Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Strawberries and summer! They go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cereal, and scrambled eggs and ketchup! Ok...maybe not everyone agrees with the last one. Don't knock it til you've tried it!! Anywho...back to strawberries! How about some delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Bites?!

These are my new favorite summer snack! So easy, so tasty, and so healthy! 

All you need is Fiber One Original cereal, fat free cream cheese, vanilla, sweetener, and of course strawberries!

You can also use graham crackers or any other type of cereal you like! 

Start by cutting the tops off the strawberries and rinsing them well.  

I am not a germ-a-phob my any means, but I always wash my fruit extra good.  I always picture all the crazy old ladies opening the strawberry containers and squeezing the berries looking for the best package...

 Next, take a knife and hollow out the strawberries.  

You can leave most of the strawberry, just make a nice little hole for some creamy filling.

Speaking of creamy filling...

This is so simple to make.  Just mix together some fat free cream cheese, vanilla, and sweetener if you want.  You could also add some cocoa powder or cinnamon to make some crazy flavored creamy filling!

We also need to make the "crust" part of the strawberry cheesecake bites.  I love using the Fiber One Cereal but use your imagination and grind up whatever you like!

I threw in one sweetener too.  Just add your cereal to a blender and get it nice and fine.  

 All ready to assemble!!!

Silly me...using a white bowl to show white cream cheese filing...Oh Kim...

 Just spoon a little of the filling into the hollowed out strawberry.

I usually stuff them pretty good!! The crust needs something to hold on to so it's ok if the cream cheese is sticking out a bit.

Dip into your crust...

And there ya have it!! Easy peasy strawberry squeezy!!! Ok, doesn't flow off the tongue quite so well...

How awesome do those look!!!

 The best part is that this whole plate is only 120 calories!! I picked the biggest strawberries too!

Feeling crazy?!

You can dip these in all sorts of things!! Chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts, coconut...

What is it about sprinkles that make everything look so fantastic!?

So pretty and colorful!

How amazing would these look sitting out at a picnic, BBQ, or party?!

I think for the 4th of July I am going to make them and dip in blue sprinkles!! Red, white, and blue!!

That first bite is perfection! 

They are cold, creamy, and sweet! Yum!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

• 6-8 strawberries (148g)
• 2 T fat free cream cheese (66g)
• 1 T Fiber One Original cereal (7g)
• 1/2 t vanilla 
• sweetener to taste

1. Cut tops off strawberries and rinse.

2. With a knife, cut out the middle of the strawberries. Set aside.

3. Add cereal and sweetener to blender grind it up til it is very fine. Set aside. 

4. Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, and sweetener.  

5. Fill strawberries with cream cheese and dip in cereal.

6. Eat! Refrigerate any leftovers in a tupperware.

For 6 Bites - 120 calories

1g Fat

22g Carb

9g Protein

P28 Review

Ok, I have really been missing out!! Why did it take me so long to try P28 products?! I stumbled upon this company a while back.  They have high protein foods such as bagels, flatbread, regular bread, and peanut butter.  As a vegetarian, I sometimes struggle to get enough protein so I was really excited when I discovered these goodies.

I looked into the background of this company and loved their story!! It was developed by 3 brothers and their trainer/nutritionist.  The brothers were in the bakery business and used to be overweight and out of shape.  You should see them now! Wow!! They didn't want to give up bread (who would?!) so their trainer became their partner in developing these wonderful products!! 

The company was so amazing and sent me some things to try! 

I didn't know what to eat first!

There was 5 different peanut butters.

Peanut butter, signature blend, banana raisin, white chocolate, and almond butter.

Also, three different high protein bread products!

I LOVE carbs so having carbs that are also high in protein is so awesome.  Flatbread, sandwich bread, and a bagel.  The bagel and the flatbread both had 28 grams of protein in them!! That is without anything else on them.  One slice of bread has 14 grams or protein.  You could make a seriously high protein sandwich with two pieces of this bread!

