To die for chocolate chip cookies

I've had a serious craving for chocolate chip cookies.
I mean, aren't chocolate chip cookies, the best cookie on earth?

So, I decided to satisfy my craving, in a Deliciously Healthy way, by making these:

What you need:

• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter- divided
  
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon low-fat milk
  
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips- divided
  

What you do:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl, and set aside.
   
2. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown (1 to 3 minutes). Pour butter into a bowl. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
3. Add both sugars, salt, milk and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until smooth. Add egg and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in 6 tablespoons of chocolate chips.
   
4. Divide dough into 16 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Press the remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies.
   
5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time for 8-11 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack.

Here's what I'm thinkin':
Makes 16 cookies
Serving size: 1 cookie
Calories per serving: 120 calories

They were perfect.

Seriously.

What's your favorite cookie?

Easy Apple Dumplings, and my :Deliciously Healthy Thanksgiving Menu

The one and only Pioneer Women has this amazingly delicious apple dumpling recipe. It involves 2 sticks of butter,
1 1/2 cups of sugar, and 2 cans of mountain dew, among other things.

It's so good...but you know that's going to go
straight to my hips.

I also love her recipe, because it's very, very simple and quick. The prep time is seriously like 10 minutes.

Simple + Delicious = It has to find a place at my Thanksgiving table this year.

I just had to figure out how to lighten them up a bit.
A little less heart-attack in a casserole dish, and more Deliciously Healthy.

And I think that's exactly what I did.

I cut out some of the sugar, cut the butter in half, and used
apple cider in lieu of mountain dew.And it tastes exactly the same.
That always amazes me.

(because I was experimenting with this, I cut the recipe in half, making only 8 dumplings, instead of 16. I've listed the full recipe, but my pictures are of half the recipe)

Deliciously Healthy Apple Dumplings:

What you need:

• 2 granny smith apples
• 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 stick of smart balance buttery spread (it's half butter, half margarine... and half the cal.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• cinnamon

What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Peel and core apples, then cut each apple into 8 slices, so you end up with 16 apple slices. Roll out the crescent roll dough. Then roll up an apple slice into each of the crescent rolls. Lay them side by side in your greased baking dish. Melt 1 stick of butter in sauce pan over low heat. When butter is melted, add apple cider, sugar, vanilla, and just barely stir together. You want it to be lumpy. Poor the mixture over the top of the dumplings. Sprinkle cinnamon over top, and bake for 30-40 minutes. Then get ready for some warm gooey goodness.
My husband may, or may not have screamed like a girl when he had one.I added a little low-fat whipped cream. It would be divine with vanilla ice cream.

info:
servings: 16
serving size: 1 dumpling
calories per serving: 230
How many calories are in a traditional slice of apple pie? 410!
I nearly cut the calories in half.
I'm making these apple dumplings in lieu of apple pie. Because by the time you're done eating your turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and everything else, there's just no room to eat 5 different kinds of pie. You always hope there's going to be, but there never is. These apple dumplings are going to be the perfect solution, to the too many pies problem. A slice of pumpkin pie, and one of these, and I'm
good to go.

What other Deliciously Healthy yumminess is going to be on my table?
Funny you should ask:

• Turkey, of course ;)
• Mashed potatoes
• Gina's stuffing
• Whole wheat rolls
• Cranberry sauce out of the can. Thanksgiving isn't thanksgiving to me, without a can shaped mold of cranberry sauce on the table.
• And pumpkin pie. This is going to be this Monday's kitchen adventure. Wish me luck, and tune in on Monday to see how it goes!

I hope everyone has a very happy, and healthy thanksgiving!

Brittany's Kitchen Adventures- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Welcome to Brittany's Kitchen Adventures!
Before going on a "diet", I had practically never stepped foot inside the kitchen. I've had to teach myself how to cook/bake, but there's still a lot of things I've never tried, because they intimidate me. I'm a Deliciously Healthy cook/baker in training. Come on a journey with me as I conquer the kitchen! Every Monday, I pick something new and challenging to try in the kitchen! I blog about each kitchen adventure, whether it was a success or not. There's bound to be some disasters, but hopefully a lot of Deliciously Healthy successes!

