Good Morning, and Cooking Lite



Here's me in my jammies this morning and my vat of morning coffee in hand. Check out the ultra cool Raggedy Ann mug that my friend was getting rid of...It's become my new favorite mug because a) it reminds me of my new friend who was getting rid of it, and b) it holds a ton of coffee...always a good thing, and c) it allows me to indulge in a bit of nostalgia for my Raggedy Ann doll toting days as a pre-schooler. I think I wore that doll to shreds. I'm way too nostalgic about my childhood, but overall that's not a bad thing, perhaps, as it means I had a wonderful one. Which I did.

Anyways...I digress. I wanted to tell you all about some cooking I did yesterday. I had catfish nuggets waiting to be cooked in my freezer. So, instead of frying them, I did the usual egg/skim milk wash, cornmeal but then I placed them in a baking dish, sprayed them with cooking spray and baked them.

They were a hit.

Re-vamping old favorites is hard to do sometimes from an "I like things the way I like them" perspective, but I must admit, baking is simpler and less effort than frying, so there is an immediate pay-off in terms of effort saved as well as calories saved.

My other culinary experiment yesterday was to concoct a healthy "core plan" carrot cake. I did. My only complaint is that it is not very sweet, but it makes a perfect breakfast bread.

So, here it is as I cooked it:

1.5 cups oat flour-whirl whole rolled oats in a food processor, then measure the required amount
.5 cup quinoa flakes
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp stevia powder
1 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves

mix all dry ingredients

shred in food processor:

1-1.5 cups of baby carrots (I just dumped some in, so this is an estimate)
2 red apples, cored, but with peel still on.

Add to dry mixture, along with:

3 eggs
2 cups unsweetened applesauce.

Bake at 375 in a large springform pan, muffin tin, or loaf pans...whatever...until done.

This is very moist and delicious and slightly sweet. But check out all those nutritious ingredients!!!! Perhaps we should call it the "no guilt carrot cake". Have you seen the nutritional profile for a regular carrot cake????? It's got way tons of calories because traditional recipes call for up to a CUP of oil. My, my, my.

Ideas for sweetening this up: crushed pineapple instead of the applesauce. Or pineappple tidbits, drained, instead of, or in addition to the apple chunks. Or, if you aren't doing Weight Watchers core plan, how about some raisins? That would be good, too.

So, there's my recipe that I made up yesterday.





And look at these GORGEOUS mung bean sprouts my daughter just "harvested". I'm thinking those will make a great addition to lunch!

Comments

John Nicholas said…
What is a mung bean, anyway?
Are they those funny bean things you find at salad bars but dont know what they are? I lack bean literacy.
Alana said…
Yes, that is correct.
Liz in Seattle said…
You're not the only one who is nostalgic. On top of the armoire live MY Raggedy Ann, my teddy bear, my giant Henry dog, and other beloved animal friends. And yes, I have a hard time giving away baby toys too. :-)
elizabeth said…
lovely! i also love R Ann and Andy too...

i have a smallish (and do not intend to have more; i live in a small apartment) Holly Hobbie collection that i love and adorns my house...

i had a few loving relatives who LOVE garage sales (a love they passed on to me of course) and they used to have fun looking for HH things for me! :)

thanks for sharing and for the cooking tips and photos...
Mimi said…
I have to admit, I'm not a bean sprout person. But, I'm all about carrot cake, so yum!
Alana said…
Holly Hobbie! I had one of those dolls, too, and pictures of her hanging in my room. So charming! One does not see Holly Hobbie stuff very often nowadays, although I bet stuff is available on ebay.

And Mimi, seriously, sprouts rock! Perhaps if you covered them in Godiva chocolates, or mixed them into a tall latte or something, they would seem more the thing.
Anonymous said…
What happens'Weight Watchers-wise' if you add pecans to the carrot cake recipe? I know you are alergic to nuts, but some of us Texans love those pecans. :) (Just wondering for my own sake--I'm trying to start WW and will probably try your recipe.) LOL bjm
Alana said…
If you add an ingredient that is not on the core list, you have to count the points for the whole recipe. Pecans are not on core, therefore the whole thing would have to be counted as points.

Pecans are very high in fat. I don't recommend it if you are wanting to lose weight.
Anonymous said…
I still have both my Raggedy Ann and Holly Hobbie dolls. What a lovely trip down memory lane. I too am nostalgic about my youth. I am so glad you were apart of it.
Warm Coffee....mmmmmm

LOve, Joi
Anonymous said…
Hey, Alana, it's Lisa S. in Nashville again...and, once again, I'm too lazy to look up my Blogger password. But the carrot cake ingredients are on my grocery list right now and I have a snack to recommend: frozen grapes! A cool treat in summer and a healthy repast when you're sick in winter (like me, vegging with strep at the moment.) Take care!