S'more Brownies

My grocery store's weekly ad boasted of....gasp!...brownie mix, 10 for $10! When I arrived, a little overly excited for boxed brownie mix, I found ZERO boxes on the baking aisle! Much to my dismay, I gathered my other groceries and headed to the checkout.

As I pushed my cart closer to the cashiers, there, on an end cap, were rows and rows of perfectly aligned red boxes. Duncan Hines brownie mix. $1 each!

Fighting the urge to stick my arm behind the entire display and drop all 1,000 boxes into my cart (I can see the headline now: "Diabetic gone carb crazy at local store!"), I read the nutrition label (like a good girl) checking for "zero grams of trans fat," thankfully found that, and then placed three boxes containing the promise of delicious, gooey glory into my cart.

A few weeks later as I was cleaning out my pantry, I came across the brownie mix (can you believe a box lasted for two weeks?) and a recipe on the box's side boasting of a fall favorite: s'mores!

Ingredients:

• 1 (21 oz) box of brownie mix (and it's ingredients: 2 eggs, water, and oil)




• 2 cups of miniature marshmallows




• 5 graham crackers, broken into quarters




• 1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Bake brownies as directed in a 13 x 9 pan.




2. Remove brownies when baked. Immediately sprinkle on the chocolate chips and marshmallows.




3. Return pan to the oven for two minutes.




4. Remove pan from oven and immediately press cracker pieces onto the top of the marshmallows and chocolate.




5. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
   

Cutting these things was a pain because of the marshmallows---but the effort was well worth it. These brownies are delicious! Perfect for a potluck or holiday party.

But come on---who needs an excuse to eat dessert?

For my D-friends: It's so easy to figure out carbs with desserts like these. Use the box's nutrition label as your guide but also factor in any additions or toppings. I usually tally up total carbs, cut the dessert, and then divide the total carbs by the number of servings. (Although I think it's a total joke that a pan of brownies is 16 servings. Yeah, right. Eye roll).

I tend to freeze everything since there are only three of us in our house (and one doesn't have teeth yet--haha). I take a post-it and label it with the name of the food and how many carbs are in each serving (and if it's something like mashed potatoes, the size of the serving). This makes it easier to figure out what is in each container.

Additionally, I have tried to make homemade brownies. They have yet to taste as good as boxed. But if you find a great recipe, let me know! I'd love to hear from you.

Interesting Articles: Food for Thought

The best grocery stores as ranked by Consumer Reports. Near and dear to me is Trader Joe's which is #2! I often use Trader Joe's pasta sauce (fewer carbs than many other brands), oatmeal, and pita chips. Gotta love sea salt.



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I grew up on a "farm." Well, sort of. My parents own a 120+ year old Victorian farmhouse on two acres backing up to a national forest. On the property one will find a big red barn, two sheds, a few fruit trees, and a well. Though the only animals around were a few cats (who were replaced yearly because they wandered off or got eaten by God-knows-what), our dog, and some visitors like hummingbirds, copperheads (ewwww), and mice. But no cows or chickens or anything like that. Every year we'd plant a garden: cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, corn, green beans, strawberries. And every year my siblings and I would complain as we were sent out into the sweltering midwest heat to pick food to accompany our evening meal.



You'd think that since I lived at that home for 18 years, I'd know what gardening is all about.



I don't remember a thing about how to plant and maintain a garden except that it's a pain.



You see, now I'm in the city. Well, more like a big town.



Though I'm all about organic produce and could very easily grown my own, I'm not totally motivated because...

1: I hate the heat and doing anything that makes me sweat besides sitting by a pool.

2: I don't like nature (except, you guessed it, the beach).

3: I have allergies.

4: I hate snakes and fear one will jump at my face straight from my cucumber plants.

5: I'm not patient.

6: I'm impatient. Oh, did I say that already?

7: I like the convenience of a grocery store where no waiting, watering, sweating is necessary.



BUT, this article does have me thinking.....

Check out my article!!!

Hey, readers!

Check out my article on the Diabetes Health Newsletter website!

Please take the time to leave a comment.

Thanks for your support!

Rach

Easy Taco Dip

Some of my very favorite foods come from one "genre": Mexican. However, traditional Mexican dishes are loaded with fat and salt. Oh, and the chips some restaurants serve prior to the entree? Kills my blood sugar every time. I can hear my diabetes friends grunting in agreement.

