Author: Lauren

What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: I opted for a quick breakfast this morning because I was running late and forgot to pack my lunch the night before.  I whipped up my Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie.  Filled with a great mix of carbohydrates, protein and fat, this was a great way to start my day and kept me full until lunch time!

Lunch:  Thursday, we used our crock pot to make this delicious chili.  This is my go to chili because it has a variety of beans AND lean turkey meat and it tastes great!  Since we made such a huge batch, I took some for lunch and topped it with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and a handful of whole grain tortilla chips.  YUM!

Snack 1:  1 tablespoon of sunflower seed butter and a banana. This is my idea of a quick snack that I can grab on the go when I’m packing my lunch in the morning.  I love topping fruit (or granola bars) with nut butters to add some protein to my snacks or breakfasts.

Snack 2:  After literally sprinting to Penn Station to make my train home, I met my best friend, Jenn, for some Starbucks before dinner.  I wasn’t in the mood for coffee (shocking!) and was super thirsty, so I chose to get the Teavana® Shaken Iced Passion Tango™ Tea….and chugged some water.

Dinner:  Friday Funday was cancelled again since my cousin is going to Australia for a few months and we wanted to have a goodbye dinner for him.  We went to my FAVORITE Mexican place on Long Island, Chichimecas.  I always get the same thing when I go there, the smoked chicken quesadillas.  They are, honestly, the most amazing quesadillas I’ve ever had.  Plus they are so filling, I’m usually only able to finish half of them, so I get extras for later on in the week.  Side note: I realize you may be seeing a trend here.  I have eaten quesadillas every weekend since I started posting.  I realized that on Friday when we decided to go to Chichimecas, but I couldn’t say no to my favorite thing on their menu.  Next weekend will be quesadilla free!  Maybe.

Saturday

Breakfast: We stayed over my parent’s house on Friday night, so I woke up and had breakfast before my run.  A delicious omelet with peppers, onions and cheddar cheese with ½ of a whole wheat everything bagel.  Whenever I go to Long Island, I have to have a bagel on at least one of the days because they are just so good!  We started going to a new bagel place recently and they are MASSIVE, so usually half of one is good for me.  After this, I got some work done and went for a 5 mile run on the bike path, one of my favorite places to run.

Snack:  I was having an early dinner, so I grabbed a Health Warrior Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Bar for my post run snack.  I has this and an iced coffee, with skim milk and 1 sugar packet, before my mom and I got relaxing pedicures.

Dinner:  Cheesecake Factory with Jenn!  We started with the Thai Chicken Wraps and they were awesome!  Delicious grilled chicken with an assortment of veggie toppings, a drizzle of thai peanut sauce and HUGE lettuce leaves as wraps.  I ordered off their Skinnylicious menu for dinner and got their avocado and turkey sandwich with a side salad.  I also decided to remove half of the bun because I had some bread prior to our appetizer getting to the table.

Dessert: Godiva Cheese Cake and a cappucino.  I don’t go to Cheesecake Factory often, so when I do I always get a cheesecake and this is my favorite cheesecake of all time.  The best part about it, is that it is so rich that you can only have a few bites at once, so you end up having 1 slice of cheesecake last you a whole week or more!

Sunday

Breakfast: On Sunday, I got up early to do a 4 mile run and then I went to a barre class at JC Barre Studio.  Barre is my new favorite thing, I just started it this month and it’s so addicting!  After my workouts, Bernie and I headed to brunch with a dietitian friend of mine and her husband.  There are some great choices for brunch in Jersey City, but we didn’t plan ahead and went to 4 places that were either not open yet or booked!  Finally, we decided on South House and just waited outside for a few minutes until they opened at 12 PM.  It was a great choice!  I had their Migas Tacos with queso on top.  It comes with three, good sized tacos filled with eggs, avocado, and tortillas crisps, topped with queso.  They were AWESOME and I was full for hours!  I cannot wait to go again.

Dinner:  SUPER BOWL FUN!  I’m the first to admit that on holidays, I tend to indulge a little more than usual.  I think life (and eating) is all about balance and sometimes, that means you over eat a little and just restart your healthy eating the next day!  In our house the Super Bowl is like a holiday, we all love football and we all love eating.  I made homemade soft pretzels stuffed with ham and cheddar cheese, taco dip and brownie bites.  Our friends brought buffalo chicken dip, assorted cheeses and crackers, guacamole and cupcakes.  My plate was filled with a mix of multigrain pita chips, cheese, buffalo chicken dip, the soft pretzels, guacamole and half a cupcake.  I also had a beer on the side.

