Less Guilt Chocolate Lava Cakes

Hi Hi!!  Work has finally slowed down (for now) so I figured I'd reward you all for sticking with me with a delicious guilt-free (well, there may be some guilt) lava cake.  Easy to make so go ahead, you can be biting into this gooey deliciousness in less than a half hour!

From The Best of Clean Eating.

cooking spray
1/4 cup plus 1tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sucanat
3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar, to top (optional)

Heat oven to 400.  Spray 4 ramekins with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, combine cocoa and sucanat.  Whisk in applesauce and oil.

In a small bowl, whisk egg and egg white.  Add to cocoa mixture.  Whisk until smooth.  Stir in flour and vanilla until just completely combined.  No over mixing.

Pour into ramekins and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 9 minutes.  They will come out looking underdone.  They are not!  Let stand a few minutes before inverting on dessert plates.  Serve warm for the most warm yumminess.

Healthier Chicken Parm

**DISCLAIMER - Currently having computer display issues which are prohibiting me from accurately determining the coloring and exposure of my uploaded pics. Apologies for the over and under exposed, dark or just plain crappy photos**

Last week we had another of my daughter's picks for dinner.  Again, from the Clean Eating cookbook.

This is a healthified chicken parmagiana using whole wheat breading and adhering said breading with mustard instead of eggs and milk.  It was delicious.  The kids could detect the mustard flavor and decided they didn't want to have it again, but this night at least, they ate it.

1 cup whole wheat panko
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup prepared pasta sauce
1/2 cup part skim mozz, shredded

Heat oven to 400.  Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow bowl.  Brush both sides of the chicken breasts with mustard.  Coat with panko mixture and arrange on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with three tablespoons of sauce and some mozzarella.  Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbling.

I really loved the bite of the mustard on this.  We only had whole grain on hand so the breading didn't fully coat the chicken but that was ok with me.  If you'd like a more even coating, a finer ground version would probably work best.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

In my attempt to get back on track with healthy eating AND get the kids involved and excited about it, this past weekend I dug out a few of my "healthier" cookbooks and magazines and let them tab dishes they wanted to have throughout the next two weeks.  Then we compiled our shopping list and hit the store.  It is such a nice feeling to be organized and have what I need for the week.  On my fridge is a list of the chosen dishes and in the morning I decide which one we will have, defrost or set up whatever meat we need, and go about my day.

Today's dish rocked my socks!  It was chosen by my daughter from Clean Eating's new cookbook.  It was nice to finely chop all those veggies and watch the kids devour them.  So, I highly recommend the Turkey Sloppy Joes for the fam.

1 cup Yellow Corn

1 lb Ground Breast Of Turkey
1/2 cup Raw Red Bell Pepper
1/2 cup Yellow Bell Pepper
1/2 cup Red Onion
4 tsp Chili Powder
2 cloves Garlic
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
6 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cup Chicken Broth, Reduced Sodium
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
3/4 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Arrowroot
6 whole wheat rolls
Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

 Dice red and yellow peppers and onion in 1/2 dice. Finely chop garlic cloves. Set aside.


In a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, cook turkey until it begins to brown, 3-4 minutes. Add red and yellow peppers and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add onion and garlic, cook for 4 minutes. Add chili powder and salt and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes, corn, broth, tomato paste and soy sauce. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer,cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Dissolve arrowroot in 2 tbsp cold water. Add sloppy joe mixture at end of cooking time. Stir until sauce thickens - 30-60 seconds.

Toast your rolls in the toaster oven or under broiler.  Slap the meat on there and top with some cheese.  Yummy!

They are just a tad bit messy.  But I really love to see this:

The leftovers were awesome too.  Served it one day over whole wheat pasta for the kids and my husband and I took some to work with pita bread for lunch.

Anyone else pick up this book yet?