The perfect sweet tooth fix

Ingredients: ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 ripe bananas (mashed), 1/8 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 egg beaten, 1½ cup old fashioned oats, ½ cup whole wheat flour, ¼ cup wheat germ, 1 teaspoon baking soda, tiny dash of salt, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Hi, I'm Ron's wife (from here on out known as Wifey in this blog) and today's recipe was created by me when I was in desperate need of a sweet tooth fix. I will sometimes make an appearance because while my husband is naturally an excellent cook (he can coax flavor out of anything), I like to think I (as least in part) inspired the healthy side of things. When I was pregnant with Baby I started requesting healthy eats (veggies, extra iron and fiber), but with the same great taste I had gotten used to. He happily obliged.  But I also love to mix up the occasional concoction. Here is a recipe I tried yesterday by essentially combining anything in the pantry that looked yummy and mostly healthy. Of added interest they can even be prepared while carrying Baby in his front pouch carrier. Let’s call them… 

When You Simply Need Something Sweet Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with oil. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients in another. Then add together. Toss in just a few chocolate chips or roughly chop part of a dark chocolate bar, add raisins, dried blueberries, walnuts, almonds…whatever your heart’s desire. Place a heaping spoonful of the cookie dough onto the oiled cookie sheet. Leave at least an inch and a half between cookies. Place cookies into oven for 8 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and place cookies onto cooling rack.

Panko-breaded crab cakes

The recipe featured today is the ULTIMATE go-to dish for bachelors... and bachelorettes. A little over two years ago I invited a special lady over for dinner on our first date. People who have tasted my food know that I rarely make the same dish twice because I like to experiment with new flavors and techniques. These crab cakes however, are perfect the way they are. Naturally, this was the first thing that came to mind when I wanted to impress the special lady who eventually became my wife. I highly recommend these crab cakes for dates, anniversaries or any day that ends in "y" (ie. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc...). My only caution is to only make these crab cakes for someone you truly care about because it may just seal your fate.

Ingredients: 1 pound canned lump or claw crab meat, ½ cup yogurt, 3 large egg whites, 1 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ cup green onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a pan with olive oil. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, egg whites, Dijon mustard, olive oil, green onion and ½ cup of the panko bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Next, add the crab meat to the wet mixture. In the picture shown above, canned claw crab meat was used instead of lump crab meat because claw meat typically costs half as much yet tastes the same. Give the mixture a light toss. Be careful not to break up the crab meat. 

Pour the other ½ cup of panko bread crumbs on a plate. Form the crab mixture into 8 equal-sized cakes. Place the cakes one at a time through the panko bread crumbs so that it is evenly coated on both sides. Place the cakes on the pan coated with olive oil. Place the pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the cakes and place back in the oven for 5 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve with a side of lemon or over your favorite salad.

Makes 4 servings (2 crab cakes each), each serving contains approximately:

204 calories, 39 calories from fat, 4 g fat, 125 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 

1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 35 g protein

Compare with two servings (one crab cake each) of jumbo lump crab cakes at Ruby Tuesday:

790 calories, 58 g fat, 2074 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 35 g protein

Data obtained from www.rubytuesday.com on December 23, 2011. 

Health tip: Yogurt

Yogurt serves the purpose of mayonnaise and sour cream in sandwiches and sauces without the fat. I like to use Fage 0% yogurt for its high protein content and the fact that Costco now carries this product. Make the switch today and save yourself the guilt... and a few extra sets at the gym. 

Crispy oven-fried chicken tenders with yogurt honey mustard

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, 1 cup panko bread crumbs, fresh dill and paprika spice, 2 egg whites, ¼ cup 1% milk, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons honey, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup non-fat, all-natural plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 385° F. Lightly coat a pan with olive oil.

Whisk egg whites and milk together in medium-sized bowl. Place panko bread crumbs in separate bowl. Cut each chicken breast into 6 strips. Dip each chicken breast strip into the egg white and milk mixture. Transfer the drenched chicken breast strip to bowl of panko bread crumbs and coat evenly on all sides. Place the coated chicken breast strip on pre-oiled pan. Repeat process for each strip of chicken breast. Drizzle a little olive oil over each strip of breaded chicken. Sprinkle a dash of salt, ground pepper, paprika and fresh dill onto the chicken strips. Place pan in oven and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Yogurt honey mustard dipping sauce: combine Dijon mustard, yogurt, honey, Worcestershire sauce and some fresh dill into small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Store in refrigerator until chicken is ready to serve.

Makes 4 servings (3 chicken tenders each), each serving contains approximately:

125 calories, 25 calories from fat, 2 g fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 107 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 

1 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 14 g protein

Compare with a serving (3 chicken tenders each) of Chicken Select® premium breast strips at McDonald’s:

380 calories, 210 calories from fat, 23 g fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 
21 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 23 g protein

Data obtained from www.nutrition.mcdonalds.com on November 21, 2011. 

Chicken salad sandwich

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ cup of finely chopped celery, 1 cup of red grapes cut in half, ½ cup of non-fat all-natural plain yogurt, 1 green apple cut into ½ inch cubes, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 red bell pepper, cut into ½ inch cubes, ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional), ½ minced small onion (optional), lettuce and tomato slices (garnish), whole-grain or whole wheat bread.


Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a pan with olive oil to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan. Trim off excess fat from chicken breasts, place on pan and season with your favorite fresh herbs. Cook the chicken in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Cut cooked chicken breasts into ½ inch to 1 inch cubes.

Combine chicken cubes, celery, grapes, yogurt, apple, red bell pepper and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Onion and walnuts are optional. Allow salad to chill in refrigerator. Serve with sliced tomatoes and lettuce on whole-grain or whole-wheat bread.

Makes 4 servings, each serving contains approximately:

264 calories, 32 calories from fat, 3 g fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 370 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrate, 

24 g fiber, 15 g sugar, 21 g protein