I love cheeseburgers, I love pizza and I really love when they join forces to become this delicious Cheeseburger Pizza for only 210 calories/5 WW P+ per slice! This was exactly what I hoped it would be: cheesy and beefy with a crispy crust, bursts of warm, juicy tomatoes and the perfect blend of sweet ketchup and salty mustard. I’ve had this idea roughly sketched out in my head for a couple months and now that I finally tasted the results I know it’s something I’ll be making again. Yum.
I can’t get over how good these are. These cupcakes are moist, sweet, tart and oh-so-satisfying for only 3 P+ each. As I mentioned in a previous post for Lemon Poppy Seed Doughnuts, I am on a real citrus kick for Spring. I wanted to create a frosted cupcake that showcased real lemon and lime flavors rather than having that fake lemon taste that “lemon flavored” sweets sometimes have. These fit the bill perfectly. They’re light, tangy, sweet and fresh tasting. I urge you to drop whatever it is you’re doing and make them right now – you won’t be disappointed!
I just purchased my first piping bag for icing and I definitely need some practice before my cupcakes look like something out of a magazine. Trust me, I only took pictures of the best ones. Still, it was fun to experiment with it even if I did give up halfway through frosting these and just use a knife. Tips are welcome!
This salad is fantastic. I was expecting it to be good because I love all of the ingredients (mmm, goat cheese), but it somehow managed to exceed my already high expectations. There is a restaurant near my apartment that serves a wonderful salad with nut-crusted goat cheese and I order it every time I go there, so when I saw this recipe from Cooking Light I couldn’t wait to make it. The little pistachio-crusted goat cheese balls were so cute and the herb vinaigrette was delicious (plus you get bonus leftover dressing). I served this as a first course before dinner to my sister and parents and we all agreed that it was a winner. This is a perfect Spring salad!
I’ve been in a real lemon state of mind lately (expect to see a few more citrusy recipes coming soon!) and when I saw this recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Doughnuts it seemed right up my alley. If you haven’t yet purchased a doughnut pan after seeing my recipes for Baked Spice Doughnuts or Strawberry Doughnuts, hopefully third time’s the charm! Lemon poppy seed muffins have always been one of my favorites, and the combination is delicious in doughnut form as well. These doughnuts are perfect for Spring. Surprise your brunch guests, your family or your co-workers with healthy homemade doughnuts!
You wouldn’t know it from the snow outside, but according to the calendar it’s Spring! I knew I wanted to make a pasta dish with Feta cheese and tomatoes and when I saw asparagus was on sale at my grocery store this week I thought it would be the perfect addition! This was light, filling and delicious and the basil and asparagus made it taste like Spring to me (as long as I don’t look out the window). I love Feta cheese and its saltiness paired nicely with the sweet roasted tomatoes. I ate this as a main dish but it could certainly work as a side dish in a smaller portion and would be great to bring to a picnic or barbecue.
Originally I ate this warm as a hot pasta entree, but the next day I ate some chilled from the fridge as a pasta salad and both were absolutely delicious. I think I might even like it as a cold pasta salad better. Take your pick!
Tomorrow is the first official day of Spring, and since we’ve had a few warm days in Buffalo this week, I’ve been in the mood for warm-weather foods like barbecue. I didn’t feel quite ready to fire up the grill, so my solution was this Barbecue Chicken Pizza. This couldn’t be easier to make and it was absolutely delicious. I used Sticky Fingers Tennessee Whiskey Barbecue Sauce (2T NI: Cal 35; Fat 0; Carbs 9; Fiber 2; Protein 0), but feel free to use your own favorite brand and flavor. My barbecue craving has definitely been satisfied!
