Harlingen Raspa Stand

When i go down to Harlingen, I always have to get a picadilly! It is a raspa (snowcone) with pickles, koolaid powder, chili lucas powder, and i think that might be it. I also love mexican corn. It has corn, mayonaise, chili lucas powder, and queso blanco! Good thing I have tasted anything this good in San Antonio, otherwise I would gain so much weight!

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Break-fast

1 egg, half a tomato, handful of cooked spinach, 1/4 small avocado, and of course cheeeeese!

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Applied Food Science Lab

In my Dietetics program, we have lab once a week. And its not a boring chemistry or biology lab, like I have had in the past. It is a lab dedicated to cooking and experimenting with different types of cooking techniques. The following pictures are foods that we cooked in one lab time. Of course, we split the work in between different teams to yield more food to eat! Yummmm. The best thing about this is that I get to improve my skills in the kitchen AND eat free food! YESS! :)

plate of samples

Braised carrots and leeks

parsnips

fruit crumble

coffee mousse, soy smoothie, fruit smoothie

In addition to these, the lab also experimented with other food products. We do so much in so little time. It is great learning experience.

*I WILL POST SELECTED RECIPES LATER. IF INTERESTED IN A CERTAIN RECIPE, THEN LET ME KNOW*


Going out of town right now so I will come back and add more to this blog. Let me know what you think!

Sopapilla Cheesecake for my Grandma's Birthday and Anniversary

Layers

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Original recipe from  allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated

crescent rolls 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2.	Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth; set aside.
3.	Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each sheet into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one sheet into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough, and brush with melted butter. Stir together 1/2 cup of sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information Servings Per Recipe: 12 Calories: 378

Amount Per Serving Total Fat: 22.2g Cholesterol: 41mg Sodium: 403mg

Amount Per Serving Total Carbs: 40.4g     Dietary Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 4.2g

I modified the above recipe by using the following:
2/3 cup Splenda brown sugar instead of 1 cup white sugar
less than 1/3 cup of white sugar (ran out of brown sugar) and small amount of Splenda brown sugar for the white sugar in the topping
Smart Balance spray and a spoonful of unsweetened applesauce instead of melted butter
All products bought were reduced fat and light (crescent rolls and cream cheese, respectively)

With all these modifications, I was able to reduce the calories to about 220 calories per serving!!
This dessert was very flavorful and yummy!! It can probably still be altered because it was still super sweet!
My family could not stop eating it and wants it to stay the way I made it. :)

Romantic Breakfast :)

I had fun with breakfast this weekend! :) My boyfriend got me roses and I decided to have a romantic breakfast with myself before work... oh the rose assortment set the mood so well! :P
And the breakfast consists of southwestern style egg whites that were mixed with peppers already, mushrooms, bits of squash, and tomatoes. I have to be sure to get those vegetables in my diet! to try to get to 3 servings... yesss!

San Antonio Food Bank

I had the opportunity to volunteer with the San Antonio Food Bank this past Saturday morning. Help is always much needed and appreciated. I helped in the garden in pulling weeds out around the tomato plants. They actually needed more help than expected on Saturday because San Antonio is very erratic and flooded some of the plants there. :(

The following are some interesting accomplishments pertaining to the garden:

Accomplishments to Date

• Produced 2,640 pounds of produce in the first year of operation which was distributed to the San Antonio Food Bank's network of agencies and used by the Community Kitchen and Nutrition Education program. We are aiming for 5,000 lbs. of production for 2010.
• Recruited 602 volunteers to learn about gardening and assist in general garden maintenance.
• Started a partnership with Highlands High School to begin an Agriculture program to grow produce (tomatoes, spinach, peppers and onions) for individuals and families in need.
• Served as a summer work site for local high school students.
• Constructed a Tractor/Tool Shed and a Green House.
• Developed an 8-week Gardening Curriculum for Primary School Children aimed at introducing children to simple gardening concepts.
• Working with city and county officials to implement a water harvesting project to benefit the garden.

I plan on volunteering more of my time at the San Antonio Food Bank. Any volunteering is great for yourself and for others!
To help out San Antonio Food Bank, go to the following link and explore!
http://www.safoodbank.org/index.php/home

Also, since September is Hunger Action Month they teamed up with Whataburger for some assistance! Mmmmm... whataburger :) Check out the following..

SA Goes Orange will kick off on September 1 with the lighting of Whataburger’s headquarters, which will remain lit in orange, the color of hunger awareness and also Whataburger’s signature color, throughout the month. Whataburger will donate money and employees will donate volunteer services all month:

• Wednesday, September 1, tickets go on sale at Whataburger restaurants for the all you can eat pancake breakfast for $3 a ticket. Tickets can be bought until the fundraising breakfast on September 25 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. All proceeds benefit the San Antonio Food Bank.

• Saturday, September 11, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Whataburger employees and their families will volunteer for the National Day of Service at the San Antonio Food Bank.

• Wednesday, September 15, 10:00 a.m., the Whataburger home office will hold a food drive in September to collect kid friendly and ready to eat snack items and on the 15th employee volunteers will pack back packs at Whataburger’s headquarters to provide to area children that need food on the weekends.

