Fat Free Ricotta & Ricotta - Pumpkin Treat

Before I get to the Ricotta-Pumpkin dessert recipe, I wanted to first talk briefly about fat free ricotta cheese. If you've never tried ricotta cheese - you should totally check it out. It is great as a topping on pasta, in omelets, in quesadillas, fajitas, various desserts, as well as on some Indian dishes. The consistency is somewhere between cottage cheese (it is chunky) and regular cheese (it is kind of bland, so you wouldn't eat it on its own). My favorite fat-free ricotta cheese is made by a company called Calabro and it can be bought at Whole Foods. A quarter of a cup (62 grams) of the Calabro fat free ricotta cheese is 30 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein (so 1 weight watchers point per serving, or 0 weight watchers points per half serving).

So, there are tons of ways to dress up ricotta cheese into a dessert on its own (I've heard of people adding sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract, etc. etc. to make pretty interesting desserts). I thought today in honor of the holidays I'd post a recipe for ricotta-pumpkin pudding. Pumpkin is another great low calorie food (a 1/2 cup serving is 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein -- so 0 weight watchers points), and if you like it you will surely like this recipe (and if you don't like pumpkin, you should pass on this recipe and play around with just the ricotta cheese, since the pudding is thick and has a strong pumpkin flavor).

Ricotta-Pumpkin Treat
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese (or 1/2 cup if you desire)
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (or your favorite sweetener -- honey would be delicious as well!)
- cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste

Combine all the ingredients except the cinnamon and nutmeg in a microwave safe bowl. Stir until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Put mixture in microwave for ~45 seconds (or until hot). Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

This recipe has 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein -- so it is a very filling, rich, 2 weight watchers points.


Enjoy!

Delicious Broccoli in Spicy Orange Sauce

I like broccoli but I don't love it (especially raw), so I'm always looking for ways to dress it up so that I can eat more of it. Broccoli is healthy because it is packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, calcium and fiber, and it is believed to help shield us from many diseases and conditions. Also, I just read that vitamin A and vitamin C help us create and maintain beautiful skin as well!

Many years ago I found a delicious (and easy to make) recipe for broccoli in spicy orange sauce in my Mayo Clinic Cookbook. The cookbook is actually quite old, and it appears that they don't publish this version anymore, although there is a new version of the cookbook which I also own and love (all of the recipes are accompanied by huge pictures and calorie information which is a must for me): The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook: Eating well for Better Health.

Anyway, I thought I'd pass the recipe along here, with some slight modifications. If you make this recipe, what will result is a healthy dish of delicious orange flavored broccoli, that will taste a bit like something you'd get at a Chinese restaurant, without all the calories (see nutritional information below).

Broccoli in Spicy Orange Sauce (makes 6 servings)

Ingredients 

- 2 pounds of broccoli, or pre-cut broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon of grated orange zest (you can substitute orange oil if needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon of reduced sodium soy sauce
-1 garlic clove, crushed in garlic press
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon of toasted or raw sesame seeds

Instructions

- Trim the broccoli into small florets so that each one is around 4 cm each. If you want to use the stocks, trim them so they are about 1/2 inch thick.
- Place a steamer basket into a large pot, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Add the stalks to your steamer basket and cover and steam for 2 minutes. Add the florets and then steam for an additional 3 minutes. If you don't have a steamer basket, you can also microwave the broccoli in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water.
- While the broccoli is cooking, add the orange juice, honey, mustard, orange zest, soy sauce, garlic, and pepper flakes to a small saucepan and boil over medium high heat.
- In another bowl, combine and whisk together the cornstarch and water. Once the cornstarch is dissolved, stir this mixture into the orange juice mixture, and cook both until thickened (should take about 1 minute) stirring constantly.
- In a new bowl, toss the broccoli with the sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds to taste.

This recipe comes out to only 67 calories per serving, with less than 1 gram of fat, and 4 grams of fiber, so each serving is a delicious and nutritious 0 weight watchers points.

Also, keep in mind that you can add other vegetables to this recipe. For instance, sometimes I substitute a pound of carrots for one of the pounds of broccoli.

Enjoy!

Low calorie Alcohol Choices for New Years

How do you plan to ring in the New Year? It is hard to wrap my mind around it, but 2010 is almost done and 2011 is almost here!  If you’re like many people who are watching their weight, you may plan to have a few cocktails this New Year’s Eve, but may be unsure which choices are the best for your waistline. So, I thought I would share a few thoughts with you that might help you to make better decisions.  Not to say that I condone excessive consumption of alcohol, even for the night, I just know that many of you are looking to make good choices while still enjoying your holidays!

Anyway, here are some alternatives to a 250 calorie Cosmo:

• Light beer. Now I’m not a beer drinker myself, but if I were, I would choose to sip on a 12-ounce light beer for just 100 calories.  This beer could last for awhile as you mingle at the party and talk to other guests.  So even if you end up having three beers, you’ve only used up 300 calories.  That’s not bad for a once-a-year event.  

