Skinny Strawberry Trifle

I'll let you in on a little secret... My husband hates Valentine's Day. He is convinced it was a holiday created by Hallmark. And I've never been one to disagree with him. I think I'd rather have random acts of kindness (or love) shown to one another over a forced holiday that says we have to do something for each other. We are both pretty great at being rebels so when everyone is doing something, we tend to walk away for the sake of creating our own mold. :)

So rather than going out to eat with half the town on February 14, we'd rather snuggle up on the couch together after the kids go to bed and indulge in a yummy dessert. This dessert is perfect just for that, and good news... it's a skinny dessert! Feel free to indulge without the dessert!

Skinny Strawberry Trifle
15 SERVINGS 
PREP: 10 minutes           COOK: 0 minutes            READY IN: 10 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 angel food cake (I used store bought, but you can make your own if you want)
• 1 pint of strawberries, sliced
• 3.3 ounce white chocolate pudding box
• 16 ounce Lite Cool Whip

DIRECTIONS

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1. Slice the angel food cake into 15 even pieces. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the white chocolate pudding mix with the cool whip. (OPTIONAL: you can add a little milk to make the mixture a little more creamy. I opted to go without).
3. In a bowl or cup, tear 1/4 of the angel food slice into one inch pieces, add a dollop of the pudding mixture, then a few strawberries. Repeat until you have multiple layers in the dish. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 serving    179 calories   3.6g fat   31.6g carbs    1.5g protein    9.9g sugar   

Enjoy!

Indulgence Moment: Apple Snicker Salad

This salad is a conversation starter and is great for taking to parties. The last party I took this to, everyone was so inquisitive about it, wondering what exactly was in it. I was having to jot down emails left and right so I could send out the recipe to everyone, which is a pretty good sign that it's a a winner!

It is a perfect fall salad and a great way to use all those yummy apples and Halloween candy. (That is, if you have any candy left after you've pilfered through all of your children's candy. But we've nev-er done that...) I usually make this with granny smith apples, but tart red apples like pink lady will work too. The salt, sour mix is a welcomed surprise to almost everyone that eats this salad. I have yet to meet someone that doesn't like it.

Apple Snicker Salad
15 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           CHILL: 1 hour           READY IN: 75 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 4 large granny smith apples
• 16 ounce light cool whip
• 5.1 ounce vanilla pudding
• 1 cup skim milk
• 3 large snicker bars, chopped/cubed

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a large bowl, mix together for 2 minutes the cool whip, vanilla pudding (package only, not prepared), and milk.
2. Core and cube apples, and place in the large bowl with the cool whip mixture. Add snickers and mix together.
3. Chill for about an hour prior to serving.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1/2 cup serving    93 calories   1.1g fat   21g carbs    .7g protein    17g sugar   

If serving for a party, I would prepare the day of. The apples tend to get soggy and won't be as crisp or good if prepared the day before.

Enjoy!

Indulgence Moment: Cookie Salad

Cookie Salad ... kind of an oxymoron right? Growing up in a home where a salad was the green, healthy, rabbit food kind of salad, I never knew about these other kinds of salads. But after marrying the mister and eating at his parents, I discovered a whole new meaning to the word "salad." No longer was it the salad from my childhood - now it could include pudding, cool whip, any variety of fruits, sugar... the possibilities are endless! And that's just what cookie salad is - a perfect combination of all those delicious sugary ingredients listed above. Okay, so it may not qualify under the "healthy" tab, but if you're looking for a quick, easy, sweet indulgence - this is for you.

Cookie Salad
12-14 SERVINGS 
PREP: 5 minutes           REFRIGERATE : 30 minutes            READY IN: 35 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 large instant vanilla pudding
• 2 cups buttermilk (or substitute 1% milk)
• 1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 package Keebler fudge stripe cookies, crunched
• 1 16-oz carton cool whip

DIRECTIONS

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1. Mix pudding with milk until smooth. 
2. Add pineapple, mandarin oranges. Stir.
3. Crunch cookies and mix into pudding mixture.
4. Add cool whip. Stir until evenly distributed.
5. Refrigerate until desired thickness.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 cup serving    196 calories   10.7 g fat   23.8 g carbs    2.1 g protein    22.4 g sugar   

Enjoy!
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