Category Archives: Ingredients

Meringue Cupcakes

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Well, I can’t take credit for these at all. I can, however, give credit to my sister and Martha Stewart. Martha invented the recipe and my sis made it. We tweaked it a bit, of course (when do we NOT?), and this is what we ended up with:

My sis made the cupcakes, then we filled them each with about a tablespoon of store bought lemon curd and another tablespoon – or two – or three – of whipped cream, lightly sweetened and flavored with limoncello (double lemon!).  A side of strawberries and… voi la!  Happy Mother’s Day, mom!

They’re light, tasty and completely a mess to try to eat. But worth every single crumb.

A Cupcake Co

Egg Drop Soup (aka Egg Flower Soup)

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There’s just something about a yummy soup on a cold rainy day that just does it for me. I’m always looking for new soup recipes – ones that are choc full of healthy veggies and that are filling. Egg Drop soup has the added benefit of having a ton of protein and is lowfat. It’s also (almost) fully customizable. You can add in whatever you’d like – more or less vegetables; and if you prefer to add some faux meat, you may.

I made it for dinner for my husband and me a few nights ago. We licked the bowl clean – no leftovers. Yumness.

Egg Drop Soup

Makes 4 servings.

  • 4 c plus 2 Tbsp no chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  • 1/2 t fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 3 oz extra firm tofu, cubed
  • 1/3 c carrots, chopped
  • 1/4 c corn
  • 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 c snow peas
  1. Bring the 4 cups broth, ginger and soy sauce to a full boil. Make a slurry of the remaining 2 Tbsp broth and cornstarch by mixing in a small bowl until combined. Slowly pour into the broth and stir until thickens, slightly – 2 or 3 mins.
  2. Add carrots, corn and tofu to the soup. Boil 5 minutes.
  3. While the broth is at a full boil and while stirring in one direction, slowly pour in the egg whites. The egg will spread and feather.
  4. Add snow peas, green onion, salt and pepper.

Nutrition: 103 cal, 2.5g fat, 8.5g carb, 1.6g fiber, 2.9g sugars, 11.7g protein

S’Mores Cupcakes

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I admit. I’d never had a s’mores in my life. Partly because marshmallows (i.e, gelatin) was never included in my diet and vegetarian marshmallows are hard to come by (you can read more about my marshmallow woes here and here). And partly because we were never much of a ‘camping’ type family, thus rendering no opportunities to cook up some s’mores. But when I was getting ready to go on a girl weekend getaway, I decided this might be the time to attempt a new recipe – s’mores cupcakes!

So, here is my take on a s’mores – in a cup. It was delicious to say the least. And the girls ate them up. Quickly. Some even stated they were the best they’ve ever had of my cupcakes. They all agreed it tasted like a s’mores. I’ll be keeping this recipe around for a while. I can’t wait to try it again.

Since then, I’ve been mooning over the utopian flavors of s’mores and wishing I could have a ‘real’ one. So, I treated myself to some veg marshmallows, toasted them on some grahams on broil and devoured them with some rich dark chocolate (72%, cuz that’s how I roll). Goooooood stuff.  I now feel redeemed. I’ve righted the wrong of never having a s’mores.

So, if you’re looking for that tasty treat in a cup form… Look no further. You’ve arrived.

And because I’m having entirely too much fun with Adobe Lightroom’s presets and because my sister happened to be there to capture me in action, here is a random montage of me making the s’mores cupcakes. Enjoy. Or ignore. Whatever you please. I thought they were fun enough to make a new blog design and title photo with them. Kind of fun. :)

A Cupcake CoThese Cupcakes are available at A Cupcake Co.

Muffin Mania

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I have been delaying posting these recipes waiting to take some pictures, but my life is crazy right now so I unfortunately haven’t been able to get to it.  In the meantime, I don’t want to keep these AH-MAZ-ING recipes from you, my loyal readers, any longer. These are both really really delicious, almost non-fat (traces of fat from fruits & egg substitute) and right around 100 cals each. How can you go wrong?

