Yum

So apparently juggling life as a mom is crazy busy.  It's a crazy busy that I love though.  

Had time for a quick post.  Here's a little snack I've been loving lately.  I still love chips and it's hard to portion control them so I usually get the little kids size snack packs with Fritos, Sun Chips, etc.  I did however see this little treat the other day and it called my name.  It's my new favorite thing.  Perfect with some cottage cheese or by themselves if you just want a salty, crunchy something.   

Baking Tips...

I love to bake. Sometimes more than others, but lately I've been on a baking kick and it has reminded me of a few of my favorite healthy tricks. When something calls for flour use half white/half whole wheat flour. I've experimented with this and using only wheat flour is too much wheatiness where as half the called for amount seems to be just enough to add a kick of fiber while not sabatoging the recipe and making it taste like cardboard.

Also another good tip is to exchange applesauce for butter. I've found this works best with breads, muffins, and cakey type things verses cookies. Although it works with cookies too you just have to add more flour because it causes them to be a little thin and flakey when they cook.

I also never use whole milk when they call for that. I always use skim or 1% and if you do use butter use smart balance and/or canola oil. Never shortening or margarine.

These are just a few of my tried and true tips that work for me everytime. I also would like to add I've tested these on my hubby and he doesn't notice how healthy they are either as long as I throw in a few chocolate chips as well. Moderation in all things right :)

Heaven in my mouth...

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love ice cream and sweets. It's probably one of my biggest health weaknesses. I love working out and it's easy for me to eat healthy most of the time, but get a bowl of ice cream in front of me and I can eat the whole carton. What do I do to avoid this? I allow myself daily treats so that I don't feel deprived and binge. I've tried lots of "diet" things and most of the time they taste pretty disgusting, but let me share my latest secret with you. These little Smart Ones beauties. I also like the strawberry shortcake and double fudge, but this cookie dough sundae is my favorite. Only 170 calories and 3 grams of fat which is even better. Best thing is they do all the work for you...portion control and yumminess wrapped up into one cute little package. I hope you give them a try and love them as much as I do.

Do it yourself...

Okay so I love these things. Snacks, treats, crackers, etc. made into these cute little 100 calorie packs so you won't overeat or overindulge. Whoever thought of these things was on the right track because our portions are out of control these days and we all know it's hard to eat only two cookies when the whole bag is sitting there staring at you. (Please tell me I'm not the only one this happens to!)

The only downside...you pay extra for the packaging and in these economic times who wants to pay 2-3 extra dollars when you don't have to. I say do it yourself. This is just a reminder that with a little bit of planning you can make the same thing at home and save lots of money in the process. So next time your at the store pick up some of the snack size Ziploc bags and start portioning out your favorite snacks ahead of time.


ADD MOMENT: Along these lines, if you want to read an interesting study on fast food portions click on this link. It's shocking to see how much extra food we consume now compared to just 20 years ago.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had the best cookies this weekend. They are super yummy and perfect for this time of year. I don't know about you guys, but I'm making these the staple at our house when we need a treat around the holidays.
-1 box spice cake mix
-2 cups canned pumpkin (add more if you want them to be more gooey)
-1 cup chocolate chips
Just mix, drop, and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, and enjoy. I got the recipe from my sister in law Bethany, but I think they might be a Weight Watcher Recipe.

My new favorite treat!

For those of you that know me I definitely have a sweet tooth. I'm always on the look out for healthy low calorie options of treats I can have and not feel guilty about eating. A few of my favorites are frozen yogurt, sugar free pudding, fudge pops, yogurt and fruit, and my newest favorite...No Pudge Brownies!!!
The great thing about this stuff is you can make a single serving whenever you want so you don't get tempted to eat the whole pan. You just add two tablespoons brownie mix and one tablespoon sugar free vanilla yogurt. Mix together and microwave for one minute.
Add a scoop of low calorie ice cream and you have yourself a gooey low calorie brownie treat that won't show on your waistline. I found my box at Target and if you check out their website they have tons of recipes and places where they carry the No Pudge Brownie mixes. I hope you enjoy this treat as much as I do.

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

If you haven't heard of this book or seen it already I totally recommend it. Low calorie recipes for all sorts of yummy food that we usually get rid of when we are watching our calories. I've been trying recipes from it and I have a new favorite that I had to share. For that sweet tooth it's a PB Fudge recipe that's super easy.

Ingredients:
Betty Crocker 18.3 oz box (Fudge Brownie mix, but you could probably use your favorite)
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 tbsp room temperature Peanut Butter

Mix brownie mix and pumpkin in bowl. Grease pan (9' by 9' is best) and put in mixture. Then mix the PB on top with a knife. Heat at 350 for 35 minutes (it looks like you should keep cooking it but take it out) and then cool in fridge for 2 hours.

This is super yummy and low calories too! I hope you try it and enjoy.

It's been asked if you taste the pumpkin in it? I notice the pumpkin most in the texture not so much the taste. The first bite tastes a little different than normal fudge, but after that I didn't really notice. Everyone will have to tell me what you think when you try it!

Try this healthy treat...

I'm the biggest ice cream lover out there and I'm constantly on the look out for a healthy snack that will satisfy my sweet tooth after a meal (besides ice cream.) I think I might have found a good one. It's not super creative, but it's really good. I used low fat vanilla yogurt, frozen raspberries, and a little granola. Layer to your desire and then eat up. I was thinking this would also be good to do with low fat chocolate pudding and cool whip. I will do that next time. Thought I'd pass this along and I will keep you updated as I discover more options as the summer continues.