• Avoid syrupy mixers. A lot of the calories that go into a drink are actually from the drink mix, not the alcohol.  Opt to mix your drink with light cranberry juice (40 calories per 8 ounces), light orange juice (50 calories per 6 ounces), or add a spritz or two of lemon or lime juice (just 5 calories per ¼ ounce).  

• Go for champagne.  For those non-beer drinkers, a four-ounce glass of champagne is around 85 calories and a shot of 80 proof vodka is 64 calories.  The key to drinking liquor and keeping your waistline in mind is portion control.  There is a big difference in the size of many champagne flutes, wine glasses, and shot glasses.  You can easily consume twice the calories before you know what hit you, literally!

• Alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.  By having other drinks on-hand (like 0 calorie coffee or teas), you are likely to consume less alcohol, and thus, fewer calories.  Be sure to stock up on Hint water or other low-cal or no-cal beverages to quench your thirst in lieu of alcohol.

Enjoy!

     

Strawberry Yoghurt Mousse Cake

Recently i found this recipe that i cant take off my eyes of them. I am planning to make them for Christmas with my friends too. I love strawberry cake!! And since they are made from yogurt, you dont have to feel guilty eating them.

Strawberry Yogurt Mousse Cake ( Recipe adapted from 超人气香港蛋糕56款)
Taste and Texture: Fruity strawberry mousse layers with moist and light sponge
Serving Size: 10 slices

Equipment:

1) 8 inch round pan

2) 8 inch round cake ring

3) 9 inch round cake board

4) Cake leveller or palette/serrated knife longer than 8 inches

5) Balloon whisk

6) Rubber spatula

7) Handheld beater/Stand beater

8) Baking paper

9) Wire rack

10) Toothpick/wooden skewer

11) Flour sieve

12) Mixing bowls

Sponge cake:

4 egg yolks, room temperature ( from eggs weighing 60g each with shells on)

40g caster sugar

4tbs vegetable oil

3 tbs water

95g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites, room temperature (from eggs weighing 60g each with shells on)

40g caster sugar

Method:

Prepare Oven: Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Prepare flour mixture: Whisk flour and baking powder in a large bowl to combine

Making the egg yolk batter Place egg yolks, 40g caster sugar, oil and water in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer until thickened and fluffy (ribbon stage), about 10 minutes. The batter should increase in volume about 4 times and when the beater is lifted, the falling batter will leave a visible trail on the rest of the batter. The falling batter will not level with the rest of the batter immediately.

Folding flour into egg yolk batter: Sift the flour mixture into beaten egg yolks in 3 batches and fold gently using a ballon whisk. The volume will decrease due to inflating. Be sure to fold gently to prevent excessive deflating. Use a spatula to scoop sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure flour mixture is evenly incorporated.

Beating egg whites: Next, whisk egg whites on low speed. Increase speed slowly to medium and beat untill egg whites are foamy. Gradually increase speed to high and add the rest of the sugar gradually. Beat untill egg whites are stiff. This is when the beaters are lifted, the egg whites will form peaks that are upright and not drooping slightly. Egg whites will resemble whipped cream.The entire bowl of whites will not drop out when the bowl is overturned.

Folding in egg whites: Using a ballon whisk, fold one third of beaten egg whites into egg yolk batter gently to lighten and combine. Fold in the rest of the beaten whites to combine. Final batter should be foamy and uniform in colour with no streaks of egg white present. Fold egg whites gently using balloon whisk will prevent egg whites from deflating too much.

Baking the sponge cake: Pour batter into a greased and lined 8 inch round pan and bake at 160 degrees C for 25 -30minutes. Test doneness using a skewer or toothpick. Cake will shrink from edges on cooling. Unmould sponge cake and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Stawberry Yoghurt Mousse:

140g strawberry yoghurt ( I used Meiji strawberry yoghurt, 1 small tub)

45g - 75g caster sugar

210g fresh stawberry puree

300g cream, whipped until stiff

10g gelatine powder soaked in 40g water

strawberries for decorating 

Method:

Preparing strawberry yoghurt mixture: Blend strawberry puree, sugar and yoghurt together. Use 45g sugar for a slightly tart taste. For a sweeter taste use 75g sugar.

Making gelatine solution: Soak gelatine and water and allow it to bloom for 5 minutes. Heat the gelatine mixture over a double boiler untill gelatine dissolves completely. Leave to cool.

Making strawberry yoghurt mousse: Combine gelatine mixture and strawberry yoghurt mixture. Lastly, fold in whipped cream to obtain a smooth pale pink mousse.

Assembly:

Slicing sponge cake: Slice sponge cake into 2 even layers using cake leveller or long serrated/palette knife. Slice off the part that has domed.