Wheat Bran Banana Muffins

  • 4 Bananas, very ripe
  • 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/3 c brown sugar
  • 1/3 c splenda
  • 1/3 c egg substitute (or egg whites)
  • 3/5 c skim milk, soured with 1 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 c whole wheat flour
  • 1 c wheat bran
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (approx)
  1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mash bananas. To bananas, add applesauce, sugar, splenda, egg whites, skim milk with vinegar added to it.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, bran, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir until just combined. Do not over beat.
  5. Divide evenly between 18-24 muffin cups, sprinkle with about 5 chocolate chips each muffin, and bake for 18-22 minutes, until lightly browned and knife inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Mango Coconut Muffins

  • 2 c whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 3/4 c splenda
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 c egg substitute
  • 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 c skim milk
  • 1 Tbsp vinegar
  • 2 tsp coconut flavoring
  • 2 cups diced mango (about 3 mangos)
  • 1 medium banana, mashed
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Generously spray muffin tins with cooking spray (these tend to stick a bit)
  2. In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients (dry ingredients).
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the mango and banana.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just moistened.
  5. Stir in mango and banana. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

The Wonderous Oat Bran – 2 ways

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Holy Addiction!

I was introduced to Oat Bran by my friend and fellow food blogger, Faith of I Pray to Gouda. Without making myself like a mad woman, I’ll say it simply – I’m addicted. This stuff is so good and you can do all kinds of things with it making it taste all kinds of goodness. Ahhh… So so yummy. You really do need to try it. (See? Now I’m a oat bran ‘pusher’!) Plus, it’s so easy, you have no excuses.

I can whip up a quick oat bran breakfast for myself in about 3 mins, so it’s a great on the go meal. It also works well to bring to work with me because I can throw the oat bran, sweetener and cinnamon in a tupperwear container and just add the water and microwave it there. Easy, peasy!

And in honor of Valentine’s Day, here are a pair of  MY favorite ways to make oat bran. (FYI – I used two mini bowls and half the recipe for each for presentation purposes, but you’ll want to use bigger bowls)

Step 1: Assemble Ingredients.

  • 1/4 cup Oat Bran (I use Toasted Oat Bran from Trader Joe’s)
  • 3/4 cup Water
  • Dash of salt
  • Sweetener of your choosing, to taste (Agave Nectar, Sugar, Stevia, Splenda, etc)

Strawberries n Cream:

  • Freeze dried , unsweetened strawberries (Trader Joe’s them and I’m ashamed to admit I have found yet another addiction. These little guys are awesome morsels of crunchy “yum”. They also have freeze dried mango, blueberries and banana chips – all unsweetened. You MUST try them!)
  • 1/8 c (2 Tbsp) Nonfat, plain greek yogurt (I use 0% Fage that I buy in bulk at Costco)

Banana Cinnamon:

  • Cinnamon (I like a lot. I usually use 1 t. or more)
  • 1/2 of a ripe banana, sliced and warmed in the microwaved for about 30 seconds to make it warm, gooshy and caramelized

Step 2: Cook Oat Bran.

In a microwave safe bowl with some extra room for boiling up (so it doesn’t run over), stir together the oat bran, water, salt and sweetener. Microwave for 1 minute. Take out and stir.

For Strawberries n Cream: Add your strawberries at this time and stir.

Microwave for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until it just begins to boil. Watching CAREFULLY (aka – do not take your eyes off the bowl. The moment you do, it WILL boil over and create a mess. You don’t want that to happen. And don’t say I didn’t warn you… ha!). Stir again and continue microwaving for 15 seconds at a time until your preferred consistency is reached.

Step 3: Add the Fixin’s.

For Strawberries n Cream: Add greek yogurt and mix together well. Top with a few more strawberries if you feel fancy.

For Banana Cinnamon: Add cinnamon and mix together well. Top with warmed bananas.

Step 4: Eat.

‘Nuff said.

