It sure SMELLS like Christmas...

...and it isn't pine or mistletoe! But rather.......COOKIES!!!

Today I made SEVEN varieties of sweets -- some healthy, some not so healthy, but all are delicious! 214 cookies + 16 brownies later I am pooped and my house smells like the December issue of Taste of Homes looks.

Try to keep up for some holiday treat delights...

Hint of Mint Munchies

compliments of Cassie at A Pinch of This and A Dash of That

Makes 3 dozen 2-inch cookies

Ingredients:
1 bag Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Mix

3/4 C Andes Creme de Menthe chips

Directions:

1)Preheat oven to 375 F
2)Mix together cookie mix and ingredients listed on package. Once well mixed, add in the 3/4 cup of creme de menthe.
3)Drop cookie dough by rounded Tbsp onto a ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil/parchment paper.
4)Bake each batch for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Peppermint Oatmeal Crunchies

compliments of Cassie at A Pinch of This and A Dash of That

Makes 3 dozen 2-inch cookies

Ingredients:
1 bag Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix+ingredients listed on mix
3/4 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch chips

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 375 F
2)Mix together cookie mix and ingredients listed on package. Once well mixed, add in the 3/4 cup of peppermint chips.
3)Drop cookie dough by rounded Tbsp onto a ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil/parchment paper.
4)Bake each batch for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Christmas Chocolate Cheers 

compliments of Cassie at A Pinch of This and A Dash of That

 Note: I could NOT (for the life of me) find Holiday Kissables, so I settled for Holiday M&M's. Also, I used Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix instead of the chocolate mix the recipe called for*.

Ingredients:
1 bag Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix*
1/3 c. (canola) oil
2 eggs
1 tub of chocolate frosting
1 bag of Hershey's Christmas Kissables

Directions:
1)Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
2) Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute, then press your thumb into the center of each cookie. After that remove from cookie sheets.
3)Spoon some frosting into a pastry bag or a zip loc and snip the end. Pipe frosting into the indent of the cookie and top with 3 Kissables!!

A trick with the Christmas Chocolate Cheers is to use a Ziplock as a frosting gun...

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies 

Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie) 

Ingredients:

1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces) 

1  cup  regular oats 

3/4  teaspoon  baking powder 

1/2  teaspoon  baking soda 

1/2  teaspoon  salt 

3/4  cup  granulated sugar 

1/2  cup  packed brown sugar 

1/3  cup  butter, softened 

1 1/2  teaspoons  vanilla extract 

1  large egg 

1/4  cup  chopped pecans, toasted 

1/4  cup  semisweet chocolate minichips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in pecans and minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Calories: 81 (33% from fat); Fat: 3g (sat 1.4g,mono 1g,poly 0.3g) ; Protein: 1.1g; Carbohydrate: 12.9g; Fiber: 0.5g; Cholesterol: 10mg; Sodium: 76mg; Calcium: 12mg

Source: Julianna Grimes and Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007

Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies
I colored the cheesecake batter with red food coloring -- about 3 drops for a festive flare!

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 bar)

Cheesecake batter:
1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/3  cup  granulated sugar
1/4  teaspoon  peppermint extract
1  large egg
1  large egg white
1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour

Brownie batter:
4.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2  cup  unsweetened cocoa
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1 1/2  cups  packed brown sugar
1/4  cup  canola oil
1/4  cup  buttermilk
2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
2  large egg whites
1  large egg 
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare cheesecake batter, place cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and peppermint extract; beat well. Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat well. Add 1 tablespoon flour; beat mixture just until blended.

3. To prepare brownie batter, weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, 2 egg whites, and 1 egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.

4. Reserve 1/2 cup of brownie batter. Pour remaining batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top; spread evenly to edges. Dot cheesecake batter with reserved brownie batter. Swirl top two layers of batters together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350° for 26 minutes or until top is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Calories: 213 (32% from fat); Fat: 7.5g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.1g); Protein: 4.4g; Carbohydrate: 32.3; gFiber: 0.7g; Cholesterol: 37mg; Sodium: 169mg; Calcium: 32mg

Source: Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 c butter, softened
2/3 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ c old fashioned oats
1 ½ c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 (6 oz) package dried cranberries
2/3 c white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.

Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Source: Weight Watchers (online forum) 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

1  cup  granulated sugar
1  cup  packed brown sugar
1/2  cup  creamy peanut butter
1/4  cup  water
1/4  cup  canola oil
2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
2  large egg whites
1  large egg
12  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 2 2/3 cups)
1  teaspoon  baking powder
1  teaspoon  baking soda
1/2  teaspoon  salt
2/3  cup  semisweet chocolate minichips

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Calories: 128 (32% from fat); Fat: 4.5g (sat 1.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g); Protein: 2.3g; Carbohydrate: 20.5g; Fiber: 0.6g; Cholesterol: 6mg; Sodium: 106mg; Calcium: 16mg

Source: Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008

And only 3 hours later...my friends are the lucky recipients of THESE:

Tins filled with...

cookies! Obvi..

