Healthy Strawberry Shortcake

Low Fat Strawberry Shortcake 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cold butter (I used slightly less)
• 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
• light or fat free whipped topping (optional)
• sliced fresh strawberries

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 450F.

2. Slice strawberries into thin slices and add 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda) and let macerate in the fridge.

3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in butter using pastry blender under mixture resembles coarse crumbs, Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Stir until just moist.

4. Turn out the dough onto a nonstick mat or floured surface. Knead gently 2 or 3 times then flatten or roll to a 3/4 in thickness. Bake on a nonstick baking sheet for 12 minutes or until golden, Cool on a wire rack.

5. When cool, slice shortcake in half crosswise. Top with strawberries (and whipped topping if you'd like).

Weekend highlights

Hi friends!!!

Happy start to your work week! July is almost over which is cray-cray! Hard to believe...

Happy Birthday to my big sister today!!!

Our weekend started bright and early since hubby rode the Jedermann Gran Fondo on Saturday. I was so proud of him for finishing 112 miles and enduring the heat ☼!

 I was left at home with Smallsie and I tackled 9 miles on the TM and made a protein smoothie afterwards.

Most of the day I spent cleaning and rearranging the basement which has been long overdue. I'll have pictures soon once I've got it all done.

Some recent eats:

Fish Tacos

 Made a batch of low fat Blueberry Muffins

 Spicy Black Bean Tex Mex Salad (I used Morning Star Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger)

Workout for the week:

Sunday - Body PUMP / Ran 4 miles
Monday - Run 3 mi / Teach Zumba
Tuesday - Body PUMP
Wednesday - Teach Zumba and Body Attack
Thursday - Teach Zumba
Friday - Teach Zumba
Saturday - Run 10 miles

Anything planned for the week? Looking forward to the weekend????

Banana Oatmeal Crumb Cake

Banana Oatmeal Crumb Cake (adapted from Bake or Break)

Ingredients: 


For the cake:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened ( I substituted 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce)
• 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature ( I used 1/2 cup Egg Beaters)
• 1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
For the crumb topping:
• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in bananas and vanilla.

4. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until combined.

5. Transfer cake batter to prepared pan.

To make the crumb topping:

1. Mix together oats, brown sugar, pecans, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly over cake batter.

2. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

3. Cool 20-30 minutes before serving.

Midsummer Adventures

Has it really been 4 weeks since I last had a blog post ☹? 

Wow, how time flies....summer is almost halfway over --- Waaah!

Well needless to say, the last few weeks have been fairly busy for me and the hubs. Busy at work, busy  working out [and teaching], busy with household stuff [like yard work -- ugh!], but we managed to take some time off and a few weeks ago, we traveled to sunny California to visit my parents.

I had our itinerary ready for the short 4 days that we were to spend down there and I had so much I wanted to do!

One of which was to watch an Anaheim Angels baseball game.

 We bought our tickets from Costco which ended up being a great deal! $65 for 2 tickets that included 2 small hot dogs and 2 small sodas.

 The Angels played St. Louis Cardinals {Pujols' old team} so it was quite exciting. 

 View of the ball park from our seats

Another day we spent at the Newport Fashion Island which is an outside mall near the beach. It was such an awesome space to walk and do a little window shopping and saw lots of people walking their *designer dogs".

 We went to the Island Cinema [a luxury movie theater] to watch Superman: Man of Steel

 The lobby was really nice and surprisingly had a lot of people for a Sunday matinee at $17 a ticket. [We bought ours at a Fandango discounted rate, I think through Groupon].

 Concession stand looked so classy ---  [unlike Momma June].

You can place your order for any snacks or drinks and a server takes it right to your seat.

 They also serve beer and wine.

 I ordered a plain soft pretzel that was served nice and warm.

Here's the inside of the movie theater. They have reserved seating so tickets are usually limited.

Seats were wide, nice and plush {leather} with a console in between for food and drinks.

Here's a picture from the web.

That took care of 2 of my summer bucket list items. Geesh, I need to get on it if I'm going to check off everything on that list.

How are you doing in this heatwave????

Best [Healthy] Carrot Cake

Super Moist Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

(adapted from Skinnytaste.com)

Calories: 219 per serving (original recipe) * less with my tweaking*

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup Egg Beaters
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups grated carrots, peeled
• 20 oz. can crushed pineapple in juice, drained 
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts plus 1/4 cup for topping

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz Weight Watchers cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine flour, Splenda, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices; stir well with a whisk.

2. In a medium bowl, combine oil, Egg Beaters, and vanilla; stir well. Add grated carrots and pineapple; mix well. Fold wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together. Fold in 1/4 cup chopped nuts.

3. Spoon batter into an 8" x 3" cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for about 40-50 minutes, depending on pan size or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.

4. To prepare frosting, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cake. Garnish with remaining chopped walnuts.

I've found the best carrot cake recipe and I'm definitely going to make this one again.. and again!

Quiet Father's day

A little late for this post but Happy Father's day to my Dad and to my hubby!

Hubby got to do what he wanted on his day which was: go for a walk with me and Smallsie and go on a bike ride. I made meatloaf that night and his favorite dessert to finish off the meal.

Here's a picture of another dinner during during the week.

Honey Salmon with Quinoa on the side

Protein pancakes before hubby's long bike ride

Carrot cake for dessert [recipe to follow]

Have a great day!

Weight Gain during Vacation

Okay, total disclosure....I gained 4 lbs during our cruise. Sitting on my ass all day except to sprint to the buffet line didn't help -- nor did the access to 24 hour pizza ☺.

I did workout everyday, mainly ran on on TM anywhere from 3-8 miles (total of 28 miles ran during the 8 day cruise). I  managed to get 2 Body Pump workouts in and 1 Body Attack class [all courtesy of my ipod and portable DVD player].

Needless to say, I had to get back to my routine (especially the "eating" part), when I came home and stepped on the  f' $%@'ng scale!

It helps that I have a new favorite *gadget* thanks to THIS girl's review [as if I needed more *crap* to complete my techno challenged life].

Check out Fitbit online if you want more INFO.

(new outfit from Ellie.com)

After much work last week, I've lost 3 lbs!!!

Meal Plan and Workout for the week:

Sunday - REST day / Chunky Vegetable Beef Soup
Monday - Body PUMP + Teach Zumba / Pasta w/ Pesto
Tuesday - Run 4 mi / Black Bean Burger
Wednesday - Teach Zumba + teach Body Attack / Chicken Cacciotore
Thursday - Body PUMP + Teach Zumba / Chipotle Lime Shrimp
Friday - Run 3 mi / Low Carb Lasagna
Saturday - Run 10 mi / Cajun Shrimp and Arugula
Sunday - REST


What do you do to maintain your weight during and after a vacation?

2013 Summer Bucket List

1. Have friends over for summer dinner

2. Go for a hike with Smalls HERE

3. Go on a long weekend staycation

4. Watch Superman (Man of Steel) in a Luxury movie theater

 5. See a baseball game

6. Bake something new for summer

 7. Actually go swimming 

 8. Have a summer cookout/barbecue

For some more ideas, check out my last summer bucket list!