“THE” Lemon-Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

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My mom has had the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook for a year. This entire last year, she, my sister and I have been absolutely drooling over the cake picture on the cover.  Mom gave me my own copy of the cookbook (after she got sick of me always calling her for recipes out of it, I think).

A year of drool finally caught up to us and I decided to pull out the book and make it for her as a surprise for her birthday. It came out so deliciously. It uses about half whole wheat pastry flour and the other half white all-purpose flour. Using the wheat pastry flour makes it a bit denser and not quite as ‘fluffy’ as a traditional cake, but it didn’t take away from the flavor. And with the raspberry filling and creamy frosting, it all blended oh so well together. I promised a few friends I’d share the recipe.

So, here it is in all it’s glory. Please excuse the not so spectacular frosting and decorating job by me. I’m many things but cake decorator is one I’m not. It tasted good though, I promise!

Note, while the cake is pretty simple to make, the frosting is a bit more time-consuming. Well… Actually a LOT more time consuming. I think it took me a total of about 2-3 hours to make and frost the cake. But it was worth it!  And the only thing that bummed me out was that by the time I got to the frosting step, I was so tired, I forgot to put frosting between the layers. Oh well. Still tasted good. heh.

Lemon-Raspberry Cake

Makes three 8″ or two 9″ rounds or one 9×13″ sheet cake. Serves 16

  • 2 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/4 t baking soda
  • 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 c sugar (either superfine or granulated)
  • 3/4 t salt
  • 5 large egg whites
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 c milk
  • 1/4 c seedless raspberry jam
  • Fresh raspberries for garnish (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour the pans or line the bottom with parchment paper
  2. Whisk together flours, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream together butter, sugar and alt in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides occasionally. It should take at least 5 mins and the butter turns from yellow to white.
  3. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.
  4. Mix half the flour mixture at a slow speed, then add the lemon juice and milk. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until completely combined. Scrape sides again and mix until completely combined, being careful not to over-beat.
  5. Pour batter evenly into the pans. Level the top of the batter with a spatula or back of a spoon. Bake the cakes the amount appropriate for the size: 8″ rounds = 20-22 mins; 9″ rounds = 27-30 mins; 9×13″ sheet cake = 35-38 mins. The cake is one when it begins to pull back from the edges of the pan and is an even golden brown color on the top. The center won’t spring back when done, but neither will it leave a dent.
  6. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack 20 mins before removing the layers from the pans. Chill the cakes before assembling to make them easier to handle.
  7. To assemble, once the cakes are chilled, spread the tops of the cake layers with raspberry jam. Return the layers to the freezer for about 15-20 mins before filling with frosting and stacking layers. This allows the jam to set and the layers won’t slide apart while you’re frosting the cake.
  8. Use the lemon buttercream frosting recipe below to spread a thin layer of frosting over the raspberry jam, stack the layers and frost the outside of the cake. Keep refrigerated until you’re ready to use the cake, then take it out of the refrigerator a couple of hours in advance and serve at room temperature, if possible.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

