Roasted Summer Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Frittata

Have you ever made something that looks like something else at first glance?  Take this fritatta, for example. It looks like pizza, no?  It's pizza with an egg crust, and no sauce.  I mean, that's basically what a frittata is, right?  I bet it would actually taste really good with pizza sauce.  Hmmmm, I'm brewing some delicious ideas of here!

Summer Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Frittata

Slightly modified from a recipe in Cooking Light's Complete Cookbook

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1.5 cups fresh corn kernals (about 2-3 ears) **

1/4 cup (or 1-ounce) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese, divided

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

5 large egg whites, lightly beaten

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat broiler

2.  Heat a medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray. Add corn, and saute 5 minutes.  Combine corn, 2 Tbsp. cheese, basil and remaining 4 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3.  Heat pan over medium heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray; add corn and egg mixture.  Cover and cook 5 minutes or until almost set (will start to cook around the edges).  Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. cheese.  Broil in preheated oven 5 minutes or until set and browned.  Cut into wedges. Serve warm.

**NOTE:  If you follow a low FODMAPs diet you can either a) use white corn instead of yellow (I believe the white corn contains less FODMAPs than the sweeter yellow corn, but be aware that most corn, unless it's canned, is going to be the sweet yellow variety, or b) use only 1-cup instead of 1.5 cups of corn because most people can handle ~1/3-1/2 cup yellow corn in one sitting.  This was the option I chose.

Estimated nutrition facts for 1/4th of recipe
Source: CalorieCount.com

Ok, if you make this on a night that you have a large appetite (like the night I made this) eat two pieces.  You could say that defeats the purpose of the "light" recipe, and I suppose it sort of does, but still there are only 250 calories in two pieces (and then add a side of non-starchy veggies for only about 30 calories more), voila!  Or you could just have one serving and pair it with a high-volume spinach salad and a light vinaigrette.  Or even a big ol' glass of skim milk.

Nutrition Highlights:  Under 150 calories per serving (or only 250 calories for 2 servings), good source of protein and iron (excellent sources if you have 2 servings, plus a good source of calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A....so, why not eat 2 servings?!).





QUESTION:  What's your favorite veggie to pair with eggs?  I love spinach and eggs, but my ultimate favorite vegetable to pair with eggs has to be mushroom (ok, it's a fungus, but it counts as a veggie).  I almost added mushrooms to this frittata but I held myself back!


Did you have a nice weekend?  It's been raining like crazy here in Columbus.  Wow.  Our garden is basically flooded and Nick (and I) are pretty nervous that some of our crop might be destroyed.  Let's just say some things are growing parts that we're pretty certain they aren't supposed to grow; such as this broccoli that now has flowers coming out of it.  Is this normal?

I'm not really sure I want to eat this anymore.  Bummer.

Oh well.  It's time to be happy because this week is the Fourth of July, which means an extra day off, wahoo!!

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

INSTAGRAM!
The Candid RD

Buckeye Ice Cream and Gluten Free Walnut Oat Cookies

I thought this ice cream would bring us good luck in the final four against Kansas on Saturday night, but I was wrong. I won't talk about the game, because it was depressing..... but the food we ate during the game was amazing (homemade spinach pasta with veal marsala, made by Nick's friend and boss, Matt. Amazing). The dessert wasn't too shabby either, if I do say so myself.



I could have made buckeyes for dessert on this special occasion, but instead I decided to make buckeye ice cream (a healthier version, of course) and for an added bonus I figured why not make some walnut oat cookies?! After all, who knows when we'll be in the final four again (although I'm hoping it's as soon as next year).

Lighter Buckeye Ice Cream
(Makes ~10 servings, 1/2 cup each)

Ingredients

BUCKEYE PRIDE! (optional, but highly suggested)

2 cups chilled half and half
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 heaping Tbsp. peanut butter
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup brownie chunks
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl mix the sugar and almond milk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla flavoring and the peanut butter. Mix/whisk well until the peanut butter is blended.

Add the chilled half and half, mix well.

Pour the mixture into your prepared ice cream maker and make according to the manufacturer's directions. Once the ice cream starts to get churned, add the unsweetened cocoa powder.

Once the ice cream is finished, add the chunks of brownie. Mix well.

Let chill in the freezer for about an hour, or longer (to get the ice cream to freeze and not be so soft).

Nutrition Facts
(Serving Size ~ 1/2 cup)

Compared to another brand of "Buckeye Ice Cream" (below), which has......

More calories
More fat (especially saturated)
More cholesterol
More sodium

We enjoyed the Buckeye ice cream as we watched our Buckeyes lose....

The rich, flavorful taste almost made up for the awful loss (ok, not even close, but it was delicious ice cream nonetheless).

And why not add some cookies to the mix?!

Whole Grain Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
(Gluten Free, makes ~24 cookies)
Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts (use a skillet, on medium, and heat for about 5 minutes)

Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, oats, and salt to egg mixture; beat well. Stir in raisins and walnuts.
3. Drop by level tablespoons, 1 1/2 inches apart, onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; let stand 2 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet; serve warm.

Nutrition Facts

(Serving: 1/24 of recipe)

I wasn't going to toast the walnuts in this recipe, because I felt lazy when I made these, but let me tell you it made all the difference. Toast your walnuts. I might even argue that these cookies would have tasted even more amazing with a few more walnuts. Either way, they were so amazing and I will make them again. They tasted great crumbled on top of the ice cream, actually.

Next I want to try this recipe from Grace at Food, Fitness, Fresh Air.

Question: Are you a fan of the peanut butter and chocolate "buckeye" combination? What's your favorite "buckeye" dessert? Have you tried my lighter buckeyes?!

Flank Steak With Cilantro Almond Pesto

I never said it was pretty.

But it was delicious. I promise. I seriously need help taking appetizing pictures when it's dark outside. Any tips?

I got this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooking Light.

Flank Steak With Cilantro Almond Pesto

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 3 tablespoons plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
  
• Optional: Four whole grain tortillas
• Optional: 2 bell peppers, sauteed
  

Preparation

• Prepare grill, or grill pan.
  
• Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until finely chopped (about 15 seconds). Add yogurt and juice; process until smooth.
• Grill steak 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve steak with pesto.
• If you want to turn these into tacos, add the steak and pesto to tortillas with sauteed bell peppers (we were going to do this, but at the last minute we decided not to).
  

I made my pesto without garlic (garlic contains FODMAPs), but Nick and our friend Janan enjoyed theirs with garlic (I had a taste with the garlic and it was fabulous). While this may not be the prettiest dish, it truly was delicious and very simple. As you saw in the first photo, we served the steak and pesto with baked butternut squash, spinach, and sauteed bell peppers (the bell peppers could have been used to turn this meal into steak tacos, but we decided not to do that).

QUESTION: What's your favorite pesto dish? Have you ever made pesto with almonds?

Before I forget to post it, I wanted to share this article from the Wall Street Journal, about the low FODMAPs diet. It sounds like it's really catching on here in the states. Probably because...it works!