There ya have it!  A weekend full of delicious eats with a dietitian.  Stay tuned for next weekend’s eats.

What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  Check out my weekly weekend roundup posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: If you tuned in to my Weekend Roundup last week, you know I started my day off with a delicious bowl of oatmeal filled with sunflower seed butter, strawberries and a few dark chocolate chips, plus a cup of coffee with skim milk and one teaspoon of sugar.  This Friday was the same! The only difference was that I used frozen strawberries, instead of fresh, which is why the picture doesn’t look as cute. Frozen fruit can work just as well in oatmeal and yogurt. When I make my oatmeal with frozen fruit, I mix it in while it’s still cooking, so it melts down right into my oatmeal. If I use it with yogurt, I like to leave it in overnight, so it melts down into the yogurt with all the delicious juices. I took Friday off from working out again because I had a long week and an even longer weekend ahead, so I knew I needed my extra rest.

Lunch:  Since I ran out of turkey this week, I decided to do a tuna sandwich instead. Usually I like my tuna with a touch of olive oil mayo, but when I went into the fridge to pull out the mayo, it wasn’t there! I guess we threw it out when we moved in October and I forgot. So, I improvised and used some Ken’s Balsamic with Honey Dressing instead. I piled the tuna and a few fresh lettuce leaves onto whole wheat bread and hoped for the best. It ended up being delicious! I’ll definitely be doing that again.

Snack:  2 tbsp of hummus and one serving of Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits. I’ve always been a huge Triscuit fan, but the Rosemary and Olive Oil ones are, by far, my favorite.  So delicious, and great paired with hummus or cheddar cheese. I took a short lunch time walk and got a small coffee from Starbucks with 1 pump of sugar free vanilla syrup, skim milk and ½ a packet of sugar since I needed a little extra boost.

Dinner:  Friday Funday was cancelled this week because I was volunteering for the 15th Annual Health and Wellness Conference for the Greater New York Dietetic Association and had to help set up on Friday.  Before the set up, I met up with an RD2Be friend of mine and we went to Just Salad. I got the Turkey Health Cobb with broccoli, pita chips and cucumbers added in. I have their reusable bowl so I get extra toppings for free and help the environment as well!  I love that they have a dietitian create their menu!

Saturday

Breakfast: I woke up early on Saturday to get a 4 mile run in before the conference. After my run, I had 1 cup of chocolate milk since I knew I wasn’t going to be able to eat breakfast until I got to the conference and I don’t usually like waiting more than half an hour after exercising to eat. Chocolate milk is a great mix of protein, carbs and fats, which makes it an awesome post workout snack. Once at the conference, I had Siggi’s 2% Coconut yogurt with Purely Elizabeth’s granola. This was my first time having a Siggi’s yogurt that was not made with skim milk, and it was great! So creamy and delicious, YUMMO!  I’m also not usually a fan of granola, but this granola, was amazing!

Lunch:  For lunch, we had so many options! I chose half of a whole wheat turkey wrap with cole slaw, roasted squash and zucchini, micro greens with a drizzle of dressing and a few cubs of cheddar cheese.

Snack: A good friend of mine came to the conference and afterwards, we decided to go get some dessert at Cookie Do NYC’s new location! We waited 45 minutes on line, but it was soooooo worth it! I got the Chocolate Dream flavor mixed with their Fluffernutter flavor. This shop uses specific ingredients that make their cookie dough completely safe to eat, which has made all my dreams come true 🙂 P.s. my eyes were wayyyy bigger then my stomach when I ordered. I ate about half and Bernie had the rest.

Dinner:  Hudson Restaurant week! I’m a huge fan of restaurant week because it lets me sample fare that I usually wouldn’t get at restaurants I go to. This Saturday, we decided to double date with friends of ours and check out Amelia’s Bistro in Jersey City. We started off with their amazing bread basket (best bread ever!) and their hummus that you get to mash yourself (check out my insta post of us mashing those delicious chick peas). I indulged in their Mango Mojito because it’s my favorite drink to get there. The deal gets you an appetizer, entrée and dessert. I started off with their flat bread topped with brussel sprouts, bacon and mozzarella cheese. Brussel sprouts have easily become my favorite veggie over the past year and this app did not disappoint. For dinner Bernie got butternut squash raviolis and I got the short rib with mashed sweet potato tots and – you guessed it – brussel sprouts! We split our meals so we could both try something new and of course, they were both AMAZING. I love Amelia’s on a regular day, but their restaurant week menu is ON POINT. For dessert, I ordered an apple crisp but ended up being too full and brought it home.