  • 1/2 c egg whites (whites from 3-4 large eggs) or 1/4 c meringue powder dissolved in 1/2 c cool water
  • 1/4 c light corn syrup
  • 1 c sugar
  • 1/4 c water
  • 1/2 t cream of tartar (if using egg whites)
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 c vegetable shortening
  • 2 t vanilla extract
  • 4 Tbsp lemon juice (divided into 2 Tbsp each)
  • 2 Tbsp lemon zest
  1. Place corn syrup, sugar, water and 2 Tbsp lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Stir until combined and the sugar is dissolved. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes with the pan covered to wash off any sugar crystals on the sides. Uncover and cook to the soft ball stage (240 F)
  2. Place egg whites (or reconstituted meringue powder) in the bowl of an upright mixer (such as a kitchen aid). Beat on a low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar (if using egg whites) and salt. Gradually increase the speed and continue beating until soft peaks form.
  3. As soon as the sugar reaches soft ball stage, remove from heat. Turn off the mixture. Very carefully, pour about 1/4 of the hot syrup down the inside of the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on high speed and beat well. Add the syrup in two more additions, stopping the mixer every time so the hot syrup doesn’t splash and burn you, working as quickly as possible. If the sugar is slightly overcooked and hardens a bit, return it to the heat for a moment to remelt it.
  4. Continue to beat the meringue until it cools to room temperature. This takes about 20 mins of continuous beating. If you need to hurry it along, place the bowl in an ice bath for a few moments while mixing by hand then return it to the machine. If you add the butter before the meringue is cool, the butter will melt and the frosting will collapse.
  5. When meringue is cool, if you have two mixers, mix the butter and shortening together before adding it. Otherwise, beat in the soft butter a bit at a time. If the frosting starts to separate, continue beating without adding any more butter until it looks fluffy again. Beat in the shortening. Beat in the vanilla, remaining 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp lemon zest.  If the frosting is too soft, refrigerate before using.

(PS – Happy Birthday, mom!)

Vegetarian Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Yum Gai)

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I went to a local Thai restaurant not too long ago and they had the most amazing Vegetarian Hot and Sour soup. I’ve had Chinese Hot and Sour Soup before and thought it was “ok”. I have this crazy thing for lemongrass flavor, so Thai Hot and Sour stole away my heart.  I had a bunch of leftover Thai ingredients from a dinner I made a few nights back and didn’t want all my yummy Asian produce to go to waste. And what better way to use a whole slew of leftover produce but a soup? Per my usual style, I browsed some recipes, then made up my own.

With the vegetables, you can pretty much use whatever you prefer. I listed what I used in my soup, but feel free to make it your own way. You really can’t go wrong with a soup like this, so get the ‘base’ down and then modify to your heart’s content!

I am entirely pleased with the outcome of my soup. It’s warm, comforting and, in my humble opinion, has a comforting authentic flavor. I’ve been taking 2nds and 3rds… “Just one more taste” ever since I ate it for dinner. I can’t wait to share it with the rest of my family who are going to taste my leftovers tomorrow.

Another great benefit is that it’s a very low fat and low calorie dish. I did my own nutritional calculations, so though I can’t guarantee they are 100% accurate, they’re pretty close and can at least give you a guideline (nutrition values are below, under the recipe).

A few things to note before you get started about the ethnic ingredients, especially if you’re not used to working with them…

  1. Thai Bird Chilies (aka “Thai Chilies” or “Birdeye Chilies”) usually come in red or green and are about 1 inch long. The number of chilies you use determines the “star” rating of heat. I used 3 and it was ‘medium’. I probably could have gone for 4. I like a little nose drip with my hot and sour soup. These chilies are very hot. In fact, you may want to wear gloves when chopping them. My left thumb was burning for hours after holding the chili to chop it with my right. I also scratched an itch on my cheek and had a red ‘burn’ for a few hours as well, no thanks to the chili juice. But don’t let this scare you. They are an essential flavor (aka – the “hot” in “hot and sour”) to this soup. Just proceed with caution.
  2. Fish Sauce is a staple flavor in most Thai dishes. There are some vegetarian options out there at specialty stores or you can make your own. In a pinch, you can use a bit of seaweed for that “sea” flavor, but I would use that as a last resort.
  3. Lemongrass. Do not eat the lemongrass. I don’t even want to tell you my story of when I tried to serve my husband (then boyfriend) lemongrass finely sliced in a salad. It was bad. It’s a flavoring. Don’t. Eat. The. Lemongrass. I’m sure you all know this already, but in the event you didn’t. I needed to at least let you learn from my bad experience and warn you. Strip the outside layers off, wash it well, then get the flavor out of it by using the flat side of a knife or a rolling pin and pound it a few times. Then, slice into 3″ pieces and throw it into the soup. I know there are ways to use the actual lemongrass in recipes but I haven’t figured that out yet.

