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?

Kitchen Sink Stew

Normally my family isn't very helpful when it comes to dinner.  When I ask what they would like they normally respond, "it doesn't matter", "whatever you want", "I don't know", or "I don't care."  So, when I actually get requests I love it.  The other night I recieved a request for stew.  Coincidentally enough I was already planning on doing stew the following nite.  We ended up getting into a conversation of what should be in the stew and the following recipe is what we came up with.  I actually added vegetarian sausage into it.  I didn't calculate it into the nutritional information but, I added a whole roll of it.  It shouldn't add very many extra calories but, it does up the protein and sodium some too.

To go with it I made some cornbread (one of Kaylee's favorite things.)  The recipe came from Happy Herbivore's new book Light & Lean.  It is really good.  I normally don't like cornbread and I found that I could tolerate this one.  Yet again, I didn't get a photo.  

These recipes were so go we all went back for seconds {and thirds and fourths...}   

Kitchen Sink Stew
Serves about 10
Calories: 153.7
Fat: 0.6 grams
Sodium: 325 grams
Protein: 6.4 grams
2 lbs Mushrooms, quatered
2 onions. diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 radishes, sliced
2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
1 package Lipton onion soup mix mixed with 4 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas
2 T cornstarch mixed with 2 T water

Directions

1. In a large pot saute onions, radishes, celery and carrots until onions are translucent.
2. Add mushrooms and saute until they are soft. 
3. Add sweet potatoes, onion soup and broth.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes
5. Add peas, bring back to a boil and simmer for another 10 minutes
6. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and boil until thickened (about 2 minutes)

Cornbread Muffins
Adapted from: Happy Herbivore Light & Lean

Ingredients
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 T baking powder
1 cup skim milk
.25 cup sugar free maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray muffin tin (do NOT use cupcake liners or they will stick)
3. Mix the dry ingredients together
4. Add in wet ingredients
5. Bake 15 minutes

Is your family helpful when it comes to making decisions about what's for dinner?

Mushroom Quesadillas. No Stove Required!

Mushrooms, the meatless meat.  I love, love, love mushrooms.  I have so much love for them that I had to use the word 3 times!  I think I use mushrooms in almost all of my savory dishes.  I probably eat more than 2 pounds a week.    They have a whole bunch of nutritional benefits.  Did you know that mushrooms are the only vegetable with vitamin D?   And 3 oz of mushrooms provide 3 grams of protein!  

Enough mushroom love.  On to recipe love!!  If y'all remember, I lived with only 1 burner on my stove for about 2 years.  I didn't get a 4 burner stove until my birthday.  During those 2 years I learned how to do things a bit differently in order to get every part of dinner done in a timely fashion.  One trick I learned was to saute mushrooms and onions in the oven.  It takes longer but, it frees your stove (and you) to do other things.  

Please pardon my photo.  My quesadilla completely fell apart when I tried to take it off the baking sheet.

Mushroom Quesadillas

Ingredients
12-16 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 (14 oz) package lite tofu, sliced 
1 cup fat free shredded cheddar

4 (or 8) tortillas (I used Ole spinach and herb fat free tortillas)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Spray a baking sheet with pan spray, place the mushrooms and onions evenly on it an spray them with more spray
3. On a separate sprayed pan lay the tofu
4. Bake the tofu for 15 minutes, turn and bake for another 15, until it's brown on both sides
5. Bake the mushrooms for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes
6. When the tofu is done cut it into large pieces
7. If you are only using 4 tortillas on one half of each of the tortillas layer 2 tablespoons of cheese, 1/4 of the mushroom mixture and 1/4 of the tofu and another 2 tablespoons of cheese. Fold in half and microwave 30-60 seconds until the cheese melts
8. If  you are using 8 tortillas: Lay down 4, evenly spread 2 tablespoons of cheese on the top of the tortilla, then 1/4 of the mushrooms, 1/4 of the tofu and another 2 tablespoons of the cheese.  Top with another tortilla and microwave for 60 seconds until cheese melts

For more information on the benefits of mushrooms and a bunch of recipes check out
MushroomInfo.com.

What's your favorite mushroom recipe?

