Healthy Instant Key Lime Pie

Yesterday we got a mini key lime pie cheesecake from Whole Foods. It was fantastic, but I shuddered to think of how many calories were in it. It made me realize how much I'd missed the great taste of key lime pie—probably my favorite dessert—and when I finished, I already wanted more.

So today I came up with a healthier version you can whip up in minutes. It's not as decadent as a true key lime pie, natch, but it's tasty just the same. And my little friend loved it so much it hardly lasted long enough to get a picture!

Here's what you need and how it's done:

Greek yogurt (1/2 c)
Vanilla whey protein powder (1/2 scoop)
Lime or lime juice (1 tsp)
Graham crackers (1/2 to 1, to taste)

Crumble the graham cracker and place in bottom of single serve dish, larger ramekin, or small mug. You may have extra crumbs for topping.

Mix the yogurt (we use 2%) with a 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey powder. Add in the lime juice (we used bottled since we had it on hand), but I think fresh would be better, of course.

You can sweeten more with a touch of honey or stevia, but I like to keep it tart and the whey powder has a bit of stevia in it already.

 Layer on top of graham cracker crust. Chill or freeze to taste or enjoy right away as we did!

1 serving = 180 calories

Healthy Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

We're trying to cut back on sugar and eat healthfully and seeing all those chocolate eggs, bunnies and chicks has been a real temptation. So, I decided to try and make a healthier version of a favorite—the peanut butter egg. These are my very own creation! While these eggs, with their larger size and whole ingredients have more calories than a Reese's egg, they are meant to be shared and are full of healthy nutrients. You could also make them smaller and have more of them. It should also be noted that much of the fat in these are from the peanut butter and chia seeds—very healthy fats! And yeah, the chocolate has fats and sugars, but compared to store-bought candy, I give these an A+. The taste is kid-approved, too!

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar! no hydrogenated oils!)
1/2 cup whole oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
(I used Whole Foods Dark Chocolate Chunks)
2 tiny scoops of stevia extract
(not needed, but adds sweetness, more on stevia)
1 TB chia seeds
(optional, adds crunch and extra nutrients, these are full of vitamins!)
1/4 tsp vanilla extra (no sugar added)
dash of cinnamon to taste

Blend oats in food processor to a fine meal. Mix stevia and cinnamon into oats. Mix peanut butter with oat mixture slowly to ensure a wet enough consistency to be able to shape into egg shapes without crumbling. (You can add more peanut butter or a touch of water if needed.) Add vanilla extract and chia seeds. Shape into four or more egg shapes. Melt chocolate chunks on stovetop or in the microwave. Coat peanut butter eggs gently with the melted chocolate. Chill in freezer to set. Enjoy!

Eggs can be kept at room temp for a few hours but are best refrigerated and brought to room to eat.

393 calories per egg, from a four-egg batch

28 g fat
11 g protein
30 g carbs
8 g fiber
10 g sugar

split an egg with a friend, or make 8 eggs:

196 calories
14 g fat
5.5 g protein
15 g carbs
4 g fiber
5 g sugar

(keep in mind, I'm an art girl, not a math girl, but I think these numbers are right)

Sweet Puttanesca Pancakes

Most people associate puttanesca with a spicy sauce of tomatoes, olives, peppers and such. And rightly so, as those are typical ingredients in an Italian puttanesca sauce. But, did you know puttanesca actually means "in the style of a prostitute"—she's been too busy fucking so she didn't have time to really put together a fancy, composed meal and so she tossed in a bunch of random stuff she happened to have around.

Well, I've been wanting to make healther pancakes for my kid, so that's basically what I did this morning—and actually how I cook alot of the time. For these pancakes, I didn't use tomato, olives or peppers, of course.

I used:

• 1/2 c rolled oats
• 1/4 c whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c white flour
• tsp or so baking powder
• dash of cinnamon
• TB creme fraiche
• couple TBS yogurt
• a little less than 1/3 c of egg whites (or small egg/egg white, or 1/2 egg, the point is some binding protein-like goop)
  
• splash of skim milk, to desired consistency
  
• 1/4 smashed up ripe banana
• honey to taste
  
• handful of walnuts, mashed up pretty good
• chocolate chips

(This recipe makes about six 5-inch diameter—or so—pancakes.)

So, you mix the first four dry ingredients listed, and set aside. You may want to run this through a food processor, depending on how textured you think you'd like your oats in the pancakes. Then mix the wet as listed, up to, but not including the the milk. Then you mix the wet and dry. After that, you add milk little by little til you get a good consistency.

Hopefully you will remember making pancakes from the box mix, like I did, and you can remember the consistency. It's nice if you can pour it, but also OK to plop the batter on the buttered griddle or pan and gently spread. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves.

After you have the basic wet and dry mixed, you can stir in your honey to taste, your mashed banana, walnut paste, chocolate chips or whatever else you want.

Now, heat up a pan or griddle to medium high. (I just use a nonstick pan and make them one by one, keeping each hot under a plate til they're all ready, layering each pancake with a pat of butter.) Butter or oil the pan/griddle a bit and pour or spoon your batter. When you see the pancake bubbling, you can gently flip it. When I am making pancakes, since I make them one by one, I have to turn down the heat about halfway through. You just figure it out and pay attention. It will all work out!

That's how I cook, throwing things together and experimenting. Sometimes its good and sometimes it's not.

I know these pancakes were good (I tasted them) but, truly, 'cause my kid ate them right up!