Vegetarian Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Yum Gai)

Serves: 4-appetizer, 2-meal

  • 1 t oil (I always use olive because that’s what I have closest to the stove)
  • 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups vegetarian chickenless broth (or vegetable broth)
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 stock lemongrass, pounded and cut into 3″ pieces
  • 14 oz whole tomatoes, drained (not rinsed), cut into large chunks (approx 1/2 a large can)
  • 1 to 6 red or green Thai chilies, seeded and finely minced
  • 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh peas
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms (I recommend Shitake or Chinese black)
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
  • 2/3 cup extra firm tofu, cubes
  • Any additional vegetables of your choosing, such as red bell pepper, bamboo shoots, broccoli, etc. (I would have used these if I had some on hand)
  • 2 Tbsp vegetarian fish sauce (you can buy or make your own. Fish sauce is a “staple” flavor’
  • Juice from 2 limes
  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 3-4 lime leaves (optional)
  • 1 t Basil, minced, plus additional for garnish (optional)
  • 1 t Cilantro, minced, plus additional for garnish (optional)
  • Bean sprouts for garnish (optional)
  1. Prepare all your ingredients by chopping, dicing, mincing, etc. Pound the lemongrass with a rolling pin or the flat side of a knife.
  2. Heat the oil in a medium/large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook stirring occasionally until translucent.
  3. Add broth, water, lemongrass, lime leaves (if you have it) and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Let boil 15-20 mins.
  4. Add chilies, carrots and peas. Bring back to a boil and let simmer at a low boil for another 10 minutes
  5. Add mushrooms, tofu, green onions, vegetarian fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, basil and cilantro. Bring back to a boil and let boil approx 5 mins. If there doesn’t appear to be enough broth, add 1/2 cup of water at a time bringing it back to a boil before serving.
  6. Serve being mindful to not serve the lemongrass or lime leaves Garnish with bean sprouts and additional basil and cilantro before presenting.

Nutrition for 1/4 the recipe, when making it as an appetizer for 4:
140 calories, 4g fat, 20g carbs, 8g protein, 4g fiber

Nonfat Whole Wheat Carrot Craisin Muffins

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This amazing little muffin is surprisingly moist and light in texture for being nonfat and whole wheat! Even my husband (who doesn’t usually go for muffins all that often) loves these. I found a random recipe online and did a bunch of “doctoring” until I made it my own lightweight version of the muffin. It’s lovely. I highly recommend you go try it asap. And go check out the nutrition stats at the bottom. Shocked? Yep. I was too. Those little numbers (pun intended) make me very happy. :)

Nonfat Whole Wheat Carrot Craisin Muffins

Prep time: 15 mins
Bake time: 18-20 mins
Makes 12 muffins

  • 1 1/4 c white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat)
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t ginger
  • 1/2 c brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 c light orange juice (Trop50)
  • 1/4 c egg substitute (Egg Beaters)
  • 1 1/2 c grated carrots
  • 1/2 c dry, sweetened cranberries (Craisins)
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Sift (or mix with a whisk) the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger together in a bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, applesauce, orange juice, and egg beaters together.
  4. Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until almost combined. Fold in the carrots and cranberries. (do not over beat!)
  5. Divide the batter evenly in 12 muffin cups. Reduce the oven temperature to 360 and bake for 18-20 mins until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
  6. Let cool 5 mins in the pan, then carefully transfer the muffins to a wire rack to continue cooling.  (Letting them cool out of the pan allows the edges to not become soggy.)

Nutrition: 105 calories, 0g fat, 25g carbs, 2g protein, 2g fiber

Cajun Black Eyed Pea Soup

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I hosted a soup party on New Years Day for some close family and friends. It’s an annual tradition that we missed last year due to some circumstances beyond my control. I was happy to reinstate the tradition. Unfortunately, everyone signed up to bring things other than soup, so the last minute, I figured out that we really didn’t have enough soup to go around. I scrounged up the best tasting soup from things in my closet with some inspiration from a few online recipe searches. Here is what we ended up with. It was warm, spicy and hearty. Perfect for a cool winter day or evening. Even my husband, the carnivore, loved this soup and asked for seconds. He even happily ate it the next day as leftovers. Success!

