Recipe: Low-Fat, Low Cal Creamy Alfredo-ey Sauce. Yes it can be done.

Fettuccine Alfredo is my favorite thing ever. I allow myself to partake in the fullfat version of its luxurious sauce at a restaurant on a quarterly basis but in between when I need my fix, I have my own sauce and it is really really good. So good that I can actually push the "quarterly" fullfat version out a little. Sometimes.

It started out as just a white sauce, in fact it really is just a plain basic white sauce. But one day I added some parmesan cheese to it and made an alfredo. And one day I added low-fat cheddar to it and made cheddar sauce. It's a great sauce to play with! And a great sauce for alfredo too.

So here's my recipe for:

Low-Fat-ish, Low Cal-ish Alfredo Sauce

The ingredients:
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 cup skim milk
4-6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (depending on your taste).
Directions:
Melt butter in sauce pan on medium.. Slowly add flour and whisk with wire whisk until creamy. Slowly add milk while stirring. Keep stirring and stirring and stirring until it starts to boil and thicken. Do not take your eyes off cream sauce, it clumps and burns quickly. Keep stirring! When it thickens, add salt & pepper and keep stirring. Then add parmesan cheese (or any other cheese) while stirring. (You can easily double the ingredients to make a little more sauce, I usually do.)

For some reason, I think of the day I successfully made my first white sauce as a turning point in my marriage and as a cook. I say "successfully" because up until that point, I had burned it so many times and couldn't get the hang of it. The same with gravy.

Until one day.

Now I have skillz and I'm pretty proud of my sauces.

And ever since then, actually, I could cook pretty well. Except I ruined green Jell-O the other day and it still baffles me how I did that.

Anyway, you can add chicken to the sauce and pour it over your favorite fettuccine noodles (I love the spinach ones and also I'm having a love affair don't tell my husband  with the new Garden Delights pastas out there now.) You can also pour it over vegetables. You don't need to use too much, just enough to get your fix. It's not calorie-fat-free, but it's a LOT better than the full-fat version.

Enjoy!

RECIPE! Sausage & Cheese Frittata & Mini Crustless Quiches

This week I wrote about ways to go food shopping on the cheap over at 5 Minutes for Mom and I included some of my favorite recipes that I realized I haven't even published here!

I mean, isn't that crazy?!

I'm all about the make-ahead breakfasts because first of all, I'm all about breakfasts in general, but these are so good you can make them in advance, pop em in the microwave and eat them for a few days. They're the best. I give you, the Sausage and Cheese Frittata and the mini-crustless quiche (or mini-frittatas, whatever you want to call them).

The Low-Fat Version of the Sausage and Cheese Frittata

Ingredients:

2.5 cups of egg substitute (Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
butter spray
1 (12 oz) pkg reduced fat ground pork sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
Whisk together first 4 ingredients until well-blended. Spray oven-proof skillet with butter spray. Pour half of egg mixture into skillet. Sprinkle evenly with cooked sausage and cheese. Top with remaining egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until set. Serves 6-8! Calories: 140, Fat: or 6 Weight Watchers Points.

Mini Frittatas (or Crustless Quiches):

Ingredients:
All of the above minus the sausage (or keep the sausage, whatever you want!)
Broccoli or spinach, whatever veggie you want actually!
Maybe even parmesan cheese too or ham or onions!
So basically it is the egg mixture from above with anything you want to put in it.

Directions:
Spray a muffin or mini-muffin pan, pour egg mixture into the cups, bake on 350 for 10 minutes or until firm. And then you have little individual guys that you can stick in a baggie and bring to work, like I used to. When I worked. I miss work. I’m going off tangent.

So there you have them! MY FAVORITES!

Post-Workout Recipe

I have a wonderful personal trainer right now (quicktip: I can't afford her on my own, but a few of us friends got together and she agreed to let us share the fee and *now* we can afford it, that's an option if you have a friend and I think totally well worth the money to have guidance!)

She not only busts our rumps Jillian-style, but she gives us great nutrition advice. Here is one recipe that she makes a week ahead and chomps on all week post-workout, it is her favorite and now it is is mine and I just had to pass it along.

It's so easy this will be the shortest post ever.
Post-Workout Meal:

-1 box brown rice
-1 big can black beans
-Salsa
-Chopped veggies (I use spinach or broccoli because I am obsessed with them now).

Make. Mix. Done. The end.

Try it, you'll love it. Put it in the fridge and grab it after a workout, it has protein to repair the muscle tissue and carbs to replace lost glycogen stores. And don't forget to hydrate!

Fall Favorites: Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie the Best EVER

It's finally getting cool out here and the humidity is finally dropping. Hooray!