I decided to try the flat bread first.  This thing is HUGE! I took half and spread the regular peanut butter all over it. 

The entire flat bread is only 260 calories with 7g fat, 27g carb, and 28g protein.

How good does that look?

Remember, that is just half of the flat bread!!! 

I couldn't wait to take a bite.

So good!!! It has so much flavor! Perfect paired with the peanut butter. 

Ok, now for the other half...

Peanut butter roll up.  I liked it even better this way.  The bread is nice and soft so it rolls up easily.  Not like some of those low carb, low fat flat breads that are hard and stiff. The almond butter was great with this. 

For breakfast the next day I couldn't wait to try the whole wheat bagel.  Bagels are absolutely one of my favorite foods!  Especially bagels with fat free cream cheese.  

Nailed it!! 

The nutritional facts are crazy on this! Only 260 calories.  

7F 25C 28P

I have never seen any bagels with those kind of numbers.

The bagel is so soft! It has just the right amount of chewiness too.  It is a very hearty bagel with oatmeal on top and sunflower seeds throughout it. 

This breakfast kept me full and happy all morning :)

It would make a really great egg sandwich! I am sure it would be good with some cheese and lunchmeat too.  Of course it would taste great with some P28 peanut butter!

I knew exactly what I was going to have for lunch.

Pb&J!! My all time favorite!

I used the regular P28 peanut butter for this and it was delicious! Add a little sugar free strawberry jelly and I was in heaven.  The bread has a similar (and amazing) taste and texture as the bagel.  Very soft and slightly chewy.  The brothers did not sacrifice the flavor for healthiness at all when they came up with this!

One slice of bread is only 130 calories with 3.5 grams of fat, 12 grams of carb, and 14 grams of protein! So not only is the bread super high protein, but the peanut butter packs an extra 14 grams! I could eat this for lunch everyday. 

Now, what to do with all the rest of the peanut butter...

So smooth and creamy!! Each serving is about 200 calories and 13F 7C 14P.  They vary a bit, but have very similar macros.

One of my favorite combos!

Loved it!!

Some people think this one is a bit odd...but carrots and peanut butter are out of this world!

Or carrots and almond butter :)

Everybody loves this combo!!

Oh goodness! With the banana raisin flavor! These were gone in like .2 seconds!

Any possibly the most fun...

Animal crackers with the white chocolate peanut butter.  The white chocolate is my all time favorite.  

This little lion was in heaven before I bit his head off...

So good!

So, if you have not yet tried P28 products, you need to go here and order some right now! You will not be disappointed!  I am just sad that I didn't try their stuff earlier! I have not seen these items in any stores around me yet, but I know they are in some grocery and specialty stores.  You can type in your zip code here and see if they are sold at locations close to you. What are you waiting for!?

Pumpkin Protein Cookies

Cookies for breakfast?! Don't mind if I do! With these cookies, you won't even feel guilty about it, because they are so good for you! In fact, they are better for you than ALOT of breakfasts out there!! Better than most cereals, bagels, muffins (except maybe my Carrot Peach Muffins), and protein bars.  They are packed with protein and taste amazing! Great for breakfast on the go.

And in case you were wondering...yes, you can eat all 8 yourself.  Only 260 calories for all of them!

Let's get our ingredients!

MTS Vanilla whey, oat bran, canned pumpkin, egg substitute, fat free cream cheese, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little sweetener if you like :)

**Oat flour or any flour can be used instead of oat bran**

**No canned pumpkin?? Try applesauce, mashed banana, or sweet potato!**

If you haven't tried MTS whey in baking yet you can order it here. Use code KH30 and save 30%

This is another one of those super duper easy recipes!  A bowl and a spoon will work just fine. Throw all ingredients into that bowl and mix til smooth.  

I usually add an extra pinch of cinnamon at this point.  Just to be sure they are cinnamon-y enough!! Adjust to your liking.