• Saturday, September 25, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Whataburger will host a fundraising all you can eat pancake breakfast at San Antonio restaurants to benefit the San Antonio Food Bank.

• Wednesday, September 29, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Whataburger will host the County Line Live Music Series that night and provide a free Whataburger coupon for every can of food that is donated to the San Antonio Food Bank for concert admission.

“For 60 years, Whataburger has been dedicated to serving the communities in which we do business, and we could not be more proud to join the San Antonio Food Bank to feed the hungry in the San Antonio area,” said Pam Cox, Whataburger Group Director Corporate Communications . “Our sponsorship of SA Goes Orange is a part of our ‘Whataburger Serves’ initiative to share the Whataburger spirit of selfless service with customers and the community.”

“We are excited about this new partnership with Whataburger and hope that through these efforts we will raise awareness about the thousands of children, families and seniors that count on our services every day,” said Eric Cooper, President/CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank. “We appreciate their partnership and that of their employees to help fight hunger in the San Antonio area.”

Family-owned Whataburger is headquartered in San Antonio and has 712 locations in 10 southern states. In 2001, Whataburger was officially recognized as a “Texas Treasure” by the Texas Legislature.

For lunch...

Vegetable medley burger with mushrooms and sweet potato fries

The veggie burger was delicious! It is a garden burger with a vegetable medley. It had broccoli, carrots, corn, green bell peppers, and red bell peppers. According to the package, the veggie burger is a great source of fiber, vegetables (1/2 serving), and grain (1/2 serving). I love mushrooms and they are considered vegetables, which was news to me.
And yes I used ketchup and 1/2 provolone cheese on the burger. I loove cheese too :)


*Also check this out*If you go to the following link, it allows you to keep track of what you eat and what you need to change to lose or gain weight. Even trying this for only one week made an impact on what I choose to eat.
http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/Default.htm

The following is just ONE example of what this website does:

Comparison of Your Intake with
MyPyramid Recommendations for ericarew

Your Pyramid Stats

Milk Intake	0 cup equivalent
Milk Recommendation	3 cup equivalent
Meat and Beans Intake	2.5 oz equivalent
Meat and Beans Recommendation	5.5 oz equivalent
Vegetables Intake	2 cup equivalent
Vegetables Recommendation	2.5 cup equivalent
Fruits Intake	0 cup equivalent
Fruits Recommendation	2 cup equivalent
Grains Intake	0 oz equivalent
Grains Recommendation	6 oz equivalent

____________________________________________________________

Pyramid Categories	Percent Recommendation
Milk	0%
Meat and Beans	45%
Vegetables	80%
Fruits	0%
Grains	0%

The food pyramid may not have all the foods or brands out there. I think that may be why it says I had no grains when the product said it had grains. Some products do enrich their foods to have more nutrients. I am assuming this MAY be the case. 

Oh the month of September

September is hunger awareness month, child obesity awareness month, whole grains month, and fruits and veggies-more matters month

Just to name a few :)

Be aware!

a healthful breakfast

Peanut butter and banana sandwich with nut mix

This breakfast has ingredients that are packed with protein, nutrients, and fiber that will keep you full longer.  Just be careful not to overeat. Taking in fiber is a good way to lose weight with fruits and vegetables. It only takes a little to feel full for a good amount of time.


The nut mix is supposed to be a good source of energy with dried cranberries, almonds, soy nuts, and pumpkin kernels. Since this breakfast provides energy, I read in Cosmopolitan that this banana and peanut butter sandwich is a good hangover food. I really like this with a toasted whole wheat wrap.

The following is a link for the health benefits of peanut butter
http://peanut-butter.org/peanut-butter/Health+Benefits+of+Peanut+Butter

some healthful desserts made from scratch

Low-Fat Carrot Cake Muffins

Reduced-Fat Whole-Grain Blueberry Muffins

These muffins were delicious! I took about 3 days worth of muffins to my grandparents thinking that they would just snack on them every now and then. They ate all of them in less than 30 minutes with the help of my aunts and uncle. The worst thing in them is brown sugar, but I used the Splenda kind.

*already requested* I will post the recipes later!

*RECIPES*
Low-Fat Carrot Cake Muffins
1 1/2 cups ww flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar
COMBINE ABOVE
1/4 cup egg whites (equivalent to one egg)
3 Tbsp oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nonfat milk
WHISK ABOVE (separate from the ingredients above the egg whites)
8 oz applesauce
1 1/2 cup grated carrots
MIX previous 2 ingredients and add to the whisked items
Combine all mixtures
Stir in 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 min to 25 min

Reduced-Fat Whole-Grain Blueberry Muffins (from San Antonio Express News TASTE section, one Sunday)

1 1/2 cups ww flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
COMBINE ABOVE
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
BEAT above (starting with egg whites down)
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
MIX ONLY THE BLUEBERRIES WITH FLOUR MIXTURE (prevents them from sinking to bottom of batter)
THEN ADD TO EGG MIXTURE (combine until moistened)
BAKE FOR 18-20 minutes in preheated 400 degree oven

TOPPING
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
COMBINE AND SPRINKLE ON TOP after muffins are baked