Preparing the sponge and mousse layers: Place one sponge layer into the cake ring supported by a cake board below. There should some allowance surrounding the sponge layer. Pour half of the mousse over the sponge layer. I measured the mousse by weight and divided it evenly into 2 portions. Level the mousse as evenly as possible.

Place the second sponge layer over the mousse layer. Pour the remaining mousse mixture over the second sponge layer and level the top as evenly as possible. Place cake ring in the refrigerator and allow a chilling time of 4 hours or more until mousse is firm.

Unmoulding finished cake: To unmould, wrap a warm kitchen towel around the ring or use a hairdryer to briefly heat up the exterior of the cake ring. Take care not to apply too much heat using the hairdryer. Remove cake ring slowly and steadily. Bring cake back to the refrigerator to firm up before decorating and cutting.

Decorations: Decorate with whipped cream and sliced strawberries as desired.

Enjoy!!

Tang Yuan for Winter Solstice Festival

It the time of the year to celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival with the family which is the tradition for almost every Chinese people. Tang Yuan (glutinous rice ball) symbolize the reunion of family and usually every family make it themselves although now they can be bought conveniently everywhere all year round.

Tang Yuan is fattening as it contain a lot of starch from the use of glutinous flour as the ingredient so be sure to limit them. Here is the recipe:

Nutritional fact:

Serving per recipe: 8

Calorie: 703 (better make them small)

Ingredients

• 4 cups glutinous-rice flour
• 4 cups brown sugar
• 12 cups water

Directions

1. Mix the rice flour and about 2 cups of water together in a bowl. Use enough water to make a thick dough, about the consistency of play dough. To be sure that the dough isn?t too runny, add one cup of water to the rice flour and mix. Slowly add the second cup, stopping when the dough reaches the right consistency. You may not need the entire cup of water.Knead the dough for about five minutes.

2. Divide the dough into three lumps. Add a few drops of food coloring to each lump. One lump will be green, etc.Work the food coloring completely into the dough.

3. In a large kettle, heat the other 10 cups of water with the brown sugar. Keep stirring so that the sugar doesn?t burn. The sugar should completely melt.

4. Roll the dough into marble-sized rice flour balls.

5. Carefully drop them into the sugar water syrup. Avoid splashing or spilling the syrup.

6. Cook the rice balls until they float to the surface of the syrup.

7. Serve the rice balls in the syrup. They are good either hot or cold.

You can make different filling such as peanut, read bean and black sasami if you like it with more flavours.

Enjoy!!

Banana Smoothies are Easy and Delicious

So today I thought I'd share with you my first recipe. It only has a few ingredients, but that doesn't mean it isn't super yummy.

Use the following recipe to make a low calorie, healthy, banana smoothie that doesn't require any mixes, anything unnatural, or anything artificial.

Here is the recipe:

Step 1: Take a medium banana (~ 7") out of its peel. Split it in half, and put it in a Zip-lock bag. Then put it in the freezer. Let it freeze for a good amount of time (several hours).

Step 2: Combine the 2 frozen banana pieces with a cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk in your favorite blender.

Step 3: Add one teaspoon of maple syrup. Maple syrup is a great, natural, sweetener, which I will blog about in a later posting.

Step 4: (Optional) Add a small about of Vanilla flavoring, to taste

Step 5: Add a bit of ice if you want the smoothie to seem bigger, and then blend it. Blend it for a bit longer than you normally would, because it will make it more frothy and filling.

Step 6: Put it in a cup and enjoy!

This recipe is about 160 calories (3-4 WW Points), depending on how big of a banana you use. It also can be made with just half of the banana for a lower calorie, smaller, snack.

Yummy Tip: You can also top your drink with a bit of Fat Free Whipped Cream if you like (add appropriate amount calories if you decide to do this)!

Note: You can substitute any fruit for the banana in this recipe.

Enjoy!!

Chestnut - Healthy low calorie nut

The smell of the roasted chestnut along the road is irresistible. This is definitely the time of the year to sit back and enjoy this small delicacy during the holiday. Although many people know usual nuts such as cashew and peanut, they don't really think of chestnut when people mention nuts. This is probably because they are honorably mentioned during the wintertime even though they are made available at any time of the year.

The thing that i love is that chestnut has a lower calorie than any other nuts with only 175 calories per ounce (of dried chestnut). It also only have 2 gram of fats per servings unlike other nuts which can reach up to 30 grams. This is definitely a welcome news for those who looking to drop a few pounds.

Not only it is low in fat, chestnut actually offer much more benefits that you can imagine. It is rich in fiber (insoluble), cholesterol free and a significant source of vitamin C. 

You can prepare chestnut in many different ways such as slicing them into veggie dishes or stir-fry dishes or pureeing them and add them to the soup. 

Enjoy!!