How Long Can You Freeze Food - A Complete List

I often wonder how long I can keep things in the freezer...now this chart tells me the answer!

Cilantro Green 'Goddess' Dressing

Inspired by the Green Goddess Dressing recipe from talented 'The Wednesday Chef', I am now hooked on this fresh, zippy and complex tasting dressing (or dip).

What You'll Need:

• Food processor
• 2/3 cup plain sheep yogurt
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 diced roughly diced green onions
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce

What You'll Do:

• Put everything into your food processor and blend until smooth and well combined
• Serve as a dip with crudites (or ripple chips...yum!) or use as your new favourite salad dressing

This amount makes enough to fill a 1 cup glass jar, which I like to you use, as you can easily close the lid and store it in your fridge for up to one week.

The STEWART SCORE:
Taste: 2+ 
Appearance: 2/2
Ease: 2/2

Sweet Potato Mac 'n Cheese

Mac 'n cheese without the cheese.
This recipe delivers on the taste, the texture and the overall warm, gooey feeling you want out of a comfort food...but with way less fat!

What You Need:

• 3 pots
• 1/2 large sweet potato (1/2 cup once cooked and mashed)
• 2 cups whole wheat macaroni
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/6 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp low salt soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp lime juice

  
What You'll Do:

• Peel, soft boil and mash your sweet potato
• Salt then boil a a pot of water. When boiling, add in your two cups of macaroni noodles and cook according to your package directions
• As the water is boiling, use your third pot and add your olive oil and flour to make a roux
• Cook oil and flour for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly until a lighter colour and a gently bubbled texture
• When cooked, add in your mashed sweet potato and stir
• Add in salt, garlic powder, soy sauce and lime juice 
• Stir continuously until boiling
• Reduce heat to low and keep stirring occasionally until your pasta is ready
• Add your sauce to your drained pasta and stir to cover
• Serve hot and enjoy!

This low-fat comfort food dupe is packed with fibre and truly does take like the cheesey variety you've grown up with.
It makes a lovely side dish or a serve-alone dish.

The STEWART SCORE:
Taste: 2/2
Appearance: 1/2 (nothing fancy about how this looks!)
Effort: 2/2

Make Healthy Eating Easy with These Guides

From three-ingredient smoothie recipes to seeing what portion sizes look like...this URL has it all!

Enjoy!!

How To Get the Most Juice from Citrus Fruit

Depending on the season, lemon and limes can be pricey so you want to make the most of your money! Learn how to get the most from your citrus products.

First thing is to look for good looking lemons and limes. That means the fruits with smooth, shiny skin. These tend to have more juice locked inside.

Next you want to heat the fruit in your microwave until the skin is just warm to the touch - this is usually around 15 seconds, depending on the size of your fruit.

Now, roll your fruit on the countertop. Pushing down evenly for about twenty seconds. You'll begin to feel the inside of the fruit 'loosening up'.

Cut the fruit lengthwise. This is key! You can get so much more juice out this way.

It's as simple as that!

Skinny Avocado, Cucumber, Black Bean California Salad

I love summer - produce is so fresh, delicious and affordable!
I found the idea for this salad via good 'ol Pinterest and spiced it up with a few more ingredients.

This Skinny Avocado, Cucumber, Black Bean California style salad is a perfect healthy and colourful BBQ side dish.

What You'll Need:

• 1 large bowl
• 1 colander
• 1 small mixing bowl
• 2 medium, ripe tomatoes, diced with the seeds removed (you don't want this salad to be soggy)
• 1 large cucumber - sliced and seeded, then diced
• 1 large, ripe avocado, diced
• 1 rinsed and drained can of black beans (you can exchange these for chickpeas as well)
• 2 Tbps of diced red onion
• 2 Tbps of diced cilantro (this is optional as cilantro is often a divisive subject...my husband can't stomach it but I love it and throw it on everything)
• The juice of 2 limes (I used the juice of 6 key limes for extra zing). Learn how to get the most juice out of your limes, here.
• Salt and pepper to taste

What You'll Do:

• In a large bowl add in your prepped cucumber, tomato and onion
• In your colander, rinse then drain your beans until the water runs clear and there are no more 'bubbles' when the water is running through. Add these into your bowl with the other veggies
• In a small mixing bowl, squeeze in your lime juice and stir in the salt and pepper
• Dice your avocado and set aside
• Dice your cilantro and set aside
• Pour the lime juice mixture over the diced veggies and stir until covered
• Add in your cilantro and avocado and gently stir until just combined (you don't want to be too aggressive with your avocados or they'll turn to mush)
• Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve

This salad will keep for up to three days.

The STEWART SCORE (out of 2):
Appearance: 2 - so pretty and colourful 
Taste: 2 
Ease: 1.5

Making Your Favourite Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love this handy chart from handletheheat.com.
You can quickly review to see what type of cookie you're craving and adjust your ingredients accordingly.

Lovely!

This for That Guide: Cooking and Baking Substitutes

 

Find this great chart and other fantastic kitchen 'hacks' in this great article on BuzzFeed.

Skinny No-Bake Berry Cheesecake

This is the perfect make-ahead dinner party dessert that will leave your guests thinking you stayed up all night making.

This Skinny, No-Bake Berry Cheesecake is light, fluffy and low(er) fat than a normal cheesecake and takes all of around 15 minutes to make.

What You'll need:

• One large bowl
• Hand mixer
• One medium sized bowl
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute (I like to use Ideal)
• 1 package of reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 cup of reduced fat whipping cream
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp sugar or sugar substitute
• 1 dash of vanilla extract
• 1 pre-made graham cracker crumb pie crust
• Mixed berries - you can use blueberries, raspberries and strawberries like I did, or branch out and try blackberries or any other fruit that is in season

What You'll Do:

• In your larger bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/4 sugar and fresh lemon juice until fluffy
• In your medium bowl, mix your whipping cream, cinnamon, vanilla and tablespoon of sugar until densely whipped, making firm peaks
• Combine your whipping cream into your cream cheese and beat until combined
• Spoon into your pie shell
• Arrange your chosen fruit on the top however you think beautiful
• Chill for a few hours, cut and serve to adoring guests

This no-bake skinny cheesecake is a crowd pleaser!

The Stewart Score:
Appearance: 2
Taste: 2
Ease: 2
 

Mango Coconut Chia Pudding

I love healthy, low-fat dessert alternatives that actually taste good!
Recently in Chicago, we dined at an amazing restaurant called Baxter's where they served a Chia pudding to die for. Inspired by that, I created the below recipe for a Mango Coconut Chia Pudding I hope you'll love as much as I do.

What You'll Need:

• Large Bowl
• 1/3 cup chia seed
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Frying pan
• 1/2 cup of fresh mango (or frozen mango pieces that have been left to thaw)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

What You'll Do:

• Empty the contents of your light coconut milk into your large mixing bowl
• Gently pour in your chia seeds and stir thouroughly until combined
• Stir in your cinnamon and vanilla
• Cover and let sit in the fridge for a minimum of four hours  
• Heat your frying pan and pour in your coconut, toast until lightly browned (I use a non-stick frying pan and find you don't need any oil to toast the shredded coconut). Once browned, place in a small bowl
• Chop your fresh (or thawed) mango into little, cubed pieces and keep cool in the fridge
• Once the pudding has set, you will notice the tiny chia seeds have now grown in size and the mixture is very gelatinous and thick. The seeds now look more like tapioca
• Portion out the pudding and place your chopped mango and toasted coconut on top
• Serve and enjoy

Super simple, super tasty and super healthy. This Mango Coconut Chia Pudding dessert is a healthy indulgence, perfect for a summertime dinner party.

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: Not going to lie here, it looks a little weird. Sort of like caviar...

Taste: 2

Ease: 2

Low Fat Potato Salad with Dill

BBQ season is here and what is better to go with your steaks, burgers and dogs than potato salad?!

This zingy, crunchy super tasty potato salad with dill will have you totally hooked! And best of all - it is low fat! Say good-bye to drenching your poor little potatoes in mayo and give this recipe a try.

What You'll Need:

• Large pot with lid
• Large bowl and small mixing bowl
• Spatula
• One bag of mixed mini potatoes (I like the bags that come with red, yellow and blue)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 stalks of celery for that crunch
• 4 Tbps of chopped green onion
• 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbps light mayo (I used Miracle Whip)
• 3 Tbps cider vinegar
• 1/4 honey mustard (not the overly sweet kind. I chose a honey, Dijon mustard for a little extra bite)
• 1/2 cup of relish (I used the basic Heinz variety)
• 1 Tbps 'fresh' dill (I used the kind that comes in the tube...classy, I know). You can also use dried dill or dill from a fresh dill plant - up to you and what you have available at the time
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

What You'll Do:

• Fill your large pot halfway with water, sprinkle in your salt, cover and let boil
• Chop your mini potatoes into halves or quarters (depending on the size)
• Once the water has boiled, gently spoon in your potato pieces
• I boiled my potatoes for around 12 minutes, but the key is to not have them go too soft - then your potato salad with be a sad mushy consistency
• Boil them until they are soft enough to stick a fork in without being too soft they break apart
• While boiling, dice your celery into tiny pieces and chop your green onion. Set aside in your smaller mixing bowl
• Combine your fat free Greek yogurt, light mayo, cider viegar, honey mustard, relish, dill and freshly ground pepper into the small mixing bowl
• Using a spatula, stir the contents together until they are evenly distributed. Cover and set in the fridge to stay cool
• Drain your potatoes and allow to cool on your countertop for at least 20 minutes. You don't want to pour the dressing on hot potatoes
• Once cool to the touch, remove your dressing from the fridge and cover the chopped potatoes
• Using your spatula, gently stir to ensure all potatoes are covered evenly
• You can serve this right away or let it sit. You can keep this salad up to three days if you keep it cool - so this dish is great as a make-ahead dish

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 1.5 - Quite pretty with the mixed colours of the potatoes

Taste: 2+

Ease: 1 (You will need about one hour or so to make)

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

I love Earl Grey tea - it has such a soothing, calm taste to it.
It was a friend's birthday, who is also a tea-lover, so I decided to try taking an average sugar cookie recipe and adding some Earl Grey goodness for her present.

The cookies turned out lovely - just enough tea flavour without being overpowering.

I love this recipe as it makes you look so fancy, it is super easy and contains ingredients that area easy to find and most likely already live in your cupboards.

What You'll Need (for around 35 cookies):

• Parchment paper-lined cookie trays
• A food processor
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1Tbps Earl Grey tea (about three normal size bags)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp room-temperature water
• 1/2 cup unsalted room-temperature butter

What You'll Do:

• In your food processor, add in all the dry ingredients
• Pulse until the tea leaves are a fine powder
• Add in your vanilla and water
• Slice your butter into the processor
• Pulse until the mixture has come together into dough
• Divide the dough into two tubes, about 6" long and 1" wide
• Roll the dough up in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes
• Pre-heat your oven to 375C
• Once the dough has chilled, slice the dough into disks, about 1.5cm thick
• Placing them three per row on your sheet, they do not spread, so you can place nearlyhalf the dough on one regular sized cookie sheet
• Bake for ten minutes or until the bottoms start to lightly brown
• Let cool for a few minutes on the trays, then move to a cookie rack
• Enjoy!

This recipe is flawless to double and the dough can last in the fridge for up to three days (just make sure it is wrapped tightly, so it doesn't dry out.
You can also try other flavours of tea, if you are not an Earl Grey tea fan. I have also tried this recipe with Chai Tea and those were delicious, too - I just added in 1 tsp of cinnamon to those, to enhance the flavour.

The STEWART SCORE:
Taste: 2
Appearance: 1.5
Ease: 2

The Perfectly Perfect Chewy Gingersnap Cookie

My favourite cookie is the gingersnap. Not the crunchy kind but the kind that is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. The below recipe makes the perfectly perfect chewy gingersnap cookie. If it was anymore perfect, we'd have to name them Mary Poppins;)

What You'll Need:

• 1 large bowl
• 1 small bowl
• Hand mixer or stand mixer
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of dark brown sugar
• 2 large room-temperature eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 Tbps wet ginger (I like to use the wet ginger in a jar rather than powdered dry ginger. If you do use powdered ginger, cut back the amount to 2 tsp)
• Additional sugar, for rolling

What You'll Do:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• Line your baking sheets with parchment paper
• In your large bowl and using your hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment), beat the sugar and butter on high speed until light and creamy
• Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, mixing after each
• Add the molasses and mix until incorporated (a trick I use to ensure the molasses doesn't stick to my measuring cup is to lightly spray the measuring cup with oil. This way the molasses just slides right out)
• In your smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon
• Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture
• Add in your wet ginger
• Mix on low until combined
• Portion your dough using a tablespoon and roll each amount into a perfect ball
• Roll the dough ball in white sugar
• Place the cookie dough on the prepared sheet pan
• Place the sheet pan in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill
• Bake until puffed and edges are set, 9-10 minutes. You do not want to overcook these beauties!
• Let cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely
• Enjoy!

These are also great for freezing. This recipe yields a large batch, so I like to freeze portions of them. They are also fabulous cookies for Cookie Swaps and holiday hostess gifts.

The STEWART SCORE:

Appearance: 2

Taste: 2+

Ease: 1.5 (they can be time consuming to make them all the same size and shape, but being meticulous on this step leads to the absolutely perfect little cookie)

Cranberry Almond Biscotti

I have always wanted to try making biscotti. I'm a dunker and there is no more an ultimate dunking cookie than the biscotti.
I had some almonds and cranberries in the house, so this is what I came up with - the Cranberry Almond Biscotti.
They turned out lovely and worked out to be perfect holiday party hostess gifts!

 What You'll Need:

• 1 large bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 baking tray
• Hand mixer
• 1 large, sharp knife
• 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose, sifted flour
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 room temperature egg whites
• 2 room temperature medium-sized eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg - optional
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate (for melting over top) - optional
• 1/4 cup flour (for rolling out your dough with)

What You'll Do:

• Pre-heat your oven to 325 F
• Combine all your dry ingredients into your large bowl
• In your small bowl, whisk your egg whites and eggs, vanilla extract and spices until just frothy
• Using your hand mixer at a low to medium speed, add your egg mixture to your dry ingredients and mix until just combined, this will create a large batter ball that will be slightly tacky
• Stir in your almonds and cranberries until evenly distributed in the batter
• On a floured surface, divide your mixed batter into two equal parts
• Pat each half into the shape of a log, ideally a 10-14" log
• Place each batter log onto your baking tray (I cover mine with parchment paper, but this isn't necessary though it does provide easy clean-up!)
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Remove from the oven and let cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the baked batter log is cool enough to handle
• Reduce the oven heat to 300F
• Using our large knife, cut the baked log into 1/2" slices
• Once the oven has cooled, place the cut pieces back onto the baking tray, standing up, and spacing them about 1 inch apart

• Bake for an additional 20 minutes
• While they are finishing being baked, melt your dark chocolate
• Prepare a plastic bag to use to drizzle the melted chocolate onto your biscotti by cutting a small hole in the corner of your bag
• Once the chocolate has melted, spoon it into the bag
• Remove your cookies from the oven and drizzle the melted chocolate on top
• Move your cookies to a cooling rack and let sit and cool

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 1.5
Taste: 2
Ease: 1 (they are not really that hard to make, but cutting them without them crumbling is hard to do at first and they take a while to prepare and dress)

Skinny Spaghetti Squash and Spinach Cheese Bake

I have started following the extremely talented Skinnytaste blog - I love her ideas on how to cut down on fats while still keeping flavour.

