I was spending an hour or two on my latest addiction, Pinterest the other night. Raise your hand if you are hooked too. The last thing I needed was something else to keep me on the computer, but boy am I hooked. I love that site. I can’t believe how many new recipe sites I have found.

One of my new favorites is Gina’s Skinny Recipes at SkinnyTaste.com. Just the pictures are enough to keep me looking at the site, but the recipes are awesome too. There is everything from appetizers to dessert with all the courses in between.

One of my new favorite recipes from this site is Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes with Pineapple Fluff Cream Cheese Frosting. Talk about easy and so yummy. You really need to try them. She gives you all the nutritional values and even the Weight Watcher points.

I tried using our fancy dancy recipe program on the SJ site, but I got half way through it and it disappeared. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I have the flu at the moment, so I just want to get this posted and get back to bed. I’ll try using it next time.

In the meantime, head over to skinnytaste.com and look it over. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I have to be honest, I’m not very good at menu planning every week.  The two times I have done since we started this segment at Shrinking Jeans have been awesome weeks of eating at our house.  All the other weeks that I have not done it have still been yummy weeks of eating but definitely more stressful around mealtimes because I wait to the last minute to figure out what we are having.  I end up going to the grocery store more often because I don’t have what I need for that meal because I didn’t plan it out, I end up spending more money because it’s impossible for me to go into the store to just get what’s on my list, I end up wasting too much time.

The moral of the story:  I need to menu plan my butt off each and every week!

The Menu

• Sunday- dinner at Souper Salad, my kid’s favorite place to eat out!
• Monday- Pork Tacos, Spanish Rice, Beans, Salad
• Tuesday- Crock Pot BBQ Chicken, Buttered Noodles, Green Beans
• Wednesday- leftovers
• Thursday- Baked Chicken Parmesan, Green Salad, Garlic Bread
• Friday- leftovers
• Saturday- Mommy will be gone for the night so Daddy will have to fend for himself!

Whew, I did it- I menu planned my butt off and lived to tell about it- woot woot!  I hope ya’ll have a fabulous week.  Make sure to share to the link to your weekly menu plan in the comments section below.

Confession: I am not a planner. I do not enjoy menu planning. I am not really a fan of cooking, period. But this week, ladies and gentlemen, I menu plan. For you. You are very welcome.

Monday: Ginger Chicken with Snow Pea Salad
Tuesday: Healthiest Lasagna Ever
Wednesday: Shredded Chicken Burritos {crockpot}
Thursday: Grilled Salmon and Veggies {grill}
Friday: Sesame-Ginger Flank Steak with Asparagus and Gomashio {grill}

Dessert: Mixed Berry Parfaits
Snack: 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies

SHOPPING LIST {a lot of these you may already have in your kitchen!}:

soy sauce {i use low-sodium}
sugar
rice wine vinegar
toasted sesame oil
dark sesame oil
garlic
ginger
sambal oelek {find with Indian foods}
scallions {a few bunches}
cilantro
sesame seed
sea salt
asparagus {1 lb}
flank steak {1 1/2 lb – 2 lbs}
chicken breasts {3 1/2 lb}
extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt
snow peas {1 lb}
canola oil
1 box {3 oz} strawberry gelatin
strawberries
blackberries
3 cup {prepared} vanilla pudding
1 taco seasoning packet
2 can chicken broth
2 onions
tortillas
cheese (for burritos)
1 (18.25 oz) package spice cake mix
1 (15 oz) can solid pack pumpkin
2 lbs ground turkey (Jennie O’s 99% fat free, no skin)
Italian seasoning
crushed rosemary
fresh ground garlic pepper
4 carrots, finely chopped (I shredded them in a Cuisinart mini prep)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
6 oz can of tomato paste
part skim ricotta cheese {32 oz container}
Parmesan cheese
egg
Italian parsley
bag of fresh, pre-washed baby spinach {10 oz}
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
part-skim Mozarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

LINK UP!

If you post your weekly menu plan on your blog, share you link below. Be sure to link directly to your menu post and NOT to your blog so people can find the post! If you do link up, we’d love it if you’d also link to us. When you put in the description of your link, be descriptive! It’s nice to know if you have gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, casein-free, sugar-free recipes, etc!

Sweets. I really, really, REALLY love sweets. They are my diet downfall. I like to blame my hippie parents for depriving me of sugar as a child. Total denial of sugary cereals, candy and snacks turned me into a sugar fiend. As soon as I was out of the house…BOOM…I was knee deep in glorious, tooth rotting, hyperactivity causing candy.

But I’m an adult now, and I have to take responsibility for myself and my addiction to sugar. However, that doesn’t mean I will give up all things sweet.

Over the years, I’ve tried different many sweeteners to quell the craving. The one I’ve always come back to? Splenda®. When I sit down at a table in a restaurant, I always reach for the trusty little yellow packet to sweeten my iced tea. If I buy strawberries a little before they’re in season and they need a little oomph? I sprinkle on a little Splenda®.

I’ve always thought of Splenda® as a way to take something away – sugar and calories.  But now? I can think of it as a way to put something back in, with a new line of products called Splenda® Essentials™.

Splenda® Essentials™ has all the wonderful sweetness of the original Splenda®  No Calorie Sweetener, but with the added benefit of either:

• B vitamins: each packet contains 20% of the Daily Value of vitamins B1, B5 and B6, all of which support a healthy metabolism;
• antioxidants: each packet has 20% of the Daily Value of vitamins C and E, like those found in fruits and vegetables;
• or fiber: each packet or tablespoon contains 1 gram of fiber.

I have tried all three and can happily report they all taste great – like the same Splenda® I’ve used for years. I absolutely love the fact that the sweetener I already use to liven up my morning coffee also helps me reach my daily vitamin/fiber intake. Brilliant!

One thing I’ve never tried with Splenda® is baking. That is, until today. I broke out one of my absolute favorite recipes, Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, and put Splenda® to the baking test.

And it passed! The muffins are still moist and gooey and delicious, sans sugar (there is a little sugar from the chocolate chips).

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Clearly, I’m pretty excited about this new line of sweeteners. Even more exciting? I have a fabulous prize pack from Splenda to give away to one of our lucky readers!

The prize pack includes:

• One Splenda® Essentials™ No Calories Sweetener with B Vitamins
• One Splenda® Essentials™ No Calories Sweetener, 1 gram of fiber packets
• One Splenda® Essentials™ No Calories Sweetener, 1 gram of fiber, granulated
• One Splenda® Essentials™ No Calories Sweetener to-go mug
• One Splenda-yellow blender
• Two Splenda-yellow bowls
• One Splenda-yellow fruit juicer

Whew. That’s quite the haul!

How do you enter? Simple.

1. Leave a comment filling us in on YOUR essential for healthy living.

2. Like the Splenda® Sweetner Products Facebook page. * Let us know in the comments below.

3. Tweet about this contest for one additional entry. Leave the link in the comments.

This contest is open until 11:59 PM PST September 20, 2011. A winner will be chosen via Random.org and notified on September 21, 2011.

Good luck everyone!

Disclosure: Splenda compensated me for participation in this campaign. However, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

* Currently, when consumers visit the Splenda Brand Facebook page and click on the new ESSENTIALS tab, they can request a free sample of the new Splenda Essentials product and share with other users what’s ‘essential’ to them.  By doing so, consumers will be entered for a chance to win a travel mug with a $25 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card! Three lucky winners will be announced each day— but that’s not all. For every 10,000 sample requests received, the Splenda team will give away a $1,000 Visa gift card!

I almost feel like I shouldn’t be posting this recipe, it’s almost like I am encouraging you to make this dessert.  It seems all kinds of wrong to post a recipe with the words peanut + butter + cup + blondie, doesn’t it?  I mean, just because Cooking Light published this recipe doesn’t mean it’s good for you, right?

However, we can basically eat anything we want…. IN MODERATION.  Yeah, I said the *M* word. So while your hand might be grabbing for 2 or 3 of these at time, I hope your mind will tell you – NO, only 1 at a time, don’t overindulge, 1 is enough to satisfy the sweet craving, you can have 1 tomorrow, etc etc.

These brownies/blondies/delicious goodies come in at 153 calories PER serving (and not a super huge serving at that).  They are a great sweet treat and I can personally tell you that 1 serving a day is plenty : ).

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies (Cooking Light September 2011 issue)

Ingredients

• 5 3/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray
• 4 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips

3. Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

There comes a time in every girl’s month when all hell breaks loose. Yes. I’m talking about that time of the month. During that time of the month, I crave sweets like no other. Cake, chocolate, ice cream, cookies! It’s a terrible sickness.

