Debaters Dish: Peeled Snacks, fruit on the road

We are at the California State Championships this weekend, but before the tournament kicks into full swing, I wanted to share an organic, low-calorie product that has been in my carry-on luggage the last two weeks!

When a health conscious person is always on the go, some days it can be hard to get your produce in. While I always attempt to grab some local fruits and vegetables when we get to a location, it can be difficult to travel with a variety of fruit and I believe that variety helps prevent unhealthy eating.

Luckily, there exists in this world a company that dries and packages individual servings of fruits without any added sugar. Peeled Snacks have six different fruits to choose from: Cherry-go-round, pine-4-Pineapple, go-Mango-man-go, Banan-a-peel, Apricot-a-lot & Apple-2-the-core. They also offer variety packs as well as fruit and nut mixes.

While dried fruits are often higher in calories, Peeled Snacks lowered the calories by keeping the added sugars out of the mix. The fruits are all organic and tasty to boot! Every fruit is full of flavor and the servings are big enough to satisfy your cravings for sweetness.

Apples: 110 calories/0 grams of fat/3 grams of fiber/0 grams of protein
Apricots: 110 calories/0 grams of fat/3 grams of fiber/2 grams of protein
Cherries: 130 calories/0 grams of fat/4 grams of fiber/2 grams of protein
Bananas: 150 calories/0.5 grams of fat/2 grams of fiber/1 grams of protein
Mangos: 120 calories/0 grams of fat/2 grams of fiber/2 grams of protein
Pineapple: 140 calories/0 grams of fat/1 grams of fiber/1 grams of protein

This product has been tested by this debate coach as well as my high school students. We all agree that for health conscious travelers, Peeled Snacks is a must have product. Every flavor tastes like real fruit and the texture is perfect.

Right now Peeled Snacks is offering readers a $10 gift card just for going to their site and completing a short survey. Pineapple (one of my two favorites) and Apricot are also on sale for a couple more days. Act quickly to get in on the double savings!

Chicken-Brie-Apple Pockets

As a teenager, I was involved in every activity I could be. I would rush off in the morning to school, work on the newspaper through lunch, spend afterschool working on debate, theatre, 4-H, and a number of clubs. Weekends were more school, 4-H and church activities. I was so involved in activities that my mom joked on graduation evening that maybe she would finally see me. I started my new job the next day :-)

But something my mother did during those days wore off on me. She would prepare fresh baked pockets of nutritious goodness that I could grab on the run. It was fast, healthy, and inexpensive. They were such a staple that in college I asked for a bread machine so I could make a similar meal-to-go. Over the years I have tried out different dough recipes, and will admit that somedays I resort to the boxed mix, but the ease and simplicity of these pockets make it a great option for everyone. The recipe I am sharing below is great because it is dairy free and fairly low in calories.

Whole Wheat French Bread Dough (2lb loaf)

1.33 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2.5 cups bread flour
1.5 whole wheat flour
1.5 tsp active dry or bread machine yeast

Load ingredients into bread machine according to manufacturer directions and set on dough setting. When it is done (mine takes about an hour and a half), you are ready for the next step!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I recently had the opportunity to try out Ile De France Brie in cooking up some fabulous recipes. When this company was looking for a blogger who loves brie, they couldn't have picked a better person! Brie is a weakness in my home and usually disappears within a day of crossing through my front door. So I knew I would have to make a dish that would portion the brie out to be enjoyed over time. The Ile De France Brie melted fabulously in the Pumpkin and Brie Panini which meant I just had to use it in a warm treatment to enjoy the gooey earthy goodness.

I paired the brie with grilled chicken that had been seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled. To balance the brie and chicken, I also added Bauman Family Apple Butter. Brie and apples are a fairly common pairing in the wine world and enjoyed on toast with a glass of buttery chardonnay.