Pumpkin Iced Mocha

Ever find a recipe that you want to perfect?  You HAVE to make it taste amazing?  This is the recipe that has been doing it for me.  I've tried a different way every day for about a week.  Tweeked everything atleast once.  But, I finally did it.  I finally got it just right.  

Just in time for pumpkin season!  Pumpkin is my favorite fall flavor.  I love it so much I'll use it until next March or April. Pumpkin coffee is back in both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.  This year McDonald's has brought out a pumpkin coffee.  I hate to admit it but I really want to try it.  I love cheap coffee. Dunkin Donuts makes the best Pumpkin Mochas and Pumpkin White Chocolate coffees.  The temperatures are still in the low-to-mid-80's here so, I've been getting mine iced.  Still 100% as yummy without the heat. 
If you don't like coffee then just leave out the coffee.  If you want to make this a hot drink just use freshly brewed coffee and/or heat up the milk. 

Pumpkin Iced Coffee
1 servings
Calories:  162
Fat:  1.7 g
Carbs: 34.6 g
Sugar: 1.6 g
Protein:  6.1g
Ingredients
1 cup Light Chocolate non-dairy milk (I used Silk)
1 cup cold coffee
3 T pumpkin puree
3 T maple syrup
1.5 t cinnamon
Directions

1. Whisk all ingredients together, until pumpkin has mixed in with the liquid
2. Pour in a large cup.

Not into pumpkin?  Make yourself a peanut butter cup iced coffee by switching out the pumpkin puree for 2-3 T PB2.  I would suggest using a blender to mix this one because the PB2 has a tendancy to clump. 

Recipe Redux -- No Bake Banana Bites

So I had my first blogger vs mommy internal debate while making these.  But my debate went something like this.

Sunny -- "Mommy, can I help you?"
Mommy Brain -- "Of course you can help!"
Blogger Brain -- "No!  These are for Recipe Redux!  They have to look perfect!"
Mommy Brain -- "These are perfect for Sunny to help with.  Nothing too hard and they're simple."
Blogger Brain -- "But I have to take a photo of them.  They have to be pretty."
Mommy Brain -- "We haven't done our weekly baking project.  She'll be content making these."
Blogger Brain -- "Pretty pictures!!  Perfection!!"

And as you will be able to tell from the photo, Mommy brain won the battle.  Funny thing is, I ended up putting too much yogurt in the first batch so, I had to go back and redo them.  But, I'm still using Sunny's for the photos since she is so proud of them.

The Recipe Redux this month was No-Cook Desserts.  These delicious banana sandwiches take about 5 minutes to prepare.  Waiting for them to freeze is the difficult part.  They are addictive.  You could also add about 1/2 a tablespoon of cocoa powder to make them even more addictive.  Or, if you're not too worried about fat, dip them in chocolate.  

Frozen Banana Rounds
4 servings

Ingredients
4 medium ripe bananas
2 T PB2 
2 oz. yogurt

Directions

1. In a food processor, or with a fork mash 1 banana and yogurt then stir in the PB2.
2. Slice the bananas into rounds and put a small dollop of the yogurt mixture onto half of the bananas.
3. Freeze for about 2 hours

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

L is for Lazy Leftover Soup

If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life what would it be?  I was surprised when Kaylee told me that hers was soup.  I have a feeling that October is going to be a very soup-y month in the house due to this fact. 

For the most part I think soup is a very easy meal.  Not necessarily quick, but, it's easy.  The family is normally happy with the canned stuff but, canned soup is loaded with sodium. I have been searching for years for a nonfat canned soup and you can't find them!  So the other nite when the kids asked me to make soup for dinner I had to make myself soup from scratch.  {Which is what I normally do}

I searched the fridge for  vegetables to go into my soup.  I found all the vegetables that were in need of using and threw together this "stupid simple" soup.  Honestly, if you want to make it a super "stupid simple" recipe then just skip steps 1-3.

Throw Everything in the Pot!!

