A True Beezo Bowl

I would like to start this all about by sincerely thanking the individual who sent me my very own Beezo Bowl.  My parents received a package at their house, addressed to me!  Inside, a beautiful bowl made just for me!  There was no evidence to be found as to who sent the package.  Thank you to my anonymous friend! If it wasn't supposed to be anonymous, let me know! 

Chocolate Brownies:

The first recipe I have is a gluten free, low carb, low calorie, low fat chocolate object.  My sister, Emily, has to eat low carb. For her birthday, she sent me this recipe.  I thought it would be disgusting, but I was wrong!  It is supposed to be for a cookie, but I never could get it to stop oozing, so I turned it in to a brownie.  Oh yeah, each one is about 53 calories each!!!!


1 1/2 cups of Ideal powdered sugar (you can use real pwd sugar, too, it is just more calories)
1/3 cup DUTCH processed Cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant coffee *optional*
1/4 teaspoon baking powder (my own addition. This makes the brownies more fluffy, less dense) 
                whisk dry ingredients together
2 egg whites (I use the kind in a carton)
1 teaspoon vanilla
                gently stir this in to the dry ingredients
1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
                gently stir in to the brownie mix

Pour mix in to a parchment lined and lightly pam sprayed 8x8 pan. Bake in a 350F preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes. Once cooked, move parchment to a cooking rack.  Slice in to 9 brownies. ENJOY!!!

Hummus:


I got a great recipe for Hummus from the ladies in my bible study. In the past, I haven't wanted to make it because you have to have tahini for it, but they gave us a great tip - you can use almond butter or peanut butter instead. I went one step farther and used Better'n Peanut Butter.  It is a peanut butter substitute I found at Trader Joes.  It has 85% less fat and 40% less calories than regular peanut butter.

15 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained. Reserve the liquid
3 Tablespoons tahini, pb, almond butter, or better'n peanut butter
1/4 C fresh lemon juice (or more)
1 - 3 garlic cloves (depending on preference)

Place beans, garlic, and tahini in food processor. Add lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons of garbanzo liquid. Blend until smooth. Add more water if too thick.  May garnish with parsley and drizzle with olive oil.  Refrigerate. 

Another idea they gave me was to spread humus on an english muffin, then to top with cheese (I used Trader Joes lite provolone) and broil until cheese is bubbly. YUM!

Low Fat Strawberry Cake:

This is another bible study recipe. So delicious!

16 ounces White Cake Mix (read the labels. There are lower calorie/fat ones out there. I used Betty Crocker)
2 - 6 ounce  packages low fat strawberry yogurt
3 egg whites (I use from a carton)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil (I use apple sauce)
8 ounces Cool Whip (Lite or FF)
Strawberries to garnish

Mix together cake mix, 1 package yogurt, egg whites, water, and oil (or applesauce).  Pour in to 2 - 9 inch cake pans that have been prepped with pam and a light dusting of flour.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes. Cool.  Mix together the cool whip and second container of strawberry yogurt. Frost cake with this and garnish with strawberries. Store in the fridge.

As you can see, we were a bit hasty with frosting this cake. We wanted to eat it. It is delicious.  I think this recipe would lend itself to some alterations:

Use coconut yogurt and garnish with lightly toasted coconut
Use any berry yogurt and garnish with mixed berries
Use pineapple coconut yogurt and garnish with pineapples and coconut

The possibilities are endless!