Healthier Cinnamon Bun Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Frosting

Who doesn't like cinnamon rolls? Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could get that great taste at home in  30 minutes with a healthier low fat baked doughnut? Yep you can.

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Banana Nut Cake

Super moist and delicious. The perfect cake for when you need to take a dish or family is coming for dinner. There is something special about a cake when you know what is in it and can pronounce all the ingredients.

This is a family recipe of a family friend (thanks Janet).  I have learned to accept gifts of this type. Many are great in an old fashion way (I can't remember the last time I used a shifter...). If you have a family favorite, email it to me.


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Low Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones

Guilty pleasures - low fat edition. I love a tasty sweet something for breakfast but they usually ar not good for me.It must be good for you... it has blueberries and whole wheat. Plus it is only 200 calories and just under 3 grams of fat.

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Healthier Low Fat Carrot Cake

Wonderfully moist and almost good for you. At about 250 calories and 7 grams of fat you get one of the best carrot cakes I have had plus it won't leave a pool of oil on the plate. I away though carrot cake would be hard to make. Nope... it was relatively easy with 3/10 skill level and just a little more work than a coffee cake. You can do this cake.

A normal recipe for carrot cake starts with a cup of oil. Read that as almost 2000 calories and you have not added even a carrot yet. You can't really do that very often. So I looked around a lot for just the right recipe. Many had "odd" ingredients. While I'm not a "all natural" guy, it still needs to be reasonably natural ingredients.

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Healthier Whole Wheat Banana Bread

A healthier banana bread with mostly whole wheat, less fat and sugar. Drop the calories by over a third and the fat by 75%. It's time to fell less guilty for that great taste.

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Really Easy Apple Crumb Pie

A real crowd pleaser.  Some apples, a pie crust, sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter and you get a great tasting basic apple pie. Seconds all around.

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Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread

An excellent old fashion banana nut bread that your grandmother would have made. Deep banana taste that is moist and nutty.
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Chocolate Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

A tasty and moist treat that is dairy free. We were in need of a dairy free holiday treat last weekend and this was just the trick.

You can do this either non-diary or with diary depending on the ingredients you chose. I  went with a margarine and a cake mix that both were dairy free but if food allergies are not an issue for your family, almost any cake mix and margarine/butter will do.

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Rachael Ray's 5 Minute Fudge

An excellent and easy fudge for the holiday season. We first saw this recipe when Rachael Ray was on Oprah and Rachael Ray Throw a Holiday Party- about 5-6 years ago. Since then it has been a Christmas tradition at our house. It's been made for presents and cookie exchanges along with extra for family. And everybody asks for the recipe. So that is my Christmas present to you... easy fudge.

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Healthier Low Fat Brownie with Cream Cheese Frosting Under 200 Calories

A rich and chewy low fat brownie from scratch. I added some lower fat cream cheese frosting for a great combination that would be welcomed at any party. All for just under 200 calories.

I don't like mixes so I generally cook from scratch and really this is about the same amount of work as a box and you know what is in it. I somewhat simplified a recipe from food.com add some instant coffee to punch up the chocolate flavor and then made some cream cheese frosting with a lower fat cream cheese that is the perfect topping for the great tasting brownie.

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Apple Cinnamon Scones

It's apple season and what could start your day better than an apple-cinnamon scone. One apple with a little work and you're the hero of breakfast. Easy and quick.

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Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

My wife thinks this is one of the best things I have ever made and she may well be right . It is right up there with my Whole Wheat Buttermilk Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones.  An evil treat that I could almost live on. Plus all major food groups are included: Grains (flour and oats) Fruits (raisins) Vegetables (carrots) Dairy (cream cheese) and Meat (eggs count).  It must be good for you (NOT).

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Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

It's breakfast treat time for my wife. She's a good wife and deserves it. This is a simplified version of several recipes with excellent results.

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Lower Fat Healthier Cheesecake

Is there a true low fat cheesecake or a healthy cheesecake? Just think of them as relative terms.

With great heavy texture and taste, you won't be able to tell this from the evil full fat type.  This is a version of an ATK New York style cheesecake from several years ago on a show called Lighter Desserts. I have had the recipe for several years in PDF form in my to try folder and several version are out there on the internet.
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Blueberry Buckle - The Full Monty

If I'm going to the dark side (health wise) I might as well go all the way. In my Healthy Blueberry Buckle recipe I cranked down the fat and simple carbs and ended up at about 150 calories per serving. This is almost double that due to the real butter and sugar I used. The technique varied enough to warrant another post.


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Healthy Buttermilk Blueberry Buckle with less than 150 calories

It's high blueberry time in west Michigan but it's high diet time in my house. So I healthied it up with decreasing the fat and sugar then add some whole wheat. The results: a must try recipe that is simple to make.

I picked two recipes as models and combined them with my modifications. Alton Brown's recipe used twice the blueberries of the others. It was in since this is all about the blueberries. The other recipe from the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild which is a very nice simple basic recipe.

