Overnight Oats

I've read a lot of posts in the food blog community on overnight oats. I thought it sounded right up my alley as I had all the ingredients needed on hand. So I gathered up all my ingredients, stirred them together and placed the bowl in the fridge for the night so they could blend.

The next morning I woke up, went for a run and came back excited to eat my overnight oats concoction.

It was gross.

I don't know if it was a texture thing or the fact that I'm used to oatmeal being hot and this was cold but I will not be repeating overnight oats.

Here is a great post from Kath Eats of a lot of varieties of overnight oats. This is what I put in mine:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup nonfat yogurt
1 tbsp almond butter
2 Tbsp raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie

I forgot to take a picture, this is from the original recipe

Every other Sunday night we have a small group Bible study at the home of one of the families in our church. It is supposed to be potluck style but I noticed more and more bags of chips, 2 liters of soda and packages of store bought cookies appearing and less and less main dish options or foods of any nutritional value. I don't know why, but I always get irritated when someone regularly brings one of these easy-way-out foods to a potluck. Is that just me?

Anyway, I try to make something a little more substantial and a little bit more healthy each time we go. This week I had a drawer full of produce begging to be used up and I had to come up with a recipe that used them all. I also had a bunch of eggs so I figured there had to be some kind of Bisquick recipe that would work for my needs.

I found this recipe on Bisquick's recipe site. It got pretty good reviews and looked like something I could easily cut into small portions for a crowd. As originally posted, this recipe provides:

170 calories
10 g fat
11 g carbohydrate
1 g fiber
10 g protein

I decided to used the Heart Smart version of Bisquick, skim milk, 2% cheese and substitute one of the eggs with 2 egg whites. I also added in a cup of chopped spinach and upped some of the veggie portions. It was delicious! There wasn't a big turn out at small group and we had plenty leftover for lunch the next day - Bonus for me!

Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie - BETTER

2 cups chopped frozen broccoli
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup raw spinach, chopped
1 cup shredded 2% Cheddar
1/2 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 whole egg
2 egg whites

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with nonstick spray. Eat frozen broccoli in the microwave until no longer frozen (it doesn't have to be pipping hot).

Layer broccoli, green onions, peppers, and spinach in pie plate. Sprinkle cheddar on top. In a separate bowl, mix together bisquick, milk, salt, pepper, egg and egg whites in a bowl with a wisk. Pour over veggies in pie plate.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. Allow to set for 5-10 minutes before slices.

Makes 6 servings

Per serving:
119 calories
3.1 g fat
13.4 g carbohydrate
1.5 g fiber
10.3 g protein

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

As part of my undergraduate degree in dietetics I had to take some college cooking classes...ahem... food science classes. These were some of my favorite classes of college. My MOST favorite was called Experimental Foods. In this class we learned the why behind cooking. I found out all about the different cuts of meat (which I have since forgotten) and all the details of baking. I truly believe that because of this class I am confident in making the adjustments that I do in the recipes.

One thing we learned about was the "muffin method" of baking. Did you know there's a whole method to muffins? Anyway, we also learned that there are many things that can go wrong with muffins that are easily explained. Here are a few:

1. If your muffins don't rise either your oven wasn't up to temperature, you didn't mix the batter enough or you used muffin cups which are too large.

2. What causes muffins to be tough and rubbery? Probably too much egg. If you are using an egg larger than a "large" size egg, this might be the culprit. This can also occur when using dark nonstick pans.

3. Why are there tunnels and crazy peaks on my muffins instead of nice rounded tops? You probably beat the mixture too much. When the recipe says to stir until just combined, they mean it.

So why am I telling you this? Because I made this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything and I definitely broke rule #3. These bad boys were so ugly! They had crazy peaks and looked like the noses on the Smurfs.

The original recipe provides the following per muffin:
265 calories
12.5 g fat
35.6 g carbohydrate
0.9 g fiber
3.6 g protein

I made two small changes. I substituted applesauce for the butter. I also tried something new. I put some old fashioned oats into the blender and made them almost into a flour. I substituted 1/2 cup of the white flour with 1/2 cup of the ground up oats.

Even though these bad boys were ugly, they still tasted good. Good enough, in fact that I took a bag full of them over to a family at church when I brought a meal over.

Lemon Blueberry Muffin - BETTER

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one lemon
1 egg
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup frozen blueberries

Topping
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs, milk and applesauce thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in blueberries gently. Portion into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Combine butter and lemon juice for the topping. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar.

