From the category archives:

Calorie Counters

Starbucks Frappuccino Drinks: Deliciousness Divine!

by Joi on March 31, 2010

You know what a Starbucks fanatic I am. I expect, any day now, that one of my local Starbucks will provide me with my own parking space.

Of course, I can’t always get to one of my Starbucks. Sometimes they have to come to me. (I just thought of something, how outrageously wonderful would it be if Starbucks delivered?! Just as well, I’d keep the driver so busy he or she would soon come to despise me and my caffeine addiction).

I’m hooked on the delicious little bottles of Starbucks Frappuccinos. I don’t go to the store without buying a little case of them – Heaven forbid I ever run out, things would get ugly fast.

I recently had the chance to try the “Light” varieties and I was completely impressed. They are as delicious as the others, they simply have fewer calories. Get this: Each bottle of the Light Fraps have only 100 calories – a perfect number for a snack.

I strongly recommend these smooth, refreshing, and delicious drinks. If you’ve never tried them, head off to the store immediately and grab a case. Most stores also have beverage coolers near the checkout area and many of these have individual bottles of Starbucks Fraps, so you can try a few different varieties. You’ll absolutely love each one, I guarantee it.

My daughters love to grab bottles as they head out the door for school or work. The caffeine and the sheer experience, alone, help them ease into the day.

I’ll be honest, I love them at any time of the day or night. When I’m sitting, working at my computer, I love to have one nearby. My favorite is the Mocha because as an addict of coffee AND chocolate, this allows me to feed two addictions with one spoon. Or bottle, as it were.

However, I also love the other flavors, Vanilla and Coffee. They’re all exceptional, fun, and delicious beyond reason.

For more information, and a fun experience, visit Starbucks Frappucino.com

Lean Cuisine From Freezer to Fabulous

by Joi on March 24, 2010

Our home is filled with people coming and going all hours of the day and night. I keep a lot of homemade meals on hand and available for all of my beloved mobile munchers, but I also keep plenty of Lean Cuisine Meals in the freezer. Their fast, delicious, healthy, and even my oldest daughter can fix them (This is the same girl who once put the cardboard in the oven along with a frozen pizza – fortunately I’ve always raised my girls to stay nearby whatever it is they’re cooking , so she caught the early smoke signals. Bless her.)

I was recently sent three new Lean Cuisine meals to try:

Roasted Honey Chicken
Apple Cranberry Chicken
Thai-Style Noodles with Chicken

Delicious, delicious, and OMG delicious. Each meal was filled with flavor – more flavor than you’d every expect or hope for. The seasonings in each were mind-blowingly delicious. My favorite may be the Thai-Style Noodles with Chicken, but I’m completely wild about each one. I plan to never allow my freezer to be without at least 6 of these meals at any given time.

The Thai-Style Noodles with Chicken

This Lean Cuisine meal is only 310 calories
Includes 5g Fiber, 20 percent of your daily value
The Thai-seasonings will rock your world
Includes bright veggies and roasted white meat chicken in a creamy chili peanut sauce
The Green beans and carrots are crisp and amazing

Roasted Honey Chicken

This Lean Cuisine meal is only 280 calories!
Includes 5g of fiber, 20 percent of your daily value
Roasted white meat chicken, snap peas, yellow beans, and whole wheat pilaf happily linger in a rich, sweet honey sauce.
Wonderful, wonderful flavor

Apple Cranberry Chicken

Completely and unexpectedly delicious
This Lean Cuisine meal has only 300 calories
There are 6g of fiber, 24 percent of your daily value
Inspired by health spa cuisine
Features sweet cranberries, french cut green beans, white meat chicken, and whole wheat pilaf
The sauce is a flavorful apple reduction sauce that I could drink a gallon of on any given day!

Each of these meals is extraordinary and make healthy, fast, and delicious lunches. You just have to try each one!

