Deep Dish Greek Pizza + Super Easy Homemade Pizza Dough!

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Better Baking Bible

This deep dish Greek pizza is a quick, fast, and easy dinner solution that can feed quite a few people! I had five people over and we couldn’t finish this delicious jumbo pizza. What’s great about this Greek pizza is that it’s loaded with vegetables and it’s meat-free. So if any of you are vegetarian, this pizza is definitely for you. If you really want to add a little meat, some diced bacon sprinkled on top will do the trick.

If you have never made your own pizza dough, trust me that this whole wheat homemade pizza dough recipe I have included in this article is tried-and-test and it’s almost fool-proof. I have made it many times without any problems and it has always turned out fluffy, soft, and very filling. Much, much better than the store-bought dough that ends up tasting like cardboard!

Just throw everything all in one pan, set the oven, and that’s it! So easy to make and very, very nutritious.

*If you would like to share my recipe and photos please provide proper credit and a link back. Thanks!

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Lemon Strawberry Protein Smoothie with Natural Ingredients!

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Better Baking Bible

STRAWBERRY LEMON SMOOTHIE / VANESSA PORTER / CC BY 2.0

Looking to shed some pounds before the holidays? This lemon strawberry natural protein smoothie is just the fix to get you slim, looking great, and giving you tons of energy at the gym! When I say natural, I mean no artificial ingredients and those “protein mix” powders that I will get into later on.

Protein smoothies are an easy and fast way to get the right nutrients you need all in one, cool glass. Lemon and strawberry is the perfect combination that not only limited for summertime, but all year long. It gives a refreshing feeling that is perfect after a long day at work, a gruelling session at the gym.

Before we get into the recipe I just want to break down why I choose NATURAL protein sources for my smoothies and stay far away from artificial products they sell in most health food stores:

You Gain Weight – Most people will simply have too large of a serving and get more calories than they need. If your workout isn’t intense, then these added calories will make it more difficult to lose weight and get the body that you want. If you have the protein powder drink after your workout, your defeating the purpose of working out. If you drink these drinks often, then you may gain weight over time.

It’s Harder – It would be easier to have a drink with natural ingredients like honey, yogurt, flax seeds and a banana. If we had a drink like this, we would get the energy our body needs after a workout without the added calories that a protein powder drink provides.

Fake Ingredients – Many protein powders contain a lot of artificial ingredients that should be removed from your fridge forever, such as Acesulfame Potassium. According to HealthGuideReviews.info, this is an artificial sweetener which is 200 times sweeter than sugar is. If you’re concerned about your health, you may not want to consume this sort of sweetener.

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Strawberry Spinach Mango Smoothie – Dairy Free!

Simple Low Calorie Tuna Salad

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Better Baking Bible

Out of lunch ideas? This easy tuna salad takes just five minutes to whip up! Not only is it a low-calorie meal, it’s also super healthy loaded with all kinds of veggies and vitamins. Prepare this salad in the morning and take it to work with you for a cheap and wholesome lunch. You can easily customize your salad using whatever you may have in your fridge. Add red onions, crumbled feta cheese, and some black olives for a Greek-style tuna salad. Or maybe some grated Parmesan and croutons for a caesar tuna salad? The choice is yours!

*If you would like to share my recipe and photos please provide proper credit and a link back. Thanks!

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Low Cal Greek Yogurt Chicken Tortilla Wraps

Strawberry Spinach Mango Smoothie – Dairy Free!

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Better Baking Bible

SMOOTHIE / HEATHER HAMMOD / CC BY

Finally the long awaited summer weather has come, and it’s sizzling outside a little too much for my liking! The best way to combat the heat? With frozen smoothies of course! Strawberry spinach and mango smoothie to be exact is what’s popping up on my menu for breakfast, lunch, and even a late night snack. I’m not going to lie – I love smoothies, cakes, desserts, anything sweet and I’ll have it. But what makes something even more enjoyable is when it’s delicious but also super healthy. This gives you an automatic excuse to take seconds, right?

Deliciously healthy is exactly what this smoothie is, it tastes refreshing, heavenly, it looks amazing, and it’s also quite healthy. Packed with antioxidant rich strawberries, spinach, and mango, who knew this combination would work so well together? To make this smoothie, the only tool you need is a blender. There are tons of food blenders on the market, although make sure to buy one that is made out of glass. Glass is much easier to wash, and it’s more sanitary. Bacteria seeps into plastic, it’s almost impossible to disinfect, and plus it’s not healthy to use period. Food blenders are a great investment, as long as you purchase one made out of glass and from a reputable brand.

The best part about this smoothie is that it’s super easy to make. I love recipes that don’t take too much effort, but still turn out wonderful. What really makes it come together is the beautiful presentation. Eye popping layers of strawberry, spinach, and mango make this smoothie look and taste even more yummy!

Strawberry Spinach Mango Smoothie

A summer ready smoothie made with frozen strawberries, spinach, and mango!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups frozen mango chunks
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup water
1 tbsp honey

Instructions:

Using a blender, blend the frozen mango chunks with water until smooth. Pour 2/3 of the blended mixture into a serving glass.
Add strawberries into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour ¾ of the smoothie into the serving glass, covering the mango to form a layer.
Add spinach and 1 tbsp of honey into the blender and blend until smooth. Poor into the serving glass and serve right away or store in the freezer for later.

