puree banana, milk, yogurt, zest and orange juice
5. Mix banana mixture into flour mixture.
6. Fold in zucchini
7. Bake 18-25 minutes for regular muffins and 15-20 minutes for mini muffins

These were delicious.  The orange stood out but didn't overpower.  The zucchini added a nice bit of moisture.  You can actually substitute the orange for any citrus probably.  The original recipe calls for lemon.  It would be nice to try with grapefruit.  

Finally!! A Perfect Veggie Burger...

Everyone has that dish that they can NOT seem to perfect.  I bet you can name one right now can't you?

Mine is a veggie burger.  I've altered every possible aspect of the recipe.  I've tried more online recipes than I can count but, none of them have seen truely delicious until this one.  

I used TVP as my base.  One of the biggest problems I've had with veggie burgers in the past was that they fell apart on me when I would take them out of the pan.  These stayed together very nicely.  

My binders were canned pumpkin and breadcrumbs.  The flavors comepletlly belend.  Nother pverpowers anything else.  They are all together harmoniously.  

I had a bit too much time on my hands so Sunny and I decided to make Naan bread to use as a bun.  

Naan
1.5 cups flour
.5 T active dry yeast
.25 cup warm plain nondairy milk
.5 cup plain nondairy yogurt
1-2 T garlic

Directions

1. Heat milk in microwave for 20 seconds until warm
2. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes until frothy and bubbly
3. Mix all the ingredients together and stir until combined
4. Let rise in a warm dark place (like the oven) for 60-90 minutes
5. Divide into 10 pieces and roll into either a circle or a square. 
6. Heat a skillet sprayed with pan spray on high heat.  
7. Heat naan for about a minute on the first side then flip and cook for another minute on the other side.  Both sides should be golden brown and bubbly.  
8. Cover with a lid and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
9. Use 2 per burger.  One on top and one on the bottom.

TVP Burger
2.5 cup TVP (I use Bob's Red Mill)
2.5 c boiling vegetable broth
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 onion, grated

Directions

1. Put TVP in a bowl, pour boiling water over it and cover.  Let sit for atleast 10 minutes
2. Mix all other ingredients into the TVP and mix thuroughly.  (I find using my hands is the easiest way but, make sure your TVP is cool enough before you do!)
3. Form into 5 patties.  
4. Heat a skillet sprayed with pan spary on medium high heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes each side until golden brown

You can also broil them 5-7 minutes each side

What is the dish that you have been having trouble perfecting?

Christmas Cookies

Until last year I never did Christmas presents for the girls' teachers.  I don't know why but, I just didn't.  {Does that make me a horrible parent?}  But, last year I decided to do cookies for them. I figure that I would want edible gifts if I was a teacher.  {I mean seriously, how many "World's Greatest" or "#1 Teacher" mugs and knick-knacks does a teacher need?!??}

Last year I made "traditional" cookies, loaded with butter and sugar.  After the fact I decided that I wasn't being true to me by making them like that.  A vegan wouldn't buy eggs to make cookies with.  Someone who follows the Paleo diet probably wouldn't make non-Paleo cookies.  Why am I going to make cookies that I wouldn't even feed my kids??  I decided to alter all the cookies, except 1, to be low fat.  People love the flourless peanut butter cookies so I make them every time I need to bring cookies somewhere.  

Peanut Butter
From Martha Stewart
makes 16

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
.75 cup sugar
1 egg
.5 t baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  
2. Mix together all ingredients
3. Roll 1 Tablespoon of dough into balls and place on cookie sheet
4. Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Rotate halfway thru.
5. Cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to cookie sheet. 

Chocolate Chip
From: Happy Herbivore Light & Lean
Makes 16

Ingredients
.33 cup plain applesauce
.5 cup brown sugar
1 t vanilla
.25 cup nonfat milk
1 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1 T cornstarch
.5 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease cookie sheet
2. Combine all the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) in another.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet
4. Fold in chocolate chips
5. Drop on cookie sheet and bake 7-10 minutes.  Rotate halfway through.  

