Alfredo Sauce: Healthy or Heart Attack?

 Give this girl a bucket of pasta and I am a happy camper.  But that's not something I can do anymore.  On a low carb diet, minding my blood sugar at all times, pasta and pasta dishes are a thing to AVOID.  Flipping through my handy Taste of Home Cookbooks, I stumbed onto a recipe for an easy chicken alfredo dish.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good alfredo!  But I'm tired of doing the chicken route all the time.  So, as you can tell from the pictures, we did NOT use chicken.  I like to try new things.  We substituted turkey sausage for the chicken to give it a bite.  And then I used a rotini pasta, whole grain of course, instead of the boring fettuccine noodles.  So that is the disclaimer of this review.  The main review is of the sauce.

Ease of Making:
This sauce is super quick to make!  One of the fastest alfredo sauces I have ever made.  It has some really strange ingredients that I thought would make it taste strange, but we'll get that that later!  The ingredients were super easy to acquire, except for butter sprinkles.  I didn't even know people sold those anymore.  I just substituted margarine, because I honestly could not find it.  The other issue I had was finding sun-dried tomatoes wthat were not packed in oil.  There was no options.  So if you really don't want the oil, just rinse them off!  Then pop it into the food processor, or blender in my case, microwave and dinner is served!  I give this recipe an A- for easy makings!

Likeability: 
I was a little apprehensive about this recipe at first, because first off, my middle son HATES pasta.  And some of these ingredients are strange to be in an alfredo sauce.  Cottage cheese?  Really, in a pasta sauce?  Gross?  But I kept an open mind!  Olives?  NO!  I would rather not eat an olive and I knew that my kids would be very angry if they found one in their food.  I minced those instead of slicing them, because otherwise it was going to be a battle of the table.  So how did it go over?  The kids LOVED it!  Talk about total shocker to me!  My middle son, the proclaimed pasta hater, asked for seconds!  I couldn't believe it. 

This sauce is not like most other alfredo sauces I have had.  It is thicker and wraps around the pasta.  If you use a rotini, like I did, it almost seems like the pasta is made of the sauce.  The sauce is not too rich, or over-loaded with flavor.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good rich pasta sauce, but one that is too over-bearing will definitely not appeal to this family.  So for all three of my kids scarfing it down and I adored it, this is a likeability A+!

Diet Healthy or Heart Attack:
This is a great recipe for those watching both their carb intake and their calories.  Can you believe it only has 343 calories per serving and only 38 carbs?  Thats insanely low for a pasta recipe!  The recipe was fresh, light and did not make me feel guilty for eating it!  It was a really perfect pasta dish!  This scores an A+ for staying within the requirements of an entree.

Overall this dish is a fabulous dish for a quick night fix or if you're making somthing special for your and the other half.  This dish is so easy, even people who do not excel in the kitchen would have difficulty messing it up!  I would say one thing that I did differently, is that I did not feel comfortable putting the sauce in the microwave to cook.  I think that it really belongs on the stove.  The other issue is that you need to make sure that you have enough ingredients for more than two servings.  This recipe is meant for ONLY two servings, which almost threw me off.  I'm a bit quicker on my feet when it comes to cooking, but I could see how this could throw others.  Also again, please use whole grain pasta.  I have come to notice that many cookbooks do not advocate the use of whole grain pastas.  Please do, its a healthier choice.  For me this dish scores a total A.
New Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook
Easy Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
3 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 tablespoon butter-flavored sprinkles (feel free to use margarine, I did)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon coarsley ground pepper
3/4 cup cubed chicken breast
2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1 tablespoon sliced ripe olives

Directions:
1.  Cook fettuccine according to the package directions.  Meanwhile in a small food processor, combine cottage cheese, evaporated milk, butter sprinkles, and garlic; cover and process until smooth.
2.  Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper.  Add the chicken, tomatoes and olives.  Cover and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.  Drain fettuccine; serve with chicken mixture.

Yields 2 servings
Nutritional facts: 3/4 cup pasta with 2/3 cup chicken mixture equals 343 calories, 7 grams fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 770 mg sodium, 38 gram carbohydrates, 2 gram fiber, 32 gram protein.

Cheesecake on a diet? Really?

 When I go out to eat, I always take a peak at the dessert menu and spot my absolute favorite dessert: cheesecake.  I will eat it anyway, strawberry, plain, chocolate, etc.  I am always looking of a really really good cheesecake, but I can't eat a ton of cheesecake, because it is loaded with calories and its not exactly something I can eat on a low carb diet.

