Healthy Snacks and Fancy Salad!

Hey there! Man, it has been a little while, hasn't it?? The holidays totally snatched up all my extra time I use for blogging, but seeing so many family members was worth it! :) I hope your holidays were as wonderful as mine, did you get anything awesome?? I know I did! A Kindle Fire HD was one of my surprise presents that I'm still figuring out all the things I can do with it! I also got a bread maker, which I'm super pumped about! My first attempt at using it overnight was pretty bad (I swear I did everything right...who knows what happened?!), so I'll try again and post some pictures of my success, if I have any ;)

Rather than a recipe, I have a few healthy snacks & items to share with you! I just went grocery shopping Thursday to restock and wanted to share a few of my favorites for midday snacks (or lunch, as it seems to end up) and such!

1. Almond Breeze unsweetened almondmilk coconutmilk, vanilla! Since I love both almondmilk and coconutmilk, I knew the combination had to be delicious, and it is! I'm excited to try it in some recipes, like my chai tea latte (see former post!) and maybe even on cereal as a little treat! Yumsville. Plus if you're watching your calories, its only 45 calories per cup and has the medium chain fatty acids that you hear all about these days.

2. Artichoke Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Aldi! The hummus at Aldi is a mere $1.49, as opposed to the $2.99 and $3.99 price tags of the hummus at Hy-Vee, and it is delish!! Try it on sliced red and yellow peppers, carrots, or even as a dip if you've got to bring something to a New Year's Eve party! Sprinkle it with a few tomatoes and cucumbers and its perfect :)

3. Edamame! Its a classic (at least for me) but so good every time! Aldi has it super cheap right now in the frozen section, but you can always find it at Hy-Vee year round. It cooks in boiling water in 5-7 minutes and is ready to pop out of the shell and into your mouth! Plus it has 8 grams of protein per serving so it fills you up a bit. Niiiiice. :)


4. Apple and peanut butter or almond butter! Another oldie, but its the perfect snack! Slice up an apple and dip it into that yummy peanut or almond butter to get 2 servings of fruit plus some healthy fat and a little protein into your afternoon. Please and thank you!
(http://blueyonder.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/nuts-to-you.html)
Okay, I lied. I do have a recipe for you! I whipped up a deluxe salad for lunch today and it was so yummy that I want to share! Always modifiable (add or remove veggies as you please), the egg and avocado make this creamy and takes it approximately 12 levels above your standard salad ;)

E.A.T. Salad!


1 hard boiled egg, sliced into little pieces
10 edamame pods, shelled
2/3 tomato sliced into 1/2 inch slices then cubed
1/6 cucumber, sliced into 1/2 inch slices then cubed
1/2 avocado, sliced into little cubes
1/2-1 cup spinach, torn into smaller pieces*
1 tsp reduced fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing
feta cheese
paprika, to taste
pepper, to taste

*If you want this to be more like a normal salad, put in 1 cup of spinach. If you want the texture to be a little creamier/avocado-y (that's not a real word, I know), only put in half a cup.*

Boil your egg and being cooking your edamame While those are cooking, slice up your tomato, cucumber and avocado. Toss into a bowl, adding the spinach, vinaigrette and a little feta cheese (I just use a bit but you can adjust that depending on how much you want). When the edamame is done, shell and toss into the salad. Slice the hard boiled egg on top and sprinkle with paprika and pepper. Mix it all together and eat it with a big smile on your face, like I did! :)

That's all for today, I'm off to spend time with my hubby :) Have a fabulous weekend!!

--KQ