…and the award for healthy meals that don’t taste like cardboard and have the texture of an overcooked sponge goes to…
after an unofficial poll of friends and family who have purchased cookbooks, have subscriptions to the monthly mag, and are weekly visitors to their website, it is a landslide win for the legitimately tasty goodness of cooking light recipes (with a reduced amount of fat, calories, salt, carbs, and sugar).
that being said, i could go on and on with my favorite recipes, but i have to share the following treat from cooking light: comfort food (a delicious gift from mumsy and pops). 
since anton and i are *ahem* trying *ahem* to cut down on snacks (our most favorite past time), i made these bars as a GIGANTIC thank-you to my interventionist team at one of my elementary schools who are undertaking the task of screening all 608 students in areas of reading and math. can i get a what-what for rewarding this feat with a chocolately treat?
i followed this recipe exactly, starting with:
mixing a devil’s food cake mix with an egg white, skim milk, butter, and fat-free sweetened condensed milk in a bowl.
and pressing that mixture into your trusty 9X13, baking for a few minutes to give it a heated head-start:
while the crust is toasting in the oven, mix marshmellow creme (or fluff as some peeps like to call it) in a bowl. try really really really hard to restrain yourself from eating a spoonful of this mixture, as it will give you an instant sugar high similar to the way a 3-year-old drinking mountain dew will instantly become a terrorized bull running about your house. just a warning.
spread that mixture over the crust and dollop (a technical term julia child probably wishes she would have used) the remaining crust dough onto the top.
after baking for 20 minutes, it continues to boast the entitled “ooey gooey” satisfaction of the best of the best brownie treats.
go ahead, cook it up.
Oh my goodness, those look amazing! I could *never* make them though, for fear of eating the entire pan myself right out of the oven (which I may or may not have actually done with previous batches of brownies). I’m pinning these for a moment of heightened willpower
thanks for the comment – i must admit that i made two batches within a 7-day span. they were a huge hit!