If margaritas are on your menu for this weekend’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations – or just for any occasion, you’ll want to check out these margarita makeovers that have just a fraction of the carbs and calories of traditional margaritas!  We’re getting the Skinny with Molly on 3 delicious recipes, all for 150 calories or less!

(Recipes developed by Alyssa Wronkowski, Dietetic Intern, Tulane University)

Watermelon Basil Margarita

Per drink: 150 calories, 14 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams sugar

2 cups watermelon, seedless

2 teaspoons Swerve Sweetener

1 ounce lime juice

1.5 ounces tequila

3 leaves basil, and sprigs for garnish

Place watermelon, sweetener and lime juice in a blender and puree. Strain mixture into a separate container.

In a cocktail shaker muddle basil with tequila. Fill shaker with ice and add watermelon mixture. Shake and pour over ice. Garnish with basil sprig.

Serving suggestion:  Freeze extra watermelon to use as decorative ice cubes.

Ginger Margarita

Per drink: 110 calories, 2 grams carbohydrates, 0 sugar

1 lime wedge

Sea salt

2 ounces ginger Swerve simple syrup

1 ounce lime juice

1.5    ounces tequila

Using a wedge of fresh lime, rim the edge of margarita glass and dip into salt. Fill the glass with ice. In a shaker filled with ice, mix ginger simple syrup, lime juice and tequila. Strain into glass.

Ginger Swerve Simple Syrup:

1 large hand of ginger, cut into coins

¾ cups Swerve Sweetener

1½ cups water

Heat Swerve and water in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat, add cut ginger to the warm liquid, and steep for approximately 30 minutes. Steep longer for stronger ginger flavor. Place liquid and ginger in a blender and puree, strain and set aside.

Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita

Per drink: 110 calories, 2 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram sugar

1 lime wedge

Salt

1.5 ounces tequila

1 ounce Trop 50 Orange Juice

1.5 ounces Swerve Simple Syrup (recipe below)

4 cucumber slices

1 jalapeno, halved

Using a wedge of fresh lime, rim the edge of margarita glass and dip into salt. Fill the glass with ice.

In a shaker filled with ice, mix tequila, orange juice, simple syrup, cucumber slices and jalapeno in a container. Place in the refrigerator and let steep for at least one hour. You can steep it longer for stronger flavor.

Swerve Simple Syrup:

½ cup Swerve Sweetener

½ cup water

Heat Swerve and water in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until dissolved.

The post Get the Skinny with Margarita Makeovers appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

Sunday is Cinco de Mayo, so of course many will be celebrating with margaritas, but traditional add-ins like triple sec and simple syrup can actually be worse than the alcohol itself!  Today we’re Getting the Skinny with Molly on the best and worst options when it comes margarita mixers!

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Swerve Simple Syrup:

½ cup Swerve Sweetener + ½ cup water, heated and stirred until dissolved.

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Trop 50 Orange Juice.  Stevia-sweetened, with half the calories and sugar of regular OJ.

Crystal Light. Very low in sugar and calories, but made with artificial sweetener.

Monin Sugar Free Triple Sec. Zero calories, zero sugar, though made with artificial sweetener sucralose (Splenda).

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Triple Sec.  75 calories and 7 grams sugar per one-ounce serving.

Simple Syrup.  50 calories and 14 grams of sugar per one-ounce serving.

The post Love it, Like it, Hate it: Margarita Mixers appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

The food at Jazz Fest can be as much of a draw as the music, but for people on special diets, navigating the array of options can feel anything but festive. To help alleviate some of the burden, Molly has put together a guide of Jazz Fest foods that fit within the parameters of six common diets, including gluten-free, dairy free, low-carb, and vegan.

Here’s a sampling of some of her top picks, and you can check out the full list of all diet-friendly Jazz Fest foods in Molly’s full column from The Times-Picayune: Jazz Fest food to fit any diet

Benachin Restaurant’s Poulet Fricassee (skewered grilled chicken): dairy-free, low carb, low saturated fat, with Jama-Jama (sautéed spinach): dairy-free, vegan, low carb, low saturated fat

Smitty’s  Boiled Crawfish: gluten-free, dairy-free, low carb, low saturated fat

Jamila’s Café Tunisian Salad: dairy free, vegan, low sodium, low carb, low saturated fat

More Jazz Fest favorites that can fit:

Gluten-Free: J&M Seafood freshly shucked oysters on the half shell, Burks & Douglas vegetarian red beans, The Praline Connection crowder peas and okra, and collard greens.

Vegan: Gambian Foods grilled veggie pita (no sauce), Burks & Douglas vegetarian red beans, Joyce’s fruit salad, The Praline Connection crowder peas and okra

Low Sodium: Jamila’s Café Tunisian salad and Joyce’s fruit salad have less than 100 mg sodium per serving

Low Carb: Palmer’s Caribbean fish or Jamaican chicken with steamed vegetables only, no rice; Ba Mien Vietnamese Cuisine’s shrimp or beef bun (skewered shrimp or beef) over lettuce (no vermicelli)

The post Jazz Fest Food to Fit Any Diet appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

Staying hydrated is always important, but it’s especially critical if you’ll be spending the day under the sun at Jazz Fest, so today we’re Getting the Skinny with Molly on the best & worst options when it comes to Jazz Fest beverages!

How much fluid we need:  Half of our body weight in ounces, plus 16 ounces for every pound of sweat lost.

What counts as fluid:  Anything without alcohol

Hydration tip:  We tend to drink more of a beverage when it’s flavored, so water bottle add-ins can make it easier to stay hydrated.

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Water. If you tend tend to drink more of a beverage when  it’s flavored, you ca add flavor & electrolytes with tablets like Nuun (7 calories, no artificial sweeteners).

Tea (e.g. Jazz Fest’s Rosemint Herbal Iced Tea, Ambrosia Berry Black Iced Tea; unsweetened).   Tea contains caffeine, which is a diuretic, but the amount of water in tea (as well as in coffee & caffeinated soft drinks) offsets the diuretic effects.

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Diet soft drinks.  They’re hydrating, but contain artificial sweeteners.

Light beer.  Of all the types of alcohol-containing beverages, beer (particularly light beer) is among the least concentrated, with a lower percentage of alcohol (most have 4-6%), so it doesn’t have as much of a diuretic effect.  It’s still key, however, to alternate non-alcoholic beverages with even light beer.

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Wine & sparkling wine.  To be clear, there’s nothing at all wrong with wine or sparkling wine.  But with as much as 11.5 to 13% alcohol, one or two is enough, to minimize risk of dehydration.

Frozen daiquiris.  With more than 800 sugary calories, frozen daiquiris can pack in more calories than an order of crawfish bread or a couple of meat pies!

The post Love It, Like It, Hate It: Jazz Fest Hydration appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

Sunday is Earth day, a reminder to continue striving to make environmentally responsible choices throughout our lives, including our diets. Today we’re Getting the Skinny with Molly on 3 simple strategies that you can start implementing today to reduce, reuse, and recycle — and improve your health.

1. Keep it local

The average food on your plate has traveled 1,500 to 3,000 miles, which requires an enormous amount of energy and generates large amounts of pollution.  Locally produced goods, in comparison, travel 150 to 300 miles on average.

Locally sourced produce can be more nutritious, too, since farmers can let produce ripen more fully before harvest, and more time spent on the branch or vine means more time receiving nutrients from the soil. Plus locally-grown produce hasn’t transported for days, which means that it’s probably been exposed to less oxygen, light, and time, all of which can deplete produce of vitamins and phytochemicals.

Where to buy local: http://www.nolalocavore.org/local-foods/local-farmer-markets/

And options aren’t limited to farmer’s markets; local seafood, dairy, produce is available in many grocery stores.

2. Be smart with plastics

Many plastic bottles and containers contain bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical linked to health issues like reproductive abnormalities, obesity, and insulin resistance.

But not all plastics are bad. Check the bottom for the recycling numbers to know which are safer and more eco-friendly. Plastics with numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 are reportedly free of BPA & other toxins – plus they’re all recyclable.

Steer clear of those with the numbers 3, 6 and 7, since these contain potentially harmful chemicals, and are the most difficult to recycle.

And instead of single-use plastics, consider reusable containers when possible. You’ll help reduce the amount of waste produced, so it’s better for the environment as well as your health.

3. Waste not

In keeping with eco-friendly eating is minimizing the amount of foods that ends up in the trash can.

For example, many recipes call for just a tablespoon or two of an ingredient like tomato paste. Instead of tossing the rest, freeze it.  Drop it by the tablespoon onto wax paper, freeze, and then store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Freeze leftover liquid ingredients (think pesto, broth, or freshly-squeezed lemon juice) in ice cube trays, then transfer the cubes to a plastic bag and freeze for later.

Even fresh herbs can be frozen for future use: Pack ice cube trays half-way full with chopped herbs, then fill with water and freeze. Store in airtight container, and they’ll be ready to use for your next soup or sauté.

The bottom line: Reducing, reusing, and recycling, and incorporating more fresh, local foods will benefit our health as well as our local community, economy, and environment.

