

Hi, HG!


You always have such great coffee drink recipes. Do you have any tips for me on how to make great recipes that won't have tons of calories?


Bring on the Brew

Dear Bring On,


Thanks!  I LOOOVE to concoct awesome coffee drinks.  It's so much fun to come up with GREAT recipes that actually taste BETTER than many of the way more fattening drinks you find at Starbucks or Coffee Bean.  To make awesome coffee drinks, I keep a slew of ingredients on hand at all times.  Here's a list of things you'll ALWAYS find in the HG pantry:


Instant coffee - Folgers is my go-to brand!


Unsweetened cocoa (Schokinag is #1) - Add chocolatey-good flavor with very few calories.  Stick with a teaspoon at a time (about 5 calories).


Light vanilla soymilk - OK, this actually goes in the fridge.  But it's a lifesaver.


Torani sugar-free syrups - Almond Roca, Coconut, and Vanilla are best for coffee bevs.


Malted milk powder - Just one 10-calorie tsp. adds a HUGE amount of maltiness to drinks.


Coffee-mate powdered coffee creamers (sugar-free and/or fat-free) - SF Vanilla Caramel and FF French Vanilla are the best (approximately 10 cal. per tsp).


My favorite recipe of all is my Super-Duper Cocoa-rific Coffee Malt. Try it ASAP!

Dear Hungry Girl,


My weaknesses are lasagna, corn dogs and oatmeal cookies.  Do you have any good swap ideas for these?


Munchie Monster

Dear Munchie,


This is your lucky day, you hungry beast!  You happened to mention THREE typically unhealthy items that I have incredibly good swaps for.  If you love lasagna, there's no reason to ever stray from Boca's version of the stuff.  It's insanely saucy, cheesy and delicious - and it has just 290 calories and 5g of fat per meal. Movin' on to corn dogs.  Morningstar Farms makes the world's best guilt-free versions and they come in two sizes.  There are minis (great because you can eat three for 130 calories and 3.5g of fat), and large size ones (better 'cuz they're on sticks, which is fun, and they're BIG!).  The larger ones have about 150 calories and 4g of fat per serving.  As for oatmeal cookies, to get my fix for these chewy critters, I either eat Gnu Bars in Cinnamon Raisin (130 calories, low-fat and high in fiber), or Quaker's new chewy, 90-calorie, low-fat oatmeal raisin granola bars (sooooo awesome).  Enjoy!


Today, July 26th, is National Bagelfest Day.  Woohoo!  Beware of oversized humungoid bagels that contain a zillion calories.  Stick with high-fiber, low-cal ones like Western Bagel's Alternative Bagel.

