Fat Free Pumpkin Raisin Cookies

Nothing says fall like pumpkin. I love the smell, the taste and the anticipation of all the pumpkin flavored foods. This year I resolved to make a healthier version, and I nailed it!

It took me awhile to make sure I could call these fat free. With only 70 calories and .2 grams of total fat I was certain it had to count as something. So I looked it up, and according to the FDA a food may be considered fat-free, if it has 0.5 g of fat or less per serving. A saturated-fat-free food must contain less than 0.5 g of saturated fat and less than 0.5 g of trans fats.You can read more about that here. But basically it means that 2 cookies still count as fat free!

These cookies are really more of a muffin texture. If you decide you'd prefer muffins just pour the batter in the muffin tin. Personally I hate cleaning out the muffin pans, so I went the cookie route on rounds 2 and 3 of this recipe. You also have to admit that eating a cookie for breakfast is much more fun than eating a muffin. Enjoy!

Fat Free Pumpkin  Raisin Cookies
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie seasoning
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin puree
3/4 cup raisins
6 tablespoons egg whites
1/3 cup apple juice
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray. Whisk dry ingredients together. Add in the remaining ingredients. Stir until no traces of dry ingredients remain. Drop the batter by level tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until firm to the touch and lightly golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes. Store in an airtight container or pop into the freezer for later.

Calories    70.4
Total Fat   0.2 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg,
Sodium     105.0 mg
Potassium     99.4 mg
Total Carbs     16.1 g
Dietary Fiber     1.3 g
Sugars         5.1 g
Protein     2.0 g

Baked Crab Rangoons

I've said it before... but there is nothing like cooking with friends. I met up with Bree for our much anticipated Hypo/Three Stones Asian Night and it was a HUGE success! She made these amazing Fresh Rolls that were filled with sprouts, shrimp and other goodness. If I hadn't seen her make them I would have thought they were impossibly difficult, but they weren't so TRY THEM!
For this event I decided to give one of my most requested dishes a healthy makeover. Crab Rangoons are typically deep fried and super fattening, but I proved that they don't have to be fatty to be delicious.

Practically Fat Free Baked Crab Rangoons
1 package imitation crab
1 package fat free cream cheese, softened
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 package wonton wrappers
In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except wonton wrappers. Mix until well blended. Place a glob of this amazing mixture in center of each wonton wrapper. Using your finger or a pastry brush, moisten just the edges of the wrapper with water. Fold in half to form triangle, pressing edges to seal. Arrange on baking sheet that has been coated with vegetable spray. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve with strawberry jalapeno pepper jelly. Here's a quick recipe in case you aren't the type that makes batches of this to freeze: Combine 1 cup sugar free strawberry jelly with enough jalapenos to give it a good heat. Put this mixture in your food processor until it is nicely evenly mixed.

Each time I make these the amount I get varies based on how much filling I stuff into them. This time it created 36 delicious rangoons. Each one is about 36 calories and .2 grams fat with NO saturated fat. While that doesn't give you the excuse to finish the pan by yourself...it should remove the guilt of treating yourself to a few extra.




I also decided to whip up a few Brown Rice California Rolls. I love love love sushi and making it is much more affordable than picking it up from the store. Be sure to check out my instructions here.

Join us next month for Skinnygiving as we tackle our favorite holiday feast foods.




This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays for 10/4/2011.

Gazpacho

Goodbye Summer. I feel like I barely saw you this year. Now suddenly I feel your cold breeze and I know you are leaving me. I'm not going to hide these tears, because maybe... just maybe they'll bring you back to me sooner. I'll miss you, and I'll always remember the treasured afternoon moments reading a book and enjoying a nice cold cup of gazpacho.

Summer Lovin' Gazpacho
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
2 ribs celery, quartered
1/2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
1/2 cup vegetable juice cocktail
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Combine everything but the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Blend only a few seconds, until the vegetables are finely chopped and well mixed, but NOT smooth! Add the chopped tomato; chill. Serve very cold.

So one might think that because there are only veggies here that it must only count as veggie servings. That is right and wrong.  Anytime you have more than 1 1/2 cups of cooked vegetables or 3 cups or more of raw vegetables in a meal, count them as one carbohydrate exchange.
Generally one veggie serving usually contains 5 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of protein, no fat and only 25 calories. So it works out to 1/2 cup cooked vegetables or vegetable juice, or 1 cup raw vegetables for an exchange.
This recipe, divided into 5, makes your dinner veggie servings. If you choose to make it more of a meal and divided into anything less than 5 portions be sure to count it as a carb.

