Recipe: National Chocolate Mousse Day!

Happy National Chocolate Mousse Day!! Statistics show that chocolate mousse is THE most delectable dessert in the entire cosmos. 

Therefore, I present to you my "no-longer-secret" recipe for the world's most amazing dark chocolate liqueur mousse. 

Just understand, dear readers, how much of a sacrifice to you this one is.... as now that I have given it to you, I can no longer use it in my campaign to take over the world. Yes, it's THAT good.

Oh, and there will be no nutrition facts posted. It's decadent chocolate mousse..... Do you actually want to know what you're consuming?

Stephanie's Dark Chocolate "World Domination" Mousse

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 8 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate
• 1 ounce butter (or margarine, if you're making this recipe parve)
• 2 TBS black coffee
• 2 TBS of the liqueur of your choosing -- I recommend orange, berry, coffee, or chocolate flavors

To Make:

• Separate 6 eggs. Discard 1 yolk, so that you are left with 6 whites, and 5 yolks.
• Place chocolate and butter in a double boiler. As they begin to melt, add coffee.
• Whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks
• Once the chocolate and butter have melted, turn off the heat.
• Stir egg yolks and liqueur together in a separate bowl.
• Temper a bit of the chocolate/butter/coffee mixture into the egg yolks, (stirring so that eggs do not scramble). Then add the egg yolk mixture back to the rest of the chocolate mixture, stirring well.
• Once the chocolate and egg yolk mixtures are completely incorporated, fold in egg whites gently. Be careful not to over-mix or beat at this stage.
• Pour chocolate mousse into serving dishes and refrigerate until set.

Enjoy!

Picture from sheknows.com, since my recipe is too secret to ever have been caught on camera before

Recipe: Black Bean Chicken Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

I found this recipe and have yet to try it -- but it looks amazing. As with all the recipes I make, I often try to modify them to cut down on fat, salt, etc. This recipe originally had 3/4 cup of olive oil in the dressing -- which added an additional 477 calories to the recipe. I cut the oil down to half a cup, and I encourage you to cut it down further if you want to experiment further.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp ground cumin

To Make:

• Combined cubed chicken, black beans, scallions, and celery
• Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and cumin, and pour over chicken and bean mixture.
• Stir together and chill for at least an hour before serving

Serves: 8

Each Serving: 281 calories, 10 g carbs, 16 g fat, 24 g protein

Recipe: Roasted Balsamic Strawberries

Happy Valentine's Day, loves! Here's a recipe that tastes indulgent, but is low in calories. Top with Ricotta, or light whipped cream for a satisfying dessert to share with your loved ones!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 TBS fine sugar

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Wash and cut the tops off of the strawberries
• Toss strawberries in balsamic vinegar and place on a baking tray
• Sprinkle strawberries with sugar
• Bake for 15 minutes

Strawberries can be served warm or cooled. Enjoy!

Each 1 cup serving has: 60 calories, 15 g carbs, 1 g fat, 1 g protein

Trying my hand at Indian

Hey foodies!

So awhile ago, I reported that I was afraid of trying Indian. Well, I still haven't tried it, but I'm attempting to make it.

I know, I know, I make no sense. Surely my first Indian experience would be better if I tasted food made by someone who actually KNEW what they were doing. But I'm in an adventurous experiment mood, so I'm going to go for it.

Tonight's menu will consist of: Roasted Brussels Sprouts...... not really "Indian" but we all know I'm an addict.... and Pan-seared Tofu and Chick Peas in a canned Tikka Malasa sauce.

I'll let you know how it tastes. Perhaps my attempt at Indian will be a bridge into actually trying the real stuff.


UPDATE:

SO SO GOOD!

I seared the tofu so it had a little crust on it, added the chick peas so that they came to temperature, and then added some tikka masala sauce. Obviously not the most complicated dish, but definitely a nice bridge into Indian food!

Recipe: Spinach Bake

We made this recipe parve on Rosh Hashanah by using soy sour cream and soy cheese. It was great parve, and I tend to think it was taste incredible with the regular varieties as well.