I’m just going to admit it; I’m not very good in the kitchen. Unless it is quick, and easy to make, then odds are I’m not going to mess with it. Yet, going to the store, buying a tube of cookie dough (Best “homemade” cookies!) and eating the whole tube before baking is just not an option.

So, here is where I need your help! Give me your healthy, quick, simple chocolate-ly sweet dessert-y goodness recipes to help me during this difficult time! Pretty please?

During my recent pregnancy, the only insatiable craving I had was watermelon. We probably went through at least three personal sized seedless watermelons per week, because my three year old son is also addicted. He actually will sneak into the fridge for watermelon.

I can’t complain. Watermelon is a great low calorie way to satisfy a sweet tooth. It’s also chock full of water (duh), so it’s super hydrating.

The bad part? Watermelon is not cheap during the winter. But right now? We’re in inexpensive watermelon season.

So I suggest you dig in!

Tomorrow is probably one of the highest watermelon consumption days of the year, so I thought I’d round up a few recipes to share.

First off? Savory watermelon. You heard me. If you haven’t tried watermelon in a salad, you must. I love it with feta – the sweet of the watermelon paired with the briny feta is amazing. I found this recipe from Paula Deen for Watermelon Salad with Mint Leaves. Take note: this is probably the only Paula Deen recipe in existence without a pound of butter.

Next, I present Watermelon Mojitos courtesy of Ina Garten, a.k.a. the Barefoot Contessa. This is a classed up version of the fruit punch we used to mix up in a cooler in college. Wait. Scratch that. How embarrassing.

(A side note? I want Ina Garten to adopt me so I can go live at her fabulous house in the Hamptons, wear linen and frequent charming little shops).

Finally, Watermelon Soup. This recipe sounds amazing, using lime juice as a tart punch against the sweet of the watermelon and honey.

To everyone out there, happy early 4th of July! Stay safe and have fun.

Happy National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!!!  What? You mean you didn’t know that holiday was happening today?  Well, now you do.

I love peanut butter cookies.  I make no apology for that fact.  I mean, seriously, what’s not to love?  It’s a cookie and the main ingredient is peanut butter! *swoon*  Of course, now that I’m in the process of shrinking my jeans, the high fat and calorie cookie recipe from my grandmother has started collecting dust.  These days I make Chewy PB2 Cookies using a recipe from the folks who created PB2, Bell Plantation.  These tasty cookies come in at only 50 calories each, so they won’t blow anyone’s effort to follow a healthy eating plan.  Enjoy!

Photo from Bell Plantation

If you aren’t already familiar with PB2, it’s an all-natural peanut butter powder that has 85% less fat than traditional peanut butter.  You simply rehydrate the powder with water when you’re ready to use it.  It works great for recipes!  You can check their website for a store near you or to order online.

I”m a veggie hider, I confess. It’s not so much that my family won’t eat vegetables in their natural state…it’s more about packing nutrition into foods that generally aren’t healthy. It makes me feel a little better about the treats I love so much.

This recipe comes from Jessica Seinfeld’s book ‘Deceptively Delicious.’ I can’t tell you how much I love this cookbook, and how much inspiration for veggie hiding it has given me.

One thing about these brownies…let them cool before you eat them. The spinach flavor doesn’t totally go away till they’re cool.

Enjoy!

Gather:
Nonstick cooking spray

3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate ( I used chocolate chips)

1/2 cup carrot puree (After peeling and trimming the ends, steam for 10-12 minutes and then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)

1/2 cup spinach puree (Steam baby spinach for 30 to 45 seconds in the mircrowave, then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread (I used butter)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame (or do it in the microwave, just watch it closely). In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.

133 calories per brownie, 3 grams fiber

Mango-Orange Yogurtsicle

It has been miserably cold and rainy here and I’m dreaming of summer. Obsessing, really.

Thus, I’m posting popsicle recipes. And really, when CAN’T you eat a popsicle? Dessert on a stick is always a good thing. Plus, I know there are some of you out there who live in places where it’s actually warm. And trust me, I’m trying not to hate you right now…shiver.

First of all, you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make popsicles…paper cups and popsicle sticks will work just fine. I have these popsicle molds,and absolutely love them.

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