Sunday

Breakfast: Sunday was another early morning run since I had to get to Long Island early. After my run, I chowed down on the new ClifBar Chocolate Hazelnut nut butter filled bar since I knew I would be having brunch with my parents not long after, but still needed some fuel. I also had a small Starbucks coffee with 1 sugar and skim milk.

Brunch: After my appointment, we went to brunch at Cabo, a Mexican place in Rockville Centre. We started off with guac and chips. The guac was made table side and was sooo fresh! I ordered quesadillas made with spinach tortillas, chicken, black beans, tomatoes and cheese. They were great, but huge, so I ended up taking half home.

Snack:  2 tbsp of hummus and one serving of Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits.

Dinner:  Dinner was the leftover quesadillas since we were tired after the long weekend and didn’t feel like whipping anything up.

There ya have it!  A weekend full of delicious eats with a dietitian.  Stay tuned for next weekend’s eats.

Disclaimers:  The Clif Bar I discussed in this post was a free sample. I am part of the Siggi’s Ambassador program for health and wellness professionals.  As always, all opinions are my own.

Need a quick breakfast or brunch idea? I threw this together a few weekends ago and it was delicious! We had a green pepper and 2 sweet potatoes that were close to going bad in the fridge, so I decided to whip them into something fun for a quick breakfast for Bernie and me.  We chowed down on this dish with a side of fruit.  Yum!

I’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes! They can be baked, sautéed, mashed or spiralized and they can satisfy a sweet or salty craving. Chop them up and throw them in the oven with some olive oil and add your favorite savory seasonings for your own take on sweet potato fries or add cinnamon and nutmeg instead for a sweet side dish. They are a great way to get some vitamin A in your diet and if you leave the skin on, you add some extra fiber to your meal.

Red onions and peppers are my go to for so many of my meals, they are relatively inexpensive and easy to chop up and flavor. I add them to eggs, tacos and pasta dishes to increase my veggie intake for the day.

Finally, I love sautéing my dishes in Extra Virgin Olive Oil for some healthy fats and extra flavor.

Fried Egg with Sweet Potato Hash

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
• Olive oil spray
• Your favorite seasonings
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup red onion, chopped
• ½ cup green peppers, chopped
• 2 large eggs

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375⁰
• Dice sweet potato into 1-inch pieces.
• Spray a baking pan with olive oil, add diced sweet potatoes to the pan, spray sweet potatoes with olive oil and add seasonings of your choice.
• Place pan in oven and cook for 20 minutes, removing from oven and switching them up a bit at the 10 minute mark. I like my potatoes extra crispy so I usually leave them in a little longer.
• While potatoes are cooking, chop red onion and green pepper. When potatoes are about 10 minutes from being done, heat a pan on medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Next add green peppers, sauté for another 5 minutes. Add additional seasonings of your choice.
• Once the potatoes are done, add to pan with onions and peppers and mix together. Split mixture up between two plates.
• Add both eggs into the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until yolk is the consistency you want it (I love runny yolk, so I cook the egg for the minimum amount of time).
• Top sweet potato hash with 1 egg.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 266; Fat: 11.67 g; Saturated Fat: 2.52 g; Cholesterol: 186 mg; Sodium: 145 mg; Carbohydrate: 56.4 g; Fiber: 5.25 g; Sugar: 8.21 g; Protein: 9.08 g

What does a dietitian eat?  Healthy foods all the time?  NO!  Organic foods daily?  NO!  Super small portions?  Nope!  Dietitians are just like you!  We have food days that are super healthy (fruits and veggies at every meal, lean proteins, alcohol free and no sweets!) and we have days that are not as healthy (think chocolate, beer and nachos).  I’ve decided to start doing weekly weekend round up posts so you can see what my weekend eats are all about!

Friday

Breakfast: I started my day off with a delicious bowl of oatmeal filled with sunflower seed butter, strawberries and a few dark chocolate chips, plus a cup of coffee with skim milk and one teaspoon of sugar.  I like all my meals to include multiple food groups (proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats and fruits or veggies).  Breakfast is one of the most important meals I eat because I usually exercise in the morning, so I need a hearty meal to start off my day and keep me full for a few hours until lunch or a mid morning snack.  This Friday, I took the day off because I was still recuperating from my Wednesday and Thursday workouts and I knew I would be walking a lot that night (more on that later).

Snack: Strawberries!

