Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins: 5 Minutes to Yum!

Seriously, this takes no time at all.  Thanks to my friend Mandy for bringing these muffins to my attention...Quick recipe to get these not-too-bad-for-you treats into the oven and in your mouth, fast!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins

What you need:

Box of Spice Cake Mix

Can of Pumpkin (not pie filling, plain, natural pumpkin)

Chocolate Chips

Optional: Vanilla Greek yogurt, or natural apple sauce

What you are making:

So here's what you do:

Through everything in bowl and mix well!

The optional vanilla yogurt or apple sauce just add even more moisture (the pumpkin will do that too), I've made these both ways and there is really not much of a difference. And remember, no need for butter, oil or eggs as the cake box calls, you are replacing all that with pumpkin...MUCH HEALTHIER, and YUM!

Spray down muffin tins with Pam and stick them in the oven for 18-22 minutes (until a knife comes out the center of a muffin clean).

I'm really enjoying pumpkin right now (if you can't tell from this bunt cake and this cheese cake). 

Enjoy pumpkin season (which I think is October thru December)!

Pumpkin Spice Bunt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Thanks to a co-worker and her amazing baking skills, I have found this amazing little pumpkin treat that is light on calories.  This is my new go-to dessert to bring to any party or cookout.  It's so yummy.  Anything pumpkin this time of year must be tried.

Pumpkin Spice Bunt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling...

For the cake batter: Buy any box spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin and pumpkin spice:

Mix it all together, including what the box cake directions call for.

In another bowl, mix (preferably with an electric mixer or something more powerful than your arm) Cream Cheese (of any levels of light or low fat) and your choice of sweetener:

I used 1 tablespoon of Blue Agave sweetener.  My co-worker used powdered sugar, you can use raw, or Splenda, etc.  Mix it together with the cream cheese (I used 1/3 low fat kind).

In a bunt pan, pour in half the cake batter mix. Then plop the cream cheese/sugar mix all around on top...

Then pour the rest of the cake batter on top and bake (as box directs, but might need to put it back in a few more minutes - I ended up baking it for around 45 minutes).

 

Once done, let cool and sprinkle with a little powder sugar:

Mmmm-mmmm Good!

Thank goodness for co-worker who know how to bake! :)

USA! USA! Go USA!

Getting ready for the USA Soccer game....

Funfetti cake, with white whipped frosting, blueberries and twizzlers

Flag decor...

And my outfit to carry on the theme...

haha...so much red, white and blue.

Seriously Healthy & Super Good

I was soooo pleasantly surprised how good my latest meal was. A-MAZ-ING.

First, Brussels Sprouts. I always shyed away from these tiny heads of lettuce look-a-likes and scoffed at the name. Brussels Sprouts? ew. But NO, not ew. oooooooo YUM!

They first made their way into a meal I had at a restaurant and thought, hmm, these are pretty good! After I looked into how healthy they are, I was at the store and grabbed some. I Googled recipes and chose one from AllRecipes.com.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

I mixed in a few slices of zucchini that were left over from the below recipe!

To go along with my roasted Brussels Sprouts, I made Cream of Zucchini Soup. I follow Gina's WW Recipe's Blog, and besides this soup, she has some AMAZING tried and true recipes.

But on to the soup:

You boil all the ingredients on the stove, and then transfer to your blender to puree. Little tip...


Make sure to hold the lid on TIGHT when puree-ing. Mine flew off (because I was basically just resting my hand atop) and HOT soup went flying everywhere. Thankfully, just a bit got wasted, but the splatters sure did hurt and make a mess...


After this yummy dinner, I got to making a birthday treat for my co-worker. I made a chocolate cake with an interesting twist. Found this recipe from Gina's WW Recipe's Blog, as well.

Chocolate Cake without the oil! Instead? Diet Dr. Pepper! I used Organic Cake mix:


The batter was a lot more liquid than usual and I was afraid I really messed something up...


But I didn't! Just came out super moist:


You don't even need frosting on top - this cake is so moist, but if you wish, fat free Cool Whip would be a good alternative and then topped with Strawberries, or any other fruit. I was really impressed. It was good and almost brownie-like!

Protein Pancakes: A Healthy Version of a Favorite

There are a lot of healthy variations of the carbolicious breakfast goody - Pancakes: ways that make it less carby, add more protein and nutrients that will sustain you into the day instead of putting you in a carbo-coma, but also tastes oh-so-yummy!

So, here is my tried (many times) and true Protein Pancakes.

What you'll need:


Equal parts of Eggs Whites (or Beaters), Low Fat Cottage Cheese and Oats.

I use 1/2 cup of each to make about 6-8 cakes.

Optional: add in protein powder for an extra kick (1 or 2 scoops thought, not equal parts to the other ingredients).

Blend up all the ingredients to make the batter (I used my magic bullet). Pour some of the batter onto a non-stick and/or greased pan to cook:


Flip with a rubber or plastic utensil to avoid scratching your pan (metal utensils). Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes on medium-high, but check - because every stove is different!




Add toppings (I like to stray from maple syrup - but that would be great, too):

Plain Greek Low Fat Yogurt with Chocolate Chips

Almond Butter and Bananas

I like to make a batch on Sunday evenings and put 2-3 in a snack bag to grab and take for breakfast throughout the week.

Tofu Snacks

I love local, organic tofu. It has wonderful health benefits, learn about them here. I usually eat it raw and cold in my salads. But I'm starting to venture out of my comfort zone with the help of Kathy Eats Real Food's Tofu Tutorial.

Last night I sliced up half a block of FIRM tofu and dipped it in this spicy rub. It was good!

Then tonight I ventured out on my own... wanting something a bit sweet for after dinner. I used the other half of my sliced up block of firm tofu, and dipped it in a mixture of Blue Agave, Splenda Brown sugar and a little water to loosen up the dip. After I dipped it, I placed it on my pan and sprinkled the top with a bit more of the Splenda Brown Sugar:


Stuck in the 415 degrees pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. The thinner you slice the tofu, the less time you want to bake.


The sweetness was subtle - I enjoyed the crispy sweet snack!

How do you eat Tofu??