Chocolate Bark with Nuts and Dried Fruit

I'm in a very sweet mood this week.  Today I'm posting this chocolate dessert, and then Friday I've got another chocolate dessert recipe to share.  Maybe I'm just excited about Halloween next month. Yeah, that's it, I'm celebrating early.

I'll be honest, I'm also excited about the holidays (I know, you hate me, right? I just mentioned the "H" word).  But seriously, everyone seems to be in the best mood around holiday time.  And now that I'm not working in a supermarket, I won't be forced to listen to holiday music all day long (although I secretly really enjoyed that, darn it).

I've already started creating a list of the cookies and chocolate desserts I'll be making come December, and I'm thinking this might just make the list.  These were so simple to make, I don't see why I wouldn't add them to this year's holiday goodie bags.

Chocolate Bark with Nuts and Dried Fruit

Source: Eating Well Magazine

Makes ~25 pieces

Ingredients

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried fruit (I used dried blueberries and strawberries)

1 1/2 cups assorted unsalted nuts (I used peanuts and walnuts)

** NOTE: If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, this recipe is low FODMAPs and safe to consume.  The dried fruit does contain some FODMAPs, but the small amount found in this recipe shouldn't cause any problems. If you are really sensitive, omit the dried fruit.

Directions

1.  Line a rimmed baking pan with foil (~9 x 9 inches).  Melt 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips in a double boiler (make sure water is hot, but not boiling).

2.  Combine the melted chocolate with the nuts and dried fruit in a medium bowl.  Spread the mixture into the foil-rimmed pan.

3.  Sprinkle additional nuts on top if you wish.  Put in the freezer and freeze until set.  Break into ~25 pieces, and enjoy!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/25th of recipe

Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Under 150 calories (not bad for dessert!).  And....that's about it (although I suppose I could point out that the saturated fat in this recipe is mainly stearic acid, which is the saturated fat found in dark chocolate that is supposed to help lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol.....supposedly.)

QUESTION:  Do you love or hate to get big trays of cookies and candies over the holidays?  I'll be honest, I hate it, but then I do it myself (I'm such a hypocrite!)

Thanks for reading!


The Candid Rd

(Homegrown) Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Did everyone enjoy their Holiday yesterday??  It was rainy all day long here in Columbus, but the rain didn't put an end to any of the festivities.  There was still a great parade, many outdoor BBQs, and plenty of wonderful fireworks all day and night.  I love the Fourth of July, even with rain and all.  You know what else I love?  Being off two days in a row, and....Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

We've got mint growing like crazy in our garden.  In fact, we've got many things growing like crazy in our garden, and I'll be posting about our "backyard farmer's market" soon.  We're thinking of opening our doors around mid-August, to the public, you know....compete with all the local farmer's markets. haha, jk.  But seriously, you should see our garden!  My husband has turned into not only the manager of people, but also the manager of a small farm in Columbus, Ohio (aka our backyard). He's so talented :)

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, on the Lighter Side

Serves: 10 (~1/2 cup servings)

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond or soy milk (or skim milk)

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint

2 cups chilled half and half

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1.  In a blender mix the first four ingredients until well blended (pulse for about 60 seconds).  Pour into a large bowl and add the chilled half and half.  Whisk everything together until you no longer feel the grittiness of the sugar, and it's dissolved all the way.

2.  Add the mixture to a prepared ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions for making the ice cream. Once the ice cream is finished churning, mix in the chocolate chips.

3.  Serve cold, and garnished with fresh mint if you desire.

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPs diet this recipe is safe unless you are really sensitive to lactose.  Most people with lactose intolerance will be able to handle about 12 grams of lactose in a sitting (especially when the lactose is consumed with protein and/or fat, which slows down the digestion). The amount of lactose in one serving of this ice cream is ~2 grams (that is assuming you use almond or soy milk) so it should be fine!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/2-cup
Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights: Under 150 calories, Less fat than most ice creams you find on the shelf, plus all-natural ingredients (yeah, I said it, all natural. Let me define: No artificial colors, additives, or preservatives).

