A Few Things...

So if you haven't already noticed, Deliciously Golden is on facebook...look over on the right hand side of this page and click on the "Find us on Facebook" button!

Also, make sure if you subscribe to DG via email (either recently or in the past), make sure you check your email afterwards to confirm...and you may have to check your spam mail. I'm pretty sure the email comes from my address (bburas1@gmail.com). You won't get the updates unless you do this! There are several people on my subscriber list that haven't confirmed, and I can't confirm for you!

I love comments, so if you have any thoughts/ideas/questions, please leave a comment for me to read and respond to!

And by the way, every week CEiMB picks the best photograph from all of the participants. Last week my pic of the chocolate pie won!

Double Chocolate Pudding Pie

In the blogging world there are groups of bloggers that join together and bake/cook the same recipe once a week and then blog about it. Two that I love to follow are primarily baking oriented (Tuesdays With Dorie and Daring Bakers)...every week all of the blogging members bake some incredibly fabulous creation, take mouth-watering pictures, and post them on their blog. And while I am totally tempted to take part (I love to bake), I really don't want a high calorie treat

hanging around my kitchen on a weekly basis!

So when I found a group cooking from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave", a cookbook I have and love, I joined immediately! If you don't already know, Ellie is the FoodNetwork dietitian. She promotes eating REAL food in moderation...my view of eating exactly!

This is my first week participating in CEiMB. I'll be posting a recipe (chosen weekly by a different CEiMB member) every Wednesday. A preview of what's to come:

June 18th - Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham

June 25th - Vegetable Cheese Strata

July 2nd - Breakfast Cookies

This week the recipe, chosen by Handle the Heat, is Double Chocolate Pudding Pie. How ironic is it that the first recipe I have to make is a "treat"??? That's the whole reason I haven't joined the other groups! Oh well! All things in moderation right?

And to reassure you this is a "lighter" version I analyzed Emeril's Chocolate Cream Pie...ready for this? Per serving (Serves 8) - 739 calories, 52 g fat (30 g saturated), 242 mg cholesterol, 64 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 51 g sugar 6 g protein...Ellie you win!

Double Chocolate Pudding Pie -

• Per serving - 306 calories, 17 g fat (9.2 g saturated), 37 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 7 g protein (exchanges: 3 fats, 2 starches)
• Notes - I left off the whipped cream...not so much because I was trying to save calories (it only saves about 25 calories per serving), but more so because I didn't want to buy a pint of cream only to use 1/4 cup; the pudding itself is really good, so if you don't feel like making the crust, just serve the pudding...you save about 85 calories per serving by doing so; I like darker chocolate, but if you are a milk chocolate lover you might want to use it instead of the bittersweet called for; some of the recipe reviews complained that there wasn't enough crust to fill the bottom and sides of the pie plate, so I used an 8 inch dish (instead of making extra crust as some suggested which would increase the calorie count) and poured the extra pudding into ramekins for a crustless version...so my version actually has fewer calories per serving; the consistency of the pudding is very JELL-O like...maybe use a little less gelatin?
  
  
• Tips - When pressing the crust into the pie plate, I used the bottom of a dry measuring cup; I sifted the dry ingredients into the sauce pan before adding the milk to help avoid any lumps; when whisking the milk into the dry pudding ingredients, it will look like the mixture will never come together, but keep whisking...it will!; I had to cook the pudding a little longer than 10 minutes to get it to thicken/boil; don't worry if your gelatin "hardens" (like JELL-O) , it will re-soften when you add it to the hot pudding mixture
• My Thoughts - The pie is good...not great - the texture kind of ruins it for me, but Hil said that's what she likes about it (Danielle, you prob would like it too...jello texture!). Honestly, I would rather have a full-fat, real-deal dessert and not have it as often. I may have to Emeril's a try!!!

Cherry Almond Muffins

When I lived in Houston I saved a recipe from the Houston Chronicle for Treebeard's Fresh Pear Cake. I love pears and I found it interesting that the recipe called for soaking the pears in the oil and sugar for an hour before adding the entire mixture to the dry ingredients. But, unless it's a special occasion, I hardly ever bake cakes...it's too tempting to have a whole cake around the house. I do like to turn cake recipes into cupcakes or muffins (built-in portion control!). This recipe sounded like a perfect candidate for muffins...with a few healthy modifications, of course.

