As you may have noticed, most (if not all) of my recipes are somewhat healthy. For example, I prefer grilled versus fried food and also don't like full-fat sauces and dips. My palate enjoys light and refreshing flavors opposed to fatty and rich ones. The main reason for this post was because I absolutely loved my lunch this afternoon and wanted to post about it! Obsessed? No, just amazed!
Rewind just a tad- Michael and I went to Las Vegas for 10 days with a couple of our friends. Needless to say, eating wasn't the healthiest, but that was expected. On October 21, 2012, the group went to the Grand Canyon where Michael proposed!!! (It's a beautiful ring, by the way!) All the thoughts of planning a wedding came shortly after the excitement of becoming engaged! One of the first things that comes to mind is the dress. All women want to look their best on their wedding day, so I have been working to mold my diet towards some healthy weight loss.
My daily budget for calories is 1,453 calories. I've decided to start posting semi-regularly about the foods I'm eating and hope it helps some of you! Most people think "diet=bland". Well, not so! I like flavor just as much as the next person but I look for ways to bend to get flavor without fat and calories. As I said previously, today's lunch in particular was what amazed me!
I had a grilled cheese sandwich and soup. (I even had a little butter in it.) It doesn't sound like an impressive lunch, but the calorie content was VERY impressive: 310!!!! That's it! 310 calories and I was STUFFED! How did I do it? Well...
Low fat/low calorie grilled cheese
Yields: 1 serving
2 slices of wheat bread (120 cal.)
2 slices of fat-free american cheese (50 cal.)
1 tsp. of butter spread (20 cal.)
First, toast the slices of bread in the toaster to increase the crunchiness. Heat the spread in a small skillet and place one piece of bread along with the cheese slices. Allow the bread to crisp a little and the cheese to melt a bit. Then, add the top piece of bread and flip the sandwich over to crisp. That's it!
In total, my sandwich had 190 calories and 3.3g of fat! Also, I had a can of Campbell's Harvest Select Vegetable and Pasta Light. No fat, and only 120 calories for the entire can!
A very satisfying lunch, with ZERO guilt!
Enjoy healthy eating!
Showing posts with label Low calorie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Low calorie. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Apple Oat Muffins!
This past weekend I went to an apple festival in a nearby town. I was extremely excited because I had missed the North Carolina Apple Festival in Hendersonville the week before. I had EVERY intention of purchasing some apples this year and was determined to make tons of apple recipes from them. Although it was extremely hot, my boyfriend and I did have a good time. Along the way, we also found prize-winning orangeade and some pretty cool knick-knacks!
The apple oatmeal muffins I made are so delicious. They are mildly sweet with a hint of fall flavor (I suspect it's from the cinnamon). I thought they needed a little more "oomph" so I added a glaze. (Don't worry, I'll include the recipe for that as well) All in all, these muffins are a delightful (HEALTHY) treat, that even my boyfriend who grew up on fried food enjoys!
Apple Oat Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
2 cups apples (see below)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1½ tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon (more or less to taste, this is a generous amount)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400F.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or use liners.
To begin, peel and core and dice (or grate) apples. I used two large golden delicious apples and diced fairly small and was able to reach 2 cups. You may choose to grate the apples if you want the apple to be a little more unnoticed. I happen to like the chunks of apples, so I opted to take the extra time to dice finely. Lay on paper towel and remove excess liquid (this may require a little squeezing)- the point is just to get them fairly dry before adding to batter.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, milk, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into your dry ingredients and fold gently just until combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in grated or diced apples.
Spoon the muffin batter into the cups evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place muffin tin on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the muffins. Allow to cool completely before storing, or serve warm.
Maple-Cinnamon Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. skim milk
Combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Add milk slowly, until desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle over muffins or spread a thin layer over top of each.
The apple oatmeal muffins I made are so delicious. They are mildly sweet with a hint of fall flavor (I suspect it's from the cinnamon). I thought they needed a little more "oomph" so I added a glaze. (Don't worry, I'll include the recipe for that as well) All in all, these muffins are a delightful (HEALTHY) treat, that even my boyfriend who grew up on fried food enjoys!
Apple Oat Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
2 cups apples (see below)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1½ tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon (more or less to taste, this is a generous amount)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400F.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or use liners.
To begin, peel and core and dice (or grate) apples. I used two large golden delicious apples and diced fairly small and was able to reach 2 cups. You may choose to grate the apples if you want the apple to be a little more unnoticed. I happen to like the chunks of apples, so I opted to take the extra time to dice finely. Lay on paper towel and remove excess liquid (this may require a little squeezing)- the point is just to get them fairly dry before adding to batter.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, milk, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into your dry ingredients and fold gently just until combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in grated or diced apples.
Spoon the muffin batter into the cups evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place muffin tin on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the muffins. Allow to cool completely before storing, or serve warm.
Maple-Cinnamon Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. skim milk
Combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Add milk slowly, until desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle over muffins or spread a thin layer over top of each.
Nutritional Info(Amounts reflect no glaze)
- Servings Per Recipe: 12
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 149.4
- Total Fat: 3.0 g
- Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
- Sodium: 180.6 mg
- Total Carbs: 26.8 g
- Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
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