What was your favorite flavor of ice cream when you were young?  For me it was....mint chocolate chip.  Of course, it was the artificially colored green mint chocolate chip that I liked best.  Not anymore.  Now I can get fresh mint from my backyard, so who needs green food dye and peppermint extract?! Not me!

Other than mint chocolate chip my favorite flavor of ice cream now is peanut butter chocolate chunk, or almond joy gelato (our candy department sells it at work and it's amazing). What about you?

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

Blueberry and Lime Frozen Yogurt

As a part of my store tours at work, we always stop by the gelato shop to taste samples of fresh homemade gelato. I proceed to explain that gelato typically contains less fat than ice cream because it's made with milk instead of heavy cream. But, does that mean gelato is always the best choice? Not necessarily. These days you can find gelato loaded with everything from chocolate chip cookies to chunks of peanut butter to pieces of cake (yes, I've seen it). So the truth is, there isn't a "right answer" to the question; "Which is better for you, gelato, ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt?" With all of these varieties of frozen novelties you can find some that have been turned into something that's not so healthy. For example, these fro yo (frozen yogurt) stores that are popping up everywhere......

INSTAGRAM

Many of them say "healthy" on their window and on their website, and even their calorie counts look really low because (look closely!) many of them use 1-ounce as the "Serving". HAHAHAHA, I'm rolling around laughing right now. I called one company about this 1-ounce serving size once, and they said "we choose 1-ounce because typically people take an ounce of several flavors, so with the 1-ounce serving size they can easily add up their calories". Once again....HAHAHAHA!!! Sure, soft serve yogurt is typically lower in fat, but it also typically contains more sugar compared to ice cream (and thus very comparable to ice cream when it comes to calories). Not to mention the endless opportunities you have to load up your large bowl with extra sugary goodies (I'm always reminded of that Seinfeld episode...you know, the one with the "fat free yogurt shop". We still haven't learned!).

Bottom Line: Ice cream typically has more fat, and less or the same amount of sugar compared to gelato. Sorbet is typically fat free (and lactose free, by the way) but contains more sugar than gelato and ice cream. And fro yo? It's somewhere in the middle, and it depends on what type of fro-yo you're getting. Soft serve fro yo tends to have more sugar than ice cream and gelato, and the harder versions (ones you might find in the freezer at your supermarket) tend to have about the same amount of sugar. But of course, there are always exceptions to these "rules" ... I mean, have you seen all the varieties of ice cream, fro yo, gelato, sorbet, etc. in your supermarket?! There are tons!!!! So here is what I try to look for in all varieties of frozen goodies: 150 calories or less, 15-18 grams of sugar, and 3-6 grams of fat per serving. And of course, stick with 1 serving (most of the time....). Want more info? This website (with a nice sexy man on the page) explains the more technical differences between each of these treats, and provides a nice conclusion at the end.


Can you tell this topic is one that I get asked quite often? I wish everyone would just go out and buy an ice cream maker, because they are so easy to use and fun to experiment with. But since I know most of you don't have an ice cream maker, I'm providing a recipe that doesn't require one. All it requires is a little arm strength (and by little, I really mean a little). And the great part about this recipe is that the ingredients are all pronounceable. That's something that is hard to find these days.

Blueberry Lime Frozen Yogurt

Serves: 6 (1/2 cup each)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours

Source:  Dietitians and Recipe Developers at Giant Eagle

Ingredients

12 oz. bag frozen blueberries

1/4 cup honey**

1 tsp. vanilla

Zest of 1 lime

Juice of 1/2 lime

2 cups nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt**

Mint sprigs for garnish

Directions

Place berries, honey, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture reaches desires consistency (you may need to add a dash of water to help if you are using a blender). Add the yogurt and then pulse until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and place in freezer for 1-2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, until set. Serve garnished with fresh mint if desired.

**NOTE: If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, use maple syrup instead of honey. Also, be sure to choose a vanilla Greek yogurt that is free of honey or HFCS. If you're lactose intolerant, you may be surprised at how well you can tolerate this small amount of Greek yogurt (Greek yogurt contains less lactose than regular yogurt).

