Short and Sweets

Here are three quick, healthy and sweet snacks to get you through any part of your day.

If you wake up with a sweet tooth try a blueberry breakfast quesadilla.

Breakfast quesadilla recipe as well as many other grilled tortilla ideas from Buzzfeed (I recommend the broccoli cheese quesadilla)

What you'll need:
1 wholewheat tortilla
Cream cheese (I used Philadelphia Whipped because it spreads easier and doesn't tear the tortilla)
a handful of fresh Blueberries
Butter

Cover one side of the tortilla with cream cheese. Pour in enough blueberries to fill the tortilla but make sure you can folded it in half. Melt about 1 Tbs of butter in a pan over medium heat; once melted place folded tortilla in the pan. After about 2 minutes flip it. 

Both sides should be brown and crispy while the filling should be melted and warm.

This tortilla gives you all the satisfaction of a savory pastry without all the sugar and calories. Enjoy with a cup of coffee to get your day off to a great start!

Need a small sweet to get you through the afternoon lull? Have another picnic coming up and don't want to go through the trouble of making yet another casserole? Make a batch of Banana Split Bites.

Original recipe credit to Frugal Coupon Living

What you'll need: 

Strawberries

1-2 Bananas

1 20 oz can chunked Pineapple, drained

Chocolate chips of your choice

Toothpicks

Chop up your strawberries and banana to the size of your choosing. Keep in mind how big your skewers are. Since I used toothpicks I cut mine a little smaller; if you are using Popsicle sticks you can leave them a little bigger.

To melt your chocolate in the microwave heat it for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until completely melted. Careful not to burn it.

Place strawberry, banana and pineapple pieces on toothpicks. Once you've used up all your fruit, use a spoon to dollop chocolate onto each bite. You can dip your bites if you prefer but I couldn't get my chocolate to stick that way. Add any nuts or coconut you want. Line your container with wax or parchment paper to keep the bites from sticking. You can also freeze your finished product to give it a little more of a traditional banana split feel.

These are perfect to add to lunches or for a quick afternoon snack. With just one can of pineapple you can make a considerable number of bites which are great for summer picnics or parties in need of fresh finger foods.

Fighting a late night chocolate craving and don't want to reach for the ice cream? Try avocado pudding. I know what you're thinking "That sounds disgusting", but once mixed with the cocoa and sweetener you cannot taste the avocados at all.

Original pudding recipe from Picky Eater Blog

What you'll need:
2 ripe Avocados
1 Banana
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
1 cup almond milk
2 Tbs Honey or Agave Nectar

Peal and chunk your avocados. Place all your ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until evenly mixed. Taste final product and add any additional honey, cocoa or banana that you want.

You can eat this right away but I prefer to let it chill for a while in the fridge. 

All of these recipes have done the trick for helping me avoid sugary snacks when cravings come knocking. Quick, easy and affordable every one gets 5 stars from me.

Wow, three recipes in one post!

Belated Lentils

Sorry this is so late. I'm in the midst of a lot of upheaval and haven't had a lot of time to cook, let alone share my culinary experiences with you all. To make up for it, I am going to dazzle you all with a super healthy dinner and hope that you don't care that my posts are terribly inconsistent.

Original recipe credit to One Ingredient Chef

(PS props to all these other sites for their awesome food pictures, I can never get mine to look that good)

What you'll need:
4 1/2 cups Lentils (measure your lentils after they are cooked)
3-4 Sweet Potatoes
1/2 cup Green Onion, diced
1/2 cup Carrots, chopped
1/2 cup Spinach, roughly chopped
1 28oz can Diced Tomatoes, undrained 
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Almond Milk (or milk of your choice)

First you'll need to prepare your potatoes and lentils. Peal and chop your sweet potatoes. You're going to boil them just like you would regular potatoes to make mashed potatoes. Boil your potatoes on high heat for 15-20 minutes depending on how big you cut your chunks. When they are soft the whole way though take them off the heat and drain them. While waiting for your potatoes to cook, place your lentils in a pot of water to boil them as well. Make sure you get a pot that seems too big. Once your lentils cook they will expand and you don't want to be caught with an overflowing pot while you're trying to get all your other ingredients ready. Follow the instructions on your lentil package for cooking, mine cooked on a medium boil for over a half hour. You can test your lentils just as you would pasta: eat one and if it's still crunchy keep boiling. When your lentils are finally done drain them and set them aside.

Place your cooked potatoes in a bowl along with your milk and mash until smooth. Put these aside when thoroughly mashed as well.

In a small pot boil your carrots and onions in just enough water to cover them. Cook on a medium boil until your carrots are cooked the whole way through. Once your carrots are tender drain the water from the pot and pour in your tomatoes, spinach, soy sauce and finished lentils. Place your pot on medium-low heat and stir occasionally until the whole mixture is a uniform temperature.

In a deep casserole dish pour your lentil-veggie mixture. Top everything with a layer of sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until the top of the potatoes browns.

Enjoy! 

I love shepherd's pie and this recipe offers a guilt-free version. It was a bit bland and I did have to add quite a bit of Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt to it but it was a crowd pleaser. 4 stars

This week I'll deviate from main dishes for a bit to share some of my favorite breakfast and snack recipes with you.