Eating healthy doesn’t mean that a sacrifice has to be made in the flavor department. We’ve really been enjoying choosing healthier dinners around our house. And this meal was particularly delicious while still staying well within my healthy goals for losing weight and getting fit.
I baked some marinated chicken and paired it with garlic-roasted broccoli and (my new favorite) caramelized-onion mashed potatoes.
We didn’t even need gravy with these perfectly-flavored and juicy potatoes. To add lots of taste without blowing my calorie count, I caramelized some onions for about twenty minutes before adding them to my smashed spuds. I also added some chicken broth and a small scoop of low-fat sour cream for even more flavor and some creaminess.
Holy smokes, this was good.
It wasn’t just the potatoes that made me happy during this meal. Please allow me to introduce you to broccoli and garlic.
I steamed these florets in the microwave before mixing them with some garlic-infused olive oil, salt, pepper, and crunchy garlic. Then I popped them into a hot oven to roast for about ten more minutes. The result was a perfectly-cooked and still-crunchy vegetable that has long been a favorite of mine.
The original recipe for this green stuff, which is from one of my preferred healthy chefs, Ellie Krieger, was even better than I expected. I didn’t have whole cloves of garlic to slice thinly but just used some of the finely-chopped garlic from my giant Costco jar.
This was heavenly. Who knew that steaming veggies in the microwave first could make their texture so amazing?
But this pile of spuds was the obvious highlight for me. I still can’t believe how delicious everything was, while still staying around four-hundred calories for the entire meal!
Hubby loved this meal, too. Maybe because it wasn’t just a salad, which we’ve been eating lots of lately?
A few days after eating our yummy dinner, Hubby texted from work asking me to make a coworker some cupcakes for a birthday.
I’m always happy to help out when it means that I have an excuse to bake!
I decided to make Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Whipped Frosting.
And you might not even believe this (I still don’t), but I didn’t eat a single one of these bad boys!
Who is this speaking?!
I tried a little tiny bit of this frosting just to make sure that I had all of the right flavors without being too sweet. I really think that frosting is what makes or breaks a cupcake.
It’s difficult to describe this stuff. But I’ll just say this: it made me want to eat three gallons.
Everything was so light, fluffy, peanut-buttery, and not overly sweet. I knew that, paired with some moist chocolate cake underneath, this was a can’t-lose combination.
Everyone that I know loves peanut-butter-and-chocolate goodness. They almost make each other taste better when paired together.
I also like to let people know what they are eating, so I cut some mini Reese’s Cups in half to place on top of that creamy, heavenly frosting.
You know what I think made all the difference here? I usually place cupcakes back in the refrigerator before serving to keep them safe. And then I take them out about an hour before we eat them. But since he needed them before the workday was finished, I frosted these and took them right over to his building.
The lack of refrigeration is what made this frosting stay so light and fluffy.
I knew that I was on to something when Hubby said that they were the absolute best cupcakes that I’ve ever made.
Now I kind of wish that I had tried one to know if he was just saying that, huh?
They were looking pretty edible already, but a few chocolate sprinkles would only make the situation that much better. So I sprinkled on a little love and got them boxed up for their journey.
There is a fine line between too much frosting and not enough, but I think that these turned out perfectly, thankyouverymuch. I wanted frosting in each bite, but not so much that it ruined that flavor and presence of the cake.
This just makes me hungry for breakfast…
I get to make some more cupcakes for all of the moms in our church on Mother’s Day, so I think that these little beauties will make the cut. It will be fun to make them again, and, heck, even try one this time!
Have you been cooking anything yummy lately?
Yummy!
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