100 Calorie Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

The easiest, best strawberry oatmeal bars with butter crumb topping. One bowl, simple ingredients, and 100% whole grain—perfect for a snack or dessert!

Ingredients:

For The Strawberry Bars:

- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (gluten free if needed)

- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or substitute all purpose flour or 1:1 baking flour to make gluten free)

- 1/3 cup light brown sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or substitute melted coconut oil to make vegan/dairy-free)

- 1 teaspoon cornstarch

- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1/2 small lemon)

- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided

- 2 cups, small-diced strawberries (10 ounces)

For The Vanilla Glaze (Optional but delicious, especially if you prefer a sweeter bar):

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- 1 tablespoon milk (any kind you like)

Directions:

1) Place a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 375 degrees F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs two sides like "handles."

2) In a medium bowl, combine the oats, 3/4 cup flour, brown sugar, ginger, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until it forms clumps and the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumble mixture, then press the rest into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.

3) Scatter half of the strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the top, then sprinkle on the lemon juice, and 1/2 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Scatter on the remaining berries, then the remaining 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top. You will have some fruit showing through.

4) Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the crumb topping smells toasty and looks golden. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely (you can speed this process along in the refrigerator).

5) While the bars cool, prepare the glaze: in a medium bowl, briskly whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Feel free to add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired. Using the parchment paper handles, lift the bars from the pan. Drizzle with glaze, slice, and serve.

Notes: Recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch baking pan. The bars will be a bit thicker, but still delicious. To make gluten free, substitute the white whole wheat flour with a 1:1 baking mix. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

NutritionFacts 

Serving Size: 1 (of 16) without glaze

Amount Per Serving: 

Calories: 100, Total Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 44mg, Sodium: 19mg, Carbohydrates: 13g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Protein: 2g.

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5 Easy DIY Hair Mask Recipes

Hair need a little TLC? I have five recipes for DIY hair masks to share today! I’ve tried each of these masks myself and they worked really well to deep condition my hair. The best part is how cheap they are to make. On top of that, they use ingredients you might already have in your kitchen! 

5 DIY Hair Masks

1. Olive oil  + Honey

Recipe:

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp honey

Length: 20 min.

This one gave me super shiny and sleek hair. The mixture is very sticky and messy and it’s hard to spread. It smells really good though and the recipe was enough to cover my long, long hair.

This is what it looks like!

2. Avocado + Coconut oil + Honey

Recipe:

- 1 tbsp avocado (mashed)

- 2 tbsp coconut oil

- 1 tsp honey

Length: 20 min.

I had to double this recipe for my long hair and I actually could’ve used a little more than that. My hair came out soft, smooth, and shiny.  This mask started dripping on me just after 10 min. I had to keep a towel around my shoulders and neck to catch the drips. I also had to rinse it out a couple of times because of the chunks.  Still a great mask!

Guacamole anyone? Somehow, I don’t think this will taste the same….

3. Honey + Apple cider vinegar + Egg

Recipe:

2 tbsp honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 eggs

Length: 20 min.

This mask was much thinner than the others. Luckily, it wasn’t chunky, but it did start to drip almost immediately. It was super wet. This one took some extra rinsing (I’m assuming it was because of the egg).

Looks like I’m about to scramble some eggs!

4. Banana + Honey + Yogurt

Recipe:

- 1 banana

- 1/4 cup honey

- 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Length: 1 hr

This one was enough for all of my hair and then some! If you have shorter hair, you could probably cut this recipe in half. It felt like having oatmeal on my head and it smelled really good.  I only left it on for 30 min because I was already dripping within 15 minutes.  By the 30-minute mark, I was done! This mask was pretty messy as well as sticky. I had to use a fine-tooth comb to get the chunks of banana out. It was all worth it though because in the end, I had nice, shiny hair.

Here’s what this mixture looks like.

