Here’s a snackalicious guest post from Lisa at Snack Snoop as she shares her dad’s favorite breakfast -

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Healthy snacking is a great habit once you form it.  Including a fruit or vegetable at snack time gets you nutrients you need and energy to keep you going.  Avoiding snack pitfalls such as junk food can be a real problem.

I try to make something that tastes BETTER than anything I can purchase so I am not motivated to eat something crappy.  Here is my Dad’s favorite breakfast.  The great thing about it is that incorporates tomato into breakfast.  Tomato isn’t usually a breakfast food – but it should be.

This breakfast has protein, fresh fruit (tomato is a fruit actually), and whole grains to start your day well.  It is only a 100 calories so you should probably eat a few to get you off to a good start (and not end up too hungry before lunch)

Wasa-Jarlsberg Breakfast Snack

• 1 Wasa Cracker
• 1 Slice Jarlsberg Cheese
• 1 Slice Tomato

Heat broiler or toaster oven. Slice tomato and sprinkle a little salt to taste. Place cheese on tomato and run under broiler until grilled (about 1 minute).

Wasa Crackers are usually whole grain and yummy (about 60 calories). They can be found in the cracker section of any supermarket. Jarlsberg is a tasty and naturally lowfat cheese (40 calories for a slice). And tomato – well it is just good for you. Having a tomato around the house will force you to add it to salads or sandwiches just to use it up – and you will be healthier for it.

I have other snack ideas on http://www.snacksnoop.com.

Lisa

Hello, KERF readers!

Kath inspired me to try pumpkin oatmeal and oatmeal in a jar, so, I’d like to share my "pumpkin oats in a jar" topping experiment with you. I love pumpkin bread or muffins with cream cheese, and thought that it might taste good on pumpkin oats, too. So, I gave it a try and let me tell you, it was AWESOME!

I used an almost-empty jar of Naturally More peanut butter (~2 TBSP left +/-) as my nutty vehicle of choice…

I made the oats on the stove top with:

• 1/2 cup (40g) Quaker 100% rolled oats
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s 100% pure canned pumpkin
• 1 medium banana
• Dash of pumpkin pie spice
• 2 packets Truvia zero calorie sweetener

The toppings:

• 1 TBSP Philadelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 7g unsalted peanuts
• 5g roasted & salted pumpkin seeds

If you like pumpkin bread/muffins with cream cheese, then I highly recommend trying your pumpkin oats with cream cheese on top, it’s heavenly!

And yes, that is just plain water in my cup. LOL

Enjoy,

Jenn

While I’m out on the West Coast, East Coaster Amie of The Healthy Apple is here to keep you entertained! Here’s a guest post of her Easy Peasy Salmon Spread. Putting this in my Springpad to try for sure!

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Easy Peasy Salmon Spread

By Amie Valpone, Nutritionist and author of The Healthy Apple

Not only is this salad a great source of calcium, but a fabulous dose of fiber too! This is one of my favorite go-to meals when I’m short on time but in the mood for a quick healthy meal. I often enjoy this dish as my lunch atop gluten-free grains or stuffed into a hollowed baked bell pepper or squash for a comforting dinner. There are countless ways to enjoy this salmon salad, as I have mentioned below; have fun and toss this recipe into your morning eggs or mix with brown rice and stuff into a baked root veggie such as a sweet potato. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 can Salmon with bones, drained
• 1/3 cup Peas, cooked
• ¼ cup Greek Plain Yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. Dry Rolled Oats
• 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
• ½ tsp. Lime Zest
• ½ cup Fresh Cherries, pitted, sliced
• ½ cup Spinach, cooked and cooled
• 1 Pink Lady Apple, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. Grain Mustard
• 2 Tbsp. Black Sesame Seeds
• 1 Scallion, chopped
• Handful of Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• Dash of Cinnamon
• Dash of Agave nectar
• Dash of Sea Salt
• Dash of Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

• In a food processor, combine all of the above ingredients. Blend until smooth.
• Transfer mixture to serving dishes or see below serving options.
• Serve chilled.
• Enjoy!

Countless Ways to Enjoy

• Spread on a bagel, toast, pitas and crackers.
• Spread on a protein choice such as firm tofu, seitan, tempeh and as a hardboiled egg filling.
• Use as a tasty dip for chips, pretzels and raw fruits and veggies.
• Swap this salmon salad for mayo on a sandwich or a Portobello burger.
• Swap for ketchup on a burger.
• Stuff into baked tomatoes, squash, zucchini, bell peppers and eggplant (hollow out the insides of these vegetables and fill with the salmon mixture).

Howdy folks!

I’m sad to report that KERF’s server before me is no longer with us. He is not feeling very well and opted for early retirement. He really did think that he could keep up with a young and feisty gal like KERF, but she was just too much for him to handle in his exhausted state.

Thanks to Kath, who called upon me to serve, and with the help of Jenn (www.j3nn.net) and Dustin, I’m the new kid on KERF Street! I’m really digging KERF so far, I hope she will stick around with me for a long, long time. I’m sure we’ll break a lot of KERFews together!

Well, just wanted to introduce myself and tell you that if you see this post, you’re looking at the new and (improved!) KERF. Please pass the word on that some people will not be able to see the new KERF until it propagates for them. That could take up to 72 hours for some people, but most will see it within a few hours and sometimes less.

Follow KERF on Twitter @KathEats !

Kath will be back this afternoon.

Sincerely,
KERF’s relief server

Last night involved Bears + Skinny Dip + Syrup + Pizza..

Want to know more??..  http://bitesandbowls.com/?p=2395

Cheers!!

B+B

I’m Jenn from Jenn’s Reasonable Weight Loss + Maintenance Lifestyle Blog — I live in Upstate, NY and have been food and lifestyle blogging since 2007. As a fellow busy blogger, I know what it’s like to need a vacation!

Turkey burger with tri-color potato salad and greens beans

4oz ground turkey breast burger (120 cal) on 2 slices Alvarado Street No Salt! sprouted grain bread (180 cal) with 1 slice Sargento reduced fat Swiss cheese (60 cal), 5 no salt added bread & butter pickle chips, red onion, green lead lettuce, a plum tomato, Heinz no salt added ketchup, yellow mustard aaaaaaand 1 TBSP Hellmann’s olive oil mayo (50 cal). On the side: tri-color potato salad made with Hellmann’s olive oil mayo, celery, red onion, Bolthouse Farms blue cheese dressing and white pepper, and no salt added canned green beans with EVOO, red wine vinegar and red onion.

Jenn
Upstate, NY
Jenn’s Reasonable Weight Loss + Maintenance Lifestyle Blog

These ladies don’t have blog to follow, but their meals sure look blog-worthy!

Ashley

Greetings from Boston…

It’s a dreary day in Beantown so I’m keeping in cozy. For lunch I had:

A heaping portion (1 3/4 C) of Paula Dean’s Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup. You would think that Miss Paula’s recipe would be laden with 4 sticks of butter but it’s surprisingly healthy, easy, and you can mix and match the veggies you want to add. I love making a big batch and freezing it so I can take it to work. As a nurse it’s hard to come home after working 12+ hours and have the energy to make anything. The freezer makes it my life better. I love my freezer <3

-4 carrots all chopped up with 1.5 TBS Sabra’s Supremely Spicy Hummus.  I usually enjoy whipping up my own hummus but I couldn’t resist the Sabra sale and my hummus never tastes that exquisite!

-Yogi Tea, mmm mmm.

-1 Vanilla Chobani…which I ended up saving for desert due to lack of room in my tummy. I added 2 TBS slivered almonds to my Greek Goddess also.

I am super satisfied and fired up to take a nap…I’m working the overnight shift tonight (aka 7pm-7am) at the children’s hospital in my city, 7p-7a. Wish me luck!

Happy blogging, ladies and gentlemen!

Ashley
Boston, MA

Kathryn

My husband and I live in the Philadelphia area but just traveled to Martha’s Vineyard for the first time. We shared an amazing meal of lobster quesadilla with mango salsa and a lobster roll with very light mayo, celery on a soft roll, and a wonderful salad tossed in balsamic dressing. Once of the best meals we’ve ever had!

Kathryn
Philadelphia

Lydia

I am mostly vegetarian but do eat fish and dairy.  I truly enjoy food and have recently started photographing it.  I love, love, love to cook.  Here is a salad of many that I make. It has romaine and baby spinach, red and orange bell peppers, celery toasted pecans (I toast them w/ a little brown sugar and balsamic), goat cheese, hard boiled eggs, artichoke hearts and cilantro.  The dressing is fresh squeezed lemon, extra virgin light olive oil, balsamic and salt and pepper.  It’s delicious.  My salads are never the same, and I just keep adding.  

This is a lentil stew I made recently.  i had intentions of making it like a curried lentil salad that you’d see at the salad bar at Whole foods.  It ended up being warm and tasting better alone (without sitting on a salad).  It has lentils, carrots, zucchini, diced tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons curry powder and 1 teas. thyme (fresh) w/ salt and pepper.  since i don’t eat meat, i try to use lentils very often.  they’re so versatile, good for you and help pack that fiber. 

Lydia
Shelton, CT

Danielle

As a college student, I am usually limited in the veggie department in terms of variety. It’s a tough job making food for one while trying to not have everything go bad! As a result, as soon as I get home for a vacation, my first meal is usually a colorful salad chock full of delicious veggies that my mom fills the fridge with. This bowl is pretty big, don’t let the picture fool you

In this HUGE bowl was:
* lettuce
* cucumbers
* tomatoes
* baby carrots
* broccoli
* feta
* sunflower seeds
* fake crab
* homemade dressing (balsamic vinaigrette)

Danielle

Christina

My lunch is romaine lettuce with mini baby seedless cucumbers, fresh cut up peppers, cherry tomatoes, and asparagus!  I added some roasted chicken for protein and brown rice on bottom for carbohydrate.  A dash of lemon finished it off…enjoyed and was delish!!!!!  So fresh and light meal.

