My twin nephews (H & B) are now 8 months old! How did that happen?!?!? They are great eaters and are now loving to feed themselves Aren’t they just the cutest???

I attribute that to blended approach that my sister has taken in introducing them to solid foods. She started with mostly purees (my applesauce is one of their favs) but has always offered them finger foods to work on feeding themselves. Now at 8 months, they seem to prefer to explore the different tastes and textures on their own

This approach called baby led weaning, allowing your baby to feed himself/herself small pieces of whole foods, has been gaining popularity and many mamas are choosing this route to solid foods. I am trying to learn more about this approach to see if it might be the right choice for Baby Girl, but we still have a few more months before we can start with her (most experts say 6 months, but be sure to check with your pediatrician). I plan to start discussing when to start her at our next pediatrician appoint for her 4 month well baby checkup.

Since the boys have gotten so good at and enjoy feeding themselves, I wanted to explore creating some fun and nutritious foods for them to enjoy! I stumbled across this post while researching baby led weaning and immediately knew that I wanted to create something similar for the boys

My Veggie Quinoa Baby Bites start with quinoa, a nutritional powerhouse providing protein, fiber and 8 essential amino acids! Add to that shredded veggies (you could mix it up here and try some different veggies), cheese and eggs.

Mix it all up

Spoon into mini muffin pans (here is the one I have that is pictured above–> affiliate link) and pop in the oven. The silicone pans eliminate the need to spray your pans before baking. The Veggie Quinoa Baby Bites will just pop right out after they are cooked Then 20-25 minutes later (depending on your oven and pans), you have…

Let them cool and then serve to hungry babies…

They were yummy but very crumbly and messy I originally made them with 3 eggs, but thought that they needed more binder so I wrote the recipe below using 4 eggs

Here is your recipe for Veggie Quinoa Baby Bites:

Veggie Quinoa Baby Bites

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Serves: 48

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa (I used tri-colored quinoa)
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 eggs

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. Spray 2 mini muffin pans (24 count) with nonstick cooking spray or use silicone mini muffin pans and set aside
4. In a large mixing bowl combine cooked quinoa, zucchini, carrots, parsley, cheese and eggs.
5. Spoon mixture into mini muffin pans.
6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool.
8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
9. These also freeze beautifully.

Notes

As written, this recipe contains no salt, pepper or other seasonings to keep it more gently on young tummies. If you are preparing these for older babies, children or adults, I would suggest adding sea salt, fresh ground pepper and crushed red pepper flakes (if you like spice).

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If you are lovin’ these Veggie Quinoa Baby Bites, then you might also like:

Quinoa Meatballs Baby Finger Food

Chicken Quinoa Toddler and Kid-Friendly Bites

Sneaky Veggie Breakfast Scramble Bites

Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage

If you are interested in making your own homemade baby food purees, you might want to check out:

The post Veggie Quinoa Baby Bites appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt Swirl Sandwiches are a fun and delicious way to indulge and treat yourself while not feeling guilty! Kemps Yo² has a clean label: NO high fructose corn syrup, NO artificial flavors, and NO artificial growth hormones! #ad #Yo2 #ItsTheCows

As a new full-time mom to my one month old daughter, life is well crazy at best these days I find myself craving an indulgent treat but I am also trying to get my body back to pre-pregnancy shape…  I want (NEED) to make sure that my treats are on the healthier side

That’s why I was super excited to discover Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt at my local Winn Dixie on the frozen food and ice cream aisle

I loved seeing all of the delicious new Yo² flavors, and I decided on picking up the Salty Caramel Cookie Crunch, Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, Mudslide and Raspberry Cheesecake!! I couldn’t wait to get home and give them a try. I also knew that lil man was coming down to spend some of his spring break with us, and I thought that we would both love to indulge and have some fun!!

Of course… the health coach in me couldn’t resist checking out both sides of the label and I loved that I found a clean label! That means that there is NO high fructose corn syrup, NO artificial flavors and NO artificial growth hormones in Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt!! 