Makes 12 muffins. Each muffin provides:
160 calories
3.7 g fat
29.8 g carbohydrate
1.2 g fiber
2.8 g protein

Breakfast Smoothie

No real pictures for the next week :( My husband is on spring break with his team and took our digital camera leaving me without the ability to take any food pictures. Boooo.... But I still wanted to post anyway so here ya go!



I'm trying to break away from my bowl of cereal every morning for breakfast so I decided to try the world of smoothies. I've often shied away from smoothies because honestly I'm lazy. I don't feel like hauling my blender ALL the way from the pantry and cleaning every morning. Really, its not that big of a deal but I've convinced myself that this is inconvenient. Well I put on my big girl pants this morning, sucked it up and made a smoothie.



It was awesome! I felt like I had a nutrient packed breakfast and the clean up wasn't even that awful. I didn't try it but I imagine you could also add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to up the protein.



I included flax seeds in my smoothie. Flax seeds have tons of benefits. First they contain omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3's are great for your heart, joints and brain health. You can also get omega 3's in fatty fish like salmon, but since we don't do too much seafood in our house, adding flax seeds is a great way to bump up the omega 3's. Flax seeds also contain lignans. Lignans contain both plant estrogen and antioxidents. With all the running around and exercise that I do, I feel like antioxidants can help decrease the amount of stress on my cells.

Breakfast Smoothie

1 1/2 cups frozen berries (I used 1 cup frozen strawberries and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries)
1/4 cup fresh baby spinach
1 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp flax seeds
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Makes 1 serving.

245 calories
4.6 g fat
40.4 g carbohydrate
8.6 g fiber
12.1 g protein

26.9% Vitamin A, 125.6% vitamin C, 14% Folate, 12.6% Iron, 35% calcium


What do you put in YOUR favorite smoothie?

Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

We continue quick bread week with a tasty recipe for muffins (although I assume you could make it in a loaf too!).

Lately I've been craving sweets at night - cakes, cookies, ice cream, brownies, you name it - I want it. I've upped my exercise in the last month or so and I have really noticed an increased appetite, but I'm trying to keep it under control. I have rationalized my sweets craving by thinking that if I just have "healthier" muffins around, that will satisfy my sweet craving without all the bad parts of other desserts.

I had some pumpkin puree in my fridge so off I went in search of a pumpkin muffin recipe. I found this one from pickycook.com. It sounded (and looked) quite tasty so I whipped it up in no time! (Literally took me about 10 minutes to put together then throw in the oven- awesome!).

The original recipe provides per muffin:
203 calories
6.1 g fat
35.0 g carbohydrate
1.2 g fiber
3.0 g protein

I only made a couple small changes. Instead of oil I used mashed ripe bananas. I also added 1/2 cup raisins because I really wanted to put in white chocolate chips but this was my internal compromise. The end result is a flavorful, moist muffin perfect to satisfy my sweet tooth or for my husband to grab out the door in the morning for a quick breakfast.
Pumpkin Raisin Muffins - BETTER

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon-divided
pinch nutmeg
1 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar - divided
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Put oven in the middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.

Sift together flour and baking powder in a small bowl, set aside.

Whisk together pumpkin, bananas, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in raisins with a wooden spoon.

Combine remaining 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp sugar in a small bowl. (Or just use cinnamon/sugar from your cabinet!)

Divide batter equally among 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer muffins to wire rack to cool.

Per muffin:
182 calories
1.1 g fat
41.3 g carbohydrate
1.6 g fiber
3.2 g protein

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins / Bread

I have been on a quick bread kick lately. I seem to keep making them as treats to give away or to go along with our meal. So I decided to declare this Quick Breads Week. First up - Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins / Bread.

I had a freezer full of brown bananas and needed to do a little reorganization so they needed to be used. I also am in a calorie burn competition at work and having been pushing extra hard with the workouts, so I'm a little hungrier than normal. So having a sweet fix like banana bread around has been a lifesaver!

I went out in search of a banana bread recipe that was a little different and found one that called for sour cream on Foodies, Inc. So I decided to give it a try.

Original recipe provides (per serving):

194 calories
8.7 g fat
27.4 g carbohydrate
0.9 g fiber
2.8 g protein

I made the usual changes: I substituted reduced fat sour cream for the full fat version as well as used unsweetened applesauce in place of the butter. The result was awesome! I made 12 muffins and 2 medium sized loaves out of a double batch of this. The muffins were gone in just a few days. The loaves made it to the freezer. One was delivered to my coworker who is a new mom. The other one waits in the freezer for it's final resting place (which just might be my belly!).

