Crazy food

My husband has told me that, if I ever got pregnant, he would know immediately, because I'd start eating like a normal person. I have very creative tastes in food, mainly centering around condiments. Of course, most of my foods make people a little nauseous; a soup made of cottage cheese and salsa, mashed potatoes and mustard, cheddar slices dipped in tomato juice, spaghetti and pickles...you get the idea. But a few of my snacks have actually won rather universal popularity, so I figured I would share them with you. They're simple enough that you don't need to make it into an 'official' recipe format.

For the first, all you have to do is combine cottage cheese with a fair amount of pitted green olives (try to estimate 1 per bite). Mix well, then eat with Ritz crackers (Ritz crackers are crucial; don't try generic Ritz or anything crazy like that). This can actually replace a meal, and it's quite healthy; be careful though, because it's low in calories, but high in salt.

The second is my favorite, for a couple reasons, not least that this is a filling, practically zero calorie alternative to chips and dip. Peel and slice a small cucumber (crosswise, so you get little disks). Then, either put salsa into a bowl on the side and use the slices to dip, or arrange the cukes on a plate and pour salsa over them. For an additional flavor twist (but keep in mind, it'll raise the amount of calories in this snack) mix feta cheese into the salsa.
Hope you enjoy my strange snacks!


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It's Monday

Do I have to be creative - about food - on a Monday? Really?

Ah-well... to be fair it IS mid-morning on a Monday...and when I get peckish - and in need of a snack - I can get very creative.

Fair warning this first list is NOT compiled of healthy foods:

Candy corn and dry roasted peanuts. Fabulous! Add m&m's if you want a choco-rush with it.
Peanut butter and pretzels (I fib to myself and say it's better than the candy corn thing)
Cold pizza (I try to control myself and take the smallest available slice)

In the health conscious category - like when just looking at my jeans makes me wince:

Cottage cheese and grapes
An apple with a slice of cheese or peanut butter
Yogurt with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips

You might notice a few of my food vices (like coffee) or my fave snacks (of either category) occasionally show up in my books and shorts - all available at Echelon Press or Amazon

Happy Snacking!
Regan

Got anything good to eat?

You're home from school and you are one hungry person, aren't you? What to eat? Chips? Candy bar? No. If you're going to eat something, make it at least a little healthy. How about a fast, fried burrito? Here's the easy recipe:

Take a flour tortilla and a can of refried beans. Smear a few tablespoons of beans on the tortilla. Then sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top - doesn't matter what kind.

Now add any of these that sound good to you:

chopped onions
black olives
chopped green chilis
picante sauce
sour cream
corn

Or if you want to get wild, try any of one these:

chopped pickles
tuna fish
leftover stir-fry rice
french fries
spaghetti sauce

scrambled eggs

Hey, be bold, you never know what kind of a great dish you'll be inventing!

Now fold the sides over about an inch, and roll them up length-wise.

Repeat once or twice more until you think you'll have enough burritos to get rid of that growling belly.

The best part is next. Get a frying pan and melt a little butter or oil or both - about one tablespoon coating the bottom of the pan - and add the rolled up, stuffed tortillas to the pan. Fry over medium-low heat until the bottom is lightly browned, then flip and brown that side. Frying them makes all the difference in yummy factor.

You can slice these up as snacks to dip in picante sauce or sour cream. Or you can just wrap them up in a paper towel and munch on them whole while you're reading that great new ebook you just got. Nom nom. Have a glass of milk with that, and maybe an apple to munch on after and you're good for a few hours.

Don't worry if you make too many burritos to eat in one sitting. They're pretty filling. Just save the leftovers and take one to school tomorrow.

What's your favorite tasty, easy-to-make, and healthy after-school favorite? Leave us a comment. We just might just put together a little Teen Foods recipe book if we get lots of great ideas to share.