Researching it a little bit further when I got home, Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt! starts with premium milk and yogurt with no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or artificial growth hormones. Then they add natural flavors, craveable mix-ins that bring the flavors to life. The result is a froyo that lives up to my standards. Because I expect my treats to have the flavor I crave and the goodness I demand

SO… I knew could really feel good about my middle of the night indulges after middle of the night newborn feedings when it was Yo²! I can also feel good about serving it to my 7 year old step son since he is always looking for a sweet treat

We both really enjoyed the Raspberry Cheesecake

But Mudslide was our fav

One of the days that he was with us for Spring Break, we decided to really indulge and have fun (with no guilt) by making some Frozen Yogurt Swirl Sandwiches out of our Kemps Yo² and graham crackers

These Frozen Yogurt Swirl Sandwiches are super easy, fun and absolutely delicious!! We combined two of the delicious, new Kemps Yo² flavors, Salty Caramel Cookie Crunch and Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, with yummy graham crackers to make our indulgent without any guilt treat

Here is your recipe for Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt Swirl Sandwiches:

Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt Swirl Sandwiches

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1 pint Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge (or other desired flavor)
• 1 pint Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt Salty Caramel Cookie Crunch (or other desired flavor)
• 12 graham crackers

Instructions

1. Let the frozen yogurt soften at room temperature.
2. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
3. Spread the first frozen yogurt flavor in the lined pan. Add the second flavor on top of the first and then use a spatula to swirl together.
4. Place in the freezer overnight.
5. Break the graham crackers in half so that you have 24 squares.
6. Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the frozen yogurt onto a cutting board.
7. Slice the frozen yogurt into 12 equal squares.
8. Sandwich the slices of frozen yogurt between two graham cracker squares.
9. Place the frozen yogurt sandwiches back in the freezer for at least 10 minutes before serving.
10. Indulge and enjoy!

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The post Kemps Yo² Frozen Yogurt Swirl Sandwiches appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

NEW SMARTMADE ™ by SmartOnes (R) meals offer smart and delicious meals inspired by your smart cooking methods -like grilling protein and roasting vegetables for more flavor, and making smart swaps like white bean puree for cream – just like you do at home.
Fall is always a busy time of year, from back-to-school, to kids’ sports, family activities, and then it leads into the holidays. This fall has been an especially crazy one for us, with all the normal fall activities like the ones I just mentioned, and then add in the birth of my twin nephews and my own pregnancy! I truly love cooking (obviously I am a food blogger), but I find myself looking for smart and delicious alternative options more often when I can’t or don’t have time to cook. As a result of my health coach training, I am confident in the fact that I am knowledgeable about health and nutrition. I strive to eat real food as much as I possibly can, but I also realize that eating healthy involves balance, and trade-offs might be necessary when life is as crazy as it has been for us here lately.  I have realized that it is ok to take a little help where I can get it and that might come in the form of real food prepared meals for convenience. I am so glad that I was introduced to NEW SMARTMADE! These are really meals that are inspired by you! They are a great option for me when life is crazy, but I still want to embrace and enjoy healthy living through balance, moderation and not stressing the small stuff!! I am trying to give myself a little slack here and there Just look at all of the real, simple ingredients in this SMARTMADE  Mexican-Style Chicken Bowl!! I am loving the combination of grilled white meat chicken with black beans and roasted vegetables over brown rice lightly tossed in a green chili lime sauce and topped with Monterey jack cheese in this burrito-style bowl Those are real ingredients that you can pronounce, actual ones found in your pantry! Y’all know I love to be creative in the kitchen and this meal tastes the way that I want it to, like it just came out of my healthy kitchen but without the time or work of actually having to prepare it from scratch I found these NEW SMARTMADE meals in my local grocery store’s freezer aisle and I picked up a few different varieties to check out. I thought that they would be a perfect option for me to take to work for my lunch and to have on-hand in the freezer for dinners when I have to work late because of one of our charity events or I just don’t have the energy to cook (um…hello pregnancy exhaustion…the struggle is real my friends)!! Are you seeing the grill marks on those veggies? YUM!! This SMARTMADE White Wine Chicken and Couscous features grilled white meat chicken with roasted zucchini, eggplant, onions and tomatoes over pearled couscous lightly tossed in a white wine sauce. I love the smart swap of couscous for white rice and that is one that I have definitely taken advantage of in my own kitchen since it doesn’t compromise taste Think about the time that it might take to grill the chicken, roast the veggies, prepare the couscous and then put it all together for a lovely meal for your family, friends, yourself… why not make the smart move and take some help where you can get it?! You could serve this dish to friends and/or family and they might not even know that it is a frozen meal!! Check out this delicious Rosemary Grilled Beef & Vegetables!! Grilled sirloin beef seasoned with rosemary served with roasted sweet potatoes, onions and Brussels sprouts! I love roasting vegetables to really give them that extra flavor!! And you can really taste the roasted goodness of the veggies in this dish as well as the rosemary infusing the beef!! These are just three of the delicious varieties of NEW SMARTMADE meals that are available. Be sure to check out the full list of meals here. Also for more meal inspiration, please visit SMARTMADE on Facebook & Instagram, using the hashtag #smartmade!! 

