Delicious Visit

I had the great surprise visit from my girlfriend Sam (the one who sent me the teas in the mail) this past weekend. We met up for lunch at this great place in Oakville called Stoney's

She is one of my oldest and dearest friends and it was wonderful to see her and catch up over a very long and lingering lunches (yup, my butt was soar- 2 hours +++)

Here she is with her ever-famous hand sanitizer, everytime she eats in a restaurant she puts the stuff on.

She brought me up a couple of boxes of tea and I let her pick one of her favourite coco mado pieces.

We decided to share a couple of dishes (the food is amazing there!). She is a vegetarian so we chose a delicious Greek Salad- we didn't even touch the crouton because....

We shared this tiny little Margherita Pizza.... check out the cheese factory... in our minds it would be a thin crust pizza with lots of tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzerella. But this is what came... I was only going to have one slice and save the rest... But you know, someone once told me that to lose weight, you should eat like a 'thin' person eats... well, this thin person sitting across from me was eating the second piece...so when in Rome... Needless to say, I had a small dinner full of veggies!

Amazing Adventures- Christmas Party

So this past weekend we were swamped with activities, so the Amazing Adventure I have to share with you was my husband's Christmas Party.
I was very proud to fit into an outfit that hasn't fit for 6 years. Red and Sparkly it was, so I had to make a new necklace to match and find the perfect lipstick and nail polish.

I was indeed, a Lady in Red.

Brent and I by the Christmas Tree.

I knew there were going to be some eating challenges, but it was a buffet so I could pick what I wanted. This is what I chose, a small piece of thinly cut roast beef, a small piece of turkey breast with a little gravy and cranberries, a LARGE amount of Mixed Greens with a balsamic vinaigrette, a few roasted potatos and a few pieces of tortellini. Well, my eyes were bigger than my stomach... I could not finish it all! I left half the potatoes and pasta. I drank water and coffee all night and for desert I had a small piece of chocolate something (like a little cake) and lots of fruits.  The 'old' me would have gone up for seconds, especially for desserts, but this time I was content with the great flavours and danced the night away with my husband!



Low Fat Whole Wheat Banana Waffles

After watching an episode of The Amazing Race recently where the contestants were in Belgium and their challenge was to make waffles, I was inspired to make our own healthy version for dinner one night.

Low Fat Whole Wheat Banana Waffles (adapted from food.com)

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar or 2 tablespoons Splenda sugar substitute

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup skim milk

2 ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/8 cup dark chocolate chunks (I used 85% Lindt squares, smashed up)

Directions:

Heat your waffle maker up.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt and mix.

Mash the bananas. Add the water, skim milk, vanilla, and egg to the mashed bananas and mix.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir. Add the dark chocolate chunks.

Spray waffle maker with Pam, place about a half cup of batter on the waffle maker and cook until golden brown.

Makes 4 giant waffles.

Add a chopped banana on top and about 2 Tbsp of pure maple syrup.

Nutritional Information: (waffle, syrup, banana)

414 calories

81g carbs

10g fat

15g protein

9g fibre

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

These were for my family, they are big fans of pumpkin pie (me, not so much), so when I stumbled upon these on www.sheknows.com. I had to make them for my family.  Well guess what, they loved them, and when I added the berries around and blended the flavours together I loved them too.

Healthy Pumkin Pie Cupcakes

   

Ingredients:

•             2/3 cup all-purpose flour

•             1/4 teaspoon baking powder

•             1/4 teaspoon baking soda

•             1/4 teaspoon salt

•             1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

•             1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

•             1/2 cup white sugar

•             1/4 cup brown sugar

•             2 large eggs

•             1 teaspoon almond extract

•             3/4 cup skim milk

•             Whipped topping and cinnamon for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake wrappers in a muffin pan and coat wrappers with cooking spray.

1.            In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.

2.            In a larger bowl, combine pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, almond and milk until fully combined. Add in dry ingredients and mix until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth. (Batter will be runny).

3.            Fill liners about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are brown. Once cooled, add a dollop of whipped topping into the concave center and sprinkle with cinnamon!

My family loved them so much they kept on eating them all week, even without the berries.

Nutrional Information:

110 calories

18g carbs

 1g fat

 3g protein

 1g protein

Let the Healthy Christmas Baking begin...

  

Orange Spice Molasses Cookies (From EatingWell.com)

These spiced molasses cookies have applesauce to help keep them moist and whole-wheat flour and oats to incorporate whole grains.

Ingredients

1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon(s) freshly grated orange zest

1 1/2 cup(s) rolled oats

5 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup(s) granulated sugar

1/3 cup(s) packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoon(s) freshly grated orange zest

1/2 cup(s) light or dark molasses

7 tablespoon(s) unsweetened applesauce

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

1 teaspoon(s) baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon(s) ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

2 1/4 cup(s) whole-wheat flour

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

2.To prepare the rolling sugar: Pulse 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon orange zest in a food processor until well combined. Place in a shallow dish and set aside.

3.To prepare cookie dough: Grind oats in a blender until they look like a fine powder, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides as needed.