If you have not yet invested in a silicon baking mat, go do it! NOW! No, like right now...put the batter in the fridge and drive to Bed Bath and Beyond. I am sure you have one of those coupons lying around...

Ok, now that you're back, let's use that mat and plop our batter on there.  

If you were too lazy to get a mat, parchment will do fine.  

You will probably get 8 cookies. Make them as big or as small as you desire!

Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.  I always like to under bake my cookies a tiny bit so they are nice and soft!!! If you like crunchier cookies, simply bake longer! As if I really needed to tell you that...

Oh, I forgot to tell you to buy a sweet cooling rack when you were at the store...My bad...

It's ok, you can go get one later! You want to eat these cookies when they are nice and warm!!

I will enjoy mine with a nice cup of coffee in my favorite "Wonderful Nanny" mug I got from a wonderful friend.

That's right, all 8 cookies just for me! What a glorious way to start the day!

Of course, you could share...each cookie is only about 32 calories.

Or you could do something super awesome!!!! Take 2 cookies, mix together a little cream cheese and cinnamon, and make a cookie sandwich!!! Better than an oatmeal cream pie! Actually, why not make 4 cookie sandwiches?!

Or you could stack them into a tower of cookies!

Hope you enjoy!!! Don't forget to share this recipe on all those social things you use!

Pumpkin Protein Cookies

1 scoop MTS Vanilla whey (30g)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (120g)

2 T oatbran (sub any flour) (10g)

3 T egg substitute (46g)

2 T fat free cream cheese (33g)

2 t cinnamon

1/2 t baking powder

dash salt

sweetener to taste

1. Mix everything together in a bowl.
2. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
3. Eat the whole batch!

Makes 8 cookies - about 32 calories each

260 calories for the whole batch!

4g Fat

22g Carb

34g Protein

**What sweet treat did you always hope for in your lunchbox as a kid??

I LOVED my Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls!!! I would peel all the chocolate off first, unroll it, eat the icing, then eat the cake part.

Grocery Haul

I decided to do a little bit different kind of post today.  I thought it would be fun to show you some of the stuff I bought at the grocery store.  I watch a lot of youtube videos and really like watching the grocery hauls.  I don't know why, but I love seeing what other people buy at the store.  Sometimes I get new ideas or see fun products I never even knew existed!  So today I am going to share some of my finds with you.  Maybe you will see something you want to try?!

Now I don't want to make this totally boring, so I am not going to show you my whole shopping trip. Yes, I bought things like carrots, apples, celery...but that's pretty boring.  I just picked out some of the fun stuff as well as some of the stuff I ALWAYS get.  Here goes!

These were my "fun" items from the store.  Pretty much everything came from Giant Eagle, but I also made a quick stop at Aldi.  For those of you not from the 'burgh, Giant Eagle is our normal grocery store and Aldi is like budget shopping place.  I absolutly love Aldi!!! There are certain things I will buy only if I get them there because they are so much cheaper!! Just remember to bring a quarter and your own grocery bags.  Yes, you need a quarter to get a cart...but you get it back when you return it! Pretty smart if you ask me! They don't have to pay someone to round up all the carts.

Let's start with the drinks.  A staple lately is Swiss Miss diet hot chocolate mix.  Only 25 calories a cup! To drink it "normally" I just mix it with water and a few Splenda.  When I am feeling crazy (which is most days lately...) I make a super delicious adult drink with it! I will probably make a post about it because it is that good!! Let's just say a healthy serving of whipped vodka is involved :)

I am also totally in love with these water flavorers... I think flavor-ers is a word?? Anywho...there are so many different kinds and flavors! I don't really drink much water but it is much easier with these.  The watermelon Kool-Aid is my favorite so far.  Tastes just like a watermelon Jolly Rancher!! I am def getting in my 8 cups with these guys. 

