Tomato Basil Mini Quiche-cakes

Breakfast. Introduced to most of us as "The Most Important Meal of the Day". Yet as we get older, most people end up skipping breakfast, giving the excuse: 'I don't have time'.

Not having time to eat is a common problem I've heard from most of my friends already on campus. Ironic, yes, because we also gain weight...but I think this stems from the larger metabolic lifestyle changes we don't need to get into right now (perhaps in a separate post!).

Regardless of age or schedule, we all have days when we wake up late or have to wake up early and lose out on that precious first meal. For those days, I thought about a way to solve the problem without resorting to expensive granola bars...

The Recipe: Tomato Basil Mini Quiche-Cakes

• 2 large eggs (feel free to get whatever kind of egg you prefer, although I used white eggs)
• 1/2 tomato, sliced and diced
• 1 leaf basil, torn
• A couple shreds of low-fat mozzarella, or other cheese, if desired. (I did some with and some without)

The Process:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Place desired size cupcake paper in cupcake pan (any baking pan would work, but since I also made a small batch of cupcakes, it felt right to use the rest of the pan simultaneously)
• Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk well with a fork
• Slice and dice tomato and mix it into the eggs
• Tear basil and mix it into the eggs and tomato
• Fill each cupcake paper about 2/3 of the way full so your Quiche-cakes don't overflow (I had a bit much in two of mine...oops!) **Try to get a good portion of all three ingredients in each Quiche-cake. Otherwise it just isn't the same!**
• Sprinkle desired cheese shreds on top.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, checking for bubbles and a gelatinous/solid-looking texture (just in case your oven isn't the same as mine)
• Allow to cool without covering for 10-15 minutes (longer if you make a larger size)
• Carefully remove and refrigerate in tupperware
• At this point, you may eat them warm, with a small fork or spoon, or you may keep them in the fridge. Personally, I like them as a cold finger food. If you are not going to eat immediately, you must refridgerate.
• Don't skip breakfast for a few days :)
  

The Calories:
        This may vary slightly based on the kind of eggs you use, if you use cheese, etc. In my version:

Eggs: 147 calories
Tomato: 11 calories
Basil: 1/5 calorie
Mozzarella (1/4 tsp): 28 calories
_____________________________
Total: 186 calories

I made seven Quiche-cakes, so each held about 27 calories of mostly high-protein egg. Definitely high on the healthy scale!

What went right:
            The quiches that did not overflow were delicious and nutritious. The smaller portions make it easier to eat a few over 30-60 minutes and not feel the guilt or weight of a larger quiche or an omlette, while still providing necessary protein. They save well in the fridge and are still yummy three to four days later. I can't see them not being eaten before then.

What went wrong:
          Other than the overflow, I would like to try some different cupcake wrappings. The ones I used stuck to the Quiche-cakes and were harder to remove the first day. By the second and third they came off well but took a layer of food with them...which I, embracing my subconscious childhood cupcake reflex, ate off the paper. I'm going to try some different types with other ingredients and I will re-post when I find the right one :)

What I would do next time:
         Other than the paper and the overflow, I would like to try it in a larger size, just because, and with varied ingredients. I think it would be great with peppers, mushrooms, squash, zucchini, artichoke, and maybe even trying a kind of sweet-and-savory Quiche-cake with banana and chocolate chips.

Will I do this in college:
         Yeah I definitely think having premade mini breakfasts would be better than having to run to the dining hall in the morning, and cheaper/healthier than buying premade toaster treats or granola bars. Additionally, it saves fridge-space to make and keep them compared to buying and keeping the ingredients until I feel the urge to cook them. That initial laziness will be immediately forgotten when there's food at the ready...

...so maybe that's why breakfast is "The Most Important Meal of the Day"! Food is our fuel, and a good boost of protein and fruit/vegetable (I don't discriminate against your personal beliefs regarding the tohMAYtoe/tohMAHtoe) in the morning is a great way to wake up and feel invigorated for the day ahead. Why stay in bed when there's something yummy in the fridge across the room? Now that you're up and eating, wow...it's really nice out! let's leave a little early for class and enjoy the day :)

 

Salami Caprese Panini

Hey there healthy food fans!