Vegetable Soup

Serves 2 (the calories are so low that you can eat it all yourself if you want to)

Ingredients
1.3 cups Vegetable Broth 
1-1.5 cups water
5 cups kale
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 T garlic

Directions

1. Heat sauce pan on high and spray with nonstick spray
2. Throw all the vegetables (except kale) and garlic in the pot
3. Saute for approximately 5 minutes until the onions and carrots start to soften
4. Add broth, water and kale
5. Bring to a boil then reduced and simmer 20-25 minutes until everything is soft.

Honestly you can throw whatever vegetables you have left in your fridge.  What do you do with your veggies when they get close to dying? 


For some more great customizable soups check out these links:
NY Times: Soup Matrix by Mark Bittman
NY Times: More on the Soup Matrix by Mark Bittman

K is for Kale

I have recently grown to love kale.  There are soooooo many health benefits to kale! Here's the list of vitamins and minerals in 1 cup of raw kale:

Vitamin A - 133%
Calcium - 10%
Vitamin C - 134%
Iron - 5%
Vitamin B-6 - 10%
Magnesium - 7%



Plus, there's only 33 calories and almost 3 grams of protein.  

To most people oatmeal is a breakfast food.  Probably because when people think oatmeal, they think sweet, and packed full of sugar.  In my eyes, it's just like every other grain.  Hell, if you can make rice into pudding, then you can make oatmeal for dinner!  When I told Ken and Kaylee about my dinner plan they both wrinkled their noses and were not too happy about it.  [Funny thing is, the dinner I made them ended up messing up.  If they hadn't been grossed out by my idea they would have had a lovely dinner]  

I personally used Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal.  Any oatmeal will work though.  This recipe is super simple and is quite customizable to your taste.

Kale Oatmeal




Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
4 cups kale
4 servings of oatmeal 
enough vegetable broth to make your oatmeal (according to package directions)

Directions

1. Saute onions and mushrooms
2. Add vegetable stock and kale, simmer 20 minutes until the kale is soft
3. Prepare the oatmeal according to package directions
4. Stir kale mixture into oatmeal or spoon oatmeal into bowls then top with vegetables.

How do you feel about oatmeal?  Is it a breakfast only food or can you replace dinner grains with it? 

D is for Donuts! Sunny Made Donuts and I Helped!

There are a few things that you don't know about Sunny.



1) She loves to bake


2) She isn't a huge dessert fan


3) Cookies, ice cream and donuts are the only desserts she'll actually finish

4) Before bed she enjoys cuddling and watching Food Network and The Cooking Channel with me.

The other night we were watching Unique Sweets on The Cooking Channel.  It was the episode about donuts.  In this episode one of the places they were talking about was The Donut Man in California.  One of their famous donuts is a strawberry stuffed yeast donut.  

So, since I'm participating in Vegan Mofo I decided to treat y'all to a vegan blueberry donut.  Honestly though, this recipe would work well with any puree.  In the mood for strawberry?  Use strawberries!  Want a really simple one?  Use applesauce!  Do you want to sneak in some veggies for the kids?  Puree zucchini.  You could even make these chocolate by cutting out 1/4 cup flour, add in 1/4 cup cocoa powder and up the sugar to about 4-6 tablespoons.  

Blueberry Donuts
Adapted from:   Happy Herbivore's Vegan Donuts
Calories: 52
Fat: 0.01 g
Carbs: 11.0 g
Sugar: 1.6 g
Protein:  1.4 g

Ingredients
.5 cup fat free soy milk
.5 cup blueberry puree
1 t lemon juice
2 t vanilla
3 T sugar free syrup
2 T sugar
2 cups white flour
.25 cup whole wheat flour (or extra white flour)
.5 t baking powder
.5 t baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Stir together soy milk, blueberry puree, vanilla, and syrup
3. Mix together sugar, both flours, baking powder and baking soda
4. Add wet to dry and mix well
5. Grease your cake pop pan and add batter according to directions.  (I had to do 2 batches)
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until done.
7. Let cool on a baking rack.

C is For...Chick'n Ranch Wraps

My mom is an awesome cook.  I really wish I could still eat the foods I grew up on.  But, like I've said before, I try and alter as many recipes as I can.  So far, I've been able to replicate about a handful.  This recipe is a very simple one {which is rare for mom's recipes} but, it's very delicious.

