Football Food | Healthy “Team Colors” Pudding Pies Recipe

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

Even though the Super Bowl is just hours away, it’s not too late to put together some healthy snacks. Did you know that the amount of food scarfed down by Americans on Super Bowl Sunday is second only to Thanksgiving Day, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Most of the country’s pig-out party fare isn’t the most nutritious; included in the collective smorgasbord of snacking is 324 million gallons of beer, 1.23 billion chicken wings (BILLION!), 11 million pounds of potato chips, another 8 million pounds of tortilla chips and countless millions of pizzas –the Domino’s chain, alone, estimates they’ll deliver 11 million slices!

The Calorie Control Council, an industry group representing low-fat and sugar-free food and drink companies, reports that the average Super Bowl snacker will consume 1,200 calories and 50 grams of fat in snacks alone — that’s not even including a meal! While one day of salty-fatty-carby indulgence probably won’t harm you (especially if you exercise regularly), but it will probably cause you feel sluggish and icky if you’re not used to the diet.

So, I have some healthy ideas for Super Bowl snacks that are also quick and easy to make. I’m expecting my “Team Colors” Pudding Pies (made with Core Power High Protein Shake) to score big with party guests. Each little mini pie is made with sugar-free pudding and a protein-packed vanilla shake; dress the tops with fruit in your favorite team’s colors – kiwi and blueberries for the Seattle Seahawks or mandarin oranges and blueberries for the Denver Broncos! These are no-bake pies; anyone can do it – even those kitchen-avoiding guys! Head over to Core Power to check out their high protein shakes and if you’re watching the big game on Sunday then use the hashtag #CPBowl for live tweets and to post pix of your own Core Power inspired dips and snacks!

Mini “Team Colors” Protein Pudding Pies Recipe
• 1 box sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (11.5-oz) bottle vanilla protein shake
• ¼ cup plain, 0% fat Greek yogurt
• 6 mini graham cracker crumb crusts (I used Keebler brand)
• 1 (6-oz) can mandarin orange slices, drained
• 1 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
• ¼ cup blueberries
In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix, Core Power, and yogurt until free of lumps and starting to thicken. Pour mixture equally into 6 mini crusts. Arrange fruit decoratively on top of pies. Chill for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

If you must eat chips, why not do baked chips? Store-bought baked chips are a healthier swap than the full-fat versions, yet still loaded with sodium. Make your own baked chips at home in the oven and keep control over all the ingredients – no guilt, no clogged arteries. Check out my recipe for Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Chips – you can dunk them right into one of America’s favorite dips (guacamole). Did you know that more than 80 million avocados will be enjoyed Sunday, I say YUM to that!

My Gluten-Free Quinoa Almond Chocolate Chippers are ready to tackle even the most hard-core sweet tooth. The quinoa in there packs a little extra protein punch which may help put a stop to your linebacker-sized appetite.

Also, check out Cooking Light – they have made-over five iconic foods eaten at football game viewing parties from coast to coast.

Pear Pressure! Healthy Dessert Recipes for Poached Pears and More!

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Jennifer FIsher

Fruit for dessert, when I was a kid I thought this was a fate worse than cleaning my room on a Saturday. Sheez, if I finished my meatloaf and polished off the peas, I deserved a GOOD reward, something sickly sweet like a Hostess cupcake or Bomb Pop. But, alas, my mom, bless her healthy heart, never (okay rarely) bought junk like this. Instead we had homemade ice pops, frozen bananas and the occasional chocolate chip cookie (whoot)!

But then, one day it happened – I gave into the siren song of a golden foil-wrapped pear. Straight from Harry & David, nestled in in a holiday gift basket. Although my rational self was saying “no,” just pass on that fruit for dessert and go straight for the chocolate, I couldn’t help greedily peeling off the sparkling paper and digging in — it was divine, it was to die for and I was completely woozy with pear intoxication. Still, to this day, if someone was to send me a basket of golden foil-wrapped pears, I would be beyond thrilled (hint, hint).

Pears poaching in pomegranate juice.

So, last year for New Year’s Eve, a family friend made poached pears for dessert. I’m not sure exactly what he did to make them so delicious, but they were sublime – easy yet elegant and just the right amount of sweet to top off the celebratory meal without making me feel even more stuffed than I already was. Inspired by these memories of pears past, I created my own recipe for dessert pears – Poached Pears with Pomegranate & Mascarpone Sauce.