So, I stumbled across this little gem of a recipe: marbled chocolate cheesecake bars and I did a little jig.  I mouthed, cheesecake in a 'diet' cookbook?  No WAY?!! 

So, I decided to give it a shot!  Here is my review of marbled cheesecake bars!

Ease of Making:  This one was complicated.  I know cheesecake is not an easy process to undergo.  I've made full calorie, full carb cheesecake cheesecake and it usually takes me a lot longer than I want to make.  This was no exception.  I would give this recipe an D for easy.  It's complicated.  I like cooking, but if you're looking for an easy recipe for cheesecake, this is one to avoid.

Likeability:  This one I'm a little mixed on.  I adore cheesecake and I also adore chocolate, so put them together and I'm in heaven.  Put together a 'healthy' cheesecake with chocolate and I'm going to swoon.  This doesn't taste like cheesecake to me.  It is a very good bar, but to me it tastes more like a very rich brownie with a cheesecake aftertaste.  My children, of course, were all in favor of this and wanted more!  More mommy!  More!  The kids loved it, I'm not sure it was for me, so I'm going to give this an B+.  I think it would a great family treat.

Diet or Bust:

Cheesecake on a diet?  That was the ultimate question.  I read the nutritional information and did a double take.  It was literally the perfect dessert, because it is not too high in fat and not too high in calories.  95 calories for one bar and only 15 carbs?  That literally is too good to be true.  But GUESS WHAT?  It really is!  This is a perfect diet dessert.  This gets a grade of A+, because it is right at the limit for someone on a carb limiting diet and the calories are low!

Overall, give it a try and see what you think!  I wasn't too impressed, but my kids thought it was great!  It is a pretty impressive and not too bad family option if you're looking for a better way to cut sweets but not avoid them altogether.  To me this dessert scores altogether with a B+.

Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Obtained from Taste of Home Comfort Foods Diet

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 squares (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Cream Cheese Mixture:

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg white

1 tablesppon vanilla extract

1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  In a small saucepan, combine the water, butter, and chocolate.  Cook and stir over low heat until melted; stir until smooth.  Cool.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Beat in the egg, egg white and sour cream on low speed until combined.  Beat in chocolate mixture until smooth.  In another mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg white, and vanilla until smooth; set aside.

3.  Spread the chocolate batter into a 15 inch x 10 inch x 1 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls over batter; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

4.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 4 dozen

Nutritional information: 1 bar equals 95 calories, 4 gram fat, 2 gram saturated fat, 10 mg saturated fat, 90 mg sodium, 15 gram carbohydrate, trace fiber, 2 gram protein

A lazy day cooking that saves the day! But did it kill my diet?

 We all have those days.  I just didn't want to cook.  Was nearly stomping my feet about doing it!  And this coming from someone who LOVES to cook. 

I was exhausted from all the mental drains of the week and just wanted a simple easy dish that I could fix in a few minutes for the kids.  That is a lot harder to find than most people realize, especially when you're trying to stay on a healthy diet. 

I love pasta.  And when I came across this dish, its seemed a great addition to the recipe review family.  Italian sausage and pasta, and the cooking time only was a few minutes!  This mom was in HEAVEN.

The recipe was tweaked from the get go.  I do not have, nor will my children eat sausage links, and I wasn't about to take them out of their casings, especially when you can just buy a pound of Jimmy Dean Premium Italian Sausage that is just as great.

Another tweak that I made to the recipe, was the pasta.  This recipe is a penne sausage bake.  I don't find that kid friendly at all, so I immediately made the change to elbow pasta. 

So, how does this recipe stand up?  Here is the recipe review!

Ease of Making: The mood I was in called for easiness and if this recipe failed, I was going to unlease a very bad review, but guess what?  This was one of the fastest recipes I have ever literally thrown together.  The longest thing I did was chopping the onion and pepper, which if you own a food processor, you can just throw it in there and then its all good!  I literally had this recipe put together and in the oven in 15 minutes.  That is fast!  The only problem I have is that I think that the turkey sausage links with the casings removed could be substituted for another ingredient, like just plain turkey sausage.  So for ease of making, this scores a HUGE A+ for me!

