Whole Wheat Pretzels

A huge success this afternoon for snack.  I have got to get better about giving structured snacks and meal times.  Sigh.  Find the recipe (complete with variations and freezer instructions) here.

Made in the original form (with 1 T butter and 1 T kosher salt), the nutritional information is below:
Calories: 195.5 Total Fat: 2.2 g Cholesterol: 3.4 mg Sodium: 66.9 mg Total Carbs: 42.9 g Dietary Fiber: 5.9 g Protein: 6.5 g

Almost No Fat Banana Bread

Another recipe from a friend- makes a great breakfast or snack & my kids both will eat it.  I caution to say they "love" it, but they will eat some when I do.  You could easily experiement as well- other options would be to add walnuts or some peanut butter chocolate chips!

Almost No Fat Banana Bread
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1 egg
3 bananas, mashed
1/3 cup applesauce
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray an 8x4 loaf pan with cooking spray.  (I use my 9x5 instead, so obviously, use what you've got handy!)
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add egg, bananas, applesauce, vanilla and almond extracts, salt and stir until just combined.  Fold in mini chocolate chips.  Pour batter in to loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Turn on to wire rack and allow to cool before serving.
4. Slice in to 12 servings or freeze to enjoy later.
NI: 144 cals, 1.9 g fat, 15 mg chol, 158 mg sodium, 30 total carbs, 2.2 g fiber, 2.8 g protein

Breakfast/Snack Power Bars

A friend got this recipe out of a Biggest Loser cookbook.  Another friend made the comment that it could be improved given that their cereal of choice was cornflakes in lieu of a healther, more filling, less sugary option.  I love that they are healthier and a cheaper alternative to actual power/nutrition/snack bars.  I love that I know exactly what goes in them when I feed them to my family.  And I love the flexibility!  You can easily swap out any number of ingredients and come up with your own take.  I'm supplying NI for the versions I've made but use a site like SparkPeople to calculate the info for your own versions.  I like to put the calories on the baggie where I store these so it's less temptation to eat the whole bag at once... This is also a great snack for nursing or pregnant moms or toddlers- a good source of protein.  Just be careful with using the nuts if you have a toddler with untested or known nut allergies.


Chocolate Granola Bars
Servings: 6
1/2 cup chunky almond butter
2 Tbsp honey
2/3 cup Cascadian Farms Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
1/3 Saco Nonfat dry milk


1. Use food processor to grind or otherwise crush cereal.
2. Knead all ingredients together.
3. Form in to loaf and cut in to 6 equal size "bars".
4. Form and store in either an air tight container or wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and store in freezer.  Shelf life in freezer is up to 8 weeks, but they will not last that long, I guarantee!
NI: 188 cals, 12 g fat, 1 mg chol, 94 mg sodium, 17 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 6.5 g protein