Spread the Love. Love the Spread.

Almost every night after I eat dinner, my sweet tooth creeps up on me. Sometimes, I get sick of just having a 100 calorie Biochem Sports Protein bar or a piece of fruit. I recently read a recipe (if you could call it that) of a yummy fruit dip. Something low-cal, yet fantastico! Product: Yogging. Yes, yogging. It's a cross between pudding and yogurt that is possibly the easiest, most delicious fruit dip you will ever taste.

Yogging and happy apple- together at last.

I took 1/2 cup of yogurt and 2 tsp sugar free/fat free vanilla pudding (you can use whatever flavor you want), stirred it all up, and paired it with a baby apple. The apple thanked me.

I got to thinking about spreads and dips. They are usually so fattening or unhealthy. But are there healthy dips/spreads out there? In reading my daily does of Glamour.com, I came upon an article about Herb Spread. 

Anyone that knows me well knows that, that when I get an idea about something, I run with it. Right. Away. I got excited about low-cal spreads. I perused the World-Wide Web for about an hour, and came up with this little listy of yummy-looking, healthy spreads:

• Low Calorie Fruit Spread (this is SUCH a boring name...)
• Fluffy Vanilla Pumpkin Dip
• Roasted Eggplant Spread
• Poor Man's Caviar
• Tuscan White Bean Spread
• Classic Hummus
• Smokey White Bean Spread with Roasted Garlic and Basil
• Roasted Garlic, Feta, and Walnut Dip
• Fire-Roasted Corn Dip

Cream cheese is probably the most common base for a dip. Who wants to consume all those cals? Not me. You can always substitute it with plain yogurt (get Greek for a thicker consistency) or blended cottage cheese. Hurray! I am excited. I want to eat all of these dips and spreads. Right now. You should to. Go. Do it.

Fast and Easy Quiche

This was the product of a bout of creativity! This is delicious, fast, and easy, as the name would suggest. This can be doubled or tripled and then split into little ramekins for individual servings.

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup instant grits
• 3 tbsp of half and half
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 1/4 cup vegetables of your choice, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix eggs, half and half, grits and seasoning in a bowl. 

Fold in vegetables and pour the mixture into a small baking dish. 

Put in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the egg is firm and the top is golden-brown. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Streusal Cheesecake Bars

I made these 3 times over the course of Thanksgiving week. They are amazingly good.

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 8 oz packages cream cheese (low fat), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 box General Mills yellow cake mix
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp whipping cream

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cake mix and pecans. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press remaining mixture. Bake 10 minutes.


In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; beat until well blended. Pour over warm crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping.

Bake about 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Onion and Garlic Sauce

I put this on top of Spaghetti Squash. It was so, so good. This would also go well with chicken, fish, or veggies.

• ½ cup onions
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup low fat sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put onions, garlic, vinegar, and wine into medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Take off burner and blend until smooth. Place back into pan and add sour cream. Simmer for 1 min. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!