Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Here is a super easy and healthy recipe for a Strawberry Banana Smoothie. It tastes really good and can be made anytime of the day. You can decide how sweet you want it by adding more or less honey. Here the link to the recipe, Strawberry Banana Smoothie


Ingredients: 

• 1 cup (250 mL) milk
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) frozen strawberries
• Half banana
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) liquid honey

Directions:

Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. 

Nacho Dip

A very good tasting dip to go along with chips. May not be the healthiest thing but it's not bad.

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded lettuce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Combine the softened cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning on a large plate or in a pie plate.

 Spread the salsa on top of the cream cheese-sour cream mixture. Top with lettuce and cheddar cheese.

Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups of strawberry's 
• 1 banana
• 1 cup of ice 
• 1 1/2 cup of peaches 

Directions:  
1. Mix all the fruit together in the blender
2. Turn on the blender and add the ice in
3. Mix until you have a smooth mixture 

Berry Peach Smoothie

I did not follow a recipe but this is what I used.

• One cup of frozen berries. 
• 1-1/2  cups of orange juice.
• 1/2 cup of peaches. 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Dip

I loved this recipe because it didn't take long to make (only 10-20 minutes) and it is a great and healthy snack. My younger sister, the only one home at the time, tried it and didn't like it as much as me. I tried it right after I made it and the day after also. It was a lot stronger the day I made it (which I liked) than the day after I made it. I found this recipe here. I also forgot to take a picture of the dip so I used the picture from the same site.

Ingredients:

-box of frozen artichokes (thawed and chopped)

-1/2 cup of feta (crumpled)

-1 clove of garlic

-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

-1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

-1/4 toasted pine nuts

-1/2 cup basil leaves (torn)

-pinch of salt and ground pepper

-toasted peeta (to dip in)

Directions:

In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup artichokes, 1/4 cup feta, garlic, lemon juice, and 2 tsp water. Puree all until smooth. In another bowl, combine tomatoes, pine nuts, basil, the rest of the artichokes and feta, and the artichoke puree. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with toasted peeta.

White Grape Chocolate

Ingredients

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons shortening

• 1 pound seedless grapes
• 1 cup finely chopped salted peanuts

Directions

1. Combine the white chocolate chips and shortening in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Spread the chopped peanuts out on a piece of waxed paper or a dinner plate.
2. Dip clean, dry grapes into the chocolate, then roll in the peanuts. Set on waxed paper until dry. Warm chocolate as needed in the microwave to keep it liquid.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Rice Pudding

I was unsure about this dish for this category but the recipe creator insisted it was a snack for perhaps when people come over, and that it was nutritious if you picked the better (healthier) versions of regular foods. I found it here. Also I sneak tasted it before it set and I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS, which is excellent because the last few things have not been quite so satisfactory.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
5 cups skim milk
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup short grain white rice
1/4 cup Frangelico
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp lightly beaten egg white
4 tsp sugar

Directions: Whisk together cocoa powder, sugar, salt, milk in a meduim saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer and remove from heat. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, until edges are translucent (1-2 minutes). Add milk mixture; bring to simmer stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer gently until rice has absorbed most moisture (around 30 minutes). Remove from heat. Add Frangelico and chocolate; stir until chocolate melts. Pour into bowl and refrigerate until cold (about 2 hours). Stir in 1/4 cup yogurt. Preheat oven to 300. Hazelnut crunch - toss together nuts, eggs white and sugar. Spread on rimmed baking sheet lined with nonstick baking mat. Bake, stirring often until nuts are golden and dry (about 15 minutes). Let cool completely on a rack. THEN: Divide pudding into bowl and top with hazelnut crunch and remaining yogurt if wanted.

Changes: For changes, I used the less healthy version of everything (regular yogurt etc.). I didn't use Frangelico because it sounded sketchy when everything else sounded reasonably delicious. I didn't make hazelnut crunch because my family voted no to it.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

These Blueberry Bran Muffins make a great snack.  They are healthy and taste great!  I got my recipe from here.

Serves 12

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled (although still liquid)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
2 cups Bran Cereal (like All-Bran)
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (see Recipe Notes)
1 tablespoon butter, to grease the pan
1 cup pecan halves, optional (for the tops)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coconut oil, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, lemon zest and sugar. Stir in the bran cereal and both flours and mix well until thoroughly combined. The batter should be pretty stiff at this point. Carefully fold in the blueberries.

Butter 12 standard-size muffin cups liberally. Fill each to the very top with batter. Scatter the tops of the muffins with the pecan pieces, if desired. Bake for 35 minutes or until the tops are firm and slightly brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing muffins from tins. Serve warm or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

Changes:  you may use frozen blueberries or add small slices of banana

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

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These Muffins make a good healthy snack! I found the recipe here. The only changes I made was not making the maple cream cheese spread because that would defeat the purpose of making it healthy.

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups (425 mL) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (175 mL) packed brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped walnut halves
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup (175 mL) canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegetable oil
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
Maple Cream Cheese Spread:
• 1/2 pkg (8oz/250 g pkg) cream cheese or light cream cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) icing sugar
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) vanilla

Preparation

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or grease; set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves and nutmeg; mix in 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the walnuts.

In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree oil and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until golden and tops are firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

Maple Cream Cheese Spread: In bowl, beat cream cheese until light; beat in icing sugar, maple syrup and vanilla until blended. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)Serve muffins with spread.

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Sandwich

This may sound kind of strange tasting but it was actually pretty good! I decided to find a recipe that I had never tried before and it ended up turning out pretty good. I found the recipe here.
It was really quick and easy to make, it took me around 5 minutes total.


Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp honey
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated orange zest
• 2 slices of thin whole-wheat bread
• 2 medium strawberries, sliced

Instructions:

1. Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl. Spread bread with the cheese mixture. Place sliced strawberries on 1 piece of bread, top with the other.

Nutrition (per serving):

128 calories; 4 g fat ( 2 g sat , 1 g mono ); 8 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 2 g added sugars; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 191 mg sodium; 63 mg potassium.

Changes:

I wouldn't change anything, I think it tasted really well.

 

Kale Chips

I normally just do my own thing when I make kale chips, so I tried to find a recipe closest to how I do them! Here it is! (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/#&panel1-2)

Kale Chips 

(makes approximately 6 servings) 

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
1 tbsp olive oil (I use grape seed oil)
1 tsp seasoned salt


Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Yogurt drops

I found this on pinterest and thought this was perfect for our blog. 

Flavored yogurt into a plastic bag. Squeeze dots onto cookie sheet 

and place in freezer. ready in about an hour.