Nutrition based on 5 large servings.
Calories    53.52
Total Fat   0.4g
Saturated Fat  0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 192 mg
Potassium 529.7 mg
Total Carbs 11.36 g
Dietary Fiber 2.64 g
Sugars 3.92 g
Protein 2.16 g
Vitamin A 36.6 %
Vitamin B-6 8.3 %
Vitamin C 87.4 %

Cottage Cheese Enchiladas with Cilantro Pesto

The best part about having friends that hold you accountable to a diet or lifestyle change is sharing the tips and tricks that you've both learned along the way. If you are lucky enough to have one of those friends, send them a cyber hug right now! If you are not that lucky, I am for hire...send me your name, and aspirations and I'll torment you with tips and advice. I might even send you pictures like this one below that make you go "Huh?! No way is that healthy!" But I'll be right (as I usually am) and it will be chock full of flavor and low in calories and saturated fat. You'll thank me.

Cottage Cheese Enchiladas with Cilantro Pesto

10 whole grain tortillas
2 cups fat free cottage cheese
8-10 oz fresh spinach, wilted slightly over low heat

For the Cilantro Pesto
2 cups cilantro, leaves only, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup garlic, chopped
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Mix everything together in a mini blender or magic bullet until it forms a paste. Set aside.

For the Red Sauce
1½ cups tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup tomato purée
½ teaspoon chicken bouillon

Mix everything together in a blender. Transfer to a sauce pan and cook for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Using a brush (or your preferably clean hands), cover tortillas with the pesto. I found it easiest to cover and stack until all the tortillas were covered. Then it’s filling time! Make sure to have your glass baking dish nearby  so you can fill and drop them into the pan. Each tortillas gets about 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese and a handful of spinach. Basically the name of the game is to make sure you have enough to fill all the tortillas evenly. No one wants an all spinach enchilada, or just cheese. In the words of Tim Gunn, “Make it work people, make it work.”
So once each tortilla has been filled, you roll it and put it in the pan. Once the pan is full, top all that amazingness with the red sauce you cooked up. Move the dish into the oven for 10 minutes or until it is heated through.

These were soooo good! Even the leftovers were good cold. And check out that Tequila Chicken and Pico and Baked Onion Rings and SKINNY Margarita made by Bree of Three and a Half Stones to Go. She is seriously amazing and these recipes were perfect for our Hypo/Three Stones Mexican BBQ.  In fact the whole event was so much fun that a tradition has been started and we'll be meeting next month for an Asian twist.

In case you don't believe me that these are pretty darn healthy... take a look. The biggest win here is in the saturated fat content. A typical cheese enchilada contains 21 grams of fat, with 12 of those being from saturated fat.  I'm not willing to sacrifice 12 of my 15 allowed grams of saturated fat to a single enchilada. Here it costs only 2.7 grams, and the nutritional boost is something your mother would be proud of.

Nutrition Facts
Makes 10 Enchiladas

One enchilada is equal to 10 Weight Watchers PointsPlus

Calories    361.1
Total Fat   17.1 g
  Saturated Fat              2.7 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat     2.4 g
  Monounsaturated Fat   9.8 g
Cholesterol      7.8 mg
Sodium        707.3 mg
Potassium    322.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate     38.0 g
Dietary Fiber      4.0 g
Sugars        6.1 g
Protein      18.5 g

Vitamin A          47.5 %
Vitamin B-12       7.8 %
Vitamin B-6       11.1 %
Vitamin C          20.5 %
Vitamin D            0.0 %
Vitamin E           10.6 %
Calcium                9.2 %
Copper                8.1 %
Folate                15.4 %
Iron                    13.4 %
Magnesium         10.0 %
Manganese         26.0 %
Niacin                  3.7 %
Pantothenic Acid  2.8 %
Phosphorus        11.5 %
Riboflavin           11.6 %
Selenium             11.2 %
Thiamin                 5.4 %
Zinc                      4.9 %

So there you have it. Forward this to your mother so she knows you eat well (occasionally), and get your friends together for a healthy night of cooking.  Your waist line will thank you!