Tag: recipes

Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake w/Caramel Topping


Love to indulge in the sweets, but feel guilty about the calories? You won’t with this recipe! A healthier, lower-calorie take on cheesecake 🙂

Photo credit: Betty Crocker

Ingredients

  • 15 reduced-fat chocolate or vanilla wafer cookies, crushed (1/2 cup) (or graham crackers)
  • 2 pkgs (8 oz each) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 egg whites
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups vanilla low-fat/light yogurt
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup fat-free caramel topping
  • Pecan halves (if desired)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 300. Spray springform pan, 9×3 inches, with cooking spray.
  2. Sprinkle cookie crumbs over bottom of pan.
  3. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl w/electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
  4. Add sugar, egg whites and vanilla. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes or until smooth.
  5. Add yogurt and flour. Beat on low until smooth.
  6. Carefully spread batter over cookie crumbs in pan.
  7. Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven; cool in over 30 minutes with door closed.
  8. Cover & refrigerate at least 3 hours. Drizzle caramel topping over cheesecake and garnish w/pecan halves.

1 serving: Cal 175, Total Fat 7 g, Chol 25 mg, Sodium 180 mg, Total Carbs 23 g, Protein 5 g

Got Sauce? Now You Do!


Here’s a quick, easy & delicious recipe for pizza/pasta sauce that doesn’t require cooking.

Ingredients

  • 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tbsp oregano
  • 1/2 tbsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp rosemary, crushed
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Directions

  1. Mix tomato paste, water & oil – mix well.
  2. Add the rest of ingredients and let stand for several hours to let flavors blend.
  3. If you’re short on time, you can heat the sauce in a small saucepan.

A Light Take on Hollandaise Sauce


I don’t know about you, but I’m all about sauces! Here’s a tasty, light version of the traditional Hollandaise sauce you can use on your eggs benedict or veggies.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 3/4 cup Buttermilk*
  • 1 tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • Pinch Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

* If you don’t have buttermilk, take 1 cup of milk and add 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to make sour milk, let stand 5 minutes.

Directions

  1. Melt butter in small pan, then set aside.
  2.  Whisk 1/4 cup of buttermilk, cornstarch, salt & cayenne pepper in heavy, medium saucepan until smooth.
  3. Whisk in egg and remaining buttermilk.
  4. Set pan over medium-low heat and cook the sauce, whisking constantly until mixture comes to a simmer.
  5. Cook, whisking an additional 15 seconds.
  6. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice and reserved butter.

Note: I like to add 1 tbsp dijon mustard or honey dijon to add a little more flavor.

Enjoy!

1 g fat / 17 cal / 1 g carb / 1 g protein per tbsp

Haricot Verts aka “OMG, Insanely Delicious Green Beans”


Besides having the traditional Green Bean Casserole at Thanksgiving, I used to overlook green beans when thinking about making a side dish to accompany my main course. Well, that has changed now. These tantalize my taste buds to the extreme. I know… it’s just a vegetable, but in my opinion, these are out of this world. Try ’em for yourself and let me know!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp teriyaki (can use regular or a flavored one… I use an extra tbsp Soy Vey Island Teriyaki)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans
  • 1/2 c red & orange bell pepper strips
  • 1/3 c thin onion slices
  • 1/2 c whole cashews
  • 2 tbsp sesame seed oil

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, honey & butter.
  2. I prefer to steam the green beans over boiling them as it keeps a lot of the nutrients, but you can do either.
  3. In a skillet, heat up sesame seed oil, then saute the bell peppers and onions for 5-10  minutes (or shorter if you like them crispier).
  4. Add the beans, cashews and lemon juice.
  5. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add the teriyaki-honey sauce and toss gently.
  6. Saute on low for another 5-10 min to blend all of the flavors together.

As a side note, I paired this with my grilled orange-and-bourbon salmon.  ENJOY!!!