I really enjoyed this dessert, a lot. I could taste the honey throughout each bite (and since I typically avoid honey, it was glorious to taste it again!). So refreshing, and it (almost) meets my recommendations for nutrition facts from above;

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/2 cup
Source: CalorieCount.com

Ok, so I did recommend sticking to 15-18 grams of sugar per serving, but let's be honest, most of this sugar is from the delicious blueberries! So, we'll let that "rule" slide in this case (as should you, if the main ingredient in your frozen treat is fruit!). Check out the other Nutrition Highlights: Under 150 calories, low fat, low sodium, good source of protein and vitamin C

So there is no need to fear if you don't have an ice cream maker, you can make this with the strength of your hands and a wooden spoon! But, of course, I still recommend the $50-$60 it takes to buy an ice cream maker.....that is, unless you aren't as obsessed with ice cream as Nick and me. But come on, who doesn't love ice cream?? Especially when it's 90 degrees with 100% humidity!

I'm curious, what's your favorite summer ice cream treat? I can still remember the ice cream truck pulling up in front of our house when I was young. I always got the blue popsicle with the gum ball on top (BORING!). Now I would say my favorite summer treat is a bowl of cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, or chocolate peanut butter chunk.

Off to my cousins wedding now. Going as a single lady because Nick has to work, yet again. Oh well, I'm still excited!! I love love love weddings (and you know what I love more than ice cream? Wedding cake!!).

Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for reading.

The Candid Rd

Broccoli Brownies (Gluten Free)

We had an event at work a couple weeks ago and I had a dietetic intern with me who at one point mentioned broccoli brownies. Obviously I was curious and I requested that she bring some in the following week (she's an intern, I can boss her around. haha, jk). She was a pretty fantastic intern. Low and behold the following weekend she walked in with a plate full of broccoli brownies! She admitted they didn't turn out quite as delicious as she had hoped, and after one bite I had to agree. While they were tasty, I could see whole chunks of broccoli in them and it was sort of a turn off. I actually gave them out to the team members and they loved them (or at least that's what they told me). I decided I wanted to try my own version of a broccoli brownie so I started searching online and found this one that was adapted from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I was happy to see that it called for broccoli puree, rather than broccoli chunks, so I made some modifications and came up with this recipe;

Broccoli Brownies
(Makes 12)

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
4 ounces dark chocolate squares, such as Lindt (60-80%)
1.25-1.5 cups broccoli puree (steam the broccoli then puree in a food processor or Magic Bullet)
1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar (or 1/2 cup real brown sugar)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour (or brown rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 inch pan with coking spray.

2. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave.

3. In a large bowl combine melted chocolate, broccoli puree, brown sugar, cocoa powder, butter and vanilla, and stir until smooth.

4. Add the egg whites, mix again. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix again, until smooth and blended.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven....it took my oven 20 minutes to bake!).


ENJOY

NOTE: They taste best when they are warm, and even better with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla frozen yogurt!




I only made a half batch the first time I made these, just in case they didn't turn out. Here is the batter.

I was licking the spoon and the bowl like a mad women, which I took as a good sign that they were going to be delicious!

And delicious they were.

Chewy and moist. And, a good source of fiber. Take that fiber companies! And if I wanted to add fake fiber, I could, but this is all real fiber from oats and broccoli. I love it.

ESTIMATED NUTRITION FACTS

A "C-" is still passing ;)

QUESTION: What's the craziest fat replacement you have used in a baked good? My other favorites are applesauce and pumpkin.

Honey and Pistachio Stuffed Dates

This post is going to be short and sweet. And when I say sweet, I mean it. I found this recipe for stuffed dates online and I wanted to simplify it (as in really simplify) so I could give it out at work. People loved it at work, so I made it for some guests over the weekend. This could pass as a dessert or appetizer and can be made in 45 minutes. I know this might sound like a lot of time, but you can watch TV or listen to the radio while you are relaxing in the kitchen and making these. It's calming, really.