Filling for Pockets

12 oz chopped grilled chicken breast sorted into 1oz servings

6 oz Ile De France Brie cubed into 12 .5oz cubes

6 tbsp Bauman's Apple Butter

Divide dough into 12 equal balls. Cover dough when not using to prevent it from drying out. Roll each ball into a flat round circle. In the cent place one cube of brie, 1oz of chicken, and .5tbsp apple butter. Bring the edges of the circle together and seal pocket. Place pinched closure on bottom of pocket and space pockets on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat until all 12 pockets are prepared.

Cover pockets with towel and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat oven to 350 degrees. When resting of bread is done, bake in over for 15 minutes or until top of crust is lightly browned.

One pocket: 279 calories/8 grams of fat/1.6 grams of fiber/16.5 grams of protein

Pumpkin and Brie Panini: Bauman Family Fruit Butters

If you have been following my food journals at Uncovering Me, then you may already know that I bought a Breville Ikon Panini Press and I am in love! It has non stick plates which means I don't have to use any added oils when I make sandwiches. And make sandwiches I have!

As a featured publisher at Foodbuzz, I was given the opportunity to try Ile de France Le Brie. I plan on sharing more about the cheese specifically in an upcoming blog, but I knew I had to try some of it in a panini. I also had just received a sampler of Bauman Family Fruit Butters. As I look to utilize more naturally sweetened products, I ran across this company who sweeten most of their fruit products with fruit juice or honey. Many of the products they just let the fruit sweeten itself! This results in an all natural and low calorie alternative to overly processed spreads you find on store shelves. You can find these fruit butters in stores or order them online! One of the butters was a pumpkin butter that is sweetened with fruit juice and is only 25 calories for a tablespoon!

Pumpkin and Brie Panini

2 slices Oroweat Light Whole Wheat Bread (or your favorite whole wheat bread, adjust calories accordingly)
1 tbsp Bauman Family No Sugar Added Pumpkin Butter
1.5 oz Ile de France Le Brie

Warm panini press while assembling sandwich. On one piece of bread, spread pumpkin butter. Place cheese on top of butter and top off with second slice of bread. Grill on low for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

This sandwich is sweet, spicy and creamy. With April being National Grilled Cheese month, consider this my contribution to the celebration. It is so delicious I had one for dinner last night and another for breakfast this morning.

Nutritional Information using the above named ingredients: 255 calories/14 grams of fat/7 grams of fiber/11.5 grams of protein.


There are many uses for fruit butters besides paninis. I have used all of these to sweeten my steel cuts oats in the morning. They are also great on waffles and toast as well as mixed into yogurt. I even used the butters in savory main courses! All of the Bauman Fruit Butters I tried ranged in calories from 25 to 35 calories per tablespoon and were bursting with sweet fruit flavors. I love that the company has been around for over 100 years and is still family owned and operated.

For those of you who enjoy fruit butters, am I missing another use? Please share ideas and links to your favorite fruit butter recipes here!

An Amazing Value: One Organic Food Bars

Very rarely do I find a bar that I have to buy more of immeadiately after sampling. One that I email and Twitter about after the third bite. One that I want to savor bite by bite, every chew, until I am sad that it is gone but so fully satisfied that I am happy at the same time.

More specifically, when I do find such a bar, very rarely is the bar sold at an affordable cost. Made with organic ingredients. Free of trans fats, refined sugars, high fructose corn syrupand preservatives. And prepared fresh daily through cold processing!

When I first communicated with Organic Food Bar, I was interested in learning more about the Active Greens and Omega-3 Flax bars. The names just seemed so.... healthy? But Eric over at Organic Food Bar was convinced my readers and I would fall in love with the One line, a low cost and all organic line of bars. Eric was right about one thing... a girl has to watch her wallet these days. These bars are only 86 cents when you buy a box of twelve (and only $1.19 if you buy them individually) online. When he told me they were gluten free, soy free, dairy free and peanut free... I KNEW I had to try them. I have friends with a number of allergies and if these were as amazing as they sounded, I would have to tell the world!

