Triple Berry Coffeecake

My father in law brought us a bunch of various berries recently. We had blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. After eating most of them except the raspberries, I wanted to use them up before they got too soft. So I found a recipe from Cooking Light for a Raspberry Almond Coffeecake.

I did make some variations. I added in some blackberries and blueberries so it became Triple Berry! I also used white wheat flour in place of all purpose, vanilla unsweetened almond breeze instead of milk, and applesauce in place of the butter. I also left out the almonds, but only becuase I did not have them!

The coffeecake was good despite the changes. And even though it started out low in calories and fat, the changes reduced them even further.




Raspberry Almond Coffeecake

Yield
8 servings

Ingredients
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons stick margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon skim milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine raspberries and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl. Combine yogurt, margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and egg in a small bowl; stir well. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon two-thirds of batter into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray; spread evenly. Top with raspberry mixture. Spoon remaining batter over raspberry mixture; top with almonds.

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Combine powdered sugar, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla; stir well. Drizzle over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Nutritional Information
Calories:176 (23% from fat)
Fat:4.5g (sat 1g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.2g)
Protein:3.5g
Carbohydrate:30.4g
Fiber:1.7g
Cholesterol:28mg
Iron:1.1mg
Sodium:131mg
Calcium:59mg

Cooking Light, APRIL 1997

Bethany's Great Baking

After not feeling well last week, I got back to some cooking and baking this weekend. In addition to cooking, another past time of mine is television. I love tv. I love reality tv, sitcoms, dramas, competition shows, cooking shows, news, entertainment news...well you get the idea. The Real Housewives of New York started up recently (not a moment too soon because Vicky on the OC version was driving me insane!) but I love Bethenny. Bethenny Frankel is a natural food chef as well as having great timing with witty and sarcastic comments on the show. I bought her book, Naturally Thin and she has some great recipes in there!

For breakfast Sunday morning, I made her Joyful Heart Muffins which she made for Mariska Hargitay, co founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation. They were fabulous. They are low in fat, wheat free and dairy free and my family loved them. My daughter commented that it was like having dessert for breakfast!



Joyful Heart Muffins

YieldMakes 8 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup oat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup semisweet dairy- and gluten-free chocolate chips (such as Sunspire)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place 8 paper liners in muffin tin; coat with cooking spray.

2. Combine applesauce and next 4 ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the next 6 ingredients. Add oat mixture to applesauce mixture; stir until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 20–22 minutes, rotating the pan a half-turn after 10 minutes. Muffins are done when tops are firm to the touch.

4. Cool slightly. Top with powdered sugar, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories:154
Fat:5g (sat 2g,mono 1g,poly 0.0g)
Cholesterol:0.0mg
Protein:2g
Carbohydrate:30g
Fiber:3g
Iron:2mg
Sodium:331mg
Calcium:86mg

Bethenny Frankel, Health, MARCH 2008

After noticing a brownish banana among the new fresh ones, I also decided to make Bethany's Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were also fantastic. The consistency was more like banana bread, but they satisfied my cookie craving with a healthy alternative. My husband loved them. For both recipes, I substituted wheat flour because I did not have oat flour.



Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield
Makes 16 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 ripe banana, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or other favorite nut
1/3 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips (such as Tropical Source)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 6 ingredients (through sugar) in a bowl. Whisk together oil, soy milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients; stir to combine. Fold in banana, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough onto pan with a small ice-cream scoop. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown, turning baking sheet halfway through. Let cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information
Calories:138
Fat:8g (sat 1g,mono 4g,poly 2g)
Cholesterol:0.0mg
Protein:2g
Carbohydrate:16g
Fiber:1g
Iron:1mg
Sodium:114mg
Calcium:16mg

Health, NOVEMBER 2008

Happy Saint Patrick's Day - One Year Later!

Well, I actually realized that although I took a brief hiatus, I have been posting to this blog for over a year! I only noticed it because I made corned beef this past weekend and I remembered my post about it a year ago. Crazy how time flies.

Anyhoo, this year I made the corned beef, but we skipped the boiled dinner and went straight to the Reuben. Now, this definitely deviates from the Irish because the Reuben was created here in the US. There are two different stories, but neither of the possible creators was Irish. Oh well, the stomach knows what it wants and it wanted the combination of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing (low fat of course)!

No crazy rules or recipes here. I followed the instructions on the package of corned beef and even bought one with the little flavor packet included so super easy. I layered the ingredients and toasted on both sides. Yum. Sorry about the picture, I knew it would not last long if I tried to wait until after I plated it!

Lo Mein and Potstickers

I love making things like Lo Mein because they are so easy and you really don't need a recipe or exact ingredients. I also had picked up some chicken and vegetable postickers at Trader Joe's and served those with a soy sauce, garlic and scallion dipping sauce. Here is a rough idea of what I put into my Lo Mein.

Lo Mein

* Chinese noodles
* various vegetables
* chopped onions
* minced garlic
* bean sprouts
* 2-3 T Hoisin sauce
* 2-3 T soy sauce
* 2 T Rice vinegar
* 1 T seseame oil
* 1 T sesame seeds

Saute the onions and garlic in the sesame oil.
Add in the vegetables and bean srouts.
Cook the noodles according the package instructions.
Add cooked noodles to the pan.
Add in the liquid ingredients and stir to incorporate.