Leftover Potato Filling? Make Chocolate Truffles (Thrifty Thursday)

I posted a Baked Egg'n Potato recipe on Monday, and left you wondering what the heck to do with all that leftover potato stuffing.  I'm sure you've just been dying to know...right?!  Of course.

Leftover Potato Chocolate Truffles

Makes ~ 18

Modified from:  DessertForTwo.com

Ingredients

1 cup cold leftover potato filling, mashed until smooth with a fork or food processor (or use leftover cold mashed potatoes, already prepared with butter, salt, etc.)

1 Tbsp butter (only if not using already prepared mashed potatoes)

1/8th tsp. salt (only if not using already prepared mashed potatoes)

1.5 cups dark chocolate chips

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup toppings for rolling (unsweetened cocoa, chia seeds, powdered peanut butter, sugar, coconut, whatever you'd like!)

Directions

1.  In a small bowl add chocolate chips and get them nice and melted in a microwave, making sure to stir often (or you could use a double boiler).  When they have melted entirely, stir in the mashed leftover potato filling (or, the leftover mashed potatoes).  Add the vanilla.  Stir until everything is well incorporated and the mixture is very smooth.

2.  Place the mixture in the fridge to allow to firm up for about 60 minutes (or more, depending on how hot your potatoes were to begin with).

3.  Get your rolling goodies into separate small bowls (ie: cocoa, sugar, coconut, etc.) and have them ready.  Take ping pong ball-sized hunks of potato/chocolate and roll between the palms of your hands.  Roll in desired toping, then place on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.  

4.  These will keep in fridge for 1 week, or freezer for a couple months.

**NOTE: If you are following a low FODMAPs diet you should be fine with this recipe.  Use a trans fat free margarine instead of butter if you are really sensitive to lactose.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1 truffle
Source: CalorieCount.com

Right after I scooped the potato filling out for Monday's recipe, I mashed the potatoes well, incorporating butter and salt at the same time, while they were hot.  Next, I placed in the fridge to get the "mashed potato" nice and firm.

I used chia, unsweetened cocoa, powdered peanut butter, and Stevia for my toppings/roll ingredients.

Aren't they cute?? My favorite was the one rolled in stevia.  My least favorite was the chia one...I think.  Too healthy.





These froze really well.  I took a couple out each day and put them in Nick's lunch.  They were sort of like a "healthier" dessert.  I mean...potatoes have plenty of great health qualities (although we tend to take potatoes and make them not so healthy by throwing them in a deep fryer.  HA, I should talk, I added load of chocolate and sugar to mine..).  And, Nick didn't know it, but he was eating dark chocolate. Muahaha

Who would have guessed the inside of a potato could make such a delectable treat?! Not me!  I'm seriously going to make these with mashed potato leftovers for the rest of my life (and wouldn't it be fun to try these with sweet potatoes???).

Question:  What would you roll your potato truffles in??

So, on a side note, you will notice that my side bar no longer says "I am a Supermarket Dietitian".  Long story short, I recently accepted a new job. It's bittersweet.  I will be starting in two weeks.  More details to come about my new job, once it begins (and yes, it was for the best). Life as a supermarket dietitian has really been amazing, but it was time for me to move on.  All is well!

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.

Blueberry Almond Turtles and Quinoa Waffle Cones

I can't believe Christmas is in three days. I'm so close to being "ready" (what does that really mean, anyway? When are you ever "ready" for the holidays?). I've put off a lot of my baking for today and tomorrow (I get two days off in a row, which is unheard of!). Today I'm planning on making pepperoni bread (eight loaves) and Joanna's pumpkin butter. I am going to make three of the breads whole wheat, but then I'm taking off my dietitian hat and just using white bread. I have also decided to use turkey pepperoni and organic cheese. Yeah, I know, organic cheese isn't healthier, but I almost always buy organic dairy products. I don't really have any reason for using turkey pepperoni, other than the reduced saturated fat content.

Last year's pepperoni bread. Yum.

The other day I made these fantastic blueberry almond turtles. Here is a similar recipe that I found online (can't find the original!). The only difference is that I used fresh blueberries, not dried ones.


The lighting is bad in this picture, but you get the idea, right?!

What You Need

- Some dark chocolate (I used one bag 60% cacao chocolate chips)

- Blanched almonds

- A few cups of fresh blueberries

- A double boiler or just a microwave safe bowl

- A cookie sheet lined with wax paper

Basically all you do is create several little mounds of blanched almonds on the waxed paper. Then melt the chocolate and toss the blueberries in the chocolate. Get them nice and coated, then drop about 5-7 chocolate-covered berries onto the almond mounds. Put in the freezer for about 30 minutes to get them nice and hard.

This is the bottom of the turtles.


Nutrition Highlights

- Low calorie
(~50-80 calories, depending on how big you make them)

- Contains magnesium, vitamin E, fiber, and flavanols, all of which play vital roles in chronic disease prevention.

My mom and I also experimented with quinoa flour the other day. We ground up some quinoa into a flour and tried making our waffle cones and bowls with the flour. They definitely tasted and looked a little different, but they were still a huge hit!

We made a few cones and waffle bowls.

Plus some waffle chips. The chocolate we used was simply melted Dove chocolate.

QUESTION: What's your favorite holiday dessert? I think mine is Great Lakes' Christmas Ale :) But if I had to choose a food, it would be my cousin's rocky road fudge!


It's the one in the top right corner. Oh my gosh. It's to die for.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas! If you don't celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful week and weekend. I will be back on the 26th with an "Almost Wordless...Sunday??" post! I will share photos, plus an update on how I have done with the Holiday Challenge. Have a great one!