Coconut Lime Sweet Bread: Two Recipes

I made a TRUCK LOAD of this delicious coconut lime sweet bread for my friend April's baby shower this morning. It was super delicious and because I made so much, many people got to take it home to enjoy it. I adapted this recipe from Our Best Bites' Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze recipe and they adapted their recipe from Cooking Light. These are also great versions of this recipe. However, it is not a super healthy treat, so I did my best to make a light more Weight Watchers-friendly version along with it and the lighter version turned out really good as well! Here are both recipes:

Coconut Lime Sweet Bread

Ingredients

Bread Ingredients

2 c. Flour

1 c. Sugar
3/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1/4 c. Sour Cream
1/4 c. Melted Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 c. Flaked Coconut
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1/2 c. Milk
An Extra 2 Tbsp Flaked Coconut

Lime Glaze Ingredients
1/4 c Lime Juice
1/2 c. Powdered Sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly mix dry bread ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine wet bread ingredients, leaving out the extra two Tbsp of flaked coconut. Whisk thoroughly. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix until you have a very thick batter. Pour into a greased 9X5 loaf pan. Sprinkle extra coconut on to the top. Cook bread for 60 minutes then check it by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out dry, it's done! If it's wet, bake another 5 or 10 minutes until baked thoroughly.
Remove from oven and let cool.

While your bread is cooling, whisk lime juice and powdered sugar together into your glaze. Drizzel over the top of your slightly cooled bread. Slice and serve!

Notes
Makes 14 servings of with 6 WW Points Plus per serving.

Coconut Lime Sweet Bread: Lightened Up

Ingredients

Bread Ingredients
2 c. Whole Wheat
1 c. Splenda
3/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Egg Whites
1/4 c. Non-Fat Vanilla Yogurt
1/4 c. AppleSauce
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 c. Flaked Coconut
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1/2 c. Fat Free Milk
An Extra 2 Tbsp Flaked Coconut

Lime Glaze Ingredients
1/4 c Lime Juice
1/2 c. Powdered Sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly mix dry bread ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine wet bread ingredients, leaving out the extra two Tbsp of flaked coconut. Whisk thoroughly. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix until you have a very thick batter. Pour into a greased 9X5 loaf pan. Sprinkle extra coconut on to the top. Cook bread for 60 minutes then check it by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out dry, it's done! If it's wet, bake another 5 or 10 minutes until baked thoroughly.
Remove from oven and let cool.

While your bread is cooling, whisk lime juice and powdered sugar together into your glaze. Drizzel over the top of your slightly cooled bread. Slice and serve!

Notes
Makes 14 servings of with 3 WW Points Plus per serving- half the points of the fatty bread!

Caramel Popcorn Indulgence for Valentines Day: Two Recipes

I don't often make and post indulgent recipes, but this is one I must confess and also share. Zac is going on a road trip to a theatre conference for a week in Northern California over Valentines. He is roadtripping with some friends. So for a Valentines treat, I made him a tin of the best caramel popcorn I have ever had in my life. I got this recipe from a good friend, Chantelle Bender. She made this for me when we were in college together. I have never fogotten how amazing it is and have made it only a few times since. It is super sugary and fatty, so it's a very special occasion treat. However, it is SO AMAZING that I can't cut it out of my life completely.

Bender Family Soft Caramel Popcorn Recipe

Ingredients
1 very large bowl of popped popcorn (about16 cups)
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 cube of butter- softened
1 c. karo syrup
2 tsp. vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Combine brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and karo syrup into a pot. Heat on the stove over medium until boiling. Remove from heat. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix thoroughly. Pour over popcorn a bit at a time and mix well to ensure even coverage. If you are putting it into containers or bags, let cool for 10-15 mintues. Then indulge! YUM!!!

Notes
 It made me cringe to even figure out the points on this one. A one-cup serving is 9 WW PointsPlus. However, it's completely worth every point!


