Banana Cupcakes With pb frosting

INGREDIENTS:

FOR CUPCAKES:

• 2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix  (1/2 of an 18.25-ounce box)
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup Gerber bananas ( or another brand of pureed bananas found in the baby foods aisle)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

FOR FROSTING:

• 3/4 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat peanut butter, room temperature

OPTIONAL TOPPING:

• 12 slices banana

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and Cool Whip, stirring until mixed well. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with baking powder and 1 cup water until mixed well.  Add pureed bananas and stir thoroughly.  Mix in mashed bananas.
4. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with non stick spray.  Evenly distribute cake mixture among the cups.
5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Once cupcakes have cooled completely, spread frosting evenly over the cupcake tops.  Top each cupcake with a slice of banana, if you like.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

NUTRITION FACTS:

• Makes 12 servings
• Calories: 143
• Fat: 3.75g
• Sodium: 193 mg
• Carbs: 25 g
• Fiber: 0.5 g
• Sugars: 13 g
• Protein: 2 g

NOTES:

These were sooo good!!!!

pg. 226 H.G

GO GREEK CHICKEN SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 ounces cooked skinless lean chicken breast, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup crumbled fat-free feta chesse with mediterranean herbs
• 1/4  cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons canned sliced black olives
• optional: salt, black pepper, lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt and mayo until mixed well.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until coated
3. Add optional ingredients, to taste, if you like.  
4. Once completely mixed, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  But if you can;t wait that long, it's okay to eat right away.

NUTRION FACTS:

Recipe makes 2 servings(1 cup per serving)

• Calories: 173
• Fat: 2.75 g
• Sodium: 474 mg
• Carbs: 7.5 g
• Fiber: 0.5 g
• Sugars: 4 g
• Protein: 30 g

NOTES:

HG PG. 69
I paired this salad with a whole wheat pita. 
Another great recipe.

Turkey Reuben Quesadilla

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Large Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb/High Fiber tortilla
• 1 ounce (about 2 slices) 98 percent fat-free turkey breast slices
• 1 slice reduced-fat Swiss cheese
• 2 tablespoons fat-free thousand island dressing
• optional: additional sauerkraut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut cheese slice into four triangles.  Set aside.
2. Lay tortilla flat and spread dressing over it, leaving about 1/2-inch of space around the perimeter.  Arrange the cheese triangles on one half of the tortilla.
3. Spray a medium-large pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium heat.  Place tortilla flat in the pan with the dressing-covered, cheese-topped side facing up.
4. Once the cheese has begun to melt, top the cheese with turkey slices and sauerkraut, adding additional sauerkraut, if you like.  Using a spatula, carefully fold the dressing-only half over the other half, pressing down lightly with the spatula to seal.
5. Continue cooking for about a minute, or until bottom is slightly toasted.  Flip tortilla and continue cooking for about 1 additional minute, or until desired level of toasty-ness is reached.  Remove from heat and cut. 

NUTRITION FACTS:

• Recipe makes one serving
• Calories: 186
• Fat: 6.5 g
• Sodium: 1,104 mg
• Carbs: 25.5 g
• Fiber: 13 g
• Sugars: 4.5 g
• Protein: 19 g

NOTES:

I couldn't find the exact tortillas so I bought a  whole wheat, low cal,high fiber one.  I followed the recipe for my husband and he loved it, Since I do not eat meat, I replaced mine with tofurky, it was also delicious and very easy to make, Its a recipe that stays with you.  Once you buy the ingredients you can whip these up in minutes. HG pg. 170

RECAP:

Spread tortilla with 1 tablespoon ff thousand island, place cheese on it, heat it up on a pan,  add sauerkraut, fold, toast and enjoy. YUM

THE SNOW IS HERE

The snow is here on the island, So I will be working on a lot of new recipes.  2:09 am

Kirstie Alley's Green Soup

In her quest to lose weight, the actress eats this green soup made with as many organic vegetables as possible.

