No Bake Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake Shots

These pumpkin cheese cake shots are reduced fat, no bake and super easy to make! The small size makes this an indulgent yet sensible dessert!

Another pumpkin recipe ya'll (is it weird to say ya'll when I am from NY, LOL?)

A while back I saw these great no bake pumpkin cheesecake cups. Hello awesome fall dessert idea! So you just know I had to try something like them and do 'em my way.


So I cut the fat and the portion and made them as simple to make as possible. We all like a cute fancy looking dessert, but we don't gots the time... am I right?

Roasted Brussels Salad with Pecans, Bacon and Apple Cider Dressing

Take your fall into your salad with this Roasted Brussels Salad with Pecans, Bacon and Apple Cider Dressing. It is a feast for the eyes and the stomach with whole ingredients and with some preparation comes together in minutes.

Lest we forget fall is not just about pumpkin. There are a never ending kalidescope of beautifully colored fruits and vegetables just waiting to be eaten. In season now: Apples and Brussels Sprouts among many others. I know brussels sprouts are of the epitomy of vegetables you didn't wanna eat as a kid. But you were a kid and wrong about lots of things, like where babies comes from.


So if you are a naysayer to brussels I challenge YOU to make this salad and then tell me you don't like 'em.

Pumpkin Pie Parfait Breakfast Jars

So as you know pumpkin season is in full swing. I know all you Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice-philes are just itching for your next fix of pumpkin.You are looking furiously for pumpkin recipes. Well rest assured I got ya covered today!

So you may already have your pumpkin spice coffee to go in the morning, but what's a girl to eat for breakfast that satisfies that pumpkin lust without packing on the pounds? How about a Pumpkin Pie Parfait Jar- lowfat, quick, easy and portable. DONE!

Indian Spiced Kabobs

In the mood for Indian? These wonderfully spiced yogurt marinated kabobs are not only easy to prepare, but incredibly healthy and low in fat!

You may not know this, but I also LOVE Indian food. I used to eat Italian like alllll the time, 'til I met my husband and I really got adventurous with ethnic foods. He was unafraid, even since an infant of trying new things. Me- funny enough-- I was a pizza, pasta and hamburger girl. Yes I have changed quite A LOT over the years!

I discovered Indian and especially Chicken Tikka Masala- OMG- YUMMMM! Well if you do not know of the tikka I will explain- it's chicken marinated in a yogurt marinate and cooked and simmered into a sauce made with beautiful spices such as garam masala, heavy cream and tomato paste. It is heaven or hell depending how you look at it.

Heaven in your mouth, hell on the hips...

Summer Weight Loss Challenge- Week 10

This week's tip is about protein! Stay full, fit and build muscle by having protein at every meal!

This week is all about the protein! You hear lots about it on TV and there's lots of products that boast protein... These products are sometime also loaded with sugar, artificial ingredients and preservatives. So basically what I'm saying is that protein does not mean healthy. You gotta look at the total package.

Eating protein not only keeps you feeling full longer, you need it to build muscle. 

Here's what you wanna look for in protein... 

1- Lean protein- Lean means it has little fat, such as chicken breast or chickpeas.
2- From the source- Eat the source of the protein, have nuts or meat, stay away from man-made protein snacks and drinks as much as you can. Like I said there can be lots of extra sugar or chemicals.

Here are some GREAT examples of lean proteins...

• Eggs- Each Egg has 7g protein, 2 grams of fat
• Edamame- 1 cup has 17g of protein, 7g of fat
• Ground Sirloin- 3oz. has 23g protein, 12 g of fat
• Pork Loin- 3 oz. has 21g proten, 8g of fat
• Chicken Breast- 3oz. has 27g protein, 3 g fat

 Week 9 in review

Overall I had a good week, got in exercise, not excessive indulgence etc.

low point- a little stress indulgence, rough week at work, gave in to temptation
high point- loooooong day of hiking and not much eating on Fire Island proving there is much more to life than food and beer!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Smoothie- 5 ingredients or less

This super easy to make smoothie has only 4 ingredients and is very low in fat, but has LOTS of flavor. It's the perfect start to a healthy day!

This week's tip was to start the day healthy and this is the perfect hassle free recipe for it! I made this soooooo super easy ANYONE can do it, even that person you know that can burn water somehow.
I have seen a lot of oatmeal smoothies lately and I thought it was such a fabulous idea! With lots of fiber and protein it is sure to stick to 'dem ribs! So I then it I figured why the hell not use a instant oatmeal packet that already has flavor and is sweetened. This smoothie goes down quick since its soooo delish, but you will feel full for a good while! It's also low fat!

The stats on this are QUITE impressive if I say so myself with only 5 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein!!!

So besides the foodgasm of it you have that whole healthy start to your day that is ridiculously easy!

Below you can see the mise en place (a fancy french word for every ingredient in it's place)

RECIPE: Dump all this in a blender and you are good to go, let it sit for a couple minutes for a thicker smoothie! EASY!

On a totally different note, I would like to pat myself on the back for a minute- I took all these photos in manual mode! Yes I know- my photos are pretty decent, but I always shoot in auto and I have plunged myself into the world of manual mode so I can really be legit when I call myself a food photographer!

I have fallen in love with it and I wanna have as much control as I can pre production. I am pretty psyched since post production was a breeze with these guys!

Nutritional Stats

Chicken Beeriyaki with Asian Slaw #beermonth

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Kirin. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. All ideas presented are my own.

Here is the first group celebration of #beermonth my friends! My blogger pals have all joined together to bring you their take on beer recipes. I am super excited to introduce you all to Lauren of Hall Nesting, Heather from girlichef and Jessica from Jessiker Bakes! I love all these ladies and I want you to show them love to by checking out there blogs (I love them all and read them all every week!) and by checking out their recipes at the bottom of this post!  

This is my very first sponsored post, I often shy away from these things unless I genuinely think you guys wanna read about it. With this one, I knew I should be involved with this one. It is #beermonth after all! So when the opportunity arose for me to sample and cook with Kiran Ichiban, I was totally on board.

If you haven't heard of Kiran Ichiban it is THE Sushi Restaurant go to beer to represent Japan. To learn more about the beer, visit their website! I hadn't tried it before, so my expectations were low. But it was pretty decent, crisp and clean. Absolutely perfect to accompany any Asian dish. I think it represents Japanese cuisine pretty well; it is a simple yet elegant beer and very balanced. Not overly malty or hoppy you can pair this with most anything. But you know I don't just pair beer with food, I make food with beer!

Asian beer, Asian inspired dish! All you foodies- don't hate on me, I have a confession. I don't like sushi- nope- I tried it all and it ain't my thing. So that was out and I was glad, it's a whole lotta work. So I made something completely different with my beer. Chicken Beeriaki, it's like chicken teriaki, but like WAY better.

Everything is better with beer, but I also made this super easy too! All you have to do is brown some chicken and prepare the sauce in the food processor, then added the fresh Asian veggies. No cooking of veggies required, so it kinda makes an Asian slaw. I paired it with some sushi rice for that authentic feel. So I got what I like about sushi- protein, the sauce and that awesome sticky rice without the seaweed taste. I made a roll out of the ingredients, but I tasted it and I don't care for the seaweed AT ALL! If you do like sushi and seaweed wrappers this can easily be made into a roll. You can see I included a piece of the roll on the pictures so you could see it.

 Why is this a Foodgasm?

Chicken teriyaki is a staple- but kicked up with beer?! Even better. I find the beer flavor intensified and enhanced this and accompanied it even more than I imagined! This sauce is one of my new favorite things and I think it will be yours too! Even for the skeptical- try it! It will surprise you! Plus it is easy to make and low in fat and calories!

What you need

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil as needed for browning

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon pickled ginger
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup Kiran Ichiban beer

2 cups chopped Asian salad (the kind you buy in a bag)

 

How to make it

1- Dredge chicken in mixture of flour, salt and pepper.
2- Brown chicken on both sides in a skillet on medium heat.
3- In a food processor, combine: 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon pickled ginger, 1/2 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon minced garlic and 1/2 cup Kiran Ichiban beer.
4- Mix together the Asian chopped salad with some of the sauce.
5- Serve atop Sushi rice.

Nutritional Information

Each serving includes chicken sauce and vegetables. Additional calories for white rice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#Beermonth recipes

 

Spinach and Feta Strata

I cannot get enough of the spinach and feta combo. I made Spinach and Feta Orzo, I made a Spinach and Feta Salad and now I got for you a Spinach and feta Strata. It is part quiche, part potato and part fritata. In fact, I had a really had time naming this, LOL. But a food bloggers friend of mine came up with something sorta like this and called it a strata, so thanks Joanne from Joanne Eats Well with Others. You saved me on this one!