Rock Your Banana Bread - BETTER

1/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter desired baking dish (muffin tin, loaf pan, etc). Combine sour cream and baking soda in a bowl. Cream applesauce and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs, bananas, and sour cream mixture. Sift in flour and baking soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into pan. Bake for one hour for 9x5 pan, 30 minutes for muffin tin, 45 minutes for 4x8 pan, etc.

Take it out of the oven , let it cool and enjoy! Makes 20 servings. Per serving:

153 calories
3.7 g fat
28.1 g carbohydrate
1.0 g fiber
2.7 g protein

***You could probably omit the chocolate chips here and save a bunch on calories and fat... that really wasn't what I was going for :) ****

Breakfast Sandwiches

I know some people are totally against it but having breakfast for dinner is a weekly staple in our household. It is fast, easy and cheap... pretty much my three favorite things. I can almost guarantee that we will have breakfast for dinner on a Monday or Wednesday (nights that I work late) each week.

BUT all breakfast sandwiches are not created equally.

There are a variety of ways that you can build your breakfast sandwich. I wanted to give you ideas for how your sandwich may stack up. Of course, you can put whatever you want in your breakfast sandwich but here are some suggestions for the basics: breads, eggs, cheese, meat.

BREADS:

2 slices wheat toast: 139 calories, 2 g fat, 26 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 5 g protein
Sourdough English muffing: 120 calories, 1 g fat, 25 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein
La Tortilla Factory wrap: 80 calories, 3 g fat, 18 g carbohydrate 12 g fiber, 8 g protein
Reduced Fat Grand's biscuit: 160 calories, 5 g fat, 26 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 3 g protein

EGG:

1 whole egg: 70 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 6 g protein
2 egg whites: 34 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 8 g protein
1/4 c. egg substitute: 30 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 6 g protein

CHEESE:

1/2 oz cheddar: 57 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein
1/2 oz. 2% cheddar: 40 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein
1/2 oz. part-skim mozzarella: 36 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 3 g protein

MEAT:
1 oz ham: 69 calories, 2 g fat, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 11 g protein
1 oz. Canadian bacon: 50 calories, 1 g fat, 1 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 11 g protein
2 slices turkey bacon: 70 calories, 6 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein
2 slices bacon: 84 calories, 6 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 6 g protein
1 sausage patty: 90 calories, 6 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 5 g protein

So the above pictured sandwich of English muffin, 1 egg, 1/2 oz 2% cheddar and ham would have a total of 299 calories, 11 g fat, 27 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber and 25 g protein.
What's your IDEAL breakfast sandwich?

Orange Pecan French Toast

I was talking with my mom on the phone a few weeks ago, discussing what I should bring for Christmas. I offered to bring baked French toast but she was thinking more along the lines of a breakfast casserole. So I agreed and made a breakfast casserole instead. Well my husband overheard this conversation and I watched his eyes light up with sheer joy at the thought of Baked French Toast. I then watched his face turn to utter disappointment at the thought of a breakfast casserole instead. I decided to treat him to French Toast Casserole when we were doing our little family of three breakfast and presents on Christmas Eve.

The recipe that I use for Baked French Toast is ridiculously rich and sinful. I think it might call for at least 2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of brown sugar - really not worthy of being on my healthy food blog. So the night before I our breakfast, I went to make our Baked French Toast and realized that I had used up all of the brown sugar earlier in the afternoon making Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. Whoops! I didn't want to leave Paul disappointed, so I searched the internet for a baked French toast recipe which did not require brown sugar.

I came across this recipe for Pecan French Toast on allrecipes.com. It actually looked pretty healthy (or at least WAY healthier than my original recipe). As posted, each serving provides:
533 calories
32.3 g fat
48.5 g carbohydrate
2.8 g fiber
13.6 g protein

I didn't make too many changes as I still wanted this to be a treat for Paul. The only substitution that I made was I left out the butter and simply sprayed the top with non-stick butter flavored spray instead. You could also substitute whole grain bread, egg substitute or low-calorie OJ if you were looking for additional ways to healthify this recipe.

Overall, it was a hit! Definitely a different baked French toast, but tasty nonetheless!

Orange Pecan French Toast - BETTER

4 eggs
2/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 pound Italian bread, cubed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp grated orange zest

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, orange juice, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Place bread slices in a tightly spaced single layer in the bottom of a flat dish or baking pan. Pour milk mixture over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight, turning once.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Spray casserole dish or jelly roll with butter-flavored nonstick spray. Arrange soaked bread slices in a single layer on pan. Sprinkle evenly with orange peel and pecans.

