snacks

These muffins are a great light treat in the morning, loaded with lots of fresh fruit. Feel free to substitute blueberries for your favorite berry – cranberries strawberries or raspberries all work just as well. Enjoy!

Low Fat, Fresh Blueberry Muffins

1 cup fresh blueberries chopped

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups reduced fat bisquit baking mix (can also use whole wheat or gluten free)

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup egg substitute

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine blueberries and powdered sugar. Let stand for five minutes. Combine bisquit mix with remainging ingredients and stir till batter is moistened. (Batter will be a bit lumpy) Gently fold in your sweet blueberries and pour into a lightly sprayed muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins or till the tops start getting golden brown.

* powdered sugar can be substituted for Agave for a healthier alternative.

Like many other New Yorkers, I was trapped in my apartment this weekend with whatever happened to be in my refrigerator. I wasn’t too convinced that Irene was going to live up to all the hype so I only haphazardly prepared myself. Lots of candles, a flash light and a few liters of seltzer (because water was sold out by the time I got to the store) but on the food front, I just got some berries, almonds, grapes, raw string beans and hummus. Oh and Twizzlers! My hurricane candy treat! Thank god, it wasn’t the storm everyone was expecting or who knows how I would have actually fared.
Anyways fast forward to Saturday night, a bit past midnight and I am not only stir crazy but craving something sweet. The Twizzlers just aren’t doing it for me, I want dessert! So I whipped up this little low-fat pseudo Banana Cream Pie recipe and I want to share it with you because it ended up being delicious!

Come On Irene Banana Cream Pie

2 low fat graham cracker rectangles (big ones)
1 stage 2 banana baby food
1 ripe banana
1 60 cal Vanilla Jello Pudding
optional ..fat free whip cream

Break your graham crackers into crumbles and place them along the bottom of your bowl. Separately, mix your banana baby food with your vanilla pudding and layer it on top of your grahams. Lastly, slice your banana and toss them on top, adding whip cream if you choose. (I personally didn’t use whip cream this weekend but if I had it, I think it might be a nice topper!)

Enjoy 🙂

 

It’s no easy task being mother to a health fanatic like myself, but my mom tried her best to make sure she always had something in accordance to my diet du jour when I used to come home from college. This little gem of a muffin recipe is just one of a few great concoctions she whipped up for me. As always, I encourage creativity, feel free to substitute the dried cranberries for fresh cranberries, blueberries, raspberries etc! Mom was just getting creative with what she had around the house. Have fun and enjoy!


Mama’s Sweet Cranberry Muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 egg whites ( whisk seperately)
1/4 tsp almond flavoring
2 100 calorie packs of Craisins
1/2 tsp of lemon rind or less if your not a huge lemon fan
2 tsp of organic stage one sweet potato baby food
1 large tbsp of applesauce
1/2 cup of water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put Craisins in boiling water for a few minute to get them nice and soft and juicy. Combine all ingredients together, gently folding in the dried cranberries. Bake for approx 20 minutes and enjoy!

My (only slightly altered) take on the Dukan Diet’s Oat Bran Galette

1 egg (or egg white)

2 tablespoons of toasted oat bran

2 tablespoons of non fat greek yogurt (fat free yogurt like Activa Vanilla can be used and provides a slightly different flavor)

a swirl of Agave nectar (or Dukan recommends Splenda)

Mix the yogurt and oat bran together and then in a separate bowl beat the egg or egg white till fluffy. Combine the two and add any additional seasoning. My personal favorite is adding a little Pumpkin Pie Spice ( sooo yummy!) but you can also add cinnamon or a little vanilla or almond extract to switch it up. For a savory pancake, you can leave out the agave and chop up some garlic or onions in there. When your doing the all protein thing, feel free to add some turkey bacon or shrimp in the mix but my personal tastes lie on the sweeter side! Also, if your not watching your carbs, try adding some berries or bananas in for a delicious pancake-alternative.

Hope you guys enjoy! As someone who absolutely loves breakfast and all its naughty carb-loaded treats this little recipe makes me want to personally send Dr. Dukan a little thank you note. Now I can actually have my cake and eat it too!

The weather is warming up and your clothes are covering less and less of your physique. Now is the time of year that everyone becomes a little more tummy-conscious, with beaches and bathing suits on the brain, it’s a little easier to step away from that second helping. However, if your anything like me, despite posting pictures of Gisele and Adriana Lima all over your fridge, your still freaking hungry! So here’s some snacks to keep on hand for when that bikini-body fad diet your doing (despite knowing better!) is leaving you with the tummy grumbles. And yes, you can enjoy them all guilt free! Just maybe not them all at once, if you can help it!

Berries + Cream
Forget about this old classic? Well tsk tsk! Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries..you name it, there all super delicious and healthy for you. Buy them fresh, at your local farmers market (if possible) and look for the organic stamp (best if these don’t have any chemicals touching them since you won’t be doing any peeling). As for the cream, my favorites would be Fat Free Reddi-Whip or Soy Whip. Personally, I think Fat Free Cool Whip or Reddi-Whip taste just as decadent as the real thing and have significantly less calories and fat – but if you feel attached to the old classic, use your measuring eye and keep it to a single serving!

Fro -Yo
Pinkberry, Red Mango, YoGo, frozen yogurt shops and trucks are almost as plentiful in NYC as Starbucks so you should never be more than a block away from low calorie satisfaction! Yes, you heard me, take a step away from the Shake Shack line and think of the bikini!! A small (or even tinier MINI size) with two toppings will only run you 150-250 cals and cool you down as your battling the heat. Of course, be mindful when choosing toppings, fruit is the most calorie friendly choice but nuts are also great if your on the hungrier side. And hey, if you decide you need a little chocolate fix – a scoop of the milk chocolate shavings at Pinkberry will only run you about 50cals – have fun!

Frozen Fruits
If you managed to get this far with out freezing grapes or bananas, my friend, you haven’t lived. Go out and buy grapes now (seedless! or you’ll hate me) and put them in your freezer. You’ll thank me. These little treats single handedly got me and my first nyc roommate through some poor, hot, summer nights in our tiny little apartment. A must try!

Sorbet
Sorbet, or as I like to call it, Gelato’s sweet and skinnier sister! She is indeed your friend when those ice cream craving strike and your not quite in the mood for anymore Fro-Yo. Sorbet, should be ingested with caution however, some tend to have TONS of sugar, so read labels and be a savvy shopper! My personal favorite is Ciao Bello’s Raspberry Sorbet, a tiny pint has 4 servings that will run you only 120cals each. Yummm!

 

Want more low calorie options of your favorite foods? email me at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com and we’ll get ‘em up on the site! :)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray your muffin pan with fat-free cooking spray or whatever non-stick agent of your choosing.

In a bowl, combine Jiffy’s Oatmeal Muffin Mix, an individual cup of no sugar added, all natural applesauce and three tablespoons (or thereabouts) of coconut oil.

In a small cup, whisk three tbsps of flaxseed meal with six tbsps of water till it has an almost egg like consistency.

Combine and mix well! It should be a rather wet mixture but if you feel like it’s too wet, a quick fix is just adding some rolled oats to dry it out. Of course you can spice it up by adding raisins, craisins, blueberries, etc but I find it to be rather delicious and moist on it’s own.

Pop ‘em in the oven. I’d say approximately 5-10 minutes, more importantly till you can start to see the nooks and crannies on the top of the muffins and the edges get slightly golden brown. Drizzle ‘em with some agave nectar (lightly!!) if you want to pump up the sweet factor a notch and serve!!!

happy snacking :)