Double Chocolate Healthy Brownies

For the deep dark chocolate lover in you... go ahead and enjoy them!

These brownies are sooooooooooooooo awesome right out of the oven. Once they've cooled of, I even like to warm them up in the microwave for 10 seconds- real decadent and healthy and moist because of the low fat yogurt... I love tricks like that.

 

Double-Chocolate Brownies (adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/ellie-kriegers-double-chocolate-brownies-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup whole-grain pastry flour (or 1/2 cup each whole-wheat and all-purpose flours)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

4 large eggs

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional- but I would say you have to have them, they just make them pop) 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally; do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until smooth, then add the yogurt, oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle with walnuts, if desired. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan on a rack before slicing.

Makes 28 brownies, nutritional information per brownie (with nuts)

Calories 137, fat 8g, carbs 15g, protein 3g, fibre 1g

Skinny Cow makes for a refreshing summer treat

Interesting but true! I find that in this wieght loss journey, it's important 'now' and forever never to feel deprived. So I found this 'ice cream' (because it's not ice cream at all) treat called Skinny Cow. It's a giant Vanilla Sandwich... and it's good!

It comes in chocolate or vanilla 'frozen dairy product'- it's not for the very pure people out there. But when you have a craving and you see all those ice cream trucks rolling around... this will do.

It only has 130 calories, 1.5 g of fat and even 2g of protein. So go ahead and enjoy in moderation! It's that the key to enjoying life eh?

Making Subway a Healthy Alternative

What? You say. Well, out and about doing errands and Mella wants to go to her favourite. Subway- so here we go... but this time it's different.

I had a turkey sub with lots of veggies and light mayo... but this time, I put it on a 'Flatbread'. It was nice... but I think I would enjoy the whole wheat bun- better for my health. When I went back home and did the research on their website for the nutritional information I found that this flatbread has 10 more calories than the whole wheat soft bread, has 2.5 more grams of fat, and has 2 grams less than the whole wheat bun. But heck, you live and learn. And as my daughter told me the other day- YOLO Mom, what??? That means 'You Only Live Once'. She's so cool right?

Girl Night- Purses/Starbucks/Flowers

Once upon a time, there was a girl (me) who wished for a new spring/fall coat, but thought "I'm going to be losing so much more weight, so I will just wear the one I have until it becomes as big as a circus tent on me- poor red quilted coat". Well I happened to go to my favourite store and saw this awesome Teal coat- my current size with a 'cincher' belt inside so that you can make it smaller (great for my weight loss journey). And it was on sale like 75% off, so I bought it! Here I am wearing it proudly!

The fun part of this story is that because of the 'Law of Attraction', I found this coat. True story. A friend who had a great big Teal purse that I really admired said she wears it with her Fuchsia coat and then I showed her my big Fuchsia purse and she said I needed to get a Teal coat. 2 days later- I found this coat... by chance... but not really... I attracted it to me, cool right?

Ok, so here is the girl night part. My delightful friend Janice and I met up for coffee at her local Starbucks and even got to sit on the patio. Well how amazing was it that she had a gorgeous blue purse - made of the same patent leather-looking material as my fuchsia purse????  Her drink- Soy Chai Tea Latte with a shot vanilla.

Here's me and my purse and my drink, you know- No fat Cafe Misto- thank you very much!

Then we went - as we usually do- to the only Whole Foods in Oakville, in the same plaza... how convenient. She needed bread, and as I'm sure you've done yourself, came out with many other things than bread. We found these products by Sha Sha Co. - I just love their ginger hearts cookies.

They are perfect for Janice's daughter who is a vegan. They are a buckwheat snack and are gluten and wheat free too.

See all the very organic ingredients. It's quite a raw and natural snack.

Packed with nutrients too! And it tastes moist and crunchy at the same time!

But perhaps, the best part was seeing these gorgeous paintings in their 'Eating' area- for sale. OMG, I  just love this one. It's so gorgeous... Charles- are you hearing this???

And this gorgeous Fuchsia Gerbera, yum!

And finally, a firery Orange Cala Lily.

Mini Red Velvet Cupckes with Coconut... but Maxi Red Taste

Oh, and they are a 'healthy alternative' too! And what does 'Red' really taste like? I think red tastes like this....