Lucky for me, the happy taste tester, and all of my amazing readers, the One Organic Food Bars are worthy of gracing the screen of Uncovering Food. Although don't create too big a demand, because this girl still wants to be able to get her hands on some of them!

Raspberry Muffin Crunch

Okay so while the first picture on the blog is one I took, I loved how the graphics on the company web site included the ingredients that go into the bar! The Raspberry Muffin Crunch was my favorite all around bar. It was sweet without being too sweet. The raspberry pieces just popped in my mouth and combined with the organic non-glutton cereals and granola, it was the perfect texture. The bar consistency was firm but soft, creating a satisfying mini meal and a perfect pre-workout snack. Did I mention it has 500mg of Omega Threes and is Vegan? When reviewing my notes, the first thing written in caps across the top of the page was: YUM!!!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Ingredients: Organic Raspberry Granola (Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Organic Raisins, Organic Raspberries, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Crispy Brown Rice) Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Millet, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Flax, Organic Acacia Fiber and Organic Freeze Dried Raspberry Juice.

Nutritional Information: 180 calories/4.5 grams fat/3 grams fiber/5 grams protein

Chocolate Macaroon Crunch

Coconut lovers beware! The Chocolate Macaroon Crunch Bar is full of this fabulous ingredient! Complete with more probiotics than a serving of yogurt, this bar was my second favorite of the line. Every mouthful was chocolate and coconut. I felt like I was being so bad! It was definitely more cookie like, which was good when I was looking for something to enjoy with a good cup of Teavana Earl Grey Creme tea for afternoon tea time. It is also very filling for a bar. After enjoying it with my tea, I wasn't hungry for hours!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Ingredients: Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Coconut, Organic Coconut Almond Granola (Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Barley Flakes, Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Organic Raisins, Organic Almonds, Organic Coconut, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Sunflower Seeds) Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Millet, Organic Chocolate Chips (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter), Organic Acacia Fiber and Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086.

Nutritional Information: 210 calories/10 grams fat/6 grams fiber/2 grams protein

Blueberry Muffin Crunch

Another quality bar in the line, the Blueberry Muffin Crunch Bar also boasts heart healthy Omega 3s. This was my least favorite in the line, as it was definitely sweeter than the raspberry bar with less pop from the fruit. The bar does have a nuttier texture though which I enjoyed and savored. When I say it was least favorite, let me be clear that I would still buy and eat these Vegan babies. The texture is a bit chewier (although I did get a couple larger chunks of almonds - yum!) and the bar was a bit darker in color from the blueberries. However it also left me satiated and with a fresh burst of energy!

Ingredients: Certified Organic Ingredients: Organic Blueberry Almond Granola (Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Organic Raisins, Organic Apples, Organic Almonds, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Blueberries, Organic Sunflower Seeds) Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Millet, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Bio Sprouts^TM - Flax, Organic Acacia Fiber and Organic Freeze Dried Blueberry Juice.

Nutritional Information: 180 calories/4.5 grams fat/6 grams fiber/3 grams protein

Purple Kohlrabi and Apple Salad

This crisp salad is a perfect side or even a sweet dessert!

3 small purple kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and diced
3 small apples, sliced thin
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 packet stevia (I use Truvia) or your favorite sweetener
juice of 1 blood orange
lemon juice or True Lemon

Prepare a bath of cold water with lemon juice or True Lemon to place kohlrabi and apples as you peel, dice and slice. This will prevent browning.

Mix vinegar, cinnamon, sweetener and blood orange juice.

Drain water bath from bowl. Toss dressing with kohlrabi and apple pieces. There may be extra dressing, you can let your salad sit in it or drain it.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Information: 78 calories, 0 grams of fat, 5.5 grams of fiber

Overnight Apples and Oats

2.25 cups of old fashioned oats
6 small-medium apples, your choice
cinnamon, to taste
ancho chili powder, to taste
1 packet of stevia or sweetener of choice
Water (between one and two cups depending on how thick you like your oatmeal)

Slice two apples into medium thick slices that layer the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle one cup of oats over the sliced apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon, chili powder and half of the stevia packet.