For the first go-round, I reduced the sugar by a quarter, replaced a quarter of the oil with skim milk, and swapped half of the flour for whole wheat pastry flour. They were so good! But not quite "light" enough for an everyday snack or breakfast.

This was last fall when pears were in season. But now that it's spring I had to try cherries! And the organic cherries were on sale today at Whole Foods! Perfect!

This time I reduced the sugar by half and replaced half of the oil with applesauce...killing 2 birds with 1 stone. The applesauce is sweet (filling in for the missing sugar) and moist (filling in for the missing oil). I still used half whole wheat flour (this time I used white whole wheat flour).

I also reduced the nuts from 1 cup to just 1/4 of a cup and sprinkled them on top of the muffins instead of stirring them into the batter. That way you still get the toasty crunch of the nuts, but save calories by using less.

Cherries are a perfect match for almonds, so I used almond extract and sliced almonds (instead of the vanilla extract and walnuts in the pear version).

The result? Delish! So moist and perfectly sweetened; the cherries are juicy and the almonds crunchy. And the best part...they are nutritious enough to enjoy for breakfast on a regular basis. I'm going to freeze some for later this week! And this recipe is endlessly adaptable for different fruit/nut/flavor combinations, so if you don't like cherries feel free to experiment!

Cherry Almond Muffins

adapted from Treebeard's Fresh Pear Cake recipe

Makes 20 - 22 muffins

4 cups cherries, pitted and halved

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon almond extract

3 cups flour (preferably, at least half whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Combing the cherries, sugar, oil, applesauce, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with 20 - 22 paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the eggs to the cherry mixture and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (about 10 stirs...don't over mix!).

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups (a scant 1/4 cup per muffin...I used a small ice cream scoop). Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top, slightly pressing them into the batter.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins for 5 minutes in the tins, and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Freeze some in zip-top bags to reheat for later (and so you don't eat them all at once!).

Per serving - 193 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated), 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 15 g sugar, 4 g protein (exchanges: 2 starches, 1 fat)

Summer Smoothies

(This post has been updated here)

I am on a total smoothie kick!  I can't remember the last time had oatmeal for breakfast...it probably has a lot to do with the weather, but I'm just not craving it right now.

Every morning I start my day off with a 4 mile run around the LSU lakes.  I eat a little fruit beforehand so that I'm not running on an empty stomach.  When I get back home I'm pretty hungry and a cold, creamy smoothie is the only think I can think about.

Sometimes I'll get a smoothie from Smoothie King instead of making one.  I always order it "skinny" which means it is only sweetened with honey and they don't add the turbinado (a type of sugar).  It definitely makes the drink less sweet (which I'm used to), but for a 20 oz smoothie it saves about 50 - 100 calories (depending on which one you order).  And I only get 20 oz smoothies...anything more is WAY to much.

Right now, my favorite smoothie from SK is Mangosteen Madness.

w/ turbinado: 383 cals, 92 g sugar

w/o turbinado: 283 cals, 69 g sugar

Honestly, even without the turbinado, that is too much sugar!  Even if some of it is natural and come from fruit or dairy.  That's why I make my own most of the time (and why I NEVER get a 32 oz or a 40 oz).  

I also don't get the protein powder that is standard in lots of the smoothies.  Most of these powders have artificial sweeteners, which I don't trust/use.  SK couldn't provide me with an ingredient list to confirm this, so I'll just do without it.

Here is a list of smoothies from SK that are "better" choices.  What makes it a better choice?

- no more than 5 g fat

- no more than 400 calories with turbinado and no more than 300 calories without it

- not a "build-up" smoothie...who needs tons of processed protein in their smoothie?

- contains "fruit"...but really it's fruit juice and/or puree (with added sugar I'm sure)

This list is sorted by calories without turbinado from low to high; vwft = varies with fruit/flavor choice; the first number is calories with turbinado and the second is calories without.  If your favorite smoothie isn't on the list click here to figure out which "rule" it broke.