Oatmeal Raisin
Quaker Oatmeal "Raisin" Cookies
This recipe originally calls for chocolate chips but, I substituted raisins and dried cranberries for the chocolate chips
makes 5 dozen

Ingredients
2 cups pureed zucchini
1 cup brown sugar, packed
.5 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 T milk
2 t vanilla
1.75 cup flour
1 t baking soda
2.5 cup oatmeal
4 cups dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)

Directions

1. Heat oven  to 375
2. Mix zucchini puree and sugars together
3. Add eggs, milk and vanilla
4. Mix in flour, baking soda, and oatmeal.
5. Fold in fruit
6. Drop by the tablespoon on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Banana Bread

Adapted From:  Cook This, Not That 350 Calorie Meals

Ingredients

4 ripe bananas (about 2 cups)

.75 cup Greek yogurt 

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

.75 cup sugar (I start with .25 cups and figure out how sweet it needs to be)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  (I used a 4 loaf mini pan)
2. Puree bananas, yogurt, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor
3. In a separate bowl mix together the remaining ingredients
4. Fold banana mixture into flour mixture
5. Pour into pan and bake for 50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  The mini loaf pans take about 35-40 minutes  (if the top starts to brown before the inside is. done then put tin foil over the top) 

Do you have any good healthy cookie recipes?  Do you alter normal recipes to make them healthier?

Tips for Quick Dinners

Way too many nites out of the week we are forced to do quick meals.  (Slow cooker meals that fit into my nutritional needs are very hard to find.)  If you remember, last spring the kids and I ate sandwiches 2 nites a week because of Kaylee's soccer practice.  It go old pretty quick. 

Since then I have expanded my list of quick meals.  Before I thought that  cold sandwiches were the only way to get dinner on the tables before 8.  Now I have learned some tricks to get dinner on the table quicker.

1) Premake things.
        You can make a week's worth of rice or any other grain and reheat it throughout the week when you need it. Or, make things early in the day.  On most Thursdays you will find me in the kitchen cooking 90% of my dinner at around 1 in the afternoon.  After Mantha's practice I just come home and reheat things in the microwave and finish everything up.

2)  Think simple.
          A healthy meal is a simple equation.  Protein + veggies + a grain.  It doesn't have to be elaborate, or fancy.  It just needs to be nutritious.

3)  Small pieces
          A chicken breast cooks faster than a whole chicken, right? The same is true for everything you cook.  

4)  Make the slow cooker your best friend.
         You can cook a whole variety of things in the slow cooker.  Beans, soups, meat, bread, even dessert.  Juts throw it in, turn it on and walk away for 3-8 hours. 

5)  Leftovers, they are what's for dinner.
          If you have a microwave then you are even luckier when it comes to leftovers.  I reheat leftovers for dinner a few times a week.  {They are also good for school lunches}

6)  Meal in a day 
          This follows along with tip #1.  If you have time on a Sunday you can do 1 of 2 things.  
     A)  Do all your prepping (chopping, sauteing, etc), put them in zip top bags, label and freeze.  Pull them out the night before you need them so that they can thaw in the fridge.  
     B)  Make the whole entree, put it in a labeled container or zip top bag, and freeze.




The other night I was testing out a recipe and decided to make some sweetpotato biscuits to go along with it.  These are the most amazing biscuits you've ever tasted.  Soft, fluffy, yummy, and bright orange!

Yet again, I need to let you know this stuff:  {You can view my other recipe for the contest HERE}
Recipe Redux members are among the first to be introduced to California sweetpotatoes! Sweetpotatoes are not in fact a “sweet potato”- they are a different vegetable entirely. Sweetpotatoes will now be known as one word to emphasize to consumers that they are quite different from the white potato and other sweet potatoes out there.

