Fudge made with pinto beans???

Each month I try to find a different “theme” for the cooking program at the library.  For February, I thought it would be nice to do a Valentine’s Day theme, so we’re doing three kinds of fudge and making an origami box to put it in as a gift to the participants’ valentines. One of the many request from the attendees is to have healthier recipe options. I scoured the internet and found No Bake Pinto Bean Fudge on www.food.com and decided to try it.  Here are the steps to make this fudge.

Mash the contents of one 15.5 ounce can of pinto beans.  I did mine in the food processor until smooth.

Add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder

Melt 1/2 cup margarine (or butter) and pour into food processor.

Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 2 pounds of powdered sugar.

Add the equivalent of 1 pound of sugar substitute*.

Turn on food processor and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Doesn’t that look yummy?  Hard to believe there are pinto beans in there!!!!

Pour the mixture into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan and spread evenly.

Chop up 4 ounces of walnuts (optional)

The recipe I have from www.food.com mixes the walnuts into the fudge. I thought it would be nicer sprinkled on top.  What do you think??

No Bake Pinto Bean Fudge
www.food.com

Ingredients:

1 – 15.5 ounce can of pinto beans
3/4 C cocoa powder
1/2 C margarine/butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 pound sugar substitute (or equivalent to 1 pound of sugar*)  I used splenda baking blend
4 ounces walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:

  1. Mash beans (I did mine in the food processor)
  2. Mix together all ingredients
  3. Grease a 9′ X 13″ pan, spread mixture into the pan
  4. Put in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly
  5. Cut into squares and enjoy!

*Make sure to read the sugar substitute package to get the correct measurement to equal 1 pound of regular sugar.

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Cheers…you just drank all your calories for the day!

Like any all-American girl, I like a nice adult beverage.  From beer to wine to frou-frou fruity girl drinks, I love them all.  As a person who is trying to enjoy food and drink AND watch her weight, those drinks can use up a lot of my daily calories. What’s a girl to do?

We all know about “light” beers. Most of them have about as much flavor as a cardboard box in a blender.  The only two I’ve been able to tolerate are Bud Light Lime and Michelob Ultra.  I rarely indulge in these two treats.  If it is extremely hot, like it has been lately, I do enjoy them after they have spent some time in the freezer.  Ahhhh….refreshing.

I haven’t found any other good light bottled adult beverages. I do love the Smirnoff Blueberry Lemonade, but I often think twice about drinking them.  There are several companies working on some lower calorie drink mixes, as well as some chefs sharing their lower calorie recipes.

I just tasted the Crystal Light Appletini mix.  Granted, I tasted it without alcohol, but I wanted to see how the mix itself tasted without the bad influence of the alcohol.  At 5 calories a serving compared to 160 calories for an alcoholic appletini, it is a great calorie deal.  The flavor is not quite as good as a real appletini, but it’s not horrible.  Unfortunately, they are limited time only. There are two other flavors – Mojito and Margarita. I’ve heard they are both good, but have not had a chance to try them.

Crystal Light Appletini Mocktail

There is another company that has zero calorie drink mixes.  Slim Stix has a margarita, a mojito, and a cosmo mix that have no calories.  The only calories you would take in are from the alcohol you add to them.  A while ago I signed up to get a free sample and have yet to recieve them. They are only available in stores on the West Coast. You can, however, order them from Amazon or the Slim Stix website.

Lisa Lillien, know to her fans as Hungry Girl, has a whole cookbook with guilt free cocktail recipes.  It is called Hungry Girl Happy Hour.  The recipes are really easy and use everyday items that you already have if you are watching your calorie intake. You can check out some of her cocktail recipes on her website, Hungry-Girl.

So, next time you want to indulge in an adult beverage but don’t want to ruin your diet, look into these ideas, and “Cheers!”