The post Meals Inspired by You – SMARTMADE™ appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Fight the Hangry with Lean Pockets! The perfect mini-meal (just enough to satisfy your cravings and keep you going) with a good source of protein, no artificial flavors, 100% real meats and cheeses and great taste! #EnjoyLunch #leanpocket #ad

Y’all it has been “one of those” weeks!! Actually…it has now expanded to a little over a week, but who is keeping track?!? Um, that would be me!! It started last week when I co-hosted my sister’s baby shower for her twin boys. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about my hosting duties! I have loved throwing baby showers for both of my sisters, but let’s get real…they are a lot of work AND a lot of fun! I put myself under more stress than probably most normal people, but I my type-A personality gets the best of me. From the planning, to organizing, cooking, cleaning, etc, etc, everything must be just right!!

After the baby shower (which I think was a big success), I rolled right into a week where work at my full-time job and my other almost full-time job (this blog) was chaotic!! At work, we had one of our biggest events/fundraisers of the year. This meant that not only was I crazy busy during the normal work day, but I also had to work all day and night on Saturday! Again, I promise that I am not complaining but just trying to explain the situation

So that left Sunday as my day to get all of the blog commitments done that I had needed to take care of…and this is where it actually gets kinda funny and ironic (well I guess I can say that looking back now). So Sunday morning, I get up with the best of intentions to get everything marked off my to-do list! I head to the store to pick up the items on my shopping lists and then back home to get to work. I sit down to get to work and realize that I am struggling to keep my eyes open (I am sure that this had nothing to do with working all day and then until 11pm on Saturday night). I am fighting the good fight to stay awake when BAM! – THE POWER GOES OUT!!

I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or scream!! I think I did a little bit of all three Now to really paint the picture, remember that I live in South Georgia and the weather here is like 95+ with about 100% humidity and now I have no AC!! No power also means no internet and my laptop is almost dead so how am I going to do blogging stuff??

Now the power was only out for about 40 minutes or so, but during that time I realized what I was experiencing then and had been off and on for the past week, I WAS HANGRY!! See when I get stressed, I have a tendency to forget to eat and then my irritability hits the fan!! What I should have done in these situations was to fight the Hangry with Lean Pockets!

If I had done so, I would not have been the hot mess that I was! Lean Pockets are the perfect choice for a satisfying lunch or a go-to when you are looking to take a break, recharge and enjoy something tasty that you can feel good about eating while taming that hangry monster inside of you!!

Explore all the Lean Pocket flavors available for you to try HERE!

• White Meat Chicken Jalapeno & Cheese with a pretzel bread crust
• White Meat Chicken Broccoli and Cheese with a whole grain crust
• Roasted Turkey Bacon & Cheese with a pretzel bread crust (not pictured because they were sold out of this one)
• Pepperoni Pizza

My current personal fav is the White Meat Chicken Jalapeno & Cheese with a pretzel bread crust!! That crust is AMAZING and y’all know how I like my food to have a little bit of spice!! I love to pair it with a nice baby kale salad You will also want to take advantage of a discount coupon that I have for you guys so you can find out which variety is your fav!!

Click HERE to get $1 off when you purchase 3 Lean Pockets products!

So the moral of this little story folks, is to not let yourself get hangry!! It is ugly and nobody wants to see that Instead, be sure to keep your freezer stocked at all times with Lean Pockets and all will be well in the world!!