Bake in preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Check during last 10 minutes of baking time to avoid burning.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving provides:
398 calories
17.1 g fat
48.5 g carbohydrate
2.8 g fiber
13.5 g protein

Poppyseed Bread

I am a new mom with a now 4 month old. (Today is her 4 month birthday!). I went back to work full time at 8 weeks post partum. I get a lot of questions from people who sympathetically ask, "How's it going?", "Are you doing ok without your little girl?", "Is it hard to leave her at daycare?". I have to be honest with people. I like working. I love my job. I like the interaction with adults and the perks of my job.

BUT, none of this would be possible if I didn't have the most ideal daycare situation - but I do. I work early shifts a few days a week. On those days, my husband stays home with our daughter then goes into work for later in the afternoon for practice after I get out. Two days a week, however, I work later and we need someone else to watch her. When we built our house earlier this year, we specifically built on a cul-de-sac that has three other friends living on it. (Its like college dorms for grown ups!). Our next door neighbor are two of my husband's good friends from college. They had a baby in February and the wife decided to stay home from her job as an elementary school teacher to be with him. So two days a week, she watches her for us. We often joke that our daughter is going to learn more at the neighbor's house than she will at home.

I knew that she wouldn't accept any monetary gifts for Christmas, but we wanted to do something special for her. So I made up a basket of homemade apple butter, puppy chow, a gift for their son, and a loaf of poppyseed bread. I got the recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

As posted in her original recipe, each serving (32 total) provide:
204 calories
9.2 g fat
28.6 g carbohydrate
0.4 g fiber
2.3 g protein

This looks absolutely delicious! I didn't want to put any whole wheat fiber in here and risk making it tough or too grainy. I did, however, feel like I could substitute unsweetened applesauce for the oil. I also made sure to use skim milk in the recipe. The end product was awesome! The recipe says it makes 2 large or 6 small pans. I used medium sized pans and created 4 loaves. We ate one, one will go to the sitter, one will go to my boss and one to a family that hosts my small group from church every other Sunday - PERFECT GIFTS!
Poppyseed Bread - BETTER

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/8 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp melted butter (or butter flavoring extract)

Mix all together. Pour into greased and floured baking pans. Makes 6 small loaves or 2 large loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes for large pans and less for smaller pans. If you have a dark metal pan make sure to bake it for less time at a lower temperature.

Glaze:
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp melted butter (or butter flavor extract)

Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove bread from pans and pour glaze over warm bread. Use knife or spatula to bring the glaze that has run off up and over the warm bread until it stays on.

Per serving (32 servings):
137 calories
1.2 g fat
29.7 g carbohydrate
0.5 g fiber
2.3 g protein

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Apparently everyone knows that if you are trying to take good food pictures you just cart your dish out onto your back porch and take a picture. Well, I actually tried that and - what do you know? - this is by far the best food picture I've taken so far. Too bad that it's winter and when I'm usually making dinner it's pitch black outside so I can't guarantee good pictures every time, just when I cook in the daylight :)

My husband loves cinnamon raisin bread. He honestly got a little giddy when I told him I made a loaf of it this day. When I saw the recipe from Annie's Eats for Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread, I knew I would get this reaction from him.

As originally posted, each slice (1/16 of the loaf) provides:

200 calories
4.3 g fat
36.8 g carbohydrate
1.2 g fiber
4.1 g protein

As I've said before, baking with yeast requires precise chemical reactions. So I am often afraid to make HUGE changes to a recipe which includes yeast. So I just made sure I used skim milk and I substituted 2 cups of the flour for wheat flour. Did it taste awesome? YES .... Did it make a huge difference? Not so much but at least you save 10 calories, 0.3 g fat and gain 1.4 grams of fiber per slice.... ehhh, I tried.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread - BETTER

1 1/8 tsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 cup warm SKIM milk (105-110 degrees)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
vegetable oil

For the filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp water
1 egg, lightly beaten

In the bowl of a standard mixer, combine the yeast, warm milk, both flours, butter, sugar, egg, salt and cinnamon. Mix briefly until a dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is mostly smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Add in the raisins and allow to continue kneading about 3 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and supple and the raisins are evenly incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl; turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat into a round circle. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and fold the top third down, in business-letter fashion. Then fold the right and left sides into the center in thirds, forming a rectangle. Press down to seal. Return to the bowl, cover and let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes. (See Annie's Eats for a GREAT picture guide to this step).

Generously butter a 9x5" loaf pan. To make the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into a 10x12" rectangle. Brush lightly with the some of the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture, leaving a thin border around the edges. Fold in the edges of the long sides of the dough about 1 inch. Beginning with the short ends, roll the dough up into a tight spiral log, gently pressing as you go.