(Sorry the pic isn’t much better than this; I was in a hurry trying to hostess and barely had time to snap a few shots)

Cajun Black Eyed Pea Soup

Serves approx 16 (you can cut it in half or freeze half if you don’t want so much)

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2/3 cups brown rice
  • 1 tsp cayanne pepper
  • 1 tsp cajun seasoning (such as TexJoy – I had some on hand thanks to my friends from Texas… Just… shhhh… don’t tell anyone it has MSG in it. eep!)
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 5 faux sausage patties or links (I used Morningstar Breakfast Patties)
  • 4 cups cooked black eye peas (cook them yourself, fresh in the produce department – that’s what I did – , or use a low sodium canned version, rinsed and drained)
  1. In a large soup pot, melt the butter. Add onion and saute until tender (approx 5 mins)
  2. Add the broth and water to the pot and bring to boil. Once boiling, add rice and all seasonings. Bring back to a boil. Cover and let cook 10 mins.
  3. While the rice is cooking, prepare your faux sausage by defrosting in the microwave for approx 1 min. Cut into small cubes. If it’s not frozen, simply cut into small cubes and set aside.
  4. Add sausage and black eyed peas to the soup. Bring back to a boil on medium-high heat. Cover and turn down the heat to medium low. Let simmer for about 20 additional minutes.
  5. Taste and season more as desired.

Mediterranean Vegetable-Cheese Pie

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I’ll just go on record and say that this is absolutely AMAZING and DELICIOUS and you might as well double the recipe right off the top because you’ll eat it all and then come back wanting more. I made this for our Christmas morning brunch and it was a hit. I tripled the recipe and came home empty handed. Every single crumb was devoured. I made it a week later for dinner. It worked just as well for either meal!

To top it all off, it’s HEALTHY. (what a nice way to start 2010, no?). The nutritional content on this both surprised and thrilled me and it’s for an entire quarter of the pie! It’s just 192 cals, 4.8g fat (2g sat fat), 10.5g carb, 17.5g protein, 7.8g fiber. Don’t lie. You’re in awe too.

Mediterranean Vegetable-Cheese Pie

Serves 4.
Recipe from SELF, April 2005 courtesy of Epicurious.
Rancho La Puerta Spa, Tecate, Baja California

  • Olive-oil cooking spray
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/8-inch rounds
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 8 oz (about 8 cups) baby spinach
  • 3 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 cup nonfat ricotta or fat-free cottage cheese (I couldn’t find nonfat ricotta, so I went with the cottage cheese and couldn’t tell the difference)
  • 1 tbsp feta, crumbled
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil or dill, or 3 tsp dried basil or dill, divided into 2 equal portions (I used fresh basil)
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
  • 1 1/2 tbsp grated Asiago or Parmesan
  • 1 1/2 tbsp grated lowfat mozzarella
  1. Heat oven to 350°. Coat a 9″ pie plate with cooking spray.
  2. Line bottom of plate with potato slices. Cut remaining slices in half and arrange around side of plate. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.
  3. Remove from oven and set aside. Coat a sauté pan with cooking spray and sauté onion over low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach to pan and let wilt, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain excess fluid from onion and spinach mixture. Stir in olives.
  4. In a bowl, beat eggs and egg whites. Stir in ricotta and feta. Add half the basil or dill and set aside. Spoon onion and spinach mixture into pie plate over potatoes. Layer on egg mixture, then slices of tomato. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until egg is set and a knife inserted into pie comes out clean.
  5. Sprinkle grated cheeses evenly over top of pie and top with remaining basil or dill. Return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut pie into 4 wedges. Serve immediately.

192 cals, 4.8g fat (2g sat fat), 10.5g carb, 17.5g protein, 7.8g fiber.