I made it Fat Free Queen AND vegan friendly.

Chick'n Ranch Wraps
1 bag of Quorn Chick'n Strips
2-4 T ranch dressing
1 head romaine lettuce, cut thinly
1 roma tomato sliced paper thin
 6 tortillas

                                                                   
Directions

1. Heat chick'n and toss with dressing
2. Lay a tortilla down, put some lettuce, onions and tomatoes, then top with chick'n
3. Fold bottom over filling then roll, leaving the top open.

Wham, Bam, Thank you 15 minute dinner!  

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Due to my dietary restrictions I had to give up 95% of the foods I used to love.  I have found comparable substitutes for the other 5%.  These days I very rarely crave certain foods.  I crave normalcy.  I want to eat what everybody else is eating.   Sometimes that happens to be comfort food.  A stick to your ribs meal.  Sausage gravy and biscuits is a meal that I crave.

I'm really not certain why I crave it.  I only ate it once before I got sick.  That was back in 2005 at Krystal in Georgia.  But, this is one of my favorite recipes.  It's quick and simple to whip up. I make my own biscuits for 2 reasons.  1) I love making biscuits and 2) there are no fat free ones in the stores.  But, if you wanted to you could totally use store bought biscuits and that would cut down your prep time and ingredients. 

Biscuit

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 T baking powder
3/4 cup sour cream
1.5 T milk or water


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix everything together
3. Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut out circles using a biscuit cutter, circle cookie cutter or a cup
4. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-20 minutes until brown
5. Serve warm

Sausage Gravy

Ingredients

1 onion, diced
8 oz diced mushrooms
3 T flour or cornstarch
3 cups plain milk
1 packages of Gimmie Lean ground sausage (ground soy crumbles would probably also work)

Directions

1. Saute onions and mushrooms until soft
2. Crumble sausage and add to the pan and brown
3. Sprinkle flour over sausage and vegetables and stir for about a minute.  {if the sauce is not thick enough for you add a few more tablespoons of flour or cornstarch}
4. Whisk in milk, reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened

To assemble the dish:
Cut biscuit in half and ladle gravy on top. 


So, what is your favorite comfort food and why?

Baked Beans in the Slow Cooker

This semester (from August to December) has crazy, jam packed Wednesdays.  I'm in class until 5 and Kaylee goes to practice at 5.  Here's the Wednesday schedule.

6:30 -- Wake up the kids
7:30 -- Leave for the bus stop
7:40 -- Kaylee gets on the bus
8:20 -- Mo gets on the bus
8:30 -- Drop Sunny off at school
8:45 -- Get to the gym
9:45 -- Leave the gym
10:00 -- Wake up Ken
10:30 -- Leave for Class
11-5 -- Class
12:30 -- Ken picks up Sunny
4:30 -- Ken picks up kids at the bus stop
4:45 -- Ken drops Kaylee off at swim
5:00 -- Ken picks up Katie
5:15 -- back to Kaylee's swim 
6:30 -- Finally home.
6:45 -- Start dinner

Crazy, right??!??  And originally Mo had gymnastics from 6:30 to 7:30.  We wouldn't have gotten home until close to 8.  But, I changed her practice from Wednesday to Thursday.  

These are the types of days that warrent breaking out the crockpot.  I love my crockpot.  It is a very under loved appliance in my kitchen.  

I'm always looking for newand unique recipes.  Kaylee is a baked bean freak.  She could eat a whole BJ's can by herself.  So, when I found this baked bean recipe on 100 Days of Real Food, I knew that I had to try it.  Plus, I had all the ingredients in my pantry.  I substituted black eyed peas for the navy beans that the recipe calls for because I didn't have any. 


Slow Cooker Baked Beans
adapted from 100 Days of Real Food: Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Calories: 153
Fat 1.2
Sodium: 882
Carbs:38
Sugar 7.5
Protein: 5

 Ingredients

1 lb dried black eyed peas (soak in water overnight)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
15 oz can tomato sauce
.75 cup sugar free maple syrup
3 T mustard 
3 T apple cider vinegar
3.5 c water


Directions

1. Whisk together  tomato sauce, syrup, mustard and vinegar. (I did this the nite before so I could dump it in the crockpot in the morning)
2. In the bowl of your crockpoot put  beans, bell peppers, onions, and water.  
3. Dump in tomato sauce mixture and stir.
4. Turn crockpot on High for 10-12 hours. 

