Tropical Fruit Pizza

I made this incredible Tropical Fruit Pizza about a week ago to take to our natural child birth class. This class is where we're told what is really happening with my body during labor, how my honey can help, and also where, afterwards; I contemplate canceling the whole thing. 

Then I look down and it's become painfully obvious that it's to late for all that. The seed has already been planted so to speak.
Snacks at class help alleviate this self induced trauma. This Tropical Fruit Pizza definitely did the trick.

Let me illustrate: Just as we were talking about the actual squeezing of the baby out of my privates, I took a bite and thought, "Wow, this is super sweet, yet creamy with a great tang." Much better than, "Do you think if I packed up and moved to Hong Kong the baby would follow me?"
 
The magic of sweet pizza.

The weather was also amazingly spring-like for a Montana March on the day that I created this Tropical Fruit Pizza.  Today the clouds have settled in and snow is pattering against our large windows it feels comforting to remember the tropical flavors and the sunshine. 


I also cut some corners and used a sugar cookie mix and instant sugar free pudding mix making this a super easy recipe.  You could use any kind of pudding you want though if you want to switch things up. Vanilla pudding, white chocolate, or even pistachio would be kind of fun. 

I used mangoes and kiwis, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas. Seriously, you are Michael Angelo and this pizza is your Cysteine Chapel. Get after it!


And then slice this with a pizza cutter and take a big 'ol bite that has the rich flavors of cheesecake and sweetness of sugar cookie paired with the tangy bite from the fresh mango and kiwi. 

It's perfect really.


Just like I've decided my child birth experience will be.


Now on with the recipe!

Tropical Fruit Pizza

1 Package Sugar Cookie Mix
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter; Softened
1 Large Egg
1 Package Sugar Free Cheesecake Pudding
1 Cup Skim Milk
1 Fresh Mango
4 Ripe Kiwis

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar cookie mix, butter, and egg. Mix with a mixer or spatula until a thick batter has formed.

3. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and evenly spread the cookie dough on the bottom of the cookie sheet making one layer of continuous cookie. Bake in the oven for 7-9 minutes or until cookie is done.

4. Meanwhile combine the pudding mix and the skim milk. Whisk together until smooth and refrigerate in order to set the pudding.

5. Peel and slice the kiwis into thin round slices. Then slice the mango into small cubes. 

6. Once the cookie dough has baked allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes. Then we can begin building the pizza! Spread the pudding evenly over the top of the cookie 'crust' in one even layer. Then place the kiwi and mango slices evenly over the pudding in a fun pattern or just throw them on.

7. Slice using a pizza cutter and serve chilled. You can refrigerate until ready to serve! 

Servings: 20


Nutritional Skinny:

 118 calories / 2.4 g fat / 24 g carbohydrates / .5 g fiber / 1.5 g protein


Mental Health Benefit: This is a seriously fun way to get your fruits. It may not be the healthiest way, but if you are craving some dessert this goes a long way with only just over 2 grams of fat and still has a little bit of fiber and protein. It's also a really attractive dessert to bring to a party and easy to eat! A total win-win situation for everyone!

Game Day Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

It's Super Bowl Sunday! Let the good times and great food reign!

That usually means lots of salty fair such as nachos, buffalo wings, cheese fries, chili. You name it.

Well, because I'm a chick and I'm really into dessert. I decided to whip up something sweet to bring to the Super Bowl party this year. My inspiration came from the idea of a cold chocolate dipped banana. 

Who doesn't love that on a hot summer day. Except that it's not hot outside and cupcakes just sounded like fun. 

So I mashed some bananas, threw in some chocolate chips and used that delicious Philadelphia Milk Chocolate Indulgence (that's now available in stores!) and made the most amazing Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with  Creamy Chocolate Frosting.

I reduced the sugar, cut out the oil, and added some nutritious mashed bananas and the end result is a moist and sweet, melt in your mouth, cupcake that is half the fat and calories of something store bought.

Not to mention, it's my honey's nephew's birthday today so cupcakes seemed like a fun birthday treat too.

So no matter what the cause for celebration, these cupcakes are easy to whip up in a hurry with ingredieints you most likely have on hand and are the perfect sweet ending to a salt occasion!

May the best team win!

Cheers and on with the recipe!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Idea inspired by 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt

1 Cup Baking Splenda
1/2 Cup Apple Sauce (Unsweetened)
2 Eggs
1 Cup Mashed Bananas (about 2 Large Ripe Bananas)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Creamy Chocolate Frosting:

8 Ounces Philadelphia Milk Chocolate Indulgence

1/2 Cup Sugar Free Vanilla Frosting

1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips; Minced

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners and coat with baking spray.

