These make a great snack while watching TV – pick away without guilt! Put a few bowls out at parties and watch everyone try and figure out what the heck they are eating 🙂
8 servings
29 calories per serving
2 c canned chick peas, drained and rinsed (I used a can of tri-color chick peas)
1 t oil
Coarse salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss peas and oil and spread on a baking sheet and bake 40 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt. Cool before serving.
The first batch of these did not quite hit the spot. With a little tweaking, the recipe has become a great chilly treat for a hot summer day. I usually make them two tiered with halves of both the cantaloupe and honeydew melons.
6 servings (8 oz. pops)
59 calories per serving
2 c diced honeydew melon
1/3 c plain nonfat yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
Grated zest of 1 lime
1 T honey
1 T Splenda
Mix 2 c of melon with yogurt, lime juice, honey, Splenda and zest and blend until smooth. Fill the pop molds, insert sticks and freeze at least 6 hours.
Canteloupe – As a variation, replace honeydew with cantaloupe.
You may want to make both variations and make a layered melon pop. If you do this, freeze the first ‘layer’ for 1 hour – then add the second and insert the sticks and freeze at least 6 hours.
These are sooooo easy to put together. Serve warm from the oven and you’ll have the family waiting in line for the sweet goodness of these perfect sweet rolls.
8 servings
160 calories per serving
1 can low fat refrigerated dinner rolls or biscuits
1/3 c apricot – pineapple preserves (or any flavor preserves that you like)
2 t sugar
¼ t cinnamon
¼ c sliced almonds
Pam
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 inch round cake pan or a deep dish pie plate with Pam. Separate dough into individual rolls and place in pan – I do a circle around the edge with 8 rolls and 2 in the center. Starting ¼ inch in from the edges cut a deep X into the top of each roll then open slightly by pulling the dough toward the edges. Fill each with 2 t of the preserves. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle with almonds and bake ½ hour or until golden. Serve warm.
These whip up in no time and are so versatile – you can use any flavor jello and any flavor fruit – – just make sure it’s frozen fruit. The frozen fruit is what makes the jello firm up in no time flat. I did this with raspberries and the dessert was just amazing tasting !
4 servings
85 calories per serving
3/4 c boiling water
1 c Cool Whip, thawed
.3 oz. package flavored sugar free jello, raspberry or strawberry flavor
2 c frozen raspberries or strawberries
Add water to jello and stir 2 minutes to dissolve then stir in 2 c frozen fruit until jello starts to thicken. Add ½ c of the mix to the Cool Whip and whisk to blend then spoon into dessert cups and cover with the rest of the jello mix. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
There are some sides that you just make over and over again. This is one of them. At only 50 calories per serving, this also makes a great snack. And it is soooo good for you !
8 servings
50 calories per 1/2 c serving
Forget Ocean Spray jellied cranberries around the holidays! Instead try this fresh salad that is simple to prepare and a great crowd pleaser.
1 bag cranberries
3/4 c Splenda
2 granny smith apples, cored and in quarters
1 seedless oranges (peel and all !), in quarters
Rinse the cranberries and pick out any bad ones. Place in a food processor and process until they are in small pieces. Remove to a bowl. Place apples in processor and blend until small pieces. Remove to bowl with cranberries. Place oranges in processor and process until all skin is in small pieces. Remove to bowl with cranberries and apples. Add Splenda and mix well. Refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors blend.
Feel free to mix this up as much as you want – use only one type of Chex if you only like one….don’t like peanuts, leave them out and put in more pretzels – – make it your own and make it often ! 🙂
24 servings
155 calories per serving
6 T butter, melted
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic powder
1 ½ t Lawry’s seasoned salt
3 c Corn Chex cereal
3 c Rice Chex cereal
3 c Wheat Chex cereal
1 c peanuts
1 c mini pretzels
1 c bagel chips broken into small pieces (or melba toasts)
Mix butter, Worcestershire, garlic, and salt. Gradually stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well to evenly coat. Cook uncovered on low 3-4 hours stirring every 30 minutes.
If you don’t have a crock pot, you can bake these at 275 degrees for 1 hour, turning and stirring every 15 minutes.
This is best with fresh mozzarella (it is WIDELY available at regular and gourmet markets as well as cheese shops) and fresh garden tomatoes.
4 servings
177 calories per serving
4 2 oz. slices of mozzarella cheese
4 large tomato slices
4 basil leaves
4 T balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Place cheese on plate and top with tomato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then top with basil leaves and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
What a great way to make boring popcorn into something you just can’t put down ! And at only 149 calories – – eat up ! 🙂 Popcorn is filling and full of fiber and a great snack food to keep around the house.
6 servings
149 calories per serving
3.5 oz. bag of plain microwave popcorn
2 T buttery spread
2 T spicy brown mustard
2 t chili powder
2 t hot pepper sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pop popcorn according to package instructions. In a large bowl combine margarine, mustard, chili powder and hot pepper sauce. Microwave 45 seconds or until butter is melted then stir well and add popcorn and mix well to coat. Turn into a baking pan and bake 10 minutes or until popcorn browns a little. Cool completely before serving.
This tastes much like the spinach dip you often find in a hollowed out bread bowl – but this one adds many more veggies and is a much healthier and lower cal option.
18 servings
170 calories per serving (2 T dip and 15-17 crackers)
1 c low fat sour cream
¼ c light ranch dressing
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 shredded carrot
½ c finely chopped yellow bell peppers
Wheat Thins or Triscuits
Mix sour cream and dressing then stir in veggies.
Pepitas are raw, shelled pumpkin seeds. Roast with a bit of salt and butter for a GREAT snack.
6 servings
83 calories per serving
1 1/2 c raw whole pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 t butter, melted
Kosher salt to taste
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Toss seeds with butter and place on a large cookie sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.