These were super delicious.  They were great as a stand alone dinner.  Sweet but  I made simple baked potatoes to go with it.  They would also be great over rice.  The best part?  They were done when we got back from practice.  

I really wish that I had gotten a picture.  These will definitely be a reoccurring dish in our house.  What crockpot dishes do you like?

**Warning:  If you are here from Vegan Mofo then you need to realize that I am not normally a vegan.  I have some vegan recipes posted on my blog but, many contain meat or dairy. **

What Says Summer Better Than Tomatoes (and a giveaway)?

As an unknown blogger there are a few things that make me happy.  

1. People leaving comments on my posts
2. The idea that companies will send me things to try.

Well, number 1 has happened a handful of times.  And a few weeks ago number 2 happened!  I got an email from Christi at Red Gold Tomatoes.  She sent 6 different varieties of tomatoes, a couple cool tomato aprons, and a bottle of jalapeno ketchup for me and the family to try.  

All the yummy samples Red Gold sent me

Red Gold has been around since 1942.  They have focused on growing local in the Midwest, where true seasons positively impact the flavor of tomatoes. The Midwest, while it's cold in the winter, has the perfect growing season for tomatoes, perfect angle of the sun, perfect temps -- and even the winter is good for tomatoes, as it breaks up the soil for tiny root systems.

Links to Red Gold's webpage and Facebook are located at the end of the post.  Plus, Red Gold is running a contest until August 23rd.  Go to their Facebook page and register to win a Big Green Egg and a bunch of other prizes!


Not only do these tomatoes taste great there are also some added benefits of using canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes have more lycopene than fresh tomatoes.  The cooking process causes more lycopene to be released and makes it easier for our bodies to use.  What is lycopene?  Lycopene is an antioxidant.  It reduces our cancer and cardiovascular disease risk. 



Since my parents were in town I decided to make burgers.  Plus, tomatoes are an essential part of summer. Everyone loves burgers and they went wild over these. Moist and juicy, filled with flavor, simple yet awesome. 

Tomato Burgers
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 can Red Gold Tomatoes, drained
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions

1. In a bowl combine all the ingredients
2. Form into patties
3. Grill until done

The second recipe I did with the tomatoes is what I call Triple S Salsa {the first two S's are for Super Simple}  I served this with some homemade tortilla chips.  Then we realized that it would be great warm so, I mixed it in with some rice.  Voila!  A second meal to make with your leftovers!!  Double duty foods, I love them.

Triple S Salsa
Serves 8
Calories:  82
Fat:  0.6g
Carbs:  18.1g
Protein:  4.2g

Ingredients
1 can Red Gold Tomatoes with Lime and Cilantro
1.25 cup corn kernels
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced


Instructions

1. Mix ingredients together
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the flavors can deepen
3. Serve with tortilla chips

And what's a better way to start a weekend but with a giveaway???  The Red Gold has generously given me a gift pack to give away to one lucky reader!  The gift pack will include a sample of Red Pack goodies (ketchup, Red Gold w/Green Chilies, Red Gold Lime Juice & Cilantro), as well as coupons and recipes for a Spicy Tomato Burger and Caribbean Chicken Burger.  

 Enter using the form below between now and September 1st.  




Links
Red Gold Website
Red Gold on Facebook 

Raising an Olympian -- Take 2 -- Gymnastics

After 7 long months and hearing the question, "When are you going to sign me up?" Mantha has finally started gymnastics.

I think it's interesting how the mind of an 8 1/2 year old and her mother differ.  She starts looking for Olympic gold, I start looking at colleges.

Please don't call me crazy.  I just want to find out where the top ranked collegiate gymnastics tearms are and which ones have her degree. Currently she wants to be a veretinarian or a meteorologist.  Plus, I need 10 years to wrap my head around the fact that she could be going to college in Michigan or Oklahoma.  Ranked 7th and 2nd respectively.  {Too see all the rankings click HERE}  

But. this post isn't about my obsession with planning things really early.  Thiis is a post about nutrition.  