A while ago (like as in a very long time ago. Okay, okay, it was LAST thanksgiving:), I bought everything to make pumpkin cinnamon roll cupcakes. Sounds yummy right? I thought so too. Everyday, I thought about making them, and everyday, I chickened out. Soon, the pumpkin season was over. As it rolled around this year, these popped in my mind everyday, just like before. But I was still too intimidated to make them. Yeast? Rise? Kneading? Hmmm. That's a whole lot of scariness right there. I saw it very fitting to make these for my first Kitchen Adventure. These weekly adventures are all about me trying new things, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone, so I can one day conquer the kitchen!

I got out all the ingredients, took a deep breath, and got started.

I started with "activating" the yeast. That was pretty scary to me. I don't know why. Now I know that all it involves is pouring a packet of yeast into 1/4 cup of warm water. What's so hard about that? See, I'm already growing. Master yeast: CHECK!

Next I put the first 9 ingredients into a mixer to combine everything, then pulled out the dough to knead it. That part was intimidating, hard on my hands, and fun at the same time! 10 minutes later, the dough was kneaded, smooth, and my hands were dead!
I kneaded dough for the first time! Yay me!
(Oh yeah, I cut my hair:)
Then you're supposed to cover the dough, and store it in a warm place for 45 minutes to let it rise. ???. What counts as a warm place? A little bit of stress kicked in at this point. Where the heck do I put this thing? My house is 69 degrees. I don't think that counts as warm. So, I turned on the oven for a couple minutes, then turned it off, and set the bowl in there, for 45 min.
Is there a better way to do this? What do you do?
It seemed to do the trick. It said if it leaves indents when you poke it with your fingers, then it's done rising. Looks like indents to me!
From this point, I started to get a little more comfortable. I rolled it out into a rectangle sprinkled the cinnamon mix, and the pecans, over the dough rolled it up cut it, and put it into the muffin pan. Then I stood in front of the oven, and watched the heavenly goodness, rise out of the pan!
Hot out of the oven:
When they were done, I drizzled the glaze over the top of the cupcakes, with a pipping bag and viola! They were done!
I did it!

And they are pretty darn yummy! And only 219 calories!

And if I can do it, YOU can do it!! Go HERE for the recipe!
I added 3 TBS of pecans to the mix, and I made them into cupcakes. Cause cupcakes are just better :)
Come back every Monday, and watch me try something new!

I think next week I'm going to make pumpkin pie, for the first time! Cause we gotta get ready for Thanksgiving people :D

I Got My Cooking/Baking Mojo Back!

This past week, I've had nothing but one recipe disaster after the other.
It was super frustrating, and I started to wonder if I should get my butt out of the kitchen. Aside from driving me crazy (and broke), this problem was rather inconvenient. I have a hungry husband to feed!

But I didn't give up. I tried one recipe after the other.
Finally, I got my mojo back!

We are really excited about this, here at our house.
We have the yummy aroma of a good home cooked meal, filling our house again.

This meatloaf recipe from Good Housekeeping,
is what got me out of my cooking funk.
It was tasty!(it tasted better then it looks. I promise ;)
Wanna make it? Click HERE for the recipe!

Then tonight I made these heavenly
Doughnut Muffins:I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs,
Slim Shoppin'
She is awesome. Deliciously. Awesome.
I loved these, and I think it was the easiest muffin recipe I've ever made.
I tried linking you to the recipe, but it didn't work. Here's the recipe I got off her site:

1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup flax seed, ground
½ cup vanilla yogurt (I used light)
½ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
1 egg
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¾ cup skim milk
3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Just mix everything together until it’s combined. Try not to over stir.

Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, and bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle muffins with cinnamon and sugar, before baking.

Calories for each muffin: 175 calories, 6.5 grams of fat 25 carbs and 1.5 grams of fiber.

It feels nice to cook up a deliciously healthy storm again!

Now I'm in the cooking and baking mood!
I think fall does that to you. Does it not?

I've found lots of yummy recipes on blogs, that I can't wait to try!

If you have any deliciously healthy recipes you think I should try, what are you waiting for?
Share them with me!
Please ;D

Satisfying My Cravings, in a Deliciously Healthy Way

TOM has arrived.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that it's a personal triumph every time TOM comes on it's own, because with my PCOS, it never used to. I hadn't seen it since June, so I was definitely happy, and proud of the fact that my body did what it was supposed to this month.

It reminds me that I'm not only losing weight, I'm on the road towards becoming :Deliciously Healthy also!

BUT, PMS will always be PMS. And I am
craving chocolate!

I could try to ignore this urge for chocolate, but sometimes that does more harm then good. Like sending me straight to a carton of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream for instance.

I find it better to give in. I just have to do it in moderation, and follow my deliciously healthy motto.

