Healthy Living – Page 14

Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle

January 7, 2013October 3, 2012 by KTgreen

Yay! Michelle’s back in the kitchen and whipping up a bunch of healthy and light pumpkin cookies.

Still feels like summer even with the calendar saying that it’s October 3rd. But that doesn’t stop me from giving the green light to all things associated with our upcoming cooler season. That said, I am a self proclaimed “pumpkin freak” ! I love all things pumpkin, from candles to pies to throw-pillow slipcovers! I am sooooo ready for Fall I can’t stand it. When Will asked if I’d make Pumpkin Cookies one day last week I couldn’t run to the pantry fast enough. I made not one, but two batches (ok, I made three, but one turned out to be like dog biscuits). For the guys, I made a regular recipe of Pumpkin Cookies, and for me I changed it up and made them 1/2 the calories and a tiny bit o’ fat version. I’m not thinking The Great Pumpkin will be showing up at my house this year,…because he knows I’ll just make cookies out of him. So, Linus, you’ll have to use that blanket as a crying towel ! (bwah-ha-ha-haaaaa!) ‘Cause we’re bakin’ cookies!

Michelle’s Pumpkin Cookies:

The Cast…

1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (found it cheapest at the health food store bulk section)

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Salt

1/3 Cup Truvia Baking Blend

2 Tbl. Light Brown Sugar

3 Tbl Applesauce

2 Tbl Butter, melted

2/3 Cup Canned Pumpkin

1 Egg White*

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Glaze is optional.

Step 1: Mix the dry, mix the wet separately.

*Note: The cast lists an egg white. I used a real egg white instead of the carton ‘Egg Whites’ and it made a big difference – I don’t know why, but it did. So, I’ll be saving those carton Just Whites for the morning omelette and feeding that extra egg yolk to the Boys. We don’t just toss those yolks – waste not! Here’s another thing I’ve discovered. Eggs are not the size they used to be. Along with everything else, the price goes up and size goes down. I don’t care what the egg people say, those cartons of large eggs lie! I buy Jumbo eggs and use them as ‘large’. Not having the right amount of egg will ruin a baked good. Yes, I buy brown eggs too (Publix Jumbo Brown). They taste better (to me). Each one’s a bit different. One shell has more freckles, one’s shell is thicker, maybe ones misshapen, or smaller, one yolk stands up higher… that means they’re not standard factory fed chickens. The ones in the cheap cartons, where they’re labeled ‘large’, but are so small the move inside the carton wells. They’re white and the shells are nearly see-through. Some even crumble as you break them, and have pale, flat yolks – you’ve seen ’em. Don’t bother – Just what did they feed those animals? I will say that the fancy carton “Vegetarian Fed, Omega-3,…etc.” don’t taste any better to me, but I feel better about eating them. Now, if you know where to get some real farm eggs…run, don’t walk and score some of those golden yolks for a Sunday Sunny-Side Up! Today, though, just try and use an extra-large egg white.

Step 2: Get them all together and get out that cookie scoop. What do you mean you don’t have one yet?! Ugh…ok, or a soup spoon. Heat that oven to 350deg.

Step 3: Mound them up on the cookies sheets and bake 8 – 10 minutes.

Step 4: There they are! (I’ll miss the Great Pumpkin for sure) Can you spot the full-fat version? Yup, it’s the front right hand one.

Step 5: So, here’s the texture difference…yeah, I didn’t see any either.

Finale: A little cream cheese glaze and that’s it! The guys love them too.

My glaze: 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar, 4oz. Neufchatel Cheese (lo-fat cream cheese)softened, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp lemon zest* – beat together. Thin as needed with FF Milk.You can hold back on the lemon and add to taste. Or, use it thick as icing instead. Tasty, and notice – no buttah.

Here’s the proof. Makes 24 cookies at 41 cal each(without glaze) Not to mention the ingredients are good for you – the Great Pumpkin wouldn’t lie about that. No, I didn’t harvest The Great Pumpkin for cookies – I’m saving him for Pumpkin Roll – but that’s another blog!

Thanks Michelle! I actually got to taste these cookies, along with a few other varieties that Michelle had just happened to pull together Saturday afternoon. The cookies were still warm in the container that she brought with her! Courtney, a small person that was here last weekend, and I had to taste test all the varieties. All Yum! Now I’m being very good and having one cookie a day! Gotta make sure I fit into my dress at the Al-La-Palooza!

Adventures in the Kitchen with Terry!

September 26, 2012 by KTgreen

Oh, no! Michelle’s AWOL so I asked Terry to let me take photos of him preparing his famous BBQ Salmon for our healthy cooking feature this week:

Terry has been salmon fishing a few times in Alaska. The first time he brought home a whole lot of salmon, halibut, and this recipe:

And we followed that recipe for many years. I mixed up the BBQ sauce. Terry did the rest. But then I got lazy. I mean, this BBQ sauce recipe tastes just like the cheap stuff that comes in the bottle, but I actually have to get ingredients out, make a mess in the kitchen, dirty measuring cups, then have to clean it all up. So the recipe evolved. Much easier–I do nothing except eat it. It’s got to be a little lighter without the butter. And it does taste the same–yummy.

BBQ Salmon

And here’s some pics of Terry preparing the BBQ salmon:

Terry found this brown sugar container when he lived in Dallas. It’s very precious. Seems to be one of a kind. I have never seen this stuff in any store in my entire life. It’s actually for coffee. (Who puts brown sugar in coffee? Just people in Dallas.) So he kept the container and now he just puts plain old brown sugar in it and shakes it onto the salmon. Same stuff. I suggest you find a parmesan cheese shaker and put some brown sugar in it. (Hint–take the cheese out first)

We can only hope that Michelle returns next week. Or you might get my famous low cal chocolate chip cookie recipe. And they will most likely be burnt. It’s all on Michelle now.

Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle

September 19, 2012September 19, 2012 by KTgreen

And Michelle is here for Wednesday,

Well, I’m at it again…in search of the Holy Grail,….of Cookies. The Chocolate Chip Cookie. Is there anything better than a chocolate chip cookie??! OK, Raul the Pool Boy with a Pint-Sized HaagenDazs Spooncicle (you know the one…the whole pint with a giant spoon shoved in it as a stick – You know you’ve done it! Confess!) AND a Chocolate Chip Cookie Box! Only, I’m on a continual diet, which presents a problem. After my last trip to Perfect I’d eaten a burger the size of my head (which I saved up my calories to do!), I need some relief. That little nagging demon on my shoulder constantly with “WWJE”…no it’s not a radio station…one of those obnoxious little bracelet saying What Would Jessica Eat. OMG ! C O O K I E S!!!!!

Now, I’ve done all this before and shared my findings, which were good. Although there’s still that 1/2 Cup of oil / butter substance included. Most of the recipes I’ve tried have been either low-fat, and taste like super sweet cardboard. Or, low-sugar which means you’re still dealing with a cup of buttah! Let’s face it, a cookie is butter and sugar with varying amounts of flour. There has got to be a better way. Well, I’ve been surfing the Net and playing in the kitchen to come up with something yummy. I know I’ve been using Whey–Lo for a long while and I still like it – it’s just so darned hard to come by, and a bit finicky to bake with. So, while at Target I discovered that they had the Truvia Baking Blend on sale and thought I’d give it a whirl. I was pleased with the results , and so were my ‘taste test victims’…of which only one was warned of the Diet Demon.

So, here we go: The Chocolate Chip Cookie

Step 1: Mix the wet together. Mix the dry together. Then mix the dry into the wet. You know the drill.

OK, so here’s a couple of Notes on the Ingredient List. See the nut grinder, this is where I store my ground walnut all the time. When I bake I re-grind them into the lid for a much finer dusting of nut flavor without adding in a ton of calories. I put maybe a 1 tsp of the super fine walnut shavings in mine.

Guess what else that nut grinder’s good for? Yup, chocolate chips! Those Ghiradelli 63% Cocoa chips are lower ing fat, but too big for small cookies. Put them in the fridge first so they’re brittle and they’ll grind into small tidbits that land neatly into the jar – not all over the cutting board or ricochet off the knife and go zinging across the kitchen. Yes, I discovered this after a fateful trip south for supplies ended and found my bag of carob chips had made one melted bar in a bag! …and you know I can’t throw anything away.

Another thing, that little cup of Organic Apple Sauce is a staple here. Apple sauce goes bad fast, and since apples are on that ‘Dirty Dozen’ list I buy them as well as their counterparts in organic form when I can. So, those expensive little cups aren’t so bad after all. Besides, I have to keep myself busy waiting for cookies to bake – so eat up the rest of that cup!

Whole wheat pastry flour. Yes, it makes a difference, but you can use some white whole wheat flour (although I’ve not tested that version – yet). That little blue bag is pricey too, which is why it, along with it’s other Blue Bag friends, live in the freezer! Forget that Best Before Date, put them in zip–locs and line the door of the freezer with them. Need Buckwheat Flour? – Got it!, need Oat Flour? – Got it!

Step 2: OK, there’s the batter. This is going to be slightly thinner than a regular cookie dough is. I let it set for a bit. You have to pre-heat the oven now anyway (350deg please) and nibble on that apple sauce. Yes, you have to clean up your mess as well. Come on it can’t be that bad – it’s just two bowls! And while you’re at it, be sure to wipe the molasses bottle lip – or you’ll never get it open again.

Step 3: Get the cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. And pull out the cookie scoop. These are not huge cookies, so use less than the full scoop (say, 2 tsp).

Step 4: Bake them for 8 – 10 min (you judge your oven). These will not look ‘brown’ like CC cookies do, the batter’s already brown. The bottom edges will be more golden as they finish cooking.

Step 5: Look at that…a chocolate chip cookie! About 2″ across and they have a texture a bit more muffin-like, given the lack of fat, but a cookie none the less. The mini chips make sure every bite gets some.

Step 6: Bait the cookie testing victims with a pretty show…. (of course I ate the sub-standard broken cookie and that terrible fat-free milk….Jon just got one cookie on one plate – hee hee)

Cookie Tester says…. Thumbs Up!

Jon just looked at me with a smile and asked, ‘What’s Up?’ I said, “Forty Seven calories – that’s what’s up!”. That got a “Wow-You have to write this one down.” So, I did.

How do I know the calorie count? Well, I searched the Net for that too and was irritated at the sites that made you sign in and more-or-less surrender your recipes to get that little black and white confirmation of fabulousness! So, the NYTimes has http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php You just plug it in and there you go. I listed these at 12 servings, because the batch makes 24 cookies and I don’t remember EVER eating just one CC cookie….even with WWJE watching me!

Thanks Michelle! Another yummy recipe. How come those low-cal cookies never make it to my place? Guess I’m going to have to risk using my oven.

By the way, Michelle and I have the same model of oven. But mine mostly bakes frozen pizzas. And we also both use those acronyms. Like if I think a box of chocolate chip cookies are perfect for lunch, I have to think WWJE and eat a salad. And like the time I threw the old dresser into the firepit and caused a huge fire, I blamed it on my inner Kendall–WWKD–“What would Kendall do?”. And when I walk into my office to use my computer and I smell those cookies burning in the oven, I think that wouldn’t happen to Michelle–WWMD!