Starbucks - Trenta- Why

So Starbucks feels the need to offer a 31 ounce drink - yes just shy of a quart. I'm not sure who this is marketed to and why anyone would need a 31 ounce coffee, but hey.
So a 31 ounce Cafe Mocha with milk has - are you ready - 561 calories, 23 grams of fat and 68 grams of carbohydrate - mostly from sugar. As many calories as a big Mac. Have a 31 ounce Cafe Vanilla Frappachino and there goes 600 calories , about 1/3 of your calories for the day. Sounds like a belly ache to me. A Cafe Latte is a better choice if you are going with the skim milk - 174 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrate- the carbs are from the milk, unless you add some sugar. I do not want to think about how much caffeine is going on here. Add the jitters to the belly ache.

Healthy Cookies - Gluten free

Winter storm Benedict has hit us hard with over a foot of snow. I am quite lucky that I can stay in today. A snow day means a bit a baking has to be done.
One of my dietitian collegues made cookies over the Christmas baking season. I would have to say these were not your typical Christmas cookies. My comment was, "these would be great to take hiking". They were dense, not too sweet, high in protein and fiber. A healthy cookie.
The ingredients being, a banana, chunky peanut butter, honey, rolled oats, whole wheat flour and dried fruit.
Today I decided to try them, but modify they for gluten free. The results were very good. The second batch is cooking now. The bananas add fruit and pottassium. Oats, brown rice flour and flax add fiber. Peanut butter and dry milk powder add protein. The fat is from mono-unsaturated fats in the peanut butter. I added chocolate chips, because I can not help myself.

Banana-Oat Cookies

1 large banana, mashed
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown rice flour (whole wheat pastry flour for non-gluten free)
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup mixture of dried fruits (raisins, dried cranberries and /or cherries) and chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine bananas through vanilla. In a small bowl combine oats through baking soda.
Add the two mixtures together, until well combined. Stir in dried fruit and chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Flatten dough mounds slightly. (Definited do this ) Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Kung Pao with Tofu

The picture is of the Kung Pao with chicken form the December 13th entry. Last night I tried it with tofu, making it vegetarian. I have to say it came out delicious. The sauce has a kick to it and has a deep flavor, and it seeps into the tofu.
Before using tofu in a stir fry, I like to press out some of the water. This makes the firm tofu, firmer for cooking and improves the texture. It's less likely to fall apart, as well. To do this: drain the tofu well, slice it in halve lenth wise, wrap it in a few layers of good paper towel and place it in a collander, under a large bowl. Press down with your hands and then place a heavy object on top.
This can be done several hours ahead or overnight and placed in the refrigerator. In my case, I was not thinking ahead and the tofu had about half an hour to drain. Not optimal, but it was ok.
By using tofu there is a 200 calorie savings if consuming 3 ounce portions of each. The tofu is lower in sodium and fat as well as being higher in calcium. The same amount of tofu does not bring as much protein, 26 grams for the chicken and 7 grams for the tofu. The rice and the veggies in the dish would bring the total protein up to about 15-18 grams. To put this into perspective a 150# person needs about 54-68 grams of protein for a whole day. So for a whole meal the protein content would be just fine.
The older girl has woken, up started talking and she keeps going and going.

Pancakes with Carmalized Apples and Pecans

Don't worry - after I took this picture I wiped down the counter. Smudge was so cute with her leg hanging down.
This morning, after doing 75 minutes of fast walking on the treadmill, while reading an exiting mystery novel, I make buckwheat pancakes with caramelized apples. I have posted the recipe for the pancakes in a previous blog, but have not done so yet for the apple part. The apples have come about, due to my daughter, who prefers her pancakes with applesauce, rather than maple syrup. I don't always have applesauce in the pantry, so I started doing caramelized apples. These are a breeze to do. I start them before I start the pancakes and keep them cooking on low until the pancakes are done.
As I've said before, buckwheat is not wheat. It is gluten free. I like that I can use it as the main flour and everyone like it.
the pancakes simply are: 1 cup buckwheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 Tbsp sugar. 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 4 tbsp melted trans fat free margarine. I add 2 tsp of ground flax seed for more fiber. The dry ingredients are mixed separately from the wet and then combined.
For the apples: slice one or two apples, leave the skin on. Melt 1 tbsp trans fat free margarine in a non stick skillet, toss in 1 tbsp on brown sugar. When this is melted add the apples and simmer over medium heat, add chopped pecans ( 1-2 tbsp). When apples are soft they are done. Serve over the pancakes. They would be good on ice cream as well, I would think.
Pancakes are a great meal for getting in a fruit serving or two. A slice banana and syrup or some blueberries on the top come first to my mind. I like to warm some frozen blueberries in the microwave. The apples too, of course. Fresh cut strawberries with a bit of whipped cream. The trick is to keep the fruit up and the sugar and extra fat down.

Smudge got whisked off the counter and then she snuggled up into the clementine box that she like to use as a bed.

New Years Eve Feast

Happy 20011!!! We are kind of boring for New Years Eve. We stay in. After the craziness of the Christmas season, I a
m pretty tired of cooking, so came about our New Years tradition of the no cook feast. It is modeled after the Swedish smogasbord. The rule is that nothing used has to be cooked or required much preparation besides cutting. It always includes smoked salmon, various cut up vegetables, a fruit or two (usually pears and apples), we have a cheese or two - almost always some brie- which we warm in the microwave, a cook bread and crackers. As you can see, all of the food groups are represented.The meal comes out to be pretty healthy, as long as we do not eat too much, and keep the cheese down to a minimum. But, it is New Years and one of our favorite meals of the year. We love the paring of pear and brie. I love the smoked salmon on good bread with some onion and cucumber. We use gluten free crackers for my hubby to use as a carrier. Other than the bread, everything else is gluten free. No recipes involved just: smoked salmon, brie, sliced pear, sliced apple, onion or scallion, sliced tomato, sliced cucumber - any other veggie, like baby carrots, red peppers, gluten free crackers, seafood salad. Grapes are good, as is hummus, salsa, tortilla chips, sliced turkey or ham. Just so long as it follows the no cooking rule. This also makes clean up easy. Very good for the morning after.
This year I had everything set up nice on the coffee table. We have a new kitten, who is very interested in our food. He jumped up onto the table. When I went to grab him, a claw or two were snagged into the table cloth. Over went a glass of iced tea and wet half the table cloth. the food was spared, the most important thing. The kitten was sequestered, the mess blotted up and the meal went on.

So - skal and Happy New Year