White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

December 22, 2013 by Christine Skari

You know what’s Marvelous in My Monday? These babies.

I’m in a sugar coma.

This morning has been filled with delicious goodness and I’ve been busy in the kitchen baking scones and mountains of cookies for a cookie exchange party tonight. On the menu? Apple pie cookies and deep dish chocolate chip cookies stuffed with caramel (literally a mouthful).

But, back to these guys.

Delicious, light, moist, and with a great texture. These white chocolate cranberry scones are straight from heaven! I mean, c’mon. Just LOOK at that powder sugar drizzle. Liquid gold, I tell ya.

These scones are perfectly sweet and with a great combination of flavors! I love the bit of tartness that the craisins add to the moist scones and the heartiness of the them. Usually, baked goods don’t leave me feeling full and satisfied for long, but these beauties are made with a combination of white and whole wheat flours and oats, making them more substantial!

If you’d like to pin this recipe, I’d really appreciate it if you’d pin the image below!

Another great things about these white chocolate cranberry scones? They’re made with only three tablespoons of butter in the batch, which gives them the perfect light texture and lighten up a normally calorie and fat laden treat! While I’m most definitely not against treating yourself, any recipe that lightens up a recipe without sacrificing flavor is a winner for me. (Plus, they give you the perfect excuse to eat twice as many.)

I have a major sweet tooth, but I’m one of those people who can’t handle an excess amount of sugar in the morning. Like I mentioned before, these scones have the perfect amount of sweetness which lend themselves to be called a (healthier) treat, but they lack the sugar content to make you feel sick from the sugar buzz.

These taste superb with a cup of coffee or tea and I can’t wait to savor one in the quiet hours of the morning!

Follow me on:

Bloglovin

Facebook

Twitter

Healthy and Low Calorie Desserts

December 20, 2013 by Christine Skari

Healthy and Low Calorie Desserts!

To say I have a huge sweet tooth would be an understatement. I’m the kind of person who wakes up in the middle of the night and decides that I need a cookie/brownie/chocolate/ice cream rightthisveryinstant and that waiting is not an option. However, eating sweets for every meal of the day doesn’t lend itself to a very healthy lifestyle and eating pie for breakfast usually leaves me feeling sluggish for the rest of the day (to be honest, I usually eat it anyway because I am a child with no self control).

That’s why I decided to put together a quick roundup of a few of my favorite healthy and low calorie desserts that are regulars in my never-ending pursuit of sugar.

These babies are not only better for you, but absolutely delicious! Clocking in with less calories and fat than most desserts, they help keep me in my skinny jeans (though I usually have to dance/squirm my way into those jerks anyway) and feeling energized all day!

1. Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles

This recipe is absolutely magical and has gotten rave reviews from people who have tried them! They taste just as delicious as the heavier versions made with tons of sugar and heavy cream. I promise, you can’t taste the avocados! These truffles have only 60 calories each and sneak in some healthy fats!

2. Healthier Pumpkin Bread

A favorite among my roommates and I! We love the sweet fall flavor and how easily it comes together. Did I mention that it’s made with no butter, mostly whole wheat flour, and egg whites?

3. Amanda’s No Bake Almond Fudge Protein Bars

Talk about delicious! Whenever I make these, I end up doing the whole stand-over-the-bowl-nibbling until I’ve basically eaten half the recipe. You need these in your life!

4. Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

The perfect bite-sized treat! One of my favorites in this Healthy and Low Calorie Desserts roundup, they clock in at only 35 calories a pop, and help satisfy any craving!

5. Healthier Banana Nut Bread

Similar to my Healthier Pumpkin Spice Bread, but bursting with banana flavor! Also contains no butter, egg whites, and mostly whole wheat flour!

6. Skinny Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Walnut Streusel

I drool even thinking about these. Look at that gorgeous powdered sugar drizzle and that tasty streusel. *Pass out*

7. Healthier Cinnamon Roll Scones

You get a big, sweet, cinnamon-filled scone for only 170 calories. Need I say more?

8. Healthier Roasted Almond, Dark Chocolate, and Craisin Cookies

Great for an on-the-go breakfast or pre/post-workout energy booster. These tasty cookies have only 85 calories each and 2.2g of fiber each!

And there you have it! Hope these delectable treats will help you manage your sweet tooth as well :)!

*If you found this page helpful, I would appreciate it so much if you could pin/share the image at the top of the page!

Follow me on:

Bloglovin

Facebook

Twitter

Smoked Salmon Pita Sandwiches

December 19, 2013 by Christine Skari

Want your own adorable bento box? Enter my giveaway below for the chance to win one of four lunch boxes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sometimes I feel almost embarrassed to share a recipe. I usually love putting together complex recipes and enjoy spending hours in the kitchen, which eventually leads to me making a huge mess and vowing never to cook again. That, of course, lasts all of two hours before I’m back at it. It’s a viciously delicious cycle. Other times, I’m lazy. I don’t feel like cleaning anything up and even the idea of foraging through the cupboards for ingredients makes me cringe. Those days are the ones where I can usually be found absorbed into my couch with a gallon of ice cream, hanging out with my best friend 4eva Netflix. We get along just swell. Anyways, today was one of those days. I did, however, put together a tasty lunch that is, like I mentioned before, embarrassingly easy. These Smoked Salmon Pita Sandwiches are great for when you’re craving a healthy and delicious lunch that can be put together in a flash. The smoked salmon give the pita pockets a great salty flavor and the arugula adds a fantastic peppery bite! And how about these unbelievably cute bento lunch boxes? They’re the perfect size to carry with you and come in a large assortment of colors! The lovely people at Mira Designs are sending four lucky winners their own bento box in either lavender of pink! Enter my giveaway below for your chance to win! f2e067973ab717c0eaba5849a2f4e580 Want to have your own adorable bento box? I’m partnering up with Mira Design to giveaway 4 of their pink and lavender bento boxes! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope these help fuel your lazy days as well!

Healthy Loaded Chili

December 17, 2013 by Christine Skari

Here’s a fun fact about me, I’m half Norwegian.

My father is a born-and-bred Norwegian who was raised on yup, you guessed it, a stereotypical potato farm in the rural countryside. That man can eat potatoes like no other. I kid you not when I say he would happily eat potatoes (plain potatoes) for a week straight and be as happy as a clam.

I think in his past life he was, in fact, a potato.

Anyways, I digress.

Back to my fun fact. I was born in Norway, learned Norwegian as my first language, and picked up skiing from my viking of a father. I have so many happy memories of long ski days filled with a hot drink afterwards and warm chili at restaurants at the top of mountains.

Please pin the image below if you’d like to pin the recipe! Thank you!

To me, chili is a quintessential part of any snowy day and I’m almost looking forward to delicious, meaty chili as much as our ski trip to Tahoe right after Christmas. Almost.

Until that time, I decided to satisfy my craving with a healthier (but just as delicious) lightened up version of the classic favorite!

This chili combines the best of both worlds with all the flavor and thick, chunkiness of normal chili, but with a whopping 26 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber per serving! Hot dog!

Not only is this recipe downright delicious, it’s versatile. Vegetarian? No problem, just chop up some more veg and throw it in to the pot. Don’t like pork? Ground chicken, turkey, or lean ground beef work like magic as well.

Trust me, good things happen in that pot.

Kyle’s first impression after trying a bite was “This is so good” and my dad (the potato lovin’ fool) told me that he now likes chili thanks to this recipe.

Make a batch and have a healthy, easy to reheat lunch for the rest of the week! All the fiber and protein in the dish will keep you feeling full and energized and it’s perfect for a cozy meal by the fire.

Have some sour cream, cornbread, and shredded cheddar cheese on the side and you gave a meal made in heaven!

I’m linking up to What I Ate Wednesday to share this dish! Thanks, Jenn for hosting!

Enjoy!

Follow me on:

Bloglovin

Facebook

Twitter

Skinny Spiced Chocolate Crackles

December 16, 2013 by Christine Skari

Some days, nothing will do but a cookie.

These cookies.

They’ve been hiding away in the family recipe book since last Christmas when I made a batch of 60 of them for a cookie exchange, but it’s about time that they resurfaced in all their delectable glory!

I can’t exactly remember from which magazine the recipe was copied down from, so if it strikes you as familiar and you remember the source, please let me know so I can credit the magazine!

Sweet, moist, and with the most tasty kick of spice and flavor, they’ll be one of the main stars on any dessert table and will be one of the most uniquely delicious cookies you’ve ever had! Describing them can be a bit hard, since they have an original flavor all their own. I’ll give it a wild go and compare them to a hybrid fudge brownie and ginger cookie with chunks of half-melted chocolate chips in every bite.

These Skinny Spicy Chocolate Crackles also come together in a flash! They couldn’t be easier to make and you literally just dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. While I love spending time in the kitchen, sometimes you just need to GET A COOKIE INTO YOUR MOUTH PRONTO, and I promise these babies won’t disappoint!

And the best part? With only 110 calories each, they are a great way to indulge over the holidays without going overboard! They’re jam packed full of rich chocolate flavor that will satisfy any sweet tooth.

If you’d like to pin this recipe, please pin the photo below! Thank you!

Hope you love them as much as I do!