Blueberry Squares
Serves: 16
Happy Tuesday! I am very excited today because I get to share with you my very first recipe for the monthly Recipe Redux challenge!For those of you who aren’t familiar with Recipe Redux is the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians. The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you. It was founded by 3 amazing dietitians with a belief that healthier eating should always taste delicious. And let me tell you, I totally agree! The amazing bloggers who participate in this have come up with so many delicious, yet healthy recipes! If you haven’t been to the Recipe ReDux site yet, definitely pop over and check it out! Plus you can check out the other recipes from this month below by clicking on the little blue frog!
This months challenge was “Most Memorable Vacation Meal.” It didn’t have to be from this summer, it could have been from any time in the past. When I read this months challenge a whole bunch of different recipes ran through my head! I just couldn’t decide which I wanted to reinvent to be healthier! I finally settled on this amazing Blueberry Square recipe that my mom used to make. I remember when I was younger she would always make these squares for summer bbq’s. During my college years I would even ask her to make me my own special batch to bring back to school with me! I remember the gooey, sweet blueberries and the melt in your mouth cake that made up these delicious squares. There were definitely a few too many occasions when I would eat about half the pan in one day! Little did I know what the nutrition values were on ONE of these squares!
When I called my mom and asked her to send me the recipe I immediately knew this was going to be a tricky one to reinvent! The original ingredients were:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 can fruit pie filling
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Can you say unhealthy!!! There wasn’t even a fresh blueberry in this recipe! I almost fell to the floor when I saw the ingredients and was in even bigger shock thinking about how many I used to eat at one time! Well, luckily for me, my mom and you we can enjoy these delicious squares in a healthy way! They are filled with fresh blueberries, whole grains and good for you ingredients!
Fit Ingredients
- 1/2c (66g) whole wheat flour
- 1 c (120g) low carb baking mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill) can sub with additional whole wheat flour
- 1 c (84g) vanilla protein powder (I used SunWarrior)
- 3/4 c + 2 tbs stevia (use more or less to desired sweetness)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 c (248g) low sodium cottage cheese
- 1/2 c + 2 tbs coconut milk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4c (560g) blueberries
- 1 tsp butter extract
- 1 tbs (11g) chia seeds
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- 9×13 in baking dish
- non stick spray
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Directions
1. Pre heat your oven to 335 degrees.
2. Spray your baking dish with non stick spray.
3. In a bowl mix your whole wheat flour, low carb baking mix, protein powder and 3/4 c stevia.
4. In a blender mix your cottage cheese, eggs, coconut milk and vanilla extract just until cottage cheese lumps are gone.
5. Mix your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients.
6. Spread 2/3 of your batter onto the bottom of your baking dish.
7. In a microwave safe bowl add your blueberries and chia seeds.
8. Microwave for about 1-2 minutes until the blueberries and chia seeds begin to thicken slightly.
9. Mix your butter extract and remaining 2 tbs stevia into your blueberries.
10. Spread your blueberries on top of your batter.
11. Take your remaining batter and drop in small amounts randomly over the top. (You want the top to have half blueberries and half batter showing)
12. Bake for 35 minutes.
13. Allow your squares to cool.
14. Refrigerate overnight before slicing into 16 squares.
So, how did they turn out in comparison to the original?? Absolutely out of this world!! They were so delicious that the pan lasted 4 days! I just couldn’t get enough of them! (or maybe I was trying to simulate my college days by eating half a pan in one day….whoops! ;)) I was eating them before my workouts, as an afternoon snack and for dessert at night! I was addicted! So, I think that says they came out pretty darn good!
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Now, I know you’re all curious about the nutrition stats too! So I am going to share with you the before and after statistics!
Nutrition: (stats are using 1 out of 16 squares that each recipe makes)
Before:
Calories: 386.6, Protein: 4.2g, Carbs: 62.4g, Fat: 13.6g (8g Saturated), Sodium: 291mg, Fiber: 2g (Net Carbs: 60.4g)
After:
Calories: 110.2, Protein: 11.2g, Carbs: 12.5g, Fat: 2.7g (1g Saturated), Sodium: 154mg, Fiber: 4g (Net Carbs: 8.5g)
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All I can say is WOW!! How did I ever eat half a pan (3,092 calories) in ONE day!!?? Oh my! Hahahaha….makes me laugh and cry at the same time when I sit back and think about how uneducated I was about how important it is to feed our bodies healthy food! Luckily, we have amazing ladies like Regan Jones (of The Professional Palate) and Serena Ball & Deanna Segrave-Daly (of Teaspoon Communications) who have put together this amazing monthly challenge so we can share with everyone recipes that are healthy yet delicious!
And don’t forget to click on the little blue frog below to check out all of the other amazing recipe submissions this month! I hope you enjoy them! Happy and healthy eating!
