Homemade Sour Cream - 10 Calories, 0 Fat

Ingredients:
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
(I usually make a double batch)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a blender (I use my fav Ninja blender!), blend, and that's it.

Health Facts:  (per tbsp)
Instead of 30 calories, this only has 10 calories!
Instead of 5 grams of fat, this has ZERO grams of fat!!

Now you can enjoy sour cream on EVERYTHING and not feel guilty about it.  Enjoy!

Healthy Banana Oat Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup oats (old fashioned kind, not instant)
• 1 cup (or 1 single serving) of plain low fat greek yogurt (I used vanilla)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sweetener of choice (I used the good stuff...sugar!)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 bananas (You can use just about any fruit-be creative! Leave a comment and let me know what fruit you used.)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners (or just use a silicone muffin pan). 

 

 

Place all of the ingredients in a blender (I love using my Ninja!) or food processor. Blend until oats are smooth.

 

Divide batter among cupcake liners.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Sausage and Cheese English Muffins

Ingredients:
1 package english muffins
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 large jar cheez whiz (usually found in the Mexican food aisle)
1 package fresh mushrooms

Directions:
Fry sausage until done.  Add cheez whiz to sausage mixture. Wash and slice mushrooms, then add them to the sausage adn cheese mixture. Let simmer for a couple of minutes. Cut english muffins in half and put on a baking sheet. Spoon mix onto english muffins.

Broil on high approximately 10 minutes or until cheez whiz is a golden brown.  Serve hot!

Holiday Fruit Spritzer Cocktail

Ingredients:

• Raspberries
• Lime
• Sprite
• Vodka (I used berry flavor)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients to taste, it's that simple! I had this over the holidays and it's delightful.

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1 can (6 oz) crabmeat, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup real mayonnaise (I use plain greek yogurt instead)
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 1/2 tbsp parsley flakes
• 15-20 medium mushroom caps (or 4-6 large mushroom caps)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl.

Wash mushrooms and remove the stems (the pop off very easily). Spoon mixture evenly into mushroom caps. Place on baking sheet. Top each mushroom cap with a little extra cheese (optional). Bake 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the mushrooms.

Freezer Smoothie Packs

I love having a smoothie for breakfast, but they can take a lot of time to get everything out, blend, put everything away and clean up.  The easiest and fastest way to enjoy a smoothie every morning is by making freezer smoothie packs.  This way you can just grab it from the freezer, blend it, and go!  Check out  my morning smoothie routine below.

Ingredients:
(You can use frozen or fresh fruit - When I'm in a hurry I just buy a variety of frozen fruits.)
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, peaches, bananas, avocado, lime and grapes...whatever kind of fruits you like.
Spinach - This is a great way to eat spinach! It turns the smoothie a funky greenish color, but you can't taste the spinach at all.
Greek yogurt - I use vanilla because it adds a little more flavor and makes it taste like ice cream!
You can also add any type of powders, such as protein, green tea extract, flax seed, etc.
Milk or juice (optional)
Ice

Directions:
First get all of your ingredients out on the counter, sort of like an assembly line.  Get your baggies ready (I used sandwich size ziplocs-this holds enough to make two large smoothies).  Then start to go down the line and mix and match the fruits, add two large scopes of yogurt, and top it off with spinach.  (leave out the powders and ice until you are making the smoothie).  Lastly, zip it up and throw it in the freezer.  It really is that simple!

Ok so it's the morning, you're running late and you're ready for a quick smoothie.  Simply grab a bag from the freezer, drop it in your blender, add any powder (protein, flax seed, etc), add a handful of ice, maybe a splash of juice or milk...and start blending! I have the Ninja blender and LOVE it!  It's powerful enough to blend everything (including frozen blocks of yogurt and fruit) really fine so there are no chunks.  I used a different smoothie maker originally, but quickly burnt up the motor after a couple of weeks of making smoothies every morning. Then pour and enjoy! The clean up is surprisingly quick and easy too. Just rinse the blender immediately, add soap and water, rinse and dry. I also really enjoy my smoothie with a straw. They have a great deal at Bed Bath & beyond-50 smoothie straws for $2.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Fresh Corn Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can corn (drained)
• 1 can rotel
• 1/2 cup cilantro (diced, add more to taste)
• 1/2 cup italian dressing

Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Let set in refrigerator for 1 hour to chill. Stir just before serving.

Chocolate Pudding Shots...YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of instant chocolate pudding
• 3/4 cup vodka
• 3/4 cup Bailey's
• 1 cup milk
• 1 whip cream
• small cups

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together for 2 minutes. Pour into small cups. Let set it fridge for 30 minutes. Top with whip cream just before serving.