Either because of or in spite of?

About 16 years ago, as I was cruising through my senior year in college, I met a blond guy at a student association fair. It was a quick introduction - I didn't even remember his name. However, over the course of the next few months, our paths kept crossing in classes, at the student newspaper, at happy hours, etc. Fast-forward to February of our senior year, and he finally asked me out. The first date was a typical restaurant deal, and on the second date, he made me beef stroganoff.

First of all, I had never tasted beef stroganoff. Second of all, I had never had a guy prepare an entire meal for me - think salad, rolls, dessert - the whole enchilada. AND he served it on a TV tray! As you might have guessed, dear readers, I ended up marrying that blond guy and we are fast-approaching our 11-year wedding anniversary.

While this post might have been better timed around our actual anniversary, I felt like making beef stroganoff tonight. Plus, as I mentioned in a previous post, the chances of me cooking on our anniversary are pretty slim. Of course, I have multiple versions of this recipe - some healthy, some not so healthy.

Beef Stroganoff
Source: Clean Eating magazine (Nov/Dec 2010)

Ingredients:

• 1.5c. extra-wide whole wheat egg noodles
• 4.5 tsp evoo, divided
• 2 tbsp white whole-wheat flour (just used white flour)
• 1 c. low sodium beef broth (I use unsalted)
• 1/3c. low-fat sour cream at room temp
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt (skip)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (skip)
• 1.5 tsp chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley, divided (skipped - forgot to buy)
• 9oz beef tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 1/4-inch slices, then into 1- to 2-inch pieces
• 6 shallots, quartered lengthwise (used onions)
• 1.5 lb brown or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered (used sliced)

Directions:

• Cook noodles according to directions.
• Meanwhile, heat 3tsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for one minute. Add broth in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook, whisking occasionally for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream, Dijon, soy sauce, salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp dill. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
• Heat remaining 1.5 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Cook beef, stirring occasionally, until browned on both sides but still pink in center, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.
• Add shallots to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until browned, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and tender, 7-9 minutes. Return beef, along with any accumulated juices, to skillet. Stir in sauce.
• Transfer noodles to plates or a platter and top with beef mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp dill and serve.

Yield: Six servings (2/3c noodles and 2/3c beef mixture)
Per serving: Calories: 303; total fat: 8.5g  (sat: 2g; mono: 4g; poly: 0.5g); carbs: 41g; fiber: 6.5g; sugars: 3g; protein: 20g; sodium: 195mg; chols: 31mg

I also made peanut butter brownies, just because they sounded good.

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies
Source: Cooking Light, September 2011

Ingredients:

• 5.6oz all-purpose flour (about 1-1/4 c.)
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tbsp 2% milk (used 1%)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• cooking spray
• 4 (0.75oz) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk.
• In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Arrange the chopped peanut butter cups over batter bake at 350 degrees for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Yield: 20 servings (1 brownie)
Per serving: Calories: 153; Fat: 7g (sat: 2.9g; mono 2g; poly: 0.8g); Protein: 3.2g; carb: 20.8g; fiber: 0.7g; chol: 28mg; iron: 0.7mg; sodium: 98mg; calc: 17mg

Reviews:
First up - the brownies. Very easy to prepare - the only issue I had was that it took longer than 19 minutes to bake through. Maybe because I used a glass pan instead of a metal one? Very good taste - I was worried they were going to be super-sweet (which I don't love), but they aren't. Me and the hubs enjoyed the brownies, the kid thought it was so-so. I think he just had his mind set on ice cream.

We also all enjoyed the stroganoff. Kind of a hassle to make with all of the different pans, etc., but good flavor.

Side note: The hubs once again showed his stroganoff chops by serving as a sous chef to help with the cooking when I got called away for some thing I had to deal with. That's also why there's no picture of the stroganoff. Double side note: Serious shout out to a couple of my 'hood mamas who came through big-time tonight!

Yum - blondies!

Something Old, Lots of New and Go Bucks!

No - this is not our wedding anniversary (as if I would cook on that day anyway) nor are we renewing our vows. And for the record, I'm not sporting any blue.

The boys headed down to the Ohio State game so I decided (and was partially inspired by the Crock Pot Girls on Facebook - not following but a bunch of my friends are) to whip out the crock pot and some ribs I had laying around. Hence - the "old" - because I've used my crock pot countless times. After the first little snafu of burning everything in the pot, I've "mastered" the pot enough to not burn down our house.