Slim-N-Trim – Vanilla: 253, 153

Youth Fountain: 253, 153

Pineapple Pleasure: 280, 180

Slim-N-Trim – Chocolate: 297, 197

Smarti Tarti (12oz kids): 200, 200

Green Tea Tango (vwfc): 304, 204

Peach Slice: 314, 214

Slim-N-Trim – Orange/Vanilla: 215, 215

Lil’ Angel (12oz kids): 223, 223

Island Treat: 333, 233

Celestial Cherry High: 341, 241

Choc-A-Laka (12oz kids): 252, 252

Angel Food: 354, 254

Yogurt Delight (vwfc): 356, 256

Lemon Twist – Banana: 358, 258

Muscle Punch: 364, 264

Blackberry Dream: 365, 265

Gimmie Grape (12oz kids): 265, 265

Muscle Punch Plus: 366, 266

CW Jr. (12oz kids): 270, 270

Slim-N-Trim – Strawberry: 375, 275

Berry Interesting (12oz kids): 277, 277

Immune Builder: 380, 280

Mangosteen Madness: 383, 283

Mangofest: 285, 285

Raspberry Sunrise: 392, 292

Caribbean Way: 395, 295

Light & Fluffy: 395, 295

Passion Passport: 395, 295

Grape Expectations: 398, 298

Berry Stimulating Mate: 348, 298

But what I really want to encourage you to do is make your own!  Some smoothie tips:  1) use frozen fruit to make the smoothie extra thick and icy (kind of like a milkshake without the ice cream), 2)  add the sugar (or other sweetener) last...you may not need it...but if you do keep it to 1 tbsp or less, and 3) watch the calories...if its a snack, less than 250 calories and if its a meal, less than 400 calories.  I've already written about my favorite banana smoothie, but here are some recipes to inspire you!

Pineapple Coconut Frappe

Strawberry Banana Milkshake

Vanilla Honey-Nut Smoothie*

Fresh Cherry Smoothie

Peach Pie Smoothie

Blueberry Blast Smoothie

Peanut Butter Split Smoothie*

Cantaloupe Yogurt Drink

Fuzzy Navel Smoothie

Banana Peach Buttermilk Smoothie

Raspberry Smoothie (plus other variations)

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie

By the way, some of these have tofu as an ingredient...if that scares you (and it shouldn't) you can leave it out an add yogurt instead.  If the smoothie isn't sweet enough when you taste it, add sugar 1 tsp at a time, but give yourself a limit of 3 tsp (that equals a tbsp).  

* These smoothies are a little higher in fat because of the nuts...watch your serving size!

Pineapple Almond Chicken Salad

I LOVE CHICKEN SALAD!!  I think if I ever went into the restaurant business, there would be about 10 different versions on the menu.  I like chicken salad on sandwiches or simply over lettuce.  I like it with any combination of nuts, fruits, veggies, flavors...the possibilities are endless.  There are 3 people in my life whose chicken salad I love:  

1) My mom's chicken salad was very simple...cubes of chicken, celery, mayo, and toasted almonds...I can remember coming home from school and it being in the fridge.  I loved having it for a snack on those days.

2) My grandmother's (Meme) chicken salad is pretty traditional too.  She uses the same ingredients as my mom did, but hers is less chunky;  she chops/shreds her chicken in the food processor.

3) I first had Jane's chicken salad at a summer swim meet at Tchefuncta Country Club...I can only imagine how much she had to make to feed all of those hungry swimmers.  Her chicken salad has the traditional chicken (cubed) and celery.  I think it also has green onions and toasted almonds?  But the defining ingredient is olive oil.  She replaces the mayo with oil (and maybe lemon), creating more of a vinaigrette type dressing.  So good!

I literally make chicken salad about once a week.  It makes such a yummy and quick lunch or dinner.  I usually bake my chicken (as opposed to boiling) because I think it adds flavor.  Celery is always an ingredient.  And from there the similarities end.  As I've already mentioned, I mix and match ingredients to create endless variations:

veggies:  green onions, red bell pepper, shredded carrot

fruit:  pineapple, grapes, mango, berries, dried apricots, apple

nuts (always toasted): pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashews

herbs: basil, oregano, tarragon, cilantro

other flavors: soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard (grainy, Dijon, honey)

The one thing I had to work on is the amount of added fat found in traditional chicken salad.  As an example, Arby's Pecan Chicken Salad (about 6 ounces, without bread) has 408 calories, 34 g fat (9 saturated), 10 g carbohydrate, and 20 g protein.  That isn't something I would eat on a regular basis.  Way too much fat!

Some recipes replace all of the mayo with plain yogurt, but for me that doesn't taste very good (plus, yogurt is really thin and runny...I want thick and creamy!).  I also don't care for low-fat mayo...I think it tastes too sweet and has lots of additives.  

