Category Archives: Recipe Makeovers

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Raisin Cookies

I’ve been wanting to make a cookie with pumpkin purée and peanut butter for a while now. These are two of my favorite ingredients. I love peanut butter so much that I actually had a patient one time ask me if I worked for a peanut butter company (yes I recommend it that much). Not to mention pumpkins are in season and bountiful this time of year. This is a perfect fall cookie! Plus an added bonus this recipe is a quick and easy! Not to mention a good idea for a lunch box cookie for children and husbands.

This recipe yields 30 cookies.

Ingredients :
1/2 cup ap flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
2/3 cup old fashion oats (not quick oats)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tb pure maple syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter or any nut butter
2/3 cup raw sugar
2/3 cup 100% pumpkin purée
1/2 cup raisins or (craisins would work well)
1 tsp pure vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Paper line with parchment paper a 1/2 sheet baking pan, set aside.

2. In a large bowl mix pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, oats, both flours.

Mix well to blend all ingredients together.

3.in a separate medium bowl place peanut butter, pumpkin, vanilla, & maple syrup.

Mix to incorporate using spatula or large spoon.

Add sugar and mix again until no sugar granules remain.

4. Add wet ingredients into dry & mix together evenly.

5. Add in raisins and fold in until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Batter should appear as picture displays below.

Portion out 1 Tb spoon size cookies onto parchment lined pan.
Place 15 cookies on a pan spread evenly.

Press cookies down with fork to flatten slightly.

Place in oven at 350 for 14 minutes.

Remove from pan right away or else the cookies will continue to bake. Place on wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Zucchini & Raisin Whole Wheat Muffins

It’s that time of year! We have zucchini coming out of our ears! This rain has sure helped! My previous boss gave me a zucchini cookbook from our hometown’s garden club. There are oodles of zucchini muffin recipes in the book. I found one of interest and made some modifications to lighten up the calories in these muffins! I made them for my sister and nephew for breakfast this weekend. I added raisins since that’s my nephews favorite snack and the only way I can get him to eat them.

Yields: 12 standard muffins and 6 mini muffins (I love the mini for east tasting & the perfect size for my toddler aged nephew).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Vietnamese ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
2 egg whites (local when possible)
1/4 cup local honey
1/4 canola oil
1/2 tsp pure Mexican vanilla extract
1 cup shredded (not pealed) zucchini
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup skim milk
Cinnamon & sugar to sprinkle

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins with paper liners or silicone cups and spray with cooking spray.
2. Place flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, & nutmeg in a medium bowl.

3. Whisk to incorporate.

4. In a separate large bowl mix milk, vanilla, egg whites, honey, & oil until combined.

5. Add dry blend into wet mixture.

6. Whisk to incorporate, leaving no dry residue.

7. Add raisins and zucchini.

Fold in with spatula to incorporate evenly.

Use a size 16 to scoop out standard muffins and a size 60 scoop for minis.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (optional). Bake standard muffins for 20 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Bake minis for 8 to 9 minutes.

Leave in pan for 5 minutes and remove and let cool on wire rack.

Enjoy with some apple butter !

Blackberry Overnight French Toast

We had a sleepover last night in our household after a night out on the town. I had to work early so I wanted to make sure my family had something to eat when they woke up! This recipe was adapted from one of my cookbooks and the original can be found on FN website.

This is so easy and the bonus is I used leftover heels of bread (about 8 ounces or 8 slices). I freeze them as I get to the end of the loaf and either use them for bread crumbs or breakfast casseroles.

Makes 8 servings !

Ingredients:
2 cups of egg substitute
4 whole eggs
2 cups of skim milk (or if you want to lighten up the calories even more use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
8 heels of light wheat bread (35 calories a slice) (toasted and cut into 1 inch cubes)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups of blackberries (or your favorite berry)
2 TB raw sugar
1/4 cup roasted slivered almonds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon (plus some for sprinkling about another 1/2 tsp)

You will need a 9 by 13 baking dish for this recipe.

Directions:
1. Scatter the toasted bread cubes evenly along the bottom of the pan.

Set aside.

2. In a large bowl whisk milk, eggs, egg substitute, vanilla, syrup, and cinnamon.

3. Once combined pour liquid evenly over the bread cubes and dust with additional cinnamon for good measure.

4. Spread berries evenly over the bread.

5. Repeat scatter placement and sprinkle with almonds and top with light dusting of raw sugar.

6. Cover with foil and let set over night or for at least 8 hours in refrigerator.

7. Remove from refrigerator and uncover bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Fajitas Frittatas

Everyone knows that I don’t like to waste food. I always try and use leftovers a few different ways.

The other night my husband made me veggie fajitas. Then the next night I made cheese and veggie quesadillas with some of the leftovers. Now I am finishing off the rest with these little frittatas using my brownie pan from Pampered Chef! Which I love and not just for brownies!