Likeability:  I was nervous, because my oldest son does not like any sort of veggies in his spaghetti or pasta dishes.  I usually have to endure some pretty harsh criticism from him if he discovers that I have soiled his beloved pasta with an onion or pepper.  And yes, I do say just eat it any way, but you know kids, they're pretty hard critics to our meals.  And then there is my middle son.  Let's just put it this way, he scowled at me the moment he learned that I was going to be making a pasta dish.  He cannot stand pasta, yet he still has to eat it as well.  So when I asked my children to give the pasta an open mind and eat it, despite both of their objections to the ingredients, I was pleasantly surprised with the ensuing commentary.  They LOVED it, not just loved it, but wanted seconds.  I was very shocked.  So, for likeability, this is also a huge A+.  If all my children will eat one dish with such vigor, then it definitely sticks in our remaking section again!

Diet or Fail:  This is the age old question of pasta.  With the trickiness of eating carbs in my diet, I cannot eat much pasta.  I read the nutritional information on this recipe and could barely believe my eyes.  This again is a major diet PASS.  To be able to enjoy an entire cup of pasta bake and an additional serving of either fruit or veggies with overdoing my budget of carbs for that meal, I was very pleasantly surprised.  25 carbs is all one serving this dish has.  That is INSANE!  Insane in a great way!  I am very happy with this recipe and would recommend you make this for your family!  This scores an A+

Total Score for the Pasta Sausage Bake: A+.  I have some suggestions to make.  If you do stick with this recipe, please go for a whole grain pasta.  This recipe does not advocate adding that to the recipe.  Whole grain pastas can add a huge serving of fiber into your diet and it is so healthy for your family!  Other than that, this recipe is outstanding!

Penne Sausage Bake

Obtained from the Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking Book

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked penne pasta

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed

3 cups fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  In a large skillet, saute green pepper and onion in oil for 6-7 minutes.  Add sausage; cook and stir until sausage is no longer pink.  Drain.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta.

2.  Transfer to a 3 qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with the cheeses.  Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

 Yield: 9 Servings

One Cups = 276 calories, 11 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 948 mg sodium, 25 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 18 grams protein.

Stay tuned for my next post: Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars!  Happy Healthy Cooking Everyone!!

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies: Heavenly Goodness or Death to Diet?

Brownies, oh brownes, the one thing that can make this girl weak at the knees.  The way they flake in my mouth and they way they can make my whole house smell like I own a bakery.

My kids love it when I bake, because usually its not for me.  I bake mostly for them, because I can't handle having a lot of goodies in the house for me.  Temptation is a hard thing for someone who is supposed to be watching their every little  carbohydrate intake.  So I was hoping that this recipe would be a little easier on my diet.  And now, review time!

Ease of Making:  The recipe was easy to make.  With a list of less than 10 ingredients, I am one happy cook!  The only problem I had was in the recipe, it calls for you to put an egg white seperately into a dish.  I was like why?  People can figure out how to divide them without too much difficulty, but if that's what the recipe says, then that's what you need to do.  Another issue I had was with the cream cheese.  If you've never baked or cooked with cream cheese or know the texture, you wouldn't know that in order for it to mix easier you need it to be room temperature.  That little tidbit was no where in the recipe.  Unless of course you have a nice expensive mixer.  I prefer to work my arm muscles right now.  So for future references make sure you get your cream cheese to a room temperature for easy mixing.   So its gets a grade of B+

Likeability:  Ok honestly, who doesn't like brownies?  Even badly made brownies, I'm still going to eat them.  And putting cream cheese and chocolate in a brownie...take me away paradise!  These brownies had my kids begging for more and more.  Even I wanted to devour more.  The only drawback I had was I personally do not like warm cream cheese.  Its a personal preference.  So to get that texture issue past me, I stuck the brownies in the fridge and it gave them an even more flavorful edge.

Diet or Disaster:  This one is definietly not something you want to eat in large quantities if you are watching your weight.  One brownie alone is 167 calories and 23 carbohydrates.  A perfect snack or dessert should only be 15 carbs or less.  This one is way too much.  I would suggest breaking the brownie in half, which stinks, but hey, you work hard and you need to stay healthy for your family!  It's worth the sacrifice, even if its not fun.  I give this brownie a C for diet disaster!  This recipe should not be allowed in a diet cookbook. 

