I love banana pudding, but I never learned how to make it until I learned that it was one of my boyfriend’s favorite desserts. It took 3 attempts, but I think I’ve perfected it There are lots of different ways to make this, but this is my way!

You will need:
2 bananas
1 package whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
Reduced Fat Nilla Wafer cookies
1 package instant banana pudding
1 package instant vanilla pudding
4 cups milk

1. If your whipped topping is frozen, let it thaw for a while in the fridge. When it is ready, leave it out on the counter as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You want it to be really soft and mixable.
2. Make the pudding as the package directions say (usually all you have to do is mix both dry mixes together, add up to 4 cups of milk, wisk for 2 minutes, and let it sit in the fridge for 5 minutes to set)
3. Cover the bottom of your dish with cookies. I use the reduced fat cookies, not for nutritional value, but because they get less soggy. I noticed if you dip them in milk they stay hard for a lot longer than the normal ones, so they are great in the pudding as they don’t turn to mush right away like the regular cookies do.
4. Slice your bananas up into as many little circles that they will make. Add a layer of banana slices on your cookies in the dish.
5. Get your pudding from the fridge (after letting it set for 5 minutes). Scoop out some of the whipped topping into your pudding. I usually add about 1/4 cup or so, but you can add as much as you like. Wisk the mixture of pudding and cool whip together to make it nice and creamy!
6. Pour enough pudding into the dish to cover the cookies and bananas.
7. Add a layer of cookies. Add a layer of bananas. Add a layer of pudding. Repeat until you are ready for the top.
8. Smooth a layer of cool whip over the top layer of pudding.
9. Take one wafer cookie and put it in a zip lock baggy. Smash it to make crumbs to sprinkle on the top.
10. Add cookies around the outside of your layer of cool whip like in the picture above!

Yum!

Posted in: Yummy, Cuisine
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Superbowl Sunday is just as important as any other holiday throughout the year. This year was pretty interesting. Sunday morning, I went out to get some last minute ingredients, and while I was out I had one of those moments that make you wish life came with an undo button. I walk across the parking lot to the entrance of the store, and as I step over the concrete bumper in the parking space, I somehow caught my other foot and tripped. Next thing I know, I am on the pavement, knee bashed against the curb. (Caution - there was blood, but if you’re interested, here is the damage. 5 days later, and it looks and feels about the same.) The old man next to me says, “Well, bless your heart.” Oh, man…. Embarrassing. And painful! But, in that moment, I was most pissed off as I looked down and realized there was an irreparable rip in my most favorite jeans. It had to be THOSE JEANS! Of course. Those jeans that are the perfect length and the perfect shade of blue. I believe you should put your best asset forward, and those were my best asset jeans. On the bright side they can be my best asset, cut-off denim shorts this summer. Anyway, I went on into the store and was very happy to find chocolate football Double Crisp candys! These went beautifully with my:

First Down Cupcakes!

I found a picture similar to this last year and decided to make them. It’s officially tradition now I think. Chocolate cupcakes with green icing. You can make your own with any flavor of icing (light colors) and green food coloring, but I found some green icing in a can. Then all I used was white icing and a zip lock bag! Just spoon the icing into the bag, cut a tiny hole from a corner of the bag, and use it to pipe the design out. Luckily I found these individually wrapped football candies, but last year I used Easter candy. Eggs look a lot like footballs But, they weren’t in the stores yet this year. Chocolate covered almonds would also work. While the cupcakes are in the oven, you can whip up this:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Thank you, Laura Anne, for this one! She tossed me the recipe, and it is amazing! I used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, but you can use any buffalo sauce that you prefer. Add in creamed cheese, ranch dressing, and season to taste. Buffalo sauce doesn’t have a ton of calories, so the total calories of this dish is mainly determined by the extras. Cook up some chicken; I used ground chicken, but it works great with canned or shredded chicken would work too. Or just vegetables would be good too. Serve with veggies or crackers or bread or…. Yum.

