white chocolate mini cheesecakes
Posted: June 7, 2011 Filed under: dessert, healthy living tips, recipes Leave a comment »
(Picture via fitnessmagazine.com)
Need a sweet treat? These mini cheesecakes will satisfy your sweet tooth without the 1,000 calories that most cheesecakes have per slice. (Yes, most cheesecakes have about 1,000 calories per SLICE!)
White Chocolate Mini Cheesecake Recipe
thanksgiving 2010: portions
Posted: November 24, 2010 Filed under: camper question, dessert, dinner, exercise, healthy living tips, holiday eating, thanksgiving 2010, tips for families, tips for teens 1 Comment »
It seems that once Thanksgiving rolls around, it is non-stop eating, treats and parties for the next month. Which, as you can imagine adds up to a lot of extra calories and a few extra pounds for most of America. But this doesn’t have to be the case and I think the best way to prevent holiday weight-gain is to use our old favorite – portion control! Time to dig out those portion plates from Camp! (And of course, Dan would like to remind us that staying active is equally important this time of year 
)
Being mindful of portions allows us to have stuffing and eat our pie too. Of course we will eat a little more than usual on Thanksgiving and that is fine! But, Friday is back to normal eating and activity levels. Don’t feel like you’ve blown everything by eating too much on Thursday and say, “It’s too late now, I’ve already eaten too much and gained weight so it doesn’t matter if I eat more today.” That’s not how weight gain works and that’s certainly not the attitude to have.
Like you learned at Camp, look at your plate and divide it into portions:
- 1/4 plate for protein: fill this section with white meat turkey
- 1/4 plate for starches: this is the section that might be a little hard because it is a fairly small – it includes, stuffing, potatoes, bread, etc. (decide on what your favorites are and stick with those instead of sampling everything!)
- 1/2 plate for fruits/vegetables: round out your plate with leafy salads, sautéed vegetables, fruit salads, etc.
- small plate for appetizers: it’s thanksgiving after all
- small plate for dessert: chose a small pieces of pumpkin pie and a dollop of whipped cream
This should leave you pleasantly full, without being so full (like a 8-10 on hunger-fullness scale) that you feel sick.
Before you go back for seconds, take some time to really decide if you are hungry. If it’s not hunger and just something that you want, maybe your host will let you take another serving home with you.
Why not start Friday off with a quick workout that doesn’t require any equipment (no excuses for not being at home hehe ) and a healthy breakfast of oatmeal or 2 eggs and a piece of whole grain toast.
Happy Thanksgiving!
from Dan, Tut, Karen and Emily
thanksgiving 2010: caramel pudding pumpkin cupcakes
Posted: November 17, 2010 Filed under: dessert, healthy living tips, holiday eating, recipes, thanksgiving 2010 Leave a comment »With thanksgiving in about a week, we are already thinking of ways to make the Holiday season a little healthier. These cupcakes are a great way to enjoy a special treat without too many calories!
Caramel Pudding Pumpkin Cupcakes
www.hungrygirl.com
(Makes 12 servings)
Per serving (1 cupcake): 108 calories, 2g fat, 188mg sodium, 21g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 12g sugars, 2g protein
Ingredients for cupcakes
- 2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix (1/2 of an 18.25-ounce box)
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
- 1/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
- 2 tablespoons sugar-free maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for topping
- 3 cubes (about 1 ounce) chewy caramel
- 2 teaspoons light vanilla soymilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl with 1/3 cup of water. Whip with a whisk or fork for 2 minutes until well blended.
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with baking cups. Evenly spoon batter into muffin cups.
Place pan in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes (until cupcakes have puffed up but still appear a little gooey on top).
Once cupcakes are cool enough to handle, arrange them closely on a plate so that the edges are touching. Place caramel and soymilk in a tall microwave-safe glass or dish (mixture will bubble and rise when heated).
Microwave at medium power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir mixture vigorously until smooth and thoroughly blended. (Return to microwave for 30 seconds at medium heat if caramel has not fully melted.) Immediately drizzle caramel sauce over cupcakes.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Posted: March 12, 2010 Filed under: dessert, recipes, snack Leave a comment »
Always on the look-out for healthy treats, when I came across these cookies in Clean Eating Magazine, I just knew that would be delicious! You really can’t go wrong with peanut-butter and chocolate, can you?
These cookies are also easy to make and don’t require a lot of ingredients! Bake away!
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from Clean Eating (makes about 20 cookies)
- 1 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped into pieces
Pre-heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets 5 minutes and let cool 15 more minutes.
