Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

"The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better."

We did it!!! This is the LAST of the very healthy caterpillar recipes and we saved a good one for last! This is a recipe we had while staying with one of the best cooks ever in California! We begged her for the recipe and had to make it ourselves. There are some slight alterations I would make. First of all I would use butter lettuce since I'm not a huge fan of iceberg. I think next time I will either leave out the orange zest or at the very least cut back A LOT! I also used just plain old mushrooms rather than shitake, added a lot of water chestnuts since they are fantastic and ate it with the home made peanut sauce from this recipe. You really can't screw this up though. It's good and it's healthy. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: www.foodnetwork.com (discovered by Nancy Costa of Santa Rosa, CA)

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups shitake mushrooms fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1 ¹⁄₃ to 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
• 2 tablespoons light colored oil such as vegetable oil or peanut oil
• Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 inch ginger root finely chopped or grated, optional
• 1 orange zested
• ¹⁄₂ red bell pepper diced small
• 1 small sliced water chestnuts 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 3 scallions chopped
• 3 tablespoons hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market
• ¹⁄₂ large head iceberg lettuce core removed, head quartered
• Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish

Directions

1. Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces.
2. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
3. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 182

Fat: 8

Carbohydrate: 10

Protein: 13

Watermelon-Jalapeno Ice Pops

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one cupcake and one slice of watermelon. That night he had a stomach ache."

If this combination sounds weird to you then don't make it. If it sounds good you might like it. Husband took about 3 bites (forced by me) and didn't want any more while I finished the popsicle and still wasn't sure how I felt about it. It wasn't spicy but you could definitely taste the jalapeno. I would probably give it 2 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh red or yellow watermelon cubes chilled
• ¹⁄₂ cup sugar
• ¹⁄₄ cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon liquid pectin
• 1 large jalapeño pepper halved and seeded
• 2 teaspoons grated lime rind

Directions

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender, and process until pureed. Stir in lime rind. Pour into 8 (3-ounce) ice pop molds. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 76

Fat: 0.1g

Cholesterol: 0.0mg

Sodium: 3mg

Carbohydrate: 19.7g

Fiber: 0.4g

Protein: 0.4g

Oatmeal Muffins

"On Saturday he ate through one peice of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake..."

Muffins, cupcakes... potato, potato. Ok, I feel awful. Both times we've made something from my sister in law's AWESOME food blog we've had execution issues and ended up with crap. I promise you the muffins she made looked 10 times better than the ones that husband made this weekend. I think his main issue was that the batter seemed too thick and he didn't add more water. I was on a walk when this happened so he says I get to blame him. He ate it. I spit it out. We will go with his rating although I think these would be awesome if they were made correctly. Check out my sis-in-law's blog for a better picture and some other good recipes. Also, make sure you always spray your muffin liners so you actually get to eat your whole muffin. Husband gave these 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: eatmindfully.weebly.com

Ingredients

Crumble topping:

• scant 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ¹⁄₂ cup rolled oats
• ¹⁄₃ cup organic brown sugar
• scant 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• ¹⁄₄ cup unsalted butter melted

Muffin batter:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
• scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• ⁷⁄₈ cup unsalted butter
• ¹⁄₂ cup organic brown sugar
• 12 oz plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs whisked

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with paper liners and spray them with cooking spray.

1. Get your crumble topping for your muffins started first. Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Divide the mixture into three portions, and use your hands to form into three flat-ish patties. Place the patties in a bowl in the freezer for about ten minutes.
2. Now, onto the muffin batter. In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the yogurt, and then the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir just until combined. Do your best to avoid over mixing.
4. Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Pull the crumble from the freezer and break it up into small and medium pieces. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with crumble, place the muffins in the oven and bake 30 - 35 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool just a minute or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack - important!

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 210

Carbs: 19

Fat: 13

Protein: 5

Sausage, Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage..."