The post Earth Day: Eco-Friendly Eating appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

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Brad’s Raw Leafy Kale Chips

• Dehydrated kale, not baked or fried, so all nutrients are retained
• Packed with vitamins K & A, plus lutein
• Ingredients: kale, red peppers, sunflower seeds, cashews, lemon juice, chickpea miso
• 2.5 servings per container; per serving: 132 calories, 9 grams fat, 11 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 1 gram sugar, 5 grams protein

RECIPE: Homemade Nacho Crispy Kale Chips

• 1 large bunch kale
• Cooking spray or olive oil spritzer
• Sea salt, to taste
• Nutritional yeast, to taste (approximately ¼ cup)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray large baking sheet with olive oil.  Cut or tear the flowery ends off of the kale into 2-inch pieces. Spray kale with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 5-8 minutes, and top with nutritional yeast.  Bake 5-10 more minutes, or until kale is crispy and edges begin to brown.

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Neither of these are great sources of green veggies, but at least they both contain more whole grains than anything else, not just potato starch & potato flour.  They’re both more along the lines of Sun Chips, nutritionally speaking.

The Real Deal Veggie Chips

• Made with green peas and corn meal
• Very small, so 100 chips only has 110 calories (and 19 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 3 grams protein)

 Hi I’m Skinny Veggie Tortilla Sticks

• First ingredients: whole ground corn, tortilla flour, corn bran, oil, cane juice, then powdered tomato, spinach, and beet for color
• For 34 sticks: 130 calories, 16 grams carb, 2 grams fiber, 0 sugar, 2 grams protein

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Both are similar to Pirate’s Booty and other pseudo-veggie chips, neither are really better than regular potato chips.

The Daily Crave ‘Breaking News’ Veggie Chips

•  First ingredients: potato flour ,  potato starch, oil, salt, sugar
• Contain more oil, salt and sugar than tomato paste, spinach powder, or beetroot powder
• Per ounce: 130 calories, 6 grams fat, 300 mg sodium, 3 grams fiber, 3 grams protein

Jensen’s Orchard Spinach & Artichoke Chips

• First ingredients: potato flour , oil, potato, corn and/or rice starch
• Contain more oil than spinach, and more sugar than artichoke powder
• Per ounce: 130 calories, 6 grams fat, 300 mg sodium, 3 grams fiber, 3 grams protein

The post Love It, Like It, Hate It: Veggie Chips appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

Swerve Strawberry Shortcake
Served with Strawberry Coulis and Truwhip

Recipe by Alyssa Luning

Serving size: Cake 2×2 inch piece, 1 oz coulis, 2 Tbsp Truwhip

Nutrition facts per serving:  100 calories, 6 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 21 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams sugar, 4 grams protein.

(Shortcake only: 60 calories, 15 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram sugar)

Almond sponge cake

Yield: 20 servings (2×2 inch squares)               

Ingredients:

1 cup almond, meal

¼ cup coconut flour

1 cup Swerve Sweetener Confectioners Style

3 eggs

3 egg whites

1 tbsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup 0% Plain Greek Yogurt

¾ cup egg whites, room temp

Pinch of cream of tartar

2 tbsp granulated Swerve Sweetener

Method of Preparation:

1. Gather all the ingredients and equipment.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F

3.  Grease a 9×12 inch casserole dish with pan spray and line bottom with parchment paper

4. Mix together the almond meal, coconut flour, baking powder and confectioners-style Swerve sweetener in a bowl.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk the 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites.

6. Add the Greek yogurt to the egg mixture and combine. Add the dry ingredients into the wet.

7. In the bowl of a stationary mixer fitted with a whip, or with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping to a medium peak while adding the granulated Swerve Sweetener gradually.

8. Fold the whipped egg whites into the mixture in three stages.
9. Evenly pour batter and bake for 20 minutes and check cake for doneness until a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Allow to cool in pan and then remove onto cutting board or serving plate.
11. Cut the cake to the desired shape and sizes.
12. Layer with Truwhip whipped topping or 0% plain Greek yogurt and freshly sliced local strawberries.

