Fridge Dump Lettuce Wraps

Welcome welcome! 

You know that feeling when you get home late from a long day and just want something easy that doesn't make you feel gross, but you only have leftovers in the fridge?

That was me right before I decided to make this dish. I hesitate to say "create", because Lettuce Wraps have existed long before my birth, but I don't know that anyone has tried this combination. 

We also had tortillas, so at first, I wanted to make tortilla wraps. However, if you've ever read the nutrition facts on the back of a tortilla package, you'll see that they contain a shocking amount of carbs and calories! (More on that later...). 

At first, with the lettuce, I considered making a salad with just the lettuce, chicken, and maybe some corn. But with the addition of exhaustion at 10:00pm, that small meal just screamed 'large bowl of ice cream for dessert'.

Hungry and tired, I was very close to resigning to my bed sans dinner. But then, I remembered a meal I was too picky to try at a friend's house about 10 years ago. We ordered in; I ate plain jasmine rice and miso soup while she and the rest of her family ate various exotic mixes wrapped in lettuce...or maybe it was cabbage? Either way, that blurry image of delicious wrapped in crunchy, healthy, low calorie, green boats sounded lovely and filling. 

So, 10 years later.....

The Recipe: Fridge Dump Lettuce Wraps

• Four leaves of Romaine lettuce
• One cup of cooked Jasmine Rice
• Half an ear of cooked yellow sweet corn
• One cup of steamed green beans
• Half a breast of cooked chicken

The Process: 

• Put the rice in a plastic container
• Arrange the rice so that there is a column of space in the center
• Fill the column halfway with water
• Press a balled paper towel sheet on top of the rice cup
• Use sensor reheat on a microwave to heat the rice
• Put rice in a bowl
• Wrap the half ear of corn in a paper towel sheet
• Use sensor reheat on a microwave to heat the corn
• Use a steak knife to cut the corn off the cob and add it to the bowl of rice
• Wrap the half chicken breast in a paper towel sheet
• Slice it into smaller pieces and add it to the rice and corn
• Use sensor reheat on a microwave to heat the corn
• Place the green beans in a Magic Bullet cup with the steamer lid and a small amount of water
• Microwave for one minute
• Remove and loosen the lid slightly
• Microwave for one more minute
• Add the green beans to the rice, corn, and chicken
• Mix the green beans, rice, corn, and chicken
• Spoon the mixture into lettuce as desired
• Wrap lettuce around the mixture
• Enjoy!

The Calories:

Lettuce: 19 calories

Rice: 205 calories

Green Beans: 34 calories

Chicken: 123 calories

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TOTAL: 381 calories 

For 381 calories, this is a lot of food, and a very well-balanced meal! I'm so glad I used lettuce instead of tortillas because it allowed me to have more of the mixture and still end up with a low calorie count. Each tortilla would be about 150 calories, and I made four lettuce wraps, so would have used four tortillas. That would add about 600 calories to the total, making the meal 981 calories.

What went right:

         I successfully used quite a few leftovers in the fridge and they actually tasted very good together. The meal was light and healthy, but filling. 

What went wrong: 

         Nothing, really. It would have been nice to have made it with fresh ingredients I suppose.

Were I to use fresh ingredients rather than leftovers, this would be the new Process:

• Boil 1-1.5 cups of water in a small pot.
• Put a small amount of water in the large Magic Bullet cup with the steamer top.
• Boil 3-4 cups of water in a large pot.
• Light a grill, or heat up a Panini/grill pan on the stove.
• In the small pot, cook your rice on low-medium heat until it is saturated and sticky.
• In the Magic Bullet cup, put desired amount of green beans.
• In the large pot, boil an ear of corn for about 10 minutes.
• On the grill or Panini/grill pan, cook your chicken. Time for each will differ based on your product.
• Follow leftover recipe from this point forward.

What would I do next time?: 

         I would try using some other ingredients...avocado would be awesome, and possibly some tomatoes or pico de gallo. It might also be fun to experiment with different rices and seasonal veggies. I know a lot of people would add sauces or dressings to this, and I suppose it would keep the mix together as more of a dip, but it would also add unnecessary calories and sodium. With sauteed vegetables or fried rice and tofu, I might try it with soy sauce, peanut sauce, or teriyaki sauce...but only a little bit!