5. Coconut oil

Length: Overnight or as 20 min. mask

This one is so simple and probably the least messy of the bunch. I’ve done this one a few times. At night, I just apply coconut oil all over my hair, clip it up and go to bed. Then, I wash it out in the morning. It doesn’t quite give me the results that the others do, but it still makes my hair look and feel nice.

I loved using these masks and seeing how great they made my hair look. Best of all, they’re cheap to make and if you don’t already have the ingredients, they’re easy to find. I think I’ll be using at least one a week.

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Breakfast Swap

Something as simple as swapping out your breakfast for healthier foods can go a long way in helping to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Instead of a chocolate donut, swap for a chocolate-chip granola bar.

Have a taste for a strawberry poptart? Those poptarts have 200 calories each tart. Swap those pop-tarts for a slice of toast with strawberry jam.

Bagel with cream cheese? How about a Greek yogurt with granola.

Just because the Starbucks is on your way to work doesn’t mean you need to stop there.

Switch that latte with a fruit smoothie. Just as tasty, gives you a boost of energy and won’t give you that bloating feeling in a few hours.

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Slow Cooker Sweet Spicy Sausage

Our Slow Cooker Sweet Spicy Sausage is the perfect blend of sweet, spicy and smoky and is sure to be your new favorite appetizer!

If you ever have this same dilemma, this recipe for slow cooker sweet spicy sausages is going to be your new favorite appetizer. It sure is mine! It is the perfect blend of sweet, spicy and smoky and is sure to be a football party favorite.

Start by cooking the sauce in a small pot. Saute the garlic and then add the chili sauce and grape jelly. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently. If the jelly doesn’t completely melt at this time, it’s okay – it will finish melting when in the slow cooker. While the sauce is cooking, slice the smoked sausage (you can usually find it in the deli area of grocery stores near the hot dogs) into 1/2 inch pieces and put it in a 2-quart slow cooker.

Add the spices to the sauce, stir and then pour it over the sausage. Heat that in the slow cooker for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until the sausage is hot and the sauce is bubbly.

I like to flip the slow cooker to warm and serve these delicious sausage chunks from there, but it also works well if you put it in a serving bowl. Place a few toothpicks into some of the sausage chunks and then keep a small bowl of toothpicks some more nearby.

Ingredients:

- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

- ½ tablespoon minced garlic

- 12 ounces chili sauce

- 12 ounces grape jelly

- ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper

- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

- 32 ounces fully-cooked sausage, cut into ½-inch pieces

Instructions:

1) Pour the oil in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Then add the chili sauce and grape jelly and mix together. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently.

2) Place the sausage in your slow cooker. Add the spices to the sauce mixture, stir and then pour it over the sausage. Cover and cook for 1½ - 2 hours on high, or until the sausage is hot and the sauce is bubbly. Stir once after 1 hour.

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5 Super Easy Crock Pot Dinners

Sometimes the thought of making dinner again can make me want to scream.

Why do they want to eat every. single. night?

When I get overwhelmed or in a slump is when I grab my trusty crock pot and make her do all the work! I have five tried and true dinners that we have in our dinner rotation and they really couldn’t be any easier.

These are all chicken dishes, can be served in different ways to add variety, and have less than 5 ingredients! Plus all you need is your crock pot so your clean up is super simple and if you use crock pot liners it is even easier!

(I can’t believe how long it took me to start using those, total game changer!) 

So if you are in a slump or need an easy dinner idea for those days that are spend in the car running kids from place to place these 5 Super Easy Crock Pot Dinners are just for you!

1. BBQ Chicken:

- 3-4 Chicken breasts (boneless,skinless)

- 16 oz bottle of BBQ Sauce (we like Sweet Baby Rays)

- 1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix together ingredients. Put in crock pot. Cook low: 4-5 hours or on High 2-3 hours. Shred with a fork and serve on buns for yummy BBQ chicken sammies. Or leave them whole and serve with some garlic mashed potatoes and veggies.