Ingredients:

• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 2 TBS dry onion soup mix
• 1 (8 ounce) carton light sour cream
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella or Monterrey jack work best)

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• combine spinach, onion soup mix, soup cream, and water chestnuts.
• Pour mixture into baking dish (we used a 9 x 9 pan)
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
• Take out of the oven and sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Serves 12

Each serving: 62 calories, 5 g carbs, 2 g fat, 4 g protein

Recipe: Moroccan Tagine

Sorry for my absence. Here is the recipe one reader, Valerie, requested from my "Scenes from our Rosh Hashana Table" Post. Please note that my family does not cook with a lot of salt, so please adjust to your own taste preferences. We also made quite a quantity of meat and vegetables, so the meat was stewed in our tagines, and the vegetables were cooked in the same spices, but in the crock pot. Before serving, we combined them.

Key Ingredient:

• Stew meat (we used 5 lbs but the recipe works better when you use 1-3 lbs), cut into 3/4" chunks or cubes

Spice Ingredients:   

• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp chili powder 
• 2 TBS olive oil 
• pinch of salt (if meat is not kosher, i.e., was not salted before purchasing, use 1/2 tsp)
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper 
• 1 tablespoon date syrup (if no date syrup, use 1 tsp brown sugar)
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet wine (rose or red, type and amount up to you)

Vegetables (cut into chunks 3/4" cubes or so):

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut
• 2 or 3 parsnips
• 2 or 3 potatoes
• 2 or 3 carrots
• 1/2 lb cauliflower (optional)
• 1 large onion, thin sliced to allow for easier caramelization

Fruit:

• handful of raisins
• 10 dried apricots, quartered
• handful of dried cranberries (optional)

To Make:

1. Marinate the meat overnight in a mixture of cumin, coriander, chili powder, olive oil, minced garlic, pepper, salt, cinnamon sticks (break up into small pieces). Use similar marinade to marinate the vegetables -- which can be cooked on the low setting of a crockpot while tagine meat is stewing. 
2. Heat tagine pan on medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil.  When it is hot and coats the tagine bottom, add onions.  Cook until caramelized, then remove from tagine. 
3. Add beef and reserved marinade.  Cook until lightly browned all over.  Add the now caramelized onions.  Cover and cook on lowest heat setting for 1 1/2 hours.  
4. Add wine and date syrup.  Recover tagine and cook another 1 hour on lowest heat setting.  Add raisins, apricots and cranberries.  Recover tagine and cook another 30 minutes at lowest heat setting.  
5. Combine with crock pot vegetables in a large serving bowl.  Dish can be served as a full main course with couscous  

A picture of a tagine courtesy of Google Images.

Recipe: Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I found this recipe on this great blog I just started following, called "Peace, Love, and Low Carb".  I LOVE stuffed peppers, but I usually make mine with rice -- this is a really easy recipe that looks absolutely delicious. I cannot wait to try it!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. thinly sliced roast beef
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 2 large green bell peppers (Or your favorite variety)
• 1 medium onion
• 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 2 TBS butter
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS minced garlic

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Slice peppers in half lengthwise, remove all seeds and "ribs"
• Slice onions and mushrooms. Saute over medium heat with butter, oil oil, garlic, (and salt and pepper if you like) until caramelized.
• Slice roast beef into strips and add to onion/mushroom mixture. Keep over flame for 5 minutes to allow flavors to marry.
• Line the inside of each pepper half with a slice of provolone cheese
• Fill each pepper half with meat/mushroom/onion mixture
• Cover each pepper with second slice of provolone
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the slice of cheese on top has cooked to a golden brown.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Low Fat Key Lime Pie

I LOVE Key Lime Pie. But it's not exactly the healthiest option out there. That's where the inspiration for this recipe came from. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 box (0.3 ounce) sugar free lime flavor gelatin
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 16 ounces light key lime pie flavored yogurt
• 1 container fat free whipped topping, thawed
• 1 prepared 9 inch reduced fat graham cracker pie crust

To Make:

• In a large, heat-resistant bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, let mixture cool 5 minutes
• With wire whisk, stir in yogurt
• With wooden spoon, fold in whipped topping -- be careful not to over-mix
• Transfer mixture to pie crust
• Refrigerate overnight, or at least two hours until firm.