I taste tested all of the cookies (and brownies) and they are ALL really good! 

If I had to choose a favorite it would have to be the Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I must fess up -- my morning started off on a bad note...forgetting to eat breakfast before I set out for a day of power shopping. Around 10 I gave in to a bad, bad guilty pleasure: McDonald's Sausage Egg McMuffin. 450 calories and 85% of my daily value of saturated fat later...I completed my shopping spree successfully. In my defense, I get fast food a handful of time in a calendar year, and typically it is because of instances like this morning.

Question: How often do you eat fast food? What is your "favorite" fast food restaurant (if you had to choose one)?

Husby and I are off to my work Christmas party! Hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!

Tomorrow...the LD on this KOMBACHA everyone in blogland is yappin' about!!

obesity + bloggin', dogs + exercise, and new IRL blog friend!

A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research finds that people who spend more time on the computer have a higher risk of obesity, even among those exercising “enough” during the week.  Three categories of internet time were set: none, low (less than 3 hours per week), and high (more than 3 hours per week). People falling in the highest levels of computer use (more than 3 hours per week) were 1.5x more likely to be overweight and 2.5x more likely to be obese when compared to people who don’t use the computer at all [1].

Advice? Aim for 250.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends people spend 150 minutes per week exercising and 250 minutes per week if they want to lose weight [1].

Really? 3 hours a week is a lot? No wonder I want to lose weight! ;)

And for us dog lovers, some wonderful news!

The average dog owner gets more exercise walking their pets than someone with a gym membership. The average dog owner exercises their pet 2x a day for 24 minutes each time – 5 hours and 38 minutes a week. In addition, the average dog owner takes their pet on three long walks a week, adding on another 2 hours and 33 minutes of activity [2].

Those without dogs spend a mere 80 minutes per week at the gym or heading out for a jog. However, 47% of non-pet owners admit they do absolutely NO exercise [2].

And who’s happier? A whopping 86% of dog owners reported enjoying the time they spend walking their dogs while a mere 16% reported enjoying their time spent at the gym [2].

I almost wish I owned a more athletic breed of dog. Lily is athletic for a bulldog, but that isn't saying much...

And last night (after boot camp, no less!) I met a fellow bloggie for a beer (go check her out, her blog is pretty awesome!). And we have a freakish amount in common...

- both named "Nicole"

- she is from Tulsa, I am living in Tulsa

- both RD's!

- both have important people in our life named "Rob/Robbie"

- both 24

Crazy, huh?! It was great to talk and network with another RD! Thanks for meeting with me, Nicole!! Safe travels back to Cali!

Questions:

Have you ever met a "blog friend" IRL (in real life)? Maybe at FNCE or somewhere similar?

If you are a pet owner, how many times a week would you say you walk your dog?

How many hours a week, realistically, do you spend online blogging/Facebooking/emailing friends, etc. (non-work related, basically)? 

I would have to say I spend at least 9 hours a week online/blogging/emailing/Facebooking in a week -- most of which takes place on the weekends. Eek! 

And we walk Lily about 5 times a week for 20 minutes a pop...failing on that one, too!

[1]. Main, Emily. Overweight? Blame the Internet. MSNBC. November 29, 2009.

[2]. Average dog owner ‘gets more exercise than gym-goers’. Telegraph. November 27, 2009.

The Guinness Challenge

You may have noticed...I have moved! I

am no longer "Produce Princess"....but rather, I am now "PreventionRD". I wanted to switch my domain name (I'm not too tech savvy...is that correct blog terminology?) to something that was related to my blog site name. Does that even make sense? Anyways, I have moved to here. I hope you all find me...or I find you, or else...I will miss you!

So, today was the Guinness Challenge and we had a blast! Just for you, blog world, I was a picture-takin' fool....

 

Let's start this blog post recap from the beginning. Irish bar hosting the run = bag pipers! 

I LOVE bag pipes!

  

 Here's the group ready to run...Bailey, too. I'm the SHORT blonde (I'm 5'3...these folks are just giants!)

  

 Here's the start of the race. We started in the back 'cause we were a lil late getting our bibs and chips...

  

 And here I start my runtography. A view of our Tulsa skyline and a fairly good shot of some elevated course ahead (uggggggggh)

  

 Beer stop #1

THIS was SUPPOSED to be at 1.5 miles. Thanks to my Garmin 305, however, I knew it was at 2.2 miles. Thank you, Garmin.

  

 This is a timed event, people. Lady like manners not required.

  

 Still beer stop #1 here...Matt and I were fairly hardcore about our carb stops, but not hardcore enough to omit time for photographic memories!!

  

 Here I am showing off my Guinness...and my Garmin 305, most importantly.

  

 Hello, HILL. Bahhhhhhhh!!!!