The new is several things. One, when searching for a side, I was going to make healthier cheesy potatoes. But, seeing that it is 100 degrees today and I didn't feel like dealing with the oven in my un-air conditioned house, that recipe was re-filed and instead tried, for the first time, a pearl barley recipe. I have never cooked barley before, but according to Health magazine (where the recipe is sourced from), barley is a "food with benefit" because it is a great source of resistant starch, which is considered a type of dietary fiber and is good for intestinal health. (Not an expert - just based on my Internet research. May or may not be accurate.)

Another new is that I tried raw "Chi Zee" (whatever that means) raw kale chips today. Impulse buy at the grocery store. Um - delish peeps. Go for it. Just read the labels - there are some out there with a lot of sodium b/c of added flavors. I am going to look for a recipe to make them on my own - I know there are tons out there. I guess kale has a ton of health benefits - lowers cholesterol, can protect again cancer, fights inflammation, helps detox the body, etc.

Finally - the last new is that today officially marks the beginning of college football. I KNOW it actually started on Thursday, but with this being Ohio State's first game (super impressive, btw), it is MY beginning of the new season. I bleed scarlet and gray - GO BUCKS!

Best Asian-Style Ribs
Source: Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Recipe Card Collection (2007)

Ingredients:

• 2 full racks of baby back pork ribs, split into 3 sections
• 6oz hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp minced fresh ginger (didn't use fresh)
• 1/2 c. maraschino cherries (weird, right?)
• 1/2 c. rice wine vinegar
• Water to cover
• 4 green onions, chopped (skipped - didn't feel like it)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients except onions. Cover. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-3.5 hours. Sprinkle with onions before serving.

(I have no clue what the nutrionals are on this. Not healthy - sorry MV - didn't eat too much though)

Pearl Barley with Peas and Edamame
Source: Health magazine, March 2011

Ingredients:

• 1 c. pearl barley
• 1 c. frozen shelled edamame
• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 1 c. fresh spinach
• 2-1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1-1/2 tsp lemon zest (skip)
• 1-1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (didn't use fresh)
• 1/4 tsp salt (skip)

Directions:

• Place barley and 4c water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until water is nearly absorbed (25-30 minutes).
• Stir in frozen edamame and peas; cook, uncovered, until barley absorbs all of remaining water (5-10 mins). Turn off heat.
• Stir in spinach; set aside.
• Combine Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt in a small bow, whisking well. Pour over barley, stir to combine.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serving size: 1 cup
Per serving: Calories: 259; fat: 2g (sat: 0mg, mono: 0mg, poly: 0mg); cholesterol: 0mg; protein: 11g; carbs: 50g; sugars: 3g; fiber: 12g; iron: 3mg; sodium: 232mg; calcium: 57mg

Reviews:
The kid ate absolutely nothing. But, I base this more on the fact that he had a super-long day at Ohio Stadium, is therefore particularly pissy and tired right now, and less that he just didn't like the food. I was kind of worried about this side dish - I let it simmer for a little longer than in the directions, but it still seemed a little watery. But, once it hit the plate, it was actually quite good. I cut my serving in half because an entire cup seemed like a lot. Even the hubs, who doesn't like peas or spinach or really anything particularly healthy, enjoyed. The ribs were OK. The name of the recipe is def deceiving - they were certainly not the best Asian-style ribs I've ever had. I did taste that weird cherry ingredient, but they weren't overly sweet.

I actually had more than 2 ribs, but this photographed better

One month down, 11 to go

I'm not cooking tonight b/c the boys have soccer duties.

So, instead, let's take some time to reflect.

I can't believe it's already been one month since I launched My Great Big Recipe Challenge. Time sure flies when you're having fun... and cooking... and working... and have kids... and, and, and...

Anyway - it has been fun! I love the comments that are both posted and I hear in person! I love hearing that people are trying recipes, want to try them or just enjoy reading the super-clever posts. And, in the process, I've learned a few things too:

• My images are not always the most appetizing
• There's a mammoth world out there of food-related blogs (all with seemingly much better photography than mine)
• I have only scratched the surface with both my recipes and my blog

Lots of cookbooks! And yes, I have binders...

I have some plans to continue enhancing the blog (this is your shout-out, HK and K-Skull) and look forward to the ongoing learning process that is blogging. If you have any feedback, ideas or want to share some recipes - LMK. I'm considering some guest blogging in the future b/c that might fun things up even more.