Ingredients

3 cups of egg beaters
3/4 tsp fajatas seasoning
Pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup vegetable diced fajitas
6 oz 2% shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
Dried cilantro to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

Cooking spray the brownie pan set aside.

Place one TB of diced veggies into each vessel.

Now place a 1 TB of shredded cheese on top of the veggies.

Set aside.

Place egg substitute in a pouring measuring cup and mix in fajita seasoning and salt.

Once seasoning is mixed throughout. Pour 3 to 4 TB of egg substitute in each section to the top.

Sprinkle with cilantro if desired.

Place in oven for 23 to 25 minutes on 350 degrees.

Let cool a few minutes before handling.

Enjoy!

baked whole wheat chocolate hazelnut donuts

This recipe is for the love of chocolate hazelnut (aka Nutella ❤️). I asked my husband last night what do you want for breakfast and he smiled and asked for donuts. He loves Nutella and donuts (but the fried ones of course) that said I couldn’t allow myself to get his frier out. No I don’t own a fryer he does (a dietitian cannot own a frier, I’m pretty sure it’s in our own unwritten law).

I love that fact that these are made with 100% whole wheat pastry flour! I stocked up yesterday at the Mesopotamia bulk store.

If you can find a bulk store it’s worth the trip to purchase the special flour there. I was able to get 5.12 pounds of whole wheat pastry flour for 0.49 cent a pound for a whopping total of 2.51. If you ever priced it out before it can be three times as much at a speciality grocery store and even up to 2.83 per pound out of the King Arthur catalog. I wanted to point out that it is not expensive to add whole grain into ones lifestyle. If you know where to find the right resources. If you don’t live close to a bulk store I have found Bob’s Red Mill brand at Big Lots for a fair price (1$ per Pound) when they have their 20% members discount.

Directions:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 -1/4 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 TB of chocolate hazelnut spread
1/2 cup skim milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/2 raw sugar (turbinado)
1 TB plus 1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract
1/4 cup egg substitute (or two egg whites)

Glaze
2 TB hot strong coffee
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 TB Chocolate hazelnut spread
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Wilton donut pan
Cooking spray

Yields 8 donuts using the Wilton pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cooking spray the donut pan well. Set aside.

Place flour, salt, baking soda, and coffee granules in medium bowl.

Whisk ingredients together to incorporate.

In a separate bowl add oil, hazelnut spread, sugar, milk, egg substitute, and vanilla.

Whisk together the liquid ingredients until smooth and no sign of chunks.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet.

Mix together with a whisk to fully incorporate.

Spoon batter evenly into the cooking sprayed donut pans. I tried piping the batter but it was too wet to pipe into the donut rings.

Bake for 12to 15 minutes.

Let donuts cool for a few minutes in pan then remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

In the meantime, start to prepare the glaze. Add powdered sugar,coffee, and
the hazelnut spread.

Whisk to incorporate all the glaze ingredients until no clumps are visible and glaze is smooth.

Now for the fun part. Dunk each donut into the glaze.

Place on wire rack that has parchment paper under it to prevent a sticky mess.

Lastly add sprinkles if you wish!

Rhubarb Spice Coffee Cake

I am starting to have oodles of rhubarb in the garden but nothing like my grandpa’s garden. He has 50 plants this year and I only have two.

This morning I was contemplating what can I make that I haven’t made yet with this beautiful vegetable? …Coffee cake…I love baking with rhubarb! There are just so many endless possibilities.

I’m not really sure where the concept of coffee cake originated. Honestly I think it must of initiated from someone who wanted to eat cake for breakfast with their coffee. Those of you that have ate it before know there is no coffee in the cake. I wanted to make a healthier version of this classic cake. I decreased the butter content and used only whole wheat flour to add additional fiber.

I can remember my mom making coffee cake for our family growing up on the weekends. It was always a special treat!

Yields 6 servings

Batter Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
2 TB canola oil
2 TB egg substitute
1/2 cup raw sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 & 3/4 cup fresh rhubarb chopped ( if using frozen measure frozen not thawed)
1/2 cup skim milk or vanilla almond milk
1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract

Topping ingredients:
1/8 & 1/4 cup of raw sugar
2 TB Unsalted butter
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice

Preheat oven to 350

1. Chop up your rhubarb (it will take 4-5 stalks depending on the size)

Set aside.

In a large bowl beat canola oil and sugar.

Whisk until combined.

Add vanilla and egg substitute, whisk until incorporated.

Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, and Chinese 5 spice until all ingredients mixed thoroughly.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient blend to the wet batter and 1/3 of milk. Alternate between both (milk & dry ingredients whisk after every addition) and mix until combined.

Fold in rhubarb.

Make sure to spread rhubarb throughout batter evenly.