Eating Well on a Budget? For Reals?

by Joi on March 14, 2010

One of the books I’d most recommend to anyone right now is The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget by Lucy Beale and Jessica Partridge. At a time when we’re all challenging ourselves to stay on a budget AND eat healthy, this is the book we absolutely needed the most. If you’re like me, you’d just about decided that eating as healthy as you wanted to was out of your budget. I was pretty much at that point when this outstanding book came along.

After arming myself with the knowledge and tips from these authors, I know that it isn’t just possible to eat well on a budget, it’s deliciously possible.

First, a few all-important facts:

You and your family won’t gain weight if you each eat about 2,000 calories a day per adult.
You don’t need to purchase more food than your target number of calories for the week.
You won’t be wasting food or letting it rot in the refrigerator. If it rots because no one eats it, be wary if you consider purchasing that food in the future.

Throughout the book, the authors provide a lot of what I call “Roadblocks” – thoughts and circumstances that lead us to choose poorly while at the supermarket or restaurant. They offer ways around, or through, these roadblocks. There are also great tips on saving money, staying on a budget, eating healthier foods, and making each calorie count.

There are also a lot of wonderful recipes… we’ll get to them in a minute!

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget has 21 chapters in all and is over 300 pages in length. I suppose you’d expect authors who are so budget conscious to give their readers even more than they paid for. I’m very grateful and you will be as well.

A Few of the Chapters From Eating Well on a Budget

The Best Nutrition at the Best Price

The Budget

Food and Menu Planning

Eating Out on a Budget

The Shopping List

More Ways to Save on Food

Breakfasts

Beef and Pork Main Dishes

Desserts

The next time you dine out at a sit-down restaurant, notice the price of coffee, tea, and a glass of wine. They’re probably higher than you thought. You may choose not to order them again. – - Page 18, Eating Well on a Budget

I was really glad to see that the authors covered all aspects of dining – at home as well as in restaurants. They’ve included great tips on saving money each and every time we place a bite or drink into our mouths.

Chapter 2 includes a clear, perfectly laid-out plan for starting to budget. They tell you the tools you’ll need (receipts, notebook, calculator) to become a budgeting whiz and how you’ll need to go about the process.

Food Preparation is covered in Chapter 5 and includes…

Cooking to save money
Preparing in quantity, eating in moderation
Making delicious use of leftovers
Keeping prepared foods on hand

Here’s one of the great tips (“Kitchen Wise“) from this chapter: Keep sandwich fillings on hand for quick meals on the run. You’ll need bread, mayonnaise or mustard, and fillings, such as cheese, sliced meats, tuna, or peanut butter. Add an apple or other piece of fruit, and you have a balanced meal.

Some of the Remarkable Recipes in Eating Well on a Budget

The recipes the authors have chosen sound delicious! What’s more, they’ve included dietary information, cooking time, prep time, serving size, and “Tasty Tidbits.” Again, giving the reader far more than he or she expected.

A few of my favorite recipes from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget are:

Hummus
White Chili
Creamy Clam Chowder
Nine Vegetable Soup
Grown Up Peanut Butter and Jelly (YUM!)
Baked French Toast with Honey Walnut Syrup
Chile Egg Puff
Savory Spinach and Bacon Bake
Zesty Breakfast Burritos
Just Right Cheese Omelet (made with Monterey Jack Cheese!)
Hawaiian Ham Rollups
Egg Salad with Red Pepper and Walnuts
Ham and White Bean Soup
Red Chili
Quick Beef Fajitas
Lemon Pecan Stuffed Chicken
Herbed Salmon Cakes
Lasagna with Meat and Cheese
Fruit Glazed Carrots
Raspberry Banana Bread
Slow-Cooked Pudding and Fruit Cake
Cookies Flavored with Tea
Pear Cobbler
Buttermilk Corn Bread
Cheese Grits Casserole
Many, Many more!

