October 19, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Miso Pork

Miso Pork

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 lb thinly sliced pork chops, boneless
2 tbsp yellow miso paste
2 inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled, sliced into long pieces
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp honey

Cut up pork chops into bite sized pieces. Mix miso paste with pork. Heat up a caste iron skillet with the oil. Saute ginger until crisp. Remove from the pan. Add in the pork and saute for about 3 minutes on one side. Stir around and cook for another 3 minutes until the outsides are all browned. Drizzle over the vinegar and honey and keep cooking for another minute.

Serve over rice, over noodles or with ramen. Scatter crunch ginger sparingly over.

September 18, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Breaded Ravioli

I like to find fun appetizers that are easy to make for a crowd. These fit those requirements perfectly and are delicious.

Breaded Ravioli

Frozen Cheese Ravioli
Homemade seasoned breadcrumbs or purchased
1/4 cup milk

Pull out the amount of ravioli you would like to make. Start with about a half cup of breadcrumbs and add in more if needed. Dip the ravioli in milk first and then in the breadcrumbs covering. Put on a preoiled baking rack (on a baking sheet). Preheat the oven to 450 and back for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce. They are perfectly crunchy and creamy at the same time.

September 14, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

New Zealand Chocolate Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

1 pint cold heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup melted dark chocolate

Whip together in a blender until thick. 5 minutes. Melt chocolate in microwave checking every 30 seconds to make sure it doesn’t burn. Fold in chocolate once ice cream base has been whipped together. Pour into a freezer container and let freeze overnight.

I took a portion of this chocolate base and added brandied cherries and chocolate chips for an adult version of Chocolate Ice Cream.

September 12, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Fig & Orange Biscotti

Ingredients

6 fresh figs
1/4 cup sugar
8 clementines – juiced
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, heat up the chopped figs and clementine juice. Add in 1/4 cup sugar. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Add in flour mixture and mix until blended. Add in strawberry jam and vanilla and mix. Split dough in half, wrap in platic wrap and refrigerate until firm for about 20 – 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Roll out dough to 12 – 14 inch log. I use the plastic wrap they are wrapped in to help roll it out so I don’t touch the dough. Transfer the log to the baking sheet and space them about 3 – 4 inches apart. Bake until light and golden and dry to the touch. About 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Allow the logs to cool for about 15 minutes. Then transfer to a cutting board and cut using a serrated knife, slice the logs on a diagonal into about half inch slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet standing upright, and bake them until they are dry and golden – another 20 to 30 minutes

September 7, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cakes

2 cups uncooked old fashioned oats
¼ cup unpacked brown sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp Baking Cocoa
⅛ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp ground flax seed meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 container nonfat greek cherry yogurt (1/2 cup)
⅔ cup cherries
⅔ cup plain unsweetened almond milk

Mix all of the ingredients together. Portion out into 12 muffin cups and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until oatmeal cakes look dry on the top.

Makes 12 cakes. 3 Smart points per oatmeal cake.

September 5, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Energy Bites

A quick and easy breakfast for when you are on the go. These are incredibly filling even though they don’t seem like much. Each bite is worth 5 smart points.

Energy Bites

2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup ground flax seed meal
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup date syrup

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Use a scoop to make even balls of the mixture. Place each ball on a covered baking sheet and freeze. Once the balls have been hardened, transfer to a ziplock bag and keep in the freezer. When you are ready to eat, pop them in the microwave for 15 seconds and enjoy.

These are VERY filling and my kids love them.

August 30, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Strawberry & White Chocolate Biscotti

Biscotti

(Base recipe)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp strawberry jam
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Add in flour mixture and mix until blended. Add in strawberry jam and vanilla and mix. Add in white chocolate chips and mix in carefully. Split dough in half, wrap in platic wrap and refrigerate until firm for about 20 – 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Roll out dough to 12 – 14 inch log. I use the plastic wrap they are wrapped in to help roll them out so I don’t touch the dough. Transfer the log to the baking sheet and space them about 3 – 4 inches apart. Bake until light and golden and dry to the touch. About 30 minutes.

August 28, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Overnight Oats – Carrot Cake

I have been experimenting with overnight oats for about a year now. I don’t personally love cooked oatmeal in the traditional sense, but I do love oats. So I make oatmeal cakes, muffins, energy bites, muffins, cookies etc with oats.

Overnight Carrot Cake Oats

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/4 apple, cored and diced
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp dried cranberries

Pour everything into a jar, seal it up with a reusable top and shake. Refrigerate until morning and enjoy!

Top with walnuts or sunflower seeds.

August 23, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Orange Chocolate Biscotti

My new favorite treat for my afternoon coffee has to be these Biscotti. I found a cook book at the library recently that had a different combo for their biscotti. So I changed mine up to what I had in my kitchen and absolutely love these. I keep them in a glass jar on the counter for up to one month.

Orange Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 tbsp orange marmalade

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp orange extract

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Add in flour mixture and mix until blended. Add in marmalade and orange extract; mix. Add in chocolate chips and mix. Split dough in half, wrap each half in platic wrap and refrigerate until firm for about 20 – 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silpat. Roll out dough to 12 – 14 inch log. I use the plastic wrap they are wrapped in to help roll them out so I don’t touch the dough. Transfer the log to the baking sheet and space them about 3 – 4 inches apart. Bake until light and golden and dry to the touch. About 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Allow the logs to cool for about 15 minutes. Then transfer to a cutting board and cut using a serrated knife, slice the logs on a diagonal into about .5 inch slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet standing upright, and bake them until they are dry and golden – another 20 to 30 minutes. I tend to use my convection oven for this last step.

August 21, 2017
by Ashley
0 comments

Menu 2

I had planned on making more menus of my day in food to remind myself of what eating within my points is like. I have a relative that has asked me several times to create a menu for them and I have made only one. Here is another menu from my day yesterday.

Menu 2

Breakfast – 1 egg, 1 camp biscuit, cherries, coffee with cream (6 points)

Lunch – Multigrain slim sandwich bread with 2 oz smoked turkey, lettuce and tomato along with a small fruit smoothie (4 points)

Snack – Homemade breadstick, light string cheese, apple and espresso (2 points)

Dinner – Vegetable Fried Rice (1 1/2 cups), Chicken Dumplings (5 pieces) and crispy kale. (6 points)

Snack – Red wine, 1 vanilla meringue cookie from Trader Joe’s and two coconut almonds (7 points)

Total points eaten 26. There were 4 more points left for the day but I decided not to consume them. I am trying to make up for a lot of fun (but bad eating) days that happened this summer.