Halo Top: The Ice Cream from Above

Halo Top Ice Cream

I don't even know where to begin with my rave about this amazing product! In fact, there's a reason this is the very first product review on my website. Halo Top Ice Cream is truly a gift from heaven. A guiltless, flavorful, protein packed, low calorie, low sugar gift from heaven. Its food for angels. Truly.

The obsession began on Facebook. I started seeing all of the ads, and began my own research. I found their official website, https://www.halotop.com/ , and began searching for where I can buy it. To my great disappointment, Halo Top was not stocked anywhere near Tuscaloosa or Jasper - the two Alabama cities I call home. Birmingham did have two locations, but its not very feasible to take a trip to Bham just to have your ice cream melt in a cooler on the way home (even though I considered it several times). Out of curiosity, I searched to see if it was sold anywhere near St. Louis. Since I travel there as much as possible with Tristan, I could at least make it a point to find it and try it while there. And of course, its everywhere. All the suburbs, all the cities, many of the grocery stores. Alabama, please get with the program. There's a reason we are 49th in nutrition. 

Falling in Love

So, I waited for that next trip to St. Louis. And then, I fell in love. Since this was a few months later, I checked the website again to see if anything had changed for Tuscaloosa - and it had! Now, Publix and Manna Grocery in Tuscaloosa both sell Halo Top Ice Cream, and its now a staple of my diet.

Its rich and creamy, just like regular ice cream. So far, I've tried: Oatmeal Cookie, Sea Salt Caramel, Peanut Butter Cup. Lemon Cake, and Vanilla.  All are amazing. I can't wait to try even more. The only con is that its best to let it sit outside of the freezer for a few minutes before eating because it freezes a bit more solid than traditional ice cream. Besides that, its golden. Halo golden.

 

How does it match up?

This is where I lost it. I could not believe the difference. Here we go. Let's compare my favorite, Halo Top Peanut Butter Cup, with Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup.

Do I even need to explain??

Check out these nutrition facts:

• SAME SERVING SIZE
• 80 Calories vs. 370 Calories
• 3g Fat vs. 26g Fat
• 1g Saturated Fat vs. 14g Saturated Fat
• 12g Carbs vs. 29g Carbs
• 5g Sugar vs. 25g Sugar

Not listed:
 
3 Weight Watchers SmartPoints vs. 17 SmartPoints

 

Are you sold on Halo Top yet?

Skinny Shrimp Scampi & Ranch Seasoned Potatoes

Skinny Shrimp Scampi & Ranch Seasoned Potatoes

This dish you can't go wrong with. It's incredibly easy to make, and tastes like you just ordered straight from your favorite seafood restaurant. Okay, maybe not exactly, but its as close as you can get without going to the gulf.

Every time I go to the beach, particularly Orange Beach in Alabama, I make it a number one priority to visit The Original Oyster House in Gulf Shores and order Shrimp Scampi (a double order if we're being honest here). I can't compete with their delicious gulf shrimp and probably fully loaded recipe, but there is a quick and easy way to get a close but skinny version!

Quick facts: This entire meal, potatoes and all, weighs in at a mere 410 calories and 10 WW SmartPoints! Here's the breakdown. One serving of Skinny Shrimp Scampi is approximately 185 calories and only 4 WW SmartPoints. This is due to the light butter and cheese as well as the high protein/low calorie count of the shrimp. One serving (about half of a 12 oz potato) of the potato wedges is 225 calories and 6 WW points! If you're like me and want ketchup alongside your meal, add 1 to 2 points depending on brand and type! I like to use Heinz Low Sugar Ketchup, which is only 1 WW SmartPoint per 2 tbs.

So first off, lets talk about these potatoes. If you become a consistent follower of my blog, you'll see several variations of the same oven-fried potatoes in different shapes and forms. For this meal, I chose to do mini potato wedges; however, I often will use the same ingredients to make oven-fried french fries as well. Here's the important part: if you're on any kind of diet (except a crazy low carb diet), these potatoes are your best friend. For the same amount of calories that you can have a baked potato with a small amount of butter, you can have a plate of french fries or potato wedges.

How? No hot oil. No grease. No extra breading. No tricks. Here's the trick:

 What you'll need (4 servings):

• 2 large raw potatoes (I prefer russet)
• Dry ranch seasoning (desired amount)
• Extra Virgin olive oil (1 tbs)

 That's it. Three ingredients and you're ready to roll!

