From The Box: Sunsweet Ones

Have you ever had a prune? That makes them sound so ugly. How about a dried plum? Better! Up until today, I had not. I saw the Sunsweet Ones display in my local Bilo and decided, what the heck! Super Awesome Great decision making, Ang!! Seriously. They were yummy AND they taught me a few things :)

From the wrappers:

*Studies indicate dried plums may aid in reversing bone loss
*Natural fiber and potassium may help normalize blood sugar
*Dried plums have more fiber than apples

When was the last time your snack taught you something?


One serving is 4 prunes, and is only:

100 calories
0 Fat
24 Carbs
3 Dietary Fiber
1 Protein

All of that yummy goodness for only 2 PointsPlus Value :)

The price wasn't bad either, when to compare to traditional carry along snacks. This container cost me $2.50 and contains 5 servings. 50 cents for a yummy sensible snack is good for me! :)

* I was not compensated for this post!

Skinny Monkey Bites

We have been trying to find "better"snack alternatives for both Ed and myself and in the process stumbled across this recipe at Once a Month Mom. The ingredients are basic and the prep is easy enough. Definitely a winner for me!

Ingredients:
3 bananas, mushed (mine weighed 406 g total, without peel)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used skippy natural)
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat over to 350. Mush banana in a large bowl. Once smooth, mix in the peanut butter, apple sauce and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl combine the oats and the cocoa til well combined. Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients thoroughly. Let mixture stand for 15-20 minutes ( I skipped this step, impatient me!) Spoon out by teaspoon fulls on to cookie sheet, bake for 10-12 minutes.

Original recipe states yield 30, I got 33 out of mine.
based on 33 bites:
1 is 1 Points+
2 is 2 Points+
3 is 4 Points+
4 is 5 Points +

I enjoyed these; Ed said they are very banana-y.

Coffee Cheesecake Pudding

3 simple ingredients. Ever so good.


1 box sugar free, fat free cheesecake pudding mix (4 serving size)
2 cups 1% Milk
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee, finely ground


Mix the coffee granules with the milk, stir til combined.
Mix the milk mixture with the instant pudding mix and wisk for about 2 minutes. Refrigerate til set.

Bad lighting in my kitchen!

Enjoy as is for 2 Points+
Or crush up 1/2 a graham cracker and make a mini pie for 3 Points+

I have linked up over at
Sweets for Saturday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday

From the Box (Bag): Vegetable Chips

 After the meeting this morning I went in to Aldi to see what deals I could find. Picked up some frozen tilapia, and also a bag of Vegetable Chips. There were cheap, about $1.99 for a bag with 7 servings? Theses tri colored, light and crisped baked chips are really great when you have a hankering for something salty! 1 serving is about 28 grams ( a LARGE handful) and is 3 Points Plus. Mmmm.!

      

Strawberry Brownies

What you do do when life hands you a butt ton of strawberries and free brownie mix?

YOU MAKE STRAWBERRY BROWNIES!!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb strawberries, stems removed, diced and rinsed
1 package duncan hines snack size brownie mix
1/4 cup ricotta cheese ( all i had was the whole milk kind, so that is what I used)

Preheat oven to 350.
Puree Strawberries in food processor or blender.
Mix ricotta in with strawberry blend until well combined.
Stir this is with the dry mix until well combined.
Spread evenly in to a glass 8x8 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until cooked through.

I couldn't decide how I wanted to size up the brownies so I calculated the values on a few different scales:

8 brownies = 5 Points+ each

9 brownies = 4 Points+ each

12 brownies = 3 Points+ each

16 brownies = 2 Points+ each

Linked at: Recipe of the Week: Brownies!

Bizzy Bakes   

totally tasty tuesdays
Ingredient Spotlight: Strawberries!

Strawberry Blueberry MiniMuffins

Ed and I took our mom's to Hardy Berry Farms for Mother's Day yesterday to pick some strawberries. We had a great time walking around and picking berries in the nice sunshine.
Now I have about.....4 lbs? of strawberries that need to be made in to something.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb strawberries, stems removed, chopped and rinsed
1 box Krusteaz Fat Free Wild Blueberry Mix (come with a can of blueberries inside!)
about 3/4 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.
Puree strawberries in food processor or blender.
Mix the water with the dry mix, and the strawberries. mix til well combined.
Drain the water from the canned blueberries and gently stir them in the with batter.
Spoon in to minimuffin cups and bake for about 12-15 minutes.

Recipes yields approx 40 minimuffins

1= 1 Points+

2= 2 Points+

I plan on freezing most of these like I did with the 

Orange Cranberry Muffins

Brownies with Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:
Black Bean Brownies
1 frozen banana
enough milk (your favorite variety) to get the banana moving!

Put the banana with the milk (I started with a teaspoon) in your blender or food processor. puree til smooth and ice cream-ie. Top brownie with ice cream and serve.

I had frozen my brownies, so I popped them in the microwave for about 30 each, then topped. Delish!

the nieces enjoying their snack :)

each serving 1 brownie with enough ice cream to cover the top

4-5 Points+ depending on your choice of milk.

Graham Crackers with Chocolate PB2 & Strawberries

Ingredients:
1 graham cracker, broken at seams to create 4 rectangles
2 tablespoons dry chocolate PB2
1 tablespoon water
2-3 strawberries, stems removed and sliced

mix the water with the dry pb2, stir well to combine.
spread 1/4 of prepared pb2 on to each 1/4 of graham cracker. top with strawberries, serve!

this picture is totally worth a click to see it bigger. YUM!

eat all 4 and it is 3 Points+

Have a buddy around and want to share? you can have 2 for just 1 Points+

Creamsicle Mousse

Original recipe credit goes to IRENEAZ@ Sparkrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 8oz tub Cool Whip Free, Thawed
1 can mandarin oranges, pack in own juice, drained
1 4-serving box instant sugar-free orange jello
1 4-serving box instant white chocolate pudding mix

Mix Jell-O with 1 cup boiling water. Dissolve Jell-O completely. Add 1 cup cold water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Using electric beater, beat in pudding and mix until well combined. Fold in drained fruit and Cool Whip. Chill and serve.


The pictures aren't very flattering, but I am hoping it will be yummy for a snack tomorrow. the original recipe indicates 4 servings, but I made this in an 8x8 dish and it looks like 4 servings would be large.

water, jello and pudding mixed!

not so pretty but hopefully yummy! :)

I let it sit in the fridge over night and it firmed up well and was pretty 

tasty :)

1/4 of recipe = 3 Points+
1/5 of recipe = 2 Points+

i have linked up over @ 

Sugar Me Up

andYour Recipe...My Kitchenand

Baked Apple Crumble

I have been thinking about doing this for the past week or so, but finally decided I should do it today.
It is very simple and I thank my Hubby for pointing out the missing ingredient which made it SO much better! This recipe made two servings so half it if you just want more, or multiply if you are going to serve more than two.

Three very simple ingredients

2 Graham Crackers, crushed and kept separate

2/3 cup canned apple pie filling

sprinkle of cinnamon on each one.

Preheat oven to 375.

in 2 small ramekins or other baking dishes

Layer a single crushed graham cracker in each

then top with 1/3 of the apple pie mix, 

spreading as evenly as possible

Sprinkle with Cinnamon

And bake for about 5-7 minutes.

Serve hot. make sure you serve with a pot holder 

or something since this dish just came out of the oven.

Sure it is good, but who wants burnt fungers! 

3 Points+ per serving!

Since I have extra filling left, I am going to try this again with some fresh

berries or something thrown in there!