Tis the season of holiday parties
and cute pics of Campy
Last night was the end of the year Hammerhead Triathlon Club party and was catered by the Pita Pit. The falafel and hummus pita's were delicious! The party included a cookie contest and I was excited to come up with a new creations to bring to the party. Knowing that I am not a baker and that my "healthy" creations do not compare to the decadent taste of chocolate covered peanut butter balls, Andes-mint chocolate chip cookies and Scandinavian powdered balls....I figured that I was baking for me and Karel and I knew that my coffee-loving husband would LOVE my biscotti's.
Although only a few people at the party commented that they liked my creation (I'm surprised people tried them as they were sitting between chocolate chip cookies and my favorite...carrot cake!), I am positive that you will enjoy them as a crunchy treat, not loaded with butter, sugar and oil. So while we all welcome a few occasional treats around the holiday's, I invite you to try to make these biscotti's as a healthy alternative to keep your blood sugar levels in check.
Although baking requires a bit more "science" in terms of having the right quantity and mixture of ingredients to create the final product, my intent with my "Creations" is to not focus on reducing calories, fat, carbs, sugar, sodium, etc. and to promote an item as "low cal, low sugar, low etc." nor do I feel the need to add "diet" foods to my meal in order to reduce calories. My goal and hope for you, is that you will spend more time and energy focusing on adding nutrients and nutritional value to your meals and onward, to your body.
I find that when I create meals and a few blog-worthy desserts with wholesome ingredients, there is little need to "worry" about the nutrients that so many feel are necessary to control, in terms of controlling weight and reaching fitness gains. From my own experience and through working with others, there is something so magical that happens for both mind and body when you not only take pride in your creations but you build a meal from primarily wholesome ingredients.
As you are waiting for your biscotti's to bake, here's a blog I did in 2008 on
clean and healthy eating
Orange Walnut Biscotti's
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg white
1 tbsp plain yogurt (non fat)
1 tbsp orange zest (wash the orange before zesting)
1 tsp almond extract
3 tbsp chopped raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
3. Beat eggs, yogurt, zest and almond extract.
4. Add liquid to dry and beat on low.
*After a few minutes of beating, I removed the beater and mixed by hand until flour was well combined.
5. Fold in raisins and walnuts.
6. When ingredients are well combined and flour is mixed in very well, lightly rub olive oil on a non stick baking sheet.
7. Take pieces of the dough and roll with hands (may need to use a little water or cooking spray on hands to prevent sticking) into logs (about the size of your pointer finger) and press down to make the shape of the biscotti.
*After 20 of them, I was tired of making the logs so I decided to just roll them in my hands so that they were more like large pretzel sticks.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on the bottom and snap when broken in half.
*I made a cranberry dipping sauce to go along with the biscotti's. This is where you will likely need to adjust recipe by taste because I used 1 bag cranberries and only 1/4 cup sugar (cooked according to package of cranberries) so the sauce is a bit tart but we like it that way (and use it in smoothies, oatmeal and with PB).
and cute pics of Campy
Last night was the end of the year Hammerhead Triathlon Club party and was catered by the Pita Pit. The falafel and hummus pita's were delicious! The party included a cookie contest and I was excited to come up with a new creations to bring to the party. Knowing that I am not a baker and that my "healthy" creations do not compare to the decadent taste of chocolate covered peanut butter balls, Andes-mint chocolate chip cookies and Scandinavian powdered balls....I figured that I was baking for me and Karel and I knew that my coffee-loving husband would LOVE my biscotti's.
Although only a few people at the party commented that they liked my creation (I'm surprised people tried them as they were sitting between chocolate chip cookies and my favorite...carrot cake!), I am positive that you will enjoy them as a crunchy treat, not loaded with butter, sugar and oil. So while we all welcome a few occasional treats around the holiday's, I invite you to try to make these biscotti's as a healthy alternative to keep your blood sugar levels in check.
Although baking requires a bit more "science" in terms of having the right quantity and mixture of ingredients to create the final product, my intent with my "Creations" is to not focus on reducing calories, fat, carbs, sugar, sodium, etc. and to promote an item as "low cal, low sugar, low etc." nor do I feel the need to add "diet" foods to my meal in order to reduce calories. My goal and hope for you, is that you will spend more time and energy focusing on adding nutrients and nutritional value to your meals and onward, to your body.
I find that when I create meals and a few blog-worthy desserts with wholesome ingredients, there is little need to "worry" about the nutrients that so many feel are necessary to control, in terms of controlling weight and reaching fitness gains. From my own experience and through working with others, there is something so magical that happens for both mind and body when you not only take pride in your creations but you build a meal from primarily wholesome ingredients.
As you are waiting for your biscotti's to bake, here's a blog I did in 2008 on
clean and healthy eating
Orange Walnut Biscotti's
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg white
1 tbsp plain yogurt (non fat)
1 tbsp orange zest (wash the orange before zesting)
1 tsp almond extract
3 tbsp chopped raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
3. Beat eggs, yogurt, zest and almond extract.
4. Add liquid to dry and beat on low.
*After a few minutes of beating, I removed the beater and mixed by hand until flour was well combined.
5. Fold in raisins and walnuts.
6. When ingredients are well combined and flour is mixed in very well, lightly rub olive oil on a non stick baking sheet.
7. Take pieces of the dough and roll with hands (may need to use a little water or cooking spray on hands to prevent sticking) into logs (about the size of your pointer finger) and press down to make the shape of the biscotti.
*After 20 of them, I was tired of making the logs so I decided to just roll them in my hands so that they were more like large pretzel sticks.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on the bottom and snap when broken in half.
*I made a cranberry dipping sauce to go along with the biscotti's. This is where you will likely need to adjust recipe by taste because I used 1 bag cranberries and only 1/4 cup sugar (cooked according to package of cranberries) so the sauce is a bit tart but we like it that way (and use it in smoothies, oatmeal and with PB).
