Low-cal Ready to Eat Cookie Dough

The only thing better than chocolate chip cookies is chocolate chip cookie dough! But knowing that the cookie dough will end up surrounding my tummy instead of in it, has deterred me from scarfing a whole bowl of the gooey stuff everytime I whip up a batch. I've come across a single serve recipe for ready to eat cookie dough that will save you from any food poisoning (bye-bye salmonella) and tweaked it into a low-cal version that is the perfect guilt free dessert!

You'll need:
1.5 tablespoons of butter (I used Smart Balance)
3 tablespoons of flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour)
1 tablespoon milk (skim)
2 tablespoons of sugar (I used Splenda because it has a fine texture that blends well into the dough)
splash of vanilla extract
chocolate chips or carob chips (or andy topping of your choice!)

How to:

Mash the butter. Then add all other ingredients excpet for the milk and additional toppings to end up with a dry, crummy mixture. Then add the milk and toppings and enjoy!

The dough makes about 4 balls and totals to 100 calories before adding toppings

(with 2 tablespoons of carob chips or 1 tablespoon of regular semisweet chocolate chips the total is 170 calories)

Party Popsicles

As a kid I was a big fan of ice creams and popsicles in the summer. The icy treat was always so refreshing after a long day in the sun. I decided to try to give my old favorite an updated twist by making alcoholic popsicles for a more grown up version of the pool party treat. These popsicles are so easy to make and are a fun unexpected treat for your guests!




For me watermelon is the quintessential summer time treat so what better than to combine 2 summertime favorites into a watermelon margarita ice pop?

Watermelon Margarita Ice Pops

You'll need:
5 cups of chopped cubed seedless watermelon
2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons of sugar (I like to use Nustavia for a low-cal version)
1/4 cup of tequila
Ice pop molds

How to:
Purée all the ingredients in a blender until  liquified, the strain the mixture into a large measuring cup. Pour the mixture into the molds and freeze it for 30 minutes. If your ice pop molds do not come with a stick, add a wooden popsicle stick to the center of each mold. Continue freezing until firm (about 24 hours).




Over spring break last year in Punta Cana, a tequila sunrise was me and my friends drink of choice. Its a sweet tropical tasting drink that always brings me back to my times on the beach. This popsicle version is just as good as the real thing!

Tequila Sunrise Ice Pops
serves 8

You'll need:
1/2 cup of cranberry juice cocktail
2 tablespoons of lime juice
2 teapoons of honey
1.5 cups of orange juice
1/4 cup of tequila
popsicle molds

How to:

In a measuring cup combine cranberry juice cocktail, lime juice, and honey. Pour 4 tsp of the cranberry mixture into the bottom of each mold. Freeze for an hour or until firm. In a separate measuring cup combine the orange juice and tequila. After the cranberry mixture has firmed pour the orange juice mix into the rest of the mold.  Cover molds with foil and insert popsicle sticks into the mold. Freeze overnight and remove foil before serving.

Mojitos have to be one of my favorite drinks of all time. I find them so refreshing and I love the extra sweetness that the simple syrup adds. These popsicles pack a delicious punch.

Havana Mojito Popsicles

You'll need:
1/4 cup of Bacardi Light Rum      
1/4 tablespoons of fresh Lime Juice                  
1/4 tablespoons of Simple Syrup*
2½ cups Lemon lime soda (sprite or sierra mist-I used diet for the lighter version)              
12  Fresh mint leaves                         
3 cups Ice Cubes                         

Combine all ingredients into blender with ice.  Puree all ingredients until mixture is smooth and slushy.  Pour slushy mixture into Popsicle molds.  Add Popsicle sticks and freeze for 8 hours

**Simple SyrupYields: ½ cup
Prep: 10 minutes
½ cup        Sugar of choice                  
½ cup        Water                          
Bring water to a boil and remove from heat.  Add sugar and whisk mixture until all sugar has dissolved.  Mixture should be clear in color.  Bring to room temperature.
**use an all natural zero calorie sweetner for a healthier option

Summer Reads

This past weekend while I was away at the beach I finally had the opportunity to make a dent in my list of books to read this summer. I am a firm believer in some good summer chick-lit and find no better opportunity than to enjoy them then by the pool. When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison was a quick, adorable read with a very relatable heroine. Buy here: When in Doubt, Add Butter

Here are some of my other favorite summer reads:

The Sugar Queen: by Sarah Addison Allen

"Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands. She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them—and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush. Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons. And that’s just for starters"

The Sugar Queen

Eat, Pray, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert

"This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali."

Eat, Pray, Love

The Girl Who Chased the Moon: Sarah Addison Allen

"Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, not only wishing to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also dreaming of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in."

 The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Very Valentine: Adriana Trigiani

"The Angelini Shoe Company, one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village, has been making exquisite wedding shoes since 1903 but now teeters on the brink of financial collapse. To save their business from ruin, thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli—apprentice to and granddaughter of master artisan Teodora Angelini—must bring the family's old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century. Juggling her budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother in a quest to build a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. And in the course of discovering her true artistic voice and so much more in la bella Italia, Valentine will be turning her life and the business upside down in ways she never expected."

Very Valentine

Smoking Slippers

Though I am definitely a jean shorts and sperry's girl I do get eager for all the amazing new fall fashions as they start to debut towards the end of summer. Recently I've had my eye on all the new styles of fall shoes. Having already gotten a pair of the cowboy bootie (see previous post) I've had my eye on one of the top upcoming styles for fall: smoking slippers. The smoking slipper is the trendier, older sister of the classic ballet flat and can be worn the same way. I like pairing mine with skinny jeans or leggings. Since they are such a simple shoe I decided to be a little daring and get them in leopard for some fun! I got my pair from Steve Madden (see link below).

 

Steve Madden Croquetl

 





Vectra Studded Slippers-Top Shop

Chalres Philip Smoking Flats-Eula