Fiber Oat Carrot Cookies

Fiber is important. It helps you feel fuller for a longer period of time and aids in digestion. The problem is that sometimes fiber doesn't taste all that great. Luckily there is a tasty fiber campaign running through our food manufacturers these days. Fiber One makes bars, cereal and even "brownies". There are lots of other whole foods high in fiber as well; blueberries, raspberries, pears, apples, oats, whole wheat spaghetti, bran flakes, split peas, lentils, black beans, artichokes, peas, broccoli, etc.

Last night I was craving baked goods. This is normal for me but I've been trying to cut down on my snacking. Something I still struggle with even after maintaining my weight loss for over a year. Old habits die hard and just because I know this is a weakness of mine I try to keep it in check by offering other solutions. Therefore, healthy cookies!

FIBER OAT CARROT COOKIES

1 1/2 c. Fiber One Original (or the generic) Cereal

1 c. old fashioned Oats (not quick cooking)

1/2 medium banana, smashed

3 egg whites, beaten

1/2 c. shredded carrots

1/4 c. raisins

1-2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. baking Splenda

Blend all dry ingredients in a food processor until close to a corn meal texture. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and pulse. Batter will be extremely thick. Stir in raisins. Use a small ice cream scoop/cookie scoop to measure out each cookie (approx: 1 inch ball if forming by hand). Spray cookie sheet with baking spray. Then flatten each cookie with the back of a spatula sprayed with baking spray to prevent sticking. These cookies will not spread on their own, they are too thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Store in the refrigerator and warm in microwave or toaster oven before eating. Or just eat them straight out of the fridge! Yields about 22 cookies.

Impressive Stats per cookie:

Calories: 34 (!)

Fat: .5g

Potassium: 84g

Carbs: 10g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 2g

Protein: 1.5g

Chicken Vegetable Marinara

Pasta is one of those difficult foods. You can pay a high caloric price for not a lot of product but the trick is to add more "toppings" and less pasta.

CHICKEN VEGETABLE MARINARA

8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 oz. thin spaghetti

1 medium zucchini, sliced and halved

1 large carrot, sliced

1/2 medium white onion, diced

1/3 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen pepper mix (can certainly use fresh!)

1-2 tbsp. minced garlic

1- 8oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 tbsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary and dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan saute with olive oil spray all the raw vegetables: carrots, zucchini, and onion until cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. Add to pan chicken, garlic, olive oil spray and seasonings. Cook until done. Add back into pan cooked veggies and frozen veggies plus your can of tomato sauce. Stir well and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Cook pasta until al dente (according to packaging). 

Makes 2 servings - 370 calories each

Fall-ish Nights... Call for my favorite... Soup!

Soups on!

As the nights get cooler and my favorite time of year begins I start making my favorite thing: soup! This year my goal is to try to make many new soups like Corn Chowder, Italian Wedding, Kale, Sausage and Potato, etc. But sometimes, you crave your old standby... Vegetable Soup.

TURKEY & VEGETABLE SOUP

1/2 lb. ground lean turkey breast (if you're Vegetarian omit and/or add Soy crumbles)

3 medium carrots, sliced

5 stalks celery, diced

1/2 white onion, diced

2/3 cup frozen sweet corn

2/3 cup frozen peas

2 cups frozen french or regular cut green beans

2 cups fresh spinach, packed and torn

3 cups chicken broth (low sodium)

1- 14.5oz can tomato sauce

1 - 2 tbsp. chopped garlic (we like a lot of garlic!)

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary & thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Makes 7 - 1 cup servings - 120 calories per cup

This makes a hearty, stout soup. If you like your soup to be more broth, add more broth! :)

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot spray bottom with Olive Oil cooking spray and cook your mirepoix mixture (carrots, celery and onions) until onions are translucent. Add in your garlic and raw turkey, cook until meat is almost done. Next add in all remaining ingredients except spinach. Bring to a boil then simmer covered on medium low for about 20 minutes. Add in torn spinach leaves, stir well, cover and remove from heat. Remove the bay leaf and discard before eating!

Enjoy!

Fit Foodie's McMuffin

I've been really into breakfast food lately. (Or who am I kidding, always!)
This morning I was torn between oatmeal, Kashi GoLean or an egg sandwich ... the egg sammie won.

