Blueberry Bread

This recipe can now be found at my new blog, From Apples To Zucchini. Please visit us there!

Low Fat Strawberry Bread

THIS RECIPE CAN NOW BE FOUND ON MY NEW BLOG, RIGHT HERE.

Fast Food Makeover: Hardee’s Blueberry Biscuits

THIS RECIPE CAN NOW BE FOUND ON MY NEW BLOG, RIGHT HERE

Angel Food Loaf with Basil Berry Sauce

We bought some strawberries and blackberries at the Farmer’s Market this weekend, and I wanted to somehow use them in a dessert, when I suddenly had a vision of them spilling over a white slice of Angel Food Cake and knew their destiny.

I halved my original recipe for Angel Food cake and baked it in a loaf pan. I was so upset when I realized at first that I didn’t have any cake flour, until I remembered something on the side of my corn starch container. If you are in need of cake flour, use 3/4 a cup plus two tablespoons of all purpose flour and two tablespoons of corn starch and sift them together for one cup of cake flour. Worked like a charm!

The berries? I had to think about how I wanted them to work together in a sauce to be poured over the cake. I finally decided that crushed strawberries with the blackberries being left whole would be a nice option.

The addition of black pepper and basil gave the berries a wonderful undertone that would make you wonder what exactly it was. Beautiful flavor.

All this yummy-ness for less than 175 calories per serving…and no fat!

For the angel food cake recipe, please go here.

Basil Berry Sauce

A Lobster and Fishsticks Creation

• 1 c. strawberries, fresh or thawed, stems removed and diced
• 1/8 c. water
• 1/8 c. fruit juice – I used kiwi strawberry Juicy Juice
• 3/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 c.  whole blackberries

combine strawberries and liquids in a small saucepan and cook on medium heat, further crushing berries as they cook, with a fork or potato masher.

about 10 minutes into the cooking, add pepper and basil

cook for 15-20 minutes, until mixture begins to thicken and foam slightly

remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool

fold in blackberries and allow to further cool. Can be served chilled or room temperature,  and will thicken as it cools.

Wheat Oat Bread

When my friend Amanda made this bread a few weeks ago, I knew I was going to have to try it. I am so glad that I did!

I have been having trouble finding wheat bread recipes that were nice and soft, not so dense.  This fit the bill – its soft and has amazing flavor. It was the perfect accompaniment to the chicken chili I made for dinner that night. If I ever get a decent bread knife, I can foresee this making awesome sandwiches, too!

The best part? It was a bread machine recipe! I have so few tried and true ones, and this was just awesome to add to my short list. Thanks, Amanda!

Wheat Oat Bread (for your bread machine)

from Fake Ginger

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup oats
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons yeast

Add ingredients according to your bread machine. Bake on wheat setting.

I also wanted to apologize for not many posts lately. I have been stuck in a rut with recipes, and I have been making a lot of throw-together salads and soups. I just found a few recipes that celebrate the beginning of autumn that I will be trying out, so stay tuned!

Granola Bars

I have been wanting to make my own granola for a long time, but wasn’t sure which route to go – most recipes I found had a lot of oil in them, which is what I was trying to avoid.

The urge finally got too strong and I knew it was time to give in. I finally found a recipe that looked pretty good, changed it to suit my tastes and decided to dive in.

This is a fantastic recipe – easy to do, and so versatile! I can’t wait to try different dried fruits, different nuts, maybe even a little dark chocolate? Its a keeper for sure!

It has just enough “butter” for that nice, rich flavor to accompany the toastiness of the grains. I found the trick was to cut the bars after they were completely cooled, with a very sharp knife.

Granola Bars

• 2½ cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 tablespoons butter or lite spread
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spread the oats, coconut, nuts, and wheat germ  evenly on a 9″ x 12″ baking sheet. Bake these dry ingredients for 20 minutes at 300 degrees, stirring them occasionally.

Heat the butter, brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan, allowing the brew to simmer until the oat mixture is ready to come out of the oven.

