Monkey Bread

My favorite flavor (along with pumpkin) is anything "cinnamon and sugar". While you sure can't eat it alot, Monkey Bread is just about the yummiest thing on the planet!! An oldie, but goodie recipe:

Prep only takes about 15 minutes and baking time is 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3, 7.5 oz. cans of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (30 biscuits)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Then, generously grease a 10-inch tube pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. With kitchen shears, cut biscuits into quarters. Toss several biscuit pieces at a time into sugar mixture to coat. Layer biscuits in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture; set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Bring to boiling and let boil 1 minute. Pour over biscuits.

4. Bake in the 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 10 minutes before inverting onto a large serving platter. Serve warm. Makes 15 servings.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin (Libby’s or organic from Whole Foods)1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell (I like Pillsbury pie crust in the red box that you unroll)
Whipped cream with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top (optional)

Directions:

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.POUR into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes (cover pie crust with tin foil). Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean (I usually remove the foil and put on leaf cut-outs in the last 15 minutes – cut-outs are made from the other roll of Pillsbury crust).

Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

My Thoughts on Eating Healthy

While we love to indulge in fabulous food and wine on the weekends, in order to stay in shape, we have to workout and eat healthy and light during the week.

To that end, I get so frustrated by the amount of food out there loaded with sodium and sugar. I work really hard to find organic ingredients, eat "close to the source", buy local where possible, avoid anything in a jar or a can, and don't buy anything with corn syrup in it. Ick. The biggest offenders in my opinion? Salsa (loaded with salt), yogurt (there are only 2-3 brands I will buy - the rest all have corn syrup), juice (though, I indulge in a small glass of Simply Orange Juice from time to time), and most pre-made sauces (have you ever looked at the sodium level of hot sauce?? Sheesh!).

I'm currently reading a book about about how toxins in our environment and our food (think, plastic packaging and storage containers, as well as pop, and other fillers in our foods) have affected our hormone levels, which in-turn, make it harder to keep thin and fit despite how much we workout, or think we're eating fat-free and sugar-free. While, I'm not a total "Granola" (from these recipes, you can see that I do make some occassional exceptions), I do think keeping these guidelines in mind and making changes where possible can make a huge difference in our health and happiness. Thrive!