The toddler added the sprinkles which creates a nice crunch on top. I think next time I’ll add a handful of chocolate chips for a bonus. Especially now that I calculated the nutritional information to find each muffin is less then 150 calories!

• 5oz dried prunes
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (45g)
• 1/4 cups cocoa powder (20g)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 scoop unflavored protein powder (I used 20g of 100% Any Whey)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small sauce pan add the prunes with enough water to cover them. Boil for 5 minutes and then simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and protein powder. Set aside.

Line a 6 muffin tin with muffin liners. Spray with non-stick spray in desired. (I used aluminum liners, they didn’t stick at all!)

Drain the prunes. They should be soft. Puree them in a food processor (I used my Magic Bullet). Add the banana, vanilla, and molasses, blend until smooth.

Pour the prune mixture in a bowl. Whisk in the egg. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix until just combined. If you are adding any chips, do it now.

Divide the batter into the 6 muffin tins and bake for about 17 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Nutritional Information is just the batter, no sprinkles or chips as I would make them plain for myself but they make a great starting point to let the kids have a little fun. I don’t mind adding sprinkles or chocolate chips to a whole grain muffin base with no added sugar. :~)

Well… I’m SO happy with the results! The toddler and I had a BLAST making them, they tasted great and they are SUPER light! Even the husband liked them and let me tell you, he’s not easy to please on the cookie front.

The thing I like most about these cookies is the versatility of the dough. It’s super easy to work with. The thinner you roll it out the crisper the cookie. Use it with cookie cutters, roll into balls and squish with a fork, even top with sprinkles (one guess who’s idea that was) :)

• 1 cup (120g) Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp (20g) molasses
• 1 ounce fat free cream cheese
• 1 egg

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and set aside.

Melt the butter, chocolate chips and molasses over very low heat or in a double boiler. Stirring constantly.

Once the chips and butter are melted, remove from heat. Started beating the chocolate mixture on low adding the fat free cream cheese and egg. The cream cheese may seem lumpy. Beat for about 2 minute until smooth, although you will see some white specks from the cheese. Continue to beat, slowly adding the flour mixture. Once the flour is all incorporated the dough will be thick and sticking to the beater. Don’t worry it’s easy to remove.

Take half the dough and place it on parchment or wax paper (I sprayed the wax paper with a bit of spray just in case) top with another strip of paper and roll out to 1/4 inch or less. The thinner you roll the crisper the cookie will be but the harder to work with.

Once you have it rolled out, lay the dough (still in the paper) on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. It will be easier to work with. Repeat the rolling process with the second half of dough.

Remove the first from the freezer, peal away top wax paper and cut using your favorite cookie cutters.

Pace on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Note: Instead of rolling out you could hand roll the dough into half inch in balls and then squish with a fork, similar to peanut butter cookies.

Since it these were snow day cookies I thought I’d share some candid shots I took while waiting for the cookies to bake. :)

As for nutritional information, I was able to get 40 cookies. So I’m estimating 3 cookies a serving.

I love how they came out. REAL most and sweet. Almost too sweet, so you may want to reduce the honey by a tablespoon if you don’t like a sweeter muffin. The toddler? well… the toddler took a bite and declared he "loved them!" Then he took another bite and said he didn’t. Ahhh how I LOVE 3 year olds! All in all he liked the flavor but the apple chunks got him. As soon as he hit one he made a face. I think he gets it from me, I never liked chunks in things when I was a kid either. If it wasn’t chocolate chips then I didn’t want it in my cookies. Raisins, nuts, whatever. My mom used to grind them up so I wouldn’t complain. :)

Anyway, this is how I made them and I’ll put Krista’s original ingredients in [brackets].

• 3/4 c whole wheat flour (90g)
• 1/2 c wheat bran (30g)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (61g)
• 2 tbsp molasses (41g) [1/4 c brown sugar]
• 1/4 cup non-fat yogurt + 1/4 cup water [1/2 c nonfat milk]
• 1 tsp vanilla [3/4 t vanilla]
• 3 tbsp honey (63g)
• 1 medium apple, cored, & diced (I left the skin on)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin cups by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, wheat bran, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon) in a bowl. Set aside.

