I'm an Addict.

Pin It The first step to recovery is realizing you have a problem and tonight I finally relized that I definitely have a problem.  I...am addicted to baking.  Seriously.  My friends and family probably think I'm crazy, but I just can't stop! Tonight I had to make an emergency run to HyVee to pick up a few ingredients, so I could continue my obsession.  What crazy creation is on the agenda tonight you ask?  Strawberry Cottage Cheesecake. Delicious! ...And of course nutritious!

Side Note: Sorry to disappoint you all, but there are no beans of any sort in my cake tonight.  Surprising I know...I just figured my friends could use a break from beans in their diet...if you catch my drift.  Not everybody's system can handle all those beans.  Haha.  Only kidding. :P

After I mixed it all together and popped it in the oven I was feeling pretty confident about my lastest masterpiece.  An hour later however.... not so much.  I open the oven to see if it was done and it looked great! Slightly golden on top, a little cracked, and the most phenomenal smell in the world filled the kitchen.  I put on some hot pads and reached in to grab it and to my horror watched the entire cake slosh all around.  It was completely runny.  I decided to let it bake a little longer, but to my dismay nothing changed.  Giving up hope I just took it out and set it on the counter hoping and praying that it would set up overnight in the fridge.  I ran to the fridge in the morning to check it out. SUCCESS!  Looked just like the vicious full fat cheesecake you might find at cheesecake factory...ok maybe not quite that good. :P But the taste was amazing! Mission complete.

Strawberry Cottage Cheesecake
Ingredients
1 cup Lowfat/fatfree cottage cheese
1/3 cup Skim milk
6 oz Light vanilla yogurt (or whatever flavor you want)
1/4 cup Unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup Thawed strawberries
1/4 cup Sugar (or equivalent sweetener)
1 Graham cracker crust (I suggest making your own... I kind of cheated here :S)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2.  Blend up the cottage cheese along with the milk until completely smooth.  You don't want chunky cheesecake trust me.
3. Add in the yogurt and applesauce. Blend well again.
4. Pour blender contents into a medium bowl.
5. Blend together the strawberries and sugar.
6. Mix the strawberries with the cheese mixture and pour into pie crust.
7. Bake for 60 minutes so the top looks cracked.  It will still seem really runny when you take it out, but after it cools and is refrigerated a few hours it will set up.
Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 167

Total Fat: 5.4 g

     Sat. Fat: 1.3 g

Cholesterol: 4.3 mg

Sodium: 227 mg

Potassium: 104.4 mg

Total Carbs: 26 g

     Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g

     Sugars: 14.4 g

Protein: 5.6 g

Vitamin A: 3.8%
Vitamin C: 5.7%
Calcium: 5.9%
Iron: 2.3%

Chocolate Craving Anyone?

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Ever since I've moved back to Winona I've had this huge craving for chocolate and of course being the poor college student that I am I have nothing but chocolate chips.  Not going to cut it. What is a girl to do??  

After a little brainstorming and little experimenting I came up with a nutritious-n-delicious recipe that any college student could afford. Double Chocolate Protein Pancakes. Yum.

My first baking adventure in my new house was a success!  I even got to use my new giraffe pan and giraffe whisk.  Thanks Mom! :P I will definitely be making these pancakes again.

Double Chocolate Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

2/3 cup Quick oats

1/2 tsp Baking soda

Dash of salt

2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 tbsp Agave nectar (or honey/any other sweetener of your choice)

2 tsp Vanilla extract

2/3 cup Milk

2/3 cup cooked lentils

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

 Directions

1. Grind the oats in a blender/food processor/ninja (this is the name my roommates gave my Wal-mart brand magic bullet).

2. Add remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and blend well.

3. Heat a pan over medium heat.

4. Spray pan with cooking spray and pour in 1/3 cup batter and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top.

5. Flip when sides begin to look dry and all the bubbles have popped.

6. Remove when cooked all the way through.

7. Serve with natural peanut butter and enjoy!

Makes 5 medium pancakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 154

Total Fat: 3.5 g

     Sat. Fat: 1.8 g

Cholesterol: 1 mg

Sodium: 152.4 mg

Potassium: 181.4 mg

Total Carbs: 27.2 g

     Dietary Fiber: 4 g

     Sugars: 13 g

Protein: 6 g

Vitamin A: 2%

Vitamin C 1.1%

Calcium: 6.5%

Iron: 11.8%



Nutritious VS Vicious

Pin It Hey all :) I know it's been awhile since I've been on to blog my baking adventures, but this week has been pretty crazy.  I am finally back in Winona and all moved in...the only problem is no internet...  It really makes me appreciate having any sort of internet at all no matter how frustrating it can be sometimes.  Thankfully, however, last night a couple of my roommates found out that we can connect to one of our neighbor's internet in our house because they didn't put a password on it. Score!
Alright so back to the baking... before I left for school one of my best friends and I had our last baking party of the summer.  Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies. Yum.
How can it get any better than that? I know! NUTRITIOUS Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies. But of course my friend Alyse can't stand the thought of eating cookies with beans in them, so we had to make a separate batch of cookies for her.  I like to call them VICIOUS Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies.  I did however win by at least using whole wheat pastry flour instead of the nasty white and nasty all purpose flour. :) 

Both of the batches turned out great and I am proud to say the NUTRITIOUS cookies we liked just as much as the VICIOUS cookies.