Recipe:
Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking  Cookbook

Ingredients:
3 eggs
6 tablespoons reduced-fat stick margarine
1 cup sugar, divided
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese

1.  Seperate two eggs, putting each white in a seperate bowl  (discard yolks or save for another use); set aside.  In a small mixing bowl, beat margarine and 3/4 cup sugar until crumbly.  Add the whole egg, one egg white and vanilla; mix well.
2.  Combine flour and cocoa; add to egg mixture and beat until blended.  Pour into a 9 inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray; set aside.
3.  In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth.  Beat in the second egg white.  Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls over batter; cut through batter with a knife and swirl.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until set and edges pull away from sides of pan.  Cool on a wire rack.

Happy Cooking Everyone!


 

Honey Lemon Schnitzel with Carmelized Mashed Potatoes: Cooking Heaven or Disaster for the Diet?

Honey Lemon Schnitzel:
Two words that grabbed my attention in this recipe: honey and lemon.  A diet cookbook that includes these in the recipe has GOT to be tasty.  My oldest son, while I was cooking it, was not thrilled with my choice of entree.  His words were: I'm NOT eating that. And another fight over dinner had commenced.  As is not uncommon in a house with a picky eater. 
The cooking process was fairly easy to understand, yet the process was a lot longer than what the recipe called for in the book.  It took nearly double the length of time that anticipated to cook, earning me some glares from my toddler crawling around.  So here is the review of the entree:

Ease of Making:  The ingredients were simple: flour, butter, honey, salt, pepper, lemon juice, etc.  Those were very simple to procure.  That was the positive side of this recipe.  The negative and disappointing side of this recipe was the length it took to cook the final product.  To get to a safe temperature took 14 minutes per side, not the 3-4 minutes per side as instructed by the book.  My grade for this recipe is a B-.  When you have a house full of kids who are starving and you plan to cook at a certain time, the recipe should be be close to the cooking time.  I had to hear my kids repeatedly ask, mommy where's dinner?  And a toddler give me the stink eye for not feeding him immediately.  If you do try out this recipe, be prepared to spend more time than the recipe calls for, plan for at least 30 minutes.  The last part of the recipe that really made it annoying was the cleanup.  Who wants to get honey out of a skillet?  That calls for some overnight soaking in this house, even after using a non-stick spray.


Likeability Factor:  This was a new recipe for us, one my oldest son highly protested.  I judge a recipe  to successful if at least 2 of my kids like it.  2 out of 3 is a pretty decent track record in our house.  If I like it, it definitely stays.  The sauce was sweet, but not overpowering.  I was a little concerned with the amount of lemon that the recipe called for, but I kept an open mind.  The lemon was not over-powering and helped keep the sweetness of the honey at a minimum.  It was a great treat.  It felt like we were eating a dessert for an entree.  I give this an A, because 2 out of three of my children liked the recipe.  I also enjoyed the recipe as well. 

Diet or Disaster:  Now for the part where I get to be brutal.  Did this entree just completely destroy my day of hard work at eating right or did this recipe make the cut?  For a recipe that is 174 calories, it is pretty low in the calorie count.  For the 22 carbs, its a little high for me.  I like a main dish to be around 20 carbs or less, because it give me an opportunity to enjoy other things without feeling like I'm missing out on other things.  I give this recipe an A- for being just about right.  A few suggestions that I would recommend is to not fry them in butter if you are looking to make it even healthier.  I would give this entree a try because it really is quite good in my opinion!

Recipe for the Honey Lemon Schnitzel:
Obtained from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet CookBook

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 pork cutlets (4 ounces each)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey

Directions:
1.  In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper.  Add pork, two pieces at a time, and shake to coat.  In a large skillet, cook pork in butter over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.  Remove and keep warm.

2.  Add lemon juice and honey to the skillet; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until thickened.  Return pork to pan; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until heated through.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Facts: 1 cutlet equals 174 calories, 8 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat), 33 mg cholesterol, 368 mg  sodium, 22 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 6 gram protein.

Now for the second part of the dish: Camelized Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes.  I swear at one point in my life my parents thought I might actually turn into a potato because I would rather eat then anything else.  When I found out I was going to have to start limiting my carb intake, I knew that potatoes was something I was going to have to limit myself on.  So when I stumbled on a recipe for carmelized mashed potatoes that was more appropriate for a diet like mine, I thought well yes, I am most definitely going to make this!  My kids adore mashed potatoes, well at least 2 of them do.  The other one won't eat many carbs, but he'll get over it eventually.  Pairing it with Honey Lemon Schnitzel sounded like a great idea, because with a sweet dish a savory one should accompany.  So here is the review of the recipe:

Ease of Making:  This recipe fails on a grand scale for easy cooking.  When I saw carmelized onions, I failed to read the fine print of how long it would take to get those onions carmelized.  45 minutes for onions?  Seriously?  Who has that kind of time to spend on one part of a dish?  If it was a Saturday or Sunday, maybe, but I made this on a weeknight, after my son had just been subjected to the wonderful thing I like to call standardized testing.  This was my reward for him.  Time ticked by and the recipe took longer and longer to make.  But I stuck it out, because this dish was a special treat for my son.  The potatoes did not take that long to cook.  The bacon was a cinch.  Everything was piled up and ready to go, waiting for the onions.  60 minutes later, they were FINALLY ready.  For the potatoes alone, it took me three seperate pans to cook, one for the onions, one for the bacon, and one for the potatoes.  That made for a huge pile of dishes to add to the already big load of dishes I had. That does not make for a happy momma!  So for an ease of making this recipe gets an F.

Likeability:  Like I said previously, I judge a successful recipe based on my kids opinions.  If 2 out of 3 like them, then its success!  This was not a successful recipe for us.  My toddler spit it out and gave me a dirty look.  My son, who I had made the recipe especially for, asked me why they tasted funny.  My middle son refused to even eat a single bite.  I gave the mashed potatoes the old college try, but wow did they suck.  This recipe gets a big fat F for us.

Diet success or Failure:  This recipe does have quite a lot of carbs for a side dish.  When combined with the schnitzel, it left no room for anything else.  It went over my allotment for my dinner allowance for carbohydrates.  That's a deal breaker for me.  I do think that you could knock the portion size down to a smaller size to make it more successful for someone who is diabetic or trying to watch their carbs or calorie intake.  This also has 200 calories for 2/3 a cup.  That's more calories then an entire entree.  I don't think this really should be considered a 'diet' side dish.  You can make it a diet side dish by making the portion 1/3 cup instead of 2/3 cup.  For me this gets a grade of C.

You can give it a try, but be forewarned, its not that great.

Carmelized Mashed Potatoes Recipe:
Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 1/2 pounds medium red potatoes, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
2 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions:
1.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook and stir for 15 minutes or until moisture has evaporated and onions are completely wilted.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Cook and stir for 30-40 minutes or until the onions are carmelized.  (If necessary, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if onions begin to stick to the pan)
2.  Meanwhile, place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan; cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and cook for 18-22 minutes or until tender.
3.  Drain potatoes; place in a large bowl and mash.  Add sour cream, milk, pepper, and remaining salt; mesh until blended.  Stir in carmalized onions.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Drizzle with butter; sprinkle with cheese and bacon.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional Facts: 2/3 cup equals 200 calories, 9 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 528 mg sodium, 25 gram carbohydrate, 3 gram figer, 7 gram protein.

Stay tuned for the next post: Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies: Heavenly Goodness or Death to Diet?

Healthy Fudge? Please be GOOD???!!!!

Healthy fudge, yes I said it! One of the things about being on a diabetic diet is the lack of sugar and carbs, two of the main ingredients in fudge.

I glared with envy at my family members who were scarfing down the glorious fudge that I couldn't eat during all those holiday parties.

So enough was enough! I wanted fudge and by golly, I was going to find a recipe that allowed me to stay on my diet plan and have my fudge too. Guess what I found??!!! A diabetic recipe for fudge. I had mixed feelings about it, because honestly, most sweet treats that I had made following diabetic recipes just downright sucked. I want sugar! I want sweet! The diabetic treats tasted like something processed in a factory. Well at last, I have found my perfect delight!

Marshmallow fudge is a great treat for those of us diabetics, or pre-diabetics, who cannot have the full-fledged sugar-coated goodness, but I think this is even BETTER! So here is the review!

Ease of recipe: 5 ingredients that you can get off of any shelf of most grocery store. The one I had the most difficulty finding was fat-free condensed milk. The recipe is fairly simple to make!

I give this recipe an A- for ease, the minus is for the difficulty of procuring the fat-free condensed milk.

Taste Factor for Kids/Adults: OMG let me tell you what, this recipe rocked my socks off, as one of my old friends used to say! My son was begging me for a fudgie, as he called it! I was shocked. The only thing that I noticed was the vanilla extract taste is a little strong. I would suggest maybe only using 1/2 a teaspoon instead of the full teaspoon it calls for. I give it an A- for the taste. A little less vanilla might be a good idea. I would suggest trying it out first to see if you feel the vanilla is strong for you. To me it was a bit overpowering.