These sure are red- right? And they are from the Eating Well website which promotes just what I like.... Healthy Alternatives. Here you see them without any icing... 

Here you see them all dressed up for the party with cream cheese icing, shredded coconut and a pretty and plump raspberry on top!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Coconut

(adapted from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-cupcakes-coconut-50400000117906/)

Yield: Makes 48 mini cupcakes (serving size: 1 mini cupcake)

Ingredients

•             1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

•             1 cup sugar

•             1/2 teaspoon baking soda

•             1/2 teaspoon salt

•             1 teaspoon cocoa powder

•             1 cup vegetable oil

•             2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

•             1 large egg, room temperature

•             1 tablespoon red food coloring

•             1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

•             1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

•             1 cup store-bought cream cheese frosting

•             1/2 cup dried sweetened shredded coconut for garnish

•             48 fresh raspberries for garnish (about 2 pints)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two 24-cup mini muffin pans with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Stir flour mixture into oil mixture until combined.

3. Divide batter between muffin tins (about 1 tablespoon each). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake tests clean (10–15 minutes). Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost the cupcakes (1 teaspoon each), sprinkle with coconut, and top with raspberries.

These came out pretty moist with all the canola oil I used, I would use a little less, and to make a little healthier - I would make my own lower fat/sugar and less processed frosting... but in a pinch... this was a quick solution.

Nutritional Information:  Calories: 104 ,     Fat: 6g,     Protein: 1g,     Carbohydrate: 12g

Nice Nails-Orange you Glad I Colour Blocked?

Ok, now I am starting to create my own cute Nice Nail design names- just as cute as O.P.I.  This one is another ode to colour blocking. Don't mind the messy polish on my fingers- it was late.

I used some fuchsia and orange nail polish and then did a stripe of white...it looked too 'dull' so I added silver sparkles. I always like to shine a little... you know!

I used Finger Paints- Micheltangelo.

One of my old favourites- O.P.I.'s 'My Auntie Drinks Chianti'.

Positively the My Favourite Cookie so far! Fruti and Nut Cookies

This reciped comes from Melanie's cookbook. One of our dear friends Robin, gave it to her this past Christmas. It's called the Kid's Fun & Healthy Cookbook. Ok well, I love it, and Mella is warming up to it - but I made these ones by myself. But the whole family and friends and co-workers .... all enjoyed them.

Fruit & Nut Cookies (adapted from the Kid’s Fun & Healthy Cookbook)

Makes 18 big cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup chopped dried apricots

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¾ whole oats

½ cup chopped almonds

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

5 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease baking sheet. Cut the apricots into small pieces and put in large mixing bowl. Add the flour, oats and nuts to the bowl and mix all together. Cut the butter into small chunks and put into a saucepan. Add the sugar and honey to the saucepan and heat over low heat. Stir  gently until the butter and sugar have melted.  Add the butter mixture to the bowl and mix.

 I made some Almond Apricot.

And some Dark chocolate chips and dried cherries.

Put a spoonful onto the cookie tray and flatten the cookies so them about 1 cm thick.  Bake for 15 minutes or until they are light golden.   

Here are the chocolate/cherry cookies. Melanie and I's favourite.

And here are the apricot/almond cookies. Brent's favourite.

Remove the trays from the oven and leave the cookies to cool slightly. Then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool and become crisp.

Tasty twists:

Instead of the apricot and almond you could change it up. I used dried cherries and dark chocolate chips (even better). You could use raisins, cranberries, dates, other nuts.

Nutritional Information:

126 calories, 15g carbs, 7g fat , 2g protein , 1g fibre, 7g sugar

Delicious and buttery!

Dark and mysterious!

A New Salad- Carrots to the Rescue!

I was tired of always having the same old 'lettuce' salad. So one day, needing a healthy side dish for my 'Hamburger Night'- I put together this fun and healthy 'Carrot and Cucumber Salad'

Very simple really, but really bright and fresh.

You'll need a bag of shredded carrots, a peeled and diced cucumber. I put it all in a big bowl and added some Sundried Tomato and Oregano Salad Dressing and then for a little contrast I added some raisins.   It as really delicious and Mella and I would make it again. I might add walnuts for even more of a contrast.

