Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

I LOVE cherries.  I LOVE ice cream.  Combined, they are absolutely magical.  I tend to be pretty big on seasonal eating and flavors so I am especially partial to the idea of fresh fruit and home made ice cream on a hot summer's day.  Lucky for me, my craving for cherry vanilla ice cream hit towards the beginning of fall when there are still fresh cherries available at the super market without having to resort to the frozen ones. 

For some reason, it's damn near impossible to get decent, pure cherry vanilla ice cream around here.  Either it's made with maraschino cherries - which is all sorts of fake, corn-syrupy, oversugariness that I can't stand - or it's combined with chocolate chips - which I HATE in ice cream (not a popular opinion, I'm a huge weirdo, I know).  And then of course there's the issue of health.  I love ice cream but that's usually accompanied by way too much sugar and fat.  If you go with a "diet" ice cream, it's more often than not loaded with artificial sweeteners and way less flavorful or creamy.  I don't particularly think there should be a trade off between health and flavor.  That's why I set to create a pure cherry vanilla ice cream (I used a Cuisinart ice cream maker) that maintains its creaminess and flavor without throwing you off track if you're trying to lose weight and/or eat better and cleaner. 

I have to say, I was impressed with the results.  Fat free vanilla Greek yogurt gives the ice cream a sweet tangy flavor and a thicker consistency.  I've been on a mission to up the amount of protein I eat per day so both the yogurt and the fat free cottage cheese are great sources for that.  Even if you're not into cottage cheese - seriously trust me on this one and add it anyways.  The cottage cheese blends smooth and there's NO weird discernible cottage cheese flavor.  As mentioned, I'm a protein nut so I also added a scoop of vanilla whey protein I got from Whole Foods.  I pit and slice the cherries myself and after "marinading" in the ice cream, the ice cream takes on a pretty pink color and the cherries develop a slightly vanilla taste. 

So, there you go.  An ice cream low in fat, high in protein, and high in antioxidants and anthocyanins (fights inflammation) courtesy of the cherries (total super fruit) - all with ingredients you can pronounce.   I've been replacing my morning smoothie with this and I must say - any day that starts off with ice cream for breakfast is destined to be a good one :)  Enjoy!

Ingredients (8 servings at 1/2 cup pp):

• 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 2 cups fat free vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Trader Joe's)
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 scoop designer vanilla whey protein (I used Whole Foods)
• 2 cups pitted cherries 
• a couple of drops of almond extract

Recipe:

1. Pit the cherries and coarsely chop them.  I prefer to have BIG cherry chunks in my ice cream.
2. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker (I use one by Cuisinart)
3. Combine all the ingredients save for the cherries and pour into the ice cream maker.
4. Mix for about 30 minutes.
5. In the last 10 minutes, add the cherries.
6. Enjoy immediately and freeze the rest :)

Approximate Nutritional Info per Serving:

• Calories: 122
• Carbs: 21g
• Fat: 0g
• Protein: 10g

Apple Chicken Salad

After having been gone for the past two weekends and relying heavily on take-out this past week, it feels so good to finally have some home-cooking again!  This last weekend I spent in Paris, Kentucky meeting my boyfriend's family and exploring their 95 acre horse farm.  I had a great time but it is clear, more than ever, that I could never live down South.  It was very slow paced (I'm a million miles an hour 24/7) and to be honest, the sprawling farms were beautiful but the huge amount of space in between homes felt kind of lonely to me. 

One thing they DO have going for them south of the Mason-Dixon line is some ridiculously decadent, killer food (and apparently an obesity epidemic to match).  At this one restaurant in Winchester (Hall's On the River), I was introduced to what could possibly be the most shamefully unhealthy meal I have ever consumed - the Hot Brown.  Even better is that it came with a side of macaroni and cheese.  Needless to say, I'll be kicking my own ass at the gym all week just to make up for that one item of food alone. 

So, since the past week and a half has been spent chowing down on all sorts of naughty things, I figured I'd start this week with something fresh and light to get back on track.  This apple chicken salad is phenom - filling, colorful, tasty, and incredibly low cal/low fat.  It's great on its own or over a bed of field greens or, as I enjoyed it, as a toasted sandwich with brie.  I had marinaded my chicken breast in garlic, salt and pepper, lemon, and a little Italian dressing overnight prior to grilling it so I didn't feel like the salad needed any spices or any additional salt and pepper added - although I guess it comes down to personal taste.  The sweetness and crunch of the apple and bell pepper work perfectly to offset the savory taste of the grilled chicken and onion.  I think this makes a great summer dish - although I can see it working in the fall with fresh seasonal apples as well.  Either way, enjoy guilt-free :)

All the fruits and veggie prior to adding the chicken, sour cream, and mayo.  Love the colors!

