Veggie Surprise Brownies

Happiness is...

Need to get your kids to eat veggies?  Sometimes us mom need to get a little creative and a little sneaky.  With this yummy brownie receipe, your kids will get yummy brownies they’ll love and you’ll get some veggies in those little tummies.

Give ‘em a try and let me know how they went over with your kids?

Items You’ll Need:

Non stick cooking spray
3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
½ cup carrot puree
½ Cup spinach puree
½ brown sugar substitute
¼ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoon fat free margarine, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg whites
¾ Cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt

Preparation Instructions:

Place the bittersweet chocolate into a microwave bowl and microwave the chocolate on high 1 minute.

Stir and continue melting chocolate at 15 second intervals, stirring after each 15 second interval, until chocolate is completely melted.

Once the chocolate is melted add the carrot and spinach puree.

Stir in the sugar substitute, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla.

Continue stirring until the mixture becomes creamy.

Whisk in the egg whites.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt.

Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture is completely combined.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Smooth batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Be sure to allow the brownies to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving to insure that the spinach and carrot flavors will not leave any detectable flavor in the bars.  The kids will never know.

a mom blog

Creative Commons License photo credit: ♥ellie♥

South of the Border Chips and Dip

turquoise

Ole’ it’s chip and dip time!

Here’s What You Need:

4 flat corn tortilla shells

Canola oil

Salt, optional

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 kiwi, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

½ jalapeno, minced

¼ teaspoon chili powder

Here’s How to Make It:

Cut each of the tortillas into 6 wedges.

Place enough canola oil into a large skillet for frying the chips.

Heat the oil to hot but do not allow it to smoke.

Once the oil is hot reduce heat to low.

Place the tortilla wedges into the hot oil and fry for about one minute.

The tortilla wedges should puff slightly and be a light brown color.

Remove wedges to paper towel to dry and sprinkle with the salt if desired.

Add more canola oil and reheat to high before adding more wedges.

In a large mixing bowl combine the tomatoes, kiwi, onion, celery and jalapeno.

Sprinkle with the chili powder.

Use a rubber spatula to mix together well.

Dip the chips into the salsa and enjoy.

The salt in this recipe is optional.  If you don’t like your salsa really spicy leave out the jalapeno and use cilantro instead.

a mom blog

Creative Commons Licensephoto credit: evelynishere


Cheesecake Squares

Dulce de Leche cheesecake

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated brown sugar substitute
1 cup oat flour
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar substitute
1 egg
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Place the butter, brown sugar substitute and the flour in a large mixing bowl.
Use a fork and mix the ingredients together until it becomes very crumbly.

Remove 1 c of the mix and set aside for later use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a square baking pan with a non stick cooking spray.

Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.

Bake 12 minutes.

Remove and set aside for later use.

Mix the cream cheese and sugar substitute together in a bowl with an electric mixer until very smooth.

Beat in the egg until combined well.

Place the heavy cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice into the mixture.

Beat until mixture begins to thicken.

Use a rubber spatula and spread the mixture over the baked crust.

Top with the 1 cup of reserved crumble mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow cooling slightly.
Cover and refrigerate 2 hours before cutting into squares.

a mom blog

Creative Commons License photo credit: knittinging