Since we’re all thinking about Easter meals and Easter recipes, I thought I’d include the Fruit-Glazed Carrots recipe in the review. Save this one (better yet, print it out) for your Easter meal. There’s also a great recipe for Mustard-Glazed Ham in the book. Order today and you’ll be set long before Easter gets here!

Fruit-Glazed Carrots Recipe

Page 246, Eating Well on a Budget

4 cups sliced carrots
2 TBS water
2 TBS fruit jam or jelly – peach, strawberry, or apricot
1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 TBS olive oil
dash salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place carrots in a microwave-safe bowl with water. Cover and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Drain well. Add jam, vinegar, and olive oil. Mix gently.

Transfer carrots to a lightly oiled 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inch baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes. Serve hot or chill 20 minutes before serving.

Variation: Try orange marmalade or chutney to intensify the flavor of the carrots. For a spicy taste, substitute 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce for the vinegar.

Kitchen Wise: The sauce for these carrots tastes great on other vegetables as well, such as broccoli, snap peas, and spinach. You can also serve the sauce on the side for dipping. – Page 246, Eating Well on a Budget

Hmmmmm, I just happened to think of another way to use this sauce. Have you ever made homemade fried jalapenos? This sauce (particularly if you use Red Plum or a berry-based jelly) would be outstanding to dip fried jalapenos in.

Do yourself, your family, and your budget a huge favor and head over to Amazon right now to order this wonderful book. I wouldn’t recommend it to you if I didn’t know 100 percent that you’ll love it as much as I do. Here’s the link to healthier eating and a happier budget: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget

Classic Quesadillas Without the Classic Extra Fat and Calories

by Joi on January 27, 2010

On another blog recently, I was pointing out my husband’s outrageous loyalty to favorite brands (NordicTrack among others). I got to thinking about it and I might even be more loyal to certain brands when it comes to cooking and cleaning. You certainly know about my dedication to Sargento Cheeses and Beemer (online) Cheeses. I figure, if something’s outstanding, why wander away from it.

When I’m in the grocery store, in the dairy and cheese aisle, I don’t even bother looking at the other brands of cheese – I just look at the varieties of Sargento. (By the way, I realize this is reading kind of like a commercial, so I’ll just add that I am not being paid in any way to say these words! I just think this brand of cheese is ridiculously good.)

Sargento has been offering delicious, better than average cheese for some time now – but recently they began adding Reduced Fat cheeses to their line-up. I ignored them for a while, pretending like I didn’t see them any more than they saw me. Then I tried them and was blown straight away. If the packages didn’t tell me that they were reduced fat, I swear I’d never know.

I recently bought a few bags of Sargento Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese (Shredded Reduced Fat Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla, & Asadero Cheese). I used one bag with Chicken Tacos and the other with a recipe for Classic Quesadillas that was on the back of the bag. Delicious! The recipe is below and you must, must, must try it.

Classic Quesadillas Recipe with Sargento’s Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese

2 cups (8 oz.) Sargento® Shredded Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese, divided
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp. chopped bottled jalapeño peppers
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
1/2 cup chunky-style salsa
1/4 cup fat-free or light sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Combine 1-1/2 cups cheese, beans, cilantro and jalapeño peppers in a medium bowl; mix well. Spoon onto tortillas; fold each tortilla over.
Coat large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat until hot. Place 2 quesadillas in skillet. Cook 1 minute or until golden brown on bottom. Turn; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Cover; reduce heat. Cook 2 minutes more or until golden brown and cheese is melted. Cover to keep warm.
Repeat with remaining quesadillas and cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

I didn’t have any sour cream on hand, although it is wonderful with quesadillas, tacos, burritos, etc. In addition to the salsa, I served these with one of my favorite things on earth – guacamole. I almost always have at least 2 avocados rolling around the kitchen. Actually, make that at least 4 – two on the counter ready to go and a few more on a shelf, softening up. It’s my avocado system and it’s a delicious one.

So are these quesadillas!