Would I make this in college?:

         This is probably going to happen at some point in college. For some reason "fridge dump" feels like a very college event. 

Overall, a very satisfying meal and I can't wait to try more versions!

Peanut Butter Cookies and Tart Cakes

Welcome dessert fans and cookie monsters! 

I know, I know, what's a cookie doing on a health food blog? Well, these cookies are remarkably healthy when baked from scratch...as healthy as cookies can be, anyway. 

These cookies are part of my regular favorites that I've been making for years. The recipe was adapted from a recipe given to us by our family friend, Nancy Kampmeyer. I hadn't made them in a very long time, and my brother mentioned them a few months ago, so, by special request....

The Recipe: Peanut Butter Cookies and Tart Cakes

• 1 3/4 flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda

There are a few ways to make these cookies...I generally end up baking a few different types from the same batch: barely baked for my brother, crispy for my father, and in the middle for my mother. 

The Process: For Softer Cookies

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in a bowl
• Melt butter in the microwave for 45-60 seconds, or until it is 3/4-completely melted
• Combine peanut butter, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract in another bowl
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients
• Mix with a hand mixer until completely blended and creamy. 
• Butter a baking pan (you may need more than one; the batter makes 40-60 cookies depending on size)
• Using a regular spoon, make small balls of batter about an inch apart on the baking pan.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges begin to form. 
• Allow to cool before serving. 
• Try to stop eating ;) 

The Process: For Crisp Cookies

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in a bowl
• Melt butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds, or until it loosens slightly
• Combine peanut butter, egg, butter, and vanilla extract in another bowl
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients
• Mix with a hand mixer until completely blended. It will first become a more rice-like batter and then will combine again into a more sticky single batter.
• Butter a baking pan (you may need more than one; the batter makes 40-60 cookies depending on size)
• Make small balls of batter with your hands, about 3/4-1 inch in diameter. Place them about 1 inch apart on the baking pan. 
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are clearly visible and darken slightly 
• Allow to cool before serving. 
• Try to stop eating ;)

The Process: For Medium-Baked Cookies

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in a bowl
• Melt butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until it becomes 1/2-3/4 melted.
• Combine peanut butter, egg, butter, and vanilla extract in another bowl
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients
• Mix with a hand mixer until completely blended. It should have a more creamy texture, but low viscosity.
• Butter a baking pan (you may need more than one; the batter makes 40-60 cookies depending on size)
• Make small balls of batter using a spoon, about 3/4-1 inch in diameter. Place them about 1 inch apart on the baking pan. 
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are formed. 
• Allow to cool before serving. 
• Try to stop eating ;)

The Process: For Soft Tart Shells

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in a bowl
• Melt butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until it becomes 1/2-3/4 melted.
• Combine peanut butter, egg, butter, and vanilla extract in another bowl
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients
• Mix with a hand mixer until completely blended. It should have a more creamy texture, but low viscosity.
• Line a mini cupcake tray with cupcake paper. 
• Fill each cupcake paper 1/2-3/4 full. 
• Add mini chocolate chips, if desired.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they rise.
• As they cool, the batter will fall and become tart shells. You can eat them empty or fill them with anything you like. (We added raspberry jam)
• Enjoy with a spoon.  

The Calories:

Flour:

Sugar:

Egg:

Butter:

Peanut Butter:

Vanilla Extract:

Baking Soda:

_______________________________

TOTAL:

If desired, add....

Raspberry Jam: 

Strawberry Jam:

Chocolate Sauce:

Caramel Sauce: 

Applesauce and cinnamon: 

Custard:

Pudding:

What went right:

           They were finished in a day and a half. 

What went wrong: 

           The tarts were good, but I had initially intended on making cupcakes...I think I needed to bake the batter longer and add baking powder as well. We ate them with spoons and they still tasted fantastic. 

What would I do next time?:

            Next time I would bake the tarts longer to be tarts, or add baking soda to be cupcakes. I would also  try the different fillings and toppings. I would also like to try folding in other mix-ins such as cinnamon. 

