Making Healthy Choices

Goat Cheese & Sage Stuffed Chicken Breast

By Lisa VanWilliams

Goat cheese has a mild but distinct taste and it's lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol that many other cheeses but it's still packed with a creamy rich finish.  The goat cheese and sage are two delicate flavors that blend together excellently to create this savory chicken.  The shallots add a little punch of sweetness in the background.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts split and pounded out thin
1 log of herbed goat cheese -also called bûche (say: boosh)
bunch of sage
2 garlic gloves
garlic powder
salt & pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot
panko crumbs
egg wash

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Take your chicken breast cutlet and sprinkle with salt, pepper, & garlic powder. Then sprinkle some diced garlic, goat cheese and cut up sage evenly across breast. Drizzle with olive oil and roll it up.

Dice up the shallot and start to cook in the olive oil. Dip your chicken in the egg wash and give it a quick roll through the panko. Cook all sides of the chicken just to brown it up in the shallot olive oil.

Then dump it all into a roasting pan and put into the oven for 45 mins.   Enjoy !

Hand Stamped Spoons

By Lisa VanWilliams

These hand stamped spoons are soooo unique & cute !!  If your having people over for the holidays, need a gift for a friend, or just like something for yourself, take a look at these crafty one of a kind designs. These are made by a company called For Such A Time, and the owner Aly makes hand stamped designs out of vintage flatware by using an antique stamping set.  Sometimes it's the smallest details that can make the biggest impression. 

There are all kinds of creative sayings and designs, take a browse through the collection because there are tons of choices and styles.

You can order them on ETSY here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/forsuchatimedesigns?page=2

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Walnut Icing

By Lisa VanWilliams

Ok Ok we could not resist and had to jump on the October pumpkin bandwagon and throw one recipe out there with pumpkin in it - and this is a good one.  If you like the pumpkin muffins at Dunkin Donuts, you will like this cake except a slice of it won't set you back the 550 calories.  It's a great seasonal anytime of the day snack that will make you feel like your indulging without ruining half of your days caloric intake.

Ingredients:

For cake

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, softened, plus a little extra to grease the pan
• 2 1/4 cups 100% whole wheat flour plus an extra handful for dusting pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin 
• 3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups organic cane sugar
• 3 eggs

For frosting

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter Bundt pan and dust with flour -tap out excess flour.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice,  ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.

 

Whisk together pumpkin, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla in another bowl.

 

In this last bowl, beat room temp butter and sugar with an electric mixer a few minutes then add eggs and mix. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures until batter is smooth.  Pour your batter in your greased pan and level it out. 

 

Bake smack in the middle of your oven for 50-60 minutes until your tooth pick comes out clean. Once cooled, pop it out of the pan and drizzle the frosting on and sprinkle with nuts. Enjoy !

 

 

Karma Kream Body Lotion

By Lisa VanWilliams

Looking for a great smelling moisturizing cream for the changing of the seasons?  We love the LUSH line of moisturizers, Fun Bars, Bath Bombs, & Bubble Bars.  They take tubby time to a whole new level and their products smell incredible. 

The Karma Kream smells like you've stepped into a candy store.  It's a wonderful mild blend of patchouli and orange flower.  Plus it's got lavender oil in there, "to soothe the skin and promote a calmer mood".  Plus the store loves to give out samples when you make a purchase, so if you are curious about a product, lotion, or scrub just ask and they will give you a free sample to take home.

 

 

These are really quality products from around the world and they cost a bit more but they are worth it.  This is a company that gives back by supporting all kinds of charities and global causes, they even recycle their containers (if you bring back 5 empties, they will give you a free face mask).  To find out more info they have a wonderful website with tons of info:

http://www.lushusa.com/Charitable-Giving/article_charitable-giving-at-lush,en_US,pg.html

 

 

Taco Salad

By Lisa VanWilliams

We crave a Mexican taco fiesta night occasionally and this is a quick great tasting fix.  This is a totally easy recipe that even a beginner cook could handle. It's also a good starter meal to teach your teens and make them cook it for the whole family. It's as good as a Chipotle Salad Bowl made in your very own kitchen. 

Ingredients:

1pd+ hamburger meat 80/20 or leaner
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 small onion
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet McCormick Taco or Chili
1/2 cup pinto beans (drained)
1 cup tomato sauce
tortillas
sprinkle of low fat cheese (your preference)
1 teaspoon low fat sour cream
1 cup spinach or any lettuce


Directions:

Dice up the pepper and onion and sauté them in olive oil with some salt & and pepper until they soften. Add your hamburger, tomato sauce, taco seasoning, and pinto beans and simmer until meat is cooked. 

I warm up the tortilla in black skillet pan on both sides and that is the base. Then I add the spinach (or lettuce) and meat sauce, sprinkle with cheese & a dollop of cream cheese.  You can be creative an add any kind of toppings you like: hot peppers, sliced black olives, onions, avocado, peppers, tomatoes, scallions or salsa & hot sauce.  Enjoy!

If you live in Connecticut Stew Leonard's sells a variety of tortilla flavors like salsa, spinach, whole wheat, sun-dried tomato, & basil.

 

 

Walnut Raisin Bran Muffins

By Lisa VanWilliams

Here's a fiber filled moist version of a bran muffin. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that, "Populations that consume more dietary fiber have less chronic disease".*  You can try different variations and substitutes to find the right mix for yourself.  For example, if you want to use applesauce instead of butter, agave instead of sugar, or just extra walnuts feel free to modify.

Buttermilk can be a misleading product. It sounds like very fattening, high calorie product but it all reality it is not that bad.  It's packed with calcium and nutrients and Livestrong.com did an article on buttermilk where they state,  "If you prefer buttermilk's rich taste to regular milk, you can easily make the swap without expanding your waistline -- there's only a 4-calorie difference between a cup of low-fat buttermilk and low-fat milk."*

Ingredients:

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk (you can use reduced-fat or fat-free)
4 tablespoons butter at room temp (you can omit butter and double the apple sauce)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons molasses
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 baby carrots shredded
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons apple sauce


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the wheat bran with buttermilk and let it sit while you do the rest.  Mix together the butter and sugar, then add in the eggs, molasses, vanilla, & carrots.  In a separate bowl, add your dry ingredients (wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt).  Combine the wet to the dry and mix together - do not over stir.  Add lastly the raisins, walnuts, & applesauce.  Put them into some baking cups and cook for 23-30 mins. Enjoy !

*http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.aspx?id=8355
*http://www.livestrong.com/article/447392-why-is-buttermilk-good-for-you/