Comfort Food City!!

As a woman I am cursed with a monthly reminder of nature's ridiculous desire for me to procreate. Prior to this lovely monthly bill, I spend about 3-4 days eating EVERYTHING in sight. I mean all of it. If you are eating, I want your food. Don't even bother saying no 'cause I'll just eat it right out of your hand. Primarily the foods that I crave are in two categories. Comfort foods and chocolate. I want grilled cheese sandwiches, mac n cheese, meatloaf, turkey dinner....you name it. I once even ate an entire JAR of nutella spread on a LOAF of whole wheat bread. Ok, it wasn't once. It was two or three times. It went as far as me asking my boyfriend, Chris, to lock the Nutella in his safe so I wouldn't have access. Do I have those cravings under control? Not remotely, but I have found healthier, cleaner ways that I can have the foods I crave and not feel nearly as guilty about it later. Here are a few of my tricks :)

No Pudge Fudge Brownies!!

I stumbled across this wonderful box in the health food section of Smith's. Fat Free? How good could it taste? With a little tweak to the ingredients you add, I make these about once a month. Chris prefers these brownies over any other. They are amazing. And, yes, I do sometimes eat half of the pan.
The box calls for "Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt" or "Fat Free Plain" and then add vanilla. The vanilla makes the brownies taste weird. Skip it. Add fat free plain GREEK yogurt instead. Greek yogurt is half the calories of plain 'ol yogurt and it's better for you all around. If you really like chocolate and I do, add half a bag of dark chocolate chips or dark organic chocolate crushed. The darker the better it is for you. Pop these bad boys in the oven for 35 minutes and you have the richest brownies you'ver ever tasted for less than 100 cals a square!

Mac N Cheese Please!!
Yep, I said it. Healthy, clean macaroni and cheese. This recipe rocks and I got it from Oxygen magazine.

8 oz whole grain elbow pasta (I used the shells)

2 cups low fat or fat free small curd cottage cheese

1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin

3/4 cup 2% milk shredded cheese (whatever you fancy and I used 1 cup)

1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Fill a large pot with water and boil the pasta. Drain when done and pour into an 11 X 7 pan.

Puree cottage cheese and pumpkin, add this mixture to the cheese and pasta then stir. Top with bread crumbs and then bake 15 minutes or until top is browned and the cheese is melted to yummy goodness.

More healthy treats and recipes to come! Have an awesome day!