Smoothie - Tropical

This one is my favorite one but I just made it up so I don't have all the nutritional info on it.  Hopefully I can add it soon!

1 banana
1 c undrained pineapple chunks (canned in juice, not syrup, OR use fresh pineapple)
1 can drained mandarin oranges
1/4 t coconut extract
1 c plain low fat yogurt
1/2 c frozen mango
2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Blend together until combined and smooth.  Makes 5 servings.

Smoothie - Triple Berry Blast

1 c frozen mixed berries
1 c skim milk
1 banana
1 scoop protein powder

Blend and serve - makes 2 servings.

I adjusted the original recipe so I'm not sure of the nutritional info on this one!  I'm sorry!

Smoothie - Jump Start

2 c V8 splash Mango Peach Juice drink, chilled
1 c low fat vanilla yogurt
2 c frozen strawberries or raspberries
2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Blend until combined

Nutritional Info:

Calories - 192  Fat - 2 g  Protein - 18 g  Carbs - 25 g  Fiber - 1 g

Smoothie - going green without the spinach!

1 c green grapes
1/4 of a honey dew melon, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
4 kiwis, peeled and cut into quarters
2 T honey
2 c ice cubes
2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Blend in a blender until smooth and combined.  Makes 4 servings

Nutritional info -

Calories - 178  Fat - 1 g  Protein - 14 g  Carbs - 29 g  Fiber 3 g

Smoothie - Honey Bear

1 frozen banana
1 T honey
1 c skim milk
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t vanilla
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Blend together in blender.  Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional info:

Calories - 160  Fat - 2 g  Protein - 18 g  Carbs - 29 g  Fiber - 2 g

Smoothie - Cantaloupe Strawberry

1 c hulled strawberries
1 c cubed cantaloupe
2/3 c skim milk
2 t sugar or honey
1 scoop vanilla or strawberry flavored protein powder (opt)

Blend together in a blender til smooth.  Can use frozen fruit if desired.  Makes 2 servings.  I like to drink one serving, then put the other in a cup in the freezer for the next day.  Works great!

I use the protein powder just to make the smoothie more substantial.  The nutritional info contains the protein powder as well.

Calories - 157  Fat - 2 g  Protein - 16 g  Carbs - 20 g  Fiber - 3 g

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Muffins

2 cake mixes ( I like to mix and match with the following flavors - butter pecan, carrot, and spice)
1 big can (or 4 c) Pumpkin puree
1 - 2 cups of chips (I've used mini choc chips, semi sweet chips, milk chocolate, butterscotch, cinnamon and white chocolate - I like to combine them - I love the butterscotch with the pumpkin)
1 c dried fruit (opt)  - dried cranberries would be my choice

Mix the cake mixes and pumpkin together and stir in the chips and fruit if desired.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the top springs back when you touch it.  You can also use the recipe for cookies - just bake them for  - 10 minutes.

This is a great low fat and cholesterol free recipe.  It makes about 36 muffins.

Baked Corn Chips

My kids now prefer these over store bought tortilla chips.  They are more filling and very crisp!  However - watch them closely while they bake because they go from pleasantly crisp to unpleasantly crunchy within a couple of minutes.

5 or 6   6 inch corn tortillas
cooking spray
sea salt

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.  Cut the tortillas into wedges (we usually do 6 - 8 wedges per tortilla).  Place the wedges on the foil and spray with cooking spray.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  (Regular salt works too, we just like the flavor of the sea salt).  Bake at 375 for about 10 - 15 minutes.  You want them to just be starting to turn brown on the edges.  We usually plan on 2 tortillas worth of chips per person.

For a sweet treat, use whole wheat tortillas and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  These would be awesome with the caramel dip!

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

3 1/2 c quick rolled oats
1 c slivered or sliced almonds
1 egg, slightly beaten
2/3 c applesauce
1/2 c honey
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c raw sunflower kernels
1/2 c sweetened flaked coconut
1 c dried cranberries, apples or other dried (or freeze dried fruit) or a combination
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c mini m & m's if desired

Spray a 10 x 15 pan with cooking spray.  Combine oats, almonds, coconut and sunflower kernels on pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until toasted, stirring every 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine egg, applesauce, honey, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon.  Stir in toasted mixture and fruit.  Combine well.  Stir in m & m's if desired.  Press into a well sprayed 10 x 15 pan.  Bake at 350 for 13 - 18 minutes.  Cool completely then cut into 36 bars.

These are a favorite treat at our house.  My kids now prefer these to store bought granola bars.  They love them made with freeze dried raspberries.

Nutritional info per bar -
Calories - 100  Fat - 3.5 g  Cholesterol - 5 mg  Carbs - 22 g   Fiber - 2 g   Protein - 2 g

Jenn's All Time Favorite Trail Mix

This is one of my favorite things to control the afternoon munchies.  It has protein, carbs, a bit of fruit AND just enough chocolate to satisfy the cravings!

Ingredients

1 cup mini m&m's
1 box Honey Bunches of Oats JUST BUNCHES cereal
3 c dry roasted almonds (no or little salt added)
2 c sunflower seed kernels (no or little salt added)
2 c craisins (whichever flavor you like best)

Directions

Combine in a LARGE airtight container. I place a 1/4 c measuring cup in the container and leave it in there so I can control my portion size. If you want to add more dried fruit, go for it - just know that the nutritional information will be slightly different.

Serving Size: Makes approx 45 1/4 c servings (one handful)

         Amount Per Serving

·         Calories: 164.0

·         Total Fat: 9.6 g

·         Cholesterol: 0.4 mg

·         Sodium: 17.9 mg

·         Total Carbs: 17.6 g

·         Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g

·         Protein: 4.2 g