So what do I do?  I use a mixture of plain non-fat Greek yogurt and regular mayo...sometimes I add a little buttermilk too.  I don't let myself use more than 1/4 cup of mayo (about 2 heaping tbsp); if I need more of the dressing to make the salad creamier I add more yogurt or buttermilk.  I find that this amount of mayo is enough to keep the mayo-flavor present in the chicken salad without letting the yogurt-flavor take over.

Other considerations: 1) not going over-board with the nuts...no more than 1/4  cup for every 2 chicken breasts used and 2) adding more veggies...at a minimum I use 2 stalks of celery for every 2 chicken breasts and then usually try to add red bell pepper or some other vegetable.

This version is inspired by the chicken salad at Jason's Deli.  Theirs has crushed pineapple and toasted almonds, which I think is so good!  I don't think I've ever tried making this version before, but now that I have, it will be a regular!

Pineapple Almond Chicken Salad

created by me

Makes 8 1-cup servings

4 cooked* boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

5 celery stalks, diced (I like to use some of the leaves too)

1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted (toast for about 10 min at 350 degrees...but start checking them at 5 min)

8 - 14 oz can of crushed pineapple (packed in 100% juice), drained

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

juice (and zest) from 1/2 a lemon

2 tbps buttermilk, optional...you could just add more Greek yogurt

salt and pepper

* This is how I cook my chicken:  Preheat oven to 425°F. Pat chicken dry with paper towels (I actually use coffee filters because they don't stick to the chicken) and place on baking sheet/dish.  Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper.  Cook for about 20 minutes until until juices run clear (not pink) when poked with a sharp knife.

Once the chicken is cooled, dice and add to a large mixing bowl.  Add the celery, almonds, and pineapple and stir to combine.  

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice and zest, and buttermilk.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the dressing to the salad ingredients; stir to combine.  Re-season with salt and pepper if needed.  If not creamy enough, add more yogurt and/or buttermilk. 

Per serving (1 cup or 8 oz) - 271 calories, 12 g fat (1 g saturated), 10 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 31g protein (exchanges: 2 1/2 fat, 1/2 vegetable, 1/2 fruit, 4 protein)

Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty & Frosty-cino

I'm sure you have seen the commercial by now (I don't watch much TV and I've seen it several times).  Wendy's has 2 new Frosties on its menu:  Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty & Frotsy-cino.

Boy do these look good...in fact too good!  Let's do a little nutrition research...

The Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty comes in 1 size and has:

540 calories
20 g fat (15 g saturated, 1/2 g trans)
83 g carbohydrate (69 g sugar)
9 g protein

The good news (I'm being sarcastic) is that it provides 30% of the DV for calcium...so there must be some real milk in there somewhere!  FYI 69 g sugar = about 17 tsp or 6 tbsp! (But not all of that sugar is table sugar...some is milk sugar, lactose, which isn't sweet at all).

The Frosty-cino come in 2 sizes, small and large; the large has:

520 calories
12 g fat (8 g saturated, 1/2 g trans)
86 g carbohydrate (72 g sugar)
9 g protein

The small would obviously be slightly better nutritionally (it has 390 calories). 

Now...lets compare this to a 1/4 lb hamburger (with mayo):

430 calories
20 g fat (7 g saturated, 1 g trans)
38 g carbohydrate (9 g sugar)
25 g protein

Hmm. The burger looks like it might be the better option...what do you think?  Personally, I consider all of these sweet coffee drinks special treats...something that you have occasionally! If you must have coffee, drink something with less sugar and fat.  Coffee is NOT an excuse for DESSERT!

Here are some other coffee drinks for comparison:

McDonald's Iced Mocha (medium - 16 oz, with skim milk):

270 calories
8 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
43 g carbohydrate (35 g sugar)
7 g protein

McDonald's Iced Vanilla Latte (medium - 16 oz, with skim milk):

150 calories
0 g fat
33 g carbohydrate (33 g sugar)
5 g protein

Starbuck's Coffee Frappuccino (grande - 16 oz, no whip):

240 calories
3 g fat (2 g saturated)
48 g carbohydrate (40 g sugar)
5 g protein

Starbuck's Caramel Frappuccino (grande - 16 oz, no whip):

270 calories
3.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
53 g carbohydrate (45 g sugar)
5 g protein

Starbuck's Iced Caffe Latte (grande - 16 oz, no whip, skim milk):

90 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
13 g carbohydrate (11 g sugar)
8 g protein

Starbuck's Iced Caffe Latte with flavored syrup (grande - 16 oz, no whip, skim milk):

160 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
31 g carbohydrate (28 g sugar)
7 g protein

FYI...adding whipped cream adds about 110 calories and 11 g fat (7 g saturated) to a grande frapp at Starbucks...don't get it!