If you want the full step-by-step video instructions on how to make this healthy dessert, you got it – I recently made this little poached pear how-to for Austin Fit Magazine online. The recipe is a super star!

Fast, Fit and Family-Friendly Recipes with TheFitFork.com – Poached Pears with Pomegranate-Mascarpone Sauce:

All this talk about pears being so fantastic for dessert (or anytime) and I never mentioned the health benefits. Pears are a great source of fiber and offer important nutrients including vitamin B2, C, E, copper, and potassium. They also contain a significant amount of pectin, a water soluble fiber which is thought to help reduce cholesterol and regulate the body’s use of sugars. Pears are a healthy choice in carbohydrates and provide longer-lasting energy thanks to their low glycemic load — this just means the carbs in pears are slow to convert to sugar before entering the bloodstream.

Poached Pear Bread from Cooking Light Magazine

This recipe for Poached Pear Bread from Cooking Light magazine made me do a double take, and probably you as well! Poached pears were placed right into quick-bread batter before being baked up into a rustic yet refined loaf of bread that, when sliced, reveals a mouthwatering cross-section of pear! Yes, please!

Another wonderfully warm, homey dessert featuring pears is my Cranberry-Ginger Pear Crumble – mmm, this is perfect for a cold winter treat! So, what are you waiting for? Grow a “pear” and get healthy — pears are perfect for dessert!

Do you have a favorite way to eat pears? Maybe for dessert or on a salad? Please share in the comments, I am always looking for new pear inspiration!

On Being Plankful . . . . and Soup Season!

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Every November makes me realize how I need to be more intentionally thankful, but sometimes it is difficult to count all my blessings when I’m caught up in the busyness of life. However, if something is a priority, I need to carve out the time for it – what a person puts her focus into tends to grow. However, when I fall back into that familiar “there’s not enough time” excuse to avoid reflection, meditation, prayer or whatever you want to call it, I give myself a little kick in the butt. I have access to exactly the same number of hours per day that everyone else in the world does (including really awesome and inspirational people); I need to use them wisely.

This month, I am going to be purposefully “plankful.” I’ll set aside a mere 5 minutes per day to focus on my core strength, literally and figuratively. Literally, holding the plank position (in all it’s different variations) creates a strong core Not only does planking work just about every muscle in your mid-section and arms, it also gives you some inescapable “alone time” with yourself – ahh, the perfect time to give thanks!

Figuratively, I see the plank pose as a life metaphor for gratitude and thanksgiving. If you’ve never planked, watching someone else hold the position looks so easy. So does observing someone live a life filled with gratitude. But, both are surprisingly challenging exercises –for me anyway. The good news is that, the more I practice, the better I know I’ll become at both!

If you’d like to join me, it’s easy. Just plank for a minute or two per day, you can even work up to several sets. Spend your time in the plank pose by reflecting on all the wonderful things life has given you and how, in turn, you can show gratitude to others. You can also be “plankful” with a friend; after all, who isn’t thankful for a good friend who has your back?!

Another thing to be thankful about this November – soups! Finally, it is cool enough to enjoy soup in Texas without melting into a big puddle. Soup totally fits my lifestyle – you can make it ahead of time, toss in the season’s bountiful produce, and it almost always tastes just as good (if not better) as leftovers! Check out the 101 healthy soups from Cooking Light, there is a soup here for everyone and enough recipes to make a new soup every night for the next 3 ½ months!

I’m making Creamy Sweet Potato Soup, it was the star soup on the cover of Cooking Light this month! It looks delicious and I’m curious as to find out how it’s so creamy looking with a base of mainly chicken stock – sounds healthy and I’m always looking for a new way to use those nutritious sweet potatoes!

I’ve posted this one before, but I have a really yummy recipe for Loaded-but-Lite Baked Potato Soup (below) that is a real winner with everyone in the family. It’s hearty, healthy and perfect for those nights when it’s a bit chilly!

Cookbook Giveaway | Lighten Up, America!

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Golly gee, I was just talking about my favorite healthy cookbooks in honor of National Cookbook Month and then a new one (plus a second copy to give away) shows up at my doorstep — Cooking Light Lighten Up, America! I can already tell this collection of regional American recipes is going to be well-worn in no time thanks to the quirky style and healthy spin author Allison Fishman Task puts on so many of my family’s favorite dishes – and new recipe ideas!

