Yummy Baked Apples

My son Isaiah loves apples. My daughter Autumn will eat them sometimes. I tried this recipe from http://www.spinachandhoney.com/ they loved them and so did I. They made them as a healthy dessert, but I made them as a snack. Here is the recipe from the site I made my own comments in parenthesis.

• 4 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples (I used golden delicious)


• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or 1/2 a lemon


• 1 tablespoon of honey


• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, divided


• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 275 degrees (I did 350 degrees b/c I'm impatient but they turned out fine and cooked faster). Cut apples into slivers and put in a mixing bowl. Squeeze in the juice from half of a lemon. Pour in honey and almost all the cinnamon, save a little for the top. Mix everything together well. Put the apple mixture into a pie dish. Cut the butter into small cubes and scatter on top. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon over the butter and apples. Cover and put in the oven for 50 minutes or until apples are soft. Serve warm or at room temperature. These are sweet enough alone, but a small bit of warm maple syrup for dipping is good too!

Low Fat Brownies

Greg and I have been trying to watch what we eat and maintain our weight. Our upcoming job requires us to. I love chocolate, especially brownies. Sometimes when I make a whole pan of brownies it's very hard to eat just one. Yesterday I bought some No Pudge Original Fudge Brownie Mix. All you add is vanilla yogurt. It is more pricey than other brownie mixes running around $3.50-$4.50 depending on where you buy it. It does have 12 servings and great instructions on how to do a single serve brownie in the microwave. I was hesitant to bake a brownie in the microwave but surprisingly it was very yummy and provided a good size portion without the extra temptation that a whole pan of brownies presents. The directions on the box were to mix 2 Tablespoons of brownie mix with 1 Tablespoon of vanilla yogurt and to microwave for 1 minute (I did 50 seconds b/c I like my brownie a tad bit gooey). One of these servings is only 120 calories and 0 grams of fat. It was very tasty. I'm wondering if there is a homemade mix that I could make and use the same way. I'll have to do some researching and welcome any suggestions.

Low Carb Pumpkin Cheese Cake

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• 1 ½ cups almond meal (ground almonds)


• ½ teaspoon each of ginger and cinnamon


• 4 Tablespoons melted butter


• 4 Tablespoons sugar substitute (I use Splenda for baking)
  

Filling

• 3 8 oz packages cream cheese at room temperature


• 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon


• 1 teaspoon nutmeg


• ¾ teaspoon ginger


• ¼ teaspoon allspice


• ¼ teaspoon cloves


• ½ teaspoon salt


• 1 ½ cups sugar substitute, or to taste (I use Splenda for baking)


• 1 can (about 15 oz) pumpkin


• 1 Tablespoon vanilla


• 5 eggs, preferably room temperature


• ½ cup heavy cream

Preparation 1) Combine ingredients for crust, and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown.

2) Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl and beaters. This step will be repeated several times and is important. The mixture will gradually become lighter, and the denser stuff has a tendency to cling to the bowl. You won't be able to incorporate it as well later, so keep scraping.

3) Add spices and sweetener. Beat again, scrape again.

4) Add pumpkin and vanilla. Beat well, scrape.

5) Add 3 eggs. Beat well (about a minute), scrape.

6) Add the other 2 eggs and cream and beat another minute. Pour mixture into pan over crust.

7) Place pan in a baking pan and pour boiling water around the sides, about halfway up. Lower the oven temperature to 325 F. and bake for for 60 to 90 minutes, checking often after an hour. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 150 to 155 F, remove from oven. (I baked mine at 350 F for 1 hour and it turned out great)

8) Remove sides from pan. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature, or up to 3 hours. Cover and chill, ideally for another 3 to 4 hours.

Nutritional Information for full fat cream cheese, at 16 servings: Each serving has 4 grams effective carbohydrate plus 2 grams fiber, 5 grams protein, and 285 calories.

Recipe from:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbthanksgiving/r/pumpkncheescake.htm

Picture from: Diana Rattray posted at:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/dessertrecipe1/ig/Fabulous-Desserts/Pumpkin-Swirl-Cheesecake.htm

Cocoa Fudge Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
  
• 5 tablespoons butter
  
• 7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar


• 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I've also used low-fat vanilla)


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• Cooking spray
  

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt; set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Yield
2 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 78(31% from fat); FAT 2.7g (sat 1.6g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 1g; CHOLESTEROL 7mg; CALCIUM 12mg; SODIUM 54mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 0.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13.4g

Alice Medrich , Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

Photo by, Becky Luigart-Stayner; Lydia DeGaris-Pursell