Remember these
Naturally Peanut Butter Cookies I made a while back? You know, the ones that had 75% less PB and 50% less butter then the original, yet they tasted better?
Yeah, those.Today I made them again (they are so, so good!), but this time, I spread a little Nutella on them!I'm pretty sure I was in heaven while I was eating that cookie.Pretty. Darn. Sure.

Rewarding Myself (Homemade face mask/scrub and a treat!)

Lately I feel like I've been on a roll!
It dawned on me the other day, that
I'm actually doing this!

I feel so good inside, and I'm really quite proud of myself!
I'm taking care of myself for the first time in like...EVER!!

Last night I decided I wanted to reward myself, by doing something fun, and pampering myself!

What did I do?
I made a homemade face scrub and mask!

Honey Almond Face Scrub:4 tsp milk
4 tsp honey
4 tbsp ground almonds
mix and apply (makes 4)

Oatmeal Face Mask/Scrub:4 Tbsp. ground oatmeal (not instant)
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
8 tsp. yogurt
Mix and apply (makes 4)
*This can be a scrub or a mask! (I used it as a mask)It was fun to make, and my skin felt so soft after!
Like seriously soft :D

Today I wanted to reward myself by making a
deliciously healthy treat for me and the hubs.
(I heart baking)

I made the hubs' favorite dessert, with a chocolate twist on it this time! (Because I also heart chocolate.)
Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cupcakes!I did the same recipe as before, only this time I used chocolate cake mix instead of white!It's oh so good!!
And only 220 calories!

It felt good to take a little time out to reward myself, and give myself a little high 5!
I have almost lost 40 pounds you know ;)
(I can't wait to take the "almost" out of that sentence! I'm gettin' there:)

Tomorrow I'm going to announce the GIVEAWAY winner on the original giveaway post!
You can still enter until midnight tonight!
Be sure to check it out tomorrow to see if you won!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! ;D

Ring PoPsicles! (and a giveaway!)

Today I was roaming around Ross, looking at all the things I'd love to buy if I had the Doe (Have I ever told you how much I LOVE Ross?).

I saw a stack of Ring Posicle molds that were on hold, and I was told there were none left.

"Nerds!"

"But wait! What's that?"
2 boxes were on some random shelf! 2!(I couldn't get the price sticker off. Don't judge;)
So, I grabbed one for me, and one for you!!

I went home, and made yummy, all natural,
Deliciously Healthy Ring PoPsicles!:
Although you don't need ring popscile molds to make these. You can use any popsicle mold, or make your own with popsical sticks and candy cups like bakerella did!

These were so much fun and simple to make! But most of all, they were fun and yummy to eat!

Here's the scoop! :(the box said to fill them half way, because they would expand, but they didn't expand that much, so I think I could have put more in)
In a blender put 1 cup of sliced strawberries (you can use any fruit you want), 1/2 a tbs of sugar, 1/2 a tsp of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and blend until smooth.
I put vanilla yogurt at the bottom of some of the molds, then poured the strawberry goodness into the molds.
Into the freezer they went for 4 hours (that part was hard;).
When the 4 hours was up (and not a second later) the hubs and I dug into those ring pops like two 5 year old kids on a hot summer day!
The yogurt and fruit ones were our favorite!
If you would like to enter to win this adorableness, just leave a comment on this post (even if it's your first time. Don't be shy!;) telling me what your favorite flavor Ring Pop is! Mine is grape!
I will announce the winner next Friday (8/06)!"He makes my heart melt, like a popsicle on the 4th of July."
Name that movie! ;D

And the winner is...

Sara!
She said, "Oh those are so fun!
I am so with you....mine is grape too!
-Sara"

CONGRATULATIONS Sara!!

Thank you to everyone who stops by my blog, and entered the giveaway!
xoxo

It's Ice Cream Season...

Every time I hear the jingle of the ice cream truck coming down my street, I'm reminded of it.
I swear Mr. Ice Cream Man drives extra slow when driving by my house.
He's saying to himself, "Hmm, wasn't there some chunky girl who would always run out of this house, waving money in the air, as she chased me down the street?"
Yes Mr. Ice cream man, that was me. But "WAS" is the key word there.

