Oats 'n Honey Granola Bars

A healthy and low calorie snack, yet so delicious and fun, that my 2 and a half year old son and I enjoyed it equally! :)

Makes: 18-20 bars

Calories: About 125 per bar

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

1 cup flour

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup raisins, chocolate chips or any kind of nuts you prefer (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and then add the oil and honey. Mix well, preferably with your hands (otherwise it may crumble), until it is blended well and sticky. Add the raisins, chocolate chips or nuts. Firmly press evenly into a shallow baking dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes till it seems a bit puffy and still soft. Do not wait for it to get too brown or they will be too hard. Take out of the oven and cut into bars while still soft. Wait for it to cool and harden completely before serving.

Chocolate-Banana Wontons

Yes, i know... another dessert! But I can't help it. I made this recently and it was a big hit. Again, its not super low on calories but nothing over the top either. And as promised, super easy to make!

Makes: 6

Ingredients:

18 square wonton wrappers

1 banana, diced

5-6 tablespoons chocolate bits (I used crumbled Flake, but you can use whichever you have on hand or even chocolate chips)

1 tbsp powdered sugar (optional, for sprinkling/dusting)

Preheat over to 350 F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray (to cut down on the oil/spray, use parchment or wax paper and then lightly coat with spray).

In a bowl, combine bananas and chocolate.

Take 3 wonton wrappers and place on top of each other on a flat surface. Drop 1 tsp of the banana-chocolate mixture in the middle of the wrappers. Dip your finger in water, moisten the edges of the square and fold over to form a triangle. Then, press to seal. Make 5 more such triangles.

Place the wontons on the baking sheet and bake till golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Dust powdered sugar over wontons before serving warm so that the chocolate inside is still gooey.

Serving suggestion: I served these with strawberries and bananas on the side. I also cooked up a sauce with cut up strawberries and bananas with a little water and sugar and added a splash of cream after it cooled (but it's just as great without it).

Indulge! :)

Cottage Cheese Cake

I LOVE dessert! I love it as much as I love my food. All the good desserts in the world are really not too healthy unless, of course, you eat fruit. But for me, fruit is not really dessert (more a snack) and I'm always on the look out for healthIER options than your average cake. This cheese cake is very easy to make and not as fattening as cheese cakes can be!

(Sorry for such an unimpressive photo, but I was out of strawberries to garnish the cake with) :D

Makes: About 25 pieces

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/4 cup butter, melted (can be reduced to a little more than 1/8 of a cup)

1 cup light digestive biscuit crumbs or graham cracker crumbs (both work well)

1 tbsp sugar

Filling:

2 cups fat free cottage cheese

1/2 cup skim milk

2 eggs

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 tsp strawberry jelly granules (optional, to give color)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Melt butter in the pan you want to use (I usually use an 8-inch square pan so i can cut the cake into perfect square bite-size pieces, but you can use a round pan too). Stir in the biscuit crumbs and 1 tbsp sugar. Pat onto bottom and a bit on the sides of the dish. Set aside.

In a blender, combine all the ingredients for the filling and blend until smooth. Pour over crust and bake in the oven for 35-60 minutes (or until filling is firm). Cool completely, cut into equal squares and serve with a garnish of fresh strawberries.