BEST RECIPE EVER!!!! - FRUITCAKE

Ok, I blog about the recipes I love the most! But, I don't remember the last time that I came up with something so good that I just had to stop (after I ate it,  of course) & blog about it right then & there! Well...... that time is now! I just came up with the absolute most fantabulous dish to date! I am calling it a Fruitcake because it's made like a pancake but with fruit..... so it's a Fruitcake! Let me tell you, this was so good that I turned right around & made it again but made it into Fruitcake Muffins so I could have them to eat on for a few days. 

SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!!! 

Simple, sweet, fruity, filling, healthy & at around 200 calories - sooo very figure friendly!!!!! You have got to try this! I know I will be making this A LOT from now on! It'd be so good for breakfast but since I love breakfast for dinner, I ate it for dinner tonight! There are all kinds of different fruit options that I am sure would be wonderful in these! I used blueberries & strawberries but I would love to  try peaches, like  Peaches 'n Cream Cakes...... apples, like Apples Pie Cakes & top with honey, bananas, like  Banana Cream Pie Cakes & top with natural peanut butter...... YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fruitcake (with toppings)

 Fruitcake

cake ingredients:

4 egg whites

1 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

1/2 C fresh (or frozen) fruit - I used strawberries & blueberries.

1/2 Tbsp vanilla

1 Tbsp Stevia

topping:

1 vanilla carb smart yogurt

1/2 Tbsp Stevia (optional but it gives the yogurt a sweeter taste that makes it taste more like a topping instead of just yogurt.)

Fruitcake without toppings

*Put all cake ingredients except fruit in a shaker bottle (or whip with a whisk) & shake really well. Then remove lid & wire mixer ball, add fruit & give it one more good shake. Pour into a pre - heated skillet over medium heat & cook like you would a pancake. It won't get really firm because of the fruit so you just kind of have to check the bottom & when it looks brown, it's time to flip it! This part was tricky because of the fruit! Flip & cook until both sides are brown like the picture above.
Stir the Stevia into the yogurt in a small bowl or in container & spread on top. Then I added a few more pieces of fruit & a sprinkle of pecans!

And get ready for some seriously happy 

taste buds my friend!

Fruitcake Muffins

For the muffins, I did the same thing but used 6 whites (for 6 muffins) & just added a little fruit to each muffin cup after filling them 1/4 with the egg mixture. I am practicing extreme willpower because I haven't tried one of them yet but I know they will be equally as delightful! And maybe easier to deal with since the flipping won't be an issue. They are so pretty too aren't they?! 

I LOVE PRETTY FOOD!!!! I love it even more when it's

 HEALTHY, YUMMY AND PRETTY!

 Nutritional content for the Fruitcake (including topping)- 200 calories, 10 carbs & 18 grams of protein!
Per muffin - 25 calories, 4 carbs, 4 grams of protein!

TGI Love Fabulous Food Friday!

Another week is behind us! It is so hard to believe that Mother's Day is this weekend! This year is flying by! I feel like I have spent a lot of it in the gym & in the kitchen! But, I am a healthier person because I have remained faithful to my health & fitness goals & that makes me proud! 

I just want to continue to learn & grow & strive toward positive changes in myself that I can share with others around me!

In this pre - Mother's Day post I bring you 3 really great treats! You are going to LOVE THESE!!!! I could hardly wait to write this blog!! I love trying new recipes that end up blowing your expectations out of the water don't you?! So, let's start with 2 variations of completely clean & totally easy ICE CREAM!!!!! Yes, you read that right! Actually, I think the second one tastes more like a sorbet / sherbert than ice cream but that's the same family, right?! They are both totally awesome! I got the first recipe from a page I follow on Facebook called Lean Body Lifestyle. And his recipe inspired me to try to make a more tropical, sorbet-ish version! And here they both are!

