Healthy & Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

January 14, 2015 Amanda Plott

I've got to admit that I'm a little bit of an oatmeal fiend. Which is a little strange considering that my mom is anything but. However, I will say that she has almost always enjoyed any oatmeal that I've made for her. It's just that it isn't something that she would generally make for herself. So, when I was growing up, it was all about Malt-O-Meal and instant oatmeal packets on the weekends.

Yes, we all know those instant oatmeal packets that you can buy pre-made at the store. I think that most of us grew up on them. As with anything though, things have changed a lot over the years, including what's in those instant oatmeal packets.

Then again, I'm pretty sure that I can recall eating some of those packets that 'magically' changed colors or had mini dinosaur eggs in them that dinosaurs 'hatched' out of or something... I'm sure that those were super healthy. Hah!...

Skinny Vanilla Cake Pops

January 7, 2015 Amanda Plott

Who doesn't love these sweet little treats on a stick?

Seriously.

I'm pretty sure that almost everyone had their first taste of a cake pop at Starbucks. Yeah, you know the ones I'm talking about too. The pinkalicious birthday cake flavor of pure heaven on a stick... and hell on your thighs.

I've attempted to make any versions of these over the years, and I will say that they are quite easy to make, but also very time consuming. It's definitely a labor of love though; mindless work that takes just about forever to do with a phenomenal end result.

And what better to devote your labor of love to other than your adorable child, right? My little girl is absolutely stuck on cake pops, so I figured it was long since time to get another of her favorites out there...

Skinny Faux 'Fried' Tomatoes

December 19, 2014 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. andQuaker®. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #CollectiveBias #LoveMyCereal #QuakerUp

I'm a southern girl. You know, the born in Texas sort... It's not an uncommon place to find fried anything all around you here in the Lone Star State. I mean, have you been to our State Fair? Eek gads, man! Even so, I've got to be honest here. The only thing I care for at all that is fried would be french fries, pickles, and of course... tomatoes!

As you can imagine, fried tomatoes (especially green ones) were once a common place and a staple to southern food. Now though? You're hard pressed to find a single place in a giant city that fries them anymore.

A couple months back I was venturing out and trying a newly opened movie theater over closer to my mother's end of the world here in Austin. I don't know about you, but from what I remember, back when I was a young girl your options at movie theaters were fairly limited. I'm talking hot dogs, pop corn, soda, and an array over overly priced candies. In today's world though, the most of the movie theaters that I go to are all about beer, wine, and gourmet foods! This particular place was no different, featuring an amazing wine selection and beautiful food options that put those old-time hot dogs to bed...

Healthified Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

December 5, 2014 Amanda Plott

The first time I made these chocolate chip pudding cookies, I was in love. I'm not sure what it is about adding in a packet of vanilla pudding mix to the dough that completely transforms the texture and flavor of the cookie into perfection. But, it does. And it's brilliant.

These cookies turn out sweet, but not too sweet... with a crunchy edge and an ooey-gooey warm and soft center. Just the way that a chocolate chip cookie is supposed to be!

Seriously, my dad will fight you over his belief that a proper chocolate chip cookie is suppose to have a soft and chewy center. Never hard and/or crunchy...

Skinny Holiday Confetti Cake Mix Cookies

December 3, 2014 Amanda Plott

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I'm getting into the holiday spirit with some festive, fun, and healthier takes on some of our favorite Christmas treats. Since we had a birthday this week, I thought it would be fitting to bake up some confetti cake mix cookies, but with holiday colors, of course!

And by birthday... I mean for my kitty-fur-baby-boy, Orion.

My four year old was pretty adamant on doing something for our kitty's first birthday. So, confetti cookies for all! Well, except for the cat, obviously. He got some new toys to play with while my daughter and I baked these cookies up...

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

September 3, 2014 Amanda Plott

We love pickles in this house.

My little girl alone goes through about a jar every week or two this summer. She's especially fond of pickled carrots as I've found out recently. And have you seen the price for pickles? Holy moly! If you're wanting a good pickle, you're going to be paying $3-4 bucks a jar. Eep!

The past few weeks I've been playing around with a grocery service that delivers organic and local produce straight from nearby farms to your home. I've been getting the 'local box' which comes with a variety of that weeks 'special' produce, fruits and herbs. It's been fun and very interesting. I get to work with a lot of new-to-me ingredients that you normally wouldn't find at the grocery store either; such as sweet potato greens, hon tsai tai, and cucamelons.

Well, I was supposed to get cucamelons, but unfortunately they were swapped for something else after I had planned on pickling them. Bummer. Oh well! I did still get some fresh organic dill in my delivery so I decided I'd just pickle some cucumbers and carrots instead!...