Healthy Ideas from Jane

Healthy Snacks... Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sharing some healthy and delish snacks/desserts with my friends at Curves of Sumter. As promised, here are the recipes. I hope you enjoy them! Very Berry Yogurt Dessert (Smoothie) 1 16 oz bag of slightly thawed frozen fruit 1/2 c plain yogurt 1/2 sugar or other sweetener 2 T lemon juice In a blender, pulse the sugar and fruit together until well blended. Stir lemon juice into yogurt. Mix in yogurt mixture with fruit mixture until well blended. Serve in four martini glasses with a spring of mint for garnish. Ham Roll Ups 1 slice lowfat deli ham (or other meat) 1 T lowfat cream cheese 2 T chopped green onion Wipe excess moisture from the ham. Spread cream cheese on to ham. Sprinkle onion over the cream cheese. Roll up and slice into 3 or 4 pieces. Insert tooth picks to hold together. Strawberry Cheesecake, Yeah Right! Lowfat graham crackers Part Skim Ricotta cheese Strawberry preserves Take 1/2 of a graham cracker and spread about 1 T of the ricotta evenly on cracker. Top with a dollop of strawberry preserves. Fruit Yogurt Dessert 1 can light fruit cocktail 1 cup fresh fruit 1 individual serving size raspberry Greek yogurt 1/4 c chopped walnuts Drain the fruit cocktail well. Add the chopped fresh fruit. Stir in yogurt. Serve in a pretty stemmed glass topped with toasted walnuts for a wonderful crunch! Makes 4 to 6 servings White Bean Dip 1 can cannelloni (or other white beans) beans (drained well) 1/2 c light sour cream 1/2 c plain greek yogurt 1 T minced garlic 1/4 c chopped green onion Pulse beans in blender. Add sour cream and yogurt and mix well. Stir in garlic and onion. Taste and then season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve with raw veggies.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix prepared according to box instructions
1 t lemon flavoring
the zest of one lemon

Frosting:

1 lb confectioners sugar
1 stick salted butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 t lemon flavoring
2 T water

Prepare cake mix according to box instructions adding the lemon flavoring and the zest of one lemon. Mix well. Fill lined cupcake pans with batter 3/4 full. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Baking times will vary according to cupcake pan size.

Let cool completely before frosting.

Let butter and cream cheese soften at room temperature. On high, mix butter and cream cheese together until blended. Add sifted confectioner sugar a little at a time to butter and cream cheese. Mix in lemon flavoring and thin icing with water to desired consistancy. Pipe or frost cupcakes.

Margarita Fruit Dessert

This is a great Mexican inspired dessert that can be made with water, grape juice or tequila. Guess what I used!?

4 cups mixed fresh fruit
1/2 c sugar
juice of 1 lime
zest of 1/2 lime
1-2 jiggers of tequila or other liquid

Cut up fruits into bite sized pieces. Place sugar,lime juice, and tequila in a large bowl. Mix well. Add fruit and zest. Toss well. Rim 4 stemmed glasses by rubbing lime juice on the rims and dipping rims into a little more sugar. Add fruit to glasses. Garnish with a lime wedge.

This is a great dessert to top off a Mexican style meal. It's light, refreshing and super simple.

An Easy Casserole to Share with Friends

Sometimes people need to be fed...like during an illness or death. If you're like me, you're short on time and even short on ideas. Here's a quick and easy casserole that freezes well and can be made in less than an hour including cooking time. It can also be taken to your friend uncooked and ready for the oven.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 c cooked and drained elbow macaroni
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 green pepper (sliced thin)
1 small jar mushrooms (drained) or 1 c fresh mushrooms (sliced)
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Feel free to substitute low fat cream soups and whole grain macaroni for a healthier version that's just as tasty.

Saute and brown ground beef. Pour off the excess fat. Set aside. In a saute pan, add a little olive oil. Add green pepper, onion and mushrooms and heat until onion becomes transparent. Add soups to ground beef and mix well. Add green pepper, onion and mushrooms to ground beef mixture. Mix in garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked and drained macaroni and mix well. Pour into a casserole. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake at 350 until cheese melts.

It's not a fancy dish but it sure is good. And good is always comforting.