little bites of sunshine.. yummmmm....

dear kashi,

thank you for creating honey sunshine cereal.  whilst shuffling around the grocery store in my huge winter coat and boots, i was attracted to your sunny box advertising "honey-kissed seven whole grain cereal pillows."  ahhhhh.... sunny pillows.  i was even more excited to find that you were able to create these pillows of tastiness with 100 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, and 6 grams of fiber for a whopping 3/4 cup, making them one ww point.  i will certainly be eating this whimsical food creation for the duration of my stinging cleveland winter and into the summer months as well.  for this, kashi, i toast to you.

love,

annie

berry shortcake...mmm....

Annie brought this yummy treat into my life about a year ago, and it is still one of my favorite desserts. It seems super fancy, but is really easy to make.

All you need is a box of heart smart bisquick and some berries. Make the shortcake according to the box directions, but instead of using sugar, I use Splenda. Then, you bake them, cut them in half, and put some berries and fat free whipped cream on top. For the berries, I like to cut them up into pieces and then put some lemon juice (just a squirt or two) and then some Splenda on it and let it sit for awhile to get all juicy. It is SOO good! This is a little higher in points than I might normally spend on dessert, but if I pair it with a low point dinner its a great combination! Also, I'll buy bags of frozen berries so that I have some on hand if I ever want to make this super delicious treat :)

my army of sushi.

now, this is not totally "healthy" nor is it particularly simple to make, but man, was it good.  i rolled some fried tofu (don't judge!) and cucumber avocado sushi with the help of joshua, the sushi chef.  any other ideas for yummy vegetarian sushi?  i would love to hear them.

Quick and Easy Lunch

I dont know about you, but I get really tired of eating the same 'ol thing every day for lunch. Also, lunch is VERY important to me. If I have a big/annoying day ahead of me, I need something to look forward to, and that's usually my lunch! I'm not completely sure how Annie and I came up with this recipe, but I think it came from some good collaborative cooking time. This grilled eggplant wrap is one of my favorites for an easy lunch with only 2 points!

Ingredients:
2-3 slices of eggplant (about 1/4'' thick)
about 1/4 cup of onion cut into slices
about 5ish bell pepper (yellow, red, or orange) cut into about 1/2 inch thick slices
1 wedge laughing cow cheese (any flavor is good!)
1 la tortilla factory (or smart and delicious ...they've changed their name) tortilla--I use the tomato basil ones.

Directions:
1) Slice the eggplant and sprinkle with salt. Put eggplant slices between papertowels so as to suck out some of the moisture. Leave them like this for at least 5 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, spray a pan and put in the onion and pepper slices. Cook until tender (about 5 minutes-ish).
3) Once eggplant is done hanging out in the papertowels spray a little bit of balsamic salad dressing, or just balsamic vinegar on each side and put it on a panini grill (or george forman). Cook until soft (about 3-5 minutes).
4) Spread laughing cow cheese on half of the tortilla, lay the onion and peppers on the cheese and top with the grilled eggplant. Fold in half and put back on the grill.
5) Grill the entire sandwhich together for another 2-3 minutes or until all mooshed (yes, thats the technical term) together.
6) Enjoy!!

I really like eating mine cold/at room temperature. I'll make it the night before, store in the fridge and put it in a bag for lunch the next day. Great change of pace for lunch that only costs you 2 points! (amazing!!)

roasted veggies with mint

a wise person once told me, never go to the grocery when you're hungry.  

she was right.

last week i came home from the grocery with a cart full of random veggies, and quickly realized i had no plan for them.  sitting on my counter top were an eggplant, two zucchinis (zucchinie?), and a container of baby tomatoes

now, let me tell you, savvy shoppers, vegetables are not cheap now-a-days, especially here in frosty ohio.  i decided i must take action and use these purchases before they were unusable.  

per suggestion of ellie krieger (thank you food network) i searched around my kitchen to find a red pepper (i always have these in stock) and an onion... i  got out my trust george forman, sprayed all the veggies with olive oil, and began grilling all these veggies up....   i made sure they had the pretty dark marks on both sides, and then tossed them all in a bowl together...  threw in some mint leaves (which i ran out and purchased, per food network suggestion), and oregano, salt, and pepper and ate up.  it was really good....   you can also sprinkle on some low fat feta, which was pretty yummy as well.  lesson learned: anything can turn into a productive project with a george forman grill.  

holiday deliciousness

as lexy said, it feels like it has been quite some time since i last posted anything, due to the fact that i have been celebrating the holidays and driving about the midwest.  i do promise, however, that this recipe will be worth the wait.  it was inspired (and mostly taken) from ellie krieger on the food network.  here goes:

berry topped cheesecake (that you won't feel bad about in the morning)

ingredients for cheesecake:

-cooking spray

-1 (15 ounce container) fat free ricotta cheese

-1/2 cup fat free sour cream

-4 ounces neufchatel (fat free cream cheese) softened

-3 large eggs

-3/4 cup sugar (i used granulated splenda)

-1/4 cup all purpose flour

-1 t lemon juice

-1 t vanilla extract

-1.4 t salt

ingredients for topping:

-2.5 cups of any kind of berry (i used blueberry)

-1 T cornstarch

-1.5 t lemon juice

-1/8 cup water

-around 1/4 cup sugar/granulated splenda-- add to taste

preheat the oven to 325.

spray a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.

mix the ricotta, sour cream, cream cheese, eggs, splenda, flour, vanilla, and lemon juice with a handheld mixer.

pour into pan, bake until the center is set... around 50-55 minutes...cool on your table for about an hour, and then cover and stick in the fridge for at least 3 hours to stiffen up.  

NEXT, to make the topping, rinse the berries to get the yuck off and then place them in a saucepan.

in another bowl, mix the cornstarch, lemon juice, and water together and stir it together until the cornstarch is all blended in... add this to the berries

place over medium heat and cook until it thickens up and the berries get soft... you'll know when it looks done-- after this, add the sugar, slowly, tasting often to make sure you're stopping before it gets too sweet.  let this cool in the fridge as well.

not so sure about the nutritional information on this recipe (anyone who can figure it out would be my hero) but it sure is yummy, and my family enjoyed it quite a bit-- aunt mildred had two pieces!