What’s unique about California sweetpotatoes is that they are grown in soft sand and are hand sorted during harvest to minimize scarring and scratching. The result is a visually, higher quality (i.e., more attractive) sweetpotato. California sweetpotatoes are a “nutrition bang for the calorie buck” with 4 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, a good source of vitamin C and more than a day’s worth of vitamin A, all for 105 calories per serving (1 medium size, cooked). Plus, they are available year-round.

Consumers often mistakenly think that sweetpotatoes are yams. The California Sweetpotato Council also wants to set the record straight to clear up this confusion and shift the vernacular. Sweetpotatoes are sweet and moist, while yams are dry and starchy and not readily available in the U.S. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that there are varieties of sweetpotatoes called yams. Sweetpotatoes with orange interiors have a higher beta-carotene content than true yams. Sweetpotatoes are grown in the United States, while yams are imported from the Caribbean. (The scientific name of sweetpotato is Ipomoea batatas and it's a member of the morning glory family. A yam on the other hand belongs to the Yam plant family.)

and....  I received free samples of California sweetpotatoes mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the California Sweetpotato Council and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

Sweetpotato Biscuits
Makes 6 biscuits 

 
.5 cup mashed California Sweetpotato
.75 cup skim milk
1 t apple cider vinegar
1.25 cup all purpose flour
.75 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 t baking soda

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Mix together milk and vinegar, set aside
3. Mix together dry ingredients
4. Mix milk and sweetpotatoes together
5. Add sweetpotatoes to dry ingredients
6. Knead 
7. On a floured cutting board roll out dough to 3/4" thick
8. Cut with biscuit cutter
9. Place biscuits on a greased cookie sheet
10. Bake 12-15 minutes

G is For Garlic and Green Onions

Garlic and green onions.  Classic combination, right?  What could be better?  What could make them better?  Shoving them in a warm crispy loaf of bread!  I love bread.  I especially love homemade bread.

When I was younger it was one of my favorite things to make with my mom.  I can remember when I was in high school I would get bored and randomly whip u a loaf of bread while I was bored at home alone.  My mom was always surprised when she'd come home and there was a fresh warm loaf of bread in the kitchen.  The happy surprise of freshly baked bread was always short-lived due to the fact that the kitchen looked like a bomb went off in it.  {I've nevr been a tidy cook.}

Bread is a great thing, a fun thing, for kids to bake.  Sunny had a ball kneading the dough.  

My loaf didn't rise as much as I would have like it to.  But, it was still delicious.  I could have been due to the fact I had to take Kaylee to swim practice so it was rising a bit too long.


Garlic and Green Onion Bread
Adapted from: King Arthur Flour's Classic Sandwich Bread Recipe

Ingredients
3 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk (any type)
1/2 cup hot water
4 tablespoons yogurt
1 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (or 1 packet) yeast
1-2 T minced garlic
1/4 cup sliced green onions

Directions

1. Warm your milk and water together until it is 105-110 degrees
2. Stir sugar into milk, sprinke yeast on top and let sit for about 10 minutes until foamy. {If your yeast doesn't foam, dump it out and start over}
3. Combine flour, garlic and onions
4. Stir in liquid 
5. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth.  
6. Transfer to a greased bowl and let it rise in a warm, dark place for 60-90 minutes until doubled in size
7. Punch dough down and knead on a floured surface for another 5-10 minutes.  
8. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and let rise again for 60-90 minutes
9. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for about 45 minutes until the center is done

 What do you add to your bread to make it extra special?

End of Week 1

Warning:  This post is loaded with a bunch of random bits of things.  

Due to issues beyond Ken and I's control we will no longer be going to the chiropractor.  I'm personally going to miss my massage therapist dearly.  I have been seeing the same therapist and chiropractor since 2010.  Since the day Mantha started Kindergarten.  So, if you're in the Flagler County area and need a massage therapist or chiropractor give Carlisi a call.  Click HERE to be taken to their website.

