Mint and Watermelon Soda Floats

I was looking at clothes online the other day and one of the websites mentioned getting ahead on fall styles. While fall is my favorite season, I don't want to get rid of summer just yet. With the surgery on my legs in May, I was not able to enjoy summer like usual. I also had surgery in June of last year, so last summer was out, too. Now that I am able to walk around, it is time to make the most out of these last few weeks.

This drink will help you do just that. It's full of summer flavors - the cool mint, the refreshing watermelon, and the ice cream, just for good measure. I think you should try to make this drink as much as possible between now and Labor Day. 

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I think ice cream may be one of the hardest things to photograph. I swear in the time it took for me to raise the camera up to my eye, the ice cream melted. I was constantly putting the tin back into the freezer to harden up and then taking it out again to quickly photograph, just to see that it melted everywhere again. It also didn't help that the sun was playing peek-a-boo-with the clouds and just as I would adjust the camera settings, the light would change and I would have to adjust them again. I played around with the idea of not posting, but then, just as I was giving up, I licked the ice cream scoop and realized I needed to share. So these pictures are not at all how I wanted them to be, but the taste definitely is!

This is my first time trying ice cream made with coconut milk and I am definitely a fan! This ice cream is pretty sweet, so you can play around with the amount of sugar in it. I also used two cans of full-fat coconut milk, but I'm sure using one full-fat can and one light can would be fine. This recipe is also vegan, gluten free and dairy free!

Blueberry Fool

I'm back! I explained in a post a couple of weeks ago why I had been gone so long, but the leg is definitely on the mend and I don't go back to school for another month.

I'm so excited to get back to blogging! I've spent the past couple weeks trying out recipe ideas and I have some new ideas that I want to implement.

I'm working on getting some social media sites up for the blog, so look for those in the next couple weeks!

This recipe is absolutely delicious. I love being able to get fresh berries this time of year. I would recommend that this recipe be eaten the same day it is made, as I found it it doesn't taste that great the next day.

Apple-Cranberry Crumble

I know it's been almost three months since I last posted, but here are the apple and pumpkin posts that I promised. School got extremely busy and I just didn't have time to make many recipes. I did make some and they didn't turn out how I wanted. Now I am on break, so I have some time to get this blog up and running again and hopefully I won't disappear again when the new semester starts in January.

This crumble is from Skinnytaste and really delicious. I first made it a couple weeks ago and knew that I had to share. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures the first time I made it but I finally got around to doing that. 

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Meringue Icing

So I completely forgot about Cinco de Mayo. Shocker, I know. I only remembered when I started seeing recipes pop up early last week but by then I had already planned out all the recipes for the week. But I'm not going to forget about Mother's Day! This is the perfect recipe to make for dessert. Strawberries are in abundance right now and this is a great way to use them.

I adapted the cupcake recipe from How Sweet it Is and I got the icing recipe from Skinnytaste. One of the changes I made to the How Sweet it Is recipe is the addition of light butter. This made the cupcakes a little denser than a usual cupcake, but I liked it because they felt a little more substantial and probably would not change it in the future.

Diet Soda Cupcakes

I remember reading about making cupcakes with diet soda soon after I joined Weight Watchers. I thought it was a really interesting idea, but I never got around to trying it. I was trying to come up with a dessert recipe and decided to finally give it a try. I used Duncan Hines' Butter Golden cake mix and Sprite Zero. Next I think I will try red velvet cake mix and Diet Coke.

I chose to make cupcakes because of the built in portion control, but you can also make this into a cake. All you do is replace all the eggs, butter and water with about 1 1/4 cups of diet soda. I took Gina's tip on Skinnytaste and also added two egg whites. I topped it with some fat free whipped cream and it totally satisfied my sweets craving and tastes no different than the original!

Also important to note is that the nutritional information and Points+ value will change with different cake mixes and brands.

Flourless Brownies

You will never guess what makes these brownies flourless. I was a little skeptical when I first read the recipe. How could those be any kind of acceptable substitute? But since I am a sucker for anything chocolate and I am really, really trying to cut down on white flour this year, I decided to go ahead and give these a try. I am so glad I did. They were very moist and chocolate-y, perfect for brownies. This is another recipe that I got from my Whole Foods Recipe app and here is a link to it online. I made a few adjustments, especially since I am not a fan of nuts in my brownies.

OK, ready for the secret ingredient?

Yup, black beans. Who would have thought these would work? Just make sure you process the beans to be very smooth in a food processor and you're good to go!

Chocolate Chip Meringue Clouds

This recipe was another first for me. I had wanted to try out meringues when I bought myself a stand mixer, bit I chickened out. I had planned to post a meringue recipe before the holidays but I heard that meringues are finicky. They often didn't set, stuck to pans, we just difficult in general. In the spirit of trying something new in the new year, I decided to just give them a try. I was very pleased to discover that they are not hard at all! I looked up many different variations of this recipe: some called for different flavored extracts, nuts, flour, etc. I decided to just keep it simple: just egg whites, sugar and chocolate chips. No stabilizers or anything and I am very happy to report that they turned out just fine.

I really like the subtle taste of the chocolate in these cookies. It does not overpower the meringue, but the chocolate taste is definitely there. 

