Clean Cottage Grilled Cheese

This is one I've contemplated making for awhile. I LOVE grilled cheese, but it's so caloric! That crunchy crusty bread. That gooey creamy cheese. So delicious but so fattening. My best friend & worst enemy all rolled into one. My dietician recently suggested that I add lowfat cream cheese to my diet as an alternative to meat. It's very versatile & adds a lot to many recipes. The best thing about it is that lowfat versions or skim taste very good. I added sharp cheddar cheese to get that satisfying gooeyness, but since the bulk of the cheese is lowfat cottage, the calorie count is still fairly low. 

I only made the recipe for a half sandwich. It's pretty high in protein so a half sandwich is all you need for a snack. Just multiply the ingredients to accommodate the amount that you need. 

1 slice Ezekiel bread 

1/8 cup skim or lowfat cottage cheese

1/2 ounce extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of basil

Dash of salt 

1. Mix together basil, salt, and cottage cheese.

2. Brush the bread with olive oil, and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.

3. Cut the cheddar into a very thin slice. This way it will be spread out over the length of the bread. 

4. Spread cottage cheese over the cheddar. Put in the oven & broil a few minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

165 calories

17 g carbohydrate

3 g fiber

11 g protein

7 g fat

Results... and French Toast

I know it's been many a moon since I've blogged. Life has been crazy. I'd like to say that I've remained true to clean eating this entire time... But that wouldn't be the absolute truth. I would say for the most part I've been trying to eat as healthy as I can. Even doing clean eating 75% of the time! And the results are in. I'm down 11 more pounds :-) 

Here's my before & after shots. The right shows where I was several months ago, complete with muffin top, spare tire, and wearing a pair of pants that had a nice elastic band. On the left I'm wearing the same t-shirt, only this time I'm free of all muffins & tires. Also I'm wearing a pair of size 6 jeans! 

To celebrate I made myself a breakfast of low-fat cottage cheese and a piece of low cholesterol French toast with peaches. 

Low-fat cottage cheese is a great source of protein, and it has a lot less carbohydrate than milk. It's a good vegetarian option for someone looking to reduce cholesterol intake.

Single Serve Low Cholesterol French Toast 

1 slice Ezekiel bread

1 egg white

1/2 tsp pure vanilla

1/8 cup of plain soy milk (can use skim milk if preferred)

Extra virgin olive oil spray

1 tsp - 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Fresh fruit

Whisk together milk, egg white, & vanilla. 

Dredge the bread in the mixture. Let it sit a minute to soak it all up.

Put into a warm skillet over medium heat that has been sprayed with oil.

Since you're using egg whites instead of whole eggs they will brown to a lighter color & won't have that yellow tint you're used to from egg yolks.

I use a lot of vanilla because I love the flavor it makes with the maple syrup. You can always top with fruit - blueberries, strawberries, or peaches. I had a ripe peach so I used that. It tasted great with the syrup & vanilla.

Great way to celebrate reaching a goal. 

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since I decided to go eggless till my next cholesterol test, my clean chocolate chip recipe (find the original recipe here) is no longer permissible. That test is not until July. July.  I am not waiting till JULY for another chocolate chip cookie!!!! That is just wrong. And a little mean. So I made this remake of the recipe, and I actually like it better. What eggs do for cookies is add binding. Egg whites can help batter rise. And it adds moisture. So to ensure that these elements were not lost, I increased the oil, (the recipe already uses applesauce but if it didn't I would have added that too), soy milk, and a little baking powder. It turned out great. I loved the texture, moisture, and sweetness. To make this recipe truly vegan, you need to replace the honey with agave nectar. I prefer the flavor of honey, so that's what I used.

Of course the best part of this eggless recipe is that you can eat the cookie dough.

Which I do.

;-)

1/2 cup honey (agave nectar if making a vegan version)

1/4 cup coconut sugar (optional)

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 scoop protein powder

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dark (or semi-sweet) chocolate chip

1/4 cup soy milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375. 

2. Mix together the honey, coconut sugar, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and soy milk.

3. Mix together the remaining dry ingredients except chips.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry & mix well. Add the chips. 

5. Put the batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

6. Bake for 5-8 minutes. 

7 Enjoy!

No eggs, but you can tell that the batter will work by the way it holds together but isn't too dry. At this point, taste the batter! (This is why eggless batters can be so much better - the more you can taste your food the batter... I apologize for that blatant use of a bad pun. I just couldn't help myself.) It should taste sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. It will get sweeter during baking. You should be able to taste the flour, it shouldn't be grainy or dry. 

Adding the chocolate chips will also add to the sweetness. And aren't they so pretty... Oh, chocolate. You make everything better.

I adore parchment paper. It's like magic. Nothing sticks to it. The only thing that annoys me about it, is when you cut it & spread it on the cookie sheet & it curls ups like Christmas ribbon. I don't have a lot of patience, so until the LORD had finished His challenging work in teaching it to me, I reserve what I have for things more important than parchment paper. (Basically that means I spray the pan with  a little cooking spray so it doesn't curl up on me.)

You're so pretty, my little friends.

Take the cookies out when they have golden edges & the bottoms should be golden brown as well. 

Finally - eat & enjoy!

Thermal Lunch Bag Giveaway

Today's entry is all about snacks! I love to snack (after all, what American woman doesn't?) I don't know that many people who eat only their "three square meals" a day. So if you're following a clean eating, or whole foods, or vegan, (or anything in between all of that) diet, & you get the munchies just like everybody else, there is a shocking lack of convenient snack options available. (I've yet to see the vending machine that dispenses ants on a log or 12 oz. cans of unsweetened soy milk.) While a lot of restaurants are adapting to healthy eating, few gas stations, convenience stores, etc., have many choices for a hungry clean eating, vegetarian. The solution is simple - if the vending machine comets not to you, make your own (in other words, bring your snacks with you.) I have a thermal lunch bag that I take with me nearly everywhere. It's cute, convenient, and deceptively holds so much more than you'd think by looking at it. I bought mine from Thirty-One. My sister is a consultant & I love their cute (not to mention affordable) products.  My bag is great quality. It will keep cold all day as long as I remember to stick an ice pack in there in the morning. It's like a tiny fridge that is also an accessory.

No blog would be complete without a fun giveaway every now & then - so I am not only sharing my snack ideas, but I will be giving away one of these great lunch thermals as well (pictured at top in purple). There are a few ways to get a free entry in this drawing, and they are as follows: 

1. Follow this blog = 1 entry (if you are already following this blog you will be automatically entered.)

2. Pin your favorite recipe from this blog on Pinterest = 1 entry (or any of the recipes from this blog - I'm not going to be able to verify that one is your favorite anyway.)

3. Share a post from this blog on Facebook or Twitter = 1 entry (this is for the recovering Pinterestoholic who doesn't want to return to their addiction.) 

4. Comment below with your favorite snack idea = 1 entry

5. Recommend this blog on Google plus = 1 entry

All the entries will be dropped in a hat (ok, it's a draw from a hat app - the point remains it will be random.) Make sure you email me your name & address where to ship your lunch thermal, should you be the lucky winner. Include the following information in your email:

1. Name 

2. Address (you don't have to provide this right away - if you prefer, you may wait & see if you are the winner before disclosing any shipping info.) 

3. Color/Pattern you'd like your bag to be (click here to see what is currently available through Thirty-One gifts).

4. Any personalization you'd like on your bag including font & thread color. (My bag reads Clean Eats, but yours can be whatever is right for you.)

5. Number of entries (& how you earned them, i.e. 4 entries, 2 shared posts on Facebook, 2 on Twitter)- let me know any of the above entries that you are eligible for. It will help me to double check & make sure your name gets into that digital hat as many times as it should. 

I'll be taking entries until 5:00 pm EST, Monday 3/31, so be sure to get all your entries in by then. I'll be announcing the winner on 4/1 (& no, there won't be any April Fools jokes - I promise). 

Finally - here are some snack ideas that fit into my cooler.  

Apples 

Oranges

Clementines

Peaches 

Plums

Pears

Salad

Carrots 

Peppers

Kashi whole grain crackers

Quinoa crackers 

Blue corn chips & Hummus

Peanut butter

Grapes

Bananas

Cucumbers

Tofutti - Better than Cream Cheese 

Celery

Hot air popcorn 

Grapefruit 

Green leaf lettuce

Baby spinach

Red leaf lettuce

Salad dressing

Ezekiel bread

Homemade croutons

For more snack ideas, click here for my Munchies blog post. 