I thought my body would miss them more than I personally would but, that was before I took a yoga class at the gym.  Friday was supposed to be a dance-based stretching class but, there was a sub and she taught Yin yoga instead of the class that is typically taught.  I felt really good after class.  Better than I normally do after my massages.  

Saturday I went back for Hot Yoga.  It's also called Bikram Yoga.  WOW!  This class was ridiculous.  I was drenched with sweat at the end pof class and according to a calorie calculator I burned over 400 calories for the hour I was there.  But, my body felt so good.  I would highly recommend yoga.  

What is Yin Yoga?  
According to PrincetonYoga.com "The Yin parts of our body are the parts that lie closest to our core, specifically the bones and connective tissue... Remaining muscularly passive for periods of time gently stretches dense connective tissue of the lower back, hips and spine... There is a focus on the breath, being present in the moment, relieving tension and letting go. The Yin practice includes powerful mental and emotional benefits as its practitioner becomes quiet, still and mindful of the present."

and according to Wahanda.com "Yin yoga targets the connective tissues, joints, bones and ligaments. It reaches deep muscles rather than just focussing on superficial ones, allowing for a strong and lasting connection between body and mind."

What is Hot/Bikram Yoga?
According to Wahanda.com "Bikram is a system of 26 postures (called asanas) and two breathing exercises (called pranayama) designed to work the entire body. Though exercising in an atmosphere of at 40.5°C (105°F) heat and around 40% humidity might feel a bit odd at first, it's thought to increase flexibility, and getting a bit sweaty will help purge your body of toxins too."


Dinner tonite was a modge podge of cultures.  I started out wanting to make shrimp egg foo young.  I decided I didn't want to stand in front of the stove and make 4 of them so, I did it frittata style. I lovingly call this dish "frittata foo young." I made it in a small baking sheet.  Then, I made popovers to go with it. 

Popovers

{I made 8 and mine didn't "pop".  I think I should have made fewer and put more batter into each one}
Calories (for 8 popovers):  71
Fat:  .2g
Carbs:  13.5
Protein:
Ingredients

2 egg whites or equivilant of 2 eggs worth of egg substitute

1 cup skim milk, warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave (should be lukewarm to warm)
1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a muffin tin with pan spray.  When the oven heats up put muffin tin in and heat that for about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour, milk and eggs.  Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Divide the batter between 6 muffin cups.
4. Bake for 40 minutes until brown and crispy

Frittata Foo Young
Serves 4
Calories:  265
Fat: 2.2g
Carbs:  16.8g
Protein:  42.4g

Ingredients
1 lb shrimp, chopped
1.5 cups egg substitute
.5 cup skim milk
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups peas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Whisk together egg substitute and milk 
3. Stir in chopped shrimp, onion and peas
4. Line a small jelly roll pan (baking sheet) with parchement paper and spray with pan spray
5.  Pour egg mixture into jelly roll pan
6. Bake for 25 minutes.  Turn on broiler.  Place pan on the top rack and cook for 10 minutes until the top is set and slightly browned.

And onto my report of week 1.
Week 1 Wrap-Up
This week wasn't as rough as I expected.  I really didn't cheat that much.  Might have overdone it a bit with the grapes and I DEFINITELY ate too much popcorn on Wednesday but, I didn't dip into anything that would substantially expand my waistline.  I even made 65 calorie frozen yogurt!  {Recipe will be up soon}

I'm trying to cut out soda and I'm very slowly doing that.  I'm going through 10 times as much Mio than I have been but, I only drink 1 soda a day.

Meals

I post all my meals to Instagram.  To follow me on Instagram click here.My username is K8ERaymond.

Workouts for Week 1

Sunday:  Some swimming with the girls

Monday - Wednesday:  Weight training, a little swimming + walking

Thursday:  Rest day

Friday: Yoga + swimming

Saturday: Hot Yoga

I'm not weighing in this week.  I am only doing measurements every 2 weeks.  11 weeks till photo time!