Serves: 8

Each Serving: 193 calories, 33g carbs, 4g fat, 3g protein

For comparison, nutrition information for traditional key lime pie is as follows:

Each Serving: 400 calories, 52g carbs, 22g fat, 6g protein

Meeting Celebrity Chef Jason Roberts

By now, the world can tell that I have a slight Food Network addiction. Just a small one. The thing I always wonder, though, is if my favorite Food Network personalities, (and other celebrity chefs), are as charismatic as they appear in person. 

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go on-set for a cooking segment taping with celebrity chef Jason Roberts. For those who aren't familiar, Jason Roberts focuses on healthy, clean eating: 5 meals a day with small portions. A New Zealand  native, Jason Roberts got his "celebrity" start on an Australian cooking show, and is a recent addition to ABC's "The Chew". 

I'm pleased to report that Chef Jason Roberts is exactly the person he plays for the camera -- fun, charming, and passionate about delicious, healthy eating. We all had a wonderful time during the shoot, (I got a chance to taste the omelet he makes -- and highly recommend it), and I'm proud to say I snagged a clip to share with you!

In the segment, Jason demonstrated an easy omelet, and gave some recipes for light meals for the summer, that can be cooked inside in the "air con" rather than outside on the BBQ.

His tips for cooking:

• Grab a quality non-stick pan. His pick is OrGreenic -- which eliminates the need for added fat, oil, or butter
• Mix the eggs with a fork, not a whisk, so that they do not become tough
• Cook eggs in a HOT pan

It was an incredible experience watching the shoot, and I'd love to give a shout out to Eric Alt, Ashley Frato, and Lauren LaPenna, who did a stunning job with hair, make-up, and food styling respectively.

For those who don't want to watch the video, Jason's healthy recipes are located on https://orgreenic.com, just click on Jason's head. 

Happy cooking, foodies!

80 Healthy Recipe Substitutions

My friend Jack showed me this list of 80 healthy recipe substitutions the other day. Think of the possibilities! 

Click here for the full list, but I've posted some highlights below:

1. Black beans for flour
2. Whole wheat flour for white flour
3. Unsweetened apple sauce for sugar
4. Unsweetened apple sauce for oil or butter
5. Almond flour for wheat flour
6. Avocado puree for butter
7. Brown rice cereal and flax meal for Rice Crispies
8. Marshmallow Fluff for butter and sugar (in frostings)
9. Natural peanut butter for reduced fat peanut butter
10. Vanilla for sugar
11. Nut flours for flour
12. Evaporated skim milk for cream
13. Grated steamed cauliflower for rice
14. Plain Greek yogurt for sour cream
15. 2 Egg whites for 1 egg

There's tons more with explanations on the list.

Happy cooking

Recipe: DIY Potato Chips

This is, by far, one of the most mind-blowing recipes I've come across. I'm giving credit to lovetolaugh54 who posted this in a recipe swap forum. I'm modifying it slightly by using my salt substitute .

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/3 pounds of potatoes (4 medium)  [Yukon Gold or Red variety are best] 
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. Morton's Salt Substitute

To Make:

• Scrub potatoes to clean, but DO NOT peel them -- the skin of the potato is where most of the nutrients are.
• Slice potatoes into thin rounds, about 1/8 inch thick. Try to get them all a uniform size -- it will help in the cooking process.
• Toss potato rounds in oil and salt substitute. I found it was easiest to do in a plastic bag, rather than a bowl. 
• Coat a large microwave-safe plate with Pam. Arrange some of the potato rounds on the plate (In a single layer).
• Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH for 2-3 minutes or until some of the slices start to brown.
• Turn potato rounds over and continue microwaving until they crisp and turn brown around the edges (Around 2-4 minutes) -- Check the rounds often to make sure they are not scorching
• Transfer the cooked chips to a plate to cool, where they will continue to "crisp up".
• Do additional batches, if needed

Serves: 4

Each Serving:  (12-14 chips) 130 calories, 26 g carbs, 2 g fat, 3 g protein, 925 mg potassium, 0 mg sodium

There you have it folks -- if you use a salt substitute -- you can make potato chips with NO sodium. This might be my new "salty" fix!