 2. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, Splenda, apple sauce, and eggs until smooth. Add banana and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture, beating until combined.
4. Scoop batter into prepared cupcake liners and bake 22-28 minutes or until edges are brown and spring back when touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

5. While cupcakes are cooling, beat together the milk chocolate indulgence and vanilla frosting until smooth. Spread evenly and liberally over each cooled cupcake. Top with minced chocolate chips. I also used some colored sprinkles to add some festive fun to the cupcakes. Feel free to be creative!

Servings: 12

Nutritional Skinny:

 

147 calories / 14 g fat / 15 g carbohydrates / 2 g fiber / 3 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: These have the health benefits of bananas, not to mention that not using oil saves us about 100 calories a piece! It's really a no-brainer and the chocolate I believe strongly helps us deal with the most difficult of situations. Even our team loosing the super bowl. So go ahead and whip these up, share with friends, and enjoy the sweet treat of banana's and chocolate!

Amaretto Pound Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I feel the need to warn all y'all that this recipe is sort of an indulgence...

I didn't make all of my usual substitutions, however I did make enough swaps to cut the calories, fat, and carbohydrates by more than half, without any of the luscious pound cake being lost!

The truth is this: 

I had amaretto in the house that I can't drink (but I'm counting down the days...), I also had this brand new product from Philadelphia Cream Cheese called Indulgence. It is cream cheese in chocolate heaven. Literally, it is tubs filled with a creamy, rich, sweet chocolate flavored cream cheese spread. Need I say more? 
 
Okay... it comes in White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate. Yum. Now, I have to be honest here. It isn't in stores yet.. but it will be soon. I know...

I'm evil for even bringing this up to y'all before you can go buy it yourself. It showed up on my doorstep on my birthday. Quite appropriate, I thought. So, to honor myself and my mom's birthing day, I grabbed a banana and the dark chocolate and spread a big amount on the banana and ate it straight away. It was heavenly. No cooking required. 

Easy, delicious, and yes, a little naughty, but it was my birthday after all. But I had a lot of it and I wanted to use this amaretto and we were invited to a friend's for a house warming and I thought Amaretto Pound Cake using a White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting might just be our ticket in the door.

And I was right on. It was amazing! Soft, buttery, dense and the perfect compliment to the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. 

I cheated because you can't exactly do this today. But you will be able to very, very soon. If you need to make this now.. just combine 3/4 cup of amaretto and 1/3 cup of granulated sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Poke holes in the cooled cake and pour liberally over the pound cake to saturate.

And don't worry, I'll let you know when you can get your own Philadelphia Indulgence! 


In the mean time, allow yourself to indulge in this delicious Amaretto Pound Cake!

Now, on with the recipe...

Amaretto Pound Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 Cup (8 Ounces) Unsalted Butter, softened
8 Ounces Fat Free Greek Yogurt 
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 2/3 Cup Baking Splenda
4 Large Eggs
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsps. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
3/4 Cup Fat Free Milk
1/4 Cup Amaretto


White Chocolate Amaretto Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 Cup Amaretto
8 Ounces Philadelphia Indulgence White Chocolate

1. Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter and yogurt and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the milk and the amaretto liqueur. 
4. Add dry mixture to the creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture and ending with dry ingredients. Mix the batter until smooth and well blended. Pour batter into the prepared Bundt cake or tube cake pan. 

5. Bake for 1 hour to an hour and a half. Check after one hour and if still not firm and a toothpick or cake tester doesn't come out clean when inserted in center, cook for for another half hour checking after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15-30 minutes.
 
6. Meanwhile, combine additional amaretto with the Philadelphia indulgence and whip with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. 
7. After the cake has cooled to the touch, about 30 minutes, smooth the creamy frosting over the top and sides. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve!

Servings: 20 slices

Nutritional Skinny:

223 calories / 10 g fat / 29 g carbohydrates / .2 g fiber / 3.5 g protein


Mental Health Benefit: This is a bit of a splurge, I won't hide behind it. I rarely post such indulgences, but it was my birthday, I had booze, and I wanted a little sugar. What can I say, nobody's perfect and a splurge is allowed no matter who you are. But by making a few swaps such as using Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese and cutting the sugar in half and using Splenda for the other half I have managed to make this a slightly skinnier version which saves over 200 calories, 20 g of fat, and almost 60 g of carbohydrates! I hope you have this kind of "guilt-less" indulgence in your future too!

Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

'Tis the season for pumpkin pies, cranberry coffee cakes, and caramel covered pears. Being the person that I am, I decided to deviate from the norm here for a bit.

Just for a bit. 

 

While searching for a way to turn this nutritious gem into something sweet and gooey (I am pregnant after all folks), I stumbled upon this Zucchini Cake recipe that's sweetened with pineapple. Seemed brilliant to me.

 

I am craving sweets like no one should be allowed to, but I'm still aware that me and 'baby bump' have nutritional needs. So, in finding this sinful recipe on the Tasty Kitchen Blog hosted by Pioneer Woman, I made a few adjustments in the name of nutrition.

