Birthday Pie....Oh My!

Yesterday was Kaylee's birthday.  My oldest baby is now 11.  It's crazy how the time flies.  This little girl has been with me through so much.  I realized something Saturday though.  Many people get depressed because their kids are growing up, or that they are getting old.  That's not what upsets me.  It upsets me that as each year passes that means that I'm another year closer to her leaving for college.  Another year closer to her leaving me.

And I'm going to stop right there.  I'm starting to tear up just thinking about it and trying to type while crying isn't exactly easy.  But, in this house, we don't do normal birthdays.  When it comes to birthdays we kinda march to a different drum.  My kids know that birthday desserts aren't just limited to cake.  They know that anything that can have a candle stuck on it is acceptable.  For past birthdays I've made ice cream cakes, brownies, watermelon cakes, and trifles.  This year Kaylee decided on a birthday pie.  A chocolate mousse birthday pie to be specific.  I used a fat free cookie crust, did a layer of chocolate ganache on the bottom and filled it with chocolate Dream Whip mousse.

For the cookie crust
2.75 cups flour
.75 cups cocoa powder
1 t baking powder (optional)
.5 cup applesauce
.5 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt
egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs
1 - 1.75 cups sugar
2 t vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Stir to combine.  {You'll know it's well combined when it's all one color}
3. In a separate bowl whisk together applesauce, greek yogurt, egg substitute and vanilla.
4. Pour applesauce mixture into flour mixture.  It should form a doughy ball.
5.  Grease a pie pan or large baking dish
6. Using cocoa powder, "flour" a cutting board and roll out the dough into about a 1/4" thick piece that will cover your pie pan. {If dough is too sticky knead a little more cocoa powder into it before rolling it out}
7. Lay dough in pan and cut to fit.
8. Using a fork prick holes in the pie dough {this is so it doesn't rise as much as it bakes}
9. Bake for 16-20 minutes until done.

Chocolate Ganache Layer

1 cup chocolate chips

.25 cup skim milk

Directions

1. Bring milk to a boil
2. Pour on top of chocolate chips
3. Stir until melted and combined
4. Pour in pie shell and refrigerate until hardened

For the filling

2 envelopes Dream Whip

2 (4 serving) packages of any flavor Jello pudding mix

2.75 cup skim milk
.5 t vanilla

Directions

1. Mix Dream Whip with 1 cup of milk and vanilla in bowl of mixer
2. Beat on high speed for 6 minutes until peaks form
3. Add milk and pudding mix
4. Mix on medium, then beat on high for 2 minutes
5. Fill pie shell

If you leave off the ganache this pie is fat free.  So, are the people in your house traditional birthday cake people or nontraditional birthday dessert people?  What are your favorite birthday desserts?

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?

Fancy Seeing You Here!

Hey guys!  Sorry I've been gone for the past 3 weeks.  This month hasn't been any fun for me.  The stress of life kind of sent me into a mini depression.  Ontop of that, the girls and I each were sick.  I wish that once, just once, all the kids would get sick at the same time.  Whatever it was that the girls had went from one kid to the next.  I didn't get a break from it for a week!I'm happy to say that I am stress-free, mentally clear, nobody is sick, and the house is back to normal (or atleast what's considered normal in the house.)

There is one thing that isn't normal though.  The fact that my body has decided it no longer wants to eat fish.  For the past 2 weeks I have been living off of egg substitute, egg whites, and Greek yogurt.  Does this bother me?  Honestly, no.  I actually really like eggs.  Plus they are an AMAZING source of protein.  1 cup of egg substitute and egg whites hava 26.6 grams of protein and only 133.25 calories.  1 cup of plain Greek yogurt has {roughly} 140 calories and 23 grams of protein.  

Before I get any comments on the fact that there are so many other protein sources available that are vegetarian let me explain something.  The only reason I haven't varied my protein much is because I haven't gone shopping.  

Yesterday Mo and Ken went to a Daddy-Daughter Dance at Mo's school yesterday.  

Even though it was a gloomy, drizzly evening they had a blast.

I forgot something important!  Today is the 21st!  The 21st is Recipe Redux reveal day.  The theme for this month was DIY mixes.  As soon as I read the prompt I knew EXACTLY what I was going to do for you.  Flourless chocolate Cookies.  These are some of the best, fat free cookies I make.    Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of the mix.  But this is what they look like when you bake them. 

