Watermelon Lime Popsicles

Memorial Day weekend is THIS weekend. First of all, how did that happen?! Time is going by waaaay to quickly, my friends. And second of all, that means summer weather is coming.... right?? Here in Colorado, we had a snow storm a little over a week ago. And by snow storm, I mean 10 inches. In May. We've only been here for a year, but everyone says it's fairly normal. Good thing it melts quick because mentally, I just can't handle being locked up inside the house yet again due to a snow storm. :) So here's to warm weather and popsicles! I don't know about you, but we practically live off popsicles in the summer. I have a goal of making lots of real food popsicles this year because let's be honest. Otterpops are full of who knows what, and buying real food popsicles in the store would get expensive really quick. Especially when we average about 3 per person around here per day come July and August. Here's a popsicle we made up on the fly. I was tempted to call it a margarita popsicle because that's just what it tastes like. It's super yummy and everyone gave it two thumbs up!

Watermelon Lime Popsicles
8 SERVINGS 
PREP: 5 minutes           FREEZE: 60 minutes            READY IN: 65 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 2 cups watermelon, cut up
• 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon honey

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Place the watermelon into a blender. 
2. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the blender.
3. Blend until the watermelon and lime juice is mixed, and looks like a slushy. Add the honey and keep blending for a little bit.
4. Pour into popsicle forms and freeze for about an hour.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 serving    17 calories   .1g fat   4.5g carbs    .3g protein    3.2g sugar   

Enjoy!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am always trying to perfect different types of cookies in the kitchen. And to help myself not feel to guilty about cooking up goodies, I try to make them as healthy as I can. And great news, I made THE PERFECT HEALTHY COOKIE!!!

I've tried about everything, and I've failed an awful lot. Trying to use no oil or refined sugar really makes things tough! I've tried substituting applesauce for the oil, but it often times makes cookies way too moist. I've tried putting yogurt in cookies, but sometimes it leaves a bad after taste. I've even tried melting down coconut oil and putting it in my cookies, but depending on the flavor I'm going for, it doesn't work all the time. Anyways, I'm here to tell you, I'm made a darn good cookie. I approve, and more importantly, so do my kids (and my husband!). It seriously won all of us over!!! It doesn't have flour, oil or refined sugar (and only a teaspoon of honey!!! so most of the sweetness comes from the natural ingredients). ***Please note that I do live in high altitude so I would suggest starting out with a little less oats than I did, unless you want a more dense cookie.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
30 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 15-20 minutes            READY IN: 30-35 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 4 cups of rolled oats
• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Take the rolled oats and grind them up in your food processor (or use oat flour if you want, but the measurement will most likely be different).
3. In a mixer, combine the ripe bananas, eggs, and milk until combined.
4. Add the ground rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, peanut butter, and honey. Combine until all mixed together. The dough will not be completely stiff, it's more the consistency of a muffin mix. 
5. Add the the chocolate chips and mix together.
6. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper, and place the cookies on the sheet (I used a cookies scooper to put on my cookie sheets).
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 cookie    77 calories   2.3g fat   12.3g carbs    2.2g protein    3.2g sugar   

Enjoy!

Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

Looking for a nice, healthy snack that even your kids will love? Well, look no further! We've been seeing roasted chickpeas all over Pinterest, but decided to put our own spin on it by trying a ranch flavor. My kids are hooked and now we'll try experimenting with other flavors. I love these as a snack by themselves, but also think they'd make a nice addition to a summer salad. I have yet to try that though, as they get eaten way too quickly around our house to last for dinner time.

Ranch Roasted Chickpeas
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 3 minutes           COOK: 45 minutes            READY IN: 48 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 16 ounce can chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning 

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Open the can of chickpeas, drain and rinse. Dry off on a towel. 
3. In a small bowl, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil. Then add the ranch seasoning. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out the chickpeas. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes, or until chickpeas are crunchy. If they are still soft, cook a little bit longer. 

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1/4 cup serving    165 calories   4.8g fat   25.6g carbs    5.6g protein    0g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Modern Parents Messy Kids.

Apple Chips

To go along with this month's Healthy Habits Challenge of eating REAL FOOD, I wanted to try making Apple Chips, which have been on my list for quite sometime. These are not hard to make at all so I'm not quite sure why I've put them off this long. Especially since my children really, really like them. The hardest part is making the time to let them bake in the oven for an hour. Which shouldn't be hard, but planning ahead just isn't my forté. :)

Warning: These will make your house smell delicious!

Apple Chips
2 SERVINGS 
PREP: 5 minutes           COOK: 60 minutes            READY IN: 65 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 1 apple (I tried granny smith and gala and I kind of like the tart better) 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat oven to 275º.
2. If you have a madolin slicer, slice the apple using that. I didn't so I just did thin slices by hand with a paring knife. I was worried I wouldn't be able to make them thin enough, but I did and it wasn't hard so you can totally do this!
3. Remove all the seeds. (You can core the apple if you want, but I didn't).
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  
5. Lay out the apples so they don't overlap. I fit about 1 medium-large apple per baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle the apple with cinnamon. Turn the apples over and sprinkler with cinnamon again.
7. Bake apples for an hour. Let them cool and enjoy!