This is the third lasagna we've made since starting our healthy eating and this one much more flavor than the others. I loved the mushrooms and the spinach. I'm not usually a fan of this kind of sausage but with all the other good flavors I really didn't mind it. Husband made this himself and he says it was worth the effort. Plus there are lots of yummy leftovers. Also see below for a vegetarian option. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Eating Well

Prep Time:
30 Min

Total Time:
30 Min

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole-wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 pound lean spicy Italian turkey sausage casings removed (see Variation)
• 4 cups sliced mushrooms (10 ounces)
• ¹⁄₄ cup water
• 1 pound frozen spinach thawed
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes preferably chunky
• ¹⁄₄ cup chopped fresh basil
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese (2 cups)
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded (about 2 cups), divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until not quite tender, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot, cover with cool water and set aside.
3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and water; cook, stirring occasionally and crumbling the sausage more, until it is cooked through, the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Squeeze spinach to remove excess water, then stir into the pan; remove from heat.
4. Mix tomatoes with basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
5. To assemble lasagna: Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, trimming to fit if necessary. Evenly dollop half the ricotta over the noodles. Top with half the sausage mixture, one-third of the remaining tomatoes and one-third of the mozzarella. Continue with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta, the remaining sausage, half the remaining tomatoes and half the remaining mozzarella. Top with a third layer of noodles and the remaining tomatoes.
6. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake until bubbling and heated through, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove the foil; sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is just melted but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Vegetarian Variation: Use a sausage-style soy product, such as Gimme Lean, or simply omit the sausage altogether.
7. Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 5 up to 1 day ahead.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 333

Fat: 14 g

Cholesterol: 41 m

Carbohydrate: 28 g

Fiber: 7 g

Protein: 26 g

Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Bars

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie..."

Today is Husband's birthday and he loves cheesecake so I took the opportunity to change the pie to a cheesecake and make this for him. I am not usually a big fan of cheesecake since it is usually too rich but this was SO good. It is lighter than normal cheesecake and the cherries are a great flavor to tie it all together. It does take some time to make but it is not too difficult and definitely worth the time spent. Everybody who ate it enjoyed and I think it would be kid friendly as well. 5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 15

Ingredients

• 4 ¹⁄₂ ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled butter cut into small pieces
• 3 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons ice water
• 1 ¹⁄₄ cups chopped pitted fresh cherries
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon cornstarch
• ³⁄₄ cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• ¹⁄₃ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• ¹⁄₃ cup granulated sugar
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Line an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish with parchment paper. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse 2 times to combine. Add chilled butter, and drizzle with ice water. Pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish (mixture will be crumbly). Press mixture into bottom of dish. Bake at 350 for 23 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325. 3. Place cherries, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until cherries are tender. Combine lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir cornstarch mixture into cherry mixture; cook for 1 minute or until thickened. Cool mixture slightly. Spoon the cherry mixture into food processor, and process until smooth. Spoon pureed mixture into a bowl, and set aside. 4. Wipe food processor clean. Place cream cheese and remaining ingredients in food processor; process until smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture over cooled crust; spread evenly. Dollop cherry mixture over cream cheese mixture, and swirl together with a knife. Bake at 325 for 36 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 3 hours.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 136

Fat: 6.9g

Cholesterol: 33mg

Sodium: 92mg

Carbohydrate: 16g

Fiber: 0.5g

Protein: 2.9g

Pineapple Chicken Satay

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop..."

Hey give me some credit, it's a chicken lollipop! And it is SO good!!! Pardon the absence of our caterpillar friend in the picture we forgot until after I devoured all the food. We used tiny pieces of meat so I ended up eating more than 2 (not saying how many) but I think it added up to the same amount. Just be careful with this because it is hard to stop eating. The funny thing is that I normally am a wuss when it comes to spice but I enjoyed ever bead of sweat rolling down my face while I ate it. I seriously even licked the sauce bowl. That is the BEST part! My sister in law makes a mean peanut sauce but she adds more ingredients and does it over the stove. I think this is an easy yummy alternative although I might scale back on the chili sauce next time to tone it down. The pineapple mixture is also very spicy because of the cayenne pepper. Thing 1 enjoyed the chicken without any of the side stuff so I do call this kid friendly. I will definitely make this again with much larger pieces of chicken. Yummy. 5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ¹⁄₄ cup lower-sodium soy sauce
• ¹⁄₄ cup sweet chili sauce (such as Mae Ploy)
• ¹⁄₄ cup natural-style crunchy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon curry powder
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders cut lengthwise into 8 pieces
• Cooking spray
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups diced pineapple
• ¹⁄₃ cup vertically sliced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. 2. Place peanut oil, curry powder, and chicken in a bowl; toss to coat. Thread chicken onto 8 (6-inch) skewers. 3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. 4. While chicken cooks, combine 1 1/2 cups pineapple, 1/3 cup red onion, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper. Serve chicken with soy sauce mixture and pineapple mixture.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 330