Pinch the seam shut and place the loaf, seam side down, in the prepared baking pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise until dough rises just above the edges of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the loaf has risen, brush the top of the loaf lightly with the remaining beaten egg. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the loaf is golden brown, about 45 minutes. If the surface seems to be browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil (I did this about 15 minutes into baking). Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 16 slices, per slice:
190 calories
4.0 g fat
35.9 g carbohydrate
2.5 g fiber
4.6 g protein

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

***Picture to come***

Quick breads are such a convenience item – they come in handy all the time! Going to a relative’s house for a weekend getaway? Bring a quick bread. New neighbors move in? Bring a quick bread. Unexpected company staying over night? Whip up a quick bread. The BEST part about quick breads is that you can make them ahead of time and freeze for up to 2 months when properly wrapped in your freezer. Since pumpkin is the quintessential fall food accessory, I was bound and determined to find a pumpkin bread recipe. After all, I was headed to a Bible study that night… and why not bring a quick bread?

I found this recipe over at My Kitchen Addiction and knew it was meant to be. A. I like when pumpkin recipes call for the whole can of pumpkin, not a portion of it. So then I’m not stuck with a portion of pumpkin that I have to figure out something to do with it. B. It called for 1 cup of chocolate chips and I had a random bag of chocolate chips with 1 cup in it in my pantry.

The recipe makes quite a few loaves of bread. I made three 8x4 pans and could easily cut each loaf into 12 slices, making 36 servings total. Per serving, each slice provides:

196.4 calories

8.2 g fat

29.9 g carbohydrate

1.3 g fiber

2.4 g protein

I made a few simple changes to the recipe to decrease the fat and calories (and make a small increase in the fiber). First, I switched the white and wheat flour. Second, I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil. The finished product was delicious!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread – BETTER!

2 ½ cup wheat flour

1 cup white flour

3 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 large eggs

2/3 cup water

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9x5 loaf pans or three 8x4 loaf pans with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together canned pumpkin, applesauce, eggs, and 2/3 cup water until well combined and stir into dry ingredients, just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no dry streaks remain. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake the bread for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edge of the bread and turn the bread out, right side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This bread freezes beautifully. After cooling, wrap the bread in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Per serving (36 servings)

143.7 calories

2.2 g fat

30.3 g carbohydrate

1.9 g fiber

2.5 g protein

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

In Michigan, we are all about fall. The leaves are BEAUTIFUL, the pumpkin patches are overflowing and the abundance of apple orchards provide endless entertainment for families. My husband and I enjoy a fall weekend with many of our friends every year at one of our friend's family farm. We drive across the state for a weekend full of outlet malls for the girls, poker for the guys, hayrides, apple orchard and tons of food.

I wanted to make sure I brought along a treat for the occasion that represented fall and it's many tastes. So of course I had to find something pumpkin! (I already have made a fall apple treat here). I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls at Sweet Treats and More. As made in the recipe, these cinnamon rolls provide:

252 calories
6.5 g fat
49.1 g carbohydrate
1.1 g fiber
4.4 g protein

When baking yeast breads I am often hesitant to make too many changes as baking really is a chemical equation - which has the potential to fail miserably! The only change I made to the ingredients was to use half wheat flour and half AP flour for a little extra fiber.

When a recipe doesn't allow for huge adjustments, the next thing to evaluate is your serving size. The recipe states that it makes 12 cinnamon rolls, but I rolled mine out so it made 14 cinnamon rolls, thus making each a little less in calories, fat, carbs, etc. You could even make this into 16 or 20 cinnamon rolls, just roll out the rectangle to be a little more oblong and you'll have more room to slice more rolls.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
1-1/2 cup all purpose flour, divided
1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup solid-pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Caramel Frosting
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp skim milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
dash salt
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

In a bowl, combine 1-1/2 cup all purpose flour and yeast; set aside. In a saucepan, heat and stir pumpkin, milk, sugar, 2 Tablespoons butter and salt until warm (120-130 degrees) and butter is almost melted.

Add to flour / yeast mixture along with egg. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Roll into a 14x9 inch rectangle (or longer /narrower if you are increasing the number of servings). Melt remaining butter; brush on dough. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Roll dough, jelly roll style, starting with the longer side. Cut into 14 slices, 1 inch each. Place rolls, cut side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

For frosting, melt butter in a saucepan; stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Stir in vanilla, salt and 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar; beat until well blended. Add more sugar, if necessary, to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over rolls. Yields: 14 rolls.

210.9 calories
5.7 g fat
41.3 g carbohydrate
2.2 g fiber
4.1 g protein