4.Beat butter and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Add brown sugar and 2 tablespoons orange zest and beat another 2 minutes. Add molasses, applesauce, egg yolk, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, pepper, and salt; beat on medium-high until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

5.Turn the mixer to medium and slowly add the ground oats. Scrape down the bowl; with the mixer on medium, slowly add whole-wheat flour. (The dough will be moderately sticky.)

6.Using a slightly rounded tablespoon of dough, roll into balls, then roll in the rolling sugar to coat. (If necessary, wet your fingers to help roll without sticking.) The zest will make the mixture slightly wet and it will clump; lightly brush off the excess so that just a thin coat is on the cookie. Place cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

7.Bake the cookies in batches until the edges are set and the tops are cracked, but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 10 minutes.

8.Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 8 minutes. Serve warm or cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information: (per serving)

Calories 85

Total Fat 2g

Saturated Fat 1g

Total Carbohydrate 16g

Dietary Fiber 1g

Protein 1g

Yields: 40 cookies

I had to go out and buy this nifty tool- a micro-grater, boy, did it ever speed up the job of grating of whole orange.

Here they are just out of the oven. I yielded more than 40 cookies, perhaps 60 or so, so my nutrional info would be a little different. These take a while to make because you need to roll each in the orange sugar. But they are soooooo worth it. We just love them!



Nice Nails- Red Hot Christmas Nails

This is a seasonal favourite for sure. I put a coat of O.P.I. 'Charge it in Milan' with a coat of a sparkly gold and red nail polish. And here you have it! Have yourself a Merry little Nail Polish!

Christmas time in my home

Well it's that time of year and since I have been busy beading and creating new jewellery designs Melanie and Brent have been in charge of decorating our home for the Holidays (ok mostly Melanie- Brent got the tree up and they fought over putting the Christmas Tree lights up).
It's a little sparse, but decorated with love....

Ok, this one I did myself!

Our annual Christmas ornament. This year we picked it up in Niagara-on-the-Lake. How Moose-a-Licious!

Ok, so the tree looks like a little bit of a 'Charlie Brown Christmas Tree'- but don't get me wrong, it was made with love. But check out Vanilla making herself at home under the tree on the Christmas Tree Skirt. We need to wrap some presents and put them under the tree so that she doesn't take over!

I don't know if you can tell, but these are the 'jelly' letters and Christmas shapes - they are so fun and colourful on the kitchen window.

And finally.... Look what Melanie made me buy for my car!!!! Thtat's right, Rudolph the Red Nosed Car!



Soupy Sundays- Parsnip and Carrot Soup

Parsnip and Carrot Soup

This delicious addition to the Soupy Sundays Repertoire comes from my mom's kitchen. When I left for University (quite a few years ago) my sweet, sweet mother created a recipe book for me of all her and my family favourites. She actually typed - that's right kids... with a typewriter (it was 1986)- on index cards.

This is one of my favourite soups ever. Thanks Mom!

Pictured here in my Christmas bowls.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 potato, peeled  and chopped
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup milk (my mom's recipe called for cream- but I changed it up for a healthier choice)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish- chopped green onion or fresh parsley

Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan, add carrots, parsnips, onion abd potato. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or place it in a blender) and blend mixture until smooth. Add in milk and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat without boiling. Garnish with green onion or parsley.

Serves 6

Nutrional Information:

168 calories
27g carbs
4g fat
6g protein
5g fibre

Healthy Snack Alternative- Pop Chips

When you are looking for a Healthy Snack Alternative, look no further. These are great!

Pop Chips, they come in lots of flavours- my favourite- BBQ - my husband's- Salt and Vinegar. They are not fried, not baked. They are POPPED!

They are make with potato flakes and if you have the munchies and want a Healthy Alternative they are great... A little high in salt but for 29 chips you are looking at 180 calories and 6g of fat. Not bad at all I say...

 They tend to be expensive - like $3.00 per bag, but check your local flyers and buy them when your store is having a sale and you could get them 2 for $4.00.

Healthy Menu Plan

Check out this week's Healthy Menu Plan. I'm going to attempt doing a few recipes from one of my favourite cookbooks- Eat, Shrink and be Merry!

Salad Nut Mix

We always love crucnchy stuff in our salads, but store-bought croutons are full of bad fat and chemicals. So what I did was get some almonds, dried cranberries, roasted soya nuts, sunflower seeds, pumkin seeds, pistachios, peanuts and raisins (spent a small fortune!) and through them in a large Ziploc bag and mix it all around and now you have a healty Salad Nut Mix ... or a quick healthy snack too.

Great Artist- Britto

I am all about colour, the brighter the better. So when my mother gave me my first Britto piece, I just loved it... Now I want the whole collection. Check out the artist's website. http://www.britto.com/


I have a beautiful mug.

And a lovely Salt and Pepper cat.

You see, my mom just knows that I love cats... always have.

Just look at my 2 cats, Diamond and Vanilla napping together like a bunch of lazy bums.

Walking up only to lick each other... nice life eh!