Fat: 11.9g

Cholesterol: 66mg

Sodium: 528mg

Carbohydrate: 22.7g

Fiber: 2.2g

Protein: 31.2g

Warm Prosciutto-Stuffed Focaccia

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami..."

After a hiatus the caterpillar is back and cheating a little bit. We agonized over the salami and ended up using prosciutto instead. Not the same at all but we couldn't figure out a healthy use for salami so this will have to do. We liked this sandwich but we make a similar panini that we like better. I did like the roasted red bell peppers which the other panini doesn't have but there were some flavors missing. All in all a good sandwich and 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 (9-ounce) round loaf focaccia bread
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto*
• 4 ounces thinly sliced Muenster cheese
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• ¹⁄₄ cup bottled roasted red bell peppers drained
• 2 tablespoons light balsamic vinaigrette

Directions

1. Cut bread in half horizontally, using a serrated knife. Top bottom bread half with prosciutto and next 3 ingredients. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette; cover with top bread half. Wrap in aluminum foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until warm. Cut focaccia into six wedges. Serve immediately. *6 ounces of ham may be substituted for prosciutto for approximately the same amount of calories.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 233

Fat: 35%

Cholesterol: 30mg

Sodium: 648mg

Carbohydrate: 24.9g

Fiber: 1.4g

Protein: 13.5g

Out-n-In California Burger

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of swiss cheese..."

If you know me personally you know the draw to this recipe. The thought of never having In N Out again would be a sad one. Even with this recipe I think someday I will have to go indulge. But for now this is a yummy alternative. When I read pickle and swiss cheese I automatically thought of this. I think this is the only recipe containing 2 of his foods. It's cheating I know. Husband should not be considered a Californian since he doesn't really like In N Out so he skips the sauce and just does mustard and ketchup. He also leaves off the pickles. That's one of the great things about this recipe; you can customize it to your taste. We cook our burgers on the foreman grill and use garlic salt to season them which really increases the flavor. This is one of our favorites and we love that it quick and easy. 5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking light

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 4 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat lower-sodium Swiss cheese (such as Alpine Lace)
• 4 green leaf lettuce leaves
• 4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns
• 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices red onion
• 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
• ¹⁄₂ ripe peeled avocado cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 8 bread-and-butter pickle chips

Directions

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Divide beef into 4 equal portions, gently shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Press a nickel-sized indentation in the center of each patty; sprinkle patties evenly with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side. Top each patty with 1 cheese slice; cook 2 minutes or until cheese melts and patties are desired degree of doneness.
3. Place 1 lettuce leaf on bottom half of each hamburger bun; top with 1 patty, 1 onion slice, 2 tomato slices, about 2 avocado slices, 2 pickle chips, about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce, and top half of bun.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 389

Fat: 16.5g

Cholesterol: 72mg

Sodium: 806mg

Carbohydrate: 34.7g

Fiber: 2.4g

Protein: 38g

Raspberry-Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone..."

One of our favorite but least used wedding gifts was an ice cream maker so when I started thinking about the ice cream cone possibilities I got really excited. In fact I found SO many possible ice cream recipes that we have decided to make ice cream all summer long! My recommendation for this one is to freeze it over night. It was super melty but delicious. Husband is not a huge fan of raspberries so he didn't like it as much since the raspberries are definitely the main flavor in this frozen yogurt. It is super tart which is a plus for me and the mini chocolate chips are a great contrast. Thing 1 enjoyed helping to make this with us and was VERY interested in the ice cream maker. I loved it. Great low cal dessert! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Eating Well

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) raspberries
• 2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup chocolate chips preferably mini

Directions

1. Place raspberries, yogurt, sugar and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker (or see “No Ice Cream Maker?” below). Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions, or until desired consistency. Add chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve. No Ice Cream Maker? Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch pan and place in the freezer. Stir every few hours, until the mixture is firm along the edges and semi-firm in the center, 2 to 6 hours (using frozen berries will shorten the freezing time). Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container, stir in chocolate chips, cover and freeze until ready to serve.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 147

Fat: 4 g

Cholesterol: 4 m

Carbohydrate: 25 g

Fiber: 4 g

Protein: 4 g

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake..."