Yet another of my late night find what you can in the fridge meals gone oh so right, I present for your consideration:


The Recipe: Salami Caprese Panini

• 2 Slices of Italian Bread
• 2 tbsp shredded, low fat mozzarella
• 1/2 tomato, cut in slices
• 1/8 tbsp butter
• 4 slices of salami, cut in half
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 leaves of basil, shredded

The Process: 

• Turn on one of the burners to high
• Let your panini pan heat up while prepping the food
• Spread the butter on both sides of both slices of bread
• Wash and slice the tomato
• Cut and separate the salami
• Shred the basil leaves
• When the pan is warm, spread the olive oil on the pan and put the bread down
• Sprinkle mozzarella on both slices 
• After a couple minutes, watching to see that the mozzarella is secure and most of the butter has soaked into the bread, sprinkle the basil onto one slice of the bread

• Lay the salami half slices onto the same slice of bread
• Lay the tomato on the same slice of bread
• Using a spatula, put the other slice of bread on top and press until the sandwich sears to taste and is secure. This should take a minute or two, but it depends on your stove. 
• When you are satisfied with your sear, remove the press and set it on the stove to cool. 
• Carefully use the spatula to remove your sandwich and slice in half

The Calories:

          The bread was 108 calories; the tomatoes were 8 calories; the mozzarella was 35 calories; the basil was 0 calories; the salami was 99 calories; and the butter was 8 calories. This makes the total sandwich 258 calories. Most of the olive oil remained on the pan even after cooking, but adding the 126 calories for olive oil, that makes it 384 calories, still. 

What went right: 

         Everything. Loved this sandwich so much and I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

What went wrong: 

        I can honestly say nothing went wrong with this recipe. Success!

What would I do next time:

        Salami is the perfect meat for this sandwich. For a healthier (or vegetarian) version, feel free to eliminate it and substitute with more tomato, roasted peppers, cucumber, or anything else your taste buds desire!

Will I do this in college: 

       I think this is a given. I'm lucky and ecstatic to be bringing a single serve panini pan to college. Look forward to more panini variations because I am in love. 

Overall, a healthy, filling sandwich that had me licking the plate ;D

 

Deceptively Healthy Dessert: Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Hello health food fan!

My house is pretty empty as of late. We really only have some remnants of old meals, bread, cereal, drinks; nothing really that would be enough to make a dish. Or so I thought! I came across a recipe for cookies that included only bananas and dry oats, which were coincidentally two of the few edible products in the kitchen.

The  Recipe:  Banana Oatmeal Cookies

• 2 large old bananas 
• 1 cup dry oats
• 1 tbsp Wheat Germ (personal health addition)
• Preferred toppings/mix-ins (I tested toppings of chocolate chips, coconut,  almond slices, and honey)

The Process:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Mash the bananas into a medium sized bowl 
• Mix in the oats and wheat germ using a spoon
• Mix in any other desired mix-ins (I didn't mix in anything this time, but I got some ideas for next time!)
• Use a spoon to make small cookies on a pan, spaced out enough to be separate, but they don't expand, so no worries on that one. (They could be made in a muffin tin, or as larger cookies as well. My batter made 20, 1.5-2 inch diameter cookies.)
• Apply toppings as desired 
• Bake for 15 minutes

The Calories: 

The two bananas were each about 105 calories, so 210 total. 1 cup of oats is 150 calories. 1 tbsp of wheat germ is 25 calories. The base mixture has a total of 385 calories. Divided by 20, that makes each cookie about 19 calories. The amount of each topping I added was trivial enough to not matter, such as a single chocolate chip, or a drop of honey. 

What went right: 

              The cookies are really good, and very healthy. I can see this batter being a very useful base for even a type of cake, or muffins! My family enjoys them very much; even my brother ate two. Within minutes, they were all gone. The coconut and the chocolate chip went over best. From start to finish, the whole process took about 30 minutes. Well worth it! 

