Low Fat Vegetable Lasagna

• 8 oz lasagna noodles
• 1 medium zuchinni, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 t olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 10 oz. package frozen brocolli, chopped, thawed and well drained
• 3/4 cup low fat ricotta cheese
• 2 T parmesan cheese
• 1 T parsely flakes
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 1/2 c tomato sauce
• 2 oz. lowfat mozzarella cheese, grated

This is a great way to use that zuchinni in your garden! Bring a large pot fulled with salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook 7 to 10 minutes, drain and rinse. Place zuchinni in a microwave bowl with 3 T water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 1 minute. Drain and set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil, add onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Add chopped brocolli, ricotta, parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper, blend well. Fold in cooked zuchinni. Spread 2 T tomato sauce over bottom of a 9 x 9 x 2" baking dish. Arrange a single layer of noodles over sauce. Spread half of vegetable filling over noodles and spoon 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the filling. Make another layer with half the remaining noodles, all the remaining filling, and 1/3 of the sauce. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Butter, it's overdone.

One thing I have learned in my short time attempting to bake is this: The world thinks butter has to be in everything. Don't get me wrong, there are times when butter makes food heavenly. For instance, I never substitute butter when it comes to steamed veggies or rolls.

However, in the world of baking butter is called for in almost every recipe, and a lot of it! The sad thing is, in many cases, it is completely unnecessary! For instance, almost every time I have made cookies I have cut the butter in half- at LEAST! In making muffins or cakes, I never add butter and usually no oil either. Guess what? THEY TURN OUT JUST FINE! The key is to find good substitutes for the oil or butter that do not take away from the needed moistness or texture too much. Below are lists of hints

1. I usually about double the amount of vanilla extract.
2. Substitute oil for some good ol' apple sauce. Just use the same measurements, 1/2 cup apple sauce for a 1/2 cup oil. If you are too nervous at first, start off by doing half and half and see how you feel about it.
3. YOGURT! Oh man, I love substituting yogurt for butter. Not only does it make it moist, you can also use different flavors to add to your cakes!
4. Still nervous that your batter is too dry? Add a little bit of water or milk.
5. Low-fat pudding. Yes, it does have sugar and fat in it... but I just don't like butter ok?!
6. Low-fat sour creme. Again, not the healthiest choice, but it is a better one! And oh does sour creme work wonders!

Cookie tips: Please note that cookies are more finicky than cakes. I would still recommend halving the butter and NOT ADDING ANY SUBSTITUTES. Seriously, it will make the cookies puffier and less oily. The first time you do this you will probably be nervous because you are used to a wetter, more oily batter. However, as long as you are able to smash the cookie clumps together onto the baking sheet, you are fine! If you are super nervous you messed it up, try throwing it in muffin tins and see what happens.

Cakes/muffins: By far cakes are more experiment-able than cookies. I have drastically changed and tested many a recipe and it still came out great. I made some gluten free cupcakes for my mom that called for a whole cup of butter and I used NONE! They turned out AMAZING! I just added sour creme, yogurt, lemon and cherry juice!

If you know of other substitutes, please let me know! Nothing brings me more joy than learning of new substitutes!

Healthier Banana Cinnamon Muffins

I had a bunch of ripe bananas so I wanted to make a treat with them that wouldn't make me feel too guilty. After searching my recipes, I found a few muffin recipes and decided to combine three of them to make my own twist and left out the butter- yuck! Oh and about 1/3 the sugar the recipes called for, seriously people. 

Danny said he really liked them because they were really moist. I liked them because they were sweet and were not as unhealthy as most muffins. I forgot to take a picture but Danny made me promise to make them again so I will post one then! 

Ingrediants, from what I can remember :

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 T cinnamon (why do all recipes call for less? I want to TASTE it! )

1 Egg

1 T vanilla extract

1 mashed banana

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup white sugar

1 vanilla pudding cup  

* I used pudding instead of butter and buttermilk and added less sugar. If you don't have pudding, you can definitely use yogurt! I just didn't have any, and I was also wanting a lot of vanilla flavor.

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. 

3. In another bowl, combine the egg, vanilla, pudding, and banana. 

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. 

5. Add batter to muffin tin until 2/3 full. Sprinkle a cinnamon sugar blend over the tops of the batter (not too heavy or the muffins wont rise well). 

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean.