Healthy recipes to get back on track

By Mila Pantovich | April 3, 2012

With the random weather shifts, March has been a strange month and it has been oddly tough to stay away from the sweets. Most of us have triggers when it comes to food; some go for the sweets when big life changes occur and some just hit the snacks late at night. It can be really difficult to find foods that are good for you, and still satisfy your cravings, but thankfully there are tried and true recipes out there for you.

Here are a few recipes, family approved, that will hopefully work well to satisfy your rumbling belly. Most of these ingredients can be altered to suit individual tastes, so remember to have fun and make these snacks your own!

Crunchy Veggie Wraps

4 tortillas

4 tablespoons low fat cream cheese

1 cup shredded spinach

½ cup shredded cabbage

¼ cup chopped tomatoes

½ cup diced cucumbers

¼ cup alfalfa sprouts

½ cup sliced avocado

2 tablespoons finely diced red onion

Salt and pepper for taste

Spread 1 tablespoon of cream cheese in each tortilla and sprinkle each with the veggie mixture. Wrap and enjoy.

The fun thing with wraps is that you can literally put whatever you want in them. Hummus makes a fantastic replacement for the cream cheese and black beans are a welcome addition to any wrap.

Zucchini Pecan Flaxseed Bread

1.5 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups shredded zucchini

¼ cup chopped pecans + 3 tablespoons

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 eggs

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

¾ cup sugar

½ cup ground flaxseed

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in large bowl. Spread the zucchini out and dry with paper towels. Mix the yogurt, eggs, oil, and vanilla in another bowl. Once mixed, stir in the zucchini and pecans. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased loaf pan and sprinkles the extra 3 tablespoons of chopped pecans on top. Bake for around 25 minutes, depending on your oven. Check periodically to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Granola Bars of Dee-Lite 

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup raisins

½ cup chocolate chips

2 cups quick cook oats

2.5 cups rice cereal

½ cups low fat peanut butter

½ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons protein powder (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together oats, cereal, and raisins. In a sauce pan, heat sugar and honey, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until creamy. Combine wet and dry ingredients, and mix until evenly coated. Once mixed, let stand for 10 minutes. Add chocolate chips last. Press in 9×13 inch pan. Allow to cool completely and then cut to enjoy. Wrap remaining bars in saran wrap and they keep pretty nicely.