I've been waiting allllll summer for this. I am very likely jumping the gun on the long sleeves but I'm wearing them because I can, not because it's cold out or anything, just because it's simply not hot.

Anyway, this weekend, I'm just feeding my blog with my love for all things pumpkin again and this is a must-try for everyone in the world and it's so easy and yummy!  My best friend gave me this recipe last year after finding it on National Geographic Kids here. We just made a couple changes.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

dash nutmeg

dash cloves

12 miniature graham cracker shell pie crusts

whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

Allow ice cream to soften in fridge or on counter for about 20 minutes. Mix pumpkin, sugar and spices in a bowl. Add softened ice cream and stir. Spoon ice cream into each little pie crust, each one takes about 1 1/2 large spoonfuls. Put finished pies on a cookie sheet and put in freezer. Allow about 3-4 hours for ice cream to freeze. Serve with dollop of whipped cream.

My kids LOVED this and I served it at a Halloween party last year and it's making another appearance this year too but don't tell anyone. The ice cream tastes AMAZING! This is the awesomest and all the little pie shells mean everyone gets their own and it's so cute. Nope, no calorie count or anything on this one, this is just one of those fall yummies.

Enjoy!

I LOVE fall and pumpkin recipes, so if you have any, link em up or email me so I can try it! Happy Fall!!

Capes in the Kitchen: PUMPKIN CHIP MUFFINS! Yummy. And sort of healthy too!

I may or may not have mentioned how much I love FALL so much in all of its cool weather pumpkin glory.

Oh I have?

Yes, I've already made pumpkin muffins and had my pumpkin spice lattes and even though here in Florida it still doesn't quite feel like fall (as I type away in my mom uniform of a black tank top and shorts), it is still very much fall on the calendar and ya know what? I'm going with that.

So the day after the first day of fall, the kids and I got together to make some Low-Fat Pumpkin Chip Muffins.

Which are so delicious that I just had to share. I found this recipe on Food.com.

The ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil (or substitute applesauce for this too)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces semisweet mini chocolate chips (I used regular sized ones.)

Directions:
Mix first 5 ingredients together. Separately, mix the dry ingredients. Blend the two mixtures together, fold in the chips. Fill the muffin cups, this recipe made 30 muffins for me! Bake at 400 degrees, 16-20 minutes or until knife comes out clean. I happen to have a silicone muffin pan shaped like pumpkins and leaves and this is my favorite pan ever.

They're so good! Make them!
 

I replaced the oil with more applesauce so the calories and fat have changed a little and makes the calorie and fat count what you see here instead of what it says in the recipe. So they're about 160 calories per muffin, but only 3 1/2 grams of fat! Pretty great.

Cheers!

The Acai Berry: Poor Tiny Helpless Berry (A GIVEAWAY POST)

Photo courtesy of: www.acaiberryfruits.net

I've often wondered about the Acai berry.

I've completely written it off because of the amount of spam I get regarding it.

That poor berry doesn't even have a chance with me because of all those obnoxious spam junkies trying to make money off it! The word "spam" and "scam" seem almost interchangeable when referring to this poor tiny little berry.

It really has no defense. I bet if it had a voice it would be pretty pissed that all those spammers and scammers have really tarnished its poor little berry name. I mean, I would be!

So right here, right now, I want to give this little berry a voice.

Starting with the pronunciation of its little berry name.

Acai is pronounced, "UH-sigh-ee". Not "Uh-KYE". Or "Uh-KAY." Or "Uh-SAY" all of which I'd say in rapid succession before I knew the actual pronunciation which is about 5 minutes ago.

The acai berry is a cute little berry, it is purple and it comes from the acai palm tree in Central and South America.

According to WebMD, the acai berry has great benefits of antioxidants, which help defend the body by neutralizing harmful free radicals (toxins produced by the body) and by helping to interfere with the aging process and diseases. However, according to WebMD, the studies have not yet proven how much better for you the acai berry is over other great antioxidant-carrying berries like the cranberry, blackberry, or blueberry (sorry, acai berry!)

There are claims that it helps to boost metabolism, but there is also not a whole lot out there to back up the weight-loss effects of the acai berry. However, everyone agrees that it is high in antioxidants and antioxidants are always good!! And it really does taste good! Unfortunately, you can't find the actual berry here in the United States, but you can find it in drinks and all sorts of other stuff.

So now you know, if you didn't before. The acai berry is a cute little berry with antioxidants and these are healthy. The jury is still out on weight-loss and all of that.

What does all this have to do with you?

Well I'll tell you.