Spring Produce

You hear it over and over again..."Eat more fruits and vegetables"...but do you?

Well, the first step towards this goal is to BUY more fruits and vegetables.  If you get them in your kitchen, chances are (hopefully) that you will eat them and not let them go to waste.

Right now in my kitchen I have apples, grapes, cherries (frozen), mango, rhubarb (is that a vegetable???...yep it is, I just Googled it); I also have romaine lettuce, green onions, carrots, eggplant, tomatoes, tomatillos, poblano peppers, and corn (I'm making this recipe this weekend).  So I'm all stocked with healthy things...this way I'm more likely to eat healthy! 

So next time you go grocery shopping, start in the produce section and purchase whatever looks/smells fresh...like spring.  Or head to the farmer's market and buy whatever they have...if it's there you know it's fresh and seasonal.

Here is a list of what's in season now (March/April/May).  Look around the site; it's the government's "eat more fruits and veggies website"...there are recipes, tips on shopping and meal planning, activities for kids, and other interesting things.

And lastly here are 2 other links with recipes to inspire you.  The first is an article from the NY Times by Mark Bittman...he is a cookbook author and has a website with some free recipes...be careful, all of them are are not necessarily low-cal.  

Anyway, the article is "Summer Express: 101 Simple meals ready in 10 minutes or less".  They aren't really recipes, just ways to put a few ingredients together to make a quick meal.  Again not all of them are low-cal. 

And the other is from realsimple.com, 43 easy spring produce recipes.

So let's pretend you have all this produce in your kitchen...now what?  Here is a guide to cooking 20 different veggies.  And remember, the less you cook them (less time, heat, and water), the more nutrients are retained (with the exception of tomatoes, which are even better for you when cooked)...this means you Mel and your olive green broccoli!

Raspberry Mango Salad - 

• Per serving - 98 calories, 8 g fat (3 g saturated), 12 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein (exchanges: ½ fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 ½ fat, ½ protein)
• Notes - You could substitute any type of lettuce in place of the arugula, Bibb, and watercress; If you serve this as a meal you will want to eat more than 1 cup: add some lean protein and double up on the veggies...maybe add red bell pepper, green onions, and more lettuce...you might need to make/use a little more dressing too; here is another similar salad that has avocado...yum!

Asparagus Frittata - 

• Per serving - 168 calories, 11 g fat (5 g saturated), 5 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, `12 g protein (exchanges: 1 vegetable, 2 fat, 1 ½ protein)
  
• Notes - Complete the meal and serve with fruit for breakfast or with a simple salad for dinner; to lighten the dish even more, you could use more egg whites and omit a couple of yolks and use reduced fat cheese (and possibly less of it)
  

Blackberry Smoothie - 

• Per serving - 265 calories, 1 g fat (0 g saturated), 63 g carbohydrates, 9 g fiber, 6 g protein (exchanges: 2 fruit, 1 starch...unless you omit the honey, ½ milk)
• Notes - You can use any fresh or frozen berry in this shake or swap the juice for another type; I would add the honey last and taste before to see if it's necessary...it might already be sweet enough from the banana, berries, and juice; I like my smoothies thick so I add ice…and this way you get to drink more for the same amount of calories!

Carrot-Wheat Berry Salad with Cumin and Raisins - 

• Per serving - 145 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated), 27 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 3 g protein (exchanges: 1 starch, ½ fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 fat)
• Notes - I would double the dressing and save half...then for a quick lunch you could have a mixed green salad (with the extra dressing) and a serving of wheat berries
  

Shrimp Scampi with Artichokes - 

• Per serving - 285 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated), 14 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 32 g protein (exchanges: 5 protein, 1 vegetable, 2 fat)
• Notes - Complete the meal and serve with whole wheat angel hair pasta and steamed asparagus

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables - 

• Per serving -  410 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated), 15 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 56 g protein (exchanges: 7 protein, 2 vegetable, 2 ½ fat)
• Notes - This is a lot of chicken for 1 meal (8+ ounces)…save some calories (about 140) and have ½ of a chicken breast, or try and buy smaller ones

Lagniappe...

Here is an article with 3 more spring vegetable recipes...Chicken with Artichokes and Peas, Salmon and Roasted Veggies, and Spring Vegetable Pesto Pasta.