My first ever post! Funfetti Donuts!

So this blog has been a long time coming… seeing as I have had the site since the beginning of the year. But between work & a really busy year, I haven’t had the time — or energy — to get it all going.

Anyway, welcome! My name is Callie. I am a 25-year-old Califronia girl living in Los Angeles… although sometimes I think I belong in the south, but we will get into that another time. I am the food stylist/photographer and a recipe developer for the website and cookbook company Hungry Girl. It’s a guilt-free recipe landmine filled with TONS of recipes for every craving you could ever have and more — oh and you can eat them and still fit into your skinny jeans. You can find all of the photos I take for the website, (I became the food stylist around fall 2010, so anything after that is done by me.) in addition to a ton of recipes I have also developed for the company at www.Hungry-Girl.com. (And sign up for our free daily emails!!) The job is something I literally fell into. I was a Media Studies/Journalism Major and Film/TV Minor at San Diego State University when I first met Lisa (aka Hungry Girl herself) at a book signing ( I was a HUGE HG fan beforehand) and I didn’t give up until she hired me. I am persistant like that — and I was lucky the job fit me like a glove. The Hungry Girl staff is made up of a small group of incredibly driven, talented, and compassionate women I love to death!

Anyway, so that’s my day job, even though I am lucky enough to find it odd that I call it a job because it’s just what I do — which is why I created this blog. I have a passion for food — all kinds — although I love to stick to a low-calorie/fat diet, I do not have any problems indulging in things I don’t get to eat very often. For example, most of us at Hungry Girl are pretty strict with our diets, except for my office mate and best friend — who can eat whatever she wants and still remain stick thin — who will bring in super-fatty baked goods we all try and have just a bite of while she eats multiple! Why can’t that happen to us all!? Anyway, I try not to beat myself up for a bite or two (or twelve) of the decadent sweets she may bring in to us. You gotta live a little right?

Through MUCH trial and error throughout my life so far, I have learned how to find a healthy balance for my eating habits — and I want to share my tips and recipes with you all! It’s not an easy thing to master, and while I am no expert, I do find myself coaching friends and family on living a healthier lifestyle. I thrive on workouts (but don’t spend unrealistic amounts of time at the gym) and love to find a way to make seemingly decadent food a guilt-free food!

Now, for my first post, lets go back to that point I made about indulging in decadent foods every once in a while — and in moderation. Remember that tiny but eats what she wants friend I mentioned earlier? Well her birthday was last week, and in honor of her birthday AND Funfetti Week, I made her baked Funfetti donuts! While they are baked and better for you than a real fried donut — they aren’t something you want to choose for breakfast each morning, but they are one darn good treat! Enjoy!!

Frosted Baked Funfetti Donuts

Funfetti Donuts (recipe from: Cookies & Cups)

Ingredients:

Donuts

2 3/4 cup Funfetti Cake Mix

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter

Frosting

1 cup Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip frosting

3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a donut pan with nonstick spray.

Beat all donut ingredients together until smooth. Transfer to a ziplock bag and cut one corner off. Pipe donut batter into the pan — filling each about 2/3 full.

Bake 7 – 9 minutes until lightly browned and tops spring back to the touch.

Let donuts cool 5 minutes. Turn pan over to release donuts.

Put frosting into a wide bowl and microwave 30 – 45 seconds, until softened, but not completely melted.

Place sprinkles on a plate.

Dip each donut into frosting covering one side and dip into sprinkles. Continue with all donuts and let them cool and set. Then eat up!

MAKES 12 DONUTS

Per donut

* nutritional information calculated with entire cup of frosting and 3/4 cup sprinkles, although neither may be used in full.

353 calories, 11.25g fat, 350mg sodium, 59g carbs, 0g fiber, 43.5g sugars, 2.5g protein