NUTRITIOUS CHOCOLATE CHIP PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients

1 can Garbanzo beans (150z)

1 Egg

3 tbsp Honey

3 tbsp Brown sugar

1/3 cup Natural peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Salt

1/2 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Process beans in the food processor or blender until smooth.
3. Add the egg, honey, peanut butter, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Blend until smooth.
4. Add chocolate chips and pulse until slightly broken and mixed throughout the batter.
5. Bake 15-20 minutes.



...I hate to even put the VICIOUS cookie recipe up here, but for those of you who are as picky as Alyse and refuse to eat cookies with beans in them here you go.  (Note: I made Alyse try my cookies and she surprised herself by actually liking them. :P)

VICIOUS Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Courtesy of Nestlé Kitchens

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups White whole-wheat flour

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup Packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup Granulated sugar

1/4 cup Natural creamy peanut butter (We used regular Jif)

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts (Omitted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

3. In another bowl stir together butter, and both sugars.

4. Add peanut butter; mix.

5. Add egg and vanilla; mix.

6. Slowly stir in the dry mixture.

7. Once everything is well combined stir in chocolate chips.

8. Drop cookies onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

9. Bake 8-10 minutes until slightly golden.


NUTRITIOUS Nutrition Facts                                    VICIOUS Nutrition Facts
Calories: 74                                                                  Calories: 152
Total Fat: 3.5 g                                                            Total Fat: 7.8 g
     Sat. Fat: 1.3 g                                                              Sat. Fat: 4.1 g
Cholesterol: 8.6 mg                                                     Cholesterol: 21.9 mg
Sodium: 100.4 mg                                                       Sodium: 84.2 mg
Potassium: 35 mg                                                        Potassium: 50.4 mg
Total Carbs: 8.8 g                                                        Total Carbs: 14.7 g
     Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g                                                     Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
     Sugar: 5.1 g                                                                Sugar: 12.1 g
Protein: 1.8 g                                                              Protein: 2 g
Vitamin A: 0.2%                                                         Vitamin A: 3%
Vitamin C: 0%                                                            Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 1%                                                               Calcium: 1.2%
Iron: 2.7%                                                                  Iron: 3.2%

Brownies....Black Bean Brownies.

Pin It Today is my last day at home before I head off to school!  This morning I am making my favorite black bean brownies for my last day of work tomorrow.  I love seeing people's reaction when they find out that there are BEANS in my BROWNIES.  Most people immediately turn their nose up at the thought, but once they try them they fall in love! <3
These brownies are still not 100% healthy, however,  because they are made out of a typical box of Betty Crocker brownie mix.  With sugar being the first ingredient and bleached, enriched flour following close behind the mix is not exactly "Kara approved" (as my friends would say).  I am still working on perfecting my truely healthy black bean brownie recipe so until then these will just have to do. 

Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients

15 oz. can of black beans (reduced sodium preferably)

1 family size box of Betty Crocker brownie mix (I usually use the low fat version, but today I am using the dark chocolate version)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Puree rinsed black beans and about 1/2 a can of water in a food processor, magic bullet, or blender.  Just make sure there are no bean chunks when you are done.

3. Stir in the brownie mix.

4. Spray a 13'' x 9'' pan with cooking spray.

5. Pour in batter and bake for 28-30 minutes.

Makes 24 brownies.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 105

Total Fat: 0.9 g

     Sat. Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 139.2 mg

Potassium: 114.2 mg

Total Carbs: 22.9 g

     Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g

     Sugars: 14.3 g

Protein: 1.7 g

Vitamin A: 0%

Vitamin C: 0%

Calcium: 0.8%

Iron: 5.2%



Late Night Baking

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It's half past twelve and I find myself once again in the kitchen while everyone else is sound asleep.  The cupboard doors are wide open, the sink is over flowing with dishes, flour is on the floor, and a spatula is in my hand.  Tonight it's Oat Bran Muffins inspired by the bran muffins my dad always used to make ...with a few modifications of course.  I have been in a baking frenzy stocking up on frozen goods to take with me to school on Saturday.  Gotta take advantage of the free food while I can ya know. :-)

Oh and by the way...these muffins are AWESOME.  Especially with chocolate chips!  Full of whole grains, natural sugars, carrots, and apples...Nutritious-n-Delicious.

Bran Muffins

Ingredients

3 cups Whole wheat

3/4 cup White whole wheat

3/4 cup Ground flax meal

1 1/2 cups Oat bran

1 cup Pure honey

1 tbsp Baking soda

2 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tbsp Cinnamon

3 cups Shredded carrots

2 large Apples

1 cup Raisins

1 cup Craisins

4 Eggs

2 cups Skim milk

1 tbsp Vanilla

1 container Low-fat yogurt (I used weight watchers; any flavor works)

Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix together all dry ingredients.

3. Beat eggs in a small bowl.

4. Stir in all wet ingredients. (You may add a little water if the batter looks too thick.)

5. Scoop into miffin tin liners.

6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 47-48 muffins.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 113

Total Fat: 1.4 g

     Sat. Fat: 0.3 g

Cholesterol: 18.6 mg

Sodium: 174.5 mg

Potassium: 178.7 mg

Total Carbs: 23.8 g

     Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g

     Sugars: 12.5 g

Protein: 3.6 g

Vitamin A: 70.3%

Vitamin C: 3.6%
Calcium: 5.2%

Iron: 5%