2. Orange Chicken:

- 3-4 Chicken breasts

- 1 cup BBQ sauce

- 1 cup Orange Marmalade

- 1-2 tsp soy sauce (optional)

Cut up chicken into cubes and put in crock pot. Mix together ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook low:4-5 hours or on High 2-3 hours.  We love to serve this with a side of homemade fried rice and add a ton of veggies! Way better than takeout!

3. Creamy Ranch Chicken:

- 3-4 Chicken breasts

- 1 can Cream of Chicken

- 1 packet Ranch dressing mix

- 1 packet Italian seasoning packet

- 1/2 package of cream cheese (4 oz)

Mix together cream of chicken, ranch, and Italian seasoning. Place chicken in crock pot and pour mixture over. Cook low: 4-5 hours or on High 2-3 hours. Once done, shred with a fork and add the cream cheese to add thickness and make it creamy. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

4. Salsa Chicken:

- 3-4 Chicken breasts

- 1 jar of salsa

- 1 can black beans

- 1 can corn

Mix all ingredients together and put in crock pot. Cook low: 4-5 hours or on High 2-3 hours.  Shred with fork. Serve over rice, use as filling for burritos, throw it on top of lettuce for a fun taco salad….

5. Ranch Chicken Tacos:

- 3-4 Chicken breasts

- 1 can chicken broth

- 1 packet ranch mix

- 1 packet taco seasoning

Put everything in the crock pot and let it do it’s magic! Cook low: 4-5 hours or on High 2-3 hours.  Shred with a fork when done and serve in tacos with your favorite toppings! Super fun and easy for Taco Tuesday!

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Slow Cooker Broccoli and Cheese Soup

The most easy and healthy recipe for Broccoli and Cheese Soup you'll find! Made with lots of fresh veggies, cheddar, and your crock pot does all the work.

Ingredients:

- 5 cups chopped broccoli florets (about 16 ounces)

- 1 cup grated carrots (you can grate yourself or use bagged, pre-cut julienne carrots)

- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)

- 1 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

- 2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth

- 1 (12-ounce) can 2% evaporated milk

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

- 1 (8-ounce) block sharp cheddar cheese, grated.

Directions:

1) Place the broccoli, carrots, onion, and garlic in the bottom of 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Top with the cream cheese, oregano, nutmeg, and chicken broth. Stir to evenly distribute the ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4-6 hours, until the broccoli is tender.

2) Remove the lid and stir in the evaporated milk. With an immersion blender, puree about 3/4 of the soup, so that it is mostly smooth but still has a few chunks of broccoli remaining. Alternatively, you can puree the soup in 1 cup-sized batches in a food processor or blender. (Be careful—it's hot and prone to splatter!)

3) Recover the soup and let cook on low for 10 minutes until warmed through. Stir the salt, pepper, and grated cheese. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as desired. Recover and cook on high until the cheese is fully melted and the soup is hot, about 5 additional minutes. Serve warm.

The type of cheese you use is very important to this recipe. I highly advise grating your own from the block, as many brands of pre-grated, bagged cheese are coated with starch to prevent sticking. While convenient, this starch can prevent the cheese from melting smoothly. I also recommend using regular, not light cheese for this reason—reduced fat cheese sometimes does not melt as well.

NUTRITION FACTS: 

Serving Size: 1 of 6 (about 1 1/2 cups)

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 272, Total Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 59mg, Sodium: 806mg, Carbohydrates: 16g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Protein: 18g.

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Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Alright everyone, I think this one tops the charts as our most requested recipe on the blog ever, so I hope you like it. That’s right, I finally made you a recipe for Slow Cooker Potato Soup!!!

The first step in this Slow Cooker Potato Soup recipe is probably the most time consuming — chopping up a storm.  Chop up lots of potatoes (I strongly recommend Yukon golds), a big onion (white or yellow), and lots of cooked bacon (you can fry or microwave the bacon while you chop, or buy it pre-cooked).

Then toss everything in the slow cooker, along with lots of good-quality chicken (or vegetable) stock.

