Zucchini Bread/ Muffins

2 cups grated zucchini
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
1/2 cup plain, fat-free greek yogurt*
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans or 24 muffin cups. Place grated zucchini in a paper towel and wring out extra moisture. Mix together zucchini, sugar, applesauce, and yogurt. Add in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. With a rubber spatula, slowly add in dry mixture, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in almonds. Spoon into prepared pans and bake 40- 50 minutes (for bread) or 20- 25 minutes (for muffins), rotating halfway through baking.

* You can substitute regular plain, fat-free yogurt. Make sure that it does not have added sugars and remember that it will add more grams of carbs.

Makes 12 servings. 2 muffins per serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

Calories- 148 Carbs- 24.5g Protein- 7.5g Fat- 3g

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Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries

^{Harmon’s Grocery Keepin’ It Fresh Ad - April 2009}

3 sweet potatoes – peeled and sliced in ½” wedges

¼ cup canola oil (or olive oil)

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with sweet potato wedges to coat well.  Spread wedges onto a sheet pan and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until soft and golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Prep Time: 10 minutes        Ready In: 30 minutes       Serves 6

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Pumpkin Chocolate Waffles

This is not a particularly low-fat recipe, but a healthier alternative.

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) diet ginger ale
2 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 packet Splenda or Stevia (optional)
2 Tbs light margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips (I like darker chocolate with this recipe, so I cut up about 10 Hershey's sugar-free special dark chocolate pieces)

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix together pumpkin, ginger ale, egg yolks, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and Splenda, until soft peaks form. Set aside. Into pumpkin mixture, add dry ingredients and margarine, alternately. Stir in chocolate and fold in egg whites. Scoop 1 cup of batter onto a heated waffle iron. Dough will be a little thick, so with a heat-proof spatula, spread to the edges. Cook as usual. Serve with light margarine and sugar-free syrup.

Makes 16 waffle squares. Yields 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

Calories- 320 Carbs- 43g Protein- 12g Fat- 11g

Without Chocolate-

Calories- 245 Carbs- 40g Protein- 11g Fat- 5g


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Wheat Biscuits

I'll be honest, these are not going to look pretty, but they will be tasty!

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbs baking powder

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups fat-free sour cream

1 cup light margarine or butter

1/4 cup honey

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with Pam. Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in margarine. Mix together honey and sour cream and add to dough mixture, until well combined. For softer, fluffier biscuits, I prefer the drop method. You'll lightly take about a 1/4 cup of dough, using either a scooper, or your hands, and simply drop it onto the pan, spacing them 1 to 2 inches apart. Again, they wont look pretty this way, but I found when I rolled the dough into a circular shape, the biscuits became hard when cooked. Bake for 10- 15 minutes, or until bottoms are light brown.

Makes about 40 biscuits; 2 biscuits per serving.

Makes about 20 servings.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

Calories- 145 Carbs- 23g Protein- 4g Fat- 4.5g

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolesusanne/2312540562/

Green Bean Casserole

As far as greens go, this is not a bad way to eat your vegetables.

4 cans cut green beans, drained
2 cans Healthy Request or fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup onions, diced
3/4 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions and mushrooms (can also be added to ingredients raw). Whisk soup, milk, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper together. Mix together ingredients and spoon into a 3 quart (9x16) glass casserole dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbling.

Casserole can also be topped with shredded cheese before baking, or after 20 minutes of baking, topped with toasted sliced almonds or fat free croutons.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

Calories- 65 Carbs- 10g Protein- 3g Fat- 1g

Ma-Ma-Ma-Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes for the holidays. Actually, I love mashed potatoes anytime! Just remember you can have too much of a good thing, so if you are watching your weight, control your portions.

12- 15 medium sized russet potatoes
4 cubes or 4 tsp chicken bouillon
3 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
3 Tbs margarine or butter (optional)

Peel the potatoes and dice into 1" cubes. Immerse cubes in lukewarm water. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then drain water and rinse off cubes. This will remove extra starch from potatoes. Next add potatoes and chicken bouillon cubes to a boiling pot of water. From this point, you can cook them one of two ways.
For thick potatoes:
Boil potatoes about 35 minutes. Boiling water will cloud, from potatoes breaking up. Drain excess water, and hand mash, adding pepper, salt, and margarine (leaving out milk).
For thinner potatoes:
Boil 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are barely tender. Drain water, and mash potatoes with a hand mixer, adding salt, pepper, margarine, and milk.

It is important to drain the boiling water before mashing potatoes because this will, again, remove extra starch from the potatoes.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

Calories- 135 Carbs- 29g Protein- 3g Fat- 0g