Soon as the oat mixture is out, add the cranberries, stirring them into the other ingredients.

Remove the honey from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then pour the hot liquid over the oat mixture and stir until all the dry ingredients are coated.

Press the granola firmly into the bottom of a greased pan and place it in the still-warm oven to bake (at the same 300°F as before) for 20 minutes. (An 8″ x 8″ pan makes bars about an inch thick; if you want thinner bars, use a slightly larger pan.)

Lowfat Cinnamon Rolls

THIS RECIPE CAN NOW BE FOUND ON MY NEW BLOG, RIGHT HERE!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies (and A Lesson In Moderation)

Daniel was about out of cookies, and instead of buying them, I decided to bake him some.

For days, I had a nagging desire to make Chewy Chocolate Cookies – I make these cookies every year at Christmastime, and they are yummy. But, there is nothing inherently healthy about them.

Instead of completely altering the recipe (I did make a few modifications), I decided to apply a principal I have been practicing in my quest to lose weight and become healthy – moderation.

After all, its not about dieting, it about living, and enjoying things, including indulgences, but being responsible and not being gluttonous.

I used to make these cookies the way the old me thought they should be made – for a two-fisted eater – cookies as big as your face! But, these cookies are very rich, made even richer by the dark cocoa I used this time around, so a few bite are really all you need to satiate the chocolate beast within.

So, I carefully spooned out teaspoons full, rounding them back and forth between two spoons like The Food Network taught me, and got beautiful cookies about the size of a silver dollar, just perfect for two to three bites of chocolate bliss.

Not only are they the perfect size for a toddler, they are the perfect sized treat for anyone, without the guilt!

The slogan Enjoy Responsibly should not be reserved to the booze industry, but most definitely applies here, as well. Give these lil guys a try, but keep em small, and enjoy responsibly!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

modified by Lobster and Fishsticks

• 1 c. butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. dark cocoa
• 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

combine sugar and butter, cream together and add eggs and vanilla

add cocoa and flours, combine well

— if the batter is too dry and stiff, add canola oil, one teaspoon at a time up to 2 tablespoons until a smooth, but thick dough forms

spoon by the teaspoonful into rounded drops onto cookie sheet

bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes – they will still be soft as they come out of the oven

allow to cook completely before storing

yields 48-55  two-inch cookies

Squash and Prune Muffins

I know, this probably sounds nasty to most people when they see it. But, kind of like a car wreck you can’t stop staring at, you will read on, just the same….

And guess what?

They are actually quite tasty lil guys!

The flavors go well together and the cinnamon adds just the right amount of spice to it. They are moist and not too sweet, just enough for us. If you like your muffins sweeter, just increase the granulated sugar from 1/3 to 2/3 of a cup. I can totally see switching out the squash for pumpkin for a fall flavored muffin, too!

The wheat flour and the prunes add fiber to what I would describe as a treat. Daniel loved them, and so did Randall!

Squash and Prune Muffins
A Lobster and Fishsticks Creation

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 c shredded yellow squash or zucchini
10 prunes, cut into quarters

Mix sugars with the oil, then beat in the eggs

Add dry ingredients, squash and prunes and mix until moistened

Spoon evenly into 12 muffin cups and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until golden

Sweet Saturdays: Crunchy Fudge Cookie Bars

I found this recipe on the Eat Better America site. If you have not checked it out, I definitely encourage it!

The recipe actually was a drop cookie recipe, but I decided to cut corners and bake a pan and will cut them into bars once they are cool.

This is  a “cheater” recipe, with a mix, but definitely healthier than a lot of alternatives. With all that fiber from the bran cereal and only one tablespoon of oil, they are a nice treat that you don’t have to get a guilt trip over!

Crunchy Fudge Cookie Bars

adapted from Eat Better America

• 1 box brownie mix
• 2 c. bran cereal
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 c water
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg

mix all ingredients and press into a greased baking sheet lined with foil

bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until set

cut into bars while still hot

transfer to a cooling rack