Easy and "Healthy" Office Party Dessert

When you're asked to bring dessert to an office party full of doctors and dietitians, it's only natural to think of something that's "somewhat" healthy. I decided to make "power balls" and add a little indulgence by dipping them in white chocolate and finishing with a dark chocolate splatter/drizzle.

Of course, these can be made without dipping in chocolate if you are looking for a wonderfully healthy, "on-the-go" breakfast or snack! You will always be able to find the "un-dipped" version of these in my fridge. 

Ingredients
1 cup dry oats

2/3 cup of coconut flakes

½ cup of peanut butter

½ cup of ground flaxseed

½ cup of chocolate chips

1/3 cup of honey

1 Tbsp of chia seeds

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 lb bag of Nestle Toll House white chocolate chips

1 bag of dark chocolate chocolate chips

Directions

Mix all the ingredients together and let set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

Melt the white chocolate in a small bowl. Then roll the mixture into one inch balls and dip into the melted chocolate. Let the chocolate harden and store balls in an air tight container in the fridge.

Recipe makes approx. 20 balls

Food and Nutrition Conference Expo 2015 in Nashville

Now that I am FINALLY a registered dietitian, I figured it was time for me to attend FNCE! FNCE is an annual food and nutrition conference hosted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. While it is in a different location each year, I was lucky enough that it was in Nashville, TN! Having never been to FNCE or Nashville, I was in for a treat. It was a trip full of food, music, and information (I definitely "nerded" out so hard in the information sessions). Below are some of the pictures I took throughout the trip. I wish I had more, but it was such a sensory overload that I forgot to take pictures of everything!

The Nashville Downtown Hostel was a cool home away from home and a fun way to meet other solo travelers

The very first thing I ate during the trip was these amazing tacos from Nashville Street Tacos.

This is just a random piece of pizza I had for lunch one day...I think the picture speaks for itself.

Delicious is an understatement...I am still dreaming about how amazing this "Nashville Hot Chicken" Sandwich actually was! If you go to Nashville, you HAVE to get one of these!

The California Strawberries had one of my favorite expos

Of all my free FNCE goodies, this guitar cutting board from the Canadian Lentils is by far my favorite!

None of my posts are complete without a picture of a mojito.

Mushroom-Swiss Burger from my last dinner of the trip! Yes, dietitians eat burgers too. Thank you Hard Rock Cafe.

This is a quote from one of my favorite sessions of the conference and a great few words to end the experience.

Until we meet again, Nashville!

Happy First Day of Fall!

Along with fall comes an array of delicious seasonal flavors. While most people immediately think of pumpkins and apples, my mind thinks of persimmons! Luckily, I have a persimmon tree within walking distance from my house and already noticed a couple ripe ones. I can see some persimmon pudding in my near future once these beauties start falling off!

Scrumptious Blueberry Biscuits

In honor of "National Biscuit Month", I decided to make my absolute favorite biscuits! My version of the amazing "Bo-Berry" biscuit. These can be great for breakfast or even as a sweet dessert!

Ingredients:

Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 cup nonfat milk

1⁄3 cup sugar

5 tablespoons butter

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 ounces dried blueberries (dehydrated)

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, shifted

1⁄8 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

One hour before baking take butter and place in freezer.

Preheat oven to 450°F Mix salt, sugar, flour, baking powder and blueberries in a bowl. Add the milk into dry ingredients and mix. As dough begins to form take each tablespoon of hardened solidified butter and break chunks off and spread evenly over dough (doing this with the butter is what makes the biscuits "flaky".) Fold dough, and knead -- repeat until all butter is spread in chunks evenly throughout dough. 

Move dough to floured cutting board or counter top and roll flat to (about ½ thick) and cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter.Bake for about 7-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Finish by mixing glaze ingredients in a bowl, drizzling over biscuits with a fork.

(Sorry for the poor quality photo!)

Berry Mojito

There's nothing quite as refreshing as a freshly muddled mojito on a hot summer day! This is my "go-to" drink recipe for almost any occasion. With my birthday coming up this weekend, I'm sure you'll be able to find me sipping one of these! I love this recipe because it is very personalized based on what you like. You can make it strong/weak, more or less flavorful, and can adjust the sweetness to your very own tastes.

Ingredients (that I used):
Juice from 2 limes
1 cup fresh raspberries (note all the raspberries in the photo were not used)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Bundle of fresh mint
3L seltzer water
Bacardi Rum
*To taste* Splenda (for a lower-calorie version), Agave, or a Simple Syrup 

Directions:
Toss the berries, and mint into a pitcher and squeeze in the lime juice.

Then just muddle everything together and add your seltzer and rum. 

Finish by sweetening to taste. You can use a simple syrup, agave syrup or even Splenda for a lower calorie option. Be creative with your flavors and don't forget to personalize it based on what you like! This a drink recipe that you cannot mess up.

Oreo Thins

So, I know these aren't necessarily nutritious, BUT I was invited to try Oreo's new cookie, "Oreo Thins." Needless to say, but they are delicious. They are pretty much the same exact thing as a regular Oreo...just thinner and crispier. From a nutritional stand point...instead of the regular Oreos (which offer 2 cookies for 140 calories), you could get the Oreo Thins and have 4 cookies for the 140 calories. It's one way to trick your mind if you get that mid-day sweet tooth.

Life Update

So I apologize for having been so MIA lately! I've been going through some major transitions lately. I am so happy to announce that I finished my dietetic internship and passed my exam and am FINALLY a Registered Dietitian! I also am very fortunate to be employed at Duke University Medical Center as a Clinical Research Dietitian and fitness interventionist. I am currently helping with three studies and my job consists of making personalized diet plans and counseling individuals on how to lose weight while also teaching exercise classes that the study participants can attend to help them reach their goals. So the sake of the study, I have been experimenting with Greek yogurt and whey protein powder to come up with protein pack recipes. Hopefully I'll have some good ones to share pretty soon ;)