The recipe for both is the same but with different ingredients. You need to freeze your fruit overnight. For the Chocolate Banana Ice Cream you need 2 frozen bananas. For the Tropical Twist Sorbet I used about 4 oz of fresh frozen pineapples & 2 large frozen strawberries. You just take your frozen fruit, chop it up, throw it in your Ninja, add a couple of Tbsp of unsweetened almond milk to start & continue adding til you get it to the right consistency. I think I used about 4 total. And 1 Tbsp of Stevia. Blend it all up to ice cream consistency & when you get it there you can throw it in the freezer for a little while before eating it or eat it right then! The nutritional content will depend on how much fruit you use & how many servings you make out of it!

Seriously y'all........ you can't beat this as a completely GUILT FREE alternative to ice cream! And I am telling you......cross my heart & hope to die, stick a needle in my eye & pinkie swear that these actually taste REALLY GOOD!!!!!

For the final recipe that makes me wanna shout TGI Love Fabulous Food I give you another great, healthy & totally clean  snack!

Take a container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, stir in 1 Tbsp Stevia & 1 Tbsp of natural peanut butter & coat chunks of sliced apples then take 1/2 Tbs natural peanut butter & heat it up so it's thin enough to drizzle & drizzle it over your yogurt covered apple chunks. Pop in the freezer until the yogurt & peanut butter has hardened & you have the perfect little frozen sweet snack! You can keep em in your freezer & just have a little frozen yogurt apple bite whenever you feel the urge!

 How ya like them apples?????? ;)





 

TGI Love Fabulous Food!!!

TGIF!!!!!! 

I have really been meaning to do a post on my birthday so I thought I would kick off my TGI Love Fabulous Food series with the food highlights & a few pictures from the party so you can meet a few people that are closest to me in life!
 I had a tropical themed party so I tried to keep the food I made tropical-y! Most (not all) of it was clean & healthy & all of it was vacation - worthy good! 

Fruit Tree

 I made my first ever Fruit Tree. I served 2 yummy fruit dips, margarita flavored salsa with corn tortilla chips & Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Salad. The highlight of the food (for me) was the Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Salad I made that ended up evolving into another even greater recipe the next week! I actually entered it in a recipe contest that is going on right now on Facebook!  I am posting the recipe for it below! You have got to try it! It is really really good!

Fruit Dips

 I made  both of the fruit dips with plain nonfat Greek yogurt as the base ingredient & for one I blended almond butter, cocoa powder & Stevia for a clean, rich fruit dip & the other I stirred in a 2 qt packet of Pineapple Mango Crystal Light drink mix! Crystal Light may not be considered "clean" but I still love it & use it all the time! It made a yummy & super low calorie fruit dip! And you can use any flavor you like!

 Now, on to the main event! 

Pine - A - Hawaiian Summer Sliders

*These little sliders are the perfect thing to serve at all the outdoor cookouts we will all be hosting or attending with the warm weather approaching! Or when you just want to bring a little bit of the tropics into a drab week! After all..... our mouths deserve a vacation too! And nothing tastes more like vacation than pineapple!
You will need:
1) 4 oz roasted chicken breast
2) 2 Tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3) 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
4) 1 packed tsp Splenda brown sugar blend
5) 1/2 tsp lemon juice
6) 2 oz fresh pineapple cut into chunks
7) 4 Tbsp Salsa- I used magarita flavored (optional)
8) 4 whole grain slider buns
*Shred cooled chicken & set aside. In a small dish, mix the creamy part (ingredients 2 - 5), then stir the shredded chicken into it until it is well covered. Next, fold the pineapple chucks in & spread onto 4 slider buns. Top w 1 Tbsp of Salsa & serve!
(Could also be served as a dip with whole grain crackers!)
*Nutritional content: per sandwich-150 calories/20 carbs/11.5 grams of protein.
Pine - A - Hawaiian spread alone (whole batch)-
201.25 calories/12.63 carbs/26 grams of protein.
Those are the food highlights from my 35th tropical themed birthday party! It was really fun to decorate everything up & have a theme to base the food around! I will definitely be doing the tropical theme for cookouts in the warm weather & am pondering what other themes I would love to center a get together around! I  hope you all enjoy the pictures & let me know if you make any of the recipes & how you like them!