What went wrong: 

               The honey isn't the most fulfilling topping. It tastes good, but only in the one small spot. Oh well! Other than that, the cookies are way too addicting!!

What I would try next time:

                This base batter comes with a world of possibilities! I would like to do it with fruit, peanut butter, pecans mixed in, mini chocolate chips mixed in, cocoa powder mixed in, toasted coconut mixed in, granola mixed in, butterscotch chips, or even pretzel pieces. I might also try a variety of extracts. Other than toppings, I might try baking the cookies in muffin sleeves for slightly less time, or making larger cookies. I might even use it as a pie crust, or bake a thinly spread pan into chips. Another possibility would be to freeze it in small truffles, and dip it in chocolate, butterscotch, or anything really that would harden around the batter. 

Would I do this in college?: 

               100% Yes. The batter is super easy, very healthy, and has a high potential for variety. I think it would freeze and keep well, so I could make a large batch, and only bake as needed. It also tastes amazing. This is being added to the top of my no-guilt snack list! 

Overall, the recipe was a HUGE success! I'm making another batch after dinner tonight.

 

Easy Vegetable Medley

Happy Tuesday!

While I've been cooking almost daily for a while, I don't really count things like canned soup or ham and salami sandwiches, although I will for sure be making things of this nature in college. I'm now on vacation, which generally means a lot of eating out at whatever restaurant we can find...night one included +Applebees, which I was happy to discover now has a grilled chicken with mushrooms and mixed vegetables!

Last night, while shopping for food with my dad, I decided I wanted a veggie medley that I could make in about as much time as the pasta I was making for my brother. Rather than buying a head of cauliflower, a head of broccoli, raw carrots, and raw green beans and sweet peas, my dad suggested that I choose from the massive mixes of frozen vegetables that were already cut, steamed, and ready to roast. This sounded very college-practical, so I decided it was worth doing.

The Recipe: Easy Vegetable Medley

• One package of frozen cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot chunk medley
• 1/2 package of frozen green beans, yellow green beans, sweet peas, and baby carrot medley
• 1/3 package of frozen green peas
• About three teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

The Process: 

• Break apart frozen ingredients while they're in the bag and allow them to sit and thaw briefly
• Set the broiler on your oven to high
• Put the grate on a high shelf, depending on the depth of your pan, so the vegetables can be close to the flame
• Pour your ingredients into a bowl and mix 
• Pour the mix into a baking pan
• Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables in the baking pan
• Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste over the vegetables in the baking pan
• Use a spatula to mix the vegetables  around so they all become coated in the oil-salt-pepper mix
• Put the pan in the oven for 10-15 minutes, watching closely because all ovens differ 
• They are done when the broccoli and green beans develop brown edges, and the carrots appear to have a skin 
• Take out the vegetables and enjoy!

The Calories: 

The mix made about 4 cups of vegetables, which is 473 calories! I was full after about 2.5 cups. Health gets a score of 10/10. 

What went right:  

               The vegetables came out wonderfully. They are simple and filling with high fiber; very nutritious. 

What went wrong: 

               Nothing really...this is a relatively fool-proof method of making vegetables. I might leave them in for another minute or so to make them softer, but that is the difference between using freshly steamed and frozen vegetables I suppose. 

What I would try next time: 

               Other than cooking a little bit longer, I would like to try adding some teriyaki sauce or maybe some sesame seeds for a totally different taste. I would also like to try a honey glaze, or adding garlic or onion to the mix. 

Would I do this in college: 

               Oh yes. I will be doing this many, many times in college! I love the not having to steam or deal with whole heads of cauliflower and broccoli. 

Overall a very successful dinner!! 

Deceptively Healthy Snack 1: German Chocolate Fudge Balls

This is the second Deceptively Healthy Snack (counting the Cheese Its), but this is far more healthy than that and exceptionally more deceptive.