Lunch:  My new favorite thing to eat on weekdays are turkey sandwiches on multigrain bread with lettuce and mashed avocado.  It’s delicious and keeps me full for hours because of all the fiber, protein and healthy fats it provides me with.  I use Arnold’s Healthy Multi-Grain bread.  Two slices of bread provide you with 7 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein and the first ingredient is whole wheat flour.  I pile the bread with 3 oz of lean turkey, a few romaine lettuce leaves and half an avocado mashed up with garlic and onion powder.

Snack:  Enlightened Sriracha crisps.  These crisps are an easy snack on the go.  They are so yummy and so much healthier then potato chips! 100 calories, 7 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.  Amazing!

Dinner:  Since my boyfriend, Bernie, and I now both work in NYC, we decided that Fridays would be Friday Fundays.  Each Friday Funday, we explore something new in the city.  Usually I get off of work before Bernie, but this Friday he was working from home, so he met me near my office.  We had reservations to go to a Thai place, but as we were walking there we spotted a cute Mexican place instead and changed our plans.  I am so happy we did because the food did not disappoint and I was CRAVING some tortilla chips.  We got one of the specials, shrimp and steak tostadas and the enchilada Suizas.  Delicious!

Dessert:  After dinner, we decided to head downtown to get some hot chocolate at a place I had seen on Instagram.  Unfortunately, when we got there, they were out of hot chocolate!  So we bought a chocolate chip cookie and they gave us a free pretzel croissant because they felt bad.  On our walk home, we noticed L.A. Burdick, and decided to pop in there for hot chocolate instead.  It was like fate that they were out of hot chocolate at the first place, because the second place we tried had the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had!  Dark chocolate and super thick.  YUM!

Saturday

Breakfast: On weekends, I usually wake up hungry, so I like to eat first and then get my workout in for the day.  We slept in a bit on Saturday and decided to have egg scrambles with the pretzel croissant for breakfast.  For the scramble, I sautéed red onion and pepper and added one egg and some shredded cheddar cheese.  After breakfast I went for a 5 mile run on the bike path near my house.

Snack:  Enlightened Sweet Cinnamon crisps.

Lunch:  One of my favorite places to go when I am home on Long Island is La Bottega.  Their salads and panini are awesome and their lunch deal is on point.  I got their Insalata con Fungi and their Trieste panini.  The salad was filled with mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers and sunflower seeds and the panini had grilled chicken, olive paste, zucchini and mozzarella cheese.  They serve huge portions, so it’s great to take home for lunch the next day (which is exactly what I did).

Dinner:  PIZZA.  If you’re from NY, you know we have the best pizza, so almost every time I go home I try to get my hands on some.  I’m a huge fan of Sicilian pizza, specifically the corner slices.  Bernie, my best friend Gina and I ordered pizza in and watched a movie.  I had one slice of delicious pizza and a piece of the spinach and ricotta roll we had split three ways.

Sunday – I forgot to take pictures of most of my food Sunday because I was too busy chowing down!

Breakfast: Sunday breakfast with my parents is usually bagels and eggs.  I ate half of a whole wheat everything bagel and an egg over easy.  After breakfast, I got a 5 mile run in.

Lunch: My leftover sandwich from Saturday and a medium iced coffee from Starbucks.

Snacks:  Since it was game day, we had a few snacks during the game.  I found Simply Enjoy pumpkin hummus on sale at Stop and Shop and had to buy it.  I’m so glad I did because it did not disappoint!  I had a bit of that with some wheat thins.  My mom also made her taco dip and I had about a quarter cup of dip with some tortilla chips.

Dinner:  Dinner was whole wheat quesadillas.  Quesadillas are such an easy lunch or dinner to whip up.  Just take one whole wheat wrap, sprinkle one side with your choice of cheese, add grilled chicken and sautéed onions and peppers and then add some more cheese on top and pop into the oven for 10 minutes.

There ya have it!  A weekend full of delicious eats with a dietitian.  Stay tuned for next weekend’s choices.

Disclaimer:  The Enlightened products I discussed in this post were free samples from Enlightened.  As always, all opinions are my own.

My FAVORITE fall flavor is pumpkin, and I don’t just crave it in the fall, I crave it year round!  Since I can’t eat pumpkin pie all the time, I decided to whip up a delicious smoothie to keep my cravings at bay and fuel my body with vitamins and minerals.