Sweet Hawaiian Pineapple Glazed Chicken

TGIF!!!!!

 I have to say that my week has been pretty good! I felt a little off track after having so much going on last weekend but I made it through & am looking forward to the weekend! I had a lot of fruit left over this week & that is unusual for me! I love love love fruit! Don't get me wrong! I used to eat it ALL the time!!!!! Like...... when I say all the time, I mean ALL THE TIME!!!!! Like, I made entire meals off of just fruit!  It really helped me lose weight & keep it off! But, it is high in carbs & there is so much debate on it in the fitness industry that I don't really eat it all that much anymore because I have been too scared that it would interfere with me seeing the results I have wanted to see in my body. But, lately, I have to be honest...... I have really been thinking about incorporating more fruit back into my diet. I am learning to love myself for who I am & in a place where I just want to be fit & healthy! I will more than likely never have six pack abs but I am ok with that! It doesn't mean I don't envy people that have them or that I will cut my workouts short or not work out as hard or anything like that......I just mean that things like light cheese or fruit for example that a lot of people avoid when getting super toned are still really good food choices & are have never stood in the way of me staying slim. In fact, things like light string cheese & grapes are what HELPED me get thin! All kinds of foods have their important places in each of our daily diets! Not to mention that everyone has different goals & dietary needs. You have to make food choices that are right for you & your goals & I have to do the same. The same thing goes for exercise. I am not a fitness model...... I am just a healthy & fit girl who wants to look & feel as healthy as I can & stay that way as long as I can!  Now, that being said...... let me move on to the yum factor of the post 'cause this dish totally was!!!!!

Having all the fruit around has inspired & helped me make a couple of new things this week! This is one of them! It would be good on a bed of brown rice too but I chose the carbs from the pineapple...... both would have been too many for me.

 

Sweet Hawaiian Pineapple Glazed Chicken 

Cut fresh pineapple into several chunks & set aside. 

For the glaze :

2 Tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 Tbs dijon mustard

 1 packed tsp of brown sugar Splenda

 1/4 tsp lemon juice

Mix in a little bowl. 

(Makes a great spread or dip too!)

*I preheated my toaster oven to 350 & lined my pan with aluminum foil & curled the sides up around my thinly sliced fresh chicken breasts so that the 

glaze would stay on & around them.

Spread the glaze on top of each breast then place pineapple chunks on top

 & around & bake until done!

I don't know about you but there are few things in this world that are tastier than grilled or baked pineapple! This is definitely one of my new favorite things to make! Especially since, after making it at my party last weekend, I can take the leftover chicken & make Pineapple Chicken Salad again! YUMMM!!!!!! I know, I know...... I need to post the recipe for it too! But, for now.....bring a little vacation to your taste buds with this recipe! 

*I ate steamed veggies sprinkled with Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning on the side with mine! I am not even going to get started with how addicted I am to that stuff! 

Protein Pops!

 

Warmer weather is here! What goes better with warm weather than any icy treat?! I love making all sorts of different, yummy protein pops! They satisfy a sweet tooth for a very minimal amount of calories & are healthy......provided you make them that way! You can find the molds this time of year at the grocery store or dollar store & you can make all different flavors using whatever you like! Just shake or blend up any yummy smoothie recipe you like, pour into molds & freeze! I made the ones pictured here with crystal light, protein powder & a tbsp of stevia! But you can use yogurt, fruit, almond milk, peanut or almond butter...... be creative! If it's tastes good to drink, then it will make a tasty protein pop! And you can use whatever flavor protein you like too! Strawberry, vanilla, chocolate or unflavored if you like! So, skip the popcicle aisle at the grocery store & save your wallet & your waistline & make your own frozen treats!