In the meantime, I will have some posts over the weekend. Have a great one, and GO BUCKS!!

Lean Tofu Pad Thai

Under normal circumstances, I love pad thai. There's a great restaurant pretty close to my home - PepperMint Cafe - that servings amazing pad thai (amongst other dishes). However, two things stop me from going there or any Asian restaurant more often than once or twice a year: (A) The hubs does not like most Asian food-based restaurants (unreasonable fear of too many veggies - not kidding) and (B) most of the dishes are (probably) so frickin high in sodium that I am bloating just thinking about it. In fact, an average serving of restaurant-prepared pad thai may have upwards of 1700mg of sodium per serving. Yikes! (Note: I do not have the  actual nutritional analysis of PepperMint Cafe's pad thai - this number is simply based on research and may or may not be accurate.)

However, that doesn't mean I don't get a hankering (nice word, huh?) for some stir fry every once in a while. And luckily, I have lots of recipes for different types of healthier stir fry-like dishes. Tonight's selection comes from my old love-hate friend, Clean Eating magazine - Lean Tofu Pad Thai.

Although the recipe is for TOFU pad thai, I think the hubs' head would explode if I tried to serve that to him. So instead, per the magazine's suggestion, I substituted boneless (cooked) chicken breast, cut up into little pieces. Shrimp or turkey would also work. Side note: I would be remiss if I didn't give my sous chef (the hubs) a quick shout-out as he did the actual chopping of the chicken since we were a little pressed for time tonight. And I kind of hate chopping chicken.

Lean Tofu Pad Thai
Source: Clean Eating magazine, Nov/Dec 2009

Ingredients:

• 8oz brown rice noodles (I used lo mein noodles)
• 4 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (didn't use fresh)
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 egg white, whisked
• 2 c. green cabbage, chopped (skip - didn't feel like it)
• 1 c. bean sprouts (skip - don't like)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
• 12 oz firm tofu, cubed (chicken)
• 1/4 c. cilantro, minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted peanuts, crushed (totally forgot to add - I like the peanuts on this)
• Lime wedges for garnish (um - no)

Directions:

• Cook brown rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together tomato paste, vinegar, honey, fish sauce, lime juice and cayenne. Set aside.
• Heat a large skilled or wok over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Mist with cooking spray. Add egg white and saute until cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove egg white and dice into small pieces.
• In the same pan, misted again with cooking spray, saute cabbage, bean sprouts, onions and carrot over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add tofu and cook for another 2 minutes. Add cooked egg white and cilantro, sauteing for another 2 minutes. Then stir in tomato paste mixture. Add cooked noodles. Stir until completely combined and thoroughly heated, about 3-4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and garnish with peanuts before serving. Add lime wedges and additional cilantro, if desired.

Yield: 8 1-cup servings
Per serving (tofu version): Calories: 220; Total fat: 4g (sat: 0); carbs: 38g; fiber: 4g; sugars: 11g; protein: 11g; sodium: 510mg; cholesterol: 0mg

Reviews:
We love this meal! So delish and relatively easy to prepare. The kid didn't like the noodles tonight, but thought the chicken was fabulous and asked for seconds. Both me and the hubs ate our entire servings, plus there's a ton of leftovers. Bonus? Got my pad thai fix without the sodium bloat.

Fun purple plates! The orange glob on the plate is not part of the meal, btw

Fancy Pants

We've already established in a previous post that the kid enjoys steak. I'm not entirely sure why, since he doesn't like hamburgers, but steak is always a go in our house. He's high-end, I guess.

Since we are only eating together twice this week (as of now) due to schedules/social events, I decided to forgo our typical Meatless Monday for one of the kid's favorite meals - steak tacos. I guess not only did I skip Meatless Monday, I went all out in the opposite direction.

In addition to our usual refried beans, I added a side dish of Mexican Rice from one of my favorite cookbooks, 500 Low Sodium Recipes. This recipe, with only 41mg sodium/serving, beats eating boxed Mexican-flavored rice, which can have hundreds upon hundreds of milligrams of sodium. And since I try to keep my sodium to approx 1500mg/day, and since all that sodium is kind of nasty anyway, that won't do.

The Mexican Rice recipe is chock full of diced tomatoes. I do not like raw tomatoes except in rare moments of tomato weakness, but I don't shy away from canned tomatoes/sauces when selecting my recipes. I probably don't have to tell you, but tomatoes in all forms pack a healthy and nutritional punch - with lycopene, Vitamin C and Vitamin A leading the way (remember, I am not an expert on nutrition - just someone who can Google). There have been a lot of studies published about the cancer-fighting agents found in cooked tomatoes/sauces, etc.