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut the potatoes into the desired shape (wedges, fries, etc.)
3. In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the potatoes and olive oil. Toss to coat potatoes in the oil.
4. To soften the potatoes, put the bowl in the microwave for approximately 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the microwave and toss potatoes again.
5. Add the desired amount of ranch seasoning to the potatoes and toss to coat.
6. On a cookie sheet or baking pan, line with parchment paper or aluminum foil or spray generously with cooking spray. Spread potatoes evenly on sheet. (If you use parchment paper or aluminum foil, I still recommend a light coat of cooking spray)
7. **May vary! Set in oven for approximately 45 minutes. Check often, especially after the 30 minute mark, to ensure that your potatoes reach the desired finish without getting too done. 

Now for the main course. Luckily, the shrimp can cook at the same time as your potatoes at 450 degrees! However, it won't take near as long to cook the scampi as it takes the potatoes to cook.  You'll want to set the scampi dish in the oven when you think there is about 10-15 minutes left for the potatoes. Then, hopefully all the components of your meal will be ready at the same time! Here's what you'll need for 4 servings of the scampi (**note: all of this can be changed by your preference! Like it cheesy? Add more cheese! Want a bigger serving? Use more of everything!):

• 1 bag of frozen jumbo shrimp (or fresh shrimp from deli)
• 4 tbs light butter (I use Blue Bonnet Light)
• 1/2 cup fat free (or 2%) shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

 Here's how it's done! Again, this is extremely abstract. Change this accordingly to your taste-buds!

1. If the oven isn't already hot from the potatoes, preheat to 450 degrees. 
2. Optional: remove tails from shrimp for easy eating
3. Combine desired amounts shrimp, butter, and shredded cheese in a deep glass baking pan. Order doesn't matter (it all will melt and combine over the shrimp!).
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until done.
5. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. 
6. Serve with potatoes and low-sugar ketchup!

And there you have it - a skinny seafood feast from your home! Don't forget that potatoes recipes. You'll be wanting to have those or something similar with several different types of meals! Feel free to comment or email me with any questions or requests. Thanks again for reading! 

Three Layer Baked Spaghetti

Three Layer Baked Spaghetti

So this started out as an experiment inspired by a full-fat-full-everything Pinterest recipe, and ended up being one of my favorite Skinny Recipes so far.  On most any diet, baked spaghetti is thought of as a big no no. Saturated fats from the red meat, carbs from the spaghetti, loads of fat from all the cheeses...well luckily, there are alternatives!

Disclaimer: If you are against carbs, this might not be the place for you. After months of a no-carb "ketogenic" diet that ended in the worst stomach pain and hypoglycemia I've ever had, bread and pasta has become my best friend. Another disclaimer: I've lost more weight and had more energy on this wholesome diet than any carb-restricting diet I've ever done (and there's been quite a few).  If you care to hear more about my history with diets, check out The Skinny Cafe Story page!

Back to the spaghetti. This dish made my pasta-loving, cheese-loving, and healthy-loving heart jump for joy. After doing some research, I found out that most store-bought baked spaghetti or baked spaghetti recipes are somewhere between 490 and 570 calories per serving, and between 17 and 19 Weight Watchers SmartPoints. Thee dishes are typically made with full fat cheeses and ground beef. How does my recipe match up?

One serving of my Three Layer Baked Spaghetti is roughly 295 calories, or 11 Weight Watchers SmartPoints. That's about 60% of the original recipe's calories all thanks to a few ingredient substitutes. Here is what you'll need for 10 servings:

• Dreamfield's Spaghetti Noodles (16 oz)
• 90% Lean Ground Turkey (1 lb)
• Low Fat Ricotta Cheese (2 cups)
• Blue Bonnet Light Vegetable Oil Spread (5 tbs)
• Kraft Natural Fat Free Shredded Mozzarella (2 cups)
• Kraft Natural Fat Free Shredded Cheddar (1 cup)
• Reduced Fat Grated Parmesan  (1/3 cup)
• Ragu Old World Style Sauce, Flavored with Meat (1 jar)
• Egg Beaters (or any egg whites) (1/2 cup)
• Medium Sized Onion (optional, 1 onion)
• Italian Seasonings (1 tsp)
• Steak Seasoning (optional)

