Shiritaki Tofu Noodles

So there has been a lot of hype about these new shiritaki tofu noodles. They are only 20 calories per serving and are supposedly just as good as pasta. I had to try these out for myself because I absolutely love pasta, but not the extra calories. In the end I can say that they are a little chewier than noodles and not exactly the same, but a good substitute for less calories.

The first thing you should know is that they come in a bag full of liquid. This liquid smells really REALLY bad. Trust me don't take a whiff...it's horrible. Put the noodles in a strainer and rinse them as soon as possible. Rinse them really thoroughly to get rid of the smell. It is so bad. Once you rinse it you can blot it with paper towels. I heard the drier you get it the better. I just got impatient and put it in the pan.

I've heard that these noodles don't do well with marinara sauces, so I wouldn't suggest making a normal spaghetti dish. I tried to make a low cal dish that would be creamy and delicious. I used aloutte cheese squares, a little olive oil, some fat free mozzarella, plain greek yogurt and garlic salt. Just melt it all together and voila! What I have shown is two bags of the pasta so I doubled the recipe. Just make sure everything is melted and then serve it up with some salad! It comes out to be 120 calories for one serving aka the whole bag. I think it's worth a try!

Ingredients
1 package shiritaki noodles
drizzle of olive oil
1 square alouette cheese
2 T fat free mozzarella
1 T plain greek yogurt
garlic salt to taste

Directions
rinse the shiritaki noodles very well! Pat noodles dry with paper towel and put them into a sauce pan. Add the olive oil, cheeses, greek yogurt, and garlic salt. Mix it until all ingredients are combined and melted.

The easiest potato cheese soup EVER!

This is a soup my mom has always made when I was growing up. It has few ingredients and the great thing is you can't really mess it up.  The measurements are different every time, so you just have to see what you like and add more or less.

To start out I added about 1/2 cups of celery and a half an onion. Put it in a stock pot with 1/4 cup of butter. Let it simmer until the onions are translucent

Add in the chunks of potato and the chicken broth and let it boil until the potatoes are tender

Of course I didn't get this next part on camera, but pour half of the soup in the blender with 1/4 cup of velveeta cheese and blend it until it is smooth and creamy. Add more cheese if you like it cheesier. You might want to let it cool down before you put it in the blender.  Pour the creamy soup into a different pot and put the rest of the soup in the blender with more cheese.  Once it is all blended heat it back up and serve it in hollowed bread bowls with bacon bits and shredded cheese. Enjoy :)

Guiltless Cupcakes

I know I haven't been able to post in awhile, but I couldn't resist posting this guiltless version of cupcakes. My roommate found this recipe on pinterest and now we have tried many different variations. This version is definitively So here is the secret ingredient...PUMPKIN

Now let me tell you how to create this really difficult masterpiece. Well you take a can of pumpkin and you mix it with devils food cake mix. Yeah that's pretty much all there is to it. You mix it and then you put it in cupcake liners. Have the oven preheated to 425 and cook them for 20 minutes rotating after 10 minutes. Now go make them! Trust me they are sooooo worth it and less than 150 calories each!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes :)

My friend Nicki and I decided to try out these cinnamon toast crunch cupcakes from www.yourcupofcake.com.  They were really fun to make, but I think I would make the frosting a little lighter next time...maybe less cream cheese.

So to start out here are all the ingredients

It isn't really one of those recipes you make with the stuff you have in your fridge and pantry. We definitely had to go out and pick this stuff up from the store.

So to start preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl combine the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla

Mix in the sour cream then the cake mix and cinnamon...

now find a pretty friend and make her stir it!

Stir in the crushed cereal and then start filling the cupcake liners 3/4 full 

Bake for around 15 minutes. Stick a tooth pick in and see if it comes out clean to make sure it's done :)

We obviously couldn't decide which cupcake liners to use

When you are all finished whip up nice frosting with some crushed cinnamon toast crunch and voila!

Cinnamon Cake:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Vanilla Cake Mix (not white cake mix)

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with 20-22 cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Mix in the sour cream.

4. Add cake mix and cinnamon and mix until combined

5. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean


Cinnamon Toast Crunch Buttercream:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder (or generic brand like us)

Directions

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy

Add Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder

Add vanilla and powdered sugar

 Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon sugar and Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares.