Healthy Mixed Berry Gummy Bears

February 4, 2015 Amanda Plott

My little one is entirely obsessed with anything that is gummy. Hearts, bears, and bunnies - oh my! Lately, I've been buying some fancy all natural, gluten free, organic gummies to put in her lunch, because it makes me feel a bit better. But, oh-my-goodness those things are expensive! Especially when she's eating her weight in them every day.

Sort of defeats the health benefits I'm trying to get into her too!

So as I was sitting here pondering my gummy dilemma I happened to remember a while back I came across this great idea on how to make your own gummy fruit snacks. I was a little early since I've tried to do this a time or two before and could never seem to get them to come out right. But, I thought it was time to give the homemade snacks another try anyway.

And boy am I glad that I did!...

Skinny Turkey 'Pigs in a Blanket'

January 28, 2015 Amanda Plott

I'm not the world's biggest football fan. Okay, not a fan at all. But, I love my Longhorns (Hook'em!) and I adore the Superbowl, though If I'm being honest... it's mostly for the commercials, camaraderie, and food! Yes, yes, yes! I love, love, love game day food! I couldn't tell you exactly why either, but I think it has something to do with the fact that it's all snackable little bites of finger foods.

There's just something really awesome about eating tiny food. Maybe that's the girl in me. Or... the kid in me.

Anyway, every year when the big game rolls around I always love to try my hand at healthifying and/or making traditional game day foods both skinny and delicious.

Today, I'm going with 'pigs in a blanket' which of course is usually made using little pork sausages; giving them the 'pig' in 'pigs in a blanket'. However, turkey sausages are healthier and have a lot less fat and calories to them.

So does that make these... 'gobblers in blankets' or... 'turkey in blankets'?...

Skinny Peanut Butter Cheesecake

January 26, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #GoldfishMix #CollectiveBias

What can I say? I have a four year old, and one thing that I've always got plenty of is Goldfish snacks! I think I have a pantry full of nearly every flavor that's offered. Some sweet. Some savory. All delicious. I'm always trying to come up with fun and playful things to do with the tasty little snacks that we all know and love. Today, I'm thinking way outside the box (and the bag) though.

With spring fast approaching I knew that I wanted to create something light, sweet, rather guilt-free, and easy enough that it could be done while chasing around the kiddos or even make use of some helping little hands. This rich and creamy Skinny Peanut Butter Cheesecake was the perfect solution! I'm sure you're wondering by now... why I'm talking about a cheesecake rather than some sort of trail mix. Well, the answer is simple. The Goldfish pretzels are what makes up the crust of this decadent beauty!...

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...