Remember, now is the perfect time to stock up with this $1 off 3 coupon

Tell me your HANGRY stories in the comments!! I would love to read all about them! We can all laugh with each other (not AT each other)…LOL

The post Fight the Hangry with Lean Pockets appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage is an easy kid-friendly recipe makes the perfect healthy on-the-go breakfast on crazy back to school days! You can customize these tasty bites with any vegetables and proteins that your family loves and freeze in large batches to make mornings a breeze!

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Hey y’all!! I mentioned that last week we were on our annual lake vacation up at Lake Oconee and that it was a much needed recharge I pretty much disconnected…I didn’t publish any blog posts and only checked Facebook and my blog stats occasionally, instead of the nearly constant inspection that happens most days It felt liberating to be free of the pressure and I am actually finding it somewhat difficult to get back into the swing of things…I guess it is the post-vacation “hang-over” or just plain laziness, but I am embracing it as a brief departure from my typical Type-A personality ways

I have mentioned to y’all several times in the past our “tradition” for each family to take a day to be responsible for the food for the day. This works out great because: A) We all save a lot of money versus having to eat out each day of our vacation. B) It is healthier than eating out everyday…well for the most part  and C) It take the burden off any one person or family to have to feed everyone for all 7-8 days that we are on the trip.

We usually throw in a day that we do take the boat to a restaurant on the water, maybe a day trip to Atlanta for some TopGolf and a Brave’s Game and then there is a leftover day because we all have that southern mentality of making WAYYYYYY tooooo much food because we are sure that we never have enough…can anyone relate? But it all works out quite beautifully and we <3 it!!

In the past, I have shared these recipes that I made for our lake adventures:

• Protein Packed Blueberry Muffins
• Santa Fe Chicken Salad Wraps
• Smoky Indoor Ribs
• Raw Zucchini Salad and Simple Summer Corn

This year, on our day, I decided to make these Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage for our breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised that they were such a hit!! Even the kids loved these portable little nuggets of yumminess…I was impressed!! My sister asked if I thought that they could be made in a large quantity and frozen for easy on-the-go breakfasts for craziness school mornings and I eagerly said, YES!! What a good idea!! She said that I really needed to put them on the blog and so here they are

The beauty of these Mini Egg Muffin Bites is that you could really customize them to your liking (or whatever you happen to have on-hand). I went with frozen spinach, turkey sausage and just a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, but you could mix that up!! I love buying frozen spinach and always have some in the freezer (yes, even on vacation). I think it is one of thes best bangs for your buck veggie-wise at the grocery store. It is like a $1-$1.50 (depending on the week and sometimes even cheaper…HELLO PUBLIX BOGOS! I LOVE YOU!!) And you get so much spinach that is already chopped and just a quick defrost away from being ready to use! 

I wasn’t even planning on photographing any food during our vacation, but after the overwhelming response to my Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage, I decided a quick photoshoot was in order. So I put these shots together rather quickly (sorry they are aren’t super styled and all) to get these babies on the blog. Z man couldn’t quite figure out why I was taking pictures of the food that he had just eaten for breakfast…That was hilarious!! He had such a puzzled look on his face This particular shot happened because lil man come over to sneak one more of the mini egg muffin bites, when he thought I wasn’t looking… I quickly recruited him to be my “hand model” if he wanted another one He thought that was really cool!! And on a side note…LOOK AT ALL THAT SPINACH!! And he happily gobbled it right up…

I originally found this Egg Muffins Recipe from Two Peas and their Pod and then decided to modify it just a bit so it would work for us! I love anything “mini” so that was the biggest change! PS…Check out this mini muffin pan if you need one for this recipe, I have a couple that are very similar. The ones pictured are a 12 cup mini muffin pan (which is what they had at the lake), but I needed 3 of them for all the muffins that this recipe makes.

