The Fat Girl's Guide to Living

Ever need a boost after an exhausting or exasperating day? Looking for something a little more inventive than a handful of almonds or a piece of fruit? How about a shake? I know what you’re thinking: definitely indulgent, but not worth the sugar crash later. Thankfully, with a little creativity, a shake blended with the right ingredients can can actually do a body good.

Many of us throw our slightly-too-ripe bananas into the freezer to use in banana bread or banana muffins. But you can also use them to make a thick, indulgent shake without the guilt of a regular ice cream-based shake. Just throw a peeled, quartered frozen banana into the blender with a little milk, a touch of vanilla and a tablespoon of peanut butter, and you’ve got a refreshing – and healthy – frosty beverage packed with potassium, protein, calcium, fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin B-6. Want to have this shake for dessert? Add a few dark chocolate chips to elevate the yum factor.

You can thank Tee for this find; she hooked me up with this link a few months ago. We enjoy this treat so much that we buy entire bunches of bananas to freeze so that we can make this shake anytime the mood strikes.

Frozen Banana-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Milkshake
(recipe adapted from the kitchn)
1 frozen bananas (peel them before you freeze them!), cut into chunks
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (natural PB works great)
1/2 cup skim milk (experiment with soy, almond or rice milk if you’re sensitive or allergic to dairy)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Blend banana, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla in a blender until smooth. If desired, add the chocolate chips at the end and pulse or blend briefly until they are chopped and incorporated.

Yield: 1 shake

Looking for more great recipes? Visit my blog at
http://culinography.wordpress.com

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Homemade Peanut Butter by little blue hen

We are advocates of mindful indulgence here at FGG, as our Foodie Fridays columns demonstrate. And what’s more decadent than the rich, heady aroma and taste of really good peanut butter? Once relegated to lunch boxes with a dollop of Welch’s grape jelly, then avoided due to its high fat content in the “lite” fad era, peanut butter is ready for – and worthy of – the spotlight on anyone’s menu. All-natural and even homemade peanut butters are in vogue now, but this is a trend we heartily get behind due to the payoff in taste, texture, nutrition (great veggie protein source, no trans fats or excess sugar/salt), and satisfaction.

Tee is fond of grinding her own peanut butter at her local whole foods grocer; check to see if your natural foods store has a grinder for make-your-own peanut (and other nut) butters. I’m currently mad about Justin’s Nut Butters, which don’t require refrigeration like some brands and come in a variety of flavors even my picky kids will eat, like honey, maple almond, and even chocolate (a more subtle flavor than super-sweet Nutella, which goes better in desserts or over fresh fruit than as a snack or meal). My family brings Justin’s generously sized individual packs, mini bagels, and apples on hikes – a satisfying snack that isn’t too sugary.

For intrepid DIYers, Cuisinart makes a spice and nut grinder, but according to the recipe from little blue hen (results pictured above), you can use a food processor, too.

Tell us, girls: what do you think of natural or homemade peanut (or almond, or cashew) butters? Are these on your radar yet, or will they have to pry the Skippy, Peter Pan, or JIF from your old-skool-PB-loving fingers first?

Did you see the news today? It snowed in south Texas! I don’t live in Texas, but I’m jealous that they got the snow for which I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting. So, in honor of the big snow in the South, I thought today was the perfect occasion to drag out the recipe card for a fantastically decadent drinking chocolate.

What is drinking chocolate? Think ‘hot cocoa taken to a whole new level.’ In its luxurious, rich shadow, regular hot cocoa will seem thin and sort of weak. This recipe can be made with three or four simple ingredients and a little will go a long, long way to satisfying your sweet tooth.

Most of us have powdered hot cocoa mixes hanging out in our pantries — I think I’ve got two boxes stashed away in my kitchen for emergency chocolate fixes. It works in a pinch and even tastes pretty good. But have you looked at the ingredient list for that stuff? Sure, it has your usual suspects: sugar, whey, cocoa, nonfat milk, and sugar. But many of the powdered mixes also contain hydrogenated coconut oil (trans fat alert!), salt (amounts of which you’re unable to control), artificial flavors (such as?), and carrageenan (which has been accused by some of causing intestinal inflammation and possibly inflammatory bowl disease). Not the ingredients I want to build a long-term relationship with. So, if you’re looking for something a little more simple and certainly more tasty, give drinking chocolate a try.

This one’s easy to personalize, too. Add more milk to make it a bit thinner. Omit the peanut butter if it’s not your thing or if you have nut allergies. (If you do, consider adding just a pinch of salt to the recipe.) Try it with dark chocolate, milk chocolate… or any chocolate combination that strikes your fancy!

As written, this recipe makes six to eight small servings (remember – a little goes a long way!). Scale back the recipe to half if you’d like, or you can do what I do and keep any extra covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Just reheat slowly and re-blend before serving. Perfect for on-demand chocolate therapy!

Peanut Butter Cup Drinking Chocolate
3 cups whole milk
8 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (chocolate chips are okay, too)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Warm 1 1/2 cups of the milk with the chocolate, peanut butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in the remaining milk and heat until very warm (do not boil). Using a hand-held immersion blender or a whisk, mix the drinking chocolate until completely smooth. Serve warm.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Looking for more great recipes? Visit my blog at
http://culinography.wordpress.com

Welcome, friends, to the first weekly installment of FGG’s Foodie Fridays! I’m Michelle, and I promise this space will not… I repeat… will not be about low-fat/low-cal tips and tricks. You can get those almost anywhere you can point a web browser. Sure, we’ll exercise reason where it make sense, we’re all responsible adults, right? But the core principal behind Foodie Fridays is mindful decadence. That means if you’re going to have the calories… make it count. Indulge. Savor. Enjoy.

Speaking of enjoyment, is there anything better than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? These flourless cookies are so easy to pull together, there’s no need to wait for butter to soften (because they don’t contain any) or drama when you discover you’re out of flour (none of that here, either). And: you can even make them a little more healthy by using natural peanut butter and unprocessed cane sugar. But don’t feel obligated to – they’re great either way.

These rich little beauties pack enough of a punch that it only takes one – okay, maybe two – to satisfy my sweet tooth craving. Pair them with a glass of cold milk and I’m in heaven. They keep nicely covered in an airtight container at room temperature, and are perfect for snacking throughout the weekend and on into the workweek (if they last that long).

Go ahead… bake yourself a batch and enjoy.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup peanut butter (regular or natural / creamy or chunky)
¾ cup granulated sugar (regular or cane)
1 large egg
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of two 12-by-18-inch sheet pans with parchment paper or silpat.

In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon-sized scoop (or 2 small spoons), measure out the dough in tablespoon-sized balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared pans.

Bake until lightly golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool completely on the pans on wire racks. Remove and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to week.

Yield: approx. 24 cookies

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