Dreamfield's Pasta is a brand of pasta that you can find at almost any store including Walmart. It is typically 2 SmartPoints less than other brands such as Barilla and Great Value, and its considered a "Carb Smart" pasta for those of you who try to cut back at least a bit on carbs.  The cheeses listed above can all be found at Walmart, but the fat free cheeses you have a hard time finding outside of Walmart. For any recipe that normally calls for ground beef, I try to do ground turkey instead. If you're not used to this or are turned off by the idea of turkey, a super lean pound of ground beef will do just fine! Here's how its done:

1. Cook the spaghetti as usual in boiling water. Meanwhile,  cook the ground meat and onion (optional) in a skillet over medium-high heat until done. (Optional: add steak seasoning to flavor meat)
2. When the meat is nearing perfection, add the spaghetti sauce and any additional seasonings into the same skillet and stir. 
3. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, butter, and Parmesan cheese. When the spaghetti has been drained, add the noodles to the egg mixture and toss to coat.
4. In a greased baking dish, place half of the spaghetti mixture and top with half of the ricotta cheese, half of the skillet spaghetti sauce, and half of the shredded cheese. Repeat these layers once more.
5. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.
6. Voila! Delicious guilt-free baked spaghetti for 10. 

As usual, you don't have to make the recipe as "skinny" as I did.  2% cheese , other brands of pasta, spaghetti sauce, and light butter, whole eggs, and various other substitutes can be made as well to suit your taste-buds and dietary preferences!

Thanks for reading! I'm always open to suggestions, requests, or comments.  Feel free to comment or email me!

Skinny French Toast

Skinny French Toast

Here's something I never thought I would see again until a cheat day came around. Delicious, fluffy, buttery and sweet french toast. Okay, so the diet alarms are going off. Bad idea, right? Well, not with the right ingredients.

Let's put things into perspective. The average calorie count for "regular" French Toast (with butter) is 357 calories for two slices. That's roughly 11 Weight Watchers SmartPoints (probably even more once you counted all the saturated fat and sugar).  This would be using most of the typical ingredients: egg, regular bread, maple syrup, sugar, cinnamon, milk... all of which adds up extremely quickly.

So, how does my french toast compare? Two slices of my Skinny French Toast is roughly 160 calories, and only 3 Weight Watchers SmartPoints!

How can this be? It's all about your choice of ingredients. Here's what I used for a two slice serving:

• Nature's Own 40 Calorie Honey Wheat Bread (2 slices)
• Egg Beaters (or generic egg whites) (1/4 cup)
• Mrs. Butterworth's Sugar Free Maple Syrup (2 tbs)
• Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (optional, 1/8 cup)
• Blue Bonnet Light 31% Vegetable Oil Spread (1 tbs)
• Ground Cinnamon (1 tsp)
• Splenda (or any sugar substitute) 
• Imitation Vanilla Extract (optional, 1/4 tsp)

I always use Nature's Own 40 Calorie Honey Wheat Bread for all of my bread needs. It's the lowest calorie bread I can find that is also wholesome and doesn't lack in taste or quality. Also, for those of you who are on WW, it's 1 SmartPoint per slice! Same exact thing goes for Blue Bonnet Light 31% Vegetable Oil Spread, which is 1 SmartPoint per tablespoon. The other ingredients you see above amount to technically 0 SmartPoints for not only their negligibly low calorie, fat, and sugar content, but also their high protein content.  In my opinion, all of these amazing ingredient substitutes are must-haves!

Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get down to business (a.k.a. the recipe itself).

1. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium-high heat and grease with 1 tbs of light butter.
2. In a bowl, combine the egg, almond milk, vanilla extract, and a small amount of cinnamon and whisk the ingredients together. 
3. Briefly soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture, coating both sides of each slice. This will only take a few seconds for each side.
4. Lay the soaked bread slices in the skillet and cook until your desired toastiness.
5. When done, drizzle the sugar free syrup over the toast along with your desired amounts of cinnamon and sugar substitute. 
6. Indulge!

Of course, you don't have to make the recipe as "skinny" as I did. Skim milk, other brands of light bread and butter, whole eggs, and various other substitutes can be made as well to suit your taste-buds and dietary preferences!

Thanks for reading, and I hope yours turns out well! I'm always open to suggestions, requests, or comments.  I hope you enjoyed the very first Skinny Cafe original recipe!