Recipes!

tiffanyheth

Hey guys, I love to cook and I'm not willing to give up my tasty foods, but I am willing to give up the calories! (See what I did there?). So I've been working on changing some of my favorite recipes into healthier, lower calorie versions. (Keep in mind, I'm no nutritionist or chef, and I'm doing this in my kitchen with the help of MFP and SparkPeople Recipe Calculators! I list as close to the brand item as I can find!

tiffanyheth

In my house Chocolate + Peanut Butter =Bliss (Pardon if you have allergies!)

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c. Smart Balance Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 c. Hyvee Brand Splenda Granulated
1/2 c. Brown Sugar (I tried reducing this but the cookies were NOT okay! Splenda does make a brown sugar blend, but its a little more than I want to spend).
1 egg
1/3 c. Semi sweet MINI chocolate Chips.
Stir all together well.

I use a 1 tspn size cookie scoop and this makes exactly 2 dozen cookies. Press down with a fork. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes Cool for 5-10. 2 cookies is 1 serving. Each serving is 163 calories.

tiffanyheth

Boneless Buffalo Chicken "Wings"

Hyvee - Breadcrumbs Panko, 1 cup
Hyvee - Buffalo Wing Sauce, 1 container (30 tbsp ea.)
Egg White - Raw, Fresh, Large, 2 large
Hyvee - 100% Natural Fresh Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast, 32 ounce, cut into chunks (I do bigger than nuggets, smaller than strips).

Preheat oven to 400^ and cover a large baking sheet with foil and spray with pan spray.
In one bowl add Panko and season with garlic POWDER.
In another bowl beat 2 raw eggs and add 1/4 jar of Wing Sauce.
Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into Panko (pat the panko onto the chicken and gently move to cookie sheet). Repeat with all other chicken.
Bake the chicken for 10 minutes. Flip all the pieces and bake another 10 minutes. Kick up the heat to 450^. Take cookie sheet out of the oven and gently spoon the remaining jar of Buffalo sauce onto the chicken. Place back into the oven for another 10 minutes until baked on. (Cooking times are estimate...I rarely set a timer!).

Serve with my homemade blue cheese and celery sticks!

You can't have wings without blue cheese!
About 1/2 c. Light or FF Mayo
1/2 c. Light or FF Sour Cream
Skim Milk (.25-.5 cup-to taste)
Generic - Crumbled Blue Cheese, 4 oz (28g)
Garlic Powder, Salt, Black Pepper

Whisk or blend first ingredients until smooth, add seasonings to taste, and stir in Blue Cheese. Serving Size of this is about 1/4 cup for 110 calories!

tiffanyheth

Refried Beans-I hate refried beans in a can, so these are a MUCH better option. (Note-I'm aware that most Refried Beans are made with Pinto Beans, however, I had these on hand the night I modified this recipe. There's very little caloric difference in the two.)

Bush's - Great Northern Beans, 1 Can
1 slice of Bacon (lower sodium is best)
Old El Paso - Original Taco Seasoning Mix, 2 tsp
Ortega - Mild Taco Sauce, 1 tbsp
In a medium saucepan, chop bacon into small pieces and fry over medium heat, to render fat. When bacon is mostly crisp and done, pour in entire can of beans (juice and all).
Cook on medium heat until beans are bubbling. Stir in taco seasoning mix and cook to incorporate. Put all into a food processor (I also do this by hand...but its more "restaurant" smooth in the processor. While the beans are processing, add in the taco sauce. Be careful not to make this into baby-food texture, you want it to be thick with tiny chunks, with a little bite-able texture).

Put the beans back into the saucepan and cook until heated through. Enjoy! (I like to use this and meat in a taco salad because it's a little more filling, full of protein.
This will feed 4 people or 2 people twice. 1 serving is 57 calories.