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1/2 apple    56 calories   0g fat   15.3g carbs    .1g protein    9.5g sugar   

Enjoy!

Quinoa Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bites

Say that three times fast! Quinoa Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bites, Quinoa Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bites, Quinoa Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bites! Ahahaha! Or, as I like to call them Quinoa PBOCC Bites. I made these because my children were pleading with me to make cookies. I think all this healthy cooking has gotten to them. They wanted something sweet. I obliged and wanted to see if they would like cookies with a healthy spin on them. Turns out, I created something that would pass for a cookie, and something I would also feel comfortable grabbing out of the freezer for those on-the-go moments. I would even eat a couple of these for breakfast if I were in a pinch. My one and five-year-old loved these. My two-year old wasn't quite so sure.

Quinoa Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bites
24 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 15 minutes            READY IN: 30 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked & chilled
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup cacao chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, peanut butter, and banana.
2. Add honey, sea salt, cinnamon, and rolled oats. Mix.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Roll dough into one inch balls and layout on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You can press these down if you'd like (the cookies will not change shape so place as many as you want on a sheet, close together).
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 serving    76 calories   3.3g fat   9.7g carbs    2.7g protein    2.6g sugar   

As a side note, I much preferred these after letting them sit all night. They are a little too crunchy straight out of the oven, but they softened overnight. Then I place them in the refrigerator. If you leave them out, they tend to soften more and more each day, which can make them not so delicious.

Enjoy!
Linking up here.
Recipe adapted from Miss Cellaneous.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Homemade Larabars

My go-to energy boost before and/or after a workout is a Larabar. Have you ever tasted of their awesomeness? They are soooooo yummy! My favorite flavor is (you probably already guessed...) Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. My fitness instructor always says to eat 30-45 minutes after a good workout, so I keep a handful of these in my car for a quick snack. I have wanted to try making them myself to see if I can reproduce the real thing, and the good news is they only have four ingredients . You'll notice that one of the ingredients is dates but don't you dare let that deter you. Trust me, when you mix dates with peanuts and chocolate it's like a magical explosion in your mouth. My oldest son loves these and requests them all the time for school lunches.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars
14 SERVINGS 
PREP: 8 minutes           FREEZE: 30 minutes            READY IN: 38 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
• 16 ounces pitted dates
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• pinch sea salt
 

DIRECTIONS

---

1. In a food processor, pulse the peanuts until they are in fine pieces (the size of little Nerds candies, or a little smaller)
2. Add the dates and pulse until they are in smaller pieces (about half the size they were originally).
3. Add in the chocolate chips and sea salt and pulse until everything is mixed nicely together.
4. Pour the mixture into a 9x9 pan, firmly press the bar mixture down with your hand.
5. Place into the freezer for 30 minutes to make cutting easier.
6. After 30 minutes cut bars into 14 even pieces and wrap individually for later use. Place them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 serving (1 bar)    129 calories   3.1g fat   26g carbs    2.2g protein    21.5g sugar   

These are much cheaper to make yourself. I can buy them at the store on sale for $1 per bar or I can make them for under $.50 per bar. In full disclosure, I keep both on hand (yes, we eat that many of them!) I like the wrapping that Larabar uses. For some reason it prevents the chocolate from melting so they are better kept in the car, or in a backpack for hiking. I use the homemade larabars for my son's lunch and when I'm going directly home after a workout, or need a mid-day pick me up. They are also wonderful for filling that sweet tooth craving!

Enjoy!
Recipe Adapted from Lauren's Latest.

Easy Lunch Wraps

These wraps are the definition of "simple"! While hiking, my father-in-law packed this for lunch and I thought it was pure genius! With only three ingredients, these are perfect for school lunches and on-the-go moments. The possibilities with these wraps are endless and the bonus is my children LOVE them and ask for them all the time! It also works great as an after-school snack. My son always feels like he's withering away after a long day at school and these are perfect for keeping him satisfied and out of the snack cupboard until dinner is on the table.

Easy Lunch Wraps
1 SERVING
PREP: 0 minutes           COOK: 0 minutes            READY IN: 1 minute

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

---

• 1 Tortilla 
• 1 Cheese Stick 
• 3 pieces of Deli Turkey Slices  

DIRECTIONS

---

1. Lay the tortilla flat and place the turkey and cheese in the middle.
2. Roll and place toothpicks about every inch.
3. Cut between toothpicks so you have nice, bite-size pieces.

NUTRITION FACTS

---

    1 serving    269 calories   9.1g fat   13.8g carbs    30.8g protein    3.3g sugar   

Hats off to my father-in-law for the genius idea!! Enjoy!