I just tried her 'Baked Spaghetti Squash and Cheese and my mind, let alone my taste buds were blown.

Here is her recipe.

It was amazing and totally the perfect dish on a crisp Fall day.

The only alterations I made was to cut the skim milk back from two cups to just one, and I eliminated the parmesan topping.

Delicious!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Fall is in the air, pumpkin is in my belly!

Last year I created a low-fat pumpkin bread recipe that was easy and tasty but this year I thought I would throw in a twist by adding banana!

I just tried a slice of this bread and was so excited by how it turned out, I immediately needed to share it with you all!

What You'll Need:

• Loaf pan
• One medium bowl and one large bowl
• Electric hand mixer
• Light baking spray
• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 very ripe medium bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
• 2 tbsp room-temperature butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, unpacked
• 1 large egg white
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

What You'll Do:

• Preheat your oven to 325°
• Spray your loaf pan with oil
• In a medium-sized bowl, sift your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt with a wire whisk and set aside 
• In your large bowl, cream the room-temperature butter and sugar with an electric mixer
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg white, whole egg, ripe bananas, pumpkin puree and vanilla
• Beat at medium speed until fully combined
• Scrape down sides of the bowl then add the flour mix
• Stir in until combined
• Pour your mixture into your greased loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean 
• Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes before you remove the bread from the pan
• Slice and enjoy! I topped my slice with a non-fat cream cheese spread...delicious!

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 1 (nothing too exciting to be seen here)
Taste: 2
Ease: 2

Down Home Cornbread

Fall is here and I love making a good, spicy chili to keep things toasty. What is the perfect accoutrement to chili - cornbread!

This is a family recipe we got from a distinguished Southern gal nearly 20 years ago, whilst camping in the US.

I love this recipe as it is easy, fool proof, light and airy, and you can mix it up by adding spices or cheese making it the piece de resistance, if you aren't pairing it with a spicy chili.

What You'll Need:

• One small bowl, one medium bowl 
• One 9 x9 square pan (or a 12-seater muffin tin)
• 3/4 cup of cornmeal (I like using the grainy version so the bread has some nice texture)
• 1 1/4 cup of skim milk
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour (you can also sub for whole wheat flour for a denser bread)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup of sugar (I substitute this for a xylitol-based product, like Ideal, to cut back the calories)
• 1 slightly beaten egg
• 1/4 cup of oil (not olive oil;)

What You'll Do:

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 if you are making a pan of bread, 400 if you are making muffins
• Grease your pan of choice (I do this with butter as it gives the bread that extra 'down home' taste)
• In your small bowl, mix together your cornmeal and milk and set aside to saturate
• In your larger bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (if you were spicing this recipe up, this is where you would add your chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc)
• Stir a slightly beaten egg and your oil into the wet, cornmeal mixture
• Add your wet mixture into your sifted, dry mixture and stir until just combined - don't beat it
• Bake your pan of cornbread for 25 minutes - or until the edges are a golden colour and the centre springs back when you lightly touch it
• Bake your tray of muffins for 15-20 minutes, using the same visual indicators as above

If you are wanting some cheese added to the bread, what I like to do is grate my cheese (a nice spicy havarti is great) and, when pouring your batter into its tray, fill it only halfway. Then, sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over top and continue to top up the tray with the rest of the batter. This gives the bread a nice, cheese infusion. Delicious!

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 2 (such a lovely yellow colour)
Taste: 2
Ease: 2 (for a quick bread, this cornbread couldn't be quicker)

Cilantro Lime Dressing With A Sweet Kick

I love Mexican and dinner tonight is pulled chicken tacos. To make them a bit more interesting, I created a tangy multi-purpose dressing sauce. It was so easy and it so super tasty I want to eat it with a spoon. But I won't for fear of judgement from my Martha.