Not exactly chocolate cake but Thing 1 calls them cupcakes so it's close. These muffins are one of our most made recipes. If you work with me, are part of my husband's family or go to our kid's daycare you've had them. Everyone seems to like them and they don't really taste all that healthy. These are super easy to make and made from things you might already have on hand. My one tip is to make sure you spray the muffin papers with cooking spray. Husband made them with Thing 1 this morning and forgot but they still tasted good. 5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 8 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
• ½ cups packed brown sugar
• ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 cups warm water
• ¼ cups canola oil
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• ½ cups semisweet chocolate minichips divided
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. 2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine 1 cup water and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in 1/4 cup minichips. Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. 3. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups, and coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup minichips evenly over batter. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 191

Fat: 7.6g

Cholesterol: 15mg

Sodium: 197mg

Carbohydrate: 29g

Fiber: 1.5g

Protein: 3.1g

Normally Thing 1 eats these just the way they are but today he got creative in the kitchen and asked his daddy if he could use M & M's instead of chocolate chips on top. Who can deny a 3 year old who wants to spruce up a recipe with a little color. Husband gave him his muffin which he had already eaten half of before I shouted that I needed a picture so here is my son's half eaten creation. These are super kid friendly with M & M's or just with the chocolate chips and are a good one for little chefs.

Chipotle-&-Orange Grilled Chicken

"On Friday he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry."

There are some meals that we sort of haggle over the ratings and this was one of them. We came to the conclusion that this is a very quick, easy and low calorie meal that tastes good. Not great but good enough to eat again especially when you think about how easy and low cal it is. We cooked this on the grill pan and served it with some quinoa and an asian salad. We had a great picture of the whole meal but we forgot to include our little insect friend so we had to take another and the salad was gone. Oh well. We also added extra glaze as a sauce once it was on our plate and cut up which added a lot of extra flavor and I highly recommend doing. 4 out of 5 stars.

Source: Eating Well

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons orange-juice concentrate thawed
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (see Note)
• 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts,trimmed
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat grill or broiler.
2. Whisk together orange-juice concentrate, chipotle pepper, vinegar, molasses and mustard in a small bowl.
3. Lightly oil the grill or broiler rack (see Tip). Season chicken with salt and grill or broil for 2 minutes. Turn, brush with the glaze and cook for 4 minutes, brushing occasionally with glaze. Turn again, brush with the glaze, and cook until the center is no longer pink, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 149

Fat: 3 g

Cholesterol: 63 m

Carbohydrate: 7 g

Fiber: 0 g

Protein: 23 g

Strawberry Italian Ice

"On Thursday he ate through four strawberries, but he was still hungry."

Chalk this up as an execution problem. Doesn't really look like Italian ice does it? It was more of a jam smoothie. Oops. Husband made this and he thinks he used too much apple juice. Could be why it didn't set like it should. I think we'll try it again sometime. Good flavor though. As is it was a 3.5 out of 5 stars but we will rerate it when we try again.

Source: Nikee Huntington, Santa Rosa, CA

Ingredients

• ¾ cups unsweetened apple juice unsweetened apple juice concentrate
• 1 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 pints of fresh strawberries hulled and halved
• Fresh mint (optional)

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, combine the apple juice concentrate, lemon juice and strawberries; cover and process until blended. Pour into an ungreased 8 inch square dish. Cover and freeze for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until partially set.
2. Spoon into a large bowl; beat on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Return to dish; freeze for 2 - 3 hours, until firm.
3. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh mint leaves if desired.
4. Makes 5 servings
5. 1 serving = 3/4 cup

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 109

Fat: 1g

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium: 12mg

Carbohydrate: 27g

Fiber: 3g

Protein: 1g

Open-Faced Prosciutto and Plum Sandwiches

"On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry."