1 lightly toasted Light Multigrain English Muffin (90-100 calories)

2 slices of Canadian Bacon

2 scrambled egg whites

1/2 slice Sargento Reduced Fat Pepperjack cheese

Total: 185 calories

McDonalds McMuffin - 300 calories

For the 115 calories you are saving you could have:

1 large banana or apple - or

3 plums  - or

2 naval oranges - or

1 cup of strawberries and 1/2 cup blueberries!

it's been awhile, but I'm back!

It seems I got caught up a bit in life. Since my last post I began and completed an Intro to Nutrition course and signed up for a Master's level class in Health Education this fall. That's the big news in my personal life.

In my food life I am still maintaining my weight loss with a fluctuation of a few pounds (which is normal) and recently realized I have been maintaining my weight for over a year (14 months to be exact but who's counting). I've also been discovering new food finds and conjuring up new meals.

My breakfast this morning...

2 pieces of lite wheat toast

1 hard-boiled egg (most of the yolk removed)

1/2 ounce of crumbled feta

Put all this under the toaster oven and alakazam, you have a warm, yummy protein and carb breakfast combo for 135 calories! 

Now... moving on. New store finds:

I am addicted... completely addicted to Soy Chips. I can't even stop myself. I crave them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks... My favorite is the barbecue flavor. 

The most awesome thing about them (other than the great BBQ flavor)? They have impressive nutritional stats! One serving (20 chips) is only 110 calories, 3g fat, 3g sugar, 3g fiber and 8g protein. (that's 2g more than one egg!)

Another new find: Nature Valley Protein bars... Now, I've been eating protein bars for awhile. I've found that to get the most bang for your calorie buck the Pure Protein brand is the best. However, they tend to taste much like protein powders and less like something you want to joyfully consume. Some other bars like Kind and Mojo have the same basic nuts and gooey composition as the Nature Valley ones but have less protein. The Peanut, Almond and Dark Chocolate bar is super tasty, packed with whole nuts and leaves your mouth feeling tired from all the chewing. (which is what you want!) It's 190 calories, 12g of fat (I'm assuming from the good nut fats!), 6g of sugar (not too bad considering) and 10g protein. They may kick my Luna bars out of the running.

If you have a new product you'd like to share with me please post it in the comments. I'd love to hear about new foods to try! 

Wrap it up!

I've been craving wraps with crisp, fresh veggies lately... probably due to the warmer weather. Someone told me about "everything" wraps with only 80 calories and while I stood there drooling and super excited I came up with this wrap idea. Made it today and now I'm sold. I may eat this every day for the foreseeable future. So I'm sharing it with you...

Very Veggie & Hummus Wrap 

1 Tumaro's Everything New York Style Deli Wrap (click here!)

1/4 red pepper - cut into strips

3 - 4 slices of tomatoes on the vine

2 tbsp. Grandessa Garlic Lovers Hummus (or any other you prefer - 40 calories per 2 tbsp)

1/4 c. Mann's Rainbow Salad

2 slices yellow onion

1/2 c. baby spinach

2 tbsp. homemade tzatziki - see below

Total calories - 200

Tzatziki sauce

1 container plain Greek yogurt

2-3 tbsp. finely diced cucumber

1-2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. garlic powder

sea salt

black pepper

My New Favorite Summer Salad...

Let me start by saying if you have a grill, you should use it. Some of us in apartments don't have that luxury and crave that charred taste badly!

Summer Salad

7 oz. baby carrots, cut lengthwise in half

1/2 small white onion, cut in 1/2" slices

1 medium zucchini, cut in 1/2" slices

6 oz. sweet potato, skin on or off, cut in 1/4" slices

5 oz. chicken breast

1-2 cups baby spinach

1/3 cup fresh lime chipotle corn**

1 lime

garlic powder (to taste)

sea salt to taste

Now, if you have a grill, you can grill all your veggies and your chicken - minus the corn and spinach. If you do not, roast your veggies at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Season the chicken breast with freshly squeezed lime (about half), sea salt and garlic powder. You can also toss your chicken in the oven as well - depending on thickness it should take about the same amount of time as the veggies. 

Dear veggie friends, you can easily omit the chicken! Save yourself 130 calories. :)

Once all the veggies and chicken is cooked place on top of fresh baby spinach. Next top your salad with 1/3 cup of the corn recipe below.

Total Calories: 400 (and this is a lot of food!)

**Fresh Lime Chipotle Corn

2 medium ears of fresh corn, husked and rinsed, shaved off cob

1/2 juice of a lime

1/4-1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder (depends on how much spice you want - it's hot!)

Mix well and refrigerate. 

Makes 4 1/3 cup servings - 50 calories each.