Diabetic Pineapple Parfait

1 cup low-fat yogurt
2 ripe bananas, sliced
2 1/2 tablespoons no-sugar added orange marmalade or apricot jam
1 cup unsweetened canned crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate 

Put yogurt and 1 1/2 bananas in a blender; blend just to combine, about
15 seconds. Do not liquify. Pour into a medium-size bowl and add
remaining ingredients. Mix well and put into 4 sherbert glasses. Place
in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. 

Makes 4 servings. 

Variation: substitute other varieties of diet jams or preserves for
changes in color and taste. Sprinkle with cereal nuggets and/or chopped
nuts. Top off with a nice strawberry or kiwi slice. 

Ginger tea

Yummy!!!

4to 6 tea bags or 4 to 6 tablespoons of loose tea – flavor of your choosing 

One 2 to 3 inch chunk of ginger, thinly sliced
 

1.    Place tea bags in a 2-quart clear glass container. Add ginger pieces. 
2.    Fill with water and place in the sun for two to three hours. 
3.    Pour over ice. 

Cool Cooking Substitutes That Are Healthy For You

Today I was watching Dr. Oz and he was sharing some substitutes for items like Mayo & sugar.  Anytime I can find something that is good for us and tasty, I'm all for it.  So, I found this recipe and plan to try it on the teenagers and hubby soon.


Things shared on the show were banana puree substituting 1/2 the sugar in recipes.  Silkening Tofu in place of cream and a few others, check them out by clicking HERE to visit Dr. Oz's website today.


If you try, please post your feedback and share your results.


Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas

1/3 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp 2% milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp agave nectar

1 large egg

2 1/2 cups quick-cooking or rolled oats

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

Dash ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Make banana puree by mashing the bananas with a fork until smooth. Whisk in the peanut butter, milk, vanilla, agave, and egg. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined.  

Drop dough onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed or lined with parchment paper. Bake 13-16 minutes or until pale golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes.  

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Anytime I can use my crockpot to cook I will.  Having Fibromyalgia and not many days that are pain free, I'm now on a hunt for more crockpot/slow cooker meals to avoid eating unhealthy fast food.

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 garlic clove -- chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey

Use a 4 quart slow cooker.

Put the chicken into your cooker. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients, then pour evenly over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Serve over rice

Serves 4

Fettuccine with Spicy Chicken, Sausage, Kale & Tomatoes

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb spicy italian chicken sausage, casings discarded and sausage crumbled
1 bunch kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1 tomato, roughly chopped
1/3 lb whole wheat fettuccine
1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Asiago plus additional for serving

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add sausage and brown for 5-7 minutes, breaking up lumps with a spoon.

Meanwhile, blanch the kale in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 5 minutes, uncovered. 


Remove the kale with a large sieve and drain. Return the cooking water to a boil, then add fettuccine and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander.

While the pasta is cooking, add the kale and tomatoes to the skillet and saute for 5 minutes. Add the broth, stirring and scraping up any brown bits in the skillet. Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the pasta water, tossing until combined well. Stir in the cheese to incorporate, and thin with additional pasta water if desired.

2 Servings

Angelic Candy Bars

1 (12 oz.) angel food cake

1 (5 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 (12 oz.) container whipped topping

3 lg. Heath or Skor candy bars (approximately 1 1/4 oz. each), crushed

Shred or crumble the angel food cake into little pieces and put it into

a 9 x 9 inch baking dish. 

Mix pudding according to package directions,

adding the vanilla extract. 

Spoon pudding over the shredded cake, spread

whipped topping over the pudding and sprinkle the crushed candy bars

over it all. 

Serve as is or make ahead and chill.

It's simple when you buy a bakery-made angel food cake.

To crush the candy bars cover them, then tap lightly with a hammer or

some other heavy object.

Option: For a different taste use banana pudding instead of vanilla and

add a layer of sliced bananas over the pudding layer.

Healthy & Sugar Free Candy Bars

I love when I find tasty snacks that are both healthy and sugar free since my daughter and I are both Diabetic.


6-8 slices bread
2 tbsp. chopped nuts
1 tbsp. wheat germ
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. cocoa (optional)


Trim crust off bread, cut in half, let all bread dry overnight including
crust or in oven at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Crumble crust. Add chopped
nuts, wheat germ, mix peanut butter in mixture. Add peanut oil until
thin. Dip bread in peanut butter mixture. Roll in nuts. Eat.

Green Giant B1G1

Heath Bar Candy

40 saltines
1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 c. nuts, chopped


Place layer of crackers on 11 x 16 x 1 inch foil lined pan. Boil butter
and sugar for 3 minutes. Pour over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 10
minutes or until crackers float. Sprinkle Heath Bar chips over saltines.
When melted, spread chocolate chips around. Top with nuts, cut in bars
when cool.

Taco Lover's Pasta Sauce

What a great way to give the boring Spaghetti nights a BAM!

8 ounces lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium green, red, or yellow sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and black pepper

10 ounces whole wheat or regular dried pasta

2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan cook beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic over medium heat until beef is browned. Drain off fat. Stir in tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Just before

serving, stir cilantro into sauce. Serve over hot cooked pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.