Steak Tacos
Source: Clean Eating magazine, May/June 2010

Note: This recipe also includes directions for avocado cream sauce, but I just did the steak part. It also calls for corn tortillas and other random ingredients, but I used La Tortilla Factory Low-Carb, High Fiber Whole Wheat Tortillas (50 cals/wrap!), so I am not going to include nutritional information. I added Newman's Own salsa and some fresh avocado to mine, the boys added cheese.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb lean round steak, thinly sliced into 1/4-inch-thick strips
• 1 tsp Mexican seasoning
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I used refrigerated)
• Salt & pepper to taste (skip)
• Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

• In a large resealable plastic bag, place steak, Mexican seasoning, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, salt & pepper. Seal bag and shake to evenly distribute seasonings and coat steak.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat for one minute. Reduce heat to medium-high, mist skillet with cooking spray and saute steak until preferred doneness.

Mexican Rice
Source: 500 Low Sodium Recipes by Dick Logue

Ingredients:

• 1 c. uncooked rice (used brown rice, obvs)
• 1/3 c. onion, chopped
• 1/3 c. green bell pepper, chopped (skip - don't like green peppers. Have used red before when I have them on hand)
• 2 c. no-salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola)
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper (skip)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp low-sodium beef bouillon (make sure low- or no-sodium since regular bouillon packs a serious sodium punch)
• 1 c. water

Directions:
Saute rice, onion and pepper in oil in heavy saucepan until onion is tender. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (I assumed 2/3 c. = 1 serving, per the rice)
Per serving: 142 cals; 2g protein; 7g total fat (1g sat; 2g mono; 4g poly); 18g carb; 2g fiber; 4g sugar; 50mg calcium; 41mg sodium; 0mg cholesterol

Reviews:
I have made both recipes a bunch and everyone loves both (except the kid doesn't like the rice). I make the rice first, and while it is cooking, prepare the steak, and it times out perfectly. I will honestly miss not making the Mexican Rice because it is such a great go-to side for tacos.



Looking good!



Flying Solo

I typically cook on Sunday nights - usually some sort of dish that takes a little bit more effort - since it's not a crazy weeknight. However, tonight the hubs high-tailed it to C-bus for his fantasy football draft, so the kid and I were on our own (the baby is now eating some sort of puff food, btw).

When we're flying solo, I generally go for something easy, like PB&J for the kid, and a veggie burger or something like that for me. Tonight, with the help/motivation of new recipes from Cooking Light and Clean Eating, I took it up a notch.

Side note: Quick blog tonight - watching the VMAs. LOVE the VMAs. Britney is looking fabu.
Side note 2: Working on the look of the blog - thanks to my peep "K-Skull" - more to come over the next few days, but let me know what you think as it unfolds.

For the kid:
French Toast Peanut Butter and Jelly
Source: Cooking Light, September 2011

Ingredients:

• 2/3 c. 2 percent reduced-fat milk (used 1 percent)
  1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt (skip)
• 8 slices white whole-wheat sandwich bread (used whole grain)
• 1/2 c. strawberry preserves
• 6 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp canola oil, divided
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

• Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Place bread slices on a flat surface. Spread with 2 tbsp preserves over each of 4 slices and spread 1.5 tbsp peanut butter over each of the remaining 4 bread slices. Assemble sandwiches. Dip 2 sandwiches in milk mixture, turning to coat.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1.5 tsp canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Place coated sandwiches in a pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until toasted. Remove from pan, repeat procedure with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle powdered sugar evenly over sandwiches, cut each in half diagonally.

Yield: 4 servings
Per serving: Calories: 394; Fat 19.4g (4.6 sat; 8.7g mono; 5.1g poly); Protein: 14.9g; Carb: 43.2g; Fiber: 5.4g; Chol: 46mg; Sodium: 519mg; Calc: 124mg

Review:
The kid and I were so excited to try the ooey-gooey sandwich. Honestly, after making the milk mix, I didn't measure out the ingredients because he wanted just peanut butter. Sadly, the kid did not enjoy - he thought it was too messy. WTF?! I obvs had to try a tiny bite and thought it was delish - very rich, but very tasty. I bet adding bananas to the peanut butter sandwich (and using almond butter) would make it even better.



What kid doesn't enjoy ooey-gooey? Mine!