Repeat layering.

Dice remaining two apples and sprinkle over the top. Pour water over the top.

Cook on low overnight.

This makes between 4 and 5 servings and points vary based on the size of your apples.

Easy Low Point and High Fiber Apple Muffins

I make this recipe into 34 mini muffins. The mini muffin pan I use doesn't make tiny muffins, but they are smaller than regular size. I am sure you could make regular size muffins and they might still be one point, I just happen to like my new muffin tin!

1 box of Krusteaz FF Apple Muffin Mix
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup apple butter
1/4 cup eggbeaters
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups of wheat bran (bulk from whole food store)
1 cup of water

Blend together and bake at 400 degrees for approx. 20 minutes.

1 muffin = 1 point

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

***NOTES: I used reduced fat graham crackers, fat free french vanilla yogurt, light orange juice, gala apples, butter instead of stick margarine, and egg substitute in stead of eggs***

6 POINTS WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS

Caramel Swirl-and-Apple Cheesecake
From Cooking Light

So that the yogurt has ample time to drain and become yogurt cheese, start this cheesecake a day ahead.

1 (32-ounce) carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon stick margarine, softened
1 egg white
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 40 crackers)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups cubed peeled Golden Delicious apple (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) block Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block nonfat cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup fat-free caramel-flavored sundae syrup
2 tablespoons fat-free caramel-flavored sundae syrup
Cinnamon sticks (optional)

Place colander in a 2-quart glass measure or bowl. Line colander with 4 layers of cheesecloth, allowing cheesecloth to extend over edge of bowl. Spoon yogurt into colander. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate 12 hours. Spoon yogurt cheese into a bowl; discard liquid. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, margarine, and egg white in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until blended. Add crumbs and cinnamon; stir well. Firmly press mixture into bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes; let cool on a wire rack.

Preheat oven to 300°. Combine brown sugar and orange juice in a large nonstick skillet; bring to a boil. Add apple; cook 8 minutes until apple is tender and liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Combine yogurt cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and next 5 ingredients (1/2 cup sugar through nonfat cream cheese) in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Spoon apple mixture into prepared pan. Pour cheese mixture over apples; top with 1/3 cup sundae syrup, and swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect. Bake at 300° for 1 hour until almost set. Turn oven off; loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula or knife. Let cheesecake stand for 40 minutes in oven with door closed. Remove cheesecake from oven, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons sundae syrup over top; garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired.


Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 286(25% from fat); FAT 8g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 10.4g; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 160mg; SODIUM 384mg; FIBER 0.9g; IRON 0.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44.2g

Cooking Light, APRIL 1996

Apple-Beet Sauce

This is perfect to mix into steel cut oats or yogurt!

6 small apples, cored and quartered
3 small beets, scrubbed and chopped
Ancho Chili Powder, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste (usually 3x the chili powder)

Mix beets and apples together. I do a very light dusting of chili powder and a heavier dusting of cinnamon over the top.

Cook on low for 5-8 hours, stir every 3-5 hours. Length of time will determine a chunkier or saucier consistency.

1/6 of the recipe is only 1 Point!

Rubarb-Apple-Strawberry Sauce

3 Rhubarb Stalks, washed and sliced
4 Braeburn Apples, washed and sliced into chips
Cinnamon Stick
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 baskets of Strawberries, rinsed and quartered

Cover bottom of slow cooker with rhubarb and place cinnamon stick in center. Sprinkle sugar over rhubarb. Layer apple slices over rhubarb, covering the rhubarb entirely. Drizzle water over apple layer. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Mix in strawberries and cook on low for another hour.

This sauce is perfect over slow churn vanilla bean ice cream. It would also be great in oatmeal, yogurt, and who knows what else!

Serving size will vary but 1/12th of the pot is 1 Point.