Easter Bread

Here's the Link to Easy Easter Bread;
http://recipesbeta.blogspot.com/

Easter Bread

It's going to be a busy week (Easter) so not sure if I'll be posting. Will try to do low calorie hamburger soup.
Just finished writing my recipe for Easy Easter Bread for a friend. It's a take on Sally Lunn bread.(So easy, no kneading!)
Won't post it (it's not low calorie). Leave a comment and I'll open another blog and post it there and leave the link here. 

Vanilla Wafer Cookie

 Vanilla Wafers Cookies

Makes 16, 45 calories each

or 

makes 20, 36 calories each

Awesome by themselves or great for ice cream sandwiches, or ice box cake, and so easy to make!

3 tbsp butter

2 egg whites

5 tbsp flour

1/2 c icing sugar

few drops vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place butter in mixing dish (I used medium size). 

Melt butter in microwave. 

Pour the rest of the ingredients over the melted butter. 

Whisk until smooth. ( You could use a mixer or food processor, but you’d be wasting your time, and would have the extra utensils to wash. Much faster just to whisk.) 

Use cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Drop two teaspoonful at a time 

Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart. 

A cookie sheet should hold no more than nine cookies. 

They spread a lot. ( If you don’t have parchment paper use foil which has been heavily sprayed with oil. I tried waxed paper. Totally didn’t work.) 

Bake for about 6 minutes, until edges of cookies get brown. 

Remove from paper and cool.

This recipe makes 16 to 20 wafers.

Chocolate Squares

I have this recipe in my collection, but can't try it. I react to chocolate. How about trying it and letting me know how it turns out? I'd love a picture!

Chocolate Squares

Makes 24, 53 calories each

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp icing sugar

Combine graham crackers and milk. Mix until mushy. Melt chocolate and add to mixture along with vanilla. Mix well. Place into greased 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool, sprinkle with icing sugar and cut into 24 pieces

Easy Cupcakes or Low Calorie Cupcakes

Mixes

Do you buy individual portion cakes from Weight Watchers? Why not make your own from a mix.  

Use small loaf pans, I use Baker’s Secret 8 loaf pan, similar to muffin pans ( you could also use muffin pans).

Divide the mix into 2 of those loaf pans. Makes 16 cakes in all which are bigger then the Weight Watcher ones. 

The Baker’s Secret pans make loaves that are bigger than individual servings so I cut them in half, and make frosting with icing sugar a dab of butter and vanilla. i add water to make the icing very loose. Spread on the cakes, the icing with seep in. Yummy.

Diet tip: 

Put these in the freezer and take then out as needed. They thaw quickly and are delicious cold. Also, if they’re in the freezer, you tend to forget them until you really need the sugar fix.

Cupcakes from Cake Mix 

Makes a good size muffin. I like these with a light dripping of icing sugar mixed with a drop of vanilla and a little water. The watery icing seeps into the cupcakes. Delicious when frozen.

Makes 24 muffins at 97 calories each

1 pkg yellow(or substitute other flavor) cake mix

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/4 cups water

3 egg whites

Combine all ingredients and mix well. spray pans with cooking spray. Divide mixture into 2 mini loaf pans or two muffin pans. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until cake begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Faux Ice Cream Sandwich (easy low calorie sweet)

An easy recipe for a frozen candy treat. Leave in the freezer until you are in need of a sweet fix. What I like about this recipe is that I don't have to eat more than one to feel that I've had enough.  
If you look at the fullness factor for this recipe, you'll note that it is quite low. 


 (Fullness Factor™ (FF): The Fullness Factor is a dietary index, created by Nutrition Data, to predict the satiating effect of a food from the food's nutrient content. For a detailed explanation of the Fullness Factor, please see Nutrition Data's Fullness Factor page.)


The above definition is taken from the Nutrtional Data (www.nutritionaldata.com) page. The fullness factor is worked on a scale of 0 to 5. 


So the Ice Cream Sandwich below the Fullness Facor appears to be quite low. However one thing I've noticed with this sandwich is that it's very satisfying. I wonder if it's because it's a frozen treat. Let me know what you think.

Faux Ice cream Sandwich

37 calories per sandwich

Fullness rating 1.8

  

1 cup cool whip light thawed 

1 cup strawberries, diced 

1/4 c sugar 

36 graham crackers squares

Gently blend cool whip and strawberries. Spread on graham crackers to make 18 sandwiches. Freeze. Enjoy!