Pie Burger

I love Next Food Network Star.  I've watched it religiously for the past 4 seasons.  This season the owner of a pie company, Dangerously Delicious Pies is on there.  Last nite's challenge was a Burger challenge.  He made a pie burger.  A burger sitting on top of a piece of pie dough.  It was so stupid.  As soon as he said his idea I started thinking about how I would do a pie burger.  My first thought was to wrap the burger in pie dough.  Ken agreed that my idea seemed like a logical one.  Since I can't make pie dough fat free I used a simple bread dough.  The dough was wrapped around some mushrooms and onions, seasoned with some garlic and worcestershire sauce {to help give it a "burger-y" taste}, and cheese.  It was really good.  I will definitely be adding this to my monthly rotation.

"Pie" Dough
Adapted from Whole Wheat Slider Bun Recipe from Fleischman's
Makes 10 (2 per person)
Calories: 230
Fat: 0.9 grams
Protein: 7.9 grams
Carbs: 46.5 grams


 1.75 -2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
5 t yeast
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup water


Directions


Mix together flour, sugar and yeast

In a small saucepan combine milk and water.  Heat over medium until the temp reaches between 120 -130

Add milk mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir together and knead for 8-10 minutes

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Divide into 10 equal pieces and roll out.  Let rise for 30 minutes


"Burger" Mix

1.5 lbs of mushrooms (I used a mixture of button and baby bella), sliced
1.5 medium onions, diced
2 T garlic
1 T Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Heat a large skillet sprayed with a bit of nonstick spray

Add onions and mushrooms and garlic and saute until soft

Stir in Worcestershire sauce


Extras
Cheese
Jalepenos


To Put Together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
 
After dough has risen place cheese on each 

Place 1/3 cup of mushroom mixture on top of cheese followed by any other toppings you'd like

Fold sides of dough up around fillings

Place it on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until dough is golden brown



Now I need y'all's help.  I've been trying to think of things that I could add to the burger to amp it up.  I'm drawing a blank.  What would you do to bump it up?

Veggies Invade My Breakfast

I took a big risk on this recipe.  This was either going to be a dinner that the girls would love or hate.  Luckily they loved it.  I edited a recipe for bread pudding and made it lighter and healthier. I threw a bunch of leftovers in it.  According to Kaylee it tasted like veggie burgers.  Which I could totally understand.  It kind of does have a burger-y type taste.  Kaylee is one of the main reasons I made this.  She's been bugging me for bread pudding for a while now.  I decided to start off with a savory one.  She loves stuffing and this is basically a stuffing with milk instead of vegetable broth.  This type of recipe is really versatile.  You can throw in whatever you have on hand.  Squash?  SURE!  Mushrooms?  Onions?  Spinach?  Yes, yes and yes. 

Almost Fat Free Strata
Serves 5 (Mine was cut into 15 pieces so that's 3 pieces per person each slice has 75 calories and 0.3 grams of fat )
Calories: 222
Fat: 0.8 gram
Protein: 23.5 grams

10 slices of reduced calorie whole wheat bread, cubed
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
6 medium mushroom diced, (2 cups)
10 baby carrots, sliced paper thin
1/2 of a butternut squash
1 1/4 c egg substitute (approx 6 eggs)
1 1/2 c skim milk
1 cup fat free mozzarella
1/4 c fat free feta
1/2 c lima beans
1/4 cup soy crumbles

Directions

1. Sautee mushrooms, onions, and carrots until soft.  At the end add the squash, soy crumbles and lima beans until warm, cool slightly
2. In a separate bowl whisk together egg substitute, milk, and cheeses.
3. Spray a 13 x 9 pan and put the bread half the bread evenly along the bottom
4. Spread vegetable mixture, and ontop of that the rest of the bread
5. Pour egg, milk and cheese over the bread and vegetables.  Press down to make sure that all the bread soaks up some liquid.  Put in the fridge for atleast 2 hours.  
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. 

What vegetables would/do you put in your strata?

