In case you haven’t already noticed with some of the other recipes on this site, there is not much I enjoy more than pairing a nice sweet fruity something with my old chocolate favorites and this is a delicious example of that past time! Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies are probably as good as a cookie could get for my tastes. I’ve also added some dried cherries to a plain dark chocolate chip cookie recipe before with fabulous results, so feel free to get creative with it! For this recipe, you can mix in some chopped nuts or substitute the cherries for another dried fruit like cranberries or strawberries. You might want to double this recipe, cookies this scrumptious are bound to go fast!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

basic dough recipe

2 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
3/4 cup agave
1 egg or substitute w flaxseed or alternative replacement
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup apple butter
pinch of salt

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
12oz. of carob chips or semisweet vegan chips
1/4 cup dried sour cherries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare the basic dough recipe, adding the cocoa powder to the dry ingredients. Add the chips and cherries last. Using a tablespoon, scoop dough onto sheets and flatten slightly. Bake 12 to 15 mins and let them cool.

Enjoy!

These rosemary and lemon shortbread cookies were just made to be served at tea parties! I can’t think of anything better to pair with a nice cup of Earl Grey, or my personal favorite, champagne oolong. Sophisticated and healthy for you, this is a great little recipe to keep in your back pocket for entertaining all year round.

Lemon and Rosemary Shortbread Cookies


1 cup apple butter
1/2 cup raw sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream apple butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat in the lemon peel and vanilla. Next, combine the flour,
rosemary and salt, gradually add to the creamed mix and mix well.
Shape into balls and wrap in freezer wrap. Freeze for 30
mins or until firm. Cut into 1/4 inch slices and place 2 inches apart on
ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 mins. till edges are light brown. Let them cool and then they can be stored in airtight containers.

In case you couldn’t tell from my “Come on Irene Banana Cream”, I have a soft spot for bananas. They are by far my favorite fruit and I try to incorporate them in as many desserts and muffins as possible! So when your in the mood for a nice banana cream pie, and you have enough time to do it right,  try my banana dream pie and enjoy!
Banana Dream Pie

1  vegan pie crust (see Tofu Mud Pie for our quick and easy one)

1/2 cup sweetener of your choice (I’d go with Agave though)
5 tblsp of cornstarch
2 cups of rice or soy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 ripe bananas ( add 3 more if you love bananas as much as I do and throw them in the food processor with your tofu)
3 tblsp ground almonds

1/2 lb. firm tofu
Prepare  your pie crust and let cool while mixing the filling. First, mix the sweetener and cornstarch in a saucepan on the stove, stir in milk and salt. Cook over medium heat till very thick,continuously stirring . Remove from heat and add your vanilla. Next, drain tofu  and blend it in food processor till smooth with your optional added bananas, then add the vanilla/sugar/milk mix and blend till very smooth. Slice the bananas thinly ,and place over crust. Spread
mixture on top add almonds on top and chill for 4 hours.

One of my favorite after school snacks growing up was chocolate pudding pie with a graham cracker crust, I even would improvise and dunk some crumbled graham crackers into a chocolate pudding cup when they weren’t on the menu. Naturally, it was important to find a low fat, vegan alternative to this yummy treat. The Chocolate Tofu Mud Pie is just as delicious as those pudding pies growing up and even more protein packed thanks to all the Tofu. This recipe makes one large pie but as a kid I always liked the personal sized portions, so it can be easily modified into six smaller portions by putting the graham cracker crust into a cupcake pan and filling each cup accordingly. Of course, feel free to get fancy on me and top it off with a little whipped topping and maybe some raspberries. It’s delicious and easy as pie!

Chocolate Tofu Mud Pie

Crust:
2 oz. about 1/4 cup margarine or Earth Balance/Soy Butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Filling:
1 1/4 lb. tofu,cubed
1 cup rice syrup
2/3 stick margarine or Earth Balance/Soy Butter
1 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa powder

Combine margarine(or soy butter) and crumbs in bottom of a pie plate. Bake 8 minutes in
350 degree oven. Mix filling ingredients on food processor till smooth, pour in pie
plate and chill for approx. 4 hours.

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.

Oh, those weekend brunches sitting outside of your favorite cafe with good friends and great mimosas! Now fast forward four or five hours and your not quite at dinner but searching your cabinets for a little something to hold you over. Well we’ve got the sweet and skinny answer to your prayers with some of these light lunches. And if your not a big brunch fanatic like myself, feel free to use these in between any meals to tide you over – they can also be great light dinners if you’ve had a big lunch!

AA – Apples + Almond Butter
Once again, adding my biased spin on old favorite. Go ahead, use peanut butter if you must, even cashew butter but almond is my favorite by far! My advice to you is cut your apple all nice the way you like it, spread whichever of the ‘butter’s you choose and then put the jar away. With the fiber from your apple and the healthy fat and protein in almond butter, you should be more than satisfied with this little dish and leaving the jar out for dipping will often leave you falsely un-full and going back for more. Yes, this is a good thing, but indeed, you can have too much.

Hummus + Co
Is there anything you can’t put with hummus? Well I guess, it might be gross sticking a cookie in it or trying to spread it on a cupcake but hey, can you blame it for forcing you into healthy choices? Let’s take a stroll down hummus lane, whole wheat pita bread, pretzel thins, string beans, carrots.. the yumminess goes on and on. Seriously take a walk down the aisle at your local grocery store and check out all the different hummus flavors that are out there right now! So many delicious, healthy choices – you can try ’em all. I have a particular obsession for Sonny and Joe’s brand hummus and my favorite variations are Sesame, Spinach and Artichoke or Roasted Red Pepper. Happy Dipping!