Pour wet batter into an 8 by 8 glass cooking sprayed dish or equivalent.

Use a spatula to get all the batter into the baking dish.

Set aside.

In a small bowl place butter, sugar, and Chinese 5 spice all together.

Crumble the topping between fingers until resembles wet sand.

Sprinkle the topping evenly on-top the wet batter.

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Bake for 45 minutes in preheated oven on 350.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Lemon No Bake Bars

These are a very popular bar! Always requested for a spring dinner and Easter Sunday. Super easy and refreshing! This recipe was adapted from Ellie Krieger, Registered Dietitian, from the Food Network’s Lemon Bars recipe.

Ingredients:

Crust:
14 graham crackers, low fat (7 full sheets)
1/2 TB milled flaxseed
1/2 TB Splenda Brown Sugar
2 TB melted butter
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
8 oz greek reduced fat cream cheese blend (green mountain farms works well) brought to room temperature
1 can of fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp gelatin
3 TB boiling water

This recipe yields 16 refreshing bars!

Spray an 8 by 8 glass baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Place graham crackers, salt, & flaxseed in a food processor.

Pulse until course texture.
Add melted butter and pulse until resembles sand like texture.

Place the crumb mixture in the baking dish and press the crumb blend with your fingers to form crust bottom.

Place the crust in the refrigerator well preparing the lemon filling.

In a large bowl blend cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and egg substitute. Beat in high until smooth and no chunks of cream cheese. This takes about 2 to 3 minutes but it is important that the cream cheese is softened to start.

Add lemon juice and zest to milk mixture.

Beat the lemon into the batter until fully incorporated. This should take less than a minute.

In a small bowl take the boiling water and gelatin and whisk until completely gelatin dissolves.

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Let the gelatin mixture cool for approximately 2 minutes. And then add to the lemon filling blend.

Fold the gelatin into the batter.

Take the crust out of the refrigerator and pour the batter on top the crust and spread evenly with spatula.

Cover with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Cut into 16 bars (2 in by 2 in) and enjoy!

Special note spray cutting knife with cooking spray before driving into bars to prevent sticking and the yield a smooth edge.

Josh and Julie’s favorite mac & cheese

I have made this recipe so many times! It is probably my most requested recipe by far. I try and tweak it with each reveal. I have tried many recipes of Mac and cheese but always go back to this tried and true recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups of dry. macaroni noodles (dreamfields or smart taste)
2 cups plus 1/4 cup of 2% cheddar cheese
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 Fat Free sour cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 cup of skim milk
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray and 8 by 8 glass dish with cooking spray.

Cook macaroni according to the directions on the package.

In the meantime measure out milk, sour cream, and egg substitute. Mix together with fork.

Once cooked and drained place noodles back into the pan.

Remove from heat.

Add cheese and stir.

Add liquid ingredient mixture, salt, pepper, and mustard. Fold until incorporated.

Now pour noodles into the glass dish.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of cheese for an added flare.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Homemade Granola in the Actifry

Today is Registered Dietitian Day!! In honor of this special day I made my coworkers homemade granola in the ActiFry. It turned just right with so much less fat than tradition granola! I placed the granola in recycled jelly jars. For an added touch I placed a decorative cupcake wrapper on the top and tied a string with handmade name tag. The stickers on the jar reads “energy in a jar”. Perfect snack during a long day!

Ingredients:
2 cups of rolled oats
3/4 cup slivered almonds and/or pumpkin seeds
2 tsp milled flaxseed
1/6 cup dried blueberries
1/6 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 TB canola oil

Directions:

Place all ingredients in bowl except for dried fruit. Mix well to incorporate. Place the mix into the ActiFry. Set timer for 7 minutes. Once timer does off add dried fruit and set timer for 3 additional minutes. Once the time has elapsed spread the granola onto a sheet pan to cool. Enjoy! We like it best in our yogurt!!!

Baked Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cranberry Donuts

I had some fresh cranberries in my refrigerator. I have been dying to use them up. I always have pumpkin puree around so I thought what a fun combination when I came across a TOH recipe for Pumpkin Cranberry Doughnuts. As I started to read the directions, I thought I could sure improve the nutrient content by changing out the butter for canola oil and of course baking vs deep frying. Not to much adding more fiber by substituting almost half the flour for whole wheat pastry flour. These are pretty festive and would be good for a Thanksgiving or Christmas morning!

Ingredients:

This recipe makes 24 donuts using the wilton donut pan

3 TB canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs or 12 cup egg substitute
1 Tsp vanilla extract
2 cup of Ap flour
1 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/ 4teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk (fat free if available)
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (food processor finely chopped)
1 tsp Lemon zest (optional)
Cooking Spray

SPICED SUGAR:

1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Dash ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and spray the donut pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix canola oil, and sugar together. minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing with a swisk well after each addition then add in vanilla.