Zac's Valentine's Tin of Bender Family Soft Caramel Corn



Mindy's Vegan Caramel Popcorn Recipe

I also made a second batch with a vegan recipe I came up with on my own. I did this because one of the friends driving with Zac is vegan and I'm an equal opportunity treat distributor. This recipe is still completely full of fat and sugar, but it totally vegan friendly and still incredibly delicious! In fact, I had just as much temptation to snack on this recipe as the other.

Ingredients
1 very large bowl of popped popcorn (about 16 cups)
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. karo syrup
1/2 c. canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Combine brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and karo syrup into a pot. Heat on the stove over medium until boiling. Remove from heat. Pour over popcorn a bit at a time and mix well to ensure even coverage. Let cool if you are putting it into bags or tins. Enjoy all you vegans out there!

Notes
This is a vegan-recipe, but not low sugar or low fat. A one-cup serving is still 7 WW PointsPlus. Worth it though!


A bowl vegan-friendly caramel corn



Oatmeal Rasin and Pecan Cookies

I have been craving oatmeal rasin cookies for a while. Today I finally made them and was very happy about it. I started with this healthy recipe from the Whole Wheat Gourmet and made a few changes. They turned out really well. Still pretty healthy and also incredibly yummy!

Oatmeal Rasin and Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. oil (corn, olive, or canola)
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. milk

1 large egg (beat with 1 tbsp Water)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (the lower temperature  is because honey in the recipe can burn easily). In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together. In a separate medium bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients into the large bowl with with the dry ingredients. Next, add the raisins and walnuts and mix. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. If it isn't binding well, you can add an egg white. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil sprayed with cooking spray. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your baking sheet  and press down with a spoon.  Bake for  15 - 18 minutes or until bubbly but firm. Cool on plate or cooling rack. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie

I made two of these for Thanksgiving. I got the recipe (as well as the pic I'm using for this post; it was so yummy we ate it all before we remembered to take a picture) from WeightWatchers.com. I subscribe to their site. However, thier version of this recipe called for butter and regular brown sugar for which I substituted applesauce and Splenda brownsugar mix. This made it significantly less points and it was still GREAT! Everyone at our dinner loved it and said they would have never known it was "healthy" if I hadn't told them. YAY! I think I will make it again at Christmas!

Ingredients

6 Lowfat graham cracker sheets

1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 tbsp Splenda brown sugar mix

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1/2 c. Splenda brown sugar mix

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. fat free evaporated milk

Lite whipped topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F with rack placed in the center of the oven. Place graham crackers and 1 tbsp of the Splenda brownsugar blend into a food processor and process into crumbs. You can also put them into a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin if you don't have a food processor. Put crumbs into a bowl and add apple sauce mix until its a thick paste. Spread this into the botton of a greased (w/cooking spray) 9' pie tin. Mash the crust to cover the bottom and sides of the tin using a spoon, spatula or your hands. I found my hands worked best. Place in the refridgerator and chill for 30 min. Then place in the over and bake for 8-10 minutes or until it starts to get crust-like and bubble a bit. Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, use and electric mixer to whip egg whites until frothy. Fold in the egg, 1/2 c. Splenda brownsugar mix, salt, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin and evaporated milk. Beat unitl smooth and pour in to the crust. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice and serve with a dollop of lite whipped topping.

Notes

There are 3 WW PointsPlus for 1/8 of the pie. Delicious!

De-light-ful Apple Crisp

This is an apple crisp recipe that I created by modifying and experimenting with healthy apple crisp recipes floating about the internet. I also came up with the adorable name. It's super healthy I put it into the weight watchers recipe application on line and it's only 2 WW points for a generous sized serving (this recipe makes 6 servings). It is also super delicious with a little bit of 1/2 fat Bryers all natural icecream. That makes the whole dessert 4 points... and TOTALLY WORTH IT!

De-light-ful Apple Crisp

Ingredients

8 small apples or 6 medium to large apples (Granny Smith are the best)
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c quick oats
1/8 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Peel and slice apples into wedges. Place in small baking dish. In a separate, small bowl mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Once mixed well, mash applesauce into the mixture with a fork until you have a somewhat moist, but still crumbly texture. Spread mixture over the apples evenly. Thoroughly spray or sprinkle lemon juice over the top of mixture and apples. Bake in oven for 30-35 mintues or until top is browned and apples are no longer crisp. Remove and let cool. Serve with vanilla icecream if desired.