For my dinner, I decided to have fish (of the frozen variety), and wanted a more interesting side than steamed broccoli. So, I pulled out my old friend zucchini - just for me, peeps - the boys did not have to suffer through more zucchini.

Stuffed Zucchini
Source: Clean Eating, Aug/Sept. 2011 (WHATEVS, btw)

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, diced (used minced)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 8oz mushrooms, diced
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp whole-wheat bread crumbs (used matzo meal)
• 2 tbsp parm cheese
• 2 zucchini, halved, seeds and pulp removed

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare stuffing: In a large saute pan on med-high heat, heat 1 tsp oil. Add garlic, onion and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms soften, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining 2 tsp oil, vinegar, bread crumbs and parm. Mix thoroughly.
• Spoon an equal amount of stuffing into each zucchini half. Bake on foil-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (1/2 stuffed zucchini)
Per serving: Calories: 110; total fat: 5g (sat: 1g; mono 1g; poly 1g); carbs: 12g; fiber: 2g; protein: 5g; sodium: 135mg choles: 2mg

Review:
OMG so good. Really fast to prep, and the result was great. The stuffing's flavor was just delish. Try it.

Yum!

Four for 40

No blog last night, peeps, but I was absolutely in the kitchen, prepping for my parents' 40th anniversary shin-dig at the boy's house today.

First - kudos to my parents for being married for 40 years! As my father so nicely pointed out, "we are one of the few who have made it this long." Romance is obviously not dead.

Next - although we are not the largest of families, we do love our grub. And, since I love to cook and bake, and am not particularly good at editing myself, I tend to over-do it on certain occasions. Dear readers, you will continue to see this inability to pare down my selections unfold as we have more holidays and family gatherings throughout the year. I guess this also corresponds with my overwhelming bounty of recipe selections.

Anyway, for the 40th anniversary cookout (six adults, four kids - only one of which is in elementary school, btw) - I made four items. Not all of them are necessarily healthy, but so it goes. I am not going to list out all of the recipes for each one, because that will result in a super-long post. And one thing I can edit is writing.

Selection One
Lo Mein Noodle Salad
Source: Betty Crocker Potlucks & Barbecues, June/July 2009

Note: I used to love those little cookbooks that line grocery aisle - the paperback ones. I probably have 30. Most of them are not healthy recipes, so you won't see me pull too many from there nor do I buy them anymore, but they do have great potluck/company/apps/dessert choices when I am not as concerned with the whole clean eating factor.

Reviews:
My family loves this recipe - especially my father. It is very fast and easy. It includes lo mein noodles, a peanut butter sauce, edamame, green onions and red peppers. I've made it many, many times and it is always a winner. Delish.

Lo Mein Noodle Salad

Selection Two
Creamy Potato Salad Made Over
Source: Kraft Food & Family, Summer 2006

Reviews:
Again - very easy to prepare. The whole point of this recipe is to make potato salad less fattening - it is only 150 cals/serving (3/4 c), vs. the traditional (approx) 340 cals. I doubled the recipe because 1 lb of red potatoes (as it calls for) just didn't seem like enough. But, I think doubling the dressing (mayo, zesty Italian dressing, Dijon mustard) made it a little too creamy for my taste. My family really liked it - my mother loved the dressing, and my SIL enjoyed the hard boiled eggs.

Creamy Potato Salad

Selection Three
Lemon Crumb Cake
Source: Duncan Hines Baking with Love, 1999 (another one of those grocery-aisle booklets)

Reviews:
Peeps, I do not like lemon desserts. Blech. However, my father and SIL both love it, so I went with it. Very fast and easy to prepare, although the "crumb" topping didn't really turn out very crumby and kind of sunk to the bottom. My SIL noted that it was not too lemony, in a good way (i.e., doesn't make your mouth curdle?).


Lemon Crumb Cake, sans crumbs

Selection Four
Deep-Chocolate Angel Food Cake
Source: Weight Watchers, Jan/Feb 2010

Reviews:
I made a chocolate angel food cake especially for my mom, who loves angel food cake and chocolate. I didn't necessarily select this recipe because it was healthy or less calories, but because it sounded good. It was kind of a pain in the butt to make, to be honest. It calls for grated chocolate, which I did by hand. Really? However, I was surprised at how cleanly it came out of the bundt pan and how well it turned out. Very light, and my mother really liked it (after mentioning she knew what a pain this was to prepare).

Sideways picture for deep-chocolate cake