Whisk the wet ingredients (applesauce, molasses, yogurt, water, vanilla, honey) together in another bowl.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together with the diced apple. [Krista also added raisins and pecans]

Spoon into muffin sprayed muffin tins (9-10). Bake about 20 minutes. Cool in muffin tin for a minute and then remove to cool on wire rack.

Here’s a little before and after baking…

And here’s my measurer. :) I really LOVE baking with him. Notice the mess.

As for the nutritional information. This is based on how I made them. I got 10 but they were small. 9 would probably be better.

• 1 cup whole wheat white flour (120g)
• 1 cup old fashioned oats (80g)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raw sugar (105g)
• 1 tbsp molasses (20g)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 oz fat free cream cheese
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (30g)
• 1/3 raisins or dried fruit chopped (I used a combo of cherries & blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Place the sugar, butter, molasses and cream cheese in a bowl and beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg beat again until blended finishing the wet ingredients.

Gradually add the flour/oats mixture to the wet ingredients, beating at low speed just until combined. Once all the dry ingredients are incorporated stir in walnuts and dried fruit. Click here to watch a video of the toddler and I making a similar cookie.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. The dough will be sticky, try to flatten a bit as the dough will not melt as much as traditional cookies. Makes 36 cookies (3 dozen).

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes before enjoying the warm cookie! :)

To make more festive or involve the kids more, add sprinkles to the top just before baking!

I can’t lie I love these cookies. I’ve made a few batches getting things just right and MAN they are awesome right out of the oven. I’m a warm cookie gal all the way. Give me a gooey chocolate cookie out of the oven and I’m in heaven and these cookies TOTALLY hit the spot.

Anyway, I was so excited about them the toddler and I made a batch for this weeks video. Baking with him is one of my absolute favorite things to do and when he’s taste testing whole wheat and oatmeal cookie dough I think it makes it all the better. :)

Here’s the video… recipe to follow…

The Recipe

• 1 cup whole wheat white flour (120g)
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa (20g)
• 1 cup old fashioned oats (80g) (ground or unground your choice)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 1 tbsp molasses (20g)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 oz fat free cream cheese
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (30g)
• 1/4 cup 56g mini chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, cocoa, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Place the sugar, butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg beat again until blended finishing the wet ingredients.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating at low speed just until combined. It will be REALLY thick. Once all the dry ingredients are incorporated stir in walnuts and chocolate chips as best you can.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. The dough will be sticky, try to flatten a bit as the dough will not melt as much as traditional chocolate chip cookies. Makes at least 36 cookies (3 dozen).

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool for about 2 minutes before enjoying the warm cookie! :)

To make more festive or involve the kids more, add sprinkles just before baking!

As you may know this is the first year I’m cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I’m feeling the pressure to make things very traditional but I also want to make them my own (with health and nutrition in mind, of course! ;~P) So instead of the old fashioned candied mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallow on top, I’m going for sweet potatoes in the crockpot.

The idea here was to make something festive, light, fun and EASY. There are some things I just don’t want to have to worry about yet I still I want, like sweet potatoes.

So yesterday I did a bit of experimenting. I cut up one mother of a potato cranked on the crockpot and I was pleasantly surprised that my idea worked. Now I have a new sweet potato dish and I can’t wait to see how everyone likes it on the big day!

Note: I used 1 pound of potatoes and it was a little much for the amount of marinade. So I’m upping it a bit for the "idea". Again, think of this as a "formula", doubling and tripling, even halving as necessary. You could also throw in some carrots!

• 4 large sweet potatoes (about 5 inches long)
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 1 tbsp molasses (20g)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• dried or fresh parsley for garnish

Clean (scrub) the potatoes with water. Cut into large chunks leaving skin on. Add them to the crockpot.

In a small bowl whisk the honey, molasses, vinegar and all spice to make the marinade.

Pour the marinade over the potatoes, stir to coat.

Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours until potatoes are nice and soft.

Serve in a casserole dish with a sprinkle of parsley.