Would I do this in college?: 

            I might have to make half batches of them in college so I don't eat 60 cookies in one night! Just in case....

The Workout: For abs, hamstrings, and pelvic alignment

8 sets of 8 normal crunches

10 pelvis lift bridges

8 sets of 8 bicycles

10 pelvis lift bridges

8 sets of 8 crunches with legs at 90 degrees

10 pelvis lift bridges

4 sets of 8 normal crunches twisted to each side

10 pelvis lift bridges

Approximate time: 8 minutes (hint hint wink wink nudge nudge, this is also the baking time for the cookies)

This batter is exceptionally easy to make, and has a whole world of potential. Watch out for more peanut butter cookie experiments in the future!

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Hello Biscuit Bakers!

This is a recipe that needs no disclaimer--even the buttermilk is from scratch. No Bisquik, no Pillsbury. However, I must credit pinterest once again for the link to the recipe.

It was also the starting point of tonight's dinner including biscuits, Penne Rigatti, and Sauteed Vegetables. Usually when crafting dinner for three, you start with the main dishes and find sides to compliment them. Tonight, I wanted to make buttermilk biscuits and asked what my family wanted to go with them. I must say, I was shocked that they wanted plain pasta (in the case of my brother) and vegetables (for the rest of my family. But the result was surprisingly harmonious...

The Recipe: Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup water
• (The milk and lemon juice could be substituted with 3/4 cup buttermilk)

The Process:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
• Slice and dice your butter.
• Combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder in a large bowl.
• Add the butter chunks, constantly mixing so that the butter becomes evenly dispersed.
• Hand mix until crumbly. It is very important to hand mix, or the biscuits will not be light and flaky.
• Mix in buttermilk, egg and just enough water to make a workable dough. 
• Mix the dough until it is just barely combined (I believe I may have overmixed slightly).
• Roll the dough onto a floured cutting board about 1 inch thick.
•  Cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter, or a 2 inch round cup (any mothers will recognize the purple sippy cup I used...it was quite nice!). 
• My recipe made 16 biscuits, but it will make less if you roll the dough out thicker. 
• Place on a greased baking sheet (they were supposed to be touching one another and I failed to follow this...next time I will and let you know how it goes).
• Bake 11.5 minutes (the pinterest recipe says 12-15 minutes, but I think I should have stopped at 10 minutes) or until golden brown.

The calories: 

Flour: 1734 calores

Salt: 0 calories

Sugar: 9 calories

Milk: 65 calories

Lemon Juice: 6 calories

Baking Powder: 3 calories

Butter: 800 calories

Egg: 70 calories

Water: 0 calories

___________________
TOTAL per biscuit (for 16 biscuits): 168 calories

Okay, so this looks like a lot. But let's compare them to a few national restaurants....

One regular McDonald's biscuit: 260 calories
One Popeyes biscuit: 260 calories
One Dunkin Donuts biscuit: 280 calories
One Denny's buttermilk biscuit: 190 calories

So comparatively, it's not terrible! I don't feel as awful given that I ate five and swum 2000m today at a rather high pace, as well as biking four miles :)

What went right:
          They were great on the inside, and my family and I very much enjoyed them!

What went wrong:
          My little brother saw me baking and when he realized there was lemon in biscuits, he was able to taste it, so did not like them as much as he might have otherwise. Additionally, I believe I should have taken them out after 10 minutes, because a few of the biscuits were more cooked on the bottom than desired. I might even bake them for 9 minutes.

What I would do next time:
        Next time, I will change the bake time and bake them right next to one another so they can't spread out. It might also be fun to try them with mix-ins like bacon and cheese, or marinara and rosemary or basil.

Will I do this in college?:
        Yes, for sure! They are a great alternative to fast food biscuits, and do not take long to prepare.

Overall, I'm very glad I made these today, even though I'm not so happy I ate five...they were quite delicious!

We did not finish the biscuits, so I've frozen the last few to be reheated and enjoyed later...the recipe says this will be alright, so I'll let you know how they turn out!

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Muffins

Welcome healthy bakers!