The Recipe: German Chocolate Fudge Balls 

• 1/2 cup Pitted Dates
• 1/2 cup Pecans
• 2 tbsp Coconut Shreds
• 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

                                                          The Process:

• Using a magic bullet, slowly mash the dates, de-clogging it when it stops mixing 
• Next, add the coconut shreds and mix again
• Cut the pecan slices into smaller pieces before adding and mixing
• Add the vanilla extract and cocoa powder and mix
• Cover a pan with wax paper
• Make the batter into small truffles 
• Roll in cocoa powder, if desired
• Refrigerate/freeze until balls harden
• Try to stop eating ;) 

The Calories:

1/2 cup of dates has 110 calories, the coconut shreds have 71 calories, the pecans have 373 calories, the cocoa powder has 25 calories, and the vanilla extract has 6 calories. The recipe makes about 18 truffles, so each one has 32.5 calories. This may sound like a lot, but a Lindt truffle for instance has 90 calories, and none of the health benefits of pecans or dates. 

Health Benefits of Pecans and Dates: 

• http://www.ilovepecans.org/nutrition.html
• http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-dates.html

What Went Right: 

The balls turned out great and didn't take too long to do in the magic bullet. I love that they're no-bake and very healthy. They definitely don't taste like dates at all! (Good and bad...I coaxed my brother into trying them and he liked...shhh ;) ) 

What Went Wrong:

Originally, I made one batch and realized that I hadn't mashed the dates enough and possibly made them in the wrong order for ideal truffle form, by adding the pecans last. I also hadn't chopped the pecans before adding them, which is very necessary for keeping the mixture together. The second batch is much smoother, although they both taste fantastic, and forms balls more easily.

I will for sure be making this in college!!!!

                       

  

Challenge 2: Veggie Pasta Salad

Hello Hello!

So last night I made myself some dinner and ended up with a lovely pasta salad that I'm sure I'll be making all the time...super easy and incredibly delicious :)

The Recipe:  Veggie Pasta Salad

• One large Red Pepper
• One Yellow Squash
• One cup of small White Mushrooms 
• 1.5 cups of Tri-Color Penne Pasta
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Salt
• Lemon Pepper
• Classic Pepper
• Salt
• Shredded Mozzarella

The Process:  

• Wash and dry all vegetables
• Set the broiler on Low 
• Cut the ends off the squash. Cut it in half the long way, and cut each half in small slices. 
• Put the squash in a baking pan with olive oil, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and classic pepper
• Shake the pan slightly so all the squash gets marinated
• Put in the oven to be broiled for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan every few minutes
• Cut the top off the pepper and remove the seeds
• Slice the pepper into strips
• Put the pepper in a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper 
• Put in the oven to be broiled for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan every few minutes
• Cut each mushroom in half
• Put the mushrooms in a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper
• Put in the oven until the mushrooms brown 
• Boil some water in a small pot
• Pour desired amount of pasta into the pot
• Cook to taste, which for me means slightly softer than al dente
• Strain the pasta
• Mix the pasta and all the vegetables in a bowl
• Serve with or without mozzarella sprinkled on top

The Calories:

The squash had 14 calories, the mushrooms had 44 calories, the pepper had 14 calories, and the pasta had 300 calories. The total dish, which filled about four large bowls, was 362 calories, 400 with cheese. So one bowl was about 100 calories. 

What Went Right:

All the vegetables were delicious, the pasta came  out great, it was really healthy and pretty quick! Only about 30 minutes to prepare because I put all the veggies in at once. 

What Went Wrong:

I put a bit much garlic salt on the squash, so some of the pieces were more salty than I liked, but once all the ingredients were mixed together it wasn't a big deal. I would still use less next time. 

Other Ideas: 

I would have liked to add zucchini as well, perhaps. I feel like that would be a nice addition, and potentially some tomatoes. I'm sure I'll experiment with other veggies as well. 

If I wanted to make it a main dish, I would add some sausage slices to it. 

This is going to be a favorite of mine in college :) It stores pretty well too, and it's nice and filling. 

Cooking Marathon 1: Sweet Potato Pie, Loaded Banana Bread with Cream Cheese, Twice Baked Cauliflower, Zucchini Pizza, and All Natural Cheese-Its!

Happy Saturday!