This was a tough one for us. We liked it and then we didn't and then we did. We literally had to pick it apart piece by piece to figure out what we liked and what we didn't. We finally decided that we really like the goat cheese, prosciutto and plum. I didn't mind the arugula but husband wasn't a fan and neither of us liked the "sauce" with the ginger on top. We used 2 different kinds of plums. The reddish one in the picture is called a black plum and the yellowish one is a sweet plum. We got a lot of plum recipes while searching for one so I think we may branch out and try others to see if they are any better. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recipe from Cooking Light

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ¼ cups fig preserves
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• ⅓ cups (3 ounces) soft goat cheese
• 4 (2-ounce) slices country wheat bread toasted
• 1 cups loosely packed arugula
• 2 ripe plums cut into thin wedges
• 3 ounces very thin slices prosciutto

Directions

1. Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring with a whisk; set aside. 2. Spread 3/4 ounce cheese evenly over each bread slice; divide arugula, plum wedges, and prosciutto evenly over sandwiches. Drizzle each sandwich with about 1 tablespoon fig preserves mixture.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 318

Fat: 9.1g

Cholesterol: 26mg

Sodium: 689mg

Carbohydrate: 45.5g

Fiber: 1.9g

Protein: 13.1g

Pear-Walnut Sandwiches

"On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry."

This is the one day I was not worried about at all. I have a million pear recipes but in the spirit of the blog we decided to try something new. This is one of those "what's not to love" meals. Cinnamon raisin bread, good. Pears, good. Cream cheese and walnuts, good and good. But my favorite part was the sprouts. Weird, I know, but I just wanted more. Luckily the sprouts are the least caloric thing about this sandwich so if you like them like me go ahead and pack 'em on there. Husband loved how quick and easy this was and we will definitely make it again. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ½ cups (4 ounces) tub-style light cream cheese
• 8 (1.1-ounce) slices cinnamon-raisin bread toasted
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts toasted
• 2 Bartlett pears cored and thinly sliced
• 1 cups alfalfa sprouts

Directions

1. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese evenly over each of 8 bread slices. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon walnuts evenly over each of 4 bread slices. Top each evenly with pear slices, sprouts, and 1 bread slice. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 335

Fat: 29%

Cholesterol: 15mg

Sodium: 363mg

Carbohydrate: 52.2g

Fiber: 5.9g

Protein: 8.7g

Gouda-Stuffed Chicken with Apples

"On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry."      

       The first recipe in our Very Hungry Caterpillar challenge was something containing apples. We had made this chicken before and I thought I really loved it last time. I was wrong. Husband was right. This was only ok at best. I think the method of cooking the chicken made it taste burnt and dry. The sauce never thickened the way we wanted and the flavors all seemed very separate. They didn't really gel. We'll chalk this one up as a "you can't win 'em all" scenario and the caterpillar can try again tomorrow. 2 out of 5 stars.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 (4 ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 ounces smoked Gouda cut into thin slices
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cups apple cider
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 2 medium Granny Smith or Red delicious apples (about 1/4 lb.) each peeled and cut into 12 wedges
• fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each breast half to form a pocket; divide cheese evenly among pockets. Dredge chicken in flour.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside; and keep warm in a 250 oven. Add broth, apple cider, and garlic to skillet; bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes or until thick and syrupy, stirring occasionally; Add honey and apple wedges, and cook an additional 5 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring to coat apple wedges with sauce.
3. Spoon apple sauce over the chicken, and garnish with fresh rosemary, if desired.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 339

Fat: 9.9 g

Cholesterol: 90 mg

Sodium: 410 mg

Carbohydrate: 29.5 g

Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 32.2 g

The Very Healthy Caterpillar

A few weeks ago I was reading the very hungry caterpillar to Thing 1 when all the sudden I had an idea. We are going to cook through the very hungry caterpillar and find a healthy recipe for EVERYTHING he eats in the story. We plan to start Monday so if you have not read this book please do and if you have read it read it again. It really is a great book. This will be a challenge but will be very fun if we can actually pull it off. It also means we have a fruit bowl full of yummy goodness at the moment. Wish us luck and send us your ideas!