Choco-Banana Cheerio Balls

One had one last box of cheerios in the house. So, I decided to go ahead and get through this box and replace it with something healthier. The box is a sassy Banana Nut Cheerios. Hmm... what was I thinking when I purchased that one! Luckily my little Tonka Truck loves it and takes large chubby handfuls at a time while he leaves me trails to follow throughout the house. Mr. Pickey on the other hand wants nothing to do with them. So, instead of another lifetime with this nutty box, I decided to dress them up a bit for Mr. Pickey...now I will admit, this is mt my healthiest recipe and I will inevitable live to regret it when Mr. Pickey gets one of his super duper sugar highs...but then again...what are daddies for????

Choco-Banana Cheerio Balls

Heat up 1T of butter (I used Earth's Balance) and  1/2 c of marshmallows for 2 minutes in the microwave. Remove and stir in 1-2T of Nutella. Then, dump in the Cheerios to your hearts content.
**I did add in 1T of ground flax to make me feel a little better!
Then, I formed in to balls and chilled!

A Healthy Cookie...Is It Possible?

I struggle with giving my sons sweets. I want to be able to give them sweet treats, but that usually means feeding them sugar laden junk sure to stick them to the ceiling. I am not sure about you, but I get tired of peeling my kid off the ceiling or dealing with the sugar breakdown after! So, I knew I had to come up with some other alternative my picky, sweet loving kid would indulge in. Enter the Chair-We Banana Coo-coo as my son calls it. You can call it a breakfast cookie, scone, healthy bar...I just call it good!

Cherry Banana Cookies
1 c Flour- wheat if you have it
1/2 c Ground Oat- I food processed quick oats
(you can use 1 1/2c four)
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
2T sugar (totally optional)
1/4 t cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 c cherries (I used fresh, you can use dried)
1 egg
1T Olive oil
1t vanilla (optional)
3 bananas mashed

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all the wet ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry. Scoop out golf ball sized scoops onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. (I used an ice cream scoop) Bake 15-20 minutes.

***Need a bit more umf, or have a craving for a bit of chocolate. Add 1/4 c white chocolate chips and 1/4 c chopped macadamia nuts!

It's Time for some dessert!

I haven't been baking a lot of sweets lately because I am watching my weight gain with this pregnancy, but I have been to a few different parties and play dates lately that required a sweet injections. So, here are a few of the recipes.

Cupcake Crispies

This is just a simple alternative to Rice Crispie Treats.

3/4 box of Cupcake Pebbles (like Coco Pebbles)
1 bag strawberry marshmallows
2-3T butter

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Then, add the marshmallows and cook low until melted. Stir often. Then, add the the marshmallows to the Pebbles. You can do this in the same pot if deep enough or in a mixing bowl. I added to the pot to avoid additional dirty dishes. Mix until thoroughly combined. Then, press into a lightly greased pan. (I used a cookie sheet) Allow to cool. Then, cut up and serve. (I used cookie cutters to make fun shapes)

Apple Fritters

***This recipe is originally from Prudent Baby. Awesome and super easy! I loved that it didn't make a gigantic batch, just the perfect size! I let me son help and he loved "measuring" and mixing!

Here is my adapted recipe (I was out of eggs...which I only noticed once everything else was already combined..lol!!)
1 c flour ( I used cake flour, but I will try next time with a wheat/white flour mix)

1/2 s sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp apple pie spice mix (I used pumpkin pie seasoning...it was the only thing at hand)
1/2 cup apple sauce (or 2 small individual apple sauce containers)
1/3 cup milk
1 apple, chopped (I finely chopped a red delicious apple!)
1 egg ( I skipped this obviously)

Glaze:
2 c powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla (or cinnamon extract)

**Oil for frying

Combine all the dry ingredients. Then in a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients. Fold the wet into the dry. Finally, stir in the chopped apples.

Then, heat up a pan of oil (your preference of type) to medium high. Once hot, spoon in 1 Tbsp scoops of mix. These will cook very quickly. Allow to lightly brown on each side, then drain on a paper towel. Place on a cooling rack with the other batches are cooking. Also, mix together the glaze. Once relatively cool, drizzle each side with glaze. Serve and dig right in!


Peach Fabulousness
**This was served at a playdate by my friend Kim. Oh WOW! It is super yummo! I am not really a big "cheats" cook, but I will be making this again for my hubbie tomorrow.

2 cans of crescent rolls
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1/3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 can pie filling (she served with peach filling and it was fabulous!)

Glaze
2/3c powdered sugar
1- 1.5 Tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using 1 1/2 cans of rolls, unroll the dough and separate the triangle pieces (put the remaining dough in the fridge). On a round pan (she used a pizza stone) place the triangle pieces. Place the wider edge on the outside rim of the pan and the pointed tip pointing towards the center. Place on the pan to completely cover the bottom of the round pan. Roll out the dough a bit if needed. Then, create a rim on the outside edge of the dough to form a crust.

Whisk together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and the vanilla until smooth. Spoon on a thick layer of cream cheese mix onto the crescent roll pan. Smooth out. Then, spoon on the pie filling on top.

Remove the remaining rolls from the fridge. Unroll and pull apart. Cut each triangle in half and place on top of the pie filling. Leave 1-2" in between each triangle slice. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-27 minutes. Once cooked, allow to cool for 10 minutes while you mix together the glaze. Drizzle glaze over the top of the Fabulousness. Serve warm (or cool if you prefer).