Keep or Not to Keep: YES! I haven't found a recipe that I have been more excited about! My kids adored the recipe. I cannot wait til the next party function where I can proudly eat 2 pieces of fudge and get crazy weird looks from people, as they KNOW I'm not supposed to eat it.

Marshmallow Fudge:

Taste of Home Comfort Foods Diet Cookbook

Ingrediets:

1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups minature marshmallows

2 whole reduced-fat graham crackers, broken into bite-size pieces

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and coat with cooking spray; set aside. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; cool for 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Fold in the marshmallows and graham crackers.

2. Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift out and remove foil; cut into 48 pieces.

Yield: 4 dozen

Nutritional Facts: 1 piece equals 41 calories, 1 gram fat (1 gram saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 7 gram carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein.

Chicken Gyros: You too can make your own!

Chicken Gyros are a yummy treat that are pretty easy to make. I love finding a Greek restaurant and ordering a gyro and figured, why can't I make one myself? I spent a few weeks looking for the perfect recipe.

I have to have criteria in place:

1. It has to have less than 40 carbohydrates per serving.

2. It has to be low fat.

3. It has to be easy to make.

4. It has to be kid friendly.

I finally stumbled upon this fabulous recipe: Chicken gyros from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook and I thought BINGO! So I tried it! I must admit I was surprised at how good it was. I do have some drawbacks and some suggestions at the end. This recipe does taste as good as ordering from a Greek restaurant. My kids were less impressed.

So here is the review of the recipe:

Ease of making: This is a fairly uncomplicated recipe. It can get a little messy with the sauce. The marinade can be avoided altogether if you follow my tips at the end of the recipe. Kids who like getting their hands dirty will love helping you make this recipe, because it involves some mess, but not much. It is definitely not a destroy the kitchen recipe. I give it an A- for some mess, but the kids enjoy making the mess so much that we'll let it slide.

Do the Kids like it: This is a tricky one right here. If your kids do not like the strong flavors of Greek food, this is a recipe you should definitely avoid. I am all in favor of making my kids try new foods, but you have to pick your battles. I give this one a C because it is definitely not necessarily a kid friendly recipe. Now with that said, I LOVED this recipe, even if my kids did not. So if you're in the mood to make a lunch just for you, THIS is one you should definitely try!!

Diabetic Rating: This one passes. The nutritional values are very very outstanding. With only 367 calories, 9 grams of fat and 39 grams of carbohydrates, this recipe is a diabetic dream for either a lunch or dinner. If you're looking to add anything to that lunch, then you can't. If you are only going to eat this for lunch its perfect. I have some tips for cutting the size down if you're not interested in eating the whole thing and want to add some fruit and other veggies to your diet.

To Keep or Not To Keep: That depends again on your family. I don't think this one is for my family, but my husband and I will definitely keep it for our home dates when we can't afford a sitter and the kids are in bed. This is an affordable dinner that we can eat that makes us feel good on the inside and out.

Recipe:

Chicken Gyros

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon minced garlic, divided

1/2 ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1/2 cup chopped peeled cucumber

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/4 teaspoon dill weed

2 whole weed gyro-style pitas (6 inches)

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine lemon juice, oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, mustard and oregano; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, dill, and remaining garlic; cover and refrigerate until serving.

2. Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet, saute chicken for 7-8 minutes or until juices run clear. Spoon onto each pita bread. Top with yogurt mixture and onion; fold in half.

Yield: 2 Servings

Nutritional Facts: 1 gyro equals 367 calories, 9 grams fat ( 2 grams saturated fat), 68 mg cholesterol, 397 mg sodium, 39 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 30 grams protein.

Tips to improve on: I like tweaking recipes to make them better. After initially trying the recipe I was definitely looking for ways to make it better. I don't like eating an entire pita, that's a huge amount of bread for me. I like to include more veggies and fruit, and for being a pre-diabetic, 39 carbs does not leave a lot of room for me to add on. So some suggestions I've had to improve on the recipe to save on carbs and to majorly improve on the flavor: don't use the marinade. Instead use a crockpot the night before and just throw in some chicken stock. The chicken is SO juicy and tender. You wake up smelling that, who needs an alarm clock??? Then there's the pita situation. I can't eat an entire pita, so I have only used half, and stuffed the chicken inside, as opposed to what the recipe calls for, using the entire piece. This allows you room to add a piece of fruit or extra veggies that you may miss in a later meal.