Fat Free Thanksgiving Menu

The countdown to Thanksgiving begins!  Since I know people are starting to figure out Thanksgiving dinner I'm going to give you my Thanksgiving menu.  I still need to run the calories on these since one of my goals is for Thanksgiving dinner to be under 500 calories.  I'm not 100% certain if I'll make it but I think I might be close. 

Main Dish (Meat)  
 Turkey Roulade stuffed with homemade stuffing
(Courtesy of Publix FamilyStyle Magazine)

Ingredients

Approx 2 cups stuffing
2 (1.5 lb) boneless turkey breasts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Butterfly turkey breast (follow the instructions from the top picture above)
3. Remove the plastic wrap and spread half the stuffing on each of the turkey breasts.  Make sure to leave space on either side of the breast.
4. Roll it up starting with the long end.  Make sure the skin is on top when you end
5. Tie with kitchen twine every 2 inches
6. Brush with melted butter, or olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
7. Place on a shallow baking pan and cook for 45 - 55 minutes until the internal temperature is 165 degrees (use a meat thermometer for this)
8. Take it out of the oven and cover loosely with tin foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.
9. Remove twine before serving.

Main Dish (Vegetarian)

 

 Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese

{My alteration:  I'm going to add sweet potatoes and acorn squash to it and use fat free feta instead of blue cheese}

Sides 

Mashed Potatoes

{Boil a few pounds of potatoes until soft, drain then return to pan.  Use a potato masher to mash, add fat free sour cream and skim milk to the potatoes and continue mashing until smooth and creamy} 

               

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

{Follow the same directions as the previous recipe except substitute sweet potatoes for the white potatoes}

Gravy

Ingredients

4 cups fat free vegetable broth

1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions

1. Bring 3 1/2 cups of broth to a boil in a medium saucepan
2. In a seperate bowl mix together remaining 1/2 cup of broth and cornstarch
3. Add cornstarch mixture to saucepan and stir continuously until it comes back to a boil.
4. Reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Potato Rolls  

I'm using this recipe for the bread for my stuffing also.  

I'm going to substitute cream cheese for the butter 

 Green Beans with Mushrooms and Onions

I'm not a fan of green bean casserole so, this is a perfect substitute for my table

            
Stuffing
This is my mom's recipe.  I've used it the past few years.  I love this stuffing.  I normally double (or triple) it because Kay could eat a whole pan of it by herself.  I've altered it slightly to be vegetarian.  You can substitute the veggie sausage for regular, the egg substitute for 2 eggs, and the vegetable broth for chicken or turkey broth.  I'm also using the same bread I'm making the rolls with for it.

Ingredients

Approx. 18 slices of bread, cubed
1 cup of onions, diced

2 cups of celery, sliced small

1/2 lb of (veggie) sausage [optional]

1 T poultry seasoning

1 T ground sage

1/2 cup egg substitute

1 cup veggie broth 

Directions

1. Sautee onions and celery until soft (if you're using regular non-vegetarian sausage you want to cook it too at this point)
2. Place all ingredients in a big bowl and mix together (use your hands, it works the best.  Don't be afraid to get messy!)
3. Place in a baking pan and cover with tin foil. 
4. Put into a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes
5. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.

Brussel Sprouts
Here's a great link on prepping brussel sprouts: VeganYumYum

Ingredients

Brussel Sprouts (however many you want to cook is up to you)
Garlic (to taste)
Pan Spray

Directions

1. Trim and cut your sprouts
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees
3. Lay out a sheet of tin foil large enough to hold all the sprouts and spray with pan spray
4. In a separate bowl toss the brussel sprouts with garlic
5. Place sprouts in the middle of the foil and spray with more pan spray
6. Fold tin foil around sprouts and fold closed so no steam can escape
7. Place in oven and bake for 35-50 minutes until soft.

Dessert 

Pumpkin Cheesecake
{Alterations:  I'm not putting a crust on it.  I'm using fat free cream cheese and sour cream instead of full fat and I'm going to use egg substitute instead of actual eggs.}