I'm back to blogging and boy do these sound delicous!

Have I ever told you that I have a girl crush on Bethenny Frankel?  Well I do.  I wasn't the biggest fan of her book(wish it had more recipes in it) but I love her website.  I haven't made these yet but I'm considering making them this weekend.

Pumpkin Spice MuffinsMakes 1 dozen

 

Ingredients:

3 cups oat flour

2 cups raw sugar

2 T unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin

½ cup water

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups dried cranberries

¼ cup unsalted walnuts

12 muffin cups

 

 

Directions:

 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine raw sugar, melted butter, oil, eggs, pumpkin and water. Beat for 90 seconds, or until well mixed.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices, stirring until no streaks remain.
3. Combine flour mixture and pumpkin mixture. Stir in nuts and cranberries; stirring only until all ingredients are mixed.
4. Cover batter and allow to set at room temperature for 60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6. Place muffin cups in muffin holders and fill 2/3 of the way full.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until muffins tops spring back when lightly touched.
8. If the muffins will be frozen, allow to cool for 1 hour, then tightly wrap in plastic wrap; store in freezer zipper bags.
9. To reheat, wrap loosely in foil and bake for 5-10 minutes at 350F. Or they may be reheated in the microwave wrapped loosely in a damp paper towel.

Sweet Potato Enchilada Stack Recipe

Looking for something different?  Then you've found it!  Tonight I made a Sweet Potato Enchilada Stack for dinner and not only was it delicious but Mike loved it.

Here is the recipe with notes of the changes I made:

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes(I only used 1/2 the large sweet potato, make sure to cut it into small pieces)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pound ground beef (I used 1/2 a pound.. I don't like a lot of meat)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (I used 1/2 a medium yellow onion)
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (I added a little cayenne to give it some spice)
• 3 flour tortillas (8 inches) (I only used two tortillas because I did just two layers)
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (I used approx. 1 cup)

Directions

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine sweet potato and water. Cover and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes or until potato is almost tender. (You may need to cook it longer, my potato took about 6-7 minutes)
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, enchilada sauce, chili powder, oregano, cumin and sweet potato; heat through.
• Place a flour tortilla in a greased 9-in. deep-dish pie plate; layer with a third of the beef mixture and cheese. Repeat layers twice.
• Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. (Make sure you let the dish sit for at least 5 minutes before eating)
  

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece equals(one full dish is suppose to yield 6 pieces) 457 calories, 22 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 87 mg cholesterol, 804 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 29 g protein.

A new twist on the typical protein shake

Inspired by your Tea concoction I decided to combine my breakfast protein shake and morning coffee into one drink and boy o boy was it delicious and satisfying.

Here's the recipe:

8 ounces Coffee (I brew my own and it is a regular coffee flavor)
2 Tablespoons Protein (I use a vanilla flavored protein)
Splash of Soy Mile (I use the Stop & Shop generic brand-non flavored)
4 Ice cubes

Blended to perfection in my magic bullet.. Don't have one?  A blender will do.

I got my morning boost of caffeine and the protein my body needs to feel full.

Starbucks Iced Green Tea

I had my very first iced green tea from Starbucks today (I had a free drink card I needed to use; you'll never find me there paying full price - ha!).  I know, this is very circa 2008, but I LOVE it.  I'm on a quest to find some Tazo Zen tea so I can recreate my own blend at home using an online recipe I found and tweaking it according to my taste buds.  

I think I'm partially doing this not only for the health/antioxidant benefit, but also because I've always lusted after the plastic fountain style cup with straw at Target.  I could use my old to-go coffee cup, but certain drinks just taste so much better when drunk out of a straw.

Here is the recipe - it taste JUST LIKE Starbucks...but it goes down smoother knowing that you only paid about $3 for a whole week's worth.  Enjoy!

1) Using a whole box of Zen Tazo teabags (the regular, small size), place all the bags of Zen Tazo tea in 1 liter of hot (nearly boiling) water (place the bags in once it starts boiling).

2) Let this steep for 5 minutes.

3) Remove tea bags and fill a pitcher with one liter of cold water. Add the hot tea water to the pitcher; this will bring you to 2 liters of "concentrate".

4) When you want to make a glass of iced tea, add one part "concentrate" to one part water and 2 parts ice OR to your personal taste. (Some people like no additional water.) You can also add a simple sugar syrup (you can buy Starbucks' Classic syrup) to taste as well here.

Healthy Three Bean Salad

For the first time last night, I made a three bean salad. I was a little hesitant, because I don't *love* the taste of beans (especially red kidney beans), but I want to find ways to incorporate different forms of protein (and have a quick meal prepared in a minimal amount of time).

I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't really taste the beans as much as the wonderful flavor from the onion, olive oil and garlic. Mmm! The crunch from the onions, celery and peppers really balanced out the soft-ish beans. The original recipe was taken from AnswerFitness Blog (his copy is posted below) and I adapted it slightly.

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This Three Bean Salad Recipe provides nearly 20 grams of fiber (over half of your daily recommended fiber intake), 15 grams of protein, only seven grams of fat, and over 700 grams of potassium.

In terms of vitamins and minerals, a single serving provides 30% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin B-6, and half of your daily required folate, vitamin C and manganese.

The addition of red bell pepper to this Three Bean Salad recipe also helps sweeten the dish slightly, making it unnecessary to add sugar to the vinaigrette.

This Three Bean Salad recipe can be prepared in less than 10 minutes if you use canned beans — longer if you choose to go the dried bean route (which requires you to cook the dried beans ahead of time).

If you want to lower the sodium content of the recipe, consider using low-sodium canned beans from someone like Eden Foods or use dried beans that you have rehydrated and cooked yourself.

Three Bean Salad Recipe

Recipe makes about eight one-cup servings of three bean salad.

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 clove of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced

Three Bean Salad Vinaigrette

4 tbs red or white wine vinegar (I used 3 tbs to cut the acidity seeing as how I lowered the EVOO)
3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Walnut Oil (I used 2 tbs of EVOO to lower the calorie count)
1 tbs dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the beans, celery, red pepper, and red onion
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic and oregano. Add the vinaigrette to the bean mixture and adjust for salt and pepper.
3. If possible, chill for at least one hour to allow the flavors to mingle. (Chilling it overnight works best because it allows the flavor to really sink in to the beans - this makes it extra delicious!).
   

Three Bean Salad Recipe Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: About 1 cup of bean salad
Servings Per Recipe: About 8

Calories: 341.5
Total Fat: 7.0 g
Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 4.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 611.1 mg
Potassium: 768.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 56.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 18.2 g
Sugars: 0.7 g
Protein: 15.5 g

Vitamin A 18.6 %
Vitamin B-6 30.6 %
Vitamin C 58.9 %
Vitamin E 4.3 %
Calcium 11.8 %
Copper 23.6 %
Folate 53.9 %
Iron 25.0 %
Magnesium 24.1 %
Manganese 61.5 %
Niacin 5.9 %
Pantothenic Acid 6.5 %
Phosphorus 28.1 %
Riboflavin 10.3 %
Selenium 8.5 %
Thiamin 20.8 %
Zinc 15.1 %