*Here's a tip: I lightly mist mine with butter cooking spray before pouring anything into them & then to help release the pop, just run under warm water for a sec! 

 

A Fruit Dip Recipe

I know it's been since last week since I blogged & I feel like a total slacker for being so behind! I have been without a camera (other than the one on my phone) for almost 2 weeks now & it's really making blogging challenging! I want to do a birthday blog but until I get it all together I thought I would go ahead & blog something simple so you would all know I haven't given up blogging or fallen off the face of the planet or any of that jazz!
I don't know about you but I've been on a peanut butter kick lately! Like..... I could just open the jar & eat it if it weren't for the fat & calories that would most certainly show up on on my belly!! So, I have been allowing myself 1 tbsp almost every day for awhile now as my healthy fat & a healthy indulgence. I mean all natural, nothing added peanut butter by the way....the real stuff!
Tonight I needed a good, filling snack so I made a clean fruit dip & ate it with an apple. I had leg day at the gym today which means a higher carb day but I only had around 6 carbs for dinner so I figured an apple around 6 pm wouldn't hurt!

Clean PB Fruit Dip

1/2 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 tbsp Stevia

*mix it all together in a bowl & enjoy with a serving of whatever fruit you choose!!

*dip only-160 calories, 7.5 carbs & 13.5 grams of protein

It's All Greek To Me!.....or is it?!

So, you're at the grocery store standing in front of the yogurt section....... you aren't completely new to eating healthy, but you aren't really much of a label reader either. You reach for a popular Greek yogurt that you have seen on TV since Greek yogurt is all the rage right now & go on about finishing your grocery shopping. You feel healthier already knowing you've made a better decision by not grabbing yogurt with the granola on top, but ........ not so fast! Have you read the label on the "healthy" Greek yogurt you just threw in your buggy?! The carb content?! The sugar?! Did you really make a healthier choice? You see, all Greek yogurt is not the same. You have all heard the saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" right?  Well, the same goes for food too. And the "real fruit" in the bottom? Have you ever seen real fruit covered in syrup? I haven't! All Greek yogurt is NOT created equal! Most of them are nothing more than sugary treats wrapped up in "healthy" looking containers because he makers of these products know that most people trust the front of the label that says Greek, light, low fat, low sodium, naturally sweetened, whole grain, etc. & will never turn them around & actually ready the nutritional content....... & if you do, you won't make it past the calories content. And, if they keep that low enough, the product is sold! So, if you haven't started reading labels yet, now is a great time to start!!!
Your best option when buying yogurt is most definitely Greek for it's many health benefits. Just make sure you choose one that is plain & nonfat. You can sweeten it yourself with Stevia & real fresh fruit. My favorite brand is Fage (shown above) 2%. It's thick & creamy & has 150 calories, 8 carbs & 20 grams of protein per container! You can use Greek yogurt for lots of different things! I use it in place of mayo in tuna, as sour cream on fajitas or a potato, I make a honey mustard dip with 1 tbs of Greek yogurt & 2 tsp of honey mustard, throw 1 tbsp in with your eggs to make them creamy, use it to make protein shakes........ be creative! Stir in Stevia & cinnamon,  a tsp of honey, 1 tbsp of peanut butter & 1 tsp of cocoa powder, your favorite sugar free jelly, cinnamon, fresh fruit or another thing I love to do with mine is pour a container into a small bowl first thing in the morning & put 1/4 to 1/2 a serving of frozen fruit (not the kind in syrups.....whole natural frozen fruit) on top, then put a lid on it & stick it back in the fridge til after my workout mid morning or to have right after lunch. By the time I eat it, the fruit has thawed & the juice can be mixed into the yogurt & it is soooo good! And you know it's real fruit & naturally sweetened! ............What can be sweeter than that?!
Click on the link below to read all about the health benefits of eating Greek yogurt in an article from Livestrong.com.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/300164-what-are-the-benefits-of-eating-greek-yogurt/