This chili I purposely made mild to TRY and get the husband and the toddler on board with my chili obsession but alas, I failed. The husband didn’t try it, he’s just not interested in chili! Unbelievable! And the toddler, well, he said he didn’t like before he even tried it. His mind was already made up and I couldn’t change it.

Oh well, their loss, it was GOOD! Now I have lunches for the next week!

Next time, since they aren’t going to eat it anyway, I’m spicing it up with some ground red pepper, hot sauce and jalapeno peppers!

• 20 oz extra lean ground turkey
• 1 small-medium onion chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper chopped
• 1 small can of sweet corn (8oz) undrained
• 1 can of black beans (15oz) drained and rinsed
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (15oz) undrained
• 1 small can of tomato paste (6oz)
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (5g)
• 1 tbsp Molasses (20g)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• non-stick spray

Brown the turkey in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.

Spray the inside of the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray (makes is much easier to clean!). Add all the ingredients to a crock pot with 1 tomato paste can of water (6oz). Mix well to combine, it will thick and dry (not a lot of liquid). Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.

Here’s a before and after cooking photo.

Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and cilantro, over rice, or (my favorite) with some baked Doritos! YUM!

The idea is a modified version of a recipe my mom uses from an old cookbook. It intrigued me with it’s use of crushed pineapple as a sweetener. Although the original recipe called for white flour, 2 cups of sugar, and a cup of oil, all of which I think are uncalled for.

My version is far less sweet as I ditch the sugar and use a combination of honey and molasses to add more flavor with just a touch of sweetness. It’s apparently enough as the toddle DEVOURS this bread. He also LOVED helping me make all the experiments. Just look at my little sous chef!

I brought a loaf to work where it was well received and a few friends at the gym seemed to like it. Although I never trust face to face reviews as I know it’s hard to tell someone you don’t like what they made in person.

OK, can you tell I’m nervous about this one. :~) I think the more I work on a recipe the more I’m worried how you guys like it. It’s a labor of love I suppose.

• 3 eggs
• ½ cup (122g) of unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp (42g) honey
• 2 tbsp (40g) molasses
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups (360g) whole wheat flour
• ½ cup (60g) walnuts – ground
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¾ tsp nutmeg
• 1 medium zucchini shredded (1 cup about 200g)
• 1 20oz can crushed pineapple drained

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Open the can of pineapple and place in a metal strainer in the sink to remove some of the juice while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

In large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the applesauce, honey, molasses, vanilla and beat until foamy and then beat some more. :~)

Ground the walnuts in a blender or food processor. Don’t over process the oil in them will start to stick.

In another bowl, mix the ground walnuts, flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Stir the shredded zucchini and drained pineapple into the egg mixture.

Add the dry ingredient to the wet and stir until just blended.

The batter makes 2 large loafs or 6 mini loaves. You can even make 1 large and 3 small or 24 muffins (note: haven’t tried the muffins YET!)

What ever you decide be sure to spray with non-stick cooking spray and dust with a bit of flour.

Bake the large loaves for about an hour, small loaves for around 40 minutes. Muffins probably half that (I’ll update when I do it). A toothpick inserted should come out clean when it’s done.

Here’s the batch I made this morning and I just had to show you our mess of a kitchen when we were done. I may be the messiest cook EVER! (well I did have help) :~)

• 1-2 pounds of a cured ham cut into thick slices (or you could actually buy ham steaks)
• 1 really large sweet potato cut into thick fry like pieces
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp (21g) honey
• 1 tbsp (20g) molasses
• ¼ tsp all spice

Cut the ham slices and potato wedges.

Whisk the vinegars, honey, molasses and all spice together. Pour the marinade into a large ziplock bag and marinate the ham steak and potatoes for about an hour.

Preheat the grill.

Cook the potatoes over medium heat first as they will take longer (about 45 minutes). To speed up the process you can start them in the microwave for 3-4 minutes and then grill.

Once the potatoes are just about done, place the ham steaks over high heat for about 3-4 minutes a side. The ham is already cooked so you are just heating it up and getting those pretty little grill marks.

Notice my peas in the corner, this is one of my grill tricks like I mentioned last year on Roni’s Weigh.