Sorry it took forever to get this up...I stayed home from everything on Tuesday because we had a snowstorm, so finally posting what I did instead :) believe it or not I had planned to make two other no bake dishes as well...decided to slow my roll on that one as I already took this long to post about these five and I will be cooking again tonight.

Without further ado, in the order of creation:

The Recipe: Sweet Potato Pie (with Banana Chocolate Frosting)

• 1 large sweet potato (about one pound)
• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 9 inch all natural graham cracker crust

The Process: 

• Boil the sweet potato so that it becomes soft (I didn't do this long enough, so I'll be putting my extensive process in parentheses)
• Remove the skin of the sweet potato and mash (or in my case, remove the skin, slice and dice the potato, and use the magic bullet to mash it as best as possible) 
• Soften the butter in the microwave
• Mix the other ingredients in a bowl 
• Add the mashed sweet potato
• Mix once again
• Pour mix into the crust
• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Bake for about half an hour, testing the center of the pie as needed
• (Pour the excess batter into cupcake paper and add chocolate chips to taste)
• (If desired, add brown sugar to the tops of the cupcakes as they finish baking)
• (Put in the fridge until dinner)
• (Frost as desired)

The Calories: 

The sweet potato had a total of 390 calories, the butter had 810 calories, the sugar had 720, milk had 130, the eggs had 144, the nutmeg had 6, the cinnamon had 6, and the crust had 880...for the entire pie batter, that means 3086 calories, but divided into about 8 slices, that's 385.75 calories per 1/8 pie. Granted, I also made 9 cupcakes, so it's probably less than that per slice. It's not exceptionally healthy, but at least it's not a cheese pie or a chocolate pie xD

What went right:

                 As previously mentioned, the sweet potatoes were not boiled long enough, but they turned out totally fine...less mashed than they should have been possibly but the pie turned out very nice and even better after being refrigerated. We are only just getting to the end of it....sweet potato pie is very heavy! The chocolate and the brown sugar in the cupcakes went over very well. 

What went wrong: 

               Freaking sweet potatoes. Oh well...live and learn! At least the recipe won't take two hours from start to finish next time. 

The Icing: Banana Chocolate Icing...deceptively healthy :) 

• Freeze a banana
• Remove its skin
• Mix with 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• (Add a splash of milk because I was very impatient)

 
The Calories: The banana has about 90 calories, depending on size, the cocoa powder has 24 calories, and the milk had about 130 calories. In total, that's 244, but I only used about a third of the recipe or so. And it's mostly banana. 

The icing turned out well! I cut the bottom tip off a sandwich bag to apply it. 

Moving right along!! 

Because of the sweet potato snafu, I decided to put the cauliflower in early. So I put the baked apples in the oven and my sweet potato pie mess in the dish washer, and then broke the cauliflower off the head. This proved wonderfully difficult! I resolved on using a knife to cut a chunk out and breaking it from there...quite a mess but it worked and hopefully I'll do it better next time :) 

While waiting on the dishwasher I did everything I could to prep the cauliflower dish...cut my peppers and measured the other ingredients out. I still had quite a bit of time, so I started on the Cheese Its...the recipe seemed simple enough...

The Recipe: All Natural Cheese Its 

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup of flour

The Process: 

• Pre-Heat the oven to 350
• Using a blender, mix the ingredients until they become relatively solid. There will be chunks but it should all easily come together as one batter 
• Every 30 seconds or so, stop the blender and de-clog it so it will continue to blend
• Once the batter seems relatively together, remove all of it and make one large ball
• Take the batter ball and put it on a piece of wax paper about a yard long
• Place another yard of wax paper on top of the ball
• Using a rolling pin, roll the ball into a pan shape as best as possible. It should be quite thin. (Realize that the dish washer has finally finished!)
• Cut the batter into squares using a small sharp knife (decide halfway through that this can wait, and made the banana and cauliflower dishes first)
• Coat a baking pan with wax paper 
• Use a spatula to take each square off the wax and place it about 1/4 an inch away from all other squares on the pan
• Take the edges of the batter that are not shaped properly and repeat the balling and cutting process until the batter is done 
• Bake for about 10 minutes (to desired brownness) and then remove and flip each cracker using the spatula...they will be hot!!
• Bake on the other side to desired brownness
• Remove and cool for about 5 minutes
• Enjoy!

