Tag Archives: Orange

Almond Cupcakes with Orange Glaze

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 2 comments

How about a tasty somewhat naughty festive treat? I was making cupcakes for a potluck that my yoga teacher training group decided to put on. I made these vegan friendly and oh my, they were tasty! The recipe below is the healthier way I would make them but I will include the recipe variation to make them vegan friendly too. They were originally going to be gluten free and vegan friendly but that challenge is going to be saved for another day. These were so tasty even my meatatarien husband has been enjoying them. For those who are curious I’m an omnomnomivore. Food is tasty.

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 12 tbl low fat cooking margarine
  • 1 1/2 cup splenda
  • 10 tbl egg substitute (like egg beaters)
  • 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened original
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 2 tbl orange zest, grated fine
  • Juice of 1 orange (usually about 2 ounces)
  • 2 1/2 cup icing sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a bowl cream together the margarine, egg, almond extract and splenda.
  3. In another bowl combine the baking powder and flour. (yes, sometimes I’m lazy and skip this step too…it’s o.k.)
  4. Slowly alternate between adding the flour and the almond milk while beating the creamed mixture on low. Continue until all combined.
  5. Spoon batter into cup pan and bake for 20 minutes. You can tell they are done when they spring back when you touch them and are golden.
  6. While the cupcakes bake, combine the zest and icing sugar in a bowl.
  7. Slowly add the orange juice to the sugar mixture while beating on low. Once it is all combined at the desired consistency (you do not have to use all of the juice) beat for 2 minutes on high. Chill the glaze for 1 hour.
  8. Glaze the cupcakes when they have cooled.

Makes 16 cupcakes, each cupcake with glaze contains approximately 176 calories, 2.4 grams fat, 39 grams carbs, .9 gram fiber, and 2.2 grams protein.

To make this vegan friendly I used powdered egg substitute ( a local brand from the health store), vegan butter (earth balance buttery spread), and brown sugar instead of splenda. The nutritional info for this version is much higher of course. To make the cupcakes you just add the extra step before you cream of adding the required amount of water to the powdered egg substitute and stir. Other than that it is straight forward and the baking time is the same.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

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Bison Steak with Blood Orange Relish

Posted on February 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

Bison is a fantastic lean red meat, perfect for those watching their fat intake. Also, the bragging rights of having bison for dinner are worth it too. I couldn’t believe how wonderfully tender and delicious this meat is. I used it to kick off my birthday celebration this past weekend but really any celebration will do. Valentines day? Awesome. The dog finally sat when you asked him to? Perfect. Your pet rock didn’t have an accident inside the house? Fantastic! You get the idea. We are lucky enough to live so close to Alberta the land of bison goodness, if you aren’t able to find it I imagine a nice cut of sirloin would be a tasty substitute. I love the colour of the blood orange on this plate. Such a nice deep red, a great way to liven up the visual presentation of a basic meat and potatoes meal.

  • 8 oz Bison steak
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 blood orange
  • 1/2 gala apple, sectioned and sliced thinly
  • 1 tbl dried parsley (2 tbl of fresh)
  • 1/8 tsp anise seeds
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 3 basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper
  1. Smash the garlic clove and cut in half. Rub the garlic clove over both sides of the bison steak. Season with sea salt and pepper and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Cut both ends off the orange. Stand the orange on one of its ends and cut away the peel, don’t leave any of the pith. Quarter the orange by cutting from top to bottom. Slice the wedges thinly starting at the short end.
  3. Combine the orange, apple, parsley, anise, and vinegar gently in a small bowl. Add the sea salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready for use.
  4. Grill the bison. I suggest a medium or medium rare doneness. I gave it 10 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes and slice thinly.

Serves 2. Each portion of bison (3-4oz) and relish contains 174 calories, 2.3 grams of fat and 2.3 grams of fibre. The relish alone split into two portions is 50 calories, .2 gram of fat and 2.3 grams of fibre. I served this with some twice baked potatoes since I had saved so many calories and fat on the main portion of this meal I could go nuts on my side dish. Hurray!

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Citrus Tilapia

Posted on December 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

This is actually my first time having this particular fish. I keep seeing it around and a friend of ours raves about it. I tend to go savoury when making fish dishes but all those reality cooking shows keep pairing citrus with it. Well, obviously I must be missing something so I thought I would give it a go and it worked out really tasty. Again, I should be eating more fish so this was another foray into that eat more fish thing.

  • 4 tilapia fillets
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp finely shredded orange zest
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tbl lemon juice
  • 1 tbl green onion, chopped
  • ground pepper
  1. Arrange the fillets in a baking dish and set aside.
  2. Mix the juices together and pour them over the fish.
  3. Combine the garlic, green onion and zest together. Sprinkle the mixture on the fish. Top with ground pepper.
  4. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes. The fish should flake apart easily with a fork when done.

Makes four servings. Each serving contains (based on a 3 ounce fillet) 92 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, and .1 grams of fibre. It’s amazing how low calorie and low fat fish can be. With and entrée like that I was able to go nuts with my side dishes, a big pile of my beloved herbed wild rice, a bunch of glazed carrots, and some orange wedges for garnish. Tasty!

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