Cocoa Cookie Mix
Makes about 24 cookies

Ingredients
2.25 cups powdered sugar
.75 - 1 cup cocoa powder

1. Mix together the powdered sugar and cocoa in whatever container you are giving to your hostess

Directions for finishing the cookies
Ingredients
3 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a cookie sheet
2. Add egg whites to mix
3. Drop 1 T batter onto cookie sheet.  Make sure they are nicely spread out or they will bake together
4.  Bake for about 8 minutes or until the tops start to crack.  
5. Cool on the pan

{You can also whip the egg whites and make them into a semi meringue type cookie.}
 
Nutritional Information
Calories: 55
Fat: 0.5 g
Carbs: 13.2 g
Sugar: 11.1 g
Protein: 1.3 g


Hope you {and whoever you give this mix to} enjoys! 

Cookies For Breakfast

Seeing the look on a 4-year-old's face when you tell them that we are having cookies for breakfast is priceless.  "COOKIES??!!??  REALLY??"  Well, these cookies are the perfect breakfast item.  Low calorie, fat and sugar.  Kaylee and Mo were only surprised when I told them "You can't have more than 4."  You should definately try these for breakfast tomorrow.  Make sure to keep them in the fridge since they don't have any fat.  The only fat in them comes from the oatmeal.  No fat = no preservatives which means that they will rot if you leave them on the counter.

I made these because I had a bunch of overly brown bananas and needed something to do with them yesterday morning.

Super Banana Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from: Watching What I Eat: Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies
Makes 12 cookies
Calories: 82
Fat: 0.8g
Sugar: 7.0g
Protein: 1.7 g

1 1/2 cups oatmeal
3 bananas
roughly 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup craisins
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon  or pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350
2. Mash 2 bananas and mix with vanilla
3. Mash the 3rd banana and add enough applesauce to equal 1 cup. (mash the banana then put it in your measuring cup and top it off with enough applesauce to reach 1 cup)
4. Mix everything together
5. Let rest for 10 minutes
6. Drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes.

They are perfect for the on-the-go morning family.  Oh and if you wanna be fancy you can whip up a maple glaze for the top.  Combine a bit of maple syrup with some powdered sugar and drizzle on top.  YUM!

Kinda Successful Cookie

I know I posted on Facebook that I had given up on cookies.  But, I came across this recipe for cookies in my Happy Herbivore cookbook.  I had to give it one last shot.  These came out alot better than my other tries.  Still a little cake-y but, I can deal with it.  The original recipe calls for chocolate chips but, I substituted craisins.  I accidentally smooshed this one after I baked it.  They came out still round and not very flat.  I recommend after you put them on the baking sheet lightly press them down so you get a flatter, more normally shaped cookie.

Craisin Cookies
Adapted from Happy Herbivore's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Makes 14
Calories: 49
Fat 0.1 grams
Sugar: 2.9 grams
Protein: 1.1

Ingredients
1/3 c applesauce
1 T  Brown Sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c skim milk
1 c white flour
1 t baking powder
1 T cornstarch
1/4 c craisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheet
2.  In a large bowl combine first 4 ingredients
3. In separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and cornstarch
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well
5. Fold in craisins
6. Drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and flatten a bit.  Bake for 8-10 minutes for a cakey cookie.  Bake a bit longer for a firmer cookie

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.)

Happy Belated National Cookie Day!

Yesterday (December 4) was National Cookie Day.  The first week in December is National Cookie Cutter Week.   In honor of the day I figure I'll let you in on the recipes for the Christmas cookies I'm making for the girls teachers at school and for Mr. Amazing's coworkers.

Sugar Cookies -- Courtesy of Mr. Alton Brown.  ( I love this man!)
Chocolate Chocolate Chip -- You can never go wrong with a recipe from Tollhouse!
Flourless Peanut Butter -- I have seriously come to appreciate Martha Stewart recently.  In this recipe I leave out the peanuts and chocolate chips
Chocolate Chip -- I have to throw in a healthy(er) option.  This is honestly my favorite cookie EVER.  I made myself a cookie cake one Mother's Day using this recipe.

I'll make sure to post pictures after I bake all of them. 

Aren't those plates awesome?  My mom gave them to me for Christmas about 4 years ago. 

But, here's a cookie recipe to tide you over until I post all mine.

Fat Free Fudge Brownie Cookies

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder 
3 egg whites
1 cup chocolate chips
1 T vanilla extract

Mix everything together and drop onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

It's supposed to make 24, I made 18 big ones.