Breakfast on the go... you can make it healthy

Sometimes Melanie and I want to get going on weekend mornings and we need to grab a healthy breakfast on the go. We used to go to McDonald's wayyyyyy back. But that is not a real healthy choice. So we tried Starbucks for their breakfast sandwiches. I have had the Artisan Hand and Cheddar sandwich in the past, but I saw this new kind listed- Reduced Fat, with Bacon-Style Turkey, Cheddar and Egg white with 55% less fat than the other sandwiches.

So that's what I chose!

Melanie went outside to get us a table right in the bright, beautiful sunshine and I brought our little breaky on the go outside. Melanie's Naked Smoothy and my non-fat grande cafe misto.

Here's my little breakfast sandwich. It was pretty good. Here's the nutritional information:

Calories 320 Calories,  Fat 7g,  Carbohydrate 43g, Protein 18g, Fibre 3g

Here's Mella enjoying her sandwich.

Here's me and the big sandwich and delicious Cafe Misto.

We then went to the library and Melanie had so much fun picking up some books out, me.... I was reading these great kids books that have 'adult' -'moral of the story'- true love, fulfilment and happiness.  Don't worry, I did get my books too, self-help is m focus!



Super Moist Banana Blueberry Muffin

These muffins are super moist and I love all the fruits- bananas and blueberries and I used all whole wheat flour.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

(adapted from http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_blueberry_muffins.html)

Makes 24 regular size muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup nonfat or low-fat buttermilk

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

2  1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preparation:

1.            Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat  two 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners. Whisk buttermilk, brown sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in mashed bananas.

2.            Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

3.            Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups (they will be full).

4.            Bake until the tops are golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes more before serving.

Nutrition:

Per muffin: 115 calories; 3 g fat, 20 g carbohydrates; 6 g added sugars; 2 g protein; 2 g fibre

A fabulous day off- Part 2

Part 2 of my fabulous day off was a little lunch date and shopping with Julie and baby Stephanie.

Here are the girls posing for me. It's a monumental moment, Stephanie's first time in the Erin Mills Town Centre.

Look where we got to park!!!

Julie is a healthy eater by nature and by the way... see how great she looks, she had a baby only 3 months ago!!!! So anyways, we went to the food court looking for a healthy alternative. I had seen this place before, but never tried it. Fit for Life it was to be for our very special lunch date.

It's a Mediterranean place, so we tried chicken Schwarmas, we like it, but a little too much garlic for these girls. Check out the side of carrots and water!

Julie enjoying her first bite, Stephanie enjoying her first food court experience.... but wait, there's me too... enjoying my first food court experience because I can finally fit into the chairs and tables (they don't move, and before this day- I hadn't fit into them for about 15 years!)

Hey look, Stephanie woke up... so excited to be in the big mall!!

It was so funny right.... your mom forgot she had to use elevator and she was headed for the stairs!

And this one is for Melanie, an epic moment in a girl's life... her first time inside Aeropostale.

A fabulous day off- Part 1

Recently I took a Friday off and went on an Amazing Adventure with my little sister and her little baby. We set out to go and enjoy a nice walk by the lake and soak in the sun, wind and surf. My sister is like me, she loves the wind and the waves. So that's why I brought her to one of favourite park by the water. Lakeside Park.

So here we are, Julie bought us some nice hot beverages at our local Tim's and we set out on our tour of the park. Here she is with sleepy Stephanie.

Here's a little photo of me- I had to buy new capris and t-shirts because of my success in my weight loss journey. These capris are 4 sizes smaller than last summer... and my pride about this success.... 4 thousand times bigger than the Earth!

Julie and the fountain... and believe me... we wanted to jump in, it was hot and humid, like up to 35 in May.

I think I've told you, they have a splash pad at this park and in the cement, they have layed out the whole solar system. Well, I had to take this photo... just for my little brother!

Julie loving the view and the big Canada Geese on the water.

Stephanie, well, she was just hanging out, not too much into the scenery... yet. She just loves being outside and walking around, she just slept the whole time.

This was such a random strawberry, just sticking out there on the ground by itself in the middle of all the wood chips. Pretty cool pic.

It was time to change and feed Stephanie, so we sat on a park bench and were all one with nature.

She was so comfy, she didn't want to wake up.

Look at those little lips.

... and look at those eyelashes too.

P.S. This is what you do with your old dirty diapers, you place them in your empty Tim Horton's cup in the cup holder. Fabulous!