This recipe is a take off of a pinterest Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bread. I decided to make them into muffins due to lack of a bread pan, and the fact that I felt they would be easier to take for breakfast this way. 

The Recipe: Greek Yogurt Chocolate Muffins

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain original Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup reduced fat milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

The Process: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and greek yogurt. Whisk in the oil, the sugar and the milk, until mixture is smooth
• Transfer the liquid mixture into the dry mixture
• Mix with a spatula, just until incorporated, allowing batter to remain lumpy
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula
• Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
• Cool in the pan for 30 minutes

The Calories:

Because this recipe is from an alternate site, I am lucky to have a full set of nutrition facts available. These numbers are per serving of bread:

Calories: 239.7
Total Fat: 11.2 g
Saturated Fa:t 3.3 g
Cholesterol: 37.9 mg
Sodium: 165.2 mg (less due to removed salt)
Total Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
Sugars: 20.8 g
Protein: 4.2 g

The major differences between the bread and the muffins were the removal of salt, and change in cooking time and shape. The shape difference also created a serving difference; the full loaf of bread made 12 servings, where my batch made 16 muffins. This means that in a single muffin...

(Bread calories per serving)*(number of servings)=(total calories in batter)

(total calories in batter)/(number of muffins)=(total calories per muffin)

So...

239.7*12=2876.4

2876.4/16=179.8 calories per muffin

This is an extremely significant difference in caloric value. All nutrition facts can be manipulated using the same formulas.

 What went right: 

           The muffins were great while they were hot, and tasted amazing with some raspberry jam. 

What went wrong: 

          The muffins did not keep very well, and I believe they needed to be cooked for a shorter period of time to ensure that they would retain their moistness. Additionally, if I were to wrap the pan in tin foil partway through baking the way the recipe asks, it might also assist this moistness. 

What I would do next time: 

         I would definitely bake for a shorter period of time, and potentially bake raspberry jam into the muffins as well. They would also taste great with white chocolate or butterscotch chips, and a variety of nuts. 

Would I make this in college: 

        Unfortunately, I don't believe I will have the opportunity to make this in college, at least not for a while. I definitely won't be bringing the muffin pan first semester. Oh well!

Overall, this was a very good first attempt at what I think will be a great recipe when perfected :)

Pretzel Bun Double Meat and Green Avocado Sandwich

Hey Sandwich Fans!

A sandwich is one of the most theoretically simple dishes in the world. However, this means everyone's a critic. We all have our favorite sandwiches...this healthy sandwich has definitely become a favorite of mine!

The Recipe: Pretzel Bun Double Meat and Green Avocado Sandwich

• Pretzel Bun
• 2 ounces of thinly sliced honey ham
• 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
• 1/2 avocado, sliced

The Process:

• Using a knife with a serrated edge, slice the bun in half
• On each side of the bun, lay one ounce of ham
• On one side of the bun, lay the romaine lettuce
• On the other side of the bun, lay the avocado slices
• Close the bun
• Enjoy! 

The Calories: 

Pretzel Bun: 200 calories (depends on size)

Ham: 60 calories

Lettuce: 8 calories

Avocado: 161 calories

____________________________

TOTAL: 429 calories

For under 500 calories, this is an exceptionally filling sandwich complete with a delicious and rich bun, 6 slices of ham, lettuce, and the superfood-avocado. 

What went right: 

          The meat to bread ratio and dry to wet ratios are pretty awesome. The pretzel bun makes this easy; a good bun will be nice and moist at the center. The lettuce adds the perfect amount of crunch. All the ingredients work nicely together. 

What went wrong: 

         I wouldn't say "wrong", but my personal sandwich preference is chicken or bacon with avocado. The ham definitely worked, considering this was a quick 'on the way out, take whatever's in the fridge' creation. 

What I would do next time:

         I would have liked to include some tomato, potentially cucumber, and use chicken or turkey instead of the ham. 

Would I make this in college: 

        Definitely. It's fast, simple, and healthy. All the qualities of a college meal! 

Overall, I was very pleased with this sandwich. Once I realized I was nearing the end, my bites grew increasingly smaller, savoring every moment.