Hint Naturally Flavored Water: Refreshing!

by Joi on January 8, 2010

I LOVE flavored water madly. I rely on it to get my recommended daily amount of water – gotta admit, unflavored water and I aren’t the closest of friends. I haven’t tried Hint Flavored water yet, but as soon as I find them locally, I’ll let you know how fabulous they are. If you find them before I do, come back here and let us know in the comments how much you love them – the rest of us will turn a nice shade of green.

Below are a couple of fantastic-sounding recipes to try. I’d try the Blackberry recipe in an instant – as for the mango, I’ll leave that one for you. I’d deathly allergic to mangoes!

HINT Mango Breeze

Ingredients
· 5 oz Mango-Grapefruit Hint
· 1/4 mango
· 2 Grapefruit slices
· Ice
· 1 piece of mango for garnish

Cooking Directions
Mix ingredients together in blender. Serve with piece of mango as garnish.

Blackberry Mint Breeze

Ingredients

· 5 oz Blackberry HINT
· 5 fresh mint leaves
· Blackberries
· Ice
· Blackberries for garnish

Cooking Directions
Muddle a few blackberries and mint leaves well. Mix with Blackberry HINT in shaker. Shake well over ice. Pour into martini glass and garnish with blackberries.

— Photos and Recipes from Hint Naturally Flavored Water. You can check their website for ordering information. Cheers!

Creamy Key Lime Pie Recipe with Zero Guilt!

by Joi on December 10, 2009

This beautiful, delicious, and surprisingly guilt-free dessert is JUST the thing health-conscious cooks are looking for this Christmas. We want to serve beautiful and yummy desserts, but we don’t want to fall off of the healthy bandwagon we’ve been fighting so hard to stay on! Think of this Key Lime Pie recipe as a rope to hang on to.

Creamy Key Lime Pie Recipe

Creamy Key Lime Pie Recipe

Prep Time: 30 mins. | Start to Finish: 3 hrs. 30 mins. | Yields: 8 servings

CRUST

2 cups Fiber One® original bran cereal
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

FILLING AND TOPPING

2 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1-1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4 oz (half 8 oz. package) 1/3-less-fat (Neufchâtel) cream cheese, softened
4 containers (4 oz each) Yoplait® Fiber One™ Key lime pie yogurt
1/2 cup frozen (thawed) reduced-fat whipped topping
2 teaspoons grated lime peel

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and finely crush with rolling pin or meat mallet until cereal looks like graham cracker crumbs (or finely crush in food processor).

2. In medium bowl, mix crust ingredients until blended. Press crust mixture evenly and firmly in bottom and up side of 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until firm. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

3. In 1-quart saucepan, mix water and lime juice. Sprinkle gelatin on lime juice mixture; let stand 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool slightly, about 2 minutes.

4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add yogurt and lime juice mixture; beat on medium speed until well blended. Fold in whipped topping and lime peel. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Nutrition Info:

1 Serving: Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 100); Total Fat 11g (Saturated Fat 7g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 180mg; Total Carbohydrate 16g (Dietary Fiber 9g, Sugars 4g); Protein 4g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 10%; Vitamin C 6%; Calcium 10%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Healthy Eating: My Top 10 List Grows to a Top 12 List

by Joi on December 10, 2009

Yoplait Lowfat Yogurt

I knew this would happen eventually, but I didn’t realize it would happen so soon. I’d planned to periodically add to my Healthy Eating Top 10 List – making it the Top whatever-number list with each addition.

I didn’t know I’d be jumping all over it this soon, though. Thanks, Yoplait, for keeping me on my leaping toes!

I guess special thanks goes to my dentist as well since my dental surgery is what led me to locate and buy all of the soft food in my favorite Kroger. I grabbed about 10 Yoplait yogurts a few days ago and was blown away. They tasted like little baby-sized desserts rather than yogurt. Don’t get me wrong, I love yogurt – but if you twist my arm, I’m going for the baby-sized dessert effect.

