Category Archives: Kid Friendly

Cheesy Nacho Bites

Get your microwaved snack in 30 seconds – there’s no shorter countdown to cheesy nachos !

Cheesy Nacho Bites
Cheesy Nacho Bites

4 servings
290 calories per serving

24 baked tortilla chips
1 c shredded pepper jack cheese
24 t salsa

Place 6 chips on a paper plate. Sprinkle with 1/4 c cheese. Microwave 20 seconds or until cheese is melted. Top with 1 t salsa per chip. Repeat for 3 other servings.

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

This recipe makes 5 silver dollar pancakes and you can eat them ALL yourself… for only 185 calories ! You might be tempted to make yourself 2 servings, but I tell you, these are so filling, you won’t have room ! Serve with sugar free maple syrup – at only 15 calories per ¼ cup, slather it all over 🙂

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

1 serving
185 calories per serving

1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c ripe banana, mashed
3 T Egg Beaters
1 T skim milk (or more if the batter is too thick)
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t vanilla
1 packet Equal
dash salt
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Combine all the dry ingredients. Combine all the wet ingredients. Mix together. This is a thickish batter; it won’t be as thin as regular pancake batter. Cook 5 pancakes on a hot griddle.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I would not classify these with Gramma’s version – much like when you are eating a bran muffin vs. eating a gooey chocolate muffin, you know this cookie is more nutritious than sweet and buttery. But it does have CHOCOLATE…and butter…and is sweet, so it does satisfy the cookie craving !

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

48 servings
89 calories per serving

1 ½ c whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 c quick oats
1 c light butter
½ c Splenda brown sugar blend
1 c Splenda
½ c Egg Beaters
1 ½ t vanilla
1 c chocolate chips

Blend butter and sugars until they are creamy. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix well. Then by hand, stir in the oats and the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes. Makes 48 cookies.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

This sooooo takes the place of a regular grilled cheese – not quite your local diner fare, but very satisfying. It is tasty and fat free cheese slices do not taste like cardboard like they did 10 years ago. They are creamy and cheesy and this is an awesome sandwich.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

1 serving
140 calories for the sandwich
100 calories for the soup

2 slices 45 calorie bread
2 slices Kraft fat free slices American cheese
20 sprays of ICBINB (I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray)
Pam

Tomato Soup – approximately 1 cup = 100 calories for several brands in the carton. And to me, the soups in the carton are much better than the canned ones. I swear I can taste the can when I eat some brands 🙁

Spray pan with Pam and heat – make sure pan is good and hot on medium high heat. Make sandwich of the bread and cheese. Spray outsides of the sandwich with 5 sprays each of ICBINB. Place in pan and cook 1-2 minutes or so each side or until brown and cheese is melted. Meanwhile heat the soup in a pot and ladle into a mug.

Asian Shrimp

This sweet shrimp dish is best served with another Asian inspired dish, I choose to pair it with my Homemade Lo Mein. It cooks in just minutes and definitely is kid friendly with the sweet sauce. Just leave out the red pepper flakes if serving to young ones.

Asian Shrimp
Asian Shrimp

4 servings
239 calories per serving

1 T dark sesame oil
2 t minced garlic
4 scallions, sliced
1 lb. medium sized shrimp, peeled and cleaned with tails off
1/4 c water
2 T soy sauce
4 t cornstarch
2 t red pepper flakes
2 t Splenda brown sugar
4 t toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Heat oil on medium high heat. Add garlic and onions and saute for 1 minute. Add shrimp and cool 6 minutes or until shrimp is just about done. While the shrimp cooks, combine water, soy sauce, cornstarch, pepper and sugar. Pour over shrimp in skillet and cook 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens up. Remove from heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Laughing Cow Light Cheese

Ahhh – cheese ! There is nothing quite like it. And in most diets it is highly taboo due to the calories and fat content. These wedges of goodness fit right into my diet plan coming in at 50% less fat than the regular and a mere 35 calories per wedge. The wedges are BIG. Do not think these are like those little Laughing Cow squares. They are not. These are gloriously big cheesy wedges !

Laughing Cow Light Cheese

They come in 3 wonderful flavors:
Original (Swiss blend)
Garlic and Herb
French Onion

They are a very creamy and soft cheese – more like a spread, really. And they are perfect used in a multitude of ways. Here’s how I use them…

– Use in my Macaroni and Cheese recipe, either alone or with a mixture of other cheeses

– Melt and mix with a little skim milk to make a sauce for broccoli and other vegetables

** Open one up and dip pretzel rods in for a quick snack (my favorite!)

– Spread on a toasted whole wheat muffin and top with tomato slices for a great Cheese Muffin

– Cut into cubes and drop into scrambled eggs just before they set

– Spread in wraps before making lunch or breakfast wrap recipes

The Laughing Cow website also has a bunch of recipes that you can try

I know I sound like a commercial. But I love these things ! And I want you all to buy them too so they don’t stop making them 🙂

Pita Pepperoni Pizza

Lotsa different toppings can go on here to change it up. Anything that goes on a real pizza tastes good here. Extra veggies really don’t push up the calorie count much…mushrooms, peppers, onions, broccoli, etc.

Pita Pepperoni Pizza

4 servings
285 calories per serving

4 6-inch whole wheat pitas (Arnold’s Sahara are a good low cal choice)
3/4 cup marinara sauce
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t oregano flakes
1 c shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
16 slices turkey pepperoni
1/2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush oil on the pitas. Spread with sauce and sprinkle with oregano, pepper and garlic powder. Sprinkle cheese over the tops. Add pepperoni slices. Cook for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Pineapple Pork

This recipe is a little sweet, so try pairing it with some Asian inspired sides to keep the flavor combinations flattering.

Pineapple Pork
Pineapple Pork

4 servings
163 calories per serving

1 pound bone out pork chops
1 ½ T teriyaki sauce
1 ½ t cornstarch
¼ t ground ginger
6 oz pineapple juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam

Spray large skillet with Pam and heat on medium high. When hot, place chops in pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook roughly 10 minutes per side or until browned and mostly done.

Combine the sauce, starch and ginger in a bowl and stir well, breaking up all the cornstarch lumps. Pour over the chops and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

Banana Bread

This is a much healthier version than my Grandma’s banana bread recipe. But I tell you, it tastes just a good! And one slice is very satisfying. If you remove the chocolate chips from the recipe, you bring it down to 140 calories per serving !

Banana Bread
Banana Bread

8 servings (one loaf cut into 1/8’s)
175 calories per serving

1 ¼ c whole wheat flour
¼ c flour
¾ c Splenda
1 ½ c mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
½ c egg beaters
½ c no sugar added applesauce
2 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
½ t cinnamon
½ t salt
4 T semi sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flours, Splenda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Combine banana, Egg Beaters, applesauce and vanilla. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and with a wooden spoon, stir until just blended. Pour into a loaf pan (ungreased) and bake for 50 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then remove from pan.

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