Winter Roasted Veggie Soup - vegan friendly!

I was craving something warm and not too rich so... I tossed together some ingredients I had in the kitchen that needed to be eaten and this is what I came up with...

WINTER ROASTED VEGGIE SOUP

6 cups water

4 tsp. Seitenbacher Vegetarian Bouillon Seasoning

1 red or yellow onion - sliced into large chunks

10 oz. baby carrots - left whole

15 oz. baby red potatoes - cut in 1 inch chunks

2 cups frozen chopped broccoli

3 cloves whole, peeled garlic

olive oil cooking spray

salt and pepper to taste

Roast all vegetables and garlic in a 375 degree oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes toss them around in the pan to prevent even cooking. While your veggies are roasting, get your soup pot boiling with the water and bouillon. Once the vegetables are done, you can either toss them into a food processor for a rough chop (unless you want more of a pureed soup) or chop them by hand. Also at this time add your broccoli to your boiling broth. Add all vegetables into broth and let simmer on medium for about 15 minutes. 

I think the roasting adds a little more flavor, but if you'd prefer to skip that step due to lack of time, just toss it all into the soup pot!

Makes about 10 - 1 cup servings -  only 70 calories each!

Bananas Foster-esque English Muffin!

So this morning I was craving a few things, cream cheese, cinnamon raisin, English muffin and that over ripe banana yelling at me from the corner of the kitchen.

I thought, why can't I toss the banana in the pan and caramelize it a bit before I put it in/on something... and hey remember how I bought some more of my favorite light cinnamon raisin English muffins? And isn't there whipped cream cheese in the fridge? And voila! There you have it!

1 light cinnamon raisin muffin (toasted - 90 calories)

1/2 banana

1 tbsp. whipped cream cheese

cinnamon

baking Splenda

190 calories!

Toast your muffin and let it cool. Heat up a small nonstick skillet to medium heat. Cut your banana in half crosswise and then lengthwise (feel free to use the whole banana -adds 50 more calories). Place in pan and sprinkle a little cinnamon and baking Splenda on top (I did not spray my pan because I only have olive oil cooking spray - which doesn't play nice with fruits) and let brown a little and caramelize for a minute or two then flip over. While that cooks, divide half your cream cheese and spread onto each muffin side. Once both sides are caramelized place onto muffins! Super yummy! Super fast! A decadent breakfast. 

a not so fit food... Harry Potter's Butterbeer!

The nerd in me went to the Harry Potter theme park on my vacation this week and partook in all kinds of lovely not so fit foods like Cauldron Cake, Fizzing Whizzbees, Sour Ribbons and of course the infamous Butterbeer.

If you have a chance to go and are at all a fan of cream soda and butterscotch you must give this drink a try. They serve it two ways: cold and frozen. I only had it cold but that was certainly good enough for me! 

The foam is a butterscotchy flavor that is very rich and the drink is very similar to cream soda. There is no alcohol involved here and caloric estimates give it around 200 for one glass... while this may seem high, it is very much worth it. Split it with a friend or family member if you're concerned, but do give it a shot. 

I also found some online recipes for this delicious drink for those of us who want to give it a try at home:

Top 5 Butterbeer recipes