HealthiFood: winter

Friday, December 30, 2011

Candy Cane Cookies

The other day I was doing a search on Tasty Kitchen for recipes to help me use up my extra candy canes from the holidays and came up with this lovely cookie recipe, originally called Candy Cane Crinkles, that is my new holiday addiction. I just might have to stock candy canes in my cupboard year-round so I can make these whenever I want. Compared to the original recipe, my alterations save you 14 calories and 1 g fat and add 1 g of fiber per cookie. And, trust me, you are not going to eat just one!

Candy Cane Cookies

Cream together:
5 T margarine (or butter)
3 T ground flax seed meal
1 c white sugar

Add:
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 T nonfat milk

In a separate bowl, sift together:
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and combine until just mixed. Then add:
1/4 c crushed peppermint candy (about 4 regular-sized candy canes)

Roll dough into balls and lightly coat in:
powdered sugar (I use about 1/4 c for the whole recipe)

Place coated balls of dough on a well-greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until just barely done (Do not over bake! I bake these on the top rack of my oven to prevent over baking). Leave on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and then move cookies to cooling rack (you want them to be movable but still quite warm so they don't stick to the pan). Makes 2 dozen.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

HealthiFood Hot Cocoa Bar

There's still snow on the ground where I live--April or not!

The HealthiFood hot cocoa tip is to add 2 T yam puree to 1 cup of hot cocoa (use your favorite mix or method). One trick I like to do is to buy two kinds of a really nice brand of hot chocolate: regular and fat-free. Then I mix the two for a reduced-fat hot chocolate--the best of both worlds! Using the Hot Cocoa Bar additions means you can buy your basic mix in bulk and still offer your family a variety of flavors.

You don't believe me about the yam puree, but trust me. Once you try it there's no going back! I was inspired to add the puree by Jessica Seinfeld, and 2 T per 1 cup is just how I like it. You won't believe how you can't taste the yam; it just makes your hot chocolate richer. 2 T also adds almost a gram of fiber.

At our house we like to have hot chocolate just the way we feel like it, which is where we came up with the Hot Cocoa Bar. Here are our favorite additions and variations. Keep in mind that all start with added yam puree!

Mexican Hot Chocolate: Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon

White Chocolate: Add 1 T white chocolate chips

Rich Chocolate: Add 1 T milk chocolate chips

Creamy Chocolate: Add 1 T non-dairy coffee creamer

Mint Chocolate: Add part of a candy cane or round mint hard candy. You could use any kind of hard candy for another flavor like cinnamon or butterscotch.

Vanilla Chocolate: Add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Other ideas? Please add your favorite variation in a comment!

The HealthiFood Program: One to Four

1. Lower Fat
Most recipes can be adapted to cut the fat in half through substitution (of things like ground flax seed meal, applesauce, etc.) or elimination. Another easy way to lower fat is to cook with lower fat options, like low or nonfat milk products. Usually you can't tell the difference when it's cooked in, and you can save A LOT of calories and fat grams.

2. Better Fat Choices
We all know that nonfat isn't usually that good. Instead of eliminating all the fat and richness from recipes, the HealthiFood Program aims to replaces bad fats with better fats. HealthiFood uses olive oil, canola oil, ground flax seed meal, and naturally-occurring fats as much as possible to reduce hydrogenated and saturated fat content as much as possible.

3. High Fiber and Protein
Fiber is essential to good health, especially in the long run. The HealthiFood Program increases whole grains and fiber content by using whole wheat flour, oat flour, yellow corn meal, and ground flax seed meal. These substitutions also add protein.

4. More Vegetables
Using vegetable puree addition techniques of the Sneaky Chef and Jessica Seinfeld, the HealthiFood Program enriches recipes with vitamins and more fiber while lowering the calorie content per serving.

No Gimmicks

Sometimes the Nutrition Facts I provide may surprise you. This is because I usually post how much of a dish I actually eat. If you wanted tone-downed, unrealistic serving sizes to make all recipes look diet, this isn't the place. However, usually the serving size given will be for your whole meal, such as 1/9th of a 9x9 lasagna or 1/4th of a round of Rosemary bread. If you aren't in a habit of understanding serving sizes, start here and now, and definitely apply it to the packaged foods you eat.