Skinny Balsamic Vinaigrette

March 24, 2023 Amanda Plott

I actually made this Balsamic Vinaigrette back in 2013, so naturally after 10 years I thought it was due for an update. Balsamic Vinaigrette is one of my favorite salad dressings. It’s tangy and light and full of flavor.

I've lightened up this classic dressing by subbing water and chia seeds for some of the oil. It's an old but rather faithful trick that I picked up from my mom some years ago when she would make her own Italian salad dressing. And by 'make her own', I mean mix oil and water with a packet…

Japanese Egg Salad

March 21, 2023 Amanda Plott

It doesn’t get any more simple than this right here. This Japanese Egg Salad is made with just 4-5 ingredients and takes hardly any time at all to make and the end result is creamy, light, and delicious! So what makes this egg salad Japanese? The secret is in the mayonnaise! This egg salad uses kewpie, which is the Japanese version of mayonnaise. But, don’t worry! You can find it at most grocery stores.

American mayonnaise is made with whole eggs and white vinegar. Kewpie is made with egg yolks and rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Kewpie eggs up being sweeter and has less tang. It’s also a lot richer and creamer too!…

PB&J Rice Cake

March 18, 2023 Amanda Plott

Peanut butter and jelly at it’s snacking finest with this PB&J Rice Cake! I found these fun rice cakes recently that are shaped and textured a bit differently than the old school ones so I picked a few of the strawberry flavored ones up. But then it’s - what to do with them. Well, when I think strawberries, I tend to think of strawberry jam. And when I think of strawberry jam, I think of PB&Js!

This PB&J Rice Cake is a fun take on a PB&J that is lighter and pretty filling too. It would be great as an afternoon or after school snack, or even as a part of a light lunch! So, it starts out with a strawberry rice cake on the bottom which is covered with some peanut butter and then topped off with fresh strawberries, peanuts, and some strawberry jam too…

Marinated Chickpea Pita

March 14, 2023 Amanda Plott

It’s Spring break week here and we’re sticking pretty close to home which I’m totally fine with. Spring time is one my more favorite times of year. I don’t care for the allergies that come along with it, but I do enjoy the brighter lighting of the sun, the blooming trees and flowers, and also the berries that start to pop up. With Spring rolling in, I always like to lighten and brighten things up myself, and that’s where this Marinated Chickpea Pita comes in.

This Marinated Chickpea Pita is light, and bright, and full of flavor. Being as this is made with mostly whole ingredients and seasonings, there isn’t much to do here to make it much better-for-you. Though I did go with a wheat pita in place of a regular one…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

March 11, 2023 Amanda Plott

These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars couldn’t be any more delish! They are SUPER chocolatey and have this ooey-gooey texture to them that is similar to a brownie or a blondie. It’s kind of like eating a cookie dough brownie and I am totally here for it. They are decadent and rich and mm-mm good.

They are so good in fact, that my kiddo had one for breakfast this morning and I’m not even upset about it. I might have had one for breakfast too, so it’s not like I can make any judgements. What? I’m an adult. It’s allowed for me to have a cookie for breakfast if I want to…

Air Fryer Sopapillas

March 8, 2023 Amanda Plott

Everyone loves a good Sopapilla after some tasty Mexican food. And these Air Fryer Sopapillas are not only easy to make, they also only take a handful of ingredients and just a few minutes of cook time. Being as there’s only a handful ingredients, there really isn’t much you can do to make them much ‘better for you’.

Sometimes you just need to indulge just a little bit. But, even with that being said? You get four of these to a serving that’s well under two-hundred calories. Dust them in some cinnamon sugar and a little bit of hunny and you’ve got an amazing dessert!…