Here is your recipe for Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage:

Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Serves: 36

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey sausage
• 12 large eggs
• ½ cup skim milk
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flake, optional or more/less depending on taste
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1 box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spray either (2) 24-cup mini muffin pans or (3) 12 cup mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
4. Once hot, add ground turkey sausage and crumble as it begins to brown.
5. Cook until evenly browned and no pink remains, continue to crumble the sausage into little pieces. Drain if needed, return to skillet and set aside to cool slightly.
6. In a large mixing bowl, crack eggs and then add milk. Whisk to combine and scramble the eggs. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flake (if using) and whisk again to combine. Set aside.
7. Add thawed and thoroughly drained spinach to the pan with the browned turkey sausage crumbles and stir to combine.
8. Fill each muffin cup about half-way full with the sausage/spinach mixture (evenly distributing the mixture among all the cups).
9. Pour eggs into each muffin cup to fill almost to the top.
10. Top each egg muffin with just a little bit of cheese.
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the egg has set and the muffin is firm in the middle (the edges should be browning as well).
12. Remove from the oven and let set for a couple of minutes.
13. Using a spoon, pop each egg muffin out of the pan and serve warm.
14. Can be refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen 2-3 months. Reheat in the microwave.

Notes

I liked to dip my egg muffins in a little bit of sriracha to up the spice factor
Feel free to substitute any vegetables, protein or cheese you like

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If you are lovin’ these Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage, then you might want to check out some of my other kid-friendly bites:

• Sneaky Veggie Breakfast Scramble Bites

• Chicken Quinoa Toddler and Kid-Friendly Bites

• Quinoa Meatballs Baby Finger Food

The post Mini Egg Muffin Bites with Spinach and Turkey Sausage appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Lemon Mint Pesto is an unique version of the classic recipe. It is refreshing and bursting with summertime flavors! Also very versatile and can be used in just about anything from pasta dishes to chicken to seafood dinner meals.

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I am so excited that my little container garden is growing so well!! Maybe my blackish thumb is getting better and moving toward becoming greenish My Tomatoes and peppers are starting to come in and the fresh herbs are just flourishing, especially the MINT! That stuff is growing like crazy!! I am almost afraid that it is about to take over…so I decided I need to do something with a bunch of it and I instantly thought of a pesto. I just love taking fresh herbs in the summer and making pestos and then freezing them so I have them all summer long. If you are interested in doing this yourself, I have a how-to post all about freezing pesto and you can check it out –> HERE .

I wasn’t sure how Lemon Mint Pesto would go over, but I thought I would give it a try! Man, I am glad that I did!! So refreshing with the lemon…hello summertime… and I used pecans versus the traditional pinenut to give it a more substantial flavor and because I live in South Georgia and there are pecan trees in my backyard

I just tried toasted the nuts before I make a pesto and I really recommend it!! Lightly toasting whatever nut that you are using really brings out the flavor of the nut and thus makes your pesto more flavorful. It only takes 6-7 minutes and it is DEFINITELY worth it!!

So I made the Lemon Mint Pesto in a large batch and then portioned it into ice cube trays (these are the ones that I like best: http://amzn.to/1ZUanCZ). Then I froze it overnight. The next day, I would vacuum seal (here is a vacuum sealer that is the same brand and very similar to the one I have and love, just newer: http://amzn.to/28HL6lr). This way I have ready-made pesto anytime that I need it, even during the winter!!

So far we have had the Lemon Mint Pesto in a chicken pesto pasta (like this one, just sub lemon mint pesto)and with shrimp over rice…I have a yummy recipe coming up soon for a cheesy stuffed chicken that includes this lemon mint pesto that I am super excited about, so stay tuned for that one!! I also think it would do well as a topping for a mild, white fish, like mahi or tilapia…if fact, I think we are going to try that soon  I could totally make another large batch of this lemon mint pesto with all the mint that has grown back already! That stuff sure grows like a ___, but I probably shouldn’t say that in a recipe post, huh? LOL I also want to make a salad dressing, pizza sauce, sandwich spread and so much more with pesto!! Can you tell that I am slightly obsessed???