Pumpkin has many health benefits.  It provides you with fiber, vitamins and minerals, like vitamin A.  Fiber helps to keep your digestive system regular and vitamin A plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of the lungs and heart and supports a healthy immune system.  Pumpkin also contains vitamin E, which protects your cells from free radicals, potassium, which assists with the function of your tissues, organs and cells and phosphorus, which helps with muscle contractions, kidney function and with formation of teeth and bones.

I use Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and Tazo Chai Tea Concentrate as my liquids because it adds a low calorie hint of vanilla and chai which taste delicious mixed with the pumpkin puree.  I use Pure Protein Vanilla protein powder for boost of protein because I enjoy the taste of this protein powder and it is also low in sugar.  A bit of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice give it just enough spice to make it taste just like pumpkin pie!

Whip up this smoothie to start your morning off the right way and get all these health benefits and more!

Chai Pumpkin Protein Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 tablespoons chia tea concentrate
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• handful of ice

Directions

• Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 307.5; Calories from Fat: 55 ; Fat 5.5 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol 80 mg; Sodium: 301.25 mg; Carbohydrate: 36.25 g; Fiber: 7.25 g; Sugars: 15 g; Protein: 30 g

Last week, while food shopping, I noticed a fish I hadn’t tried on sale, Hake.  Hake is a white fish with a mild favor, that is part of the cod family.

Since it’s Taco Tuesday, I thought it was the perfect time to try some homemade fish tacos with my new purchase!

First I prepped the red onion. I cut slices for sautéing with the fish and diced additional onion for the topping.

Next, I made the bacon. When using bacon, I choose center cut because it’s leaner than regular bacon.  Center cut bacon has less fat and more protein than regular bacon.  I use olive oil spray on the pan to avoid sticking and after cooking, I place the bacon on two paper towel sheets to cool and allow some of the fat to drip off.

Then I seasoned the fish.  For this recipe, I chose to use McCormick’s Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb Salt Free seasoning.  McCormicks has awesome salt free seasoning options, I have a cabinet full of them!  My favorite flavors are garlic and onion, so since I was going to sauté the fish in the red onion, I thought the garlic flavored seasoning would be a great addition.

Next, I sautéed the sliced onions in a pan with the olive oil.

I added the fish to the pan and cooked it for about 3 minutes on each side.  When cooking, you’ll want to make sure the outside is brown and the inside is white.  I transferred the fish to a bowl and used my tongs to shred the fish for the tacos.

Finally, I sliced the avocado and chopped the bacon for toppings.  Avocados are a source of healthy fat provide you with fiber, Vitamin E, folic acid, potassium and multiple B vitamins.

I placed two tortillas on a plate, added the fish, sprinkled the bacon and red onion on top and topped it off with 3 slices of avocado to each taco and voila, a delicious meal!

Hake Tacos with Bacon Crumbles

Servings: 2

Serving Size: 2 Tacos

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium red onion, 1/4 sliced, 1/4 diced
• Olive oil spray
• 4 pieces center cut bacon
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2, 4-ounce Hake fillets
• McCormick’s Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb salt Free seasoning
• 1 small avocado, cut into 12 slices (3 on each taco)
• 4 soft Mission tacos

Directions

• Slice 1/4 of the red onion.
• Dice 1/4 of the red onion.
• Spray pan with olive oil spray and heat on medium heat.  Add 4 slices of bacon, cook for about 3-4 minutes on both sides.
• Season fish fillets with McCormick’s Perfect Pinch Garlic and Herb Salt Free seasoning
• Heat olive oil in pan, add red onion slices and sauté until onions are translucen.  Add seasoned fish and cook for about 3 minutes on each side.
• Slice avocado and chop cooked bacon into bite size pieces.
• Place two tortillas on each plate, add fish, sprinkle bacon and red onion on top.
• Top with 3 slices of avocado each
• Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 494; Fat 24.7 g; Carbohydrate: 39.8 g; Protein: 32.3 g

What happens when a dietitian takes an impromptu trip to Target?  Yummy, healthy food gets purchased!