The Yoplaits I grabbed on this trip were the Thick & Creamy varieties. I couldn’t make up my pain-medicine-induced mind, so I grabbed one of each (and two of the Blackberry Harvest, Key Lime Pie, and Peaches ‘N Cream): Blackberry Harvest, Key Lime Pie, Strawberry, Peaches ‘N Cream, Raspberry, Strawberry Banana, and Vanilla.

Each flavor was so amazingly delicious they caused “stupid faces” – you know the ones. The kind of “Oh, man, this is so yummy, I can’t even stand myself right now” face that you hope and pray no one sees you making… not even your cat. Unfortunately for me, my cat Alexa was watching and I’m pretty sure she raised an eyebrow. I just said, “Don’t judge me” and kept spooning my way to Heaven.

So there you have it, My Top 10 List has now grown to a Top 11 list with Yoplait Thick & Creamy Lowfat Yogurt securing the spot. If you want your family to eat healthier snacks, look no further than Yoplait Lowfat Yogurt. The only problem is, you’ll find yourself hiding your personal favorites in the fridge – behind this or behind that. It will happen.

Organic Yogurts That You and Your Family Will Eat Like Ice Cream

by Joi on September 25, 2009

Stonyfield Farm Yogurt

I’ve been trying to feed my family healthier foods for a couple of years now. When they’re on Fast Food Alley without me, I know full-well that they give in to temptation in the form of burgers, fries, and shakes – so there’s only so much I can do. BUT, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that when they’re at home, they’re surrounded by good food alternatives. Sure, I frequently make desserts and there’ll be occasional snacks that aren’t 100 percent perfect… but this is still a home, not a Health Food Retreat!

Fortunately, food manufacturers have really stepped up their game. There are SO many healthy foods and snacks that are good for you. I love the snacks that are so tasty, my family forgets all about the labels and doesn’t realize what they’re eating is actually nutritious.

The organic yogurts in this post fit that description perfectly. Pictured above are Stonyfield Farm Yogurts. They’re OIKOS Blueberry Organic Yogurt available in Fat Free, Low Fat, and Whole Milk. When I tried the different varieties, I fully expected to only like the Whole Milk – I was surprised when I found that I liked Fat Free and Low Fat just as well. In fact, if I HAD to pick a favorite, it’d be the Low Fat. It’s creamy and delicious, with or without fruit added.

Another favorite is Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt. Heavenly! I love the flavor of Oikos and Stonyfield Organic Yogurts so much that I’d eat them even if they weren’t nutritious. The fact that they’re good for my health as well as my planet? Creamy icing on the cake. They come in the following flavors and EACH is delicious: Blueberry, Strawberry, Honey, Plain, and Vanilla. Personally? The plain is better with granola and fruit, but the others are amazing right out of the convenient containers.

From the website:

Called “yiaourti” in Greece, Greek yogurt is creamier than regular yogurt. Authentic Greek yogurt like ours owes its extra creaminess to a centuries-old straining process that removes the whey (liquid) from the yogurt.

For hundreds of years, Greeks have prized strained yogurt for its richness and creaminess, and because it makes a wonderful cooking ingredient that’s less likely to curdle when heated. Before the time of mechanical refrigeration, Greeks also knew that yogurt stayed fresh longer with the liquid strained off. Today we know that straining makes Greek yogurt richer in protein than regular yogurt, and lower in lactose.

Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt has 0% fat, just 90 calories per 5.3 oz.-serving*, twice the protein of regular yogurt, and fewer carbohydrates. Because it’s organic, our yogurt is also better for the earth. And we think it’s better for you, too.

To read more about these healthy and delicious organic yogurts yourself, visit the links below. Try these organic yogurts on your next trip to the store – you won’t be sorry!