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Spinach and Feta, it is magical and delicious and totally Greek. I like to give a nod to my hetitage when I can and they knew what they were doing with this flavor combo. Salty, creamy and you got a little bitter from the spinach, it just works. Then of course I add in some caramelized onions, garlic and you got yourself a full blown Greek-gasm. I love that this has a layer of potatoes too. It's a great filling meal, especially nice with a side salad for breakfast, brunch, lunch or even dinner.

Eggplant Parmesan "Meat"balls

So my gratuitous v-day post was last week, but I made this recipe around the same time and all I could say is "Damn these are good" every single time I ate one. I never posted my recipe for veggie infused meatballs, but this is a staple to me. The perfect transformation of a food I love so very much to something soooo much healthier. The secret is that I add lots of hidden veggies to my meatballs. Seriously, no one will know since they a chopped up in the food processor. So I though why the hell not add the meat at all.... and use eggplant!! Since you are going to cover it in marinara anyways later on, why not add a little fresh mozzarella cheese over top. So this magical concoction was born!

Why is this a Foodgasm?

This has EVERYTHING you love about Eggplant Parmesan, even the breading, in a crispy little ball dripping in marinara and melted mozzarella cheese. They are NOT fried, they're baked! So you are losing LOTS of calories and fat and keeping ALL the flavor. These are sooooo good, I am making them twice and I almost NEVER make the same thing twice! Even better: they are not nearly as time consuming as Eggplant Parmesan.

So I don't have kids yet. But you know, I think that kids would eat these guys up! If you have vegetarian friends coming over- you can make this and both eat meatless, healthier and be completely satisfied. Actually this is one dish that makes me think, maybe I can be vegetarian someday. It is that good. Another great thing is you can make this as an appetizer or serve these over pasta as an entree.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Torte and a Giveaway

This is my gratuitous Valentine's Day post. For so many years I loathed this holiday. It is the single gal's day to remember she is single. I remember in college all my friend and I didn't have a boyfriend, so we all banned together and had our own little party (under the bandstand of the college). That was one of my favorite Valentine's Days yet! So all you single ladies don't feel bad, feel empowered because V-Day is just silly even when you have a man or woman.

But still I felt compelled to make a cutesy little cake with strawberry hearts baked into it. I guess I have those two sides: the Martha Stewart and the chick that drinks craft beer and swears. Or as my husband said best: "You are like Martha Stewart, but you say fuck a lot." Yeah that sums me up. That is also why I need to start making videos for you guys! It would be loads of fun for you to meet me, like really get to know me.

But if you love or loathe this holiday- here is an incentive to at least like it. I made you a crazy delish chocolate covered strawberry torte literally with strawberry and chocolate in it and on it. But I have another surprise for you a GIVEAWAY! A really gorgeous handcrafted apron from Guate Love It.

So a brownie and a pound cake walk into a brewery....

So you're probably seeing and expecting lots of wing recipes, nachos and all those other classic Super Bowl Snacks this week. That was the plan until I was snowed in and decided to experiment with some brown ale and developed my first ever scratch cake recipe. The results and response to the pictures were so amazing that I couldn't make you guys wait. It was delicious, fudgy madness! It also happened to be low in fat.

Well..... actually I made it that way. When I cook and bake I NEVER EVER add all the fat. My conscience just cannot allow me to do it. 3 sticks of butter?? 4??? Ouch! Unless of course I just need to learn how a recipe works in order to then find my own way to reduce the fat, LOL. 

Technically this is not a superbowl meal, but ummm who makes those rules as to what goes with football? If it were up to me, football would be a cake occasion and it DOES have beer in it after all, specifically some local Brooklyn Brown Ale. You need beer for your party and doesn't every party need cake?!

But if you don't want cake for your party (perish the thought!), fret not, I gotcha covered with some great healthy super bowl snacks from Peanut Butter and Peppers!! She has a TONS of recipes you are gonna LOVE! Check out more info at the bottom of the post!

Why is this a Foodgasm?

This is like a fudgy brownie and a pound cake walked into a brewery, had a threesome with some brown ale and they had a baby. Yeah that is totally what happened here. Totally fudgy while still holding the pound cake shape and could be cut into slices. But if that were already not good enough for you I decided to make a brown ale glaze to top it with. In this case the pics, totally speak of this magical texture!

