Some nights you just need a sweet treat before bed!  For me, a go-to has always been a spoonful of peanut butter, but that sweet treat just got an upgrade. AND it only take 3 more seconds to make!

Here is the recipe, if you can even call it out (I feel like I say that a lot)....

• Scoop out a tablespoon of peanut butter.
• Top it with a dark chocolate Hershey Kiss. 
• Enjoy

One Serving (2 tbsp of pb + a kiss) has 16 g of fat, 10 grams of carbs, 7 grams of protein and only 5 grams of sugar.

I like to get my Stroller Boot Camp mamas a little something for the holiday eat year.
This year I decided to make my treat! 

I'm sitting here working through my to do list at my desk.  Writing the post about these Fudge Bars was not the first thing on my list.  Sooooo, by the time I got to it I had munched through all of my leftover bars before I had the chance to take a picture.  I knew I should have taken a picture yesterday!!!  At least you know they were yummy!

​With out any furthur ado here is the recipe:
No Bake Peanut Butter Fudge Protein Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup oats, ground into a flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 cup chocolate protein powder 
1/2 cup crispy rice cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp. chocolate chunks for melting (I used unsweetened 65% cacao dark chocolate)

1. Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine oat flour, quick oats, protein powder, and crispy rice cereal. Mix until well combined and set aside.
3. In a small pan over medium heat, add peanut butter and honey, stirring until the peanut butter is melted and fully combined with the honey. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Remove from heat and pour into the dry mixture. Stir until everything is fully combined.
5. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Using a spatula or your hands, spread the mixture evenly in the pan, pressing down firmly. *
6. Place chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high in 20 second intervals, mixing between each. When chocolate is fully melted, drizzle over the top of the packed mix using a spoon.
7. Place pan into fridge and allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting into bars.

*make sure you press down hard all over in the pan or the bars might fall apart.*

This recipe makes 12 bars with the following nutrtion facts per bar.
142 Calories, 6 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbs, 8 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein
...they are a little bit higher in sugar than I would like to see in a balanced snack, but hey, its a holiday treat!

I've been making a variation of this since I learned it was possible in middle school home economics (now I add more veggies or course)!  It's so easy even my brother did it for himself at that age too!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• Diced veggies (Anything you want. I typically use peppers, onion and tomato) 
• A pinch of shredded cheese
• Fat-free cooking spray
• Salt + pepper to taste (and some hot sauce for all you southern folk)

Directions

1. Spray the inside of the mug with cooking spray.
2. Add the eggs.
3. Mix in the veggies and salt/pepper.
4. Whisk all ingredients together with a fork.
5. Microwave for 45 seconds.
6. Stir briefly then top with cheese.
7. Microwave for 45 seconds more.
8. Enjoy!

I've made this so many times and never taken a picture!  It's always on the go!

This simple breakfast is prepared the night before with NO COOKING necessary! The oats absorb the moisture over night.  There a so many combinations you can come up with, here is a simple example: 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup milk [depending on how thick you like it]
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (fat free or 2%)
• 1/2 banana (sliced)
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• Pinch cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. Almond Butter

Directions:
Stir everything, except for the almond butter, in the bowl (or to-go container) the night before and place in the refrigerator overnight. Top with almond butter (or any nut butter of your choice) in the morning and you are good to go!

For added protein, consider adding a scoop of your favorite protein powder.

Pasta salad is my go to side dish for any outdoor celebration.  With the 4th of July right around the corner, I thought I'd show you my new found "pasta" salad recipe. While pasta isn't necessarily bad for you it doesn't pack the same nutrient dense punch as quinoa. Quinoa is a source of complete protein! I've started to replace pasta with quinoa whenever possible.  

Quinoa Salad Recipe: I use the term recipe loosely here because I make it a little bit differently every time!  

Make the quinoa first so it has time to cool. Start with a cup of uncooked quinoa.  Every package I pick up seems to have slightly different directions in preparation so, just follow whatever directions given. You should end up with close to 3 cups of cooked quinoa. 

While the quinoa is cooling you can prepare the vegetables.  Just choose a bunch of your favorites.  I usually do bell peppers (red, green,and yellow), cucumber, celery, and tomato.  Other good possibilities are onion, zucchini, carrots... 