This looks and tastes incredibly elegant for a dish that takes less than 20 minutes to prepare. It’s good enough to serve to company, but fast enough that you won’t mind throwing it together after a long day at work. Although this is a “Winter Recipe” according to Cooking Light, it was surprisingly light and fresh tasting, even with the butter sauce. I certainly wouldn’t mind eating it throughout the Spring and Summer months! If you’re unfamiliar with gnocchi, it’s a pasta made primarily from potatoes, with flour and sometimes other ingredients mixed in. I was excited to find that my grocery store carries whole wheat gnocchi, which has slightly better nutrition information than the average variety. This is a great dish and the Parmesan cheese finishes it off beautifully. I absolutely recommend this for any occasion you’d like to whip up something that looks impressive with minimal time and effort.
I love fruit in my desserts, so the idea of baked strawberry doughnuts for breakfast definitely appealed to me. These doughnuts have more of a muffin consistency (fluffier, less dense) than the Baked Spice Doughnuts I tried previously, but they still made a tasty breakfast. I loved the juicy bites of strawberries in them. If you prefer your doughnuts super sweet, you may want to add a glaze to these, because they’re not overly sugary. I like them with just a hint of sweetness, but there are plenty of doughnut glaze recipes on the web if you do a search. I used agave nectar in place of the maple syrup in the original recipe simply because I had it on hand, and you could use either without affecting the points+ value. If you haven’t run out to buy a doughnut pan yet, I recommend it. These make an easy grab-and-go breakfast and everyone at work will be jealous when they see you eating doughnuts as part of your healthy lifestyle plan!
Decisions, decisions. The original recipe I found called for a fig and blue cheese filling, and I couldn’t wait to make it because that salty/sweet combination had my mouth watering. Then I read through the user reviews and saw that several posters had made it with dried cranberries and Gorgonzola cheese. Yum. Which to choose? Both pairings sounded absolutely delectable to me, so I decided to find out what you would prefer. I posed the question to fans of the Emily Bites Facebook Page, and after those responses were also evenly split, I finally chose not to choose – I split the fillings down the middle and made both!
After tasting both, I still can’t identify a favorite option, as each brought something delicious to the table. Figs and blue cheese offer such distinct, bold tastes and the dichotomy of both the flavors (sweet vs. salty) and the textures (gritty vs. creamy) appealed to me, though people who are turned off by the grittiness of the fig seeds may want to opt for the cranberries. Gorgonzola, also a type of blue cheese, and dried cranberries felt like a more familiar flavor combination, but tasted equally decadent. The cranberries were both sweet and tart and paired beautifully with the rich and salty Gorgonzola. Either variation would be great for company because they’re simple to put together but they look impressive! I’ve now passed the decision on to you – which one will you make?
Pasta bakes aren’t generally thought of as a “light” dish, but this one combines whole wheat pasta, vitamin-rich spinach, juicy tomatoes, turkey sausage and reduced fat cheese to create a hearty, satisfying and delicious meal that’s also healthy! I lightened this dish up from the original recipe, but you won’t miss any of the calories once you taste your first bite of cheesy, meaty pasta goodness. I used hot Italian sausage for the added flavor but if you prefer, mild would work just as well. One serving of this is very filling and you could definitely serve this to guests without them realizing it’s been lightened up. Definitely recommended!
I’m about to say something potentially shocking: I'm not generally a huge doughnut fan. On the sweets spectrum, they’re just not as irresistible or appealing to me as other things (like cheesecake or ice cream or pie or…mm, better stop before my drool shorts my keyboard). I certainly don’t dislike them, but when someone brings doughnuts into work, I can usually pass on them without having to use too much willpower. These doughnuts, however, I like. A lot. I think part of it is that they are not overly sweet or rich. The subtle taste of the pumpkin pie spice and the sprinkling of powdered sugar offer just the right amount of flavor. I’ve seen a few recipes online recently for baked doughnuts and I was intrigued enough to order a doughnut pan from Amazon. I’m really happy I did because I think they turned out delicious baked. They were just the slightest bit crispy on the outside, which made the texture a bit reminiscent of a fried doughnut without the heaviness/greasiness that the frying can give them. These are great because they taste healthy (especially when you’re comparing them to traditional doughnuts) but also taste like you’re treating yourself – it’s the best of both worlds! I will definitely make these again and I’m looking forward to trying out some other baked doughnut recipes soon!
