Heavenly & Healthy "Everything" Dip

Of course, apples, bananas, blueberries, and pretzel sticks are delicious all on their own, but when I'm really feeling decadent, I like to whip up the best dip in the world to complement these tasty treats. This dip is everything you could hope for: fluffy, light, sweet, savory, and satisfying!

Don't forget to call "dibbs" on licking the bowl!

At this point, you're probably getting pretty mad at me for tempting you with something that sounds so delicious, because there's NO way it could be healthy, right? WRONG! Heavenly & Healthy "Everything" Dip is easy, quick, and cheap to make, and makes eating your fruits and veggies a joy!

Here's What You'll Need:

• 1/2 Cup Skippy Natural Peanut Butter - Both, Smooth & Crunchy Will Work, but I Prefer Smooth :)
• 1 Cup Non-Fat Vanilla Yogurt

Here's What You'll Do:
Just take the two ingredients, and mix them together until they form into the perfect whipped consistency - See, I told you it was easy, quick, and cheap to make! Once it's all whipped together, go at it with apple slices, banana chunks, carrot sticks, or anything you want! This truly is an "everything" dip, so anything goes ;)

Happy Snacking!

Check out all of My Favorite Recipes and my Nutrish & Delish board on Pinterest to discover all kinds of yummy goodness!

Roasted Honey Dijon Maple Potatoes

Let's face it, potatoes rock. Whether it's french fries, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, or potato casserole, it's always right up my alley! However, it is important to find healthy ways to prepare and cook potatoes, otherwise, you're going to be busting out of your jeans with every bite... and nobody wants that, right?!

Of course, I've found an incredible recipe for Honey Dijon Roasted Potatoes, and it is out-of-this world. The original recipe isn't totally un-healthy, but you know me, I just love to "healthify" things as much as possible. So, as always, I took the original recipe and added my own healthy spin to it.

Here's What You'll Need:

• 16 oz. Red Potatoes, Chopped
• 1 Small Onion, Chopped (More or Less to Preference)
• 2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 TBS. Dijon Mustard (Grey Poupon is my Fave!)
• 2 Tsp. Honey
• 2 Tsp. Sugar-Free Maple Syrup
• Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper to Taste

Here's What You'll Do:

• Begin by pre-heating your oven to 425 degrees.
• While it's heating, whisk together all ingredients (except for the potatoes and chopped onion).
• After all ingredients are fully whisked and blended, toss the potatoes and onion into the mix. *Be sure every potato and onion is fully-coated!
• Coat a non-stick baking dish with Pam cooking spray
• Pour the entire mixture into the dish.
• Pop it into your pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until tender. *Be sure to stir the potatoes a few times while they are baking to make sure everything is completely coated in that delicious mixture!

Serving Suggestions
I used this as a side dish to a light chicken dish and some baked asparagus. Obviously, it was a huge it! Nobody even knew it was healthy! So, these divine little potatoes have earned themselves a slot in my weekly meal rotation ;)

Simplified Meal Planning
Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is! If you need a quick and delicious recipe for dinner, breakfast, lunch, or even a side dish or snack, you'll find it all on My Favorite Recipes page above. I find all of my cooking, workout, and recipe inspiration on Pinterest, and pin it all to my Nutrish & Delish board for easy access. Where do you find your inspiration?

Low Carb Pizza

If you love pizza, but loathe the carbs, you aren't alone. I am a huge fan of pizza, and often times, it's my weakness! But, I've found an incredible recipe that lets me indulge in those sinful pizza cravings, while still sticking to a low carb diet! The original recipe, Where's the Crust Pizza, is amazing on its own, but as you all know, I love to add my own spin to recipes to "healthify" them even further.

Here's What You'll Need:
To make the "crust" you'll use several ingredients that you would have *never* imagined would be used in pizza crust making, but trust me, it's delish!

• 1 8 oz. Package of Cream Cheese (Room Temperature)
• 2 Eggs - Substitute Egg Beaters for a "healthified" touch!
• 1/4 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Cup Grated Low Fat Parmesan Cheese

Topping Things Off
As far as toppings go, I'd recommend using fresh veggies like, onions and green peppers, or even pineapple for a Hawaiian feel! If you live in a house filled with meat lovers, try to opt for a healthier choice, like low fat grilled chicken breast, ground turkey, turkey bacon, or Canadian bacon. For the toppings, you'll also need:

• 1/2 Cup of Pizza Sauce
• Your Desired Topping Selections
• 1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Low Fat Mozzerella Cheese
• A Sprinkling of Garlic Powder

It's Time to Cook!
I'm just going to warn you that this mouth-watering recipe will quickly become a favorite in your house. Lucky for you, it's a breeze to whip up!

• Firstly, you'll need to pre-heat your oven to 350, then lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Using a handheld mixer, blend all of the crust ingredients until they are completely combined. 
• Spread the blended mixture into the baking dish, and pop it in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

 Allow the crust to cool for 10 minutes before moving to the next step! Don't turn the oven off; you're not done yet!

Now that you've made your low carb crust, you can move on to the toppings (my favorite part)!

• Evenly spread the pizza sauce over the crust, then add the cheese, toppings, and a sprinkling of garlic powder.
• Pop that delicious dish into the oven, and let it bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
• Dinner is served! Oh, and feel free to top it off with some red pepper flakes - I love adding a little heat to everything I cook :)
 

As always, you'll find this recipe, and all of my favorite recipes, on my Nutrish & Delish board on Pinterest, a.k.a, my go-to resource for healthy cooking inspiration.

Pesto Ranch Chicken Breast

Crock Pot Love
Oh, how I love my crock pot! It's awesome for whipping up an easy dinner or creating my signature spiked apple cider - but that's a totally different topic that I won't get into right now. 

Pesto Ranch Chicken  Breast
On my menu plan for this week, I am making a deliciously tasty recipe that I found on Pinterest (of course!). The recipe is called "Pesto Ranch Crock Pot Chicken Thighs," but, I am going to "healthify" it with a few simple substitutions. And you know what? Nobody will know the difference! ;)

How To Healthify
The original recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but I'm going to use boneless, skinless breasts instead. Even though you can easily trim the fat off of the thighs, breast meat is always a healthier option - plus, who wants to waste time trimming fat?! Not me! The recipe also calls for chicken broth. Of course, I'll swap out original broth with a low sodium, fat free version like Shelton's.

Here's What You'll Need

• 8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 6 oz. Jar of Pesto
• 1 16 oz. Package of Ranch Seasoning
• 1/2 Cup Shelton's Chicken Broth (or any fat free, low sodium broth)

Get Cookin'
I'm about to blow your mind with how easy this recipe is to prep, so brace yourself. All you're going to do is place everything (the chicken breasts, pesto, ranch seasoning, and broth) into the crock pot, give it a little stir to mix everything up, and place the lid on top. Voila; that's it! Cook it on high for 3-4 hours, or if you've got time to spare, cook it on low for 6-8 hours.

Pairing Suggestions
I plan on serving the chicken on a bed of whole wheat angel hair pasta with a homemade Greek yogurt Alfredo sauce, and one of my favorite sides of all time, Parmesan zucchini. Recipes for both of these delicious sides can be found on the My Favorite Recipes page above.

Follow Your Faves!
Follow my Nutrish & Delish board on Pinterest to stay connected to all of my healthy recipes and fitness tips! Happy Cooking :)