I am proud of these photos, all the drippy deliciousness and really fudgey texture smack you in the mouth and say "Eat me". Yeah no caption needed. Just instant desire for putting it in your mouth!

How did I do it?

I used pumpkin puree to take the place of most of the fat, adding only a little coconut oil for some fat so it had a better texture overall. If you dont have coconut oil feel free to sub with some canola oil. It will work just as well. This also has 1 egg, but if you want to make this vegan you can try it without it, I am sure it would work, but may change the texture slightly.

What you need

1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling- this has added spiced and sugar)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup brown ale
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

For the brown ale glaze

3 tablespoons brown ale
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

How to make it

Preheat oven to 350º
1- In a mixer combine together 1 can pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 large egg with the paddle attachment.
2- In a separate bowl combine together:
1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup brown ale, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3- Slowly and gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredinets in the mixer until well combined (give it a couple minutes).
4- Grease a nonstick loaf pan (I used Trader Joe's Coconut Oil Spray) and pour in the batter.
5- Bake for about 1 hour and let it cool. (the toothpick method doesn't work too well here, it still comes out sticking due to the texture, but an hour should do it)

To make the brown ale glaze: Whisk together 3 tablespoons brown ale and 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

Pour over the top of the cake and ENJOY!

Nutritional Information 

Lots of Vitamin A and Potassium and very little fat!  AMAZING!! Yes you can have your cake and beer and eat it too!

Peanut Butter and Peppers Superbowl Recipe Round Up!!

Does my girl Jennifer have you hooked up?? Hell yeah, just look at all these! YUMMMM!

Get her recipes HERE!

Super Fudge-tastic Lowfat White Chocolate Candy Cane Brownies

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Fudge-iness - It's a real thing and it's all about the texture! That texture that says "Woah this is bad for me but I would die in hell for this!," yeah it's that serious. Then you take that amazing fudge-iness to a brownie and top it with white chocolate and candy cane pieces and you got a fantastic and gorgeous holiday treat that will WOW your friends! But it is also seriously easy to make AND lower in fat. Come on...does it REALLY get any better than that?!

How did I do it? Well I added pumpkin in place of eggs and MOST of the fat. I usually go full pumpkin and skip any fat. But I have learned a lesson kids- some fat is ALWAYS better than none at all. Like fat free cheese is nasty- low fat is good. (Did you ever see fat free ricotta? It's a gross gelatinous mass). Do the brownies taste like pumpkin? A little bit BUT overall the chocolate takes over your palette, especially with the addition of the white chocolate and peppermint.

So for your holiday parties try out this super easy, super impressive and lowfat treat. Everyone will be like "Where does she find the time?" "Wow you are so talented and shit...". Only you will know the secret and I won't tell!

Taco Tuesday- Magic Portobello and Beef Taco Supreme

 Why is this a Foodgasm?

I am celebrating Taco Tuesday with my friend Lauren of Hall Nesting this week! So I joined her and Christine of Cooking with Cakes to bring you some awesome taco recipes! See below for the pictures and links to their recipes.

 You like tacos? You like beef tacos? Do you like all the fat and calories? No, I didn't think so.

I like tacos, it started in college with Taco Bell. My college served Taco Bell in the cafeteria, one swipe of my student ID gave me access to unlimited Taco Bell. (So healthy!) I liked them so much and I was a poor college student, so I used to smuggle out some crunchy beef taco supremes out of the cafeteria and safe them in my mini fridge for later.
How can I turn tacos into a NY Foodgasm? How do I make tacos that are missing some of the fat and not sacrificing any flavor? It started with the realization that mushrooms are pretty meaty. So I took some 80/20 ground beef that was on sale and I ground up some portobello mushroom caps in my food processor- not only are we filling some of the space with a veggie, I am also adding flavor with the mushrooms. Someone you know not like mushrooms? I don't think they will even notice there are mushrooms, you can taste them a bit, but they are ground so fine they blend in seamlessly with the meat, even the texture is spot on!

That is the magic my friends, lots of amazing flavor, with a veggie bonus and a buzz of flavor! You are not missing out on any of the comfort food aspect at all! I also used multigrain taco shells and low fat shredded Mexican cheese. Then the swap I use ALL the time, non fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream!