Category: Cooking Corner

Arts & Life Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner

Post author By Laura Crowley
Post date April 10, 2013

Pasta with Garlic Alfredo Sauce

I grew up addicted to Alfredo sauce and with this healthy, protein-filled, super low-fat and drastically lower sodium version, I can have it anytime! This recipe is just the pasta and sauce–I left it up to you to add in whatever beans, vegetables, soy products or meat you like (personally my favorite way to enjoy this is with oven-roasted veggies, but when I made this for friends last Friday, I paired it with some delicious turkey meatballs.)

247 calories, 4 g fat, 43 g carbs, 10 g protein

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

4 servings Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup parmesan

1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half

1/2 cup skim milk

1 Tbsp Land O’ Lakes light butter

1/4 tsp garlic salt

Directions

1. Cook pasta.

2. Over low heat, melt butter with milk and half-and-half.

3. When warm (about one minute later) add egg yolk. Whisk briskly (to prevent egg from scrambling) for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add parmesan and garlic salt.

5. Toss in pasta and anything else you want in it!

Arts & Life Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner

Post author By Laura Crowley
Post date February 12, 2013

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread
70 calories, 2 g fat, 15 carbs, 2 g protein

I don’t try vegan baking often and was a bit wary of using the avocado, but this turned out to be one of the richest and most moist desserts I’ve ever whipped up. It was really simple to throw together and is filled with healthy fat from the avocado, whole grain and has the heart healthy benefits of cocoa. It’s one of those recipes that tastes heavenly and just happens to be great for you too. You could even add other berries like strawberries or blueberries. Seriously, this is one you definitely have to try and don’t forget to top it with tons of fresh raspberries!

Ingredients

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2)

½ medium avocado

½ cup Silk Light Original Soymilk

½ cup dark cocoa powder

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup Truvia Baking Blend

¼ tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

¼ cup organic raspberry preserves

¼ cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F and spray 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Mash avocado and banana together.

3. Mix in soymilk, raspberry and cocoa.

4. Mix in all remaining ingredients.

5. Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clear (this will still be a very moist bread).

Makes 20 servings

I cut the loaf into 10 almost one-inch slices then in half lengthwise.

Arts & Life Cooking Corner

S’mores Bars

Post author By Laura Crowley
Post date February 6, 2013

By Katie Mancino

S’mores Bars

102 calories, 2 g fat, 23 carbs, 1 g protein

Makes 16 bars

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ve been putting together all different chocolate themed recipes but wanted something quick and easy to pull together. These bars were the perfect thing! They’re rich, chocolaty, really do taste like s’mores and took just a few minutes to make. The Fiber One cereal turned out to be delicious and a healthy substitute for more sugary cereals. Next time you’re looking for something sweet and crunchy with a ton of chocolate flavor, give these a try!

Ingredients

1 bag mini marshmallows

2 Tbsp Land O’Lakes light butter

4 low fat honey graham crackers

3 cups Fiber One 80 calorie chocolate cereal

1 Tbsp chocolate chips

Directions

1. Turn on broiler, melt butter and half the marshmallows in microwave in 30 second intervals.

3. While marshmallows melt, crush cereal and graham crackers in a Ziploc bag.

4. Mix marshmallows and cereal together. Press into a 9×11 baking pan.

5. Top pan with remaining marshmallows and chocolate chips.

6. Bake for two minutes until marshmallows are browned and toasty (put pan on rack closest to heat).

7. Let cool in the fridge for at least a half-hour before cutting into bars.

Cooking corner 2/6

Arts & Life Cooking Corner

Mushroom Barley Soup

Post author By Laura Crowley
Post date January 29, 2013

Mushroom Barley Soup

Per cup: 117 calories, 2 g fat, 22 g carbs, 5 g protein

Makes 10 servings

This has always been one of my favorite soups because it’s rich and hearty. It’s also a fantastic soup for anyone trying to stick to low glycemic index foods since barley is incredibly healthy and a slow acting carb. Use whatever spices you like to get the taste you want; that’s the great thing about soup, you can customize it to taste exactly how you want it to! If you want more protein in your soup you could easily add in some red kidney beans.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced celery

1 cup shiitake mushrooms

1 cup baby bella mushrooms

1/2 Tbsp each of rosemary, oregano and garlic powder

(optional: 1 tsp red chili flakes for spice)

4 cups low sodium vegetable stock

8 cups water

1 cup uncooked barley

1/2 cup Silk Light Original Soymilk

Directions:

1. Over medium high heat, sauté onions, carrots, celery and olive oil for 5 minutes.

2. Add mushrooms, spices and 1 cup vegetable stock. Cook another 5 minutes.

3. Add remaining stock, water and barley. Lower heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes.

4. When barley is fully cooked, turn off heat. Stir in soymilk and enjoy!

Arts & Life Cooking Corner Uncategorized

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Post author By Laura Crowley
Post date January 23, 2013

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

58 calories, 3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 2 g protein

The holidays might be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this classic holiday cookie–and in a healthy way! The average peanut butter kiss cookie has 123 calories, 7 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs and 3 grams of protein. This recipe cuts down by using light peanut butter, Truvia and egg whites, as well as a mini muffin tin to ensure perfect portioning.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

4 Tbsp Better’n Peanut Butter

1/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend

1 egg white

15 Hershey’s Kisses

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F.

2. Beat all ingredients (except Hershey’s Kisses) together until well mixed.

3. Spray mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and add 1/2 tablespoon batter to each cup.

4. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. Press in Hershey’s Kisses as soon as cookies are done and enjoy!

Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apples

Post author By cmo015
Post date November 28, 2012

Katie Mancino

Writer

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apples

150 calories, 0.5g fat, 39 carbs, 1g protein

For the holidays this year, you can forget the apple pie with this incredibly delicious treat. This is one of those fantastic recipes that tastes phenomenal and just happens to be more healthy for you. You can also try adding nuts or dried fruit to the filling (golden raisins are my favorite). I topped a few of mine with a half teaspoon of chopped pecans. You can bake the apples longer to make them more soft so they fall apart, or cook them a little less so they still have a bite.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

6 large apples
2 Tbsp Truvia Baking Blend
2 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp Land O’Lakes Light Butter

Directions

Heat oven to 400 F.
Core apples–make sure not to cut through the bottom. You can use an apple corer or carefully use a paring knife.
In a small bowl, mix together sugars and spices.
Cut butter into 6 cubes and put one cube into each apple along with 1/6 of the sugar spice mixture (you can also top with chopped nuts if you’d like).
Place in a casserole dish and add about 1/2 inch of water to the dish as well.
Bake 30-40 minutes until browned and soft.

Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes

Post author By cmo015
Post date November 14, 2012

Katie Mancino
Writer

per cheesecake: 25 calories, 0g fat, 5 carbs, 1g protein

This is one of the biggest hits among my friends, and they have all agreed that if it wasn’t for me making this dessert, they would have never realized cheesecake could be so healthy. You can easily use this cheesecake recipe to make other flavors by just swapping out the pumpkin. You could even make a few kinds by splitting the recipe into halves for an extra impressive Thanksgiving display!

I decorated these with cool whip frosting (found in the freezer section) and fun sprinkles. The frosting is 60 calories for two tablespoons, but I only used half a teaspoon on each, adding only five extra calories.

Makes 36 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients

5 Honey Maid Low Fat Cinnamon Graham Crackers
1 Tbsp Land O’Lakes Light Butter
2 fresh egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
8 oz (1 pack) fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
Mini cupcake liners

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Crush graham crackers until fine and melt butter.
Combine butter and crushed crackers. Press 1/2 teaspoon into the bottom of each mini cupcake liner.
Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form (this is much easier with a mixer).
Beat together pumpkin, sour cream, cream cheese, sugars and spices until smooth.
Gently mix egg whites into pumpkin mixture.
Add 1/2 tablespoon of batter to each mini cupcake tin.
Bake 15-20 minutes until solid at the top but still jiggly.
Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
Decorate and enjoy!

Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Post author By cmo015
Post date November 7, 2012

Katie Mancino
Writer

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24 cookies

54 calories, 1g fat, 8 carbs, 1g protein

I was making a recipe for mint chocolate chip cookies when I realized how easy it would be to make the recipe vegan–I just had to swap out the egg. These were the result and they are some of my favorite cookies of any kind, let alone vegan recipes! I like using mini chocolate chips so that the chocolate gets more spread out throughout the batter, Enjoy Life Brand Mini Chips is a great vegan brand for these. If you’re not vegan but want to try this recipe, just use regular chocolate chips, it won’t change the nutrition.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1/4 cup Silk Light Soymilk
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F.
Beat peanut butter, soymilk, vanilla and Truvia together.
Mix in remaining dry ingredients and chocolate chips.
Spray pan with a nonstick spray, divide batter into 24 cookies (use two trays; each cookie is about two heaping tablespoons of batter)
Bake for 9-10 minutes.

Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Fat Free Pumpkin Cupcakes

Post author By cmo015
Post date October 29, 2012

Katie Mancino

Writer

Fat Free Pumpkin Cupcakes
75 calories, 0g fat, 20 carbs, 2g protein

I’m a total pumpkin addict, so luckily this is the time of year to make tons of pumpkin flavored things. These cupcakes are filled with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, giving it that delicious pumpkin-pie spice. You could also substitute a pumpkin-pie spice blend for these different spices. I decorated mine with a swirl of fat free Reddi-wip, a dash of cinnamon and some fall themed sprinkles. At only five additional calories (for two tablespoons), fat free Reddi-wip is a perfect low calorie alternative to frosting, and tastes fantastic on these cupcakes!

Makes 20 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup Truvia Baking Blend
2 egg whites
1/4 cup Silk Light Original Soymilk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lay out cupcake liners.
Blend sugars and pumpkin.
Add egg whites, soymilk and spices.
Mix in flour.
Add two heaping tablespoons of batter per cupcake liner (about 2/3 of the way full).
Bake 20 minutes.
Decorate and enjoy!

Arts & Life Columns Cooking Corner

Cooking Corner: 15 Minute Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Post author By cmo015
Post date October 24, 2012

Katie Mancino
Columnist

15 Minute Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

311 calories, 5g fat, 57 carbs, 16g protein

I’m a butternut squash addict. I love adding it to all kinds of dishes because it’s really healthy, hearty and tastes great, especially with spices like rosemary and thyme. This macaroni and cheese is a perfect fast and easy fall dish that tastes great and just happens to be good for you too. If you want, you can also add caramelized onion, carrots or other types of squash too.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

4 cups raw butternut squash, cubed
2 cups skim milk
1 Tbsp. Land O’Lakes Light Butter
1 cup Sargento Reduced Fat Italian blend
Rosemary, thyme, oregano, garlic powder
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 box (12 oz dry) Rozoni Smart Taste Penne

Directions

Put water (covered) on high to cook pasta.
Over medium heat, melt butter, add milk, 1/2 teaspoon of each spice and squash. Cook 8-10 minutes until squash is fork tender.
Add flour to squash and stir to mix well. Sauce should start to thicken. Then add in cheese. Mix until it melts, then continue cooking 2-3 minutes until thick.
Drain pasta, toss with squash sauce and enjoy!