Here’s a look into my cart:

• Kind Healthy Grains Popped Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt
  • These are made with six different whole grains and contain only 7 grams of sugar.
  • I pair them with yogurt and a piece of fruit for an easy, balanced breakfast.
• Target’s Simply Balanced Sesame Brown Rice Crackers
  • I love that these are made with ingredients like brown rice flour, sesame seeds, quinoa seeds and safflower oil.
  • They are a great snack, filled with healthy fats and perfect when paired with hummus.
• Bitsy’s Brainfood Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  • Bitsy’s cookies are delicious, made with whole grains and veggies AND are fun alphabet shapes!
  • They are a great treat when I’m craving something sweet!
• Love Grown Foods Power O’s
  • Made with beans, this cereal is a good source of fiber and contains protein which helps keep me full.
  • When I have a craving for chocolate and don’t want to overinduldge, a bowl of Power O’s and Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk does just the trick!
• Siggi’s Vanilla Yogurt
  • Siggi’s yogurts are made with all natural ingredients and are high in protein and low in sugar.  They can be the perfect addition to any healthy breakfast or make for a quick, healthy snack.
  • I can’t wait to have this yogurt with a Kind Healthy Grains granola bar and a peach tomorrow morning for breakfast.
• Popcorn Kernels
  • I love making my own popcorn with my Air Crazy Hot Air Popcorn Popper! 
  • Make your own at home and add olive oil and your favorite spices for a quick, whole grain snack.
• And of course, coffee, because I love making my own iced coffee in morning to start my day!

Being on the beach for a week, really had me craving ice pops.  The Dark Chocolate PB Banana Yogurt Pops were a hit with my family, so I decided to get creative with some strawberries and chocolate, because who doesn’t love that combination?

Of course, since Siggi’s is my favorite yogurt, I used it again as my ice pop base.  Yogurt is a great mix of protein and carbohydrate and can be used at any meal, or for a quick snack as well!  For the purpose of the ice pops, I found that adding ½ cup of almond milk gave the mixture a thinner consistency, which allowed them to freeze better.

After mixing the yogurt and almond milk together, I chopped up some fresh strawberries and dark chocolate chips and folded them in.  Strawberries contain vitamin C, manganese and potassium.  Manganese is important for bone health, potassium helps your heart beat at a normal rhythm and vitamin C may help with skin dryness and aging.[1]  Both strawberries and dark chocolate contain antioxidants, which help prevent damage to your cells.

Finally, I spooned the mixture into the ice pop molds and froze overnight.  The next day we had ice pops for the whole family after a long day at the beach!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Yogurt Pops

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 1 Yogurt Pop

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of Siggi’s vanilla yogurt
• ½ cup Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries
• 64 Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

Directions

• Add yogurt and almond milk to large mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Chop strawberries to desired size.
• Chop dark chocolate chips until fine. Tip: Use a large chef knife and chop the chips with the end closest to the handle.
• Spoon into ice pop molds.
• Let freeze overnight.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 53.33; Calories from Fat: 18.27; Fat 2.16 g; Saturated Fat: 1.16 g; Cholesterol 0.66 mg; Sodium: 18.08 mg; Carbohydrate: 6.42 g; Fiber: 0.79 g; Sugars: 4.76 g; Protein: 3.14 g

Disclosure: I am part of the Siggi’s Ambassador program for health and wellness professionals.  All opinions are my own.

[1] http://www.webmd.com/diet/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c?page=3

Looking for a cold summertime treat?  These yogurt pops will do just the trick!  They are a delicious snack filled with protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats.

Siggi’s vanilla yogurt is my favorite yogurt to use.  Siggi’s yogurts are made with all natural ingredients, are high in protein and low in sugar.  Low sugar yogurts are difficult to find and Siggi’s yogurt has 25% less sugar then many flavored yogurts.

Peanut butter is a great way to add protein and healthy fats to any meal.  I always make sure to use a natural peanut butter.  Natural peanut butters only use two ingredients, peanuts and occasionally a small amount of salt; no additives or extra sugars are needed.

I chose to top these yogurt pops with dark chocolate because it’s delicious and may be beneficial for your health.  The flavanols, naturally occurring phytochemicals, in dark chocolate may improve blood flow and increase vascular dilation, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.[1]  I prefer using the 60% cacao Ghirardelli chocolate chips, but you can use whatever chocolate you like.

Dark Chocolate PB Banana Yogurt Pops

Servings: 10

Serving Size: 1 Yogurt Pop

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of Siggi’s vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• ½ cup Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 large banana
• 48 Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

Directions

• Add yogurt, peanut butter, almond milk and banana to blender and blend until smooth
• Pour mixture into ice pop molds – I purchased mine at Walmart
• Let freeze overnight
• Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over frozen yogurt pops
• Place yogurt pops flat in freezer for 30 minutes
• Remove from freezer and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 80.2; Fat 5.17 g; Carbohydrate: 9.3g; Protein: 5.2 g

Disclosure: I am a member of the Siggi’s Ambassador program for health and wellness professionals.  All opinions are my own.

[1] http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/020612p24.shtml