Healthy Pecan Balls

My mother-in-law makes these awesome Pecan Balls that I just cannot get enough of… so I have altered the recipe a little so that it is healthier by far!!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. Coconut oil
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar (your own optional substitute)
• 1/4 tsp real vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 – 1, 1/2 c. whole grain flour
• 3/4 pecans, chopped finely

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream the oil with the sugar and flavorings.
3. Gradually add in the flour, then nuts.
4. Roll into 1/3 to 1/2 inch balls.
5. Bake on cookie sheet for 20 min.
6. Roll in powdered sugar or optional substitute while still warm.

Low-Fat Lemon Bars

Courtesy of Fitness Magazine!

Slim Lemon Squares

Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients Nonstick cooking spray 3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons 2/3 cup granulated sugar plus 3 tablespoons 1/2 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 egg 1 egg white 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon water 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions 1. Coat an 8-x-8-x-2-inch baking pan with nonstick spray; set pan aside. 2. In a small mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup flour and 3 tablespoons sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Pat mixture onto the bottom of prepared pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, in the same bowl, combine egg and egg white. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Add remaining sugar and  flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon water, and baking powder. Beat on medium 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour mixture over baked layer in pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until edges are light brown and center is set. Cool in pan on a wire rack. 4. Sift powdered sugar over top. Cut into 16 bars. Store in refrigerator.

Nutrition facts per serving (1 bar): 100 calories, 1g protein, 17g carbohydrate, 3g fat (2g saturated), 0g fiber

Devil’s Food Cake

Found this recipe at Food.com!!

Ingredients:

CAKE

• 1 1/2 cups 2% buttermilk
• 4 ounces 60% cacao chocolate chips
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FROSTING

• 2 (8 ounce) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 ounces Cool Whip Lite
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (maybe a little bit more)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a double boiler melt 1 cup of buttermilk and chocolate chips. Let it cool.
2. Mix eggs, applesauce, sugar, remaining buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
3. Sift flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar into a bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ones and combine.
4. Add melted chocolate stirring at the same time as you incorporate the melted chocolate into the bowl.
5. Grease and flour a 9 inch spring from pan and add cake butter into the pan.
6. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes depending on the oven. Cool in pan before frosting.
7. For the frosting, combine cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer. Fold whip cream and frost cake. Decorate as desired.

Multi-Grain Cinnamon Rolls

YUM! I love me some Cinna rolls.. This recipe was from Taste of Home!

Ingredients

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• FILLING:
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• GLAZE:
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 6-1/2 teaspoons half-and-half cream
• 4-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, butter, egg, salt and 1 cup all-purpose flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
• Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down. Roll into an 18-in. x 12-in. rectangle; spread with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges.
• Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seams to seal. Cut into 12 slices. Place cut sides down in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. For icing, in a small bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, cream and butter until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls. Yield: 1 dozen.

  Cinnamon Pull-Apart Loaf: Follow method for cinnamon rolls but do not roll up jelly-roll style. Instead, cut into thirty-six 3-in. x 2-in. rectangles. Make two stacks of 18 rectangles. Place, cut sides up, in a 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

• Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Make glaze; drizzle over warm bread. Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices). Nutrition Facts: 1 slice equals 240 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 35 mg cholesterol, 251 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.
• Twisted Cinnamon Ring: Follow method for cinnamon rolls and roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut roll in half lengthwise. Place doughs side by side on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Twist together, cut side up, and shape into a ring. Pinch ends together. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Make glaze; drizzle over warm bread. Yield: 1 ring (12 slices). Nutrition Facts: 1 slice equals 240 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 35 mg cholesterol, 251 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Nutritional Facts 1 cinnamon roll equals 240 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 35 mg cholesterol, 251 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Healthy Cookies

A recipe I got from Skinny Taste!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup of uncooked quick oats*
• 1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a non-stick cookie sheet with cooking spray or use a Silpat.

Combine the mashed bananas and oats in a bowl. Fold in the walnuts and place a tablespoon of each on the cookie sheet.

Bake 15 minutes. Makes 16 cookies.

Apple Crisp

This is a great recipe I found at SparkPeople!

Ingredients

3 medium baking apples, cored, sliced thin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour

Topping:

1 cup quick oats
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp heart-healthy margarine

 

Directions

Mix first four ingredients and place into 9-inch (square or round) baking dish.
1. In small bowl, mix Topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the apples.
2. Bake at 325 degrees until apples are soft and topping is golden brown (about 30 minutes).

Fruit popsicles

From my own head 🙂

Take as many different fruits as you would like to have in the popsicles, and clean and cut them up roughly. Throw all of the pieces into the blender, and pour in a bit of Almond milk.

Blend everything up until smooth.

Pour the mixture into shaped ice-trays (IKEA has cute shapes!), and cover tray with a layer of saran wrap. Poke toothpicks or popsicle sticks through the plastic and into the mixtures.

Freeze until solid!

Will work with your favorite smoothie recipes as well!

Protein Balls

This looks SOO GOOD!! Thank you Carrie Mcqueen!

4 cups Rolled Oats
3 scoops Chocolate Shakeology (Yes I’m partial to Shakeology. You can use any Chocolate Protein powder, but there is no comparison to Shakeology. Also research the alternative protein powder and see if it’s on the hit list for those main brand name protein powders that contain an alarming amount of heavy metals and other junk.
1 scoop Vanilla Vegan Protein (Sun Warrior is a brand you can trust, next to Shakeology).
4 tbsp Organic Peanut Butter
4 tbsp Raw Organic Honey
Directions:

Just mix the protein powders, Shakeology and rolled oats first. Add the water, PB, honey and the mixing will get harder but keep at it. I do like bits of PB to be staggered around, so don’t feel it has to be a perfect mix. But I’m weird that way. Now take an ice cream scooper and stuff it with the mix, and drop on wax paper. Place and store in the refrigerator for a few hours and they should firm up nicely.

Now you have a great protein treat that is easy to take anywhere and won’t get messy. Best yet, you control the ingredients and these non baked versions will beat the pants off anything you can buy off the shelf.

Nutritional Info:

I was able to make 21 balls from this batch. So the breakdown is:

126 calories
7 g Protein
4 g sugar
17 g carbs
3 g fat

I just use shakeology for both protein powders