Whole Wheat Cheez-Its

A few weeks back I was blown away by my girl Ann's recipe for Homemade Cheez-Itz! They looked so super delicious and easy I knew I just had to try making some ASAP. If you're not reading Ann's blog, Cooking Healthy for Me, then you MUST start immediately because it's amazing and full of super yummy healthy recipes.

So. I decided to give cheez-its a try. But I figured I would try and Dara them up a bit. So, I made some tweaks, tried out a few different versions and came up with a recipe that incorporates some healthy elements into the cheez-it. First, I used whole wheat flour and added some healthy ground flaxseed for extra fiber and omega-3s. Then, I decided to use olive oil instead of butter. The result was a crunchy, cheesy cracker that was totally reminiscent of my favorite childhood snack.

Full disclosure: this was actually the second batch of this version I had to make because Craig at the ENTIRE first batch before I could even take one photo! They are that good. No seriously. I sent him back to the store for another block of cheese so I could make more. I had to put up Archer's baby gate to keep Craig out of the kitchen while I took photos of this batch.

Read more for the full recipe!
Read more »

Baked Horseradish Crab Cakes

So after the successful crab rangoon experiment of last week, I had a lot of yummy blue crabmeat left over. Craig suggested crab cakes and my mind immediately started to spin out all the healthy possibilities. I LOVE crab cakes. But I don't love that they are deep fried, filled with mayo, and usually very light on the actual crab. So I decided that I could fix this by whipping up my own version. Two tasty batches later, I've worked out all the kinks. Owing to my current horseradish fixation, I decided to incorporate the healthy root into this recipe.

Crab and horseradish are a winning combo. The flavor of the meat is enhanced by the spicy complexity of the fresh horseradish. I was overwhelmed with how nicely this combination worked. In order to make these as healthy as possible, I used Greek yogurt and one egg to bind the crab cakes, instead of mayo and oil, which are traditionally added. I also kept the flavoring simple to maximize the impact of the horseradish. I cut waaaay back on breadcrumbs to highlight the tasty, healthy crabmeat and lower the calories. And, finally, I baked them, which resulted in a crispy exterior, and a warm interior.

I usually prefer crab cakes without any calorie laden sauce on them, but I decided to whip up a light sauce to accompany them. I used the same flavors of the crab cakes so as not to compete with the horseradish flavor. And I used the rest of the Greek yogurt, to keep things protein filled and low calorie. 

All this yummyness clocks in at only 62 calories per crab cake! Which  made me SO happy because they are super delicious but also super filling. A couple of these feels like a full meal!

Yet another reason you should run out to the store and make these tonight: they take less than 20 minutes to make! The whole process is easy, quick and has minimal clean up.

Read more »

Shepherd's Pie with Horseradish Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Shepherd's pie is one of those dishes Craig has been begging me to make for years. I have never tried it, since I'm generally turned off by super heavy comfort type foods. It always seemed like a very unhealthy and labor intensive dish to make.

Well. I decided to give it a try this weekend. Craig and I celebrated Valentine's Day a bit late. On Saturday, he took me up to the White Mountains to finally try snowmobiling! I have been wanting to try it for years, and I actually had it on my list of things to try before I turn 30. We went on a tour up through the mountains and it was so beautiful. More importantly, snowmobiling was so. much. fun. I had a blast. I only wish the instructors had let us drive faster! It was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday. So when we got home, I finally made Craig the shepherd's pie he's been requesting.

Having no clue how to make this dish, I primarly got my inspiration from an article in Men's Journal that Craig had shown me a few months ago. I found an online version here. I started with the suggestions in the article and sort of made my own modifications. I tried to cram in a lot of delicious root veggies and kept the mashed potatoes as low calorie as I could. For flavors, I used thyme and bay leaves, as the article suggested and then used horseradish to flavor the potatoes. I bought a huge horseradish root this weekend, so I'll be incorporating it into a whole bunch of recipes this week.

The result was delicious. The preparation is pretty straightforward and easy to put together. I was really impressed with the delicious flavors and found the veggies added great texture to the dish. As expected, it falls into the super filling, comfort food category, the sort of meal that makes you feel sleepy when you're finished. I can officially say I'm a shepherd's pie convert! I am already envisioning all sorts of variations to this simple recipe.

Read more for the full recipe!
Read more »