This cake is just simply sublime, You can't even tell there's zucchini and it makes a great 'hide' from your kids. A great way to get your kids to eat their vegetables.

I'm already well down the path into an oompa loompa shate, but I don't feel the need to rush this whole 'rounded-belly' thing. I'll let Santa take it this month. With only 146 calories per slice you won't have to worry about growing round in the middle either! Plus it's packed with a generous 3 grams of fiber! You just gotta try this recipe even if it's just to quench your curiosity. It really is that delicious and moist! Not to mention simple. Just shred, measure, open, mix, pour, and bake. Nothing to it!
Hope your holiday season is cookin' right along!

Now on with the recipe...

Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese FrostingFOR THE CAKE:

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ Cup All Purpose Flour
1-¼ Cup Baking Splenda
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger (optional)

1/4 Cup Milled Flax Seed
4 Tbsp. No Sugar Added Apple Sauce
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 cups Grated Zucchini
1 can (20 Oz. Size) Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (Reserve Juice For Cake Batter And Frosting)
_____
FOR THE FROSTING:
1 Package (8 Oz. Size) Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened
2 Cups Baking Splenda
2 tsps. Vanilla Extract
Splash Pineapple Juice, Approx 1 tbsp.


1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. To prepare cake, combine flours, splenda, baking soda, salt, spices, and milled flax in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.

3. In a separate bowl, combine apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Add the grated zucchini and drained pineapple. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Stir grated zucchini mixture into the flour mixture. Batter should be gooey. If it still seems too dry, just add a little splash of the reserved pineapple juice. My batter was super moist so I didn't have to add any more pineapple juice.

4. Spoon the batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for about 33–35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely.

5. To prepare frosting, combine cream cheese and reserved tablespoon of pineapple juice in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer (or a whisk) until smooth. Beat in splenda and vanilla just until smooth. Add an additional splash of pineapple juice if necessary. 

6. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired.

Servings: 12

Nutritional Skinny:

146 calories / 4.8 g fat / 21 g carbohydrates / 3 g fiber / 5 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: The reality of this 'cake' recipe is that it contains almost a serving of fruit and vegetables. And it's a cake! And with 5 grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of fat it is a recipe to be cherished. Plus the flavor will knock your Christmas stockings off. This is a great way to surprise people at a party. Call it a spiced cake, let them dig in, oooh and aaahh, then tell them it's loaded with zucchini. The look on their faces... Priceless.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Once again we have an abundance of zucchini. It seems avoidable this time of year, but lucky for me I love zucchini and I love all of the sweet and savory things that I can turn zucchini into.

It really is one of the most versatile vegetables. 

Think about it... What other vegetable can we make into a decadent dessert, a sweet morning snack to serve with tea, turn into a show stopping main course, serve as a sauteed fresh side, or create a delicious stew with this as the main ingredient? 

Really? I can't think of anything else, except for maybe carrots, but we aren't making a main dish with carrots as the center peice. At least not in my house without a whole lot of complaining!

I decided to start with these delicious, moist, and slightly chocolatey bites. They are great for breakfast with a mocha latte or great as a light dessert with a dash of chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top!

They are moist, tender, and melt in your mouth delicious. And don't forget you're sneaking in your vegetables for breakfast or dessert! Now, how's that for a double bonus! 


Now on with this simple and delicious recipe!


Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

3 Eggs
2 Cups Baking Splenda
1 1/2 Cup No Sugar Applesauce
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Grated Zucchini
3 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 Heaping tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Heaping Ground Nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners. Or do in batches if you only have one muffin tin. 

2. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Stir in the splenda and apple sauce. 

3. Add the cocoa, vanilla, grated zucchini and stir well.

4. In a separate bowl combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir with a whisk to combine.

5. Pour the flour mixture into the sugar and egg mixture. Stir well to combine until it becomes a thick batter. 

6. Scoop the batter into prepared muffin tins filling 2/3 of the way full. I used an old fashioned ice cream scoop that worked like a charm! Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store covered in the fridge. 

Note: These can also be frozen for up to 3 months. In order to thaw, just set them out over night and they will be thawed by morning.

Servings: 18

Nutritional Skinny:

100 calories / 1.4 g fat / 18.4 g carbohydrates / 3 g fiber / 3.6 g protein

Mental Health Tid Bit: These muffins are the perfect treat for a busy morning or much needed relaxing evening. Plus they are low in calories and fat and filled with moist chocolate goodness. They are also great smeared with peanut butter or low fat cream cheese for added protein and creaminess. Plus they are great to have in the freezer for when overnight guests arrive. Just thaw and place them out with a bowl of fruit and you have a great morning treat for your guests. They won't even have a clue how healthy they are!