When I'm hosting a get-together at my house, I have found that Mexican is always a favorite, but of course, serving up elaborate meals can be expensive and let's face it, a ton of work that just gets gobbled up in a matter of an hour. I tend to have "snacky" parties---and I often have potlucks. Hey, the economy is bad, people.

This version of taco dip is my own, but I must give some credit to my sister-in-law and to some recipes I browsed in magazines. Oh, and to June, my cousin's grandmother, who first introduced me to the pleasures of Taco Dip every Christmas. Using all I've seen, I've created my own version.

Easy Taco Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 (8 oz) containers of fat-free or low-fat cream cheese







• 1 packet of low sodium taco-seasoning







• 1 can of fat-free refried beans







• 1 jar of salsa







• shredded lettuce (I buy Dole)







• 1 container of fat-free or low-fat sour cream







• 1 package of low-fat cheese (Mexican, Colby Jack, or Sharp)

Directions:

1. Place the cream cheese a in large mixing bowl for about 20 minutes, allowing the cream cheese to slightly soften.







2. Using a mixer, combine the cream cheese with the taco seasoning (to taste---I use a lot).







3. In a large, glass serving dish, place the cream cheese mixture at the bottom, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon.







4. Smooth the refried beans on top of the cream cheese mixture.







5. Add the remaining ingredients (or whatever you choose to include) in any order, but reserve the cheese for the very top.







6. If desired, sprinkle chopped green onion on top of the cheese. I have a husband who hates uncooked onion...but I digress....







7. Chill until ready to serve. I serve mine with "scoop" chips (buy trans-fat free).

What I love about this recipe is that it makes a lot (and you can easily double or triple it), it's vegetarian, it's low-fat, it's not expensive, it's easy, AND....it tastes amazing! You can add or swap ingredients to match your guests' tastes. This dish also has all that a good snack has: protein, fat, carbs, and fiber.

Chick-Fil-A, nutrition facts, and the burden of knowing....

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/25787/americas-healthiest-restaurants/

I have heard that Chick-Fil-A can be a healthy place to grab lunch. This article (and the many others like it that have come out in recent months) convinces me even further. But despite knowing it's possible (but difficult!) to eat well outside the four walls of my home, we rarely eat fast food. I think one, it's just too temping. Two, it's expensive. Three, it leaves me craving more salt, sugar, and carbs in general which can only be fulfilled by more fast food. It's a slipperly slope!

While traveling on our Alabama vacation three weeks ago, we made three total Chick-Fil-A stops in just six days. I indulged in a kiddie meal of four chicken nuggets, waffle fries (what is it about the shape of these fries that makes them taste so much better than the standard version?), a diet lemonade (made with Splenda instead of aspartame), and....here's a little secret, you can trade your "prize" for a small ice cream cone! Chick-Fil-A ice cream tastes just like the homemade version I'd have at my cousin's birthday parties every summer when I was a child.

So how do you know how many calories, carbs (so important to some of us!), and fats are in certain foods? I carry a copy of this book with me: http://www.calorieking.com/store/product/119-2009-calorieking-calorie-fat-and-carbohydrate-counter It comes in very handy when trying to chose what to eat.

I'd love to put on my blinders like most American's and think that the Oriental Chicken Salad at Applebee's is actually a healthy choice. It is, minus the dressing, crispy noodles, and fried chicken. Oops! That just leaves the lettuce! (See http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/applebees/oriental-chicken-salad-regular-size) Plus, rarely do I see someone eating a salad without a side of garlic toast, a drink or two, an appetizer, and dessert. Well, maybe in this current economy we'll see more people passing on all those extras that quickly triple the cost of a meal out.

Use the resources to figure out what you're putting in your pie hole! Look up the nutrition facts of those foods you get on a night when you want to treat yourself. You may just figure out that only "treat" that will stay with you is an extra pound or two around your waist.

There is a burden that comes with knowing what's really in those foods you love. If you order any of them knowing the condiments alone contain 300 calories and a year's worth of high fructose corn syrup, you might just not enjoy a single bite as you mentally battle a war of guilt versus your will to "live a little."

If you are in the mood to look at some food porn but don't want to stuff your face with anything that requires 235,000 extra minutes on the elliptical, check out this increasingly famous website called "This is Why You are Fat." I love how they added the subtitle, "Where dreams become heart attacks." I have to admit, some of these foods are not only creative, but enticing!

So eat, drink, and be merry...with caution!