Ingredients (4 servings - about a cup/pp):

• 2 cups shredded grilled chicken (mine was marinaded in garlic, salt and pepper, and a little Italian dressing)
• 1 apple diced
• 3 grape tomatoes sliced
• 1/3 cup of sweet bell pepper 
• 1/3 cup of purple onion
• 1/4 cup scallions (green onions)
• 1/4 cup fat free mayo
• 2 tbs fat free sour cream
• lemon juice

 

Recipe:

1.  Dice the apple, squirt with a little lemon juice (to prevent browning) and add to a large bowl.
2. Shred the grilled chicken (make sure it is somewhat cooled post-grilling) and add to the bowl.
3. Add the onions, scallions, pepper, tomatoes, mayo, and sour cream to the bowl.
4. Mix everything together and serve however you like (alone, over field greens, as a sandwich/panini with brie or cheddar, etc.)

Approximate Nutritional Info per Serving:

• Calories: 106
• Carbohydrates: 13g
• Fat: 2g
• Protein: 11g

Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Ugh.  It's just been one of those days.  Despite me having an insane amount of work to get done by upcoming deadlines, the lab building was locked and apparently I'm the only one who didn't get the memo.  We're hitting a serious cold front up here, and I'm surrounded by sick people.  I put a hole in my brand new shirt after I just took out the tags, the package I'm expecting got lost in the mysterious realms of USPS, and I ran out of my favorite bubble bath.

Where can someone turn in clearly dire situations like this?  The obvious answer: a classic comfort food like macaroni and cheese.  For well over a year I have tried countless mac and cheese recipes looking for the perfect one.  Unfortunately, the Kraft blue box (don't judge!) remained the undisputed champion.

Until today.

Inspiration came from a Rachel Ray recipe I saw awhile back for Pumpkin Cheddar Mac and Cheese.  I'm not crazy about pumpkin (I prefer butternut squash) and the recipe seemed a little heavy for my tastes so I set about trying to reinvent mac and cheese in a slightly healthier form while still maintaining all those things that make it so damn good.

I think this recipe was pretty close to success.  It's significantly lighter than a majority of mac and cheeses yet still WAY creamier than any healthier versions that I've tried.  This was the first time I tried something like this though so if you try this and can think of ways to improve it, help a girl out and let me know!

Butternut squashy cheesy goodness

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

• 1 tbs butter
• 1 clove of garlic (I used minced)
• 1/4 tsp of red chili flakes (this definitely gives a kick - use less or more to your liking)
• 1/2 tsp of dry mustard
• 3 or 4 fresh sage leaves roughly chopped
• 1/2 of a small onion roughly chopped
• 2 red bell peppers chopped small
• 10oz (~1.5 cups) butternut squash cut into smallish pieces (I used the pre diced)
• 1/2 tbs flour
• 1 1/8 cups skim milk (I used skim but I bet whole would take this to a whole new level)
• 1 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese (substitute full fat if you'd like)
• 1/2 cup fat free ricotta (substitute as above)
• 1/2 cup of reduced fat blue cheese crumbles (substitute, substitute, substitute)
• 2 cups macaroni
• a scallion or 2 for garnish

Recipe:

1. Boil the macaroni until they are tender but still somewhat firm, drain, and place to the side.  The idea is that you want them cooked, but strong enough to hold their shape when mixed around in the sauce.
2. Set your oven to 375.
3. In a pot melt the butter and add the onions and just one of the bell peppers.  Sautee until the onions start to brown a bit and the peppers are tender.  
4. Next add the garlic, sage, dry mustard, and chili flakes making sure to keep mixing for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the flour and mix so everything is evenly coated.  Keep mixing until the flour starts to brown.
6. Lower the heat and SLOWLY add the milk, mixing all the while.  Bring to a simmer.
7. Add the butternut squash to the pot and simmer until the squash is fork tender.
8. Scoop the entire mix into a regular blender and puree.  
9. Scoop the mix back into its original pot over low heat.  Slowly mix in the ricotta, cheddar, and blue cheese taking care to properly melt the cheeses.
10. Before you mix in the pasta, taste test the sauce!  See if you need more cheese, salt, whatever.  Some people are iffy about blue cheese so add a little at a time until you find what works for you.
11. Combine the macaroni, sauce, and the remainder of RAW bell pepper pieces and move the whole deal into some sort of casserole dish.
12. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
13. Slice up a couple of scallions and sprinkle on top for garnish.

Approximate Nutritional Info per Serving:

• Calories:  290
• Fat: 4g
• Protein: 22g