The new (and slimmer) me, comes up with Deliciously Healthy ways to enjoy the summer. Like fruit parfaits, in ice cream cones:

Here's what you'll need:

• All natural, low fat vanilla yogurt
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Waffle ice cream cones

This is what you do:

• Wash, and slice strawberries
  
• Wash blueberries
• In waffle cone, add a spoon full of vanilla yogurt, then fruit, another spoonful of yogurt, and top it off with fruit. I wouldn't recommend doing more then 2 layers. It gets kinda messy if you do... trust me ;)
• Put cones in the freezer, just until they're chilled..right before they start to freeze (about an hour) **or you could just eat em' up, and skip the freezer :)
  

Here's What I'm Thinking:

• Calories: About 110 for one cone

Or you can add almonds to the mix:

(Calories: 190)

Or some dark chocolate chips!(Calories: 190)

Or you could buy those little tiny waffle cones, fill them with yogurt and fruit, and serve them as little appetizers at a party!
You with me?! :D

Take that Mr. Ice Cream Man!
I no longer need you, or your fudgesicles!
These are way better!

Movie Night, With Deliciously Healthy Popcorn!

Tomorrow night, I'm surprising my husband with a
movie date!
(I got this super cute idea from Love, Actually!)(Believe it or not, my husband has actually wanted to see this movie since it came out, but we've never got around to watching it!:)

I made up the movie ticket for him on the computer, and tonight I taped it to his steering wheel, so he'll see it as he's leaving for work tomorrow morning!
SHHHH! ;D


Today I had to figure out what movie type snacks we would have on our date!!
I may want to have a date with my sweetheart, but I don't want to gain any love pounds! So I've been in the kitchen experimenting with
Deliciously Healthy popcorn ideas!

Here's what I came up with:

Cheesy Popcorn:

Here's What You Need:

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
• salt

This is What You Do:

• Add 3-4 popcorn kernels to 2 TBLS oil.
  
• Heat on stove top with pot covered
• Wait for those 3-4 kernels to pop (The reason for the test kernels is to have your oil hot enough to pop all the kernels. This method helps to reduce the chance of burning your popcorn.)
• Pour 1/3 cup kernels in the pot
• Once you pour the 1/3 cup kernels in the pot, cover pot again and shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. I shook the pot about every 5-10 seconds. The kernels will soon start popping all at once. Be sure to leave lid on! Those things pop pretty high with out it!
• When the popping starts slowing down, remove from heat.
• Gently stir in cheese and salt.
  

Here's what I'm thinking:

• Servings: 8
• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories per serving: 109
  

Coconut Popcorn:

Here's What You Need:

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 2 TBS coconut oil
• Salt
  

**Note: I haven't tried this yet, but I think it would be super good if you added shreds of coconut to the mix, to add a little more coconut flavor.

This is what you Do:

• Add 3-4 popcorn kernels to 2 TBLS coconut oil.
  
• Heat on stove top with pot covered
• Wait for those 3-4 kernels to pop (The reason for the test kernels is to have your oil hot enough to pop all the kernels. This method helps to reduce the chance of burning your popcorn.)
• Pour 1/3 cup kernels in the pot
• Once you pour the 1/3 cup kernels in the pot, cover pot again and shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. I shook the pot about every 5-10 seconds. The kernels will soon start popping all at once. Be sure to leave lid on! Those things pop pretty high with out it!
• When the popping starts slowing down, remove from heat
• Add salt to taste
  

Here's What I'm Thinking:

• Servings: 8
• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories per serving: 59

Kettle Corn:

Here's What You Need:

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 4 TBS sugar
• Salt

This is What You do:

• Add 3-4 popcorn kernels to 2 TBLS oil.
  
• Heat on stove top with pot covered
• Wait for those 3-4 kernels to pop (The reason for the test kernels is to have your oil hot enough to pop all the kernels. This method helps to reduce the chance of burning your popcorn.)
• Pour 1/3 cup kernels in the pot, and the 1/2 cup of sugar.
  
• Once you pour the 1/3 cup kernels and the sugar in the pot, cover pot again and shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. I shook the pot about every 5-10 seconds. The kernels will soon start popping all at once. Be sure to leave lid on! Those things pop pretty high with out it!
• When the popping starts slowing down, remove from heat.

Here's What I'm Thinking:

• Servings: 8
• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories per serving: 81

Making the popcorn is really quite fun!! It would be a great activity to do together, or a fun family activity!

Along with the popcorn, I also got some candy that you might see at the theater!
Mike and Ike for the hubs, and Junior Mints for Moi! I know, I know, not the healthiest thing in the world. Out of the all the (chocolate) candy that's out there, I think York Peppermint Patties, and Junior Mints, are a couple of the lower calorie options. I'm excited!

