vol.25

Chocolate Dipped Smores

These were so easy to make... maybe a little time consuming... but pretty easy. Of course I was taking them to a Birthday party, so I did make quite a few. :) I first seen the idea/recipe on pinterest ( surprise, surprise! ) and was kind of excited when the link took me to Jen's blog. She is super sweet, and I've even advertised my etsy shop on her blog in the past!

I followed her instructions, and made them the same way. However, I did break up Hersheys bars (2 sections per square) and the flat bigger marshmallows. I think they are made for smores specifically. :) I tried Chocolate Grahams with Strawberry Marshmallows, but I liked the regular version better! :)

The last few are cell phone pics. :)

Also- upon research this morning, I found this version over on Pioneer Woman's blog, and they look pretty tasty too! Next time I make them, I am most definitely going to take her suggestion of sprinking some coarse salt on the chocolate... yum!

low calorie Greek Yogurt Cheesecake minis

Hi there! Remember when I blogged about being on a health kick and trying to watch my calories/exercise daily? Well I'm still going strong, and wanted to share this other recipe I came across. I actually stumbled upon it in a fitness forum, and had to give it a try. I really don't like the sour taste of greek yogurt, or the filmy taste it leaves.. but I know others who LOVE it, and it really is loaded with lots of good stuff for your body. Anyhow the verdict was out as to whether or not I would make these again. They were simple enough and only came out at 75 calories per cupcake sized serving... but then I added some sugar free frozen blueberries and sugar free maple syrup (that is kind of an odd combination huh?) 

Here is the super easy recipe:

Greek Yogurt Cheese Cake Mini's

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz Plain Greek yogurt (I used the Chobani Brand)
1 package Sugar Free Fat Free Cheese Cake Pudding Mix
1 Cup almond milk (or any other milk)
3 Tbs Butter
5 Graham Crackers
12 Cupcake liners

DIRECTIONS:

In Zip Lock Baggie, crush graham crackers. Melt butter and mix into graham crackers until well blended. In a lined cupcake tin, evenly distribute cracker mixture, using your fingers, pack it down. In a mixing bowl, add Greek yogurt, Cheese cake pudding mix, and milk and mix well. once well mixed evenly distribute into the cupcake tin. Pop in your freezer or refrigerator for about 30 minutes. 

Makes 12 Cupcake sized cheesecakes

Definitely a low calorie alternative to cheesecake. If you like greek yogurt, it will be a nice little bonus! :)

 

p.s. There is a 35% off sale in my etsy shop going on RIGHT Now!!

I love spinach!

In smoothie form that is. :) In fact, right now if I had the choice I would choose this drink over a piece of chocolate.... CRAZY for me to admit that. I mean, I am a HUGE chocolate lover... but this smoothie has been pulling on my heart strings. ;)

In all honesty you can't taste the spinach at all. It just tastes like a fruit smoothie. But everyone knows how healthy Spinach is, and drinking one of these every day has made a big impact on how good I've felt. I have much more energy! I portion/measure everything out ahead of time (except for my milk and juice) so I can just pull out a ziplock baggie and throw my fruit into the blender. If you google green smoothie you will find that the variations and recipes are pretty much unlimited! After tweaking a few recipes this one is my favorite:

Green Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1-2 slices of frozen kiwi (I slice and freeze them)
1/2 fresh banana
1/4 apple juice
1/2 cup Almond Milk-Almond Breeze - Unsweetened Vanilla
1-3 cups of fresh spinach leaves ( I squish as much in as I can) :)

When I calculated the calories on this it was right around 200 calories. You can substitute whatever milk you'd like, and you can also slice your banana and freeze it ahead of time. If I have fresh bananas I prefer them for the texture. It seems that it balances out all the frozen fruit.

Frozen fruit is hard to measure, I should probably invest in some food scales.

I use a small blender I bought from Target (which I LOVE for ease of cleanup) so I am limited on just how much I cram in! :)

I've been eating healthier this year, and trying to stay under 1,200 calories a day. I'm drinking bunches of water, and exercising every day! I've maintained my dedication/motivation to  keep up with it, and I've exercised almost every day for the past 25 days. I pulled something in my back trying to stretch so I took 2 days off for that to heal, and was so discouraged I almost gave up... but I didnt! I got right back in there and started out with a lighter walking exercise, and rebuilt on that every day since. I've NEVER stuck with anything for that long.

I am trying to lose about 17 lbs and trying to tone up! :) I've lost 3 lbs so far, and really hoping I can keep the positive momentum up. :) I've been trying to cook healthier and If you guys dont mind I'll try to re-post recipes that I've personally found to be my favorites. :) Starting with this YUMMY green smoothie recipe. :)

I hope you are having a great day!! 

Homemade Twix Stix!

I made these last saturday afternoon before we decorated the tree. They were YUMMY! Found the recipe on pinterest, and followed the link over to Peppermint Plum's blog. I followed her recipe pretty much to a T. However, I ran into a couple minor issues... like when I tried spreading the caramel my crackers woudlnt stay put! I dealt with it and everything was peachy. Then I ran into some problems with the choclate melting aspect. I used mini morsel Semi Sweet chocolate chips in combination with white chocolate chips. The mini morsels melted super quick, and the white chocolate chips just WOULDNT melt. They seemed to want to stay chalky. So I ended up overcooking the chocolate just a little, before I found it to be a lost cause. I added some wax to my chocolate and just stirred the white chocolate chips as best I could. But, because it took so long the chocolate didnt stick to the second layer of crackers as well as it should have. Only noticeable when I slice them... cause the chocolate separates sometimes. :)

HOWEVER, this was a suuuper good recipe! Soft to chew, and the salty chips go so well with the saltine club crackers. salted caramel is one of my all time favorite combinations right now!

Next time I would probably line the pan with some parchment paper. I did grease the pan like suggested, but it still stuck a little. :) What is your favorite candy bar? My fave candy is Reeses! :)

Happy 4th + chocolate cream cheese filled stawberries

picture taken last year

Happy 4th of July to anyone celebrating the day. :) I'm slacking today, because I dont have a quote ready for today. Shame on me! :) I'm getting ready to head over to my moms to make some of these:

They look yummy huh!? Can you believe I took these pictures LAST year on the 4th? I've been meaning to post the pictures and well... I guess you know how well that went. :)

We make chocolate covered strawberries every year on the 4th. The first year we made them was the year I was pregnant with Journey, my brother and his wife were here, and we whipped up a batch. :) They were yummy. I still remember coming home after watching the fireworks and feeling MISERABLE. I kinda blamed it on eating one too many chocolate covered strawberries. :) But, then I started realizing that I just may be going into labor... :)

Anyhow Shaela (my sis in law) had a recipe that called for cream cheese inside the strawberries. So last year the tradition got even better. :)

 
we melted these choclate pieces in the microwave and dipped (or drizzled) the strawberries in the chocolate. YUMMY. :)

So anyhow, I'm heading over there for the day... unfortunately the guys had to work today. But this evening we are planning to watch the fireworks at our usual spot. :) I hope everyone has a great day! :)

Love letter sugar cookies

Are these not the sweetest cookies you've ever seen? I mean, I am sure they taste sweet, but I think they look even sweeter. :) They would be really appropriate for Valentine's Day, but I think they would be perfect for any day of the year.... :) I seen them here.

On another note, I am *just* about finished designing my holiday card templates. I have 6 done, and they are currently being tested to make sure everything will be easy peasy for you. :) I am hoping to have them up for sale here on the blog in the next couple of days! :)

I hope your middle of the weekday...is going just perfect. :) It is a little overcast here and I think it just might rain....