Filled with more than 150 recipes with easy-to-follow instructions, helpful healthy tips and beautiful photography that captures every drool-worthiness morsel, this cookbook also exudes the spirit of foodie adventure that can only come from road-tripping from one American food festival to the next. Keep reading on and find out how you can win my giveaway for a copy of Lighten Up, America!

But, here are the Amazon links if you can’t wait to win!

With so many recipes, I devised a simple plan to start my cooking plan of attack! In each of the chapters, I’ve picked one recipe that speaks to me in some way – whether childhood memories, a favorite flavor crave, or just because the photo looks so inviting.

Lighter American Breakfasts:

$tex mex migas$

Tex-Mex Migas are a breakfast staple in my hometown of Austin, Texas. Good for lunch too!

Lighter American Lunches:

Shrimp Po’Boys loaded with pan-sautéed gulf shrimp (rather than fried) make this New Orleans classic my new best friend.

Lighter American Main Dishes:

Another popular dish in Austin (and one more way to use my 75 lbs of Hatch Green Chile), these Chile Rellenos are actually quickly pan-fried for crunch and then baked in the oven – saving loads of fat and calories!

Lighter American Side Dishes:

Not a fan of this veggie until I tried them roasted! Add bacon and it’s better – am I right?!

Lighter American Desserts:

I’m totally making this Triple Chocolate Cake for my husband’s birthday.

To enter the giveaway to win a copy of Lighten Up, America! , just follow the simple Rafflecopter instructions below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Pumpkin Bread Recipe { #Paleo & #GlutenFree }

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

In the summer, everyone put up with my peach obsession. Now, like the rest of the fall-loving foodies, I’ve become really sweet (and savory) on pumpkins. It’s pumpkin-palooza over here! While I have not yet tried the Pumpkin Latte at that (ahem) coffee chain not to be mentioned, I have made my fair share of goodies with this great gourd of the season.

Pumped Up Pumpkin Muffins
Baked Pumpkin Protein Donuts
Pumpkin Caramel Smoothie (posted later this week)
Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
. . . . and more!

My latest recipe is Paleo Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries & Chocolate Chips. Yeah, I know what y’all are thinking – the Stone Age moms didn’t make pumpkin bread, they were too busy tearing the meat off carcasses, sweeping out the cave, and getting drug around by the hair. But, let me just quote the forward of one of my favorite healthy cookbooks, Paleo Comfort Foods.

“Paleo (diet) is a logical framework applied to modern humans, not a historical reenactment.”

Whew, this means I can admit to using my KitchenAid stand mixer to whip up these scrumptious mini loaves that are perfect for breakfasts, snacking and sharing with friends. If you prefer not to use mini loaf pans, just put the entire batch of batter into one regular size loaf pan and increase the cooking time to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center pulls clean.

Paleo Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries & Chocolate Chips

2/3 cup egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ can pure pumpkin – not pumpkin pie mix (about 1 cup)
¼ cup coconut oil, room temp
2 teaspoons Stevia (or 3 tsp if you like sweeter)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 350º and brush pan with coconut oil (or use cooking spray).

In large bowl, mix together eggs, vanilla and pumpkin. Let it sit a few minutes to bring to room temperature. Add coconut oil (liquefied) to mixture, stirring quickly to incorporate (may solidify if eggs and pumpkin are too cold). Next, mix in Stevia, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until incorporated. Add almond flour and coconut flour, stirring until well combined. Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips.

Distribute batter evenly among two mini loaf pans (or one larger loaf pan)

Bake in 350º F oven for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center pulls clean (for single loaf, add approximately 10 minutes).

Remove from oven and let cool in pan before removing. Cut with serrated knife.

Makes two mini loaves or one standard loaf.

Also, if you don’t know what to do with the extra pumpkin left in the can, you have a couple of options. Either double the recipe, or freeze the leftover pumpkin in ice cube or mini muffin trays for use later in a seasonal smoothie or sauce.

If you’re looking for more traditional pumpkin bread recipes that are still healthy, check out the Pumpkin Bread Recipes at Cooking Light. Yum, yum – I am drooling over the Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Buns and would eagerly make and partake in some of these for a special occasion brunch!

thefitfork.com

The Fit Fork

Tag Archives: cooking light

Football Food | Healthy “Team Colors” Pudding Pies Recipe

Pear Pressure! Healthy Dessert Recipes for Poached Pears and More!

On Being Plankful . . . . and Soup Season!

Cookbook Giveaway | Lighten Up, America!

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Pumpkin Bread Recipe { #Paleo & #GlutenFree }