What You'll Need:

• Food processor or blender
• 1 healthy, fresh bunch of cilantro
• 2 Tbps of honey (always nice to use local honey - support your local producers!)
• 2 Tbps extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from one fresh lime
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tsp of your favourite chili sauce
• 2 Tbps fat free Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbps of tahini (this is optional, but it adds a nice, nutty depth to the flavour)
• Salt and twists of fresh black pepper to taste

What You'll Do

• Take the bottom of the stems off your cilantro, add to your processor
• Add in all the other ingredients
• Blend until combined

That's it! Super easy.

You can also use this dressing as a dip for a veggie tray, or try it on grilled white fish. I think the tangy kick of this cilantro lime dressing with go with so many things!

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 1 (its green...nothing special)
Taste: 2
Ease: 2

Sweet Potato Hummus

I am on a hummus kick. This paired with an excess of the most delicious little sweet potatoes, I created a delicious, easy, tasty, healthy sweet potato hummus I will definitely make again!

What You'll Need:

• Blender (or food processor)
• Large pot
• 3-4 small sweet potatoes
• 1/2 large lemon (or one small one)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup of tahini
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• Plenty twists of fresh black pepper
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 cup filtered water

What You'll Do:

• Boil your water
• Peel your potatoes
• Chop your potatoes into smaller cubes so they boil quickly
• Once boiling, place your potato pieces into the boiling water and cook until very tender
• When the potatoes are boiling, get your blender (or food processor) ready
• Rinse and drain your chickpeas then add into your blender
• Squeeze the juice of your lemon into the chickpeas
• Pour in the tahini and extra virgin olive oil
• Add in your crushed garlic 
• Sprinkle in your tumeric, coriander powder, chili powder, sea salt and ground pepper
• Your boiling potatoes should be ready by now
• Drain them and then add into your blender
• Blend until smooth
• I had to add a little filtered water to ensure it had a nice and creamy texture
• That's it!

Hummus doesn't just act as a dip, though a delicious one, you can also use it as a sandwich spread.
If you are a dipper, I love to dip raw veggies into hummus, corn chips, and whole-wheat pitas.

If you like things with a kick - add more chili and make this hummus nice and spicy.

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 1 (it looks like orange sludge...not overly attractive, but you can fancy it up by topping it with fresh basil or chopped green onions)
Taste: 2
Ease: 2

Low Fat Greek Yogurt and Apple Sauce Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love this recipe for low-fat banana chocolate chip muffins for so many reasons:

1) I saw it on Pinterest and for once, it didn't suck!
2) It is low-fat but actually tastes delicious
3) It uses both apple sauce and low fat Greek yogurt in place of butters and oils
4) It is moist (I hate that word, too;) and springy

What You'll Need:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp soy butter (or regular butter if you don't have this handy)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Ideal white sugar substitute (or white sugar substitute, like Splenda)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (you can cut back according to your taste)

What You'll Do (for about 24 muffins):

• Pre-heat your oven to 190C (370F)
• Line your muffin tins with muffin cups (cuter the better!)
• In a small bowl, mash your three bananas
• In your mix master, or using your hand blender and a larger bowl, mix together your apple sauce, dollop of soy butter, low-fat Greek yogurt, brown sugar, Ideal (or other white sugar alternative, like Splenda) and vanilla
• Blend well - for about 2 minutes or until very smooth
• In a separate bowl, add in your whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
• Mix thoroughly
• Separate your eggs, keeping the egg whites and adding them into your banana mixture
• Pour your banana mixture into your wet mixture and blend until mixed
• Add your wet mixture into your dry mixture, stirring until combined but not smooth, leaving some lumps for good measure!
• Fold in your chocolate chips
• Fill each muffin cup just over 1/2 way full 
• Bake for around 15 minutes or until the tops are lightly brown and when you stick a toothpick in, it comes out clean
• Place on a wire cooling rack and enjoy!

 If you are more of a loaf over muffin fan, this recipe can easily be turned into two lovely banana chocolate chip loaves. Just bake for around 35-40 minutes instead.

The STEWART SCORE:
Appearance: 1.5 - nothing to write home about
Taste: 2 - for a low-fat baked good, this is the stuff!
Ease: 2