Dark Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

  While it's been quite some time since my last post, I hope to update this more frequently this summer as I try out new recipes. I'm also planning to try to make more from scratch and not rely so much on processed, pre-packaged foods. So, we will see where this culinary journey takes me!
This recipe was inspired by my cousin who is an outstanding baker! I made a few changes to her recipe to add some more nutrients and reduce the sugar.

Dark Chocolate Banana Cupcakes 

Ingredients

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c xylitol (or sugar, if you don't have it)

5 T unsalted butter

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 medium, ripe bananas - mashed

1/4 c spelt flour

3/4 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

2/3 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add vanilla and bananas and mix.  Combine dry ingredients; add dry ingredients alternately with milk until combined. Pour into 12 cupcake papers. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Nutrition Info (based on 11 servings - yes, I only got 11 out of this)

Calories: 135
Carbs: 12g

Fiber: 1.8 g

Sugar: 6.5 g

Protein: 1.8 g

Peanut Butter Icing

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1/8 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 t vanilla

2 1/2 - 3 c powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients until smooth. Let's not even go there with the nutrition facts on the icing...

All things in moderation - stay healthy!

 

Lighter Pumpkin Pie

Summer ran away from me with many days spent in the sun and on the sand.  All the festivities of leisure summer days didn't leave much time for baking, though I did miss it. While things are still busy, the colder weather inevitably brings more time spent indoors and more opportunity to bake. So, finally, after a long hiatus, here's a new recipe. And nothing says fall like pumpkin!  Now you can enjoy a piece of pumpkin pie with a lot less guilt.

Most of the sugar calories come from the pre-made graham cracker crust. I'd had this one and wanted to use it, but normally I would have made my own crust with much less sugar. 

Lighter Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

1.5 cups of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/4 cup (scant) organic raw turbinado sugar

1/4 cup (scant) light brown sugar, unpacked

2 T unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1/4 c liquid egg substitute

1 t vanilla extract

3/4 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/8 t cloves

1 pre-made reduced fat graham cracker crust

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350.  Using an electric mixer, combine butter and pumpkin.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.  Pour into crust.  Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutrition Facts (based on 8 servings)

Calories:  192

Carbs: 27g

Fiber: 2.9g

Protein: 3.5g 

Stay healthy!

The 2nd Annual Great Pumpkin Swap Reveal!

 

A few weeks ago, I was checking out a friend's blog where she talked about doing a "blog swap". I'd never heard of this before, but it sounded like fun, so I thought I would give it a shot. This is the first time I've participated in a blog swap, and it WAS a lot of fun! Many thanks to Becky for organizing! 

I was partnered up with Kate who I got to know a little better by reading her blog.  I'm not sure how she keeps up with her busy life, but she sent me a great fall package! Here is what she sent:

 

The picture quality is not that great (sorry!!) - I couldn't find a place that had enough light but not too much light (but I won't complain about the sunshine!). She sent cute little pumpkin salt and pepper shakers, an apple scented candle, a set of note cards with a bee embossed on them, a magnetic notepad and pen, a set of mini fall cookie cutters, a bag of candy corn (my fav!) and a Ghirardelli dark & caramel bar, which brings back so many great memories of my trip to San Francisco a few years ago. 

Thank you, Kate! I enjoyed doing this and hope to participate again in the future! 

Whole Grain Raisin Bread

What could be better than homemade bread, especially on a cold day? The smell alone conjures good memories and warm feelings. After making this recipe several times, I think I've finally tweaked the ingredients and amounts to produce the perfect loaf of bread. Most people tend to prefer white raisin bread, so this is a healthier twist on familiar comfort food. I've used some specialty flours that you may not have on hand, so I'm providing substitution options just in case. The time involved in this recipe is well worth the final product!


Ingredients
1 1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup oats
1/2 T yeast
1 T honey
3/4 cup warm water
1 egg
1/3 cup dry milk 
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/6 cup tapioca flour (or wheat)
1/2 cup spelt flour (or wheat or white)
1 1/2 cup white flour
2 T wheat germ (may omit)

Directions
1. Put raisins in a small sauce pan, cover with water, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir every now and then (this helps plump up the raisins). When draining raisins, reserve 1/4 cup of the water and add to the oats.
2.  Add the yeast and honey to the warm water and let sit for at least 5 minutes.
3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg, dry milk, salt, cinnamon, wheat germ,yeast mixture, and wheat, tapioca, and spelt flours. Using the paddle attachment, mix for about 3 minutes.
4.  Add about half of the raisins and mix until just combined. Add white flour in increments while mixer is running. (You may need a little more or less than what I did depending on the humidity - the dough should be firm but sticky.)
5.  Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook. Add the remainder of the raisins. Using the dough hook, "knead" the bread for about 6 minutes.
6.  Spray a bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and turn to cover dough in spray. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.
7.  Punch dough down and place into a 9 x 5 loaf pan (I use glass) sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover and let rise another 40 minutes.
8.  Bake bread at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

This bread tastes great fresh or will keep well for months in the freezer!

Nutrition (for 1 slice, based on 20 slices per loaf)
Calories: 116
Total Fat:  .7g
Carbs:  25g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 6.5g
Protein: 3.2g

 Eat healthy and homemade!

Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tis the season for baking and Christmas goodie overload! But, with this recipe, you can indulge a little and not feel quite as guilty.  I cut out a lot of the sugar in this recipe though there is still quite a bit. Some people say you can substitute half the butter called for in a recipe with applesauce. I've tried it a few times - sometimes with success, sometimes not. I wanted to make sure these cookies were good, so I opted to leave the butter in them.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose, unbleached flour

1/4 c self-rising flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/2 c unsalted butter

3/4 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c white sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1 fresh egg white

1/8 c (2 T) liquid egg substitute 

1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

  Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add vanilla, milk, and egg whites/substitute to the butter and sugar; mix.  Add dry ingredients to wet slowly. (This dough is a bit thick.) Stir in chocolate chips.  Bake for 8-10 minutes on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Nutrition Facts  (for 1 cookie, based on yield of 43 cookies):

Calories: 78

Fat: 3g

Carbs: 13.7g

Sugar: 9g

Protein: .9g

Stay healthy!

BMI vs. LBM

Most people have heard the term "BMI" which stands for Body Mass Index.  It's a way of measuring your weight in relation to your height the idea being that people who are taller can hold more body weight in a healthy way than those who are shorter.  You can calculate your BMI using a free tool from the Mayo Clinic.  A BMI in the range of 18.5 - 24.9 is considered normal; however, the calculation is inherently flawed.  Why? Well, it doesn't take into account the amount (or lack) of lean muscle or bone mass a person carries. People who are more muscular weigh more, which unfairly increases their BMI.  People who are older have less bone density, which can inaccurately decrease their BMI.  This measure self-admittedly over-estimates body fat for people who are more muscular and under-estimates body fat for older people or those with less muscle mass.  The good part about this measure is you don't need any specialized equipment to calculate your BMI.

Lean Body Mass (LBM)

 

A  better measure of health is the amount of lean body mass you have.  Determining this will help you figure out how much weight (if any) you need to lose to achieve your desired amount of body fat.   Lean body mass is composed of your organs, blood, bones, muscle, and skin - the rest is fat! 

The first step in determining your lean body mass is to have your body fat calculated.  The most accurate way to do this is through water displacement though most people do not have this available to them; it is also costly and unnecessary for most people.

  

The two most common and accessible ways for people to have their body fat measured is through skin calipers or through bioelectrical impedance.  Most gyms have these tools.  With skin calipers, a trained professional will pinch you at several different places including your bicep, tricep, back, and hip.  Taken together, these results can provide an estimate of body fat percentage.  Bioelectrical impedance tools send a painless electric current through your body and measure how fast it travels.  The more lean body mass a person has the longer it takes for the current to travel through the body.  This can overestimate body fat percentage if a person is overly hydrated as in when preparing for a long distance race.The last time I had my body fat checked with this type of tool, I had it done by 2 different people on 2 different days and the result was the same - 20%. So, in my experience, they are at least reliable.

This chart from the American Council on Exercise shows recommended percentages:

 

This chart couple with your lean body mass can help you decide if you should/need to lose weight.  Calculate your lean body mass: weight - (weight x body fat).  For example, a 150 pound woman with 25% body fat has a lean body mass of 113.5 pounds. 150 - (150 x 25%) = 113.5  In other words, this woman has 37.5 pounds of body fat.  Since women need 13% essential fat, this woman would want to lose no more than 12% of her weight or 18 pounds and even that is extreme.  A more realistic and healthy goal would be to reduce the amount of body fat into the "fitness" range by dropping 1-2% body weight or about 2-3 pounds.  So, really, this woman doesn't really need to lose weight. Pushing yourself into an unhealthy fat percentage range is only going to cause your body undue distress - do your best to maintain 21 - 28% and you'll be fine :-)

Stay fit!

A week in the training life...

I love talking to people about running, training, and working out in general. Some of those conversations over the past few weeks have prompted me to write about what I do when I train.  This plan isn't going to work for everyone, but since people have asked what I do, here goes!  I settled on this plan with a little bit of advice from a lot of places, personal preferences, and prior experience. It must be working as my pace has improved weekly for all types of runs I do.

Weight Training

Weight training is an extremely important part of any fitness program including when training for races or other athletic events.  No matter what kind of cardio activity you do, it creates some type of muscle imbalance that strength training can improve.  I prefer to split a weight training workout into 2 days working different muscle groups each day (back/ biceps/lower body & chest/shoulders/triceps) while doing abs every day.  I alternate this program daily and switch it entirely after 6-8 weeks.  Doing the same thing over and over will only work for so long - keep your muscles guessing by changing your routine or increasing intensity. 

Contrary to what people think, even when training for a race, you should still do leg exercises. Even though running is a full-body exercise, your leg muscles still become imbalanced depending on the surfaces you run on and the way your feet strike the ground.  Doing single leg exercises is best to help combat this problem (i.e. lunges, single leg squats, step-ups, etc.). 

Cross Training
Though running makes up the bulk of my cardio, it's important to give my muscles a break from that repetitive motion and challenge them in different ways. Cross training for me consists of stair climbing, elliptical, stationary bike, and the occasional aerobics class. 

Running

Since I'm not new to running, I typically run 5 days per week.  This might be too much for a new runner; it also might not be possible during extreme weather.  Fall seems to be a good time for lots of outdoor runs - the treadmill can't even compare.  If you have to run on a treadmill (only do it as a last resort!), set the incline to at least 1% to simulate running outside.  Remember that when you run on a treadmill, you don't move anywhere - the belt does the moving for you.  It's much easier (and a lot more boring) to run on a treadmill.

A week in my training life...

Sunday: 5 mile hill run, weight training

Monday: 7-8 mile hill run, 20-30 min cross training, weights

Tuesday: 5-6 mile flat run, 30-35 min cross, weights

Wednesday: 9 x 400 sprint intervals, 45 min cross, weights   

Thursday: 75 min cross, weights

Friday: 10-14 mile run, sometimes weights

Saturday: REST

No matter how much time you have, any type of physical activity is going to benefit you in the long run.  If you don't have time to run for 45 minutes, run for 25 and run hard!

Stay fit and healthy!