Happy Cooking!

Recipe: "Cream" of Broccoli Soup

My mom made this recipe a few months ago, and I thought it was brilliant. Turns out she snagged it from a Jenny Jones cookbook called "Look Good, Feel Great". I've taken the liberty to modify it just a little by using brown rice and my salt substitute. I've also doubled it, because I tend to think bigger pots of soup make leftovers, which is never a bad idea.

The trick to this recipe is that the soup is thickened -- not by cream -- but by the starches from the rice, which is an infinitely healthier option.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup long-grain brown rice (I used short grain and it was fine)
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (Aim for low sodium)
• 4 cups fresh broccoli florets (I used broccoli crowns, and chopped them up, and I'm assuming Frozen would do in a pinch)
• 1/2 tsp. salt substitute
• Black pepper (to taste)

To Make:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium flame. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they are translucent.
• When the onions have had a chance to cook, add the rice, stock, salt substitute, and pepper, and allow mixture to come to a boil. Then reduce heat to low, and simmer (covered) for 20 minutes.
• Stir in broccoli florets and allow mixture to return to boil, increasing the heat to medium. Cover and cook for five minutes, and then remove from the flame.
• Allow soup to cool slightly, and then blend until smooth.
• If the soup is too thick, add more water or stock for your taste.

Serves: 8

Serving:  52 calories, 7 g carbs, 1 g fat, 4 g protein

Recipe: Microwave Personal Pumpkin Pie

I scooped up this recipe from MFP, where someone had previously found it on tumblr.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin puree
•  ¼ cup liquid egg whites
• 1 packet of sweetener (I use Equal)
• Cinnamon and/or Pumpkin Pie Spice (to taste)

To Make:

• Combine ingredients in shallow dish.
• Microwave mixture for 2 minutes.
• Let cool before eating.

Serves: 1

Each Serving: 80 calories, 10 g carbs, 0 g fat, 7 g protein

Variations:

• If you prefer a more "flan-like" texture, add more pumpkin 
• If you prefer a more "cake-like" texture, add more egg whites
• For a creamy topping, mix together a dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt, a little bit of hazelnut cream cheese, and pumpkin pie spice, or top with toasted pecans.

ENJOY!

 

Recipe: Zucchini Sauté

This recipe is a modified form of a zucchini sauté from the 17 Day Diet cookbook -- I love how the lemon brightens up the dish. 


Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• Zest from 1 lemon
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt substitute
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 3 TBS Parmesan cheese

To Make:

• Put pine nuts into a dry skillet and heat over a low flame, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Careful not to burn them! Once they are done, set aside.
• Grate the zucchini and use a strainer to squeeze out the excess water.
• Spray the skillet with nonstick spray and put over medium heat until the surface of the skillet is warm.
• Add the grated zucchini and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. 
• Stir in salt substitute, pepper, and lemon zest, and garlic powder. Continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. 
• Transfer zucchini to serving dish and stir in pine nuts and cheese. 

Serves: 4

Each Serving: 80 calories, 5g carbs, 6g fat, 4g protein, 614mg potassium, 67mg sodium

Variations:

• If you slice the zucchini into longer strips instead of grating it, the dish takes on more of a "spaghetti" texture.
• My friend suggested that this dish begs for a bit of a cream sauce. If you choose to do so, I would recommend no more than 1-2 TBS of light sour cream, just to mimic an Alfredo sauce.

Recipe: "Fake" Ice Cream

I found this recipe while surfing MFP tonight, and since the general consensus is that ice cream is one of the hardest things to give up when dieting, I'm posting it.

That being said, I LOATHE bananas. I have a sick loathing  for them, which probably borders on a pathological fear. When I make this recipe, I will be using frozen mangoes instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 3-4 frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup milk (2% is better than skim - because you want it a bit creamier)
• 1 TBS vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. nutmeg

To make:

• Combine ingredients in blender until smooth.

