Grilled Avocado, Cheese, and Tomato

I love grilled cheese. It is so simple, yet so good. However, it is not always the healthiest choice for a Saturday lunch. With an avocado on hand, getting a bit too ripe, and a tomato almost past its 'good' stage, I decided to kick up the grilled cheese sandwich. I have posted my grilled cheese recipe, along with it's nutritional information (from CalorieCount). Don't be fooled by the extremely high numbers. Some of those are very good, like the fiber. And the fat from the avocado is much better for you than fat from butter or whole fat cheese. So don't be alarmed. Then, to give you a good comparison, I also have the nutritional facts for a simple white-bread-american-cheese-cooked-with-butter grilled cheese. You'll be amazed!

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Artichoke Spinach Dip

A favorite late night snack in my family is Artichoke dip. Fairly simple and extremely tasty, the only down side is the time it takes to cook. But, fear not! I have a short cut, thanks to my Mom, that I will share.  This recipe is adapted from the original one to reduce the number of calories, fat and salt typically found in Artichoke Dip.

For a basic recipe you only need 4-5 items. I usually don't use spinach in my artichoke dip (a) because I'm not the biggest fan of its cooked taste and (b) the recipe can sometimes make the dip into a Spinach-Artichoke, heavy with spinach, very little artichoke, all smothered in cheese. Sounds delicious (yes), but there's a smart way to make this. But I was wanting to umph this recipe up. So I added just a bit. The first recipe is the original recipe. The second in my healthier recipe!

(1) Original (makes 15 servings at 144 calories per serving)

1 cup mayo

1 cup parmesan

1 can of Artichoke Hearts

1 can diced green chiles

Homemade Granola Mix

Hi all! Months ago I saw Clinton Kelly on The Chew share his favorite Granola Mix. It looked so delicious and easy I had to try it. It was all that he said it would be! Granola can be so very expensive at the store, and if you purchase all your ingredients separately (in bulk-ish) and make it yourself, overall you'll be spending much less. This made about 2-3lbs (filled a little more than 1/2 a gallon ziplock bag) and cost a total of $4.13 (approximately). In a store you'd pay about $4.99 for 1lb, and it wouldn't be filled with all of these healthy goodies, and would probably have much more fat and sugar!

For me, I already had Old Fashion Oats in my pantry (a staple for those wondering), and I  recently bought a bag of almonds (which can be expensive, but go a long way) and a bag of dried cranberries for snacking. With honey/agave nectar, dried banana and oil already in my pantry, I was able to quickly whip this recipe up. I do a lot of eye-balling when it comes to this recipe, so feel free to do what feels, looks and tastes right!

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