Psst... If there are any guys out there reading this post, you will simply melt your lady's heart if you do this for her, and she'll love you for ever and ever!
I guarantee it! ;D

Celebrating Some Sweet Victories, With Cupcakes!

Tomorrow, I'm going to have lunch with some friends, and I'm in charge of the dessert!

I've been trying to come up with the perfect Deliciously Healthy dessert to bring, that will be delicious for them, and low cal for me!

In the process, I ended up making my husbands "new favorite dessert". As we both tried it for the first time tonight, he was seriously raving about it! So much so that I had to tell him to stop, because it was getting kinda annoying! ;)

So what is my husbands new favorite dessert?

Strawberry Cream Cupcakes:
Here's What You Need:

For the Cupcakes:

~ I box of white cake mix

~1/2 a cup of low-fat sour cream
~1 egg
~1 tablespoon of water
~1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the strawberry cream mixture:
~2 tsp of sugar
~1 cup of sliced strawberries
~1 1/2 cups of low-fat whipped topping

For the strawberry topping:
~1 cup of sliced strawberries

Final topping:
~1/2 cup low-fat whipped topping

This is What You Do:

For cupcakes:
~Pre-heat oven to 350
~Whisk together all the ingredients until blended
~Dived into 12 paper cups.
~Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

For strawberry whipped cream mixture:
~In a sauce pan, combine 1 cup of sliced strawberries, and 2 tsp of sugar. Cook over medium/low heat, until soft.
~Place cooked strawberries in a blender and blend until it's a thick puree. Pour mixture into a bowl, and put into the fridge or freezer until it's cooled COMPLETELY.
~When the strawberry mixture is cooled completely, gently mix it into 1 1/2 cups of low-fat whipped cream.
**Note: You could place the sliced strawberries with the 2 tsp of sugar in a bowl, and let sit for 30min. Then blend it in the blender.

Assembly:
~Take cupcakes out of their paper cups, and cut the tops off of the cupcakes
~Layer the toppings evenly among all 12 cupcakes. Starting with the strawberry cream mixture, sliced strawberries, lid (cupcake top), and a small dollop of low-fat whipped cream.
**Note: If you put the strawberry cream mixture, and the whipped cream in piping bags (or a ziplock bag with corner snipped off), it makes it a little quicker and easier to assemble. Plus, it makes everything a little prettier in the end :)

Here's what I'm Thinking:

Servings: 12
Serving size: 1 cupcake with toppings
Calories per serving: 220MMM!

***

These past couple days, I've celebrated some fun victories! :

#1. Today's weigh in had me at 169! I've lost 3 pounds this week, and I'm FINALLY in the 160's!! Yay! I'm only 3 pounds away from losing 40 pounds! :D

#2. Feeling all excited over my good weigh in, I decided to go into my closet, to see if I could fit into anything that I haven't been able to. Guess what?! I totally did!
I fit back into one of my favorite button down shirts! I haven't been able to wear it in years!
TaDa!Of course when I'm finally able to wear it, it's too dang hot outside... but maybe I'll be able to on a cold/rainy summer day...

#3. On Saturday, the hubs took me out to lunch, to the Cheesecake Factory.
I had decided that would be my off meal for the week. (I don't have scheduled in off meals, but when something like this pops up, I use it as my one off meal for the week). I got the chicken and biscuits (my fav), and of course I could only eat half. Then I broke one of my rules: I brought the leftovers home with me! For the rest of the day, my yummy leftovers were calling me from the fridge. I could barley think of anything else! To eat them, or not to eat them? That was the question! Finally, I made my decision! I opened the fridge, grabbed my leftovers, opened the pantry, and tossed them into the trash! Yes, I know, there are starving people in China, but my yummy leftovers were either going to my hips, or in the trash. I decided they'd be better in the trash!
#4. Today I had a doctors appointment with my rheumatologist/lupus specialist. I hadn't seen her since before I started losing weight (which was bad on my part, since I'm supposed to see her every 2-4 months. Whoops). I'll never get over her reaction to my weight loss! She practically jumped for joy, for me! I heart her. I seriously do. She's the most compassionate, wonderful doctor I've ever met! Her husband is my orthopedic surgeon, and he's the exact same way (match made in heaven right there;)! They're both simply amazing! Any who, back to what I was saying. She pointed out that when I started seeing her almost 5 years ago, I was 185, and that
I was the lowest she had ever seen me!
That felt pretty darn good!

I'm pretty much on cloud nine right about now ;D