Servings: Makes 23 cups

Ingredients:

Kirstie Alley's Green Soup

• 6 to 8 big chunks shallots
• 8 leeks (Cut leeks just above their white part, about 2 inches. Peel the outer layer off and then slit them open lengthwise, but not completely severed clear through. Rinse them out well.)
• 1/3 cup organic olive oil
• 2 big bunches asparagus (cut the hard ends off about 3 inches)
• 3 big bunches broccoli (cut the stems off halfway up the shafts)
• 2 big bunches spinach (cut off the tiny part of the dirty ends)
• 6 containers (32 ounces each) organic chicken broth (for vegetarians, use vegetable broth)
• Sea salt (at least 3 tablespoons of coarse grain)
• Pepper , to taste

Directions:

Peel and slice shallots thinly.

Put all the olive oil in a very large, deep pot. Turn the heat to medium-high. Put the shallots into the oil and sweat the shallots. "Sweating" means to cook the vegetables to tenderize them without browning them. Adjust heat as necessary to ensure they do not brown.

Add 1 tablespoon of coarse, ground, good quality sea salt to shallots to absorb while they are sweating. Cut the leeks into thin slices and toss them into the oil with the shallots. Sweat the leeks along with the shallots. Chop the asparagus into small bits and then add them to the mixture and sweat them, along with the shallots and leeks.

When the shallots, asparagus and leeks are fully sweated and tender, break the broccoli into small chunks and throw them into the soup pot. (If the shallots, leeks and asparagus combo gets too dry before they are tender, just add small amounts of chicken broth to the mix and keep on sweating.)


Let the broccoli sweat a little while (about 2 minutes) and then add half of your organic chicken stock. Cook this for about 10 minutes.

Add remaining chicken stock and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes. (You want the broccoli to be tender, but not overcooked, and you want the color of soup to always remain a nice, bright green.) Add all the spinach and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the flame off the mixture and season to taste with sea salt and pepper.


Transfer the soup into a blender by increments and puree the mixture. Put the pureed soup mixture into one big pot. Then taste and season it to your liking. Only season with salt and pepper. If you desire any other seasoning, create an individual serving, not in the whole pot.

Split the soup into 2 equal parts, one for you and one for your Chubby Buddy or for storage. Cool the soup before refrigerating and/or freezing.
You are basically adding the vegetables in order of their hardness. The spinach is so soft, you would never want to add it too early. If you do, it can make the soup turn brownish…ICK!

Eat this soup once or twice a day or whenever you are hungry. Green Soup is 62 calories per cup.
This recipe yields about 23 cups of soup, enough for you and your Chubby Buddy for an entire week. Make sure your cooking pot is big, or you can halve the recipe.

RECIPE OF THE DAY: BROCCOLI SOUP WITH LEMON AND YOGURT PG 20

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Teaspoon olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 small carrot, sliced
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 head broccoli, including the leaves, woody stems discarded, florets and remaining stems chopped 
• juice and freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• kosher salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. place a 4-quart soup pot over medium, heat and when it is hot, add the oil.  Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil.  While the soup is boiling, slowly add the broccoli florets. Return to a boil briefly.  Reduce the heat to medium and cool until the broccoli is just tender, 5 to 8 ,minutes.
3. Remove the solids and place them in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth, gradually adding the liquid. Add additional stock if the soup is too thick.  Transfer to a lidded container and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. 
4. Just prior to serving, ass the lemon juice and zest and the yogurt.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

NUTRITION FACTS:

Serves 5, About 2 cups per serving

• Calories: 96
• calories from fat: 16
• fat: 1.8 g
• Saturated fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 1 mg
• Sodium: 152 mg
• Carbohydrates: 14.1 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.9 g

Protein: 7.5g

Recommended Daily Intake

Based on a 2000 calorie intake: for adults and children 4 or more years of Age 

FAT: 65 grams

Saturated Fatty Acids: 20 g

Cholesterol: 300 Milligrams

Sodium: 2400 Milligrams

Potassium: 3500 Milligrams

Total carbohydrate: 300 grams

Fiber: 25 grams

Protein: 50 grams

How to Understand and use the Nutrition Facts Label