Alright already…

Here is your recipe (if you can even call it a recipe…LOL) for Lemon Mint Pesto:

Lemon Mint Pesto

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Ingredients

• 3 cloves fresh garlic
• 4 cups fresh mint
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• ½ cup pecans, chopped (toasted if desired, pine nuts or walnuts can be substituted)
• juice and zest of one lemon
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. To toast the pecans, place in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat. Stir frequently until lightly browned and fragrant, approximately 6-7 minutes.
2. Add garlic cloves to the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and is no longer flying around the bowl. Scrape down the sides.
3. Add mint, parmesan, pecans, lemon zest and juice and pulse until a thick paste forms.
4. While the food processor is running, slowly stream in the olive oil to emulsify the pesto. Scrape down the sides.
5. Add salt and pepper and stir to combine.
6. Use immediately
7. If freezing spoon into ice cube trays, drizzle the tops with a little bit of olive oil to keep from browning.
8. Place in freezer for at least 2 hours to overnight.
9. Remove frozen pesto cubes from trays and vacuum seal or store in an airtight container.
10. Frozen pesto lasts for 3 - 6 months.

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[bha size=’760×80′ variation=’01’ align=’none’]

The post Lemon Mint Pesto appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Mini Organic Frozen Yogurt Pops with Fresh Fruit is an easy healthy summer kid-friendly snack made with Annie’s Organic Whole Milk Yogurt and organic fruit. #choosegood #annies #ad

The summer heat is in full effect for us down here in South Georgia! Upper 80’s and low 90’s are now the norm. These hot days just scream for a cool snack, but ice cream and popsicles aren’t the healthiest choice. Lil man (and hubs for that matter) are sugar lovin’ fools, so I am always looking for lower sugar, healthier snack for them.

At my last trip to Publix, I was looking at the Extra Savings Flyer (like I always do) and I noticed a new product from Annie’s Yogurt (a brand you know that you can trust to be wholesome and nutritious), an Organic Whole Milk Yogurt! It is on sale now through May 27, 2016 at Publix for two 4-packs for $5!! Now that is a deal!! You can check out the deal and either add it to your online shopping list or print it out here: https://ooh.li/fcd267f.

I went to the yogurt section to check it out and found that Annie’s new yogurt is available in two flavors, Summer Strawberry and Berry Patch and they are made with organic whole milk and organic fruit. They also have no artificial flavors, synthetic colors, preservatives, antibiotics or synthetic hormones!! And after taking a quick look at the nutrition label on the back, I learned that each 4-ounce serving contains 100 calories, 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fat. That makes this mama do a little happy dance

I quickly picked up a few packs and headed home. I decided on the way home that I wanted to make a fun, cool treat for lil man and decided on using the Annie’s yogurt to make some Mini Organic Frozen Yogurt Pops with Fresh Fruit.

I don’t have any of those popsicles molds, so I like to just use ice cube trays. They work perfectly and then your popsicles are so big. They are a nice snack size. You also can eat them before they melt all over the place I used square and half moon shaped ice cube trays.

I kept it pretty simple and just added fresh strawberry to the Summer Strawberry flavor. I added both strawberries and blueberries to the Berry Patch flavor. You could totally mix it up with whatever fruit that you like…feel free to get creative! We loved these little treats and a I am sure that I will be making them for us to enjoy all summer long.

But before we get to the recipe for my Mini Organic Frozen Yogurt Pops with Fresh Fruit, I have a little giveaway for you so you can try these sweet treats with your family! I am giving one lucky reader $20 in PayPal cash or a $20 Amazon Gift Card, winner’s choice. The giveaway runs from now until May 30, 2016, 12:00 am. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is your recipe for Mini Organic Frozen Yogurt Pops with Fresh Fruit:

[bha size=’760×80′ variation=’01’ align=’none’]

The post Mini Organic Frozen Yogurt Pops with Fresh Fruit appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Easy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and healthy holiday baking tips. Goodie treat bags are always on-hand thanks to 1 Quart Hefty® Slider Storage Bags and Hefty® printable treat bag toppers.