Almond-Cinnamon Cookies with Browned Butter Drizzle

These cookies are absolutely delicious. I saw the ingredients and I was intrigued. I like almonds and I definitely like cinnamon - these seemed like the perfect match. I adapted them from Better Homes and Gardens. I changed things up slightly by using white whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and swapping out some of the butter for plain nonfat yogurt. The results turned out really well. Once again, I used Smart Balance butter to make these cookies. They are perfect for a New Years party!

 I also like my cookies to be pretty soft. If you want a crispier cookie, bake for about 5 minutes longer.

 

Frosted Sugar Cookie Squares

The only thing I can say about these cookies is "Yum". They are perfect to bring to a holiday party because they are meant for a large crowd. I have seen these bars on several blogs and decided to try to make a lighter version. It is still pretty point heavy, but holiday parties are meant for indulgences.

I adapted the cookie recipe from Recipe Girl and I adapted the frosting from Skinnytaste.  For the cookies, it was my first time trying to make lightened up cookies. I swapped out half of the butter with fat free sour cream, and I was very relieved to find out that worked. I'm on my way to being a light baking pro! I used Smart Balance butter for the batter because if I am going to use a stick of butter in anything, I want it to have some kind of nutritional value.

The dough for these cookies is extremely sticky.  I would recommend spraying everything you use to handle them with baking spray, including your hands. Also, a stand mixer is really handy when making the dough. I don't have one. Maybe for Christmas (*hint, hint*).

I made these cookies Christmas themed, but feel free to change up the frosting/sprinkles to whatever you like.

Cranberry Sorbet

This recipe is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. I love cranberries and I have never found a recipe including them that I do not like. I have never had cranberries in a frozen treat before, so I jumped on the chance to try this recipe when I saw fresh cranberries in the store. Frozen cranberries can also be used, of course.

This is another recipe that I adapted from the Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

All the delicious flavors found in pumpkin pie, just frozen! This is another recipe that I made for Thanksgiving dinner and was a big hit. If you can't indulge a bit during the holidays, when can you? This recipe certainly fits the bill. Once again I had the difficulties of making ice cream light. I got the inspiration for this recipe from Christie's Corner. I made a few alterations in an attempt to make it lighter. The result tastes just like real ice cream so my mission was accomplished.

I added crushed graham crackers to act like the crust. The ice cream tastes perfectly fine without them, so you can leave them out if you wish.

Making ice cream can sometimes be a long process, but I promise the results are worth it.

Cranberry Squares

Tart cranberries with a sweet frosting. What says holidays better than this dessert? I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a big hit. They are fairly simple to make, but look like you put a lot of time and effort into them. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is not too sweet. There is no extra sugar in the frosting and it serves as the perfect accompaniment to the both sweet and tart filling. This recipe makes a lot, so it is great to serve at your next holiday party.

I got this recipe from the same Land 'O Lakes cookbook that I adapted my Snickerdoodle Ice Cream recipe from. I lightened it up a bit of course, but I doubt that any of the taste was sacrificed. Also, I'm sure frozen cranberries would work fine instead of fresh.

Cinnamon Pear Frozen Yogurt

All the delicious smells and tastes of fall combined into a tasty sweet treat. Just because it is cold outside doesn't mean that it is time to retire the ice cream maker. There are plenty of delicious frozen treats with a fall flavor. Pears and cinnamon always remind me of fall. This makes the perfect ending to a nice hearty cold weather meal.

This is another recipe that I had discrepancies between the nutritional information and the Points+ calculator. The Point+ calculator says this is only two points, which is what I am going with, while the nutrition information says it is 3 Points+. You can decide how you want to count them.

Pina Colada Smoothie

Missing summer? We all of a sudden had a return of the hot temperatures reminiscent of August rather than September. While I love the fall and its crisp weather and pretty leaves, I was glad summer decided to make one last appearance. I though this recipe would be perfect to say farewell to summer until next year.

The nutrition information for this recipe is based on using 1/2 fat ice cream. I have been having trouble finding fat free ice cream for some reason, but if you have it, I am sure it would be fine in this recipe.

Snickerdoodle Ice Cream

Cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg - all the ingredients that make the snickerdoodle cookie delicious are combined to make a rich, delicious ice cream. This recipe has indulgence written all over it. It is not something I would make on a regular basis due to the less than figure friendly nutritional information, but I had a special occasion to make it for.

I got this recipe from an old Land 'O Lakes cookbook that I have had laying around for a while. I remember when I first got the book, I saw this recipe and was so upset I did not have an ice cream maker to make it with. Now that I do, I decided I would give it a shot. I lightened it up to the best of my ability, but even so, it is not very "light". Homemade ice cream is tricky because you want to keep the smoothness of ice cream, and it is hard to do so using low or nonfat items.

The ice cream was very soft when it came out of the ice cream maker. I prefer it that way, but some people like it more firm. I recommend putting it into the freezer for a few hours before serving so that it has a chance to freeze a bit more.

Watermelon Sorbet

This summer dessert is absolutely wonderful. One of my favorite parts of summer is getting nice, fresh watermelon. It is absolutely perfect on a steamy summer day. This sorbet combines the light, sweet taste of watermelon with the tang of lime in a nice cool sorbet perfect for the end of a meal eaten on the porch.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from Epicurious and decided to make a couple of changes. Since I like tart foods, I swapped out the lemon juice for lime and decided to add a good amount of it. The result is a sweet, slightly sour sorbet. I hope you enjoy it!