Serves: 4

Each serving: 77 calories, 16g carbs, 1g fat, 1g protein, 7mg sodium

Video: BU Cookbook and Subscribers

I want to thank Peter for the inspiration for this video, and for Boston University, for publishing my new favorite cookbook.

I've noticed that several other colleges and universities have published cookbooks in the past -- take a peek on Amazon.com, perhaps your Alma mater is one of them!

50 Ways to Cook Chicken: From Men's Health

My friend, Sean, passed this one onto me. I LOVE Chicken! Low in fat, high in protein -- just make sure you cook it all the way through! I usually put it on this itty-bitty grill I have, or cut it into cubes to have over pasta with veggies, but I'm definitely going to be trying some of these recipes.

Click HERE for a link to the Men's Health article. It's a really well written article, and walks the potential home-cook through the basic steps for various methods of preparation: Stir-fry, Baking (with or without a list of yummy sauce combos), Spice-rubbed, Crusted, Stuffed, and Grilling/Searing with a bunch of recommended marinades.

Which will you be trying?

Recipe: Birthday Cupcakes

Today, I turn 22! I'm one of those adorable freaks who still makes a big deal out of her birthday, so I baked cupcakes for my creative writing class: Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes, with Strawberry "Curd" and Vanilla Glaze.


My cooking philosophy tends to be very Sandra Lee. That is, there's no shame in store bought shortcuts, but make them your own. So, this recipe has three parts. The cake itself, the 'curd', and the icing.


For the cake, I used a Betty Crocker Fat Free Angel Food mix. I am a huge fan of Angel food cake. Not only is it much healthier than other cakes, it's light and fluffy, and takes other flavors very well. 

To this cake mix, I added the zest of two lemons. I don't have a grater in my college apartment, so I improvised and carefully used the edge of a serrated knife. Careful when you're zesting to not go down to the white of the lemon rind. That's the bitter part.

The box recipe calls for 1 and 1/4 cup of cold water. To add extra lemon flavor, I juiced my two lemons -- and then used water for the remaining liquid that was necessary.

 This is a trick I learned from Iron Chef - use a pair of tongs to juice the lemon. It really helps!

Combine the dry mix and zest with the juice and mix. Spoon into lined cupcake tins. The cups should be filled about 3/4 of the way. (I was able to get 33 cupcakes)

Bake at 375 degrees for 12- 20 minutes. My oven (as you can see from my steak tips video) is a bit ghetto, so I had to turn my baking pans to get a nice even bake on my cupcakes. Let the cupcakes go a little longer than you would normal cupcakes -- because they are Angel Food. They will still be light and fluffy, don't worry.

Once they're out of the oven, let them rest for awhile. I only had 24 cup cake "molds" so I needed to make another batch. If this is the case for you, make sure you put the extra batter in the fridge while you wait for the first cupcakes to cook.

Two of my favorite things in the world: cupcakes and Chopped!

Step Two: the  Strawberry "Curd", or 'filling' if you will. I am sorry to say I did not take as many pictures on this step. It was an original recipe so my hands were a little full. My bad.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Frozen (let thaw) unsweetened Strawberries
• 1/8 cup White Sugar
• 2 tsp. Cornstarch
• 2 tsp. Water

To Make:

• Blend the thawed strawberries until smooth, and pour into saucepan. Add the sugar and heat over a medium flame, stirring more frequently as the mixture gets hotter. 
• Combine cornstarch and water in a separate dish to create a 'slurry' that will thicken your strawberry mixture. 
• Pour slurry into strawberry puree, and stir to combine. Allow mixture to boil for five minutes, or until visibly thickened. This should not be more than 5 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and cool in refrigerator.

Alright, here's the fun part. Now that the Strawberry curd mixture is cool, you can pipe it into the cupcakes! My homemade piping bag is just a Ziploc bag with one of the corners snipped off. 