These are just some fun ideas that I've come up with - let me know your favorite "clean" treats below & we'll see who wins. :-)

Vegan Burritos with Creamy Lava Sauce

Who's in the mood for Mexican? I am. It's all my co-workers faults. They kept talking about getting lunch at Don Pablo's today & that put the idea in my head. Of course, once it was there, I could think of little else. My head is annoying that way. So Mexican for lunch became my menu. 

Mexican on my plant based, near vegan, whole foods diet isn't easy. Mostly because of dairy. You can leave the ground beef out of a burrito, but cheese?!?! And sour cream? No way. I did manage to figure something out that was even better. 

Lava sauce. 

It's like a creamy spicy bolt of flavor.  They used it on volcano tacos at Taco Bell for awhile till it was removed from the menu - a little piece of my heart died that day.  I made my own simple version of it for my lunch today. You can play with your own recipes of it. Make it as hot or mild as you choose. 

The other food thing about vegan burritos - quick & easy. No meat means no standing over the stove browning ground round, my friends. 

1 large Ezekiel brand tortilla

1/2 cup organic refried black beans

3-4 tbsp organic salsa (hot, medium, or mild - your choice)

2 tbsp tofutti, better than cream cheese 

1 tbsp diced fresh onion

1/2 tsp (more or less to taste) taco seasoning

Salt & pepper

1. Heat up your beans. 

I was at work, so I just heated them up in the microwave. I have at least two or three microwave safe bowls that I can use at work when I need them. 

Don't let the word "organic" in the recipe ingredient list scare your wallet. You can get plenty of organic items with the Meyer offbrand quite inexpensively.

Just be sure to read the ingredients list, to make sure that there aren't any added sugars or chemicals.

2. To make your lava sauce, simply heat the tofutti in the microwave for approximately 5 to 10 seconds - just long enough to make it easy to stir. Then add your taco seasonings & mix well.

You don't have to use taco seasonings from the packet. It's a simple enough to make on your own. All it takes is: chili powder, cumin, paprika, ground red pepper (if you like it spicy), garlic powder, and onion powder. I made this at work, where it's much easier to use a packet of seasoning rather than have a lot of spice jars lying around. 

3. Build your burrito. 

Add as much salsa as you like, it is very healthy and full of flavor, not to mention low on calories (only 5 per tablespoon!). I like to sprinkle fresh diced onions at the end. Adds a nice kick.

4. Finally fold up and enjoy! 

 

 By the way, if your tortilla is giving you trouble staying folded, just take some of that yummy gooey filling, and use it like a little dab of glue. 

(If that doesn't work - I'm out of ideas - just hold it down until you get the dumb thing eaten.) 

Add some fruit and steamable veggies, and you're never more than 10 minutes away from a delicious vegan Mexican meal. :-)

My Favorite Vinegarette

I had a BIG lunch.  Even eating no meat, processed foods, or dairy - there are ways to do it.  I had a big ole bowl of chili, some delicious peanut honey butter fudge, and strawberries.  I'm still pretty stuffed.  So tonight, a very light salad is in order.  Not only will this take care of my need for yummy leafy greens, but it will also give me an opportuniity to try my favorite thing that I learned to make in France.  Vinegarette.

1 tbsp good mustard

4 tbsp red wine vinegar

Dash of salt

Pinch of pepper

Sprinkle of basil (optional)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix together all ingredients except the oil.

2. Add oil in a steady, thin stream while whisking in one direction.  Don't change direction or it wont mix properly.

This is the mustard I use. You can substitute with Dijon. It has a stronger flavor. I love this one though. It's available as a seasonal item at Aldi's. It's great for recipes & as a condiment. Yum!

I use a whisk to stir. It's the best way to get your oil combined into the dressing. Plus I adore whisks.  They are the chocolate of kitchen tools. No, you don't use them for every meal, but don't you wish you could...

If this is too tangy for you - add a drizzle of agave nectar.  Add extra salt as needed.  This is a great dressing and makes even plain old lettuce anything but boring.

Portobello Mushrooms, Couscous, & Coconut Creamed Carrots

Confession: I've never cooked a portobello mushroom as a main course before. I have always considered it something that tastes kind of weird & looks funky.  Mostly I consider a mushroom as a cap waiting to be stuffed with cheese & yummy crumbily (yes, that's how I meant to spell it) bread. But given that I'm currently off dairy & its salty BFF meat, I'm willing to give this whole main course mushroom thing a try. I shall do it with my trusty sidekick, Worcestershire. On this grand adventure we go...

