Dessert Week Offering # 6: Denise's Protein Caramel Macchiato

~by Nikki

A few days ago, my gorgeous friend Denise (waitinggame on OH) sent me this recipe for her Protein Caramel Macchiato. Here's the funny thing...she thinks that I invented it! Bless her heart...

I WISH I could take credit for this but I cannot. It was actually Jen's creation (which I did not know until just recently when Jen pointed it out to me!) but I believe Denise has managed to sneak a bit of extra protein in there.

At any rate, I decided to give this drink a whirl the other day. I'd just finished a particularly strenuous strength training session (note to the gym rats out there: if you lapse in strenght training, I wouldn't advise trying to jump back in where you were before. It can be painful. Just sayin') and my muscles needed the protein and the carbs from the milk for recovery! This made a nice bedtime snack and I could totally see this becoming my new faux-Starbucks fix!

Denise's Decaf Protein Caramel Macchiato

Ingredients:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (Denise uses this)
8 oz milk
2 oz hot water
1 serving instant coffee (or instant decaffeinated espresso)
3 pumps DaVinci sugar-free Caramel syrup
Drizzle of sugar free caramel (I used Smuckers)
Optional: no-calorie sweetener to taste

Denise's Instructions:

Heat the milk in the microwave until nice and hot. While it is warming, mix your protein powder with your SF DaVinci in a large (12oz +) mug and make a creamy paste. Add a bit of cold water if you need more liquid to thin the paste. Once the milk is hot, put a whisk into the milk and spin it like crazy between your hands create foam (or use a frother or immersion blender). Pour the hot milk over the protein paste holding back the foam with a spoon. Add hot water and the instant coffee and stir it well until everything is blended. Pour the foam on top and top with a drizzle of the Smuckers caramel syrup. Enjoy!

This is a warm, comforting drink...and it saves me a trip and the expense of going to 'Bux. Thanks Denise for sending us your version!

Do you have a Thanksgiving dessert plan yet? If not, check out all the offerings of BF Dessert Week here and get to mixin'! We have some ideas for last minute yummies tomorrow should you need them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dessert Week Offering # 5: Nik's "Portion Control" Cheesecakes

(Warning: this is a long post. Go get a cup of coffee or tea and come back...I'll wait...)

Cheesecake. It is a wonderful thing and I don’t think anybody…not one single person…should be deprived of it.

But cheesecake is kind of hard to work into our daily plans, isn’t it? It’s richness makes it filling but, in and of itself, it doesn’t have sufficient protein to count as a “meal.”

Well, what if that weren’t so? What if you had a way to eat a controlled portion of cheesecake that gives you a decent amount of protein and fiber? Would you embrace cheesecake then?

(“Sign me up!”)

You may have already seen my recipe for banana cheesecake. Yummy though it is, I always have a bit of a portion control problem on my hands with that thing. Namely, I want to eat the whole darn thing! Unfortunately (fortunately?) my pouch doesn’t put me on lockdown until I’ve had a good bit of it. So…this started as an experiment in portion control.

Four lil' cheesecakes, reporting for duty! Pay no attention to the cracks...we'll talk about them in a minute.

So I put them in 4 ounce ramekins. Worked like a charm! Even figured out how to make just four—one for me, one for each of the divas and one for my lunch the next day. But then, as I got to making these lil’ things more and more, I realized there is an opportunity here for something WONDERFUL. Customization!

I’m giving you the basic recipe for my cheesecake and then I’ll give you tips on how to add a little variety.

Nik’s Basic Cheesecake Recipe
(makes 4 servings)

1 – 8 oz. package Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
4 oz. unflavored non-fat Greek yogurt
1 egg
½ - ¾ c. Splenda (depending on your sweetness tolerance and what you are adding to it)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 scoops unflavored protein (these days I use BiPro USA unflavored whey)

Optional: 1/4 c. sugar-free syrup of your choice. I recommend starting out with something like sugar-free caramel.

(“That’s it?”) Yes, that’s it!

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Mix cream cheese, yogurt, protein powder, syrup and Splenda well. Add in egg and lemon juice and mix again. To mix, you can use a handmixer in a bowl. I used my Magic Bullet. Much easier clean-up!

Me putting my ingredients in my Bullet.

Pour the cheesecake filling into the 4 ounce ramekins. Place all ramekins either in a creme brulee set, or if you are poor like me, simply place them in a baking pan. Fill the pan with warm water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

"Look Ma! Po' folk can make cheesecake too!"



Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until they are set (how can you tell? Jiggle a ramekin. If it quivers, it's not done yet!). Then turn off your oven, prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon and allow the cheesecakes to cool down with the oven. Remove and cool further on the counter.

("For real,  Nikki, that's it??? Don't play with my emotions!") YES...that's it!

Now let's talk about those cracks. Those are not a result of the ingredients or the methodology. Those are a direct result of...Murphy's Law. I made these this morning and had to take the girls to school. The cakes had about 15 minutes to go. I said to myself "I'll just leave 'em in there. It only takes 5 minutes to get to the school and back..." Famous last words. We all know when we say that there'll be two traffic jams and some construction. There was and it took me 30 minutes to make a trip that should have been five minutes. Hence, they were a bit overcooked. If you cook them the appropriate amount of time that will NOT happen. :)

So let’s talk customization. There's three places, from my perspective, where you can change things up:

• The Filling
• The Crust
• The topper

The Crust

I went crustless with these (in the interest of time) but here are a few ideas

Nik's Beloved Fiber One Crust:
(makes enough for the above recipe)

½ c. Fiber One original cereal
2 tbsp light butter spread
1 tbsp Splenda

Directions:

In a mini-food processor pulse cereal until a crumb mixture forms. Pulse in butter until well mixed.

Press ¼ of mixture into each ramekin and top with cheesecake mix

Whole Wheat Cheerios Crust (more resembles graham cracker in texture):

½ c. whole wheat Cheerios
2 tbsp light butter spread
1 tbsp Splenda

Directions:

Same as Fiber One Crust

The Filling

Here's the REALLY important question: was the non-cocoa mix jealous of the cocoa mix? What do you think?

I did two different fillings. In the basic cheesecake, I put some Davinci sugar-free caramel mix. The others, of course, were chocolate, using cocoa powder. But the possibilities are endless. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (omit the lemon if you do chocolate)
• 2 tbsp of virtually any sugar-free pudding mix
• 2 tbsp decaffeinated instant espresso mixed with 1 tbsp water (to make a paste...this is especially good in conjunction with the cocoa powder but you'd need to bump up the Splenda to 1.25 c. to accommodate the bitterness)

The Toppers

There are two types of toppers, in my opinion. "True" toppers and swirls.

For true toppers, you can simply purchase a can of no-sugar added pie filling of your choice (except pumpkin...I don't see that working out well) and spooning it on top. Cherry and Strawberry work well. Or you can simply use fresh fruit like berries.

The photo at the top of this post is inspired by Jen's Banana Pudding. I topped the chocolate one with some whipped cream, no-calorie chocolate syrup and a wedge of a Thin Mint cookie. Do whatever inspries YOU!



I did not do a swirl but for a swirl you could use:

• No sugar added jelly or preserves (nuked for about 10 seconds to liquify)
• Melted chocolate
• Sugar free caramel syrup (like the kind that goes on a sundae)

To achieve a swirl, you'd pour your cheesecake mixture into your ramekins and then put a dime sized dollop of whatever you are swirling on top of the mixture. Use a butter knife to create a swirl pattern.

 Don't be disheartened if you get minor cracks in your cheesecake (bad decison making notwithstanding). I JUST made my first crack free cheesecake (since I am from Baltimore...insert obligatory "The Wire" joke here...yes, yes...chuckle, chuckle...) and I just so happen to have a picture of it. Lookit:



It was like Christmas morning to see a crack free cheesecake, but keep in mind I've been making them for YEARS!

Any way you slice it, this cheesecake recipe and method is a keeper for us WLS folk! I hope you enjoy it as a part of your holiday feasts.

BF Crafty Corner: Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas Part 1

~~posted by Jen  


"Hello, my name is Jen, and I am addicted to seasonal decorating. I hit rock bottom when I had a temper tantrum at Christmas Tree Shoppe in Freehold, NJ because they only had 5 matching placemats for my tablescape and I needed 6."

Yes, I admit it. No shame here. I love for my house and yard to be decorated for every season or holiday. There is a very good reason my neighbors used to call me the Martha Stewart of Cliffwood Beach! Sadly, I don't live in Cliffwood Beach anymore.

What I am calling home these days is not "my" house, but in my inimitable fashion, I have stepped up to the challenge of making it mine. Not that the actual homeowners are always on board with that plan, but fear is a powerful motivator in small doses. Especially when it's coated in a sweetly irresistible accent. Not that I ever use that to my advantage or anything ***eyelash flutter***.

ANYWAY...since I know many of you share my love of making things look pretty, we decided to add a new feature called "Crafty Corner" to share holiday decorating ideas. We typically show some easy ideas at our regional Pouch Party™ events, like the Holiday Preview we just did in Baltimore. So it only made sense to share a few with you here on the blog as well!

