Healthy "Baked" Apple

I hope you all are having a fabulous week. It's a busy one for me... I'm heading out of town this weekend for a Tai Chi training. Tai Chi is very new to me and it's been very interesting to learn about this ancient practice. 

If you're like me, you've been indulging in a lot of treats and delicious food lately. I'm using Easter as an excuse. In times like this, I need healthy snack ideas to help get me back on track. So, to help combat overindulging, I'm sharing a guiltless, yet delicious recipe with you today.

Fruit is probably my favorite food group. I almost always get the recommended serving of fruit each day, but sometimes plain ol' fruit just doesn't seem to be satisfying... especially when I have dessert on my mind. With this easy recipe, a plain apple quickly transforms into a delicious treat- a Healthy "Baked" Apple. 

And the best part? It's totally guilt-free!

Ingredients:

1 apple (I used Golden Delicious for the sweetness)
1 tablespoon raisins
Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Wash and core the apple. Cut the apple into 8 slices. On a microwave-safe plate, cook the apple for 2-3 minutes, or until you have reached your desired tenderness. Sprinkle on the cinnamon and add the raisins. Allow the apple to cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

What's your favorite healthy snack?

Homemade Granola

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I was so excited to take a break from studying to meet up with my friend Nannette on Monday. We met for sushi and had a great time catching up; it had been far too long. It was truly great food and great company.

When I got home, I made a small batch of granola and I wanted to share the recipe with you. I'm not a huge fan of store-bought granola, as I really like to control what goes into my food (especially the sugar content). This granola has no added sugar, it's gluten free, and vegan; everyone can enjoy it! I love to sprinkle this granola over yogurt for a tasty breakfast or as a snack.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or coconut oil)
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup to 1 cup fresh fruit, chopped (I used blueberries)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350* and spray a 9" x 9" pan (or a loaf pan) with non-stick spray. In a food processor, pulse 1 cup oats, raisins, oil, water, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Empty the contents into a mixing bowl and add the remaining oats and fresh fruit. Press the mixture into the pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. If you like a soft and chewy granola, bake for a shorter time and if you like more of a crunchy granola, bake longer :)

Let the granola cool completely and enjoy! Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Skinny Orange Creamsicle Cake

I came across a recipe for Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes on the Six Sisters' Stuff website a while back and I've been thinking about them for a while. I'm not too crazy about the Funfetti type, but I still wanted to make a skinny dessert with the same sort of recipe.

I am crazy about anything creamsicle flavor, so I decided to come up with my own skinny cake creation, the Skinny Orange Creamsicle Cake. I took a box of white cake mix, a can of diet Sunkist, and a tub of fat-free Cool Whip and I had a pretty tasty "diet" cake. I know this may not sound very appealing to everyone, but it wasn't bad at all; it was actually pretty good! In fact, my dad ate some not knowing it was "diet cake" and said he thought it was really tasty! Ha! By leaving out the oil and eggs, and decadent icing, you're cutting a lot of fat, sugar, and calories.

Ingredients:

1 package white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 12-oz. can of diet orange soda (I used diet Sunkist)
1 8-oz. tub of fat-free cool whip

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cake mix and diet soda until well combined. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan and cook according to the directions on the box of the cake mix or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine cooked for about 25 minutes.

Let the cake sit on a wire rack until cool.

Top with fat-free cool whip. I thought the cool-whip tasted great on its own, but you can add a packed of sugar-free orange Jello to the cool whip. However, I want to warn you that I thought this tasted nasty, so I scraped it off. (The artificial sugar-free flavor was too much for me.) It is all a matter of personal preference!


I forgot to snap a picture before it was all gone,
but here's one I found on Google Images,
just so you can get an idea of what it looks like!
 

A can of diet soda and a box of cake mix? Who would have thought it would be so good?! The Six Sisters say that you can do this with any sort of boxed cake mix and recommend that if you use a dark mix (like chocolate, devils food, etc.) that you should use a dark soda (coke zero, diet coke, etc.) and that if you use a light mix (white, yellow, etc.) that you should use a light soda (sprite zero, 7-up, etc.). I've also read that this works really good with brownie mix too!

[No Sugar Added] Banana Sorbet

I love ice cream and I would eat it all day long, every day in the summer months if I could. Since I'm trying to eat better, I searched for a few recipes that made me feel like I was eating the sugary and calorie-laden ice cream that I love, but without any guilt whatsoever. I also had some super ripe bananas on hand that needed to be used.

The search began and I came across many recipes for Banana Sorbet, but they were all loaded with sugar. I decided to create my own recipe and I was pretty happy with how it turned out. It was super easy to make and with an ice cream maker, it required little to no effort. Next time I have really ripe bananas on hand, I might try this recipe again and try adding a tablespoon or so of natural peanut butter.

Ingredients:

3 medium ripe bananas
3/4 cup skim milk
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice

Directions:

In a blender or food processor (I used a Ninja), pulse the ingredients until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Place the mixture into your ice cream maker to freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Enjoy right away or freeze in an airtight container to enjoy later.


A note about my ice cream maker...

Last year, I had been dying for this Cuisinart ice cream maker, but didn't want to shell out $60 for it. The day that I was finally going to go ahead and order it, I found a white one in my local thrift store for only $5! It had all of the parts and was only gently used; what a steal! This ice cream maker comes with a bowl that you freeze ahead of time- I keep mine in the freezer so that I can make ice cream whenever I want. This sorbet froze really well in my ice cream maker and I didn't even have to put it in the freezer to let it firm up; in about 23 minutes, it was perfect. So, if you're looking for an ice cream maker, I would recommend this one completely. It is one of the less expensive models, it doesn't require any salt or ice, and it is so easy to use.

Skinny Apple Crisp for One

It's really hard to not eat dessert when you're trying to stick to a healthy diet. I know this all too well, as I've been eating terribly lately. It's time to get back on track! This apple crisp recipe feels like dessert, but with no sugar whole grains, it's actually pretty healthy. Give it a try the next time you've got a sweet tooth!

These gala apples are so pretty!

Ingredients:

Apple Mixture

1 large apple, chopped (I prefer gala)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Crumble Mixture

1 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, cut into tiny pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds
4 tablespoons quick oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*. In a small mixing bowl, combine the first three ingredients. Pour the mixture into a very small oven-safe baking dish (or a large ramekin) that has been coated with nonstick spray. In the same mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except for the butter pieces). Pour this mixture over the apple mixture. Evenly distribute the butter squares over the top of the crumble mixture. Cook for 35 minutes, or until the dish is slightly crisp.

Optional: I think that the apples taste sweet enough to me, but if you want to sweeten it up without the calories of sugar, add a packet of artificial sweetener to the crumble mixture.