  

 On the down-hill...but a longggg ways to go to beer stop #2.

P.S. HATE races where people ahead of you are passing on the opposite side of the road!!

 

Dun dun! Beer stop #2! Workin' hard or hardly working, folks?

  

 Ok, they worked hard enough....but not at the right times. Warm Guinness = drinking bread.

  

 Beer stop #2 photo opp of Matt and I (lookin' a lil rough here, not gunna lie!)

  

Translation for those of you who don't know sign language...2 down, 1 to go

  

 ...Back over that blasted hill

  

 FINISH LINE IN SIGHT!!!!!

  

....but not before our last beer at mile 4. Mid-gulp, sorry about that face. This is a timed event, remember?

  

 Husband, me, and Matt. Drinking our congratulatory brews from the race sponsors (like we needed them)

...I did give away my second one, however!!

 

 The Guinness Challenge Finishers!!!

It probably goes without saying, but I have a headache and a warm bath calling my name. Ciao for now, bloggies!

Sunday Fun Day!

Despite Sunday's ending the week...meaning another work week ahead, I love the freedom of Sunday's (especially if you play hookie from church as much as Mark and I...oops!). Typically, I always go grocery shopping on Sundays and typically, I play hockey on Sunday's. What more could a girl ask for? Cooking! I also (almost) ALWAYS cook...plenty...on Sunday's. Today was NO exception.

After our trip for groceries, I got lunches lined up for the week. I've been wanting to try this Tuna Edamame Salad for MONTHS now, and I finally grabbed the magazine rip out from my desk on Friday before dashing out for the weekend. I believe I found it in Today's Dietitian (great read, btw!). 

Tuna Edamame Salad

Prep time: 5 minutes (pretty accurate, too!)

Cook time: NONE :O )

Ingredients:

1 cup edamame, cooked by package instructions (i.e. the microwave)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup carrots, shredded

6 ounces tuna, packed in water, drained

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup red onion, diced (I used more like 1/2 cup - yum!)

1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian dressing

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing. Serve with pita bread or whole wheat crackers, if desired.

Nutrition Information (per 1 cup serving): 

210 calories, 16 gm protein, 27 gm carbohydrates, 4 gm fiber, 3 gm fat, 0 gm saturated fat, 0 gm trans fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium

 

Edamame (also known as soy beans) -- high in protein, LOW in calories! 

Oh, and REALLY delicious!

 

 Tuna Edamame Salad dished up and ready for lunches to-go!

I also got some on-the-go breakfasts ready for the week: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes made with Southaven Farms Chocolate Mix. Definitely a fun breakfast for the week ahead! 

See? Healthy. Look at all that zucchini! Mmm!

Southaven Farms Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes - YUM!

Each Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake contains 95 calories, 2 gm fat, 3 gm fiber, and 17 gm carbohydrates. Even 2 delicious cupcakes is not only low in calories, but low in fat and high in fiber! Oh, and chocolate...chocolate, too!!!

Last night we got majorly spoiled at our friend's house. While I was unable to thoroughly partake in the wonderful wine selections, check out this cheese platter....

Firstly, the platter is a portion of a wine barrel (NEATO!!!!!!). There is Gouda, Parmesano Ramano, prosciutto crudo (took me back to Italy days!), sheep (?) cheddar, and a sheep milk cheese.

All. were. DELICIOUS!!!!

We were then spoiled with the most delicious steak I've ever had (and I'm not a beef person at all!) -- fillets (NO fat on the meat) with Oregon bleu cheese melted on top with sides of grilled asparagus and butternut squash. Heavenly! Divine! Being a slacker blogger, I didn't have my camera with me at dinner...sorry!

Tonight for supper I made a new recipe: Laughing Cow Alfredo with shrimp, asparagus, and broccoli over whole wheat pasta. It turned out REALLY well -- thumbs up from husband!

Laughing Cow Alfredo

6 wedges laughing cow cheese (I used half "light")
1 cup skim milk
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp reduced cal margarine
1 tsp garlic powder
6 oz cooked chicken breast (I substituted shrimp)
2 cups steamed broccoli (I had 3-4 cups broccoli and 4-5 stalks of asparagus)
6 oz of Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta (I used whole-wheat linguine)

Put cheeses, milk, butter and garlic powder in small sauce pan and set on low. Cook for 20 minutes until smooth and creamy, stirring frequently.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Once sauce is done, add broccoli and chicken, stir to combine. Combine with cooked pasta and serve.

 

Serving dish of dinner...mmmm! Leftovers, too : )

...and some Asiago cheese garlic bread...Mmm!!!

Also on the menu for the week:

Crockpot Chicken Mexican Soup

Tuna (whole wheat!) Noodle Casserole

Organic Whole-Wheat Pizza with turkey pepperoni

Stay tuned for those recipes!! Have a wonderful start to your week! Oh, and wish me luck in my BOOT CAMP classes starting tomorrow - AHHHH!