Healthy Cornbread

There's a joke around here that if you want a big butt, you just have to eat cornbread. It came about because it's a staple comfort food here in the Midwest, and we all know mid-westerners are not known for our beach bodies. But it's popular for good reason. Nothing goes better with a bowl of chili than a steaming slice of fresh cornbread, honey shimmering as it slides it's way down the sides, and butter melting and soaking into every golden crumb. I can taste it now!

Luckily, with this recipe, we health freaks can have our cornbread, and eat it too! The recipe that my family has used for years is from the 'Colorado Cache Cookbook,' and although it's delicious, it definitely won't help shrink your waistline. I replaced the butter with real corn, used whole wheat flour instead of white, cut the sugar by 1/4 cup and used egg whites in place of one egg yolk. And the best part? 1 piece is only 130 calories! But, you're going to have to try for yourself!


Healthy Cornbread
16 servings

1 cup pureed corn kernels + 1/4 cup whole kernels
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon skim milk
1 3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon light sour cream
2 tablespoons honey


Pour vinegar into measuring cup, add milk and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in egg, egg white, pureed corn, apple sauce, sour cream and honey. Add baking soda to milk, stir and add the mixture to the bowl. Mix well. Stir in 1/4 cup corn kernels. Pour into greased 8x9 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees, about 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Click below to enlarge nutrition facts



Corn Bread

Cranberry-Chai Bread

It's been a month since I've updated. The holidays have come and (almost) gone, and I've finally found some time to just sit and write. I am currently at my cabin in northern Wisconsin with my family and boyfriend. All the ground and trees are frosted white, the lake is completely frozen, and the only sign of life is the deer tracks going this way and that. I love it here, it's beautiful, quiet and peaceful- a perfect getaway to write.

I've been wanting to make Chai bread for quite some time. But with a long holiday to-do-list, I kept putting it off. The kitchen was filled with Christmas cookies of all sorts, and even when I had the time to make it, I hardly had the space. Finally, one day last week, I set out to make the bread. It had been hanging over my head long enough, and I couldn't put it off any longer. Now, when it comes to breads, I have a basic recipe which I tweak depending on the kind of bread I want to make. This recipe I developed using applesauce or pumpkin instead of oil. But I didn't want my Chai bread to have either of those flavors. I wanted it to be just Chai- nothing else. So I looked through my very-worn Better Homes and Garden's cookbook, to find a recipe I could tweak. I finally settled on Cranberry Orange Bread. It was very basic and looked easy enough to change the flavors.


I immediately started to mix things together. After I had mixed up all the ingredients, I realized that there was hardly any batter. I read through the recipe again, this time more carefully, and realized that it called for a whole cup of cranberries. No wonder there was hardly any batter! I decided that I would add the cranberries, and hope the Chai-Cranberry combination would turn out in my favor. It sure did! I could hardly wait to try it out once it came out of the oven. It's the perfect cold-weather snack. Warm, sweet, earthy and just a bit tart. The combination of the different flavors couldn't have blended any better! And with a smear of butter, it's just heavenly!


Cranberry-Chai Bread
Makes 10 slices

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup granulated Splenda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 chai tea bag
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup brewed black tea
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 cup chopped cranberries (I used frozen cranberries, chopped them with the food processor, and measured 1 cup)



1. Sift together flour, sugar, Splenda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and the contents of the chai tea bag.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, orange peel, vanilla, tea and applesauce. Stir into the flour mixture until just moistened.

3. Fold in chopped cranberries

4. Pour into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan, and bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

5. Remove from the pan, and cool on a rack.

Enjoy warm, with honey or butter.
Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.







Nutrition Facts per slice
Calories: 136 Fat: 1 g Saturated Fat: .2 g Cholesterol: 21.3 mg Sodium: 312.4 mg Potassium: 22.5 mg Carbohydrates: 31.1 g Fiber: 3.7 g Sugars: 12 g Protein: 3.9 g

Lemon-Poppy Seed Cookies

Think of the last time you ate a 'healthy' cookie. It probably tasted something like cardboard, right? That's the problem for us health freaks-cuisine can easily be made healthier, but it gets complicated with baking. Baking is a science, so it's hard to swap out fattening ingredients with more nutritious ones- it completely changes the chemistry of the recipe! But with a little know-how, you can make a delicious, and nutritious cookie. I put my know-how to work with these Lemon-Poppy Seed Cookies. I saw the original recipe in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, and like a mad scientist set out to make a lower calorie, guilt-free version. I swapped oil with yogurt, sugar with Splenda, and white flour with whole wheat. Friends and family agree, this recipe is a keeper! Enjoy with a hot cup of tea!




Lemon-Poppy Seed Cookies
Adapted from http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lemon-poppy-seed-cookies-edf
Serves 26

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
1/8 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp fat-free vanilla yogurt
1 packed tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.
3. In a small bowl mix together sugar, Splenda, egg yolks, poppy seeds, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla seeds.
4. Stir mixture into flour until just combined.
5. Drop dough by teaspoons 2 inches apart onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. 6. Bake cookies 10-14 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through. Cookies should be lightly golden brown.
7. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
8. Store in an air-tight container.

