Eating Chowder without the GUILT!!!

Hearty chowders are always a crowd pleaser and taste great! But usually they are loaded with whole milk and pack on the calories! So instead try this hearty, healthy RAW (to keep this soup in its raw form don't heat it above a temperature of 104-115 degrees Fahrenheit) alternative! This soup will surely fill up even the hungriest of divas without packing on the pounds!

Cleansing Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

• 4 cups corn off the cob (about 4to 5 large ears)
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 avocado
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp finely mined onion
• Celtic Sea Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

Instructions:

• Setting aside about 1/4 cup corn, sprouts and bell pepper blend the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
• Plate the mixture and top with a sprinkling of reserved corn kernels, sprouts and/or diced red pepper bits as desired.

Next Generation Cooking Class

Who doesn't love going out to grab a cocktail and some dinner with the girlfriends? But those cocktails, appetizers and dinners can add up quick! Instead of a costly night out grab all your M.D. friends and plan a girls-night-in and host a virtual cooking class! Macy's and Tyler Florence have teamed up together to offer a free 12-part series of podcasts featuring some of his favorite recipes! The podcasts are short (only about 4 minutes long), perfect after a few drinks :) and each one has the recipe in printable form!

Planning your Virtual Cooking Class

1. Visit the website and print out the coordinating recipe for the podcast you want to show that night.
2. Send out an Evite or call the girls and tell them what ingredients they are required to bring
3. Plan a great cocktail to serve before the class. My personal favorite: The Cucumber Mojito (saw it; tried it; from Top Chef season 5..I just loved Jeff!!)
4. After the much needed cocktail (especially if its been a long week!), gossip and chit chat play the podcast and start cooking!!!

Hosting a virtual cooking class will allow you and your girlfriends to have some great personal time and wont leave everyone's pocketbook waiting till next payday!!!! So all you Modern Divas go forth and create!!

Scrumptious Low Fat Dessert!

OK cooking fans I've conquered one of my small hurdles by finally publishing a post. One of my personal passions is cooking yet I've been hesitating on submitting a post, constantly critical of my content, assuming the 'recipe' wasn't that unique or interesting. Well, I'm taking a leap today and just going for it and what better way to start a task than with dessert! I promise more challenging main course entrees in the future but for today and for my first blogging attempt (yes, at 51 I'm still at 'virgin' with regards to blogging) I submit for your review a yummy sweet treat.
My husband is a dessert fanatic, loves his sweets at night, especially ice cream and sorbet. While I, on the other hand, try to avoid extra sugar, chocolate and envy the extra calories he can consume! I will also admit that I'm more attracted to cakes and cookies! It's a challenge to come up with ideas that don't make me feel like I just negated my day of responsible eating and exercise. A girlfriend recently passed on to me this recipe. She'd enjoyed the cake while at an 80th birthday party for a friend of her mother. Could it be that even 50 years ago good ol' Betty Crocker was health conscious?

Love dessert but hate the calories? Here's a tasty, low fat, low carb, easy to make dessert.

Ingredients:

1 box of Angel food cake mix
1 20 oz can crushed pineapples, packed in natural juice


Preheat over to 350
Use a 10" x 4" tube pan - do not use a smaller bundt pan or cake will rise over sides and make quite a mess in the oven.
Alternate to tube pan: use 3 small loaf pans - these pans are ideal for having multiple cakes that you can then freeze to have on hand for easy desserts later!

Combine Angel food cake mix and 1 can of crushed pineapples.
Mix with hand blender about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes at medium speed. Batter will be light and fluffy.

Pour into tube pan, place in center of pre-heated oven. Bake about 32-35 minutes depending on your oven. Cake should spring back when touched, toothpick inserted in cake should come out clean. Let cool then remove from pan.

Top a slice of cake with fresh berries (a mixture of sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries is great!) or sliced bananas and drizzle with a spoonful of non-fat yogurt - be adventurous on the yogurt flavor! Don't have fresh berries on hand, use frozen, take them out while you mix and bake the cake! Or, throw the berries with a bit of yogurt into a blender and pulse to make a delicious topping. Then, fix a nice cup of herbal tea and sit back and enjoy a slice of deliciousness without the guilt.