APRICOT-ORANGE BREAD

APRICOT-ORANGE BREAD

This bread is low in all the right places — saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium — without losing any taste and texture.

Yield: 2 loaves

1 package (6 oz) dried apricots, cut into small pieces
2 C water
2 Tbsp margarine
1 C sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 Tbsp orange peel, freshly grated
3 1/2 C all-purpose flour, sifted *you could try to use your favorite protein powder (unflavored) here to add more protein per serving. adjust nutritional values accordingly.
1/2 C fat free dry milk powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Lightly oil two, 9- by 5-inch loaf pans.
2. Cook apricots in water in covered medium-size saucepan for 10–15 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Drain and reserve 3/4 cup liquid. Set apricots aside to cool.
3. Cream together margarine and sugar. By hand, beat in egg and orange peel.
4. Sift together flour, dry milk, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with reserved apricot liquid and orange juice.
5. Stir apricot pieces and pecans into batter.
6. Turn batter into prepared pans.
7. Bake for 40–45 minutes or until bread springs back when lightly touched in center.
8. Cool for 5 minutes in pans. Remove from pans and completely cool on wire rack before slicing.

Serving size: 1/2-inch slice - 

Each serving provides:
Calories: 97
Total fat: 2 g
Saturated fat: less than 1 g
Cholesterol: 6 mg
Sodium: 113 mg
Total fiber: 1 g
Protein: 2 g
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Potassium: 110 mg

Apricot-Spinach Salad

Prep Time: 25 mins

Rest Time: 2 h

Total Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 can(s) beans, black, (15 ounces) rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup(s) apricot(s), dried, snipped
• 1 medium pepper(s), red, bell, or yellow sweet pepper, cut into strips
• 1 scallion(s) (green onions), thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, snipped
• 1 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup(s) apricot nectar
• 2 tablespoon oil, salad
• 2 tablespoon vinegar, rice
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce, reduced-sodium
• 1 teaspoon ginger, fresh, grated
• 4 cup(s) spinach, shredded

Recipe Tip:

Chill 2 to 24 hours.

Preparation

1. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, apricots, sweet pepper, green onion, cilantro, and garlic. In a screw-top jar, combine apricot nectar, oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Cover and shake well. Pour over bean mixture; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

2. To serve, arrange spinach in a salad bowl. Top with black bean mixture.

Nutritional Info (Per serving):

Calories: 198, 

Saturated Fat: 1g, 

Sodium: 339mg, 

Dietary Fiber: 8g, 

Total Fat: 7g, 

Carbs: 31g, 

Cholesterol: 0mg, 

Protein: 9g

Exchanges: 

Vegetable: 1.5, 

Fruit: 0.5, 

Starch: 1, 

Lean Meat: 0.5, 

Fat: 1

Carb Choices: 1.5

APRICOT CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

Apricot Cream Cheese Cookies

 

The dough is tender and flaky and the sweet tart apricot filling is perfect. Don’t let the short ingredient list throw you; they taste out of this world.

4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour, plus additional for rolling
1/4 teaspoon salt
Natures Hollow sugar free Apricot Preserves

Blend the cream cheese and butter. Add flour and salt then blend until flour is completely incorporated. Gather dough into a smooth ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly dust counter with flour and roll out 1/2 of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness and carefully cut into 2-inch squares, saving scraps to re-roll.

Blend jar of preserves with a spoon so it is a smooth consistency. Place a 1/4 teaspoon dab of preserves in the center of each square. Fold over two opposite corners of square to the middle, overlapping slightly and pressing so they stick together and jam squishes out a bit. After folding each cookie, transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart.

Bake each batch for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are barely golden brown. Gently press any overlapped corners down that have opened while baking.

Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. When cookies are cool, place an additional small dab of apricot preserves on each side of the folded cookie.

Makes about 30 cookies.
Per cookie
calories 35 ,
fat 3g,

carbs 2g