My decorating budget is considerably less than what it once was, but I still like to make things look nice. It's important to me and, most of all, it makes me HAPPY! So I put together a few simple and inexpensive ideas for centerpieces for your Thanksgiving table.

If your Thanksgiving set up is anything like mine typically is, there will be several tables with food in addition to the main dining table. I like to place a small decorative item on each table, with the main centerpiece on the larger table where we'll actually be eating.

The cheaply chic crafter's best friend is a trifle bowl. It's more cost effective to get the set of several, that way you have plenty for both decorations AND delicious desserts like my Chocolate Trifle. I promise we will share many, many ways to utilize said trifle bowls in the future! Hey, maybe I should write a book....1001 things to do with a trifle bowl. No? Just a thought.

S'anyway, here's a pretty and simple idea using things you most likely already have or that are easy to find.
Layer small pine cones, baby pumpkins (real or plastic), and some autumn-colored flowers in a trifle bowl until it's full to the top.

Shown here on a cornucopia table runner ($5 from Dollar General) with plastic pumpkin topiaries on each side ($2 at Michael's). This entire set up cost $18 including the trifle bowl.

This looks very pretty on your table AND doesn't cost a fortune! Don't have a trifle bowl? No problem! Use the same items in a gold or brown basket. Bonus with the gold one, you can use it for Christmas also.

Basket was on clearance at Michael's for $3, so this whole set up cost $12 and looks quite elegant.

Now a couple of ideas for the actual buffet tables, or maybe even at individual place settings if you have a more intimate gathering for dinner. I love the challenge of finding things I already have in the house and re-purposing them for holiday decorations. These vintage green glass ice cream dishes have been in my cupboard just gathering dust, but they make a beautiful autumn votive holder with a green or gold candle burning in it. I placed a couple of the small items around it just to dress it up a bit.

The votives are great if you want to make sure your guests can see each other clearly over the centerpieces. You could also do a grouping of these together to make a larger "centerpiece."

Much like we tell you to play with your food and come up with your own twists on our recipes, mix it up and get creative with the things you already have to make something pretty and impressive. Tomorrow we'll share a few more ideas for quick and inexpensive decor.

Dessert Week Offering #1: Apple Brown Nik

 

Dessert Week was a featured week in 2010 to highlight healthy desserts that can be enjoyed during the holidays after weight-loss surgery. For more holiday recipe ideas, check out The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide on Amazon.

Weight loss surgery brothers and sisters! (Especially newbies) I have some good news to share.

Dessert isn't evil and, yes, you can have it! So in this series of posts I'll show you some sensible desserts. Some will be protein added, some not, some will be quick to put together, while others will have a few more steps. We hope this helps you decide how to finish off your stellar Thanksgiving meal!

First up is a classic from the Bariatric Foodie coffers. Apple Brown Nikki! I started making this my first year post-op. Last year, you might remember, the family became aware of its yumminess. This year I'm going in prepared. I'm making two of these!

This was all that was left of last year's batch!

Apple Brown Nikki

Ingredients:

• 5 - 6 Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, and sliced
• 3 tbsp Blue Bonnett Light (or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light...I'm not picky)
• 1/2 - 1 cup (depending on your sweetness tolerance) + 1 tbsp no-calorie sweetener
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 chopped hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
• 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal

Directions:

1. In a pan, melt "butter." Add apples, cup of Splenda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sautee until apples are considerably softened. Set aside.
2. In a dry pan, toast the hazelnuts and walnuts until browned.
3. In a blender or food processor, combine both types of cereal, remaining Splenda, and nuts until a crumb mixture forms.
4. Place apples in a casserole dish (I used a 9 x 13). Top with crumb mixture and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until apple mixture is bubbling up through openings in the crumb AND crumb mixture is brown.

Some additional tips for this dish:

• If you are newer out and not having a big dinner (hence, you can't pawn most of this off on family), get yourself some small ramekins, reduce the recipe down to 2-3 apples, place your cooked apples in the ramekins, sprinkle with the topping and place all the ramekins on a cookie sheet to bake. Perfect portion control!
• If you want a little bit more of a sophisticated taste, try adding in a quarter cup of Davinci sugar-free Butter Rum syrup to your apples while they are cooking.
• For a little extra "oomph" on your topping, place your whipped topping in a bowl and gently fold in 2-3 tablespoons sugar-free hazelnut syrup (or any other favorite syrup, I find sugar-free French Vanilla syrup works well too), a dash of cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg and then set it out as a topper.

This is an easy, no muss, low mess alternative to the traditional apple pie that gives you lots of fiber in return. If you make a batch of your own, be sure to snap a pic and send it our way! Enjoy!