And then set the timer for 3-4 hours (on high) or 6-8 hours (on low), and walk away and let the slow cooker do its thing.

Then once everything has slow cooked, you’ve gotta do the final step on the stovetop.  I know, I know, this recipe isn’t 100% slow cooker.  But in order to have a soup that’s nice and thick and avoid using heavy cream, we need to make a quick and easy creamy roux on the stove.

So just melt your butter (or you can use reserved bacon grease, if you fried the bacon on the stove, which will be way more flavorful) and whisk it together with some flour to form a roux.  Then whisk in a can of evaporated milk.  And once the mixture comes to a simmer, it will thicken up into a really thick gravy-like mixture.  Add that to directly to the slow cooker, and give everything a stir.

And then if you’d like an even thicker soup (which I recommend), use a potato masher to mash up about half of the potatoes in the soup.  Or you can just leave them all chunky.  Up to you.

(Or, some of you have asked about a slightly healthier soup.  If you’d rather leave out the roux entirely and just have a brothy-er soup, you can do that, and/or just mash some of the potatoes if you’d like to thicken it up a bit.)

And then…ta da!  A big crock pot full of delicious, creamy Slow Cooker Potato Soup will be yours to enjoy!

You’re welcome to serve it up plain…

…or pile it high with all of your favorite toppings. The choices from here on out are totally up to you.  But however you serve it, I’m pretty positive this soup is going to make your day.  Because I’m convinced that a warm, thick, delicious bowl of potato soup always makes life a little better.  :)

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

- 6 slices cooked bacon*, diced

- 3-4 cups good-quality chicken or vegetable stock

- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes**, peeled (if desired) and diced

- 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and diced

- 4 tablespoons bacon grease* (or butter)

- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 (12-ounce) can 2% evaporated milk

- 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

- 1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream

- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or more to taste

- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

Optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese, extra bacon, sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

1) Add bacon, 3 cups chicken stock, potatoes and onion to the bowl of a large slow cooker, and stir to combine.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the potatoes are completely tender and cooked through.

2) Once the soup has slow cooked and is about ready to serve, cook the butter in a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat until it has melted. Whisk in the flour until it is completely combined, and then cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Gradually add in the evaporated milk while whisking it together with the flour mixture, and continue whisking until the mixture is completely smooth.  Let the mixture continue cooking until it reaches a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then it should get really thick.

3) Immediately pour the milk mixture into the slow cooker with the potatoes, and stir until combined.  Add in the cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper, and stir until combined.  If you would like the soup to be even thicker, you can use a potato masher or a large spoon to mash about half of the potatoes (while the soup is still in the slow cooker) to thicken the soup up.  If you would like the soup to be thinner, add in an extra 1-2 cups of warmed chicken or vegetable stock.  Stir to combine, then taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

4) Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings.  Or transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  (This recipe will not freeze well.)

*You can either fry the bacon, cook it in the microwave, or buy pre-cooked bacon.  If frying or microwaving, I recommend dicing the bacon before cooking it.  And if you are frying it, I highly recommend saving the bacon grease for later and then using it to make your roux (instead of butter).

**I highly recommend using Yukon gold potatoes, which have the perfect texture and buttery taste for this soup.  But Russet potatoes or red potatoes would also work just fine in this recipe.

***If you would like to make this recipe vegetarian, use vegetable stock, omit the bacon, and I would recommend adding in 2-3 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning for extra flavor.

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Crock-Pot Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham for the Holidays

When my husband requested baked ham for our Christmas in August celebration, I knew I wanted to make a tasty version for him, but since I had a huge dinner to make on my own, I wanted to make it as easy as possible. So, as it often does, my Crock-Pot came to the rescue! You are going to love this brown sugar and pineapple crusted ham. It's so tender it just falls apart and the best thing- just throw it in the Crock-Pot for six hours and forget about it!

Ingredients:

- Use a large or approx. 6-quart Crockpot.

