Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

One of my favourite desserts has always been cheesecake. I love the rich, creamy cheese contrasted with the crispy graham wafer crust and the sweet berry or chocolate topping. I came across this low fat, low calorie version of chocolate chip cheesecake and decided to try it on Sunday. I used a graham wafer crust because my local store didn't have any chocolate cookie wafers. This recipe uses low fat options for all of the ingredients and according to the website, it cuts the grams of fat down from 500 (for an average slice of cheesecake) to 5.3!

I didn't have a round cheesecake pan so I used a square 9 x 9 pan and cut the cheesecake into 16 pieces. Using the nutritional information on the website and my own calculations I determined that each slice is only 175 calories! The cheesecake turned out to be really tasty despite being low fat and low calorie. I love being able to indulge in a dessert without feeling guilty!

Guilt-Free Double Chocolate Brownies

If you haven't guessed already from the title of my blog, I must tell you that I have a sweet tooth. I love baking, and whenever possible I like to find low calorie or low fat options for the sweet treats I love. I was browsing through an old copy of Fitness Magazine and I came across this low calorie brownie recipe and knew I had to try it. It was really quick and simple to make; and it tasted delicious. The only change I made to the recipe was adding some chopped almonds. The recipe can be found here. The best part is that they are less than 120 calories per slice! Check out the nutritional information here. I will definitely make these brownies again; I only wish the serving size was larger!







Ready to eat!

Leek and Potato Soup

On the weekend I noticed that my tarragon was starting to take over my herb garden so I decided it was time to trim it down and find a recipe to make use of it. I went to my trusty Bon Appetit cookbook (I must admit that I often go to the internet for recipes, but there is just something fun about going old-school and using a cookbook and I feel confident knowing the recipes were tested and published), looked in the index and found several recipes that contained tarragon, but the one that caught my eye was the Leek and Potato soup.

I went to my local farmer's market Saturday morning and picked up some fresh leeks and red-skinned potatoes and went to town on the soup. I think it took me a total of 1/2 hour to make this including a quick trip to the store to pick up the whipping cream while the soup was simmering.

The flavour of the soup was incredible; we couldn't get enough of it this weekend. I will definitely make this soup again because it had everything I could have hoped for - it was inexpensive, quick and simple to make and relatively healthy (less than 200 calories per serving). If you want to mix up the recipe a bit you could use skim or 1% milk and it would be even lower in the calorie department or you could blend it in your food processor if you prefer a smooth soup. Here is the recipe:

Leek, Potato, and Tarragon Soup (from The Bon Appetit Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 pound red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 cups low-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks, onion, garlic, and 2 tbsp water. Cook until leeks are golden, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes and broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Mix in tarragon.

Stir in cream and yogurt into soup. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.


Cooked and ready to add the cream and yogurt.


Voila- Ready to eat!