Strawberry Coulis
Yield: ~1 cup

Ingredients                                                                          

6.5 ounces strawberries, fresh         

¼ granulated Swerve Sweetener

¾ cup water

1 pinch arrow root

Method of Preparation:

1. Gather all the ingredients and equipment.

2. Scale ingredients.

3. Place the strawberries, Swerve sweetener, and water in a bowl and macerate for at least one hour.

4. Purée the ingredients and strain with metal filter or cheesecloth.

5. In a heavy-bottomed pot, boil the remaining purée.

6. Reduce the purée by 25%

7. Place the arrowroot in a cup; slowly add 1/4 of strained purée. Stir well.  Add the arrowroot slurry.

8. Continue boiling until thick.

The post Good-for-you Strawberry Shortcake! appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

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Hodgson Mill Yellow Cake Mix – Gluten Free

Per serving: 160 calories, 38 grams carbs, 1 gram insoluble fiber, 15 grams sugar

Ingredients: brown rice flour, sugar, tapioca starch, cornstarch

Sure, it’s still cake, so it’s not really what you’d call ‘nutritious’ but it’s the only brand on NOLA shelves that lists a whole grain as first ingredient, and lowest in sugar.

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Arrowhead Mills Organic Vanilla Cake Mix

Per serving:  160 calories, 37 grams carbs, less than 1 gram fiber, 20 grams sugar

Ingredients: organic enriched unbleached white flour, organic evaporated cane juice, baking powder…

Dr. Oetker Organic Vanilla Cake Mix

Per serving:  140 calories, 32 grams carbs, 0 fiber, 18 grams sugar

Ingredients: organic enriched wheat flour (white flour), organic cane sugar, baking soda…

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Pillsbury Sugar Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix

Per serving: 140 calories, 35 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 0 sugar, 18 grams sugar alcohol

Ingredients: white flour, maltitol, partially hydrogenated oil, yellow 5, red 40

Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix & Pillsbury’s Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix

Per serving: 160 calories, 31-33 grams carbs, 0 fiber, 17-18 grams sugar

Ingredients include: Sugar, white flour, partially hydrogenated oil, yellow 5, red 40

The post Love it, Like it, Hate it: Boxed cake mixes appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

{the following nutrition facts are for a full personal-size pizza}

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VitaPizza

190 calories, 38 grams carbs, 19 grams fiber, 15 grams protein

First Ingredients:  Tomato, water, pizza sauce, cheeses, nonfat dry milk, whole wheat flour, oat fiber….

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Smart Ones Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza

300 calories, 36 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 17 grams protein

First ingredients: wheat flour (translation: white flour), whole wheat flour, corn meal…

Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Pizza

340 calories, 49 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 20 grams protein

First ingredients:  enriched wheat flour (translation: white flour), seasoned chicken…

…Not quite “Hate It” options

Smart Ones Artisan Creations

410 calories, 63 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 19 grams protein, also with an all-white pizza crust…

Amy’s Spinach Pizza, ‘Light in Sodium’

440 calories, 54 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 19 grams protein, with a mostly-all-white flour crust…

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DiGiorno Supreme, Traditional Crust

720 calories, 83 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, 26 grams protein

First ingredients: enriched wheat flour (translation: white flour), water, part-skim mozzarella….

The post Love It, Like It, Hate It – Frozen Single Serving Pizza appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.

The key to build a “better-for-you” pizza:  Start with a healthier crust, load it up with veggies, lean proteins, and take it easy on the cheese.  Stick with classic tomato sauce, or go light on the BBQ, pesto, and white sauces, which can quickly pile on more calories.

Pepperoni Portobello “Pizza”

Serves 2

2 large Portobello mushrooms (stems removed)
2 teaspoons tomato paste (low sodium paste, if desired)

½ cup part-skim mozzarella, shredded

12 turkey pepperoni slices

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Olive oil spritzer
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread one teaspoon tomato paste into each mushroom cap.  Top each with ¼ cup mozzarella, 6 turkey pepperoni slices, and a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Spray with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Per “Pizza”:  150 calories, 7 grams fat, 4grams sat fat, 7grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 15 grams protein

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust:  

Nature’s Hilight’s Brown Rice Pizza Crust (available at Whole Foods) is one of few store-bought gluten-free pizza crusts that lists a whole grain as the first ingredient:  Whole grain brown rice, followed by potatoes.

Per serving (1/3 crust): 140 calories, 0.5 grams fat, 30 grams carb, 1 gram fiber, 3 grams protein

Make it a BBQ Chicken Pizza with Swerve-sweetened BBQ sauce, diced chicken, cilantro, sliced red onions, and a bit of smoked Gouda!

Molly’s favorite combo:

Thin, whole grain crust like Pastorelli’s, Rustic Crust, or Boboli. Spray with olive oil and top with one cup lightly wilted spinach, one cup roasted red peppers, one cup roasted, diced mushrooms, 8 ounces boiled shrimp, and 6 ounces crumbled feta.  Bake until golden brown.  Serves 8.

Per slice:  250 calories, 8grams fat, 3grams sat fat, 31 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 14 grams protein

The post Pizza: Better-For-You Crusts and Toppings appeared first on Swerve Sweetener.