Easy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and healthy holiday baking tips. Goodie treat bags are always on-hand thanks to 1 Quart Hefty® Slider Storage Bags and Hefty® printable treat bag toppers. | beckysbestbites.com #HeftyHolidays #ad

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Is it just me, or does do you always seem to need quick gifts on-hand during the holiday season? Between the office, hubby’s restaurant, lil man’s school, friends, neighbors, etc. there always seems to be the need for little gifts for folks And what could be better to give than a homemade treats?? The problem (as I have mentioned before) is that I am not that good of a baker and I like to keep things on the healthier side, so baked treats are a bit of a challenge for me But I am happy to report that I have figured out a way to keep easy, somewhat healthy but yummy holiday treats available throughout the holiday season!! My first little secret…shhh don’t tell…lol…is that I use a premade cookie mix. Yep, you heard it right here!! It makes it so easy to bake that even I can do it I swap 1/2 of the butter called for on the package directions with unsweetened apple sauce (I actually only had cinnamon apple sauce on hand when I made these, but they turned out fantastic!! I loved this hint of cinnamon in the cookies for this time of year). Then, I jazz the mix up with some healthy add-ins!! I added quick cooking oatmeal and natural peanut butter to up the nutritional profile of these little jems!! Bake according to package instructions, let cool and portion the cookies in 1 Quart Hefty® Slider Storage Bags. Then give your goodies a festive boost by adding one of the three super cute Hefty® printable treat bag toppers

It is super easy to make your treat bags a hit this holiday season!! Print the design that you want (choose from 3) –> HERE!

Then fold it in half and punch hole where indicated on the template. String ribbon through the design and then attach the topper to your 1 Quart Hefty® Slider Storage Bags filled with holiday treats!! Now you have holiday gifts ready whenever you need them!! And now as a holiday present for you, I have giveaway for you!! $20 PayPal Cash to help you cover the costs to have holiday goodies bags on-hand!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Another holiday time-saving tip is to freeze either the cookie dough or cookies, so that you always have them on-hand to bake up as needed. You will need Hefty® Freezer Slider Bags to store the dough or cookies in the freezer until you need it.

Click –> HERE <– to learn Hefty’s® Tips for Freezing Cookie Dough, Cookies and other Holiday Treats.

Here is your recipe for Easy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies:

4.8 from 4 reviews

Easy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Serves: 36

Ingredients

• 1 package (17.5 oz.) chocolate chip cookie mix
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup unsweetened, cinnamon applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1½ cup quick cooking oats
• ¾ cup natural peanut butter

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F (for dark or nonstick cookie sheets)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine, cookie mis, butter, applesauce, egg, oats and peanut butter until soft dough forms.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonsfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
5. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet.
6. Cool completely; store in airtight container.

3.5.3208

The post Easy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Can I just talk about the heat for a moment? OMG!!! Whew!! It has been in the mid to upper 90’s here for weeks on end with heat indexes over 100!! You go outside and it nearly takes your breath away  I am so excited to be heading off to Park City on Sunday for the trip that my financé won through his work. The temperatures there will top out in the mid to upper 70’s  But until then with all this heat, I have been craving cool treats in the afternoons!! Of course the first thing that comes to mind is ice cream, but that will definitely not fit into the “wedding diet,” so what is a girl to do?

Today I am going to share with you two little secrets that I have found that will indulge your sweet tooth and cool you off in this crazy heat while keeping you on track with your diet. Y’all are going to love me for this one  The first is a Two Ingredient Ice Cream that is vegan, healthy and oh so creamy and yummy!

Creamy, rich ice cream made out of just two simple ingredients: frozen bananas and chocolate almond milk!

I like my ice cream to have more of the soft serve consistency that you see here. You could also transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid to have an ice cream that is more of the “normal” consistency.

Now the “ice cream” is perfectly lovely by itself, but if you really want to satisfy your sweet tooth, take it up a notch and mix-in a fun add-in  My second little secret to satisfying your sweet tooth is to indulge your #cheesecakeinstincts with Fiber One Cheesecakes! 

I found these little gems at my last trip to Publix and was intrigued to try them out, so I picked up a box of the Strawberry and a box the Salted Caramel. I did save a little money by taking advantage of these savings from the Ready Plan Save Coupon Website (y’all know that this frugal gal loves to save money). You can take advantage of these coupons from Publix from 7/16/15 – 7/29/15.

I mixed the Fiber One Salted Caramel Cheesecake into my “ice cream”  and it was a fabulous addition to my cool treat! The sweet and salty combination was right up my alley 

These Fiber One Cheesecakes are great snacks by themselves too  Each delicious cheesecake bar comes in at only 150 calories and has 5 grams of fiber. I plan on packing them in my carry-on bag for our trip to Park City. That way I have healthy snacks for the trip and don’t have to pay those excessive airport and resort prices.

Before we get to the recipe our friends at Publix and Fiber One helped me with a $15 PayPal Giveaway so you can try these delicious and healthy cheesecake bars for yourself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5.0 from 4 reviews

Healthy Two Ingredient Ice Cream Dessert

 

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Prep time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4 medium ripe bananas
• ¼ cup chocolate almond milk
• 2 Fiber One Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars

Instructions

1. Peel bananas and slice into even-sized coins.
2. Place sliced bananas on a baking sheet or in a glass bowl and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.
3. Once bananas are frozen solid, place in a food processor. Add chocolate almond milk and process.
4. It will take a couple of minutes, but eventually the "ice cream" will become smooth and creamy.
5. Once creamy, break up the cheesecake bars and add to the food processor.
6. Pulse a couple of times to incorporate into the "ice cream."
7. Serve immediately if you want a soft serve consistency to your "ice cream" or place into an air tight contain and freeze until solid.

3.5.3208

The post Healthy Two Ingredient Ice Cream Dessert appeared first on Becky's Best Bites.

Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake with greek yogurt, mozzarella, spinach and tomatoes is a healthy and easy make-ahead dinner that tastes anything but light. Creamy and rich, it feels indulgent but thanks to the healthy swaps including Chobani Greek Yogurt, you won’t feel guilty about going back for seconds!

*My affiliate links are used in this post. However this does not influence or change my opinion. Thanks for using them and helping support my family and my blog!*

I was inspired by Chobani’s #MadeWithChobani project. I wanted to create a recipe and share it with them using their yogurt as an ingredient. I thought it would be great exposure for my blog if they liked what I came up with and share it via their social media. I mean, come on, Chobani has just a few fans on social media. You can contribute to the #MadeWithChobani project too! Just come up with a recipe and post using the hashtag #MadeWithChobani.

So, of course, I emailed him back right away and told him that I would love to create a recipe for Chobani!!

I already love to use non-fat plain greek yogurt as a healthy swap in many of my recipes, so it was really a no brainer!!

Here are just a few of my other recipes that feature greek yogurt:

• 30 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Healthy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken
• Slow Cooker Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sliders
• Flavors of Fall Pasta
• Skinny Southern Potato Salad Recipe
• Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas with Jalapeño Cream Sauce
• Kale Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
• Protein Packed Blueberry Muffins

My Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake was inspired by this post by a great blog called Taylor Made by Taylor Bee. I made a few changes like using one of the best deals in the supermarket frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh.

Here is the recipe for Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake:

Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

 

Author: Becky's Best Bites

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 box (13-14 oz.) whole wheat rotini pasta (use any pasta shape that you like)
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• 1 small can (8 oz.) can of no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1 container (5.3 oz.) chobani non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup reserved starchy cooking water
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (less or none if you don't do spicy)
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Cook pasta to "al-dente" according to package instructions, reserving 1 cup of starchy cooking water. Return cooked pasta to hot pot and set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil.
3. Once olive oil is hot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent and soft, approximately 3-4 minutes.
4. Add chicken and spinach and cook for 5 minutes or so, until chicken is pretty much cooked through and spinach is warm.
5. Add chicken/spinach mixture to the pasta.
6. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, greek yogurt, ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, starchy cooking water, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.
7. Stir to combine.
8. Line a large casserole dish with heavy duty foil. Add the pasta mixture to the dish and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and then another sheet of foil. Either freeze or refrigerate until needed.
9. If you are going to freeze the pasta bake, once it is frozen you can remove the foil wrapped food, seal it and place the whole thing in a plastic freezer bag. This frees up your dish and protects it a bit more from breakage.
10. Remove your pasta bake from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator 24 hours before you intend to bake it.
11. When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
12. Take the foil wrapped food out of the plastic freezer bag and place back into a casserole dish.
13. Bake for 45 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown the top.
14. Remove from over and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve hot.

Notes

If you are going to bake this right away and not refrigerator or freeze, reduce the cooking time to 30 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered.

3.2.2925

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