Chop up all the veggies and combine in a large container.  With cucumber I find its better if you remove the seeds. I usually keep a little bit of larger pieces in a separate container so I also have some healthy snacks that are easy to grab in the refrigerator. 

Finally, combine the chopped veggies and cooled quinoa and season to taste.  I added balsamic vinegar this time but you can really choose any.  Rice vinegar tastes great in pasta salads.  You don't need to add any oil ; quiona already has a bunch of healthy fats. The dry seasoning I usually add is: garlic salt, celery salt, onion powder.  Oregano and basil work well too.  Finally, if you like a little spice, you can top it off with a few dashes of hot sauce (just a little goes a long way). Put on the cover and shake, shake, shake.  This is my sons favorite part; although it sounds more like "s*@t, s*@t, s*@t" when he says it.  Let it sit together in the refrigerator for at least a few hours for the flavors to come together.  Yum!

I usually get a couple of lunches out of this or use it for a side for dinner one night then lunch the next day.  If you prefer your pasta salad to look more like pasta, they also sell pasta made from quinoa.

Happy 4th of July!

I wanted Drew to have the full smash cake experience, but I didn't want him to have too much sugar AND  its nearly impossible to take food away from him.  So I found and modified a recipe for a no sugar added banana cake.  I topped it with an no sugar added cream cheese frosting and some blueberries and strawberry pieces for decoration.

As you can tell from the photo, HE LOVED IT and I felt comfortable letting him eat as much as he wanted :)  

The following recipe makes enough for two 8 or 9″ round pans or 1 8 or 9" round pan and half dozen cup cakes.  I made the latter so that some of the other babies at his party could enjoy some healthy cake too.


Healthy No Sugar Banana Cake
Ingredients

• 4 or 5 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup natural no sugar added applesauce
• 3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup oat flour (grind rolled oats in blender, then measure)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1.      Mash the bananas in a medium bowl.
2.      In a separate large bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, and cinnamon together.
3.      Add the mashed bananas, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated.
4.      Coat pan and/or muffin tins with oil.
5.      Spread the batter into the bottom of the pans.
6.      Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes.  Check with a toothpick for doneness.
7.      Cool the cakes before frosting. 

I used a small bowl to cut the 9" cake into 3 smaller circle that I frosted together as a smaller layered cake.

Healthy No Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) no sugar added apple juice concentrate
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions
1.      Soften the cream cheese.
2.      Whip the cream cheese with the apple juice concentrate and vanilla extract in the blender until creamy.


I spelled out the "1" with blueberries.

We recently discovered all the wonders of Greek yogurt in our house.  Drew eats his Greek yogurt with pureed prunes regularly to keep him...well you know.  I mix in other fruit and honey with mine.  It also works as a substitute for sour cream for baked potatoes and tacos.  Here is a great recipe for a substitute for all those unhealthy veggie dips out there. I LOVE ranch dip on veggies, but it really adds a lot of unhealthy to my healthy snack. This is just as good and a whole lot better for you.

What You Need

• 18 ounce plain all natural Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 large shallot (about 2 tablespoons chopped)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Pepper

What To Do

1. Finely mince a shallot.
2. Measure out 2 tablespoons of minced shallot, and mix together with all remaining ingredients.

I finally made home made Kale Chips! I'm not a huge fan of kale in general, but I devoured this super food when it was in chip form  I think it was the secret ingredient that I found, they ended up with just the perfect amount of saltiness. The recipe I used is a compilation of a bunch of different ones I found online. 

Who else likes Kale Chips? What are some other fun ways you eat your vegetables?

Kale Chips (with a secret ingredient):
What you need:
-A bunch of kale, center stems removed, washed and dried thoroughly 
-About 1 tbsp. olive oil
-A few dashes of soy sauce (to taste)

What to do: 
-Preheat your oven to 350F. 
-Tear the kale into large pieces and place them in a bowl. (NOTE: It is very important that your Kale is dry. Otherwise, the chips will turn out soggy.) 
- Add the oil and soy sauce and toss it all together with your hands. You want each piece to be glistening, but not so much that any of the oil or seasoning pools at the bottom of the bowl. 
-On 1 or 2 baking sheets (with or without parchment paper), lay the pieces out flat. 
-Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until just the very edge starts to brown. (From what I can tell, "doneness" is a personal preference so you might need to experiment a bit to get the timing just right for you)

-Enjoy!