1 portobello mushroom

1/2 small onion sliced 

1 tbsp extra olive oil, divided

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, divided

1 tsp browning sauce

Pinch of salt

Sprinkle of basil 

1. Heat a tsp of oil over medium high heat & sauté onion for a minute or two.

2. While that's cooking, slice the mushroom & brush with the browning sauce & 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. 

3. Add the mushroom to the pan with the remaining two teaspoons of oil, tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, salt, and basil to taste. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes till done. 

For the couscous, I followed the directions on the box (original, I know), using vegetable broth instead of water.

Finally those dreamy creamy carrots (I apologize for the corny rhyme - just couldn't help myself. I was suddenly overtaken by a Dr. Seuss moment.)

2-3 large carrots

1 tsp honey

1/3 cup coconut milk

Pinch of salt

1 tsp cornstarch

1. Slice up the carrots and cook in boiling water. 

2. Once carrots are cooked, drain water and add honey.

3. Next mix in the cornstarch, and then coconut milk.

4. Add salt & heat to boiling, stirring often. 

5. It will thicken very quickly.

Throw it all together & enjoy. 

So, the portobello mushroom had good flavor from the onions & oil, but I think it was the few drops of browning sauce that made it worth being called a main dish. The oil & sauce coated everything in the pan like a thick salty brown glaze. The onions had just the right amount of cooked & crispy-edged-ness. The Worcestershire was easy to taste & the basil was a nice fresh back note. I will continue to experiment with more or less browning sauce, because that is what really made it shine. 

Now the carrots. I'm not going to exaggerate. I'm deeply in love with the carrots. We would run away together but we can't because I ate them. :-) These are super creamy & very rich. You can taste coconut, but the flavor is very faint. This white sauce is similar to if you made a white sauce with heavy cream & butter but with the tiniest hint of coconut. It's just a little bit sweet thanks to the honey & natural sugar in cooked carrots. This has a lot of fat in it, but since my meal didn't include a greasy burger or massive ribeye, I had the fat grams to spare.  I didn't finish all my carrots (they are incredibly rich - the recipe should probably serve two), so altogether my meal was 373 calories. 

And worth every single one.

Simple Chocolate Protein Shake

I started this recipe with a desire to make ice cream. But then I remembered I didn't want to work very hard tonight, and thus the milkshake idea was born. It's super easy, quick, and really delicious. If you're craving sweet, chocolate, or ice cream this will hit the spot - without any added sugar. 

I always keep at least a few bananas in the freezer. It's a throw back from the first few days after my diagnosis. I was afraid I would never be able to eat ice cream again (many tubs of Ben & Jerry's, along with a few extra inches on my waistline later - I think we've safely proved that theory wrong.) Of course at the time, naive little diabetic that I was, I didn't know that. I had read that if you put frozen banana chunks in the food processor, it tastes like ice cream (which it does - it's pretty good. Just FYI.) Since then, when I have bananas that are super ripe, if I'm not in the mood to make some banana bread, into the freezer they go. I highly recommend this practice, because you never know when the mood will strike & you will need an ice cream fix. 

Combine together in a blender: 

 

1 chopped frozen banana

1 scoop (1/3 cup) cookies & cream protein powder 

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

Pinch of salt

Blend at high speed till thoroughly mixed. The texture will be thick - thanks to the bananas. It has the feel of a milkshake made from ice cream thanks to the fruit having been frozen. There is absolutely no need for any sugar at all! The banana & sweetness from the protein powder are more than plenty. I also add a pinch (just the tiniest pinch) of salt. Most sweet things need that little hint of savory-even though you don't taste the salt, the overall flavor is better for it being there. 

This shake is especially good for when you need something substantial, but have no time for a meal.  It has 350 calories (it's a big one, 16 oz., give or take, depending on the size of that banana). 38 grams of carbohydrate, 9 grams of fiber, 11 grams of fat, and 26 grams of protein. So if you're just wanting a quick treat, divide the recipe in half or share with a friend. 

I dare you to try and feel deprived while sipping this chocolatey-malty-yumminess. And unlike the Ben & Jerry's version, all the fiber & protein will keep you feeling satisfied for a long time. Not to mention giving you plenty of energy without a sugar rush.

Why are you still reading this? You should be freezing bananas.. ;-)