Oikos Organic Yogurt (You can EVEN get coupons! – Oh, I love them so…)

Stonyfield Organic Yogurts

Have a Cow! (enjoyable and educational for children of all ages)

Why You Need to Learn More About the Glycemic Index of Foods

by Joi on January 12, 2009

Glycemic Index In yesterday’s USA Weekend magazine section, one of my favorite columnists (Jean Carper) ended her 14+ year weekly column. The column was EatSmart and was always one of the first things I read (and cut out) in the entire paper. So, yesterday, I couldn’t wait to read what her final thoughts and advice would be. She, of course, reiterated how important fish oil was. Fish oil not only can save us from heart problems, it may cut the risk of Alzheimer’s, asthma, inflammation, cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, lung problems, skin problems, and serves as an aid in weight loss.

She pointed out the importance of counting calories. We all have to watch what we eat and exercise – being overweight is horribly unhealthy. If we want to live longer, it’s something that we have to pay a lot more attention to. Period.

Naturally, she included a paragraph on antioxidants: “Piles of evidence shows that antioxidant-packed spinach, broccoli, pomegranate juice, dark chocolate, garlic, onions, tea, coffee, purple grapes, red wine, and the spice turmeric cut disease risk. Eat at least five, but preferably nine, servings of fruits and vegetables every day.”

The final sermon she preached was on a subject that’s fairly new to most of us: Low Glycemic foods. These foods are great for avoiding diabetes, heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Their polar opposite, High Glycemic foods, include foods such as sugary cereal, processed white flour products, and potatoes. Low glycemic foods include legumes, peanuts, oats (not instant), lemon juice, vinegar, and cinnamon.

Another benefit of low glycemic foods is that they keep your energy levels balanced and they allow you to feel full between meals. Cutting back on snacks is always a good idea when you’re counting calories. I have to admit, I’m fairly new to the entire Glycemic Foods thing. My husband has been a fan from the start, but other than listening to him smart off to baked potatoes or sing the praises of oatmeal – I haven’t read up on the subject. Bad me, I know. However, I’m making up for lost time!

Low Glycemic Foods:

artichokes
avocado
broccoli
cauliflower
celery
green beans
lettuce
peanuts
peppers
spinach
tomatoes
plums
apples
grapefruits
pears
whole wheat spaghetti
all bran
soy milk
apple juice
grapes
macaroni
low fat ice cream
cheese tortellini
oranges

Click HERE for a great chart that’ll let you know which foods are low glycemic foods and which foods have high glycemic numbers.

Black Pepper Turkey Breast Panini Sandwiches

by Joi on December 10, 2008

In my attempt to feed my family healthier, home-prepared meals, I nearly burned all of us out on turkey sandwiches. Granted, they’re a healthy alternative to fast food and red meat, but come on – turkey sandwiches can get old fast.

When I wheeled my cart past the luncheon meats a few days ago, I noticed that Hillshire Farms was making an effort to help me out. They’ve come out with thinly sliced Black Pepper Turkey Breast meat. I’m all about pepper, so I had to give it a try. I also LOVE any chance to use my Hamilton Beach Panini Press Gourmet Sandwich Maker, so I was psyched.

Here’s what I did: I warmed up my panini press and sprayed it with Pam Olive Oil Spray. I put a little mayo on the inside of two pieces of sourdough bread. I spread it out and placed a slice of Swiss Cheese on top of each. Then I put some of the peppered turkey breast meat on one of the sides and some sliced green onions on the other side. I put it all together and placed it into the panini press.

When it was through toasting (You cook it until it looks how you want it to look! Some people like them very toasted and some like barely toasted.) – I cut the sandwich in half, diagonally. The mayo and Swiss Cheese combined to make what tasted like a mysterious and delicious cheese-based sauce. The peppered turkey repaired my relationship with turkey. It is SO freaking good. Sub sandwiches would be amazing made with this luncheon meat, too.

I didn’t have any soup with my panini, but a tomato soup would have been spectacular.

You have to try the Hillshire Black Pepper Turkey Breast – it’s low in calories, healthy, and so good you’ll be more than happy to eat it instead of fast food.

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