Green Tea Smoothie with Mango and Pineapple

Again I wonder why I am the only one posting recipes, is no one cooking???

This was a recipe from a runners magazine, it was low in points for ww and tasted great!!!

Get the blender out.

Brew 8 oz of green tea and then chill (make the night before and refrigerate)
8 oz skim milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup pineapple (fresh or canned (i used crushed in natural juice)

you can add ice, i did not need, it was the perfect consistency without it.

Blend and drink, it was great, filing and just what I needed before a run or StrollerFit.

2 soups for the yucky rainy day

The Boston Marathon was today, so StrollerFit was cancelled, but the rain held out so I got a run in with the kids this am and we did get to go outside and play at the park today, but of course it was too cool for my planned StrollerFit picnic and hike. So I went home and made 2 new soup recipes:

Broccoli and Shrimp Chowder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 pound cooked shrimp
1/4 tsp thyme (dried)
2 cups stock fat free (chicken or vegetable)
1 medium shallot or small onion
2 cups broccoli
1 medium yukon gold potato-cubed with skin on

Direction:

1. In a medium pot combine, potato, broccoli, shallot, broth and thyme, cook until veggies are tender, about 15 minutes. puree soup in a blender and return to pot.

2. add remaining ingredients and let simmer about 3 minutes (do not boil).

for you ww members - 1 cup serving is 3 points (2 points if you use fat free sour cream)

Turkey and Vegetable chilli soup - makes 20 servings, 1 point
10 oz extra lean turkey breast ground (suggested jennie-o) (can leave out and make vegetarian chili)
1 medium onion, chopped
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 med. zucchini, chopped
2 medium yellow squash, chopped
15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2-15 ounce can fat fee low sodium beef broth (can be vegetable broth)
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 1/4 ounce McCormick chili seasoning

Directions:

Brown onions and Turkey until golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, in order listed above and bring to a boil. Allow it to simmer about 20 minutes or until all of the veggies are fork tender.

If you make with out the turkey and vegetable broth, it is 1 point.

I hope you all will enjoy these.

Carrot Cake

This came from Alysa, a Strollerfit mom she could not figure how to post it, we will have to teach her how to blog...The recipe sounds good! and for you ww it says it serves 9 so I figured out the points, 6 points for a slice, but if you cut it to serve 12 it is only 5 points.

Carrot Cake

Description

Carrot cake is a perennial favorite, but it is often loaded with vegetable oil and laden with a cream cheese frosting. Our version is healthier, using a small amount of olive oil, a full cup of honey for moistness and flavor, and a combination of whole wheat pastry and unbleached flours. The crunchy walnuts even add a bit of omega-3 fats to this sweet treat. With a cup of hot green tea, this cake will make you forget about cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups firmly packed finely grated carrots Juice of 1 large orange 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 cup light olive oil 1 cup honey, liquefied in microwave (30 seconds) 1/2 cup crushed or chopped pineapple, drained 1 cup unbleached white flour 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, orange juice, vanilla, olive oil, honey, and pineapple until well blended. 3. In another bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and spices. Mix in the walnuts. 4. Blend the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture, stirring until just mixed. 5. Pour the batter into a nonstick 8-inch-square baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and remove from pan.

Glazed Pear/Apple Muffins

for those doing weight watchers or my Strollerfriends looking for a healthy breakfast or snack here is a great recipe my mom sent me.

Glazed Pear/Apple Muffins - 3 points

2 sprays of cooking spray
2 large pears-ripe, Bosc with skin or apples, ripe with skin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour (can use 2 cups all purpose flour, pts the same)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

preheat oven 375 degrees

coat a 12 hole muffin tin with cooking spray
core and chop pears (apples) into tiny cubes, place in a large bowl. add cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice and set aside

in a small bowl whick sour cream, beaten egg, vanilla, and milk, set aside.

in a large bowl sift flour, baking powder and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour sour cream a small amount of the sour cream mix into the well and incorporate. then repeat with the fuit mix and keep repeating til all incoprporated. Mix until barely blended. Mix will be thick, do not overmix.

Drop batter into muffin tin, 2/3 full. Bake until golden, about 3-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from tin onto a rack to complete cooling.

Glaze-

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp warm water

mix all ingredients in a small bowl (if glaze is too thick add a little more warm water)

spread a thin layer of glaze over the muffins, or dip warm muffins in glaze.

Makes 12 muffins - 3 points each, mini muffins of 48 are 1 point a piece.

Cooking

Is no one cooking or making anything they want to share?

I made Spaghetti Squash last night. Cut in half, clean out the seeds and spray with olive oil. Put face down on a baking sheet, poke holes into the shell with a fork and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until inside is soft and can be scraped out with a fork, looks like spaghetti. Mix in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste and grated Parmesan.

Enjoy!! Joey ate it and had some for lunch today.