peanut butter snack bites

I was given this recipe from a close family member. She suggested them as a quick, healthy after-school snack. I whipped them up and they are DELICIOUS!

Peanut Butter Snack Bites

Yield 15-16 goodies

88 calories each (!)

1 cup oats (I used quick oats)

1/3 c honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/8 c (or 2 T) ground flax meal, optional

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Mix oats, honey, peanut butter and flax meal, then stir in chocolate chips. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop and place on a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Low- carb (Paleo/primal) meals

As I "try" and meal plan each month I'm always wishing I had a master list of all of our low-carb meals. I always come us short when I think about which ones we like. So, I sat down and went through all my recipes and made up this list. This is REALLY going to come in handy. Maybe you'll glean some gems from this too.

Most of these recipes can be found on my Recipes page, or they'll be posted there soon.

Snacks-

*Roasted garlic chickpeas

Breakfast-

Baked Ham and egg cups 

Spinach bacon and mushroom crust less quiche 

Ham and cheese quiche 

Boiled or fried eggs 

Lunch-

Broiled chicken with green salad

- pear pomegranate salad

- winter green salad

Berry kiwi salad with mint lime dressing 

Dinner-

Chicken and bacon crockpot chowder

Italian sausage and mushroom bake 

Paleo Maryland crab cakes 

Paleo chicken tenders 

Herb roasted crockpot chicken 

Slow cooker 20 garlic chicken 

Slow cooker roast beef or pot roast

Steak

Roasted Salmon, red onion and fennel

Crockpot chicken teriyaki

Cilantro lime chicken tacos 

Cafe rio chicken 

Cafe rio pork 

Alice springs chicken 

Roasted red potatoes and pearl onions 

Baked sweet potatoes

Roasted asparagus 

Sautéed chicken and mushrooms 

Chicken DaVinci (sans noodles)

Pork & sauerkraut

Stir-fry sesame chicken and asparagus

Chicken tortillas soup

Taco soup

Lemon Rosemary chicken with sweet potatoes

Pioneer woman's beef stew 

Cauli pizza

Grilled taco chicken 

Paps baked chicken legs 

White bean chicken chili 

Italian style shrimp

Sweet potato fries 

Cauli rice

Some carbs-

Easy chicken cordon bleu 

Lighter sesame chicken 

Fiesta fajitas

Peanut Butter Snack Bites

fruit & cheese plate

For our New Year's Eve party I thought I'd try putting together a fruit & cheese plate. Sounds pretty easy and healthy and it was. I was so happy I came across THIS GREAT POST FROM OUR BEST BITES to tell me how to do it, some tips, and suggestions.

Picture from Our Best Bites

Here's what I ended up taking:

-pears

-strawberries

-red seedless grapes

-various crackers

-smoked gouda- so yummy!

-yarlsberg (similar to swiss)

-sharp cheddar

 

I REALLY liked this. I'll be doing this again. Very fresh, simple and tasty.

O Christmas tree munch mix

I was excited to try this SUPER EASY snack mix. No melting chocolate or other toppings, just mix and done!

It has a nice mix of sweet and salty and the whole family really liked it!

(I couldn't find the Christmas tree candy corns so I used on Sweet Tart Gummy Trees instead. Still yummy!)

healthy banana oat snack bars

Quite frequently, I find myself hungry for a little snack and don't know what to eat. I don't want the empty carbs of crackers or cereal that is available, and maybe we are running low on fruit. SO, I am VERY happy to have found this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. It makes a big batch that lasts us almost week. I can nibble on one whenever I need a little something, I don't feel guilty eating it because of all the GOODNESS packed inside, AND it has a little chocolate for my sweet tooth. WIN WIN WIN!

Healthy Banana Oat Snack Bars

*Makes about 20 small bars

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal, like Rice Krispies
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (the original recipe calls for 1 t. cinnamon, which I thought was WAY too much. I much prefer the "hint" of cinnamon the 1/4 t. offers. You decide.)
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup peanut or other nut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup bittersweet or semisweet milk chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment or foil, leaving a slight overhang on each of the long edges. Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, rice cereal, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon, stirring well to combine. In a second large bowl, combine the banana, honey, yogurt, nut butter, and vanilla. Whisk together until the mixture is fairly uniform and smooth.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ones and stir until they come together. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer to the prepared pan and flatten down lightly with a spatula or your hands. Bake for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. I baked mine for only 15-18 minutes because I wanted them soft like a cookie. If you want them firm and golden, continue baking until they are starting to brown on the top, more like 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the bars cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.