Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!! This is one of my favorite days of the year. I love the costumes and  partying; however, if you’re not careful it can ruin your weight loss routine. Just make sure to be smart about the candy and booze guys. Trust me I am one who usually goes to several costume parties a year and I’ll eat the food at the parties and drink it up, its a party! The problem is you don’t think you’re eating much when you’re grazing through those candies and hors d’oeuvres but that is the worst thing you could do. Be conscience of the foods that are there and instead of grazing just grab a plate and place on the foods you want to try. Savor those foods and don’t go back for more.  If you’re counting calories remember that one snack sized candy is between 70-100 calories on average. 

When it comes to the alcohol just keep in mind drinks have a lot of calories in them so be careful with how much you drink. Alcohol makes you bloat; just think of those old guys with beer bellies, well that’s why they’re called beer bellies. Be careful and smart when you party, you can still have fun even when you’re eating healthy. The main thing is be aware of what you’re eating and drinking. This idea goes for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. But this post is not all about warnings for the holidays I have a recipe for a delicious turkey meatloaf and a new dessert recipe. I found a pumpkin cookie recipe on pinterest but I adjusted it and experimented with it and came up with a good healthy version. I do have to say in my opinion its quite delicious :-).

Here is the recipe for the turkey meatloaf, prep time is about 20 minutes, cook time is 40 minutes. Makes about 5-8 servings depending on how you cut it. If you do it by weight watchers its 5 servings and 6 points a serving or 360 calories a serving . If you do it like us we cut it up in 8 servings and each serving is 225 calories each. We serve a salad or some veggies on the side with the meatloaf.

Ingredients:

Meatloaf:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

3/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 Bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup low fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp ketchup

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 1/4 lbs of ground turkey meat

Topping:

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Heat oil. Saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic, about 3 mins.

3. Combine above with cheese and next 6 ingredients in bowl, toss to moisten bread crumbs.

4. Crumble turkey over mixture, stir until blended.

5. Pack mixture into pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 350°F for 35 mins.

6. Combine remaining and spread on loaf after 35 mins. Put in oven for an additional 5 mins. Let stand 10 mins.

7. Remove loaf from pan and slice.

Pumpkin Cookies recipe! I am not a huge pumpkin fan but this year I decided to try some pumpkin stuff. First I tried the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Oh deliciousness. So I decided to try some pumpkin desserts at some of the places Ron and I went out to, again delicious. Well, I decided that its time for me to attempt making my own pumpkin dessert. So I found a good cookie recipe. The original one is here http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-cookies-recipe/.  It is extremely high in calories though so here is my recipe. I completely take out some ingredients and cut the recipe in half. These cookies turn out to be 100 calories each with the icing and makes between 28-30 cookies.

Ingredients

Cookies:

1/2 cup of light butter

1 cup of  splenda

1 cup of canned pumpkin (solid; not pie mix)

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Icing

4 oz of neufchatel cheese (tastes like cream cheese with less calories)

1 tsp of butter softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar (no true sub for this that tastes the same that I’ve found yet)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp milk

Directions:

Cookies:

1. Cream butter with sugar and pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well.

2. Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

3. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. Bake 13-15 mins at 350°F (175°C).

Icing:

1. Mix the neufchatel cheese with the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a bowl.

2. Heat in microwave for 15 seconds.

1. Drizzle spoonfuls over the cooled cookies and smooth with the back of a spoon.

- Ashley

Thank you for reading I hope you guys enjoy the holiday and please let me know how it goes. Post some pictures of your costumes in the comments I’d love to see them!!