I am always up for a good berry and some antioxidants so I was down in the dumps a few weeks ago with a cold in the summer and between feeling "woe is me" for having a cold in the summer and going shopping to find something to make me feel better, I was blinded by a label that had the word, "Elixir" on it because first of all, I love that word, but second of all I wanted to try what "Acai" tasted like and so I bought this drink by Sambazon. The Acai Blackberry Elixir.

It was a little pricey for an individual drink but most of the good-for-you berry drinks like "POM" are around the same price, in the $2-$3 range.

But it was delicious. It was not even the least bit thick, it was light, sweet and refreshing and delicious and only 70 calories. I felt great the next day but I'm not going to give the drink the whole credit, but I am sure that the vitamins definitely helped out, along with my massive amount of hydrating and taken all the medicines my doctor had ordered.  But I am pretty sure it helped!

Some of the other benefits of the drink include:

• 600% Daily Value Vitamin C
• Organic
• Blend of organic açaí, acerola, blackberry and botanical extracts
• Low in sugar

In sum, I really, really loved it. If there were ever a drink that deserved the sophisticated wonderfulness of the word, "elixir" this drink would be it.  Yum.

Above all, the drink had sparked my already inquisitive mind about the acai berry and I am glad that I got a chance to satisfy it by showcasing this little berry and his cuteness.

Sambazon, as it turns out, is a cool little company, too. It was founded in 2000 by a couple of guys who were celebrating the Millenium in Brazil and decided they wanted to bring the acai berry to the states. They've not only succeeded, but they continue to work to help preserve the Amazon and they get involved in the community throught their own programs like "Warrior Up," a campaign to recognize people who work to make the world a better place and to inspire others. They like people who do the right thing, and I like that kind of a company. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know there are companies out there doing some good and making a difference.

Well I spoke to Sambazon and they want to share the love too to you! So they're offering up a little giftpack for one of you! And you get a few chances to win!

All you have to do is:

• Leave me a comment about whether or not you've tried acai before.
• Fan my facebook page right there on my sidebar.
• Go WARRIOR UP! On Facebook. Like Me. (See below!) It's really pretty funny. (Like my headdress? You can get pretty creative with it.)

• Finally, tweet, facebook or blog about this giveaway and leave a comment telling me so!

Yes, four chances to win! Please leave a comment for each entry. Contest ends at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, October 8th. Winner will be announced Saturday the 9th!

 ***

Disclosure: The opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone. I was not compensated for this review, I just really like the stuff. All on my own.

Yummy Recipe From Eat! Move! Play! - Chicken Sausage Paella

Before you read about this awesome recipe, did you read about my Bondi Band giveaway yet? It's for a good cause and you must go to there. And then come back!

One of my favorite recipes ever, I found in a book by Weight Watchers called "Eat! Move! Play!"

It's actually technically less about recipes and more about healthy living, but the recipes are really to die for! There are great toddler recipes and great quickie recipes for me and all of them are healthy! So when I got this book, I sat down and started to dog-ear all the recipes I wanted to cook but by the time I was finished, I had dog-eared most of the pages! I LOVED ALL OF THE RECIPES!

I'm so excited about this book! I can't even begin to tell you! So, here we go, I'm going to share my favoritest one right off the bat:

Slow Cooker Chicken Sausage Paella

I have long wanted to cook a paella but I am afraid of clams and the other seafood that goes into making most of the paella recipes I have seen. (Don't tell my kids -- yes, there are foods even I am afraid of.) But paella and its wonderful rice always looks and smells so good! So when I saw Chicken Sausage Paella I got really, really excited. And for good reason. This was literally the quickest, easy, most delicious (and even better the second day!) healthy recipe I have made in a long time. And it's inexpensive too.

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oi
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped (I used red)
• 1 zucchini, halved and sliced
• 1 pkg of mushrooms, sliced (8 oz.) (Sorry, I skipped the mushrooms, not a mushroom lover over here)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pkg yellow rice mix (8 oz.)
• 1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 12 oz fully-cooked reduced fat chicken sausage, sliced

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until onion is softened, about 5 mins. Add peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic and cook until veggies soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer veggies to slow cooker. Add rice, tomatoes and water. Cook sausage in same skillet over medium-high heat until browned. Add sausaget o slow cooker. Cover and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 1-2 hours on high, 3-4 hours on low. 

It actually took me about 2.5 hours on high but time may vary for you.

The calorie situation: 269 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber.

And utter delicious awesomeness. I can't begin to describe how yummy it was the next day, too! Everyone loved this recipe, including my mom! Make it, you won't be disappointed! Let me know how you like it! Stay tuned, I have a great yummy low-cal muffin to go with it!