Fat free carrot cake

I made an amazing carrot cake for Easter....unfortunately I didn't get a picture.  I got a picture of every other item on our dinner table but, not the cake!  But anyway...back to the cake.  It was a perfect carrot cake.  And it was made even better by being fat free and low sugar.  

I have had people tell me before that people need fat in their diets, the fat free products are chemical bombs.  While I do agree with both statements I also believe that in general people get enough fat in the daily foods that they don't need any added fat in their desserts.  

Isn't a healthy dessert better than no dessert at all?  I think so.  If I didn't eat fat free desserts, I'd never eat desserts.  I didn't get the name The Fat Free Queen, for nothin'!  I can turn anything almost anything fat free.  

Before Easter I had never actually made a carrot cake before.   I might have made it once from a box mix but, other than that I had never made it.  I'm really surprised it turned out so well.  I had to replace 1 cup of oil.  Yup!  A regular carrot cake is made with a whole cup of oil.  I honestly can't understand why.  You'll never miss it.  By omitting the oil I saved over 1,900 calories and 200 grams of fat from the cake.   I have posted the nutritionals under the recipe.  

The one part of the cake that didn't work as planned is the cream cheese frosting.  It came out more of a glaze.  It still tasted amazing though.  I dipped my cake in it and ate it that way.  



Fat Free Carrot Cake
Adapted From:  Sprinkle Some Sugar

Ingredients

3 cups flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar 

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tbs cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cup applesauce

5 egg whites (or the equivelent of 5 eggs worth of egg substitute)

1 tbs vanilla

2 cups finely grated carrots

3/4 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 9 inch pans.
2. Put all dry ingredients into a bowl (flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves,ginger)
3. In a separate bowl place all wet ingredients (applesauce, egg whites, carrots, raisins)
4. Bake for 25-45 minutes
5. Let cool completely

Calories -- 430

Fat -- 0.7 g

Sodium -- 366 mg

Potassium -- 406 mg

Carbs -- 100 g

Fiber -- 3.6 g

Sugar -- 58.2 g

Protein -- 7.9 g

Fat Free Cream Cheese Frosting Glaze
2 8 oz containers fat free cream cheese
1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
Small bag of powdered sugar

1. Place cream cheese and yogurt in a stand mixer
2. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until desired sweetness
3. Place in fridge until chilled and thickened

Have you ever tried to alter a recipe?  Did it work?  Did it fail? Let me know below!

To Market, To Market

To market, to market to buy a fat pig whatever you want.  One of the rules of shopping healthy is to never shop hungry.  We all know that sometimes that's unavoidable.  You get off of work late, you get stuck in traffic, your kids' activities run over and you're starving.  Things happen.  What can be avoided is buying a snack that is unhealthy.  

Here is my list of the best snacks to pick up when you need something munchy at the grocery store.

• Fruit -- Berries are best but, whatever fruit you like is okay.
• Vegetables -- Whatever kind you like.
• Popcorn -- Get the plain, unbuttered, kind. 
• Nuts -- Make sure to get the single serving bag.  Nuts are high in calories and fat and it's very easy to eat too many.
• Single serving baguette -- If you are in need of something carby go for a single serving roll.  The Walmart by my house sells them and the girls and Ken love to get one when we go.
• Beef Jerky -- Just check the sodium content.  A lot of these are very salty.

I personally pick up a container of blueberries or raspberries.  I love them because they are "pop-able".  I can pick them up and pop them in my mouth like you would with popcorn or chips.  What do you pick up when you are in the grocery store and need a snack?  Do you get something that I don't have on my list?

Superbowl Menu

What do y'all do for the Superbowl?  Do you host the party?  Do you goto a party?  I never have or host a Superbowl party but, I love Superbowl party food.  So I always do an appetizer themed dinner.  This year was a simple year.  I did steamed shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, spaghetti squash spinach thing {I have no clue what to call it}, and cauliflower wings.

Everything is cooked in a 400 degree oven so I could cook it all at once.



Spaghetti Squash Thing
1 small spaghetti squash
3 cups fresh spinach
4 egg whites
1 T garlic

1. Roast spaghetti squash (cut in half, roast at 450 for about 1 hour)
2. Scrape out insides of squash and set aside
3. Saute spinach
4. Preheat oven to 400
5. Mix spinach, squash, egg whites, and garlic together
6. Pour into a greased pie dish and bake for 45 minutes 

Buffalo {or barbecue} Cauliflower
2 heads cauliflower
3.5 c whole wheat flour
3.5 c water
dash pepper
dash garlic powder

Sauce of your choice
possibilities:  Barbecue sauce - hot sauce - Soy Honey sauce - italian dressing

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut the cauliflower into florets
3. Mix together flour, water, pepper, and garlic powder
4. Place on a greased baking sheet and cook for 15 - 20 minutes
5. In a large bowl place cauliflower and sauce of your choice.  Toss to coat

Cheese Stuffed Portobellos
4 portobellos
8 oz fat free cream cheese, softened
4 green onions, chopped small
1 T garlic
1/12 package fat free mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Remove the stem and gills from the portobellos
3. Mix together cream cheese, green onions, garlic and mozzarella
4. Place 1/4 of cream cheese mixture in each portobello.
5. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

1.3 Billion Dollars

You've probably seen or heard that the Powerball is now at $1.5 BILLION.  Crazy, right?  Have you bought your ticket?  Ken bought a couple a few days ago and I'm probably going to stop and buy one after I'm done with clients today.  

How would you feel to win?  Do you ever think about it?  What would you do with the money?

I've thought about it.  I only want simple things.

1. Annual passes to Disney World
2. A new car for me and one for Ken
3. Mountain house
4. Small gym with an office

Honestly the tyhink I would be most excited about {besides the Disney World passes}  would be putting money into my business.....and having a full stocked gym for my clients.

Tell me below what you would spend the money on!  Happy Wednesday and if you bought a ticket, good luck!!

Ring In The New Year!

Happy 2016 you guys!  I'm always excited for a new year.  This year was nothing special.  No real downs and no memorable ups.  Just a "eh, whatever" type of year.  The last time I was sad to see a year end was 2008.

The past 3 or 4 years I didn't make any resolutions.  This year I made 2.  I made sure to keep them simple and attainable.  

1. Get back to blogging -- As y'all know, I've been REALLY bad about regularly blogging lately.  My goal is to do 2-3 posts a week.  Nothing too crazy.  
2. Take more pictures -- I used to be a professional photographer.  Now I rarely pick up my camera.  I want to try and take 2 sets of photos a month.  I'll figure out something interesting that is happening that month and do a set of pictures.    

I'm hoping that by keeping my goals kinda low that I'll be able to maintain.

Well, happy new year everyone!  

Did you make a resolution?  Tell me in the comments!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a lovely day with your family!