I consider myself vegan-ish and don't really drink milk.  If I am out somewhere and it is the only option, I may put a splash in my coffee, but other than that I don't use it.  I DO use almond milk a lot though!! I don't just drink it or put it on cereal though.  I use it in baking all the time.  I think it has a much better flavor than regular milk and is only 30 calories per cup! 

I call these my "fun flavor adders" because they add fun flavor to all sorts of things!!! You might be surprised how many things you can use these on. 

PB2 is amazing!!! It is basically de-fatted peanut butter.  It is a powder that you mix with water.  Only 45 calories for 2 tablespoons.  I do use is as regular peanut butter, but I also mix it with yogurt, put it on cereal, sprinkle some on pancakes, bake with it...the possibilities are endless.  

The ranch seasoning is also so good.  There are other flavors but this one is the best.  I love to sprinkle it on raw veggies.  So much flavor and so little calories, I don't even count them. 

Chocolate syrup!! I don't usually get Walden Farms cuz it's pretty pricey.  I had a coupon so it wasn't too much.  Walden Farms is a brand that makes calorie free stuff.  The taste is actually pretty good! Gotta love the Hershy's sugar free syrup too.  The diabetic hubby uses it sometimes too.  They go great with that adult beverage I was talking about :) Super yummy on greek yogurt too.

Speaking of greek yogurt...LOVE it! So much better than regular yogurt.  It's so thick and creamy and has tons of protein.  I just buy the nonfat plain kind cuz I always add fun things to it.  PB2, chocolate syrup, maple syrup, cinnamon, sugar free jelly, frozen fruit...I also use it in baking.  You can also use it basically anywhere you would use sour cream.  Great on a baked potato or to make a dip.  

I especially love it with this Fiber One cereal.  There is a chocolate kind too but I like this one more. I  never eat cereal with milk like normal person...I either eat it plain as a snack, or with greek yogurt!

Rice cakes!! And NO, rice cakes don't just have to be a boring diet food! I always have a bag or two of these in the house.  You can do so much with them!! I don't ever just eat them plain. You can do a PB2 and sugar free jelly sandwich with them.  Try topping them with some salsa and fat free cheese. Mix together greek yogurt and cinnamon and spread that on them. Another favorite combo is fat free cream cheese, refried beans, salsa, and shredded cheese :) Oh and don't forget banana slices and some of that chocolate syrup! I could go on...

These little cinnamon ones are super tasty too.  A little more expensive but so worth it.  I love anything cinnamon so these are a hit with me.

Did you really think I would go to the store and not buy MORE protein bars?! Ha! I think it is like an addiction....no matter how many I have at home, I always come home with a few more.  The best part is I always get coupons so I basically got my whole stash for free!

I have had all these ones before and they are all winners!! I think there will be another protein bar review coming up soon... I highly recommend all these :)

In the first picture you may have noticed two cans of carrots hiding in the background.  Well, I didn't just buy 2 cans...Yes, I love canned carrots! And why the heck not?! Canned vegetables are so easy and inexpensive! Plus they last forever so you don't have to worry about rotten veggies.  I will make a special trip to Aldi for these because they are half the price of the name brand ones.  

I am loving my Carrot Cake Pancakes lately so I am going through these like crazy.  If you haven't tried them yet you are really missing out! I will also just heat these up and top them with sugar free maple syrup.  Yes, I said maple syrup! Don't knock it til you try it! I am going to experiment with a carrot cake muffin this weekend too.  Hopefully they turn out and I will post the recipe.

Last but certainly not least...my favorite sweet treat!!!!

And when I say favorite, I mean ALL TIME FAVORITE! These are so much better than regular Reese's pieces.  I don't really know why because they are basically the same thing, but they are just so good!! I will def be stocking up on these before Easter is over.  These may not be the healthiest thing for you, but I struggle getting enough fat in my diet so these really help.  Plus they are freakin delicious!! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this post!! Maybe I will do these every once in a while??

**What is one thing you always get at the store??

**Are you a bargain shopper or do you not even look at the prices??