Goat Cheese and Grape Bruschetta
Think of it like grown up cream cheese and jelly, this combination makes me salivate just thinking about it. Ok, maybe that was a little TMI, it’s fantastic, just take my word. Yes, it’s a little decadent so don’t go over board or eat this when your ravenous, cause you might do some serious caloric damage but eaten in moderation, it’s perfection. Buy a small whole wheat baguette and slice thinly on the diagonal. Only cut the amount your allowing yourself to eat, I’d say any where between 3-6 depending on how hungry you are. Wrap the exposed end and put it away. Now thinly spread the goat cheese on each of the pieces and cut seedless red grapes in half and affix them on to. Voila! Painlessly easy and perfectly delicious!

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 🙂

 

These cupcakes are so adorable they truly make me feel like I’m back at a middle school Valentines Day dance..only that Martha Stewart is the caterer. Here’s a snazzy way to take a potentially bland cake like angel food and make it live up to it’s lofty name.

Oh So Heavenly Heart Cupcakes

1 box of your favorite angel food cake mix
1 tsp of almond extract
1 package or Tofutti vegan cream cheese or regular low fat cream cheese, depending on your preference

Icing..
1 cup of frozen fat free whipped topping
1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
2/3 cup of strawberry jam warmed

And 12 strawberries cut in half

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the angel food cake mix according to package directions, adding your almond extract. Pour batter evenly amongst your two tray of 12 individually lined cupcake molds and bake for 20 mins or until done. Let them cool COMPLETELY.

Now, if you have a cupcake plunger you fill your cupcakes with strawberry jam by plunging into the center ofnthe cupcake, scooping the jam in and then replacing the removed cupcake top. Then, mix on low speed with an electric mixer, combine the Tofutti or cream cheese, your whipped topping and confectioners sugar. Pipe the mixture into a heart shape on top of every cupcake and then fill the center with strawberry jam. Voila!

And now you can really tell them to ‘eat their heart out’ 🙂

Last night on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, my friends and I had quite a feast. Perfectly grilled salmon, steamed spinach, bean salad and couscous, oh my! Naturally, I felt it was only right to contribute by whipping up some kind of low fat vegan dessert! We were all in a chocolate kind of mood and it had been a while since I had made brownies, so off to whole foods I went in the rain to gather up some healthy yet tasty ingredients! Here’s what I came up with and (if I do say so myself) they tasted amazing and you could hardly tell they were good for you!

 

Ooey Gooey Low Fat Vegan Brownies

1  1/3 cup of whole wheat flour

2 tsps of flax seed meal whisked with 6 tsps of water

1 cup of amber agave

1 individual cup of unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of Baking Soda

1 jar of stage 1 prune baby food

1 cup of vegan chocolate chips

* fresh strawberries, optional

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your pan with a non-fat cooking spray. Combine baking soda, cocoa powder and applesauce. Add agave, prune baby food and vanilla extract. Prepare flaxseed meal and water separately and only combine to batter after it’s been whisked together. Stir in whole wheat flour and let the mixture thicken as you mix it in. Gently fold in the vegan chocolate chips and spread evenly in your baking pan. I, personally, enjoy putting fresh fruit in anything chocolatey so I thinly sliced strawberries and covered the top of the brownies with them. Bake for 20- 30 minutes, checking periodically depending on the size of your pan.

 

Enjoy! These brownies are delicious and guilt free, just try to not eat them all in one sitting! ;)

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!

First, let me tell you about my love affair with the quiche… Not only is it delicious and protein packed it can be great for living alone because you can literally make a delicious breakfast that will last all week on Sunday night. Trust me, when you live by yourself and have early mornings, this is a miraculous feat! I also want to add that there is unlimited creativity with quiches, you can use your favorite cheese, vegetables and meat (if you so choose), just be careful cause you can easily make it fattening again if you go too crazy!haha Alright the following is my personal favorite rendition of Quick and Skinny Quiche!

Quick and Skinny Quiche

3 large eggs
2 large egg whites
12 ounces of fat free half and half
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper ( at your discretion)
2/3 cup of low fat cheddar cheese
Bag of baby spinach ( added at your discretion)
4 chopped scallions
1 frozen whole wheat pie shell.. Or a cupcake pan to make a lower carb version and individual servings! Just be sure to spray the pan.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk your eggs and whites, fat free half and half and any salt or pepper in a large bowl. Then stir in all the cheese and veggies you’d like to add and pour it all into your pie crust or cupcake pan! Easy enough?

Bake it in your oven for 45 to 50 minutes. You can check if it’s done by sticking a knife in the center and making sure it comes out clean. Let it cool for 10 minutes and then cut it into 8 slices! Be sure to wrap it up if your going to refrigerate it and keep it for later!

Enjoy! And let me know what other fun combinations you come up with at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com

These are for those times when you just need a little chocolate something..

Mix one box of your favorite dry chocolate cake mix with one can of pumpkin puree.

Yes, it’s really that easy! And I promise it doesn’t taste like pumpkin at all!

To spice things up, feel free to get creative, I often add raspberries or strawberries, you can also add some applesauce in with the pumpkin for a sweeter cupcake. The possibilities are endless and all very satisfying! Bake these little puppies as you would if you had actually made chocolate cupcakes with the mix and voila! you have a little ‘Chocolate Something’ that will run you only 60-100 cals a pop. I bake these at least once a month, and all my girlfriends absolutely love them. Sweet and guilt free! Enjoy!