Cheesecake Strawberries, Homemade Hummus & Roasted Potatoes

I’ve drawn two conclusions from my Super Bowl snacks yesterday:

#1 – If making hummus is so simple and yummy (and cheaper), why do I ever buy it prepared? Note to self: stop being lazy and make it yourself from now on.

#2 – I’m not a fan of cheesecake, but I AM a fan of cheesecake stuffed strawberries!

Homemade Hummus, from the cookbook The Vegan Table 

Makes 1 cup, or 8 2-tablespoon servings

• 1 can (15 oz) of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 TBSP tahini 
• 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
• 1/4 TSP cumin
• Water for thinning out spread
• Salt & paprika, to taste

Put chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, and cumin in a food processor or blender and process until very smooth (1-2 minutes).

Add a little water to thin it out (I did this a couple times and kept testing the consistency.).

Add salt and paprika, then pulse the food processor/blender for a few seconds.

Scrape into a bowl and serve with your favorite dippers. You can also throw in other ingredients to make it a flavored hummus. For instance, next time I make this I’m going to try adding roasted red pepper.

Per serving: 50 calories, 2 g fat, 3 g protein, 8 g carbs

Moving right along to dessert…

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

My friend Angi emailed me this recipe after she found it on the blog Nutmeg Nanny. I slightly modified it, because, well, I rarely can follow a recipe without changing something. I’m pretty sure I used less cream cheese just because I made these quickly and probably didn’t fully hollow out the strawberries as directed. These are now going to be my favorite go-to dessert when bringing one to a get together!

What you need:

• 1 lb large strawberries 
• 6 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• 3 TBSP of powdered sugar
• 2 TSP vanilla extract
• Graham cracker crumbs (I used about 1 1/2 TBSPs)

Directions:

Rinse and cut off the tops of the strawberries. Clean out the insides of the strawberries with a (paring) knife, then set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until creamy.

Using a butter knife, fill the strawberries with the cheesecake mixture, then dip them in graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate until serving.

Per strawberry: About 60 calories, 3 g fat, 2 g protein, 6 g carbs

I watched the game with a couple other ladies, and we were joking about how much of a girlie Super Bowl it was. Our eats & drinks included said hummus and strawberries, basmati rice with a broccoli curry, mimosas, wine and chocolate covered raisins. I’ll take that over greasy pizza, wings (well, obviously..), beer, and potato chips any day! Ha.

Speaking of greasy potatoes… if you happen to be craving french fries, I’ve got a healthy alternative for you. I threw it together as part of my dinner tonight, as I was wanting something salty. I randomly saw sweet potato sticks at the food store the other day and was intrigued to try them. If I didn’t have those on hand, I would have peeled and chopped a whole sweet potato into “fries” or slices.

 Easy Roasted Potatoes 

1 red potato (about 6 oz)

One serving of sweet potato sticks (equal to 1 small sweet potato, around 80g)

1 TBSP olive oil

Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Wash the red potato and cut into thin slices.

Arrange both kinds of potato on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.

Throw in the oven and bake for around 10 minutes. When they’re starting to look crispy, flip all veggies over with a spatula and season again with salt and pepper.  Cook about another 10 minutes or until lightly browned (or if you like em crispy like me, let em burn for a few!), then enjoy with ketchup or whatever else you’d like.

Stats: 260 calories, 14 g fat, 5 g protein, 28 g carbs

There are 2 leftover cheesecake stuffed strawberries calling my name… Night!

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