Crock Pot Applesauce

Every year, we go apple picking and every year we come home with so many apples.  Today, I made some applesauce.  You can make applesauce a lot of different ways, but I prefer to toss everything in the crock pot on low for a few hours and let the yummy smell of cinnamon and apples travel throughout my house.  Talk about the sweet smell of fall!

yummy, bubbly goodness

There is no exact recipe for this one.  It all depends on what you like, but this is what I used.

8 apples peeled, cored and chopped (I like to use a variety of apples.  I used Honeycrisp, red delicious and golden delicious this time)

1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon (you can add more or less according to your taste)

The juice of 1 lemon

After I tossed all of the ingredients in the crock pot, I just let it do it's job.  I stirred it every 45  minutes or so and turned off the crock pot when it looked like I wanted it to (about 3 hours).  It is so good, and I must admit that I burned my tongue on my spoon while trying to take a taste because I am impatient.

This is such a healthy applesauce.  NO SUGAR ADDED!  Try it!  You will LOVE it!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Singles

I adapted this recipe from here by adding PB2 in it.  YUMMMMMMMM!

Makes 18 Regular Sized Muffins

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 1/4 cup skim milk
3/4 cup mashed banana
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly mist 18 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, PB2 and salt in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, egg, mashed banana, milk and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until blended together. Mix in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon the oatmeal mixture evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake uncovered for 18 to 22 minutes or until oatmeal is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Nutritional info:  Mine were 112 calories each, 0.2 grams saturated fat, 1.8 grams dietary fiber, 6.6 grams sugar, 4.1 grams protein.

Food of the Week: Salad Dressing

Does your salad dressing have more calories in it than your entire salad you are putting it on?  It shouldn't.  A serving size of salad dressing is 2 Tablespoons.  For example, two tablespoons of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing is 140 calories.   Salad dressing is one of those things that you just pour on your greens without even thinking about it because you are eating a salad, right?  It must be healthy.  Measure out 2 tablespoons and see what that looks like.  Make sure you know for the next time you have a salad.

When I started my weight loss journey, I used lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar, or even salsa!  All of those are very low in calories and won't blow your diet.  

I came across these little gems from Bolthouse farms in the refrigerator section of my produce department.  SALAD DRESSING MADE WITH YOGURT!  Thank you!  They make creamy salad dressings made with yogurt at only 35-45 calories for 2 tablespoons.  They have Classic Ranch, Salsa Ranch, Chunky Blue Cheese, Zesty French, Caesar Parmigiano, Thousand Island, Honey Mustard.  I have only tried 2 of them, but I LOVE the Salsa Ranch!  Try it!

SALSA!!

I am drowning in tomatoes over here.  Why do they all have to ripen at the same time?  Today, I made some salsa!  I loooovvvveeeee salsa!  I put it on my salads, in my wraps, on some pop chips.....mmmmm.  So yummy.

The thing about salsa is that everyone likes theirs differently.  Some people like super chunky, or lots of cilantro, or insanely hot.  I typically just toss ingredients in a bowl and taste it along the way to see if anything else needs to be added, then I add some other things or more of something.  It is far from an exact science.

The way I like it is:

1 lb of tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 small onion, diced
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste

ENJOY!!  I know I am!