Cut a slit into each of the cupcakes (they should be cool by now) and pipe strawberry filling into the center. Just enough to taste, you don't want to overpower the light lemon flavor of the cake, itself.

 They should look like this when you're done

Step Three: ICING!

Everyone loves store-bought icing. It's practically programmed in our DNA since those third-grade birthday parties. But, make it your own. Instead of a hunk of vanilla frosting, which would overpower my fluffy angel food cupcakes, I decided to use a trick my Mom taught me when I was little.

When store-bought icing (I'm using Betty Crocker) is microwaved, it melts into this delicious glaze, that you can artfully pour over cakes and cupcakes, for a different kind of texture, and taste experience. To do this, Put a dollop of icing into a microwave safe container. Microwave for 10-15 seconds. It should come out like the second picture below.

Beautiful! Now, drizzle over cupcakes, and serve! Delicious!

BUT WAIT!

Not only are these cupcakes sure to wow your friends and family, and not only are they incredibly simple AND delicious, but they are also EXTREMELY healthy, compared to other cupcakes.


A normal lemon cupcake with vanilla icing will set you back: 270 calories, 13 g Fat, 36 g carbs, and 2 g protein.


However, because we used angel food cake, and drizzled the icing in a glaze, these cupcakes are only: 111 calories, 2 g Fat, 21 g carbs, and 1 g protein!!!

Recipe: Parmesan and Parsley Crusted Cod

At the request of one of my readers, Louise, I am posting this recipe for the parmesan and parsley crusted cod that I referenced in my Seasonal Foods of March post. I often pair fish dishes with rice and a side salad because it is so much lighter than chicken or beef, but that’s a personal choice.

I buy individually packaged frozen fish from Ocean Market, so for this, and other fish recipes, I’ll be referencing a single serving, but feel free to double at your discretion.

Also, I’ve used both dry and fresh parsley when making this dish. I think fresh parsley tastes better, but if you can’t get it, it’s really not a problem – using dry parsley tastes good as well. Just remember:

1 tsp. dry Parsley = 1 TBS Fresh Chopped Parsley = 2 sprigs of Parsley

Happy Cooking, Fellow Foodies!

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. portion of cod
• ½ TBS Light Miracle Whip
• 1 ½ TBS grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 TBS Fresh Chopped Parsley

To Make:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees
• Lightly spray a baking pan with non-stick spray
• Combine 1 TBS Parmesan cheese, parsley, and Miracle Whip and spread over the top of the cod filet
• Place cod on baking pan and sprinkle the remaining ½ TBS Parmesan on top of Parmesan/parsley paste
• Bake 6-8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork

Per Serving: 123 Calories, 1 grams carbs, 6 grams fat, 17 grams protein

This Parmesan crust works very nicely on most white fish because of their mild flavor. Try it on flounder, tilapia, or haddock! 

Recipe: Breakfast Egg "Cupcakes"

Eggs are protein powerhouses! But it takes time to cook them in the morning -- time that I often don't have. That's why I created this recipe to bake ahead, and pop in the microwave as I'm running out the door. Enjoy!

Breakfast Egg "Cupcakes"

Ingredients:

• 12 Eggs
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/3 cup 2% cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. Morton's Salt Substitute
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• nonstick spray

To Make:

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees
• In a bowl, beat the eggs together and add mushrooms, peppers, and cheese. ***You can use whatever vegetables or meats you'd like -- just keep in mind that the calorie counts provided will be different if you do.
• Season egg and vegetable mixture with salt substitute and pepper.
• Spray a 12-count cupcake pan with nonstick spray, and distribute the egg mixture evenly.
• Cook 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture is no longer runny. 
• Pull egg cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool. As they cool, the eggs will finish cooking completely. 

From here, I usually put them in a Ziploc and freeze them, so that I can grab them as I need them. If you want to beef up the recipe, feel free to add liquid egg whites to the mix, or additional vegetables. And they're so healthy, so you can easily grab two!

Serves: 12

Per Serving: 100 calories, 2g carbs, 6g fat, 8g protein, 392 mg potassium, and 122 mg sodium