Jewish Apple Loaf Cake

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Better Baking Bible

This Jewish apple loaf cake is an easy and healthy loaf cake that’s perfect to make on a lazy Sunday. I scoured the web for tons of Jewish apple loaf cakes, and decided I wanted to make my own version. I spiced this loaf cake up by infusing it with lemon zest and grated carrots (I did not include the 1/2 cup of grated carrots in the recipe below, so it’s your choice!). It turned out lovely and I specifically like how the lemon zest gave it a refreshing taste and not to mention, beautiful aroma. So easy to make and delicious!

So what exactly is Jewish apple loaf cake and where does this simple, yet tasty recipe come from? Jewish apple cake is a dense cake made with apples and it is sold mostly in Pennsylvania. This recipe has limited known connection to Jewish cuisine and is actually a recipe from the Dutch population in Pennsylvania. It was mistakenly attributed to Jews because it seemed “old war” and also because it contains no dairy, and can be eaten with meat in accordance with Jewish laws of kashrut. Besides this, there are tons of science backed health benefits of apples – so why not give this delicious treat a try?

* The recipe below has been improved and edited from the original one.

*If you would like to share my recipe and photos please provide proper credit and a link back to this original post. Thanks!

Jewish Apple Loaf Cake

Soft, moist, healthy Jewish loaf cake loaded with apples.

5 apples
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar (You can definitely minimize the sugar to 1 cup if you do not like it too sweet!)
Few tablespoons brown sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling on top (I do this approximately)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 grated lemon for zest
4 tbsp sugar for apples

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, and grease and line a medium sized loaf pan.
2. Peel and core apples, then thinly slice and toss in a mixing bowl with cinnamon and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour half of the batter into the loaf pan and add apple slices on top. Then pour the rest of the batter onto the apple slices. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top and bake for about 1 hour until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

How to Make Your Own Homemade Oatmeal Flour in Just One Step!

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Better Baking Bible

Making your own oatmeal flour at home is the easiest thing you can do to increase the nutrition of your baked goods in a snap! Oatmeal is naturally gluten free which makes it the perfect alternative to using white all-purpose flour in baking recipes. It also makes baked goods slightly chewy, moist, and a lot more filling.

To make your own oat flour at home, all you need is a blender or a food processor. Pulse the oat for a few minutes, stop, stir, and pulse again until you reach a flour-like consistency. Depending on what kind of food processor you have, this can take about 60 seconds or less! One cup of rolled oats will yield 1 cup of oat flour.

When it comes to using oatmeal flour as a replacement in your recipes, you may want to be careful. You can’t ALWAYS just substitute white all-purpose flour with oat flour. Oats contain zero gluten which means baked goods such as breads will not rise at all.

You can though make gluten free oatmeal cookies that need no rising at all. You can also add a little nutrition to your cake or pastry recipes, substitute only 1/4 of the all-purpose flour with oat flour.

*If you would like to share my recipe and photos please provide proper credit and a link back to this original post. Thanks!

Walnut Stuffed Oven Baked Apples – Perfect Healthy Thanksgiving Dessert!

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Better Baking Bible

Looking for a healthy low-calorie fall dessert? These walnut stuffed oven baked apples make the perfect treat for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Sunday brunch, or just about any time of the day or year! The recipe is easy to make and only requires a few simple ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry.

Not a fan of walnuts? You definitely should be! Walnuts are an excellent source of ant-inflammatory omega-3 essential fatty acids, rich in antioxidants and are a very good source of manganese and cooper. They are also the healthiest of nuts you can eat, and are very filling. I have to admit, after eating one of these apples I was definitely stuffed and satisfied!
If you are on a vegan diet or lactose intolerant, you can easily substitute the milk with almond or soya milk. Having an adults-only party? Spike these apples with rum or Irish whiskey to get the party started!

*If you would like to share my recipe and photos please provide proper credit and a link back to this original post. Thanks!

Walnut Stuffed Oven Baked Apples

Serves 6

Oven baked apples stuffed with a mixture of walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and raisins!

Ingredients:

6 medium sized apples, tops cut off and generously cored
200g ground walnuts
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp granulated white sugar or brown sugar
1 tbsp rum or Irish whiskey (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
¼ cup rum soaked raisins (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300F (150C). Mix together walnuts, cinnamon, sugar, rum, and vanilla extract (raisins are optional).
Bring milk to a boil and pour over walnut mixture and mix into a paste. If the paste appears watery, let it sit for a few minutes until thickened. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then spoon paste into apples until filled to the top. Place apple top back on.
Carefully transfer apples to a baking sheet (no need to grease it) and bake for 1.5 hours until apples are softened and cooked through (you should be able to easily poke a toothpick all the way through the apple). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

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Cake, Recipes, Cookies, Cupcakes, & Easy Desserts for the Modern, Busy woman!

Category Archives: Heatlhy

Deep Dish Greek Pizza + Super Easy Homemade Pizza Dough!

Lemon Strawberry Protein Smoothie with Natural Ingredients!

STRAWBERRY LEMON SMOOTHIE / VANESSA PORTER / CC BY 2.0

You Might Want to Try This Too!

Simple Low Calorie Tuna Salad

You Might Want to Try This Too!

Strawberry Spinach Mango Smoothie – Dairy Free!

SMOOTHIE / HEATHER HAMMOD / CC BY

Strawberry Spinach Mango Smoothie

Jewish Apple Loaf Cake

Jewish Apple Loaf Cake

How to Make Your Own Homemade Oatmeal Flour in Just One Step!

Walnut Stuffed Oven Baked Apples – Perfect Healthy Thanksgiving Dessert!

Walnut Stuffed Oven Baked Apples