We went to our friend’s party, but I don’t have pictures of that. The game was a pretty good one. It was nice to root for a team that wins for a change jk, love those Panther boys no matter what!

Goodbye, football. Can’t wait for warmer weather and when you come back to me

Posted in: Yummy, holiday, Cuisine
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I served mine with salsa, but they would be good with lots of different dips and sauces!

For these baked squash chips, you will need:

1 Yellow Squash
Egg whites
Skim Milk
Bread crumbs
Oregano, Basil, Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Wash and slice your squash.

3. Combine your bread crumbs and spices in a dish. I added powdered parmesan cheese, but you could add many different cheeses or spices to this coating. Be creative!

4. Spray/cover a baking pan with olive oil.

5. Next, in a small container, make a batter to coat the chips with. This is to make it easier for the bread crumbs to coat and stick to the slices. To stay super healthy and low calorie, I made my batter with a 1/4 cup of All White liquid egg whites and a 1/4 cup of skim milk. Use a fork to dip a slice into the mixture, and allow it to coat the squash. Then place the slice into the breadcrumbs. Use a spoon to cover the squash with crumbs thoroughly on each side.

6. Place each crumb covered slice on the oil coated baking pan. I also sprayed the top of these with a little bit of olive oil to help it crisp up a little.

7. Let your chips bake at 350*F for about 10 minutes.

8. Take them out and flip them over, then bake for another 5-10 minutes.

9. Serve with salsa, ranch, marinara, hummus, honey mustard….. the list goes on

Posted in: Healthy, Cuisine
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Say that one 5 times fast.

One thing that Sam and I both share a love for is food, and one of our favorite foods is sushi! Although we do live right down the street from an awesome sushi/Thai place with $1 rolls, we have always wanted to try it ourselves. Ever since I learned about bento lunches, I’ve been wanting to buy some sushi rice and try making onigiri. So, last week I went to Whole Foods and bought sushi rice, nori, sesame seeds and other ingredients. VideoJug has some great instructional videos, and so we tried it. In this picture we have some inside-out California rolls (imitation crab meat, avocado and cucumber) and cucumber rolls, some crab rolls, and some ebi (nigiri with boiled shrimp). Everything was wonderful minus the rice. The vinegar solution called for 1/4 cup sugar, but it was way too sweet for our tastes, so next time I’ll use much less. Overall it was fun and delicious!

And here is the bento box that I ordered from J-List! I haven’t gotten this in the mail just yet, but I’m very much looking forward to it. I take my lunch to work almost everyday, and I had been looking for something other than just Tupperware in a grocery bag anyway. I originally bought this to inspire eating better and learning to cook new dishes, but I have been trying to do more of that recently even though I don’t have my box yet.

I’ve been wanting to get healthier for a long time now, and I’m finally really working towards it. I stopped doing my weekly weigh-ins you may have noticed.. but, I really have come to the point where I know it won’t happen if I don’t actively do it. It will take a while, but I have been so inspired lately. I’ve been eating much, much healthier and working out everyday. I like to DVR fitness shows that are on in the mornings and then do at least that 30 minutes right when I get home, and then a few extra moves/lifts while watching any other shows later in the evening. Last night Sam and I had salmon with french-style green beans and brown rice. Instead of using lots of spices, we used the juice of 1/2 a lemon in all of it, and it was so healthy and sooo tasty. And today I had tuna on whole-wheat bread with green peppers. Yumm. I never used to like green peppers as a kid, but now I eat them plenty. Also, I just learned recently that green bell peppers are the unripe ones, and because of that some people won’t eat them or advise against it. Red and yellow varieties are ripe, and thus sweeter. I never liked those as a kid either. Apparently your taste buds change approximately every 10 days, so I need to try them again.

What are some of YOUR favorite healthy foods?

Posted in: Cuisine, Photos, Daily
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