Christina
Hoboken, NJ

Johanna

A salad with spinach, sugas snap peas, broccoli, cucumber, tomatoes, cold-smoked tofu, strawberries, pine nuts and some grated low fat swiss cheese. Eaten from a serving plate, because I find that regular plates are too small for me.

Johanna
Tampere, Finland

Maya

Hey KERF readers ! My name is Maya and I’m an exchange student living in Belgium. After graduating high school, I took a gap year before university. In the fall I will be starting college in New York (so excited!) but in the meantime I am honing my French skills south of Brussels.

Eating healthily while still enjoying la vie belge (and trying to adapt my tastes to my host family’s way of living) took a little experimenting. During this year I started reading blogs, which showed me how to balance healthful and delicious food while still indulging in Belgian specialties.

This morning, I had a Fage yogurt blend of overnight oats. I find that this breakfast has staying power, yet it is a little lighter on the calories if I do need a mid morning snack (which I might need today considering I have an all morning sports event at my school! Oh lala!). I love Fage, but it’s a bit of an expense, so I often only use half a single serve container mixed with other ingredients. That way I got the protein boost I need as a vegetarian and the creamy taste of Fage while stretching out my Greek yogurt supplies. Last night I mixed 30 g (about a 1/3 of a cup) of multi grain oats with a small container of fat free plain yogurt (I would say maybe a 1/3 or ½ cup?), ½ a container of 0% Fage (about 85 grams and around 8 grams of protein) and a bit of water until the mixture was soupy. The oats absorb the water overnight, and in the morning you get a creamy bowl of muesli deliciousness. This morning I added a spoonful of wheat germ, raspberries, blueberries, and a drizzle of Bonne Maman lait confiture (jam). I think it’s supposed to resemble dulce de leche (one of my favorite treats from my father’s birth country, Chile!) but the consistency is a little different. Still delicious!

With my muesli marvel I read some Le Petit Nicolas adventures, because I am basically a French/Belgian child when it comes to my reading material.

Have a great day (Bonne Journée)! Hope you enjoyed the post!

Maya
Belgium

I first pan-seared the tofu using Soy Vay Veri Teriyaki sauce and the method described here.  This is hands-down the BEST way I’ve found to prepare tofu.  The Soy Vay teriyaki is also the BEST sauce for sauteeing veggies or tofu in.  While I pan seared the tofu, I cooked standard thai rice noodles.  Once the noodles were cooked I set those aside.  I sautéed the veggies in more Soy Vay sauce plus some peanut butter so it gets melty and saucey.  I added the noodles to the veggies (along with more peanut butter & some sriracha sauce) and cooked some more until everything was heated through and nice and gooey and spicy and peanutty.  Plate the noodles and veggies and place tofu squares on top with a sprinkle on scallions and/or crushed peanuts.  Voila!  A spicy, peanutty, and veggie-riffic home-cooked meal! 

Sarah
Northern Virginia
Sarah Is Healthy

This was so easy that anyone could make this.  Even my dad could! – and that says a lot.

I grilled a red pepper on the bbq and chopped up a tomato + half an avocado.  I got some rice pasta cooking and once that was finished, I mixed in the veggies (umm, fruit? avocado?) and added about 1 – 2tsp. extra virgin olive oil + fresh basil + juice of half a lemon + 1 tbsp. capers + 1 garlic clove + lots of little shrimpers.

That foreground shrimp appears to be wearing a basil leaf loin cloth.  Hmm, a little camera shy.

I want to relive eating this forever – or, at least until tomorrow when I think about reliving eating oats.

It tasted so fresh!  I love using the real stuff… real lemons, freshly picked basil… it does make a difference.  Give this “recipe” a try and you won’t be disappointed! 

The only bad part about this was it was a bit too garlicky for me, so I didn’t say hello to the bus driver on the way to the gym.  I felt kind of bad for not saying hi back, but I didn’t want him to fall out of his seat.  I’m sure he would have understood!

Adi
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Oatonomy

I found organic strawberries on sale yesterday and knew overnight oats were in my future.  Last night I combined a 1/2 c of rolled oats, 1/4 c LF Stoneyfield Farms vanilla yogurt and 1/2 c unsweetened Living Harvest vanilla hemp milk.

All stirred up and ready to soak over night!

This morning I topped with a tbsp of ground flax seed, 3/4 of a banana, a couple of cut up organic strawberries, a sprinkle of homemade granola and chopped walnuts for some crunch!  (I have to note that I make homemade granola ALL the time now, and it all started with your Maple Pecan Granola recipe!)

Breakfast Perfection! 

I’m a stay at home mom and am on my feet all day…. running around chasing my two crazy girlies, up and down the stairs, laundry, cleaning, playing…. all after an early morning work out to boot!  I HAVE to eat a solid breakfast that will give me lots of energy and stick with me until lunch time.

Allison
Rochester, NY
Mama’s Weeds