The 2 main nutrients that gymnasts need are carbohydrates and protein.  Carbs are important because they are the main source of energy for the muscles.  
Good sources of carbohydrates include:  Whole grain bread, whole wheat pastas, cereal, beans, and nuts

As I said before protein is another important thing that a gymnast's body needs.  It helps repair muscles and tissues, as well as aiding in muscle growth. 
Good protein sources include:  Meat, fish, chicken, quinoa (1 cup has about 18 grams), beans, tofu/soy, eggs/dairy products, spinach, and broccoli.

The days when she has practice and the day after are the most important days to make sure she gets all the necessary nutrients.   

This meal that I fixed for Mantha before her practice was rich in all of the important nutrients.  (This recipe can easily be made vegan by switching out the cheese and getting vegan tortillas)

Please pardon the horrible photo.  My sandwich wasn't wrapped well.  I overstuffed it.  :(

Black Bean and Mushroom Wrap
Adapted from: Live Better America's Black Bean Veggie Wrap
Serves 5
Calories: 325
Fat: 1 g
Carbs: 47.2 g
Protein: 31.1 g

Ingredients

5 fat-free flour tortillas (for a healthier option substitute whole wheat)

16 oz sliced fresh mushrooms

2 medium onion, sliced thin

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed

16 oz  fresh spinach leaves

10 oz shredded fat free Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Saute mushrooms and onions
2. Add 3/4 of the spinach and saute until it wilts
3. Heat tortillas
4. Lay out tortillas, sprinkle a fifth of the cheese on each of the tortillas, add some of the raw spinach, then top with the mushroom mixture and  roll.
5. Enjoy!

I'll be posting the nutrional needs of another Olympic sport soon.  Kaylee decided to switch sports this season.  Can you guess what she decided to do??

Resources
USA Gymnastics article on weight and nutrients

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

Finally! A New Recipe For Y'all

What do you think when you hear "pizza?"  Do you think lettuce, salsa and cheese?  Probably not.  But after today you might. 

I decided to blend 2 of Kaylee and Mantha's favorite meals, pizza and tacos, to make taco pizza.  {Even though pizza tacos does sound like an interesting idea too.  Maybe a future recipe?}

I found this recipe on Virtually Homemade.  I altered to recipe to be fat free.

Taco Pizza
Adapted from Virtually Homemade
Calories (not including crust) serves 16 (per slice) -- 73
Fat -- 0.2 g


Ingredients
1 recipe pizza dough (my recipe is after this one)
1 small jar salsa
1 package of fat free cheddar
1/2 bag Boca meatless crumbles
1/2 onion diced
2 T taco seasoning
1/2 head of lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425
2. Roll out pizza dough into a rectangle and place it on a greased baking pan (I line mine with aluminum foil so I don't dirty the pan)
3. In a small saucepan combine the meatless crumbles, 1/4 cup +2 T water and the taco seasoning.  Simmer on medium for about 7-10 minutes until the meat is warm and most of the water has been absorbed.
4. Spread the salsa on the dough, top with crumbles, onions, and cheese.  
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until dough is golden brown and the cheese is melty.
6. When pizza comes out sprinkle on tomatoes and lettuce.  Drizzle the sour cream on top and serve.

Pizza Dough
If cut into 16 pieces 
Calories 77
Fat 0.2 g


Ingredients
2.5 c flour 
1 c warm water
2.25 tsp yeast
1 T honey

Directions

1. Mix water, yeast and honey together and let stand for 10 minutes in a medium mixing bowl
2. Add in flour
3. Mix until dough comes together and forms a ball
4. Put in a dark place {I put mine in an off oven) to rise for 90 minutes
5. Roll out and use

The pizza was a big hit.  I topped my slices with a bit extra sour cream and salsa.  This is the first atypical pizza I've tried and now I'm hooked.  I want to try more unusual pizzas.  Any suggestions of pizza makeovers you'd like to see?