Fullness Factor values fall within the range of 0 to 5. Foods with high FF's are more likely to satisfy your hunger with fewer Calories. Foods with low FF's are less likely to satisfy your hunger. Examples taken from the 

Nutrtional Data website

Some examples rated on a scale of 1 to 5 

Bean Sprouts 4.6

Watermelon 4.5 

Grapefruit 4.0

Carrots 3.8

Oranges 3.5 

Chicken Breast Roasted 3.3

Apple 3.3

Popcorn 2.9

Baked Potato 2.5

Banana 2.5

Potato Chips 1.2

 From this small graph one can conclude that eating an apple might curb hunger much better than eating potato chips. It would seem that choices we make when we’re hungry affects how hungry we will be later. Something to ponder. Since examining this scale and other tools, I’ve been more conscious about the food choices I make.

Low Cal Candies (mints)

Sweets have always been the bane of my diet life. I can't seem to finish a day without having at least a little taste.

This recipe for mints is very low in calories, but I always have to remind myself that if I have 10 at 14 calories each, that's 140 calories. At 140 calories I could have something more substantial.

The trick is to make them, and then store them in a container in the fridge. Out of site, out of mind until a craving for sweets becomes too difficult to manage.

Here's a trick I learned a long time ago. I was teaching with this beautiful young girl who was at least 50 pounds overweight. She went to a doctor who put her on a diet, and she took all the weight off. What I remember most about her diet is that he had her brush her teeth after everything she ate; meals snacks...

It seemed a little silly at the time, but about a week ago, I was going through a binge. I was eating cake and didn't seem to be able to get enough. I brushed my teeth and behold, the craving passed. Couldn't believe it. Guess the brain has a short attention span, and the lack of stimulus on the taste buds worked. I don't know how else to explain it. Of course, brushing was also good for my dental health.

If you try it, let me know if it works.

Here's the recipe;

Creamy Mints

Makes 150 mints 18 Calories each, 14 calories each if made with low fat cream cheese

4 oz Cream Cheese

3 1/2 c Icing Sugar (confectioner’s)

A few drops peppermint flavoring

(add more or less according to taste)

Food coloring optional

Cream the cream cheese and icing sugar and peppermint flavor until well mixed. The mixture should be creamy, but not sticky. When I use low fat cream cheese I usually have to add a few drops of water. If you've added to much water, add a little more icing sugar.

( At this point you may want to add food coloring. Divide batch into number of colors you have and add individual colors to each batch). Cool in fridge for about an hour (makes it easier to handle). Roll into small balls (the size of a marble). Place on waxed paper. Press down with a fork. Let it dry, and then place in airtight containers. Store in fridge.

Check on my diet plan

http://sites.google.com/site/patsspringdiet/

Copyright Pat Cher 2010

100 Calories or Less

It's spring! Time for thinking of the outdoors, gardening, walking, listening and most of all for dieting.

I've been dieting it seems like forever. Read all the research. Tried most of the diets. Failed miserably. Until now. I've found a diet that works for me; (http://sites.google.com/site/patsspringdiet/).

Something else that has worked is researching and converting recipes so they fit into my diet plan. I'm dedicating this blog to recipes that are 100 calories or less. For the first little while, I'll be posting recipes for Sweets and Desserts, all at 100 calories or less per serving, of course.

Here's the first recipe;

Apple Crepes

If you haven't made crepes before, you should try these. They are light and so easy to make. Delicious too! Try other fillings with these. You'll want to have them again and again!

Apple Crepes Filling

Serves 4, 60 calories each

2 apples

2tsp butter

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Peel and slice apples. Add butter to fry pan, and simmer the apples until they soften. Add sugar and cook for another minute. Remove from heat. Add cinnamon. Let cool slightly. Place filling in crepes, roll up and serve. A dollop of light cream on top makes a nice presentation. (1 tbsp light whipped cream adds 4 to 7 calories)

Light Crepe Batter 1

(Light and yummy!)

Makes 16 small, 40 calories each

1 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 c skim milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Beat egg whites and add other liquids. Gradually pour into flour mixture, beating to eliminate lumps. Cool in refrigerator for 1 hour. Heat small frying ( 6 in) pan. Take off the stove, spray with oil to coat. Pour batter with large spoon, spread, tipping batter until it covers the pan. Return pan to stove. Brown bottom. Flip and brown the other side, then transfer to a plate.

Copyright Pat Cher 2010