What you will need:

Salted and shelled pistachios (a typical 6-ounce bag)
~40-50 large dates (large Medjool dates work best)
~1/4 cup honey

What you will do:

1. Chop the pistachios

2. Add the honey to the pistachios and mix until the pistachio pieces stick together relatively well (well enough to stuff into the dates)

3. Pit the dates and stuff them with the honey and pistachio mixture.

Seriously, this recipe is too delicious not to make. You could put these out with a cheese tray, or serve them with some vanilla ice cream. Whatever you do, I don't care, make this (someone at work told me this was the best thing they had eaten all year)!

And now on to the dreaded new year's resolution........

I've been writing some posts on my recommendations for new year's resolutions, for other people (more to come this week and next), but have yet to declare my own. The reason for that is simple; I don't think you really care. I'll be honest, I don't really care what yours are, so I figure no one cares about mine. However, since I still continue to read posts about people's declarations of new years resolutions, I figure you might continue reading this one, so I'll go ahead and tell you mine; First, I resolve to do yoga twice a week, and get my arms nice and toned for my September wedding (so far I've been doing well with this) and my second resolution is to do a triathlon next year. Remember my biathlon this year? This year I'm going to swim too! Yikes.

There, it's in writing, now I must do them.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

Diabetes-Friendly, Wheat-Free Pumpkin Bars for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'll soon be on my way up north to visit my family and enjoy a delicious feast. All week I was planning on making Evan's pumpkin quinoa stuffing, but our fridge is only getting down to 46 degrees, which is way too warm for a dish like that to stay safe (anything above 41 degrees can grow bacteria)! Instead of the stuffing I made some wonderful pumpkin bars, which were able to stay in our freezer until today.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth, Diabetes-Friendly Pumpkin Bars
(Source: Diabetic Living, Issue September 21 2010)
(Found on dietitian Anthony's blog)

**The original recipe is in black. My crazy modifications are indicated in red, when applicable **

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil spread, softened (I used 1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce, which probably isn't the best substitute for margarine....)

- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar ( I used Splenda brown sugar, although the recipe strongly advised against this! I probably should have listened...)

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (I added a bit extra)

- 1/3 cup canned pumpkin

- 1/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed or 1 egg (I used 1 egg)

- 1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole grain brown rice flour, but would probably only use half whole grain flour if I made these again)

- 1/2 of an 8 oz package reduced-fat cream cheese (I used fat-free)

- 1 cup frozen light whipped dessert topping, thawed

- ( I added sliced almonds on top of my bars)

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour a 9x9x2 baking pan (I used a quick bread loaf pan, which was about 23 cm by 13 cm, because I didn't have enough batter to fit into a larger pan, so I thought....). Set aside.

- In a large bowl, combine vegetable oil spread, brown sugar, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well-mixed. Beat in pumpkin and egg. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in any remaining flour.

- Spread dough into prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (It took my bars about 17 minutes to cook all the way through because they were THICK!). Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

- Meanwhile, for frosting: In a bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Beat in half of the dessert topping. Fold in remaining dessert topping. Spread over cooled pumpkin layer. If desired, sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Cut into bars. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Don't they look prettier with the almonds on top?!

YUM!

If you check out the original recipe from Diabetic Living Magazine, you will see that it made about 24 bars. Mine only made 10. Clearly mine were thicker than theirs, oops, maybe next time I will cut them in half so they aren't as thick. My nutrition stats were also much different, but at least over half of my carbohydrates were from whole grains!

Nutrition Facts
(1 bar, out of the total 10 bars)

Carbohydrates: ~30 grams (2 carbohydrate exchanges)

Whole grains: ~ 18 (one full serving of whole grains!)

Calories: ~150

TASTE: 8 out of 10, Nick loved these, I thought they were tasty, for a healthy dessert.
I would advise against using Splenda brown sugar, I would also suggest using half brown rice flour and half white flour. Perhaps I could have used two pans instead of one, which would make these bars a lot less thick, and half the calories. Either way, it was fun to experiment with all of these modifications and I think my family will still love them! When Nick loves something, it's a good sign :)


Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! And, don't forget to make half of your plate packed with fruits and veggies. This was my plate from last year (minus my second helping of turkey and sweet potatoes, my small glass of red wine, and my dessert!).


Be safe, and have a great time with family and friends. I'll be back next week!