- 1 Ham, pre-cooked, spiral cut {can use bone in or boneless} 

- 3 cups brown sugar

- 1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits or chunks, undrained

Directions:

- Cover the bottom of the Crockpot with brown sugar. 

- Place ham on top of the brown sugar and add the pineapple tidbits with the juice. 

- Sprinkle ham with remaining brown sugar. 

- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

I found this delicious spiral ham at Sam's Club. I have used ham anywhere from 3-7 lbs for this recipe.

Lay a base of brown sugar on the bottom of the Crock-Pot.

Place your cooked ham on top of the sugar.

Pour a can of pineapple tidbits with juice on top of the ham. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Look at this juicy, sweet ham!

This is going to be a recipe I use for many holidays to come.

This ham made my Christmas in August dinner a lot easier and my husband is still raving about the delicious ham!

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Chicken Parmesan Sliders

These Chicken Parmesan Sliders are an easy recipe made with fried chicken tenders, tomato sauce, and lots of cheese!

Sliders are one of my favorite things to make because you can take almost anything and turn it into a simple bite-sized sandwich that is perfect for feeding a bunch of hungry guests….or just one hungry family!

Let me put your mind at rest before we even get into how I made these. These were gone almost as soon as they came out of the oven. The smell of the garlic butter and tomato sauce wafting out of the oven as these sliders were cooking had everyone impatiently asking when they were going to be ready! I love recipes like that, where you know they are going to be amazing before you even take that first bite. They are really easy to make too which is a bonus.

Fried chicken tenders, tomato sauce, and lots of mozzarella cheese make this slider recipe a sure win.

Ingredients:

- 15 Slider Buns

- 1 lb Breaded Chicken Tenders * *These should be cooked already** (weight is approx.)

- 2 c Pasta Sauce

- 2 c Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

- ½ c Parmesan Cheese, shredded

- 3 Tbsp butter, melted

- 1 tsp Garlic powder (more to taste)

- 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2) Place the bottom half of the slider buns in a greased casserole dish.

3) Place cooked chicken tenders on the bottom buns and then cover them in sauce.

4) Combine the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the sauce.

5) Place the top buns on the sliders.

6) Melt the butter and mix the garlic powder until it is thoroughly combined. (feel free to add more garlic powder if you like garlic as much as I do!)

7) Pour the melted butter over the buns and then sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

8) Cover the dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for another 10 minutes.

9) Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

I absolutely love this simplified fajita recipe! It makes for a great weeknight dinner and definitely a crowd pleasing meal! It makes plenty too so you may be lucky enough to have left overs for lunch the next day!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves

- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes with green chilies

- 1 red, orange and green bell pepper, julienned

- 1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 1/2 tsp chili powder

- 2 tsp ground cumin

- 1 tsp paprika

- 3/4 tsp ground coriander

- 1 tsp salt

- 3/4 tsp pepper

- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

- 1 Tbsp honey

For serving:

Flour tortillas, sour cream, cilantro, salsa, guacamole, monterrey jack or cheddar cheese

Directions:

- Pour half of the canned tomatoes into the bottom of a slow cooker and spread into an even layer. Top with half of the peppers and half of the onions. Sprinkle garlic in. Top with chicken breasts.

- In a bowl whisk together chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper. Evenly sprinkle half of the seasoning over chicken breasts then flip chicken and sprinkle in remainder. Top with remaining half of the tomatoes, then layer in remaining peppers and onions.

- Cover and cook on HIGH heat 3 - 4 hours or low heat 6 - 8 hours, until chicken has cooked through and veggies are tender (note that if you want to be able to cut chicken into strips cook more near lesser time on HIGH or LOW, otherwise it will probably just shred, which is also fine).

- Remove chicken, and cut into strips, or shred. Ladle out 1 cup of the broth in slow cooker (mostly tomato liquid) and discard. In a small bowl whisk together lime juice and honey and add to slow cooker along with chicken and season with additional salt to taste if desired. Gently toss. Sere warm in warmed tortillas with sour cream and optional guacamole, cheese and salsa.

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