Book Review: Hungry Girl 200 under 200

I guess this is a fitting review coming right after the holidays. If you are looking to cut calories while still eating yummy, creative foods...then this is the book for you. Lisa Lillien does an outstanding job showing the average cook how to simplify their recipes to be much more figure friendly! I LOVE this idea! Many times recipes are yummy but tend to add too much to the backside! So, this cookbook shows you how to keep it under control!

I had some difficulties with these recipes because I prefer to make everything from scratch...so these recipes did not really work well with my cooking style, but they will probably be GREAT for the average mom. I chose to make a LOT of changes to these recipes to accomodate my families eating styles, yet the premise was the same. By this I mean I substituted things like...egg substitute for real organic eggs, Splenda/sweetener for agave nectar, honey, stevia or plain ol' sugar. I also nixed things like Coffeemate creamer, whip cream/Reddi-wip, boxed cake mix, ect... I know this added the calories back into the recipes, but the calorie count was not my focus.

This cookbook include some fabulous breakfast options, sensational salads, happy appis and mini meal mania. The author, Lisa Lillien, does a great job of dialing down the fat and calories in many of our everyday recipes while also intermixing some fun new ones! Yet, I focused on the sweets. Since the holidays, I have had my eye on baking and with baking comes lots of tasting. So, I figured the least I could do was try to the lightened calorie count on these tasty treats.

(By the way, there are a bunch of fun cupcake recipes...you should check them out!)


Tiramisu Pudding
1/2 c ricotta
1/2 Jello sugar free Vanilla Pudding mix (organic sugar free vanilla pudding)
1/4 c Cool whip (I made my own)
2 T Splenda (Stevia)
1/4 t vanilla
1/4 t unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Combine everything (except the cocoa powder) until smooth and sprinkle the cocoa powder on top. This was super simple and yummy. This is a fun little pudding snack!

***I added a bit of instant espresso powder to mine.


Gooey Crunch Fruit Tartlets
1 1/2 c strawberries, halved
1 1/2 c peaches, sliced
2 T Splenda (Agave Nectar)
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t vanilla

Tartlets:
12 small wonton wrappers
Non-stick spray

1. Combine Splenda,  cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of salt. Add 1/2c cold water and stir until all ingredients are dissolved.
2. In a non stick pan over medium heat, boil the Splenda mix, strawberries and peaches. Stir constantly until a thick syrup forms. Then, cool completely.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cups in a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Place the wanton wraps in the munnin cups then spray again with non stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until firm and brown. Allow to cool, then transfer  to a plate.
4. Spoon chilled fruit filling into the cups. Top with cool whip.

***These were good! I could have personally cut pack on the syrup. These would also be great as an actual tart. Using 4" tart pans with fresh fruit and cover top with syrup (ooh and a cream under the frash fruits would be delightful)


Fuji Fritters
Apple Mix:
3c Peeled Fuji apples
3 T Splenda (Sugar)
1 T cornstarch
1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla

Fritter Base:
1 1/3 c regular oats
2/3 c Bisquick mix (I made my own Biscuit mix)
2/3 c vanilla soy milk
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 T butter
1 t baking powder

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. Place apple chunks in micro with 1/4 c water for 2 1/2 minutes. Drain water and set aside. (I did on the stove instead)
2. In a pot, combine the Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and vanilla with 1/2 c cold water. Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened to a caramel like consistency. Remove from heat and stur into apple chunks.
3. In a mixing bowl combine fritter mix and fold into apple mix. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray and spoon 12 mounds onto sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes until centers come out clean.

***I made these, but used half zuchini and half apple. They were yummo! Could also be done with sweet potatoes, carrots, ect... be creative.

Fluffy Lemon Squares
Crust:
1 1/2 c Fiber One Cereal
1/4 c butter, melted
2 T water
4 T sweetner (Powdered sugar)

Filling:
1 c egg substitute (4 organic eggs)
1 2/3 c Splenda (Stevia)
1/3 c White sugar
6 T Whole wheat flour
6 T fresh lemon juice
2 T lemon zest
2 t baking powder

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a food processor, grind up cereal. Combine with butter, water and sweetner.
2. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Press crust evenly on the bottom of the pan and bake for 5 minutes.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine filling ingredients and mix well. Pour into crust and bake 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. (I sprinkled powdered sugar on top and served)

***These were a nice way to use a up a few lemons from my tree. The crust was a healthy alternative, but I still prefer a fattening butter, flour and sugar alternative.


Oh My! Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 c regular oats

1/3 c whole-wheat flour
1/4 c raisins, chopped ( I left whole)
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T Splenda (1 T honey)
2 T light whipped butter
2 T applesauce
2 T egg substitute (1 organic egg)
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
dash salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brown sugar, Splenda, butter, applesauce, egg substitute, and vanilla extract, and mix thoroughly. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until completely mixed and smooth. Add oats and raisins.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon 6 cookie mounds onto the sheet. Using the back of a spoon, spread and flatten batter into circles about 3 1/2 inches wide.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes.

***These were great alternatives to the trad oatmeal cookie recipe. As always I added in a bit of shredded carrot.