What I wanted to do:
1) Get as many blueberries in as possible.
2) Use Splenda for the sugar to get rid of a lot of simple carbs. (I also happen to be out of white sugar)
3) Add a little whole wheat for taste but not enough to effect the rise much
4) Use buttermilk and a little baking soda to get more rise. While some think blueberry buckle should be dense. I prefer something lighter with crumbs. Also I need the volume for all those blueberries.
5) The top needs to be great. I won't skimp on the butter there. That will be for the next time.

Rating:

9.9 on the Wifo scale (a die hard blueberry lover)
Effort: 9 once I got my design together.

Notes:
If you're not interested in lower calorie then use white sugar for the Splenda and 1/4 cup unsalted butter for the applesauce.
I don't guarantee this but here is nutrition info using 10 servings from http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp . Most other recipes are right at 300 calories.

Amount Per Serving
Calories		146.4
Total Fat		3.8 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.3 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.0 g
Cholesterol		49.1 mg
Sodium		42.4 mg
Potassium		60.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate		24.8 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.4 g
	Sugars	1.2 g
Protein		4.9 g

Printable recipe

Tools: 9 inch nonstick round pan but you can use something else properly coated.

Ingredients:

3 cups blueberries rinsed

Dry Mix
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t table salt
1 t cinnamon
Wet Mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used non fat dry reconstituted)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup granular Splenda (I know it's dry but mix it in here)
Topping
1/3 cup AP flour
1/3 cup granular Splenda
1 t cinnamon
2 T soft butter

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven 375 not convection.

2) Mix dry mix together and mix very well.

3) Mix topping in small bowl and using a fork to cut in butter until all the flour and Splenda in incorporated and granules are small.
4) Combine "Wet Mix" in a large bowl. Whisk for about 1-2 minutes until smooth.

5) Combine 1/3 of dry with the wet. Mix with large spatula folding carefully. Repeat twice more until all incorporated.

6) Fold in blueberries again being gentle with dough.
7) Place in 9 inch nonstick round pan. Spread topping on evenly.
8) Bake in middle rack for about 40 minutes until toothpick returns clean. Remove and let rest for 30 minutes.

Healthy Buttermilk Blueberry Buckle with less than 150 calories

by DrDan at 101 Cooking For Two August 2, 2010

I healthied it up with decreasing the fat and sugar then add some whole wheat. The results: a must try recipe that is simple to make. I picked two recipes as models and combined them with my modifications. Alton Brown's recipe used twice the blueberries of the others. It was in since this is all about the blueberries. The other recipe from the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild which is a very nice simple basic recipe. What I wanted to do: 1) Get as many blueberries in as possible. 2) Use Splenda for the sugar to get rid of a lot of simple carbs. (I also happen to be out of white sugar) 3) Add a little whole wheat for taste but not enough to effect the rise much 4) Use buttermilk and a little baking soda to get more rise. While some think blueberry buckle should be dense. I prefer something lighter with crumbs. Also I need the volume for all those blueberries. 5) The top needs to be great. I won't skimp on the butter there. That will be for the next time.

Ingredients

3 cups blueberries rinsed Dry Mix1 1/2 cup AP flour1/2 cup whole wheat flour2 t baking powder1/2 t baking soda1/2 t table salt1 t cinnamon Wet Mix 2 eggs1/2 cup buttermilk (I used non fat dry reconstituted)1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce3/4 cup granular Splenda (I know it's dry but mix it in here) Topping1/3 cup AP flour1/3 cup granular Splenda1 t cinnamon2 T soft butter

Instructions

1) Preheat oven 375 not convection.2) Mix dry mix together and mix very well.3) Mix topping in small bowl and using a fork to cut in butter until all the flour and Splenda in incorporated and granules are small.4) Combine "Wet Mix" in a large bowl. Whisk for about 1-2 minutes until smooth.5) Combine 1/3 of dry with the wet. Mix with large spatula folding carefully. Repeat twice more until all incorporated.6) Fold in blueberries again being gentle with dough.7) Place in 9 inch nonstick round pan. Spread topping on evenly.8) Bake in middle rack for about 40 minutes until toothpick returns clean. Remove and let rest for 30 minutes.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 10 servings

Updated

April 24, 2011

Healthy Breakfast Cookies #2 - Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

My first Healthy Breakfast Cookie recipe is one of my top posts. This was the runner up recipe but it takes a backseat to none. A large cookie that is very moist with chocolate and oatmeal. Combined with a glass of milk and perhaps piece of fruit, and your good to go.


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Whole Wheat Buttermilk Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones

First a quick update to a favorite recipe. My buttermilk blueberry scones were a big hit but my wife wanted more. Specifically she wanted cream cheese. So with my daughter and son-in-law visiting, a modification was needed. And just enough changes that it is easier just to do a new post and recipe link.


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Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

A Mother's Day offering for my wife. A blueberry scone can break her will on any diet. So what would be better for her Mother's Day breakfast.


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Healthy Breakfast Cookies

A quick and healthy make ahead start for your morning. Great taste, soft texture with flexibility of components. And oh so easy to make.

It started when my wife went to a grade school breakfast this week and loved something call a "breakfast cookie". Call me out of touch but what is this? So Google time again, there's a recipe for everything. Yep, way too many recipes. So I let my physician training kick in to pick one.


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