The Calories:

The cheese has 455 calories, the flour has 450, and the butter has 404 calories. The whole batch of crackers is 1309 calories, which makes about 30-40 crackers in one inch squares. Estimating it makes 40 crackers, each cracker is about 4.4 calories. This is only a calorie or so less than normal Cheez Its, but then again, it's only made with three ingredients, and using low fat cheese and wheat flour would make it even more healthy.

What Went Right: 

             They were absolutely delicious and reallyyy addicting. They have a sort of pita-esque taste and I can see them being great with dip. My family loved them and requested another batch...so that happened today. 

What Went Wrong:

            The process took a while, so I decided to soften part of the cheese and fully melt the butter when I made the second batch today...helped soooo much! 

Would I make them in college? Yeah probably. I'll have to try them on the magic bullet before I decide that. I could probably hand mix too and I'll have to try that as well. 

In between this recipe came my Loaded Banana Bread again...but this time I doubled the batch I did last time -as requested- and put it in a more shallow, but larger, baking pan. The banana bread was half as thick, which I didn't quite like as much for it, but it was still very very good.

 

 

Finally, my cauliflower was ready!

The Recipe: Twice Baked Cauliflower

• Mini red, yellow, and orange peppers
• One head of cauliflower
• 4 ounces of low fat cream cheese
• 4 ounces of low fat sour cream
• Half a cup of mozzarella and cheddar shredded cheese

The Process: 

• Boil and mash the cauliflower
• Slice and dice the peppers
• Mix all ingredients together and put into a casserole dish
• Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes
• Sprinkle cheese on top and bake until the cheese starts to bubble slightly

The Calories: 

The cauliflower had 210 calories, the cream cheese had 262 calories, the sour cream had 154 calories, the cheese had about 160 calories. The total recipe had 786 calories. Very, very healthy :)
 What Went Right: The cheese was great, having the peppers was great, the dish tasted good enough...

What Went Wrong: 

          Possibly mashed the cauliflower too much, because it was very very mashed, leaving the dish lacking in texture, except for the peppers. We decided the dish needed green onion and bacon, and possibly some cheese baked inside...so that might happen later on!
                                                                        

Would I make this in college? eh....maybe. It's not exceptionally difficult and I do like it even without the proposed additions.

My final recipe of the day had to be made while eaten...so I made the sauce and prepared the zucchini slices before dinner. 

The Recipe:  Zucchini Pizza 

• Three zucchinis
• Pizza sauce
• Butter and garlic salt melted together
• One package of mozzarella

The Process: 

• Heat the panini pan on the stove
• Heat the pizza sauce (tomato sauce with basil, garlic salt, lemon pepper, salt, pepper, italian spices)
• Melt about one tbsp of butter and a few sprinkles of garlic salt in the microwave
• Cut the ends off the zucchini and slice it into long strips
• Brush the garlic butter onto both sides of the zucchini strips 
• Put as many strips as fit onto the panini pan and cook until they sizzle
• Use a spoon to put pizza sauce on the zucchini strips
• Sprinkle mozzarella on the zucchini strips
• Serve warm!

The Calories:

The zucchinis had about 20 calories each, and were cut into 6 strips, the sauce has 20 calories total, and I used maybe half a teaspoon per strip, and a teaspoon of mozzarella per strip, which has about 12 calories. Each Zucchini pizza slice came to less than 20 calories. The most healthy thing I've ever made. 

What Went Right: 

            Sauce was yummy and the thicker slices were really good. 

What Went Wrong:

            I cut the slices too thin for the most part, I should only do four per zucchini. The zucchinis should really be grilled to get the most out of them. Panini pan is the next best thing. But grilled is ideal. 

I plan on making this in college for sure! I enjoyed them quite a bit :) 

Overall it was a fantastic day of cooking and eating, and hopefully my next tries with these recipes will be even better! I learned a lot on Tuesday :)