Nutrition Facts
Calories: 23 Fat: .7 g Cholesterol: 15.5 g Sodium: 23.4 mg Carbohydrates: 4.3 g Fiber: .3 g Protein: .6 g

Whole Wheat and Flax Mini Bagels

You may have noticed that I like carbohydrates. A lot. When people ask my favorite food, they expect to hear squash, steak, chicken. Nope, I answer 'Carbs.' I don't like a certain kind of food. I have a favorite food GROUP. I don't care what it is, as long as it has flour in it, I'll eat it. One of my favorite carb-filled-foods, though, is bagels. Actually, big, white, lightly toasted, cream-cheese covered bagels from Big Apple Bagel. My mouth is watering just thinking of it.

Since I've began my healthy eating habits, though, I've definitely ruled out bagels. I let myself splurge here and there, but bagels are basically big, center less, DELICIOUS, nutritional-lacking pieces of refined flour. Definitely not something that I want to 'spend' 400+ calories on...Especially since I'll feel hungry soon after, anyways. Yesterday, though, I was craving bagels. I easily could have gotten in my jeep, driven to the store, walked to the healthy aisle, and picked up a bag of whole wheat bagels...But that would be too easy!

No, I set out to make my very first homemade bagels. Healthy homemade bagels. I searched the internet for the most basic bagel recipe I could find, a formula, really. I found one and went to work. Making them was the easiest part- you basically just throw everything together and mix away. But the waiting for them to rise, boil, and bake? I was ravenous for a bagel!

Finally, they were done. I sliced into my mini bagel, carefully applied a bit of (healthy) butter, waited for it to melt in, and took a bite. My very hard tedious, and patient waiting paid off. My miniature bagel was warm, chewy, and full of flavor. And the best part? No guilt whatsoever. They're just big enough to hit the spot, and since they've got fiber, they're filling too. And since they're only 88 calories each, you can have two...Or three....

Nutrition: Calories: 88 Fat: .6g Sodium: 223mg Carbs: 18.7 Fiber: 2.9 Protein: 3.3



Whole Wheat and Flax Mini Bagels
Makes 20 mini bagels

1 1/2 cups tepid water (105-110 degree F)
1 packet active dry yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons milled flax
1 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon honey

1. Dissolve the yeast in the tepid water and set aside.
2. In a stand-up mixer bowl, combine flours, flax, salt, sugar and honey.
3. Add the yeast and water.
4. Using a dough hook, combine all on low speed for 2 minutes.
5. Increase the speed to medium low, and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. All the flour should be incorporated. If the dough separates while kneading, stop the mixer, fold the dough together, and turn the mixer back on.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl, form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel, and let rise for 20-30 minutes.
7. Divide the dough into 20 1.5 balls.
8. Poke a hole in the center of each ball, and form into a bagel shape, turning in your hand to round the edges.
9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Heat a large, shallow pot of water till boiling, and lower to a simmer. Drop 5 bagels in at a time. Cook for 30 seconds, flip the bagels, and cook another 30 seconds.
11. Remove the bagels from the water, and place on a wire cooling rack.
12. Repeat with the rest of the bagels, making sure to keep the water simmering.
13. Let the bagels just dry, and arrange on the parchment paper, an inch apart.
14. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake another 5 minutes.
15. Remove and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
16. Enjoy!

Lemon and Herb Whole Wheat Pasta

All the 'Eating' holidays have passed: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentines day. Whoever made up these holidays were smart to place them in the winter- when those extra pounds you gain are hidden under your sweaters and coats! As quickly as Valentines day has passed, so has my chocolate craze; It's back to healthy eating, and that means healthier recipes, too!

Many people who follow a healthy diet tend to avoid pasta. It's filled with starchy carbs and little nutritional value. I love pasta, and it was one of the hardest foods to 'give up.' However, I recently discovered Whole Wheat pasta. I always saw it in the grocery store, but I expected that common aftertaste that accompanies many wheat foods. What I found, though, was a flavorful spaghetti that I happen like better than the white pastas. And it's packed with fiber and protein and just 180 calories per serving.

This recipe goes beyond being good for your figure: Garlic is potent with antioxidants and is known to help prevent cancer and heart disease. It's also a natural antibiotic, helping to ward off colds. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats, the 'good' fats. Olive oil also contains antioxidants which can promote heart health. Lemon also contains antioxidants which have anti-cancer properties, as well as tons of Vitamin C! Rosemary ALSO contains anti-cancer properties and can act as a mild diuretic, helping reduce inflammation in the body. Besides this recipe being delicious, it's great for your weight and health...So get cooking!

Lemon and Herb Whole Wheat Pasta
Makes 1 serving
2 ounces (or 1 serving) Whole Wheat spaghetti (I like Ronzoni Healthy Harvest)
1 medium clove garlic
1 teaspoon total of dried or fresh herbs such as rosemary, basil, oregano
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon olive oil
fresh lemon juice
sea salt
pinch black pepper

1. Prepare the pasta as according to the package, making sure to generously salt the water.
2. While the spaghetti is cooking, finely mince the garlic.
3. Combine herbs, a pinch salt and black pepper and garlic.
4. Using the side of a large knife, form a paste by dragging the knife repeatedly over the garlic mixture. (Use a few drops of olive oil if needed)
5. Combine the lemon zest and garlic paste together.
6. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and rinse.
7. Empty the water from the spaghetti pot, and return to medium-low heat.
8. Heat the olive in the pot, and stir in the garlic, lemon and herb paste.
9. Finally, add the pasta to the pot, and toss with the oil and garlic and herbs, until heated.
10. Serve with a pinch of lemon zest, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy!