I don’t dare call these "toasted" as I really just simply warm them in a skillet but let me tell you they totally hit the spot. If you are looking for a more traditional Roasted Chickpeas recipe click here for Kalyn’s. Mine are a dumb down version of hers with less spices and not as much crunch. I like them both ways this one works for me in a pinch.

• 1 15oz can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• non-cookong spray

Mix all the dry spices together.

Spray a non-stick skillet with the non stick cooking spray. Add the beans and place over medium high heat. Cook them untouched for 1-2 minutes. Then sprinkle half the spice mixture over top tossing the skillet to coat.

Cook untouched for another 1-2 minutes (they may start popping on you) and then sprinkle the remaining spice mixture on top. Toss around in the pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the beans are nice and warm and the spices are toasted.

Don’t do what I did and eat half of the before they were done. I looked up and caught a reflection of myself in the microwave. I had to snap a pic.

Split into two servings immediately so you don’t go nuts. I almost ate the whole batch. :)

Anyway I used Vitalicious’s Deep Chocolate Vita Muffin Mix. I’m a fan of these mixes. Their ingredient lists aren’t perfect but they are one of the few whole wheat mixes I can find.

Instead of making muffins, the little guy and I made a loaf. Like a chocolate bread. But of course we couldn’t leave it alone. We added some simple ingredients to jazz it up a bit.

Both the little guy and I LOVED it. Actually you should see it now. He’s been picking at it all day. I had to yell at him to stop stealing bites. The husband tried it. Said he liked it and will never have another bite again. If it doesn’t come out of a box he’s simply uninterested. Don’t get me started. lol

Anyway, here’s what we did.

• 1/4 cup raw almonds (30g)
• 1/4 cup dried cherries (40g)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 and 1/4 cups of water
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 package of Vitalicious Deep Chocolate VitaMuffin mix
• non-stick spray and a bit of flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Spray a loaf pan with non stick spray and coat with a thin layer of flour. We want to avoid sticking.

Weigh out the almonds and cherries

Chop them to make smaller pieces so everyone gets a bite.

In a large bowl whisk the water, egg whites and extract until bubbles form.

Add the bag of mix and combine well.

Pour the batter in the loaf pan and enjoy a few licks off the spoon. :)

Bake for about 60 minutes until the center is solid to the touch.

Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes and then run a knife along the sides before popping out.

Here’s close up. I was a little picture happy. Can you tell? :)

oh heck. Here’s a few more. :)

If you are interested you can order VitaMixes online by clicking here. Be sure to use the Code RonisWeigh for 10%. Vitalicious sponsors Roni’s Weigh and sends me products to review now and then.

Oh! and if you are a VitaTop fan they are having a contest. Enter to win a year supply!

Anyway, I wanted to make a quick brunch and I happened to have a can of refried beans opened from some quesadillas I made on Thursday with the little guy. You guys know me and my pizza addiction so it shouldn’t be that much so this idea shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.

I only made one today and the toddler asked for a bite. He said he didn’t like yet he kept asking for more. You be the judge. lol

• 1 whole wheat/low carb tortilla (I made a list of 1 point tortillas here)
• 1/4 cup fat free re-fried beans (60g)
• 2 tbsp of our favorite salsa (30g)
• pinch of kosher salt
• about 1/4 cup diced peppers (I used a mix of red and green)
• 1 oz mozzarella cheese (or Mexican cheese blend– I just didn’t have any :)
• Sprinkle chili powder and dried cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Pierce the tortilla with a knife a few times and bake for about 2 minutes until crispier.

Mix the beans, salsa and salt together. Smear it on the tortilla. top with the peppers and cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes.

After pulling it out of the oven sprinkle with chili powder and cilantro.

Nutritional information will depend on the tortilla you use. Approximate nutritional information based on the brand I used.

Regardless, I LOVED this. The flavor combo was tasty and they were so much fun to make together. However, even though the little guy loves pomegranates plain after awhile he got sick of them in the pudding. When I asked him what he wanted to call our little creation he said. . . "Vanilla Pudding cups with Oranges and Pomegranates but I don’t really like the Pomegranates."

He cracks me up! Here’s what we did. . .

• 1 1oz package of sugar free vanilla pudding
• 1 11oz can of mandarin oranges packed in their own juice
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arials
• 1 1/2 cups of skim milk

Drain the mandarin oranges reserving the juice. It should be about 1/2 cup. Adjust the milk amount to total 2 cups of liquid when added to the juice.

Whisk the juice, milk and pudding for two minutes. Add in the oranges and pomegranates reserving some to use as a garnish on top. (we made faces SO much fun!)

Let set in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Here’s a few more pics. I think I may be creating a little food blogger. What do you think? :)

Sorry, I’m a little excited. I whipped up this chocolate dipping sauce as an experiment for my waffles this morning and it came out better then I expected. It will be awesome as a dip for strawberries. Here’s the story. . .

The little guy and I decided on waffles this morning. So I whipped up a batch of quick whole grain banana pancake mix as I had some overripe bananas on hand. We use this recipe in the waffle iron all the time. While cooking, I glanced online for other ideas to use up the rest of the brown bananas and I came across Thinking Outside the Loaf: What To Do With Overripe Bananas. They talk about melting them in the microwave. Before I even finished the article, I jumped up and made the chocolate sauce.

It wasn’t as smooth as I thought it would be but I’m thinking my banana wasn’t actually ripe enough. Either way, it was absolute chocolaty yumminess. I sat in the kitchen dipping waffle piece after waffle piece wondering why I haven’t thought of this before.

• 1 overripe banana
• 1 tsp Unsweetened Special Dark Hershey’s Cocoa
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Peel the banana and place in a microwave safe dish.

Nuke it for a minute. It will look like this.

mix it up. . .

Add the cocoa and vanilla. If it’s too thick add water at an ounce at a time. I used 1oz. Pop back into the microwave for 30 second.

Whisk to help remove any lumps then dip away! :)

The little guy wanted nothing to do with it. He enjoyed his waffled with low sugar jelly. Honestly, I didn’t force the issue as I kind of wanted it all for myself. ;~P

Here’s nutrition information for the whole batch.

I love the combo of cinnamon, chocolate and strawberries. I also love that the soy milk provides all the sweetness. It makes it super simple!

Unfortunately I made this one after the little guy was in bed so no other taste testers then me. The husband is NOT a smoothie guy, of course. ;)

Here’s what I did. . .

• 1 cup light chocolate Soy Milk
• 1 cup frozen strawberries (134g)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend all ingredients. I used my bullet and had to shake a bit, it was nice and thick. :)

Nutritonal Infomration may vary based on your soy milk brand but overall it’s going to be a 3 WWP.

I actually made this up yesterday, snapped the most awesome shots of the little guy eating it and then accidently deleted them off the camera. :(

So I decided to make it again this morning. It came out even better when I discovered dipping graham crackers in it was a little taste of heaven. Like dessert chips-n-dip. I’m seriously thinking of putting it like that for a New Years party we’re having.

The little guy liked it, although I’m thinking it was more the crackers then the yogurt. Either way, I got some good stuff in him this morning. ;)

• 1/2 cup canned pureed pumpkin (120g)
• 1/2 cup non-fat yogurt (I used greek) (115g)
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together.

Viola! :)

I used Trader Joe’s Old Fashion Graham (our favorite and the only whole grain ones I know of) crackers as my "spoon".

Nutritional is only for the yogurt, not the crackers.

Well, I’m happy to say, the answer is YES!

I can’t believe it worked! Even the husband liked them! At least he said he did after his one big ole bite. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it! I almost ate the whole batch in one sitting. How does he do that?!?

Anyway, this is what I did. I’m working from memory hear so bear with me.

• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 tbsp honey (5g)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 small apples diced – about a cup (I used gala and left the skins on)
• 8 won ton wrappers

Preheat the oven to 375

In a small pot whisk the water, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour over medium hear. Add the apple. Stir to coat everything. The liquid should just boil and start to thicken.

Drop the heat down to medium low and cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes until the apple just softens.

Meanwhile, spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray press the won ton wrappers in to form the crusts.

Once the apples are done. They should look like this…

Scoop the apple mixture evenly into the wontons. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges start to brown and get crispy.

I didn’t have any but boy would these be great with a dab of frozen vanilla yogurt or cool whip! Here’s a little before and after cooking…

I also remember asking her why in the world they were called egg creams when we didn’t use any eggs or cream to make them. I’m not quite sure she knew and after a little research I’m not sure anyone really does.

Tonight I just had a craving for one and while making it I realized… what a fun lite treat! Especially with a few simple substitutions.

• 1 tbsp lite chocolate syrup (35g)
• 4 oz Skim milk
• 6 oz of unflavored seltzer (although cherry would be good!) :)

Put all ingredients in a glass and mix well until you get a frothy top.

Unfortunately my seltzer wasn’t to fresh so I didn’t get many bubbles but it tasted just like I remembered and it’s been at least 20 years since I had one.

By the way I have gotten a new camera, Canon EOS Rebel T1i. I’m still learning how to use it so bear with my as my pictures may not be up to snuff for a few weeks. :)

Oh! and I have to say… the kid was NOT a fan. I think he was expecting regular chocolate milk so the “fuzziness” through him off. lol

So tonight while watching TV and craving something, anything. I decided to pass up the husband’s chocolate chip cookies and the kid’s Devil Dogs to make my own snack. I find that when I take the few extra minutes to actually make something and consciously include fruits or veggies, I am ultimately more satisfied then if I would have just grabbed a bag of chips or break open a box of cookies.

Tonight this is what I did but remember the options are really endless. You can fill these things with all your fav veggies, beans, chicken, anything! So yummy!

• 1 oz/28g of Baked Scoops (I got 13 when I weighed them out)
• 3 pepper stripes (I used 1 yellow and 2 green)
• About 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves chopped
• 1 tbsp ready made salsa
• 1/2 oz fancy shredded mexican cheese blend.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Fill the scoops with the veggies, dab with a bit of salsa and top with cheese.

Bake for 5-6 minutes.

Here’s how I built mine…

So I whipped this up when I got home from work today and I just enjoyed the frozen treat. It was delicious, refreshing and fun! Unfortunately the little guy’s in bed or I’d have him taste test. I’ll let you know in an update whether or not he likes it. Regardless, he had fun helping me make it. :)

• 4 kiwis with skin removed
• 1/2 cup 100% apple juice (4oz)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils (87g)

Puree the kiwi and apple juice in a blender until smooth.

Pour into small tupperware dish. Like the quart side Gladware Soup and Salad containers.

Stir in Pomegranate,

Place in freezer for 3-4 hours.

Update: It’s the next day and the ice froze overnight. I pulled it out and let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes before scooping out for the little guy. His reaction? Well this series of pictures says it all..

It is a little tart. lol I like it but you may want to add some of your favorite sweetener when you blend the kiwis.

Update 2: Right out of the freezer and 30 seconds in the microwave.. perfect ! :)

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

• 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries (75g)
• 1 medium banana
• 1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk (4oz)
• about 6 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients until smooth!

You can’t go wrong! :)