Whole Wheat and Oat Peach Cobbler

It's been a while since the last post, we traveled around for the summer and didn't do much cooking. In August I started my PhD program and Zac started his MFA. However, though we haven't been posting, we have been cooking some great, homemade, healthy recipes and will begin again to share them. I'll start with a great one we made last month. Peach Cobbler! I got the foundation for this recipe from www.peachcobbler.org/healthy-peach-cobbler-recipe.html However it was a little t00 organic-y for me. I don't have all those organic and soy ingredients so I modified for my very average cupboard, switched butter for applesauce, cut down on the massive ammounts of honey, and added some oats to boot! Here is what I came up with. It was super good!

Whole Wheat and Oat Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

6 c of sliced fresh or frozen peaches
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c and 1 tbsp. of quick or traditional oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp baking powder
1 c skim milk
1/4 c unsweetend applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 c honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Place sliced peaches in the bottom of a greased (pam prefferred) 9" x 13" glass or meatal pan. Pour/spread lemon juice evenly over peaches. In a small/medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (except for the extra tbsp of oats) and mix together well. In a larger bowl, combine wet ingredients and whisk. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir thoroughly. Spread this mixture over the peaches in the pan evenly. Sprinkle on the last tbsp of oats for a pretty look. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

Notes

We enjoy this with Bryers 1/2 fat vanilla ice cream and it's AMAZING!

Healthy Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

I have been craving oatmeal cookies but wanted to do a healthy version. I found a recipe on Mom's Who Think and made some changes adding dried cranberries and walnuts.

These are not flat, chewy oatmeal cookies, they are fluffy and cakey. They also cut out quite a bit of fat and calories by using Splenda and applesauce instead of sugar and oil.

Healthy Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c Splenda/sugar/sweetener of choice

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 c applesauce

1/4 c skim or low-fat milk

2 c whole wheat flour

2 c quick rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 c dried cranberries

1/2 c walnut pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl mix margarine, sugar, egg, applesauce, and milk. Mix with an electric mixer on medium until well blended (2 or 3 minutes.) Add flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix on low speed for one minute. Add cranberries and walnuts. Fold in with a spoon. Drop teaspoons full on to cookie sheet about 2 inched apart. Bake until lightly browned about 13-15 minutes.

Strawberry Smoothie or Smoothie Pops

Zac came up with this simple recipe. It makes for a great smoothie, or popsicles if you freeze them.

Strawberry Smoothie or Smoothie Pops

Ingredients:

2 c milk

2 c frozen strawberries

1 large banana

1 c lowfat vanilla yogurt

3 tbsps honey

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsps sugar/Splenda/sweetener of choice

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. If you have a disabled blender, like we do, you can add the strawberries a bit at a time as you blend. If you want to make them into smoothie popsicles, pour them into popsicle forms or ice cube trays and freeze.

Baked Apples

,

Zac and I are trying to limit our desserts to once a week. But I have such a sweet tooth I have likes coming up with healthy fruit treats that replace dessert. One of my favorites is bakes apples. Here is the loose recipe. It can be modified to taste.

Baked Apples

Ingredients:

2 apples ( I prefer Gala)

4 tbsps lemon juice

2 tsps cinnamon

3 tbsps splenda/sugar/brown sugar or any other sweetener you prefer

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and cut apples into slices. Place in a glass 9x9 cooking pan. Pour lemon juice over apples. Sprinkle cinnamon and sweetener or sugar on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until apples are soft. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.

Notes:

I like to serve with frozen Sugar Free Cool Whip when we are staying light or vanilla ice cream when we splurge. Really yummy and still healthy. You can really change the amount of any of the ingredients to fit your taste. Also, adding walnuts, pecans, rasins, or crasins is yummy.