So I thought I’d whip together a quick sweet and spicy marinade/BBQ sauce using apple flavor as the base. I love apples and pork together and this is my attempt to BBQ-nize it.

Did the husband like it? Well, let’s see….

Me: “So, what do you think?” (Side note: that was after a few bites and he KNOWS I’m dying to hear is review. He purposely holds back until I ask, I swear!)
The Husband: “It’s good.”
Me: “Good, good? Or just good?” (I love annoying him!)
The Husband: “It’s good. A little too sweet though.”
Me: “WOW really? I thought you were going to say too hot. I was going for the whole sweet and spicy thing.”
The Husband: “Well, I like the hot, the sweet, no so much.”
Me: “But that was the point, SWEET and spicy.”
The Husband: “ok, well I don’t like the sweet. It’s too sweet.”
Me: “But you like them?”
The Husband: “Yea, they’re good.”

This is a pretty typical conversation for us when I experiment in the kitchen. The husband really isn’t a food guy, his response is either, “It’s good” or he doesn’t eat it. It’s like there is no in between. It CRACKS me up!

Anyway, here you go. It was a fun, spicy detour from regular old BBQ sauce. Oh! And too spicy for the toddler, he had a plain chop.

• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp applesauce
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp Tabasco (this made it pretty hot, you might want to cut it back)
• 4 boneless pork loin chops (about 4 oz each – 1 lb total)
• Salt & Pepper

Mix the molasses, vinegar, applesauce, ketchup and Tabasco.

Season the pork chop with salt and pepper and smother with the sauce. Grill for a 3-4 min a side on a preheated grill and brush with reamining sauce. If you have thin cuts like mine, they cook up real fast. I think the thick asparagus actually took longer to grill!

So that’s what I did and I had fun combining it with some sweet flavors that went perfectly with sweet potatoes and carrots. The dish was a hit all around, toddler and all! Except the husband who doesn’t like sweet potatoes but that’s his loss, they were to die for!

• Small cured ham (I cut a 3 pounder in half)
• Handful of whole cloves (around 16)
• 1 really large sweet potato cut in small chunks
• ¾ cup of baby carrots cut in half
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp (21g) honey
• 1 tbsp (20g) molasses
• ¼ tsp all spice
• ½ cup of water (separated)
• ½ tbsp corn starch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Pierce the ham with a knife and insert the whole gloves in the flesh. I place them in a row like pattern (see image below).

Place the ham in a baking dish and spread the sweet potatoes and carrots around it.

In a small bowl whisk the apple cider vinegar, Balsamic vinegar, honey, molasses, all spice and ¼ cup of the water. Pour over the ham, potatoes and carrots.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until potatoes are soft.

Whisk the cornstarch with remaining ¼ cup of water. When finished, remove the ham, potatoes and carrots from the baking dish. Place it over medium heat, add the cornstarch mixture and continue to stir while bringing it to a boil allowing the sauce to thicken to a glaze.

Top the ham with a bit of the glaze and serve with a side of potatoes and carrots.

Here’s a little before and after although they look pretty much the same. Nutritional Info is tough for me on this one. I don’t have the brain power right now. Sorry.

These came out really moist with just the right sweetness. I sprinkled the tops with a bit of quick oats just for fun. I think it makes them look so much better then plain old muffins.

• 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour (180g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp all spice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 15oz can of pumpkin
• ¼ cup molasses (84 g)
• 2 tbsp honey (42g)
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup non-fat unflavored yogurt
• ¾ cup Wheat Bran (45g) (available in the store
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Double sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the pumpkin, molasses, honey, egg, egg whites, applesauce and yogurt. Beat until all ingredients are mixed well.

Pour the flour mixture and wheat bran into the pumpkin mixture. Combine until just moistened. Don’t over mix!

Spray 2 muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly distribute the batter in the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with a bit of oats and bake for about 20 minutes.

As you can see, the toddler was waiting so patiently for them to cool. Then he started blowing on them to help the process. He scarfed down 1 in about 30 seconds!

Hope you like them, Happy Thanksgiving!!!