Back in the Habit

Even though the title makes me think of Whoopee Goldberg in “Sister Act,” it still resounds how I’m feeling about cooking. I went off the deep end with candies and sweets over the holidays, and now its time to get back to basic (but delicious!) healthy cooking. For now, I hope to post a few new recipes on here each week. My goal is to get to where I can post a whole weeks menu with nutritional information for you to use, then use the blog to talk more about other fun food related things! We’ll get there…

So today started off excellent…. I actually got out of bed and on the treadmill by 5:15!! Out the door with straightened hair and a packed breakfast and lunch (not to mention a delicious decaf cup of coffee from my Keurig) by 6:40. At 6:48, my car was having a heart attack. You know the sound it makes when your door is ajar, or your husband passenger doesn’t have his seatbelt on? Yes, that sound times 10…in volume and speed…and a blinking light that said “TURN OFF ENGINE.” I obeyed…and called the muffinman from the side of the road.

Since this is a food blog, and not an “about me” blog…the short version is – my car is getting old…..its sensors are failing (kinda like my memory). So, it will be in the shop for a day or 2. However!! When I got to the office, the warm, oatmeal-like breakfast I had packed for myself was not in my lunch bag!!! Apparently I put it in the fridge, and took the yogurt instead. So, yogurt for breakfast; and soup and crackers for lunch. (youre wondering where my recipe for today is, right?!)

Dinner…yeah! The fun part of my day! Tonight is Balsamic Crusted Pork Chops, Cinnamon Apples, Faux Fried Okra (frozen, baked, not fried), and Buttered Noodles (Target brand, prepared light butter). Packages of pork chops were BOGO at Albertsons this weekend, so you will be seeing lots of pork recipes...BUT they are easy to swap with chicken!

Balsamic Crusted Pork Chop (2 servings – 6 pts)
Ingredients
2 3oz boneless lean pork chops
dash of salt and pepper
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 green onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbs light butter or margerine

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line a small metal baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray
3. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork and place in the prepared baking pan
4. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, green onion, and garlic together
5. Pour 1-2 tbs of the tbs of the vinegar mixture over each chop
6. Top each chop with half of the panko
7. Pour butter evenly over the panko
8. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the center is no longer pink

Cinnamon Apples (3 servings, 1 pt)
Ingredients
2 apples of your choice (I usually used McIntosh, but I have granny smith right now)
1 ½ tbs sugar
½ tbs cinnamon
1/8 cup water

Directions
1. Peel and cut the apples into 1 ½” cubes
2. Place the apples, cinnamon and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cover
3. After 2 minutes add in the water and stir. Replace lid
4. Check on apples every 5 minutes for desired tenderness (done when cooked to your liking. Be careful, they will get super soft really fast!)


And for a bonus (which will be for breakfast in the am!!) We received macadamia nuts over Christmas. I love them in cookies, but am avoiding them, so I adapted a WW orange pecan muffin recipe to the one below (I also had no oranges, so we are trying lemon!!)

Lemon-Mac Mini Muffins (24 servings, 1 pt per muffin)
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg white
1 tbs vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup buttermilk *
1 tbs lemon zest
2 tbs dry roasted salted macadamia nuts
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
* In place of the buttermilk, you can place 1 tbs vinegar or 1 tbs lemon juice in a bowl, add enough milk to equal 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then use the amount you need.

Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Arrange 24 mini foil muffin cup liners about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Or spray a mini muffin sheet with cooking spray
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
4. In a separate, small bowl, whisk together egg white, buttermilk, oil, lemon zest, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of nuts.
5. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until combined; do not over mix.
6. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup liner; sprinkle muffin tops with remaining nuts. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes.
7. Move the muffins to a wire rack over a baking sheet, let cool 10 minutes
8. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar with lemon juice
9. Lightly spoon icing over each muffin and let dry


And to finish – here are the nutritional stats for today. Kinda went heavy on dinner since I didn’t eat much throughout the day:
Breakfast - Dannon light n fit vanilla yogurt: 80 cals, 0g fat, 16g carbs, 5 g protein, 0g DF, 2pts
Lunch - 1 can Amys Tomato Bisque, 20 oyster crackers: 300 cals, 9g fat, 53g carbs, 5g protein, 4g DF, 6.5 pts)
Dinner- Balsamic Crusted Pork Chop, 1 serving cinnamon apples, ¼ cup okra, ¼ cup buttered noodles: 762 cals, 21g fat, 92g carbs, 33g protein, 6g DF, 11pts
Snack (b/c I had to try out my muffins!)- 1 Lemon-Mac Mini Muffin: 57 cals, 2g fat, 10g carbs, 1g DF, 0g protein, 1 pt
Total: 1198 calories, 43g fat, 171g carbs, 44g protein, 10g DF, 19.5 pts