I'm currently snuggled in front of our fireplace, watching my mom and sisters put the final touches on our Christmas Tree and passing out the Peppermint Bark that I just made. I tweeted a picture of it and got a ton of response back asking how to make it - so I figured I would do a quick blog post. I love this treat around the holidays to enjoy in front of the sparkly tree but it's also a quick and inexpensive treat to pass out to your neighbors and friends. You can whip up a few batches in 10 minutes, and then package them in a pretty little box with a bow - and there you have it, a super quick festive present.
All it takes are two ingredients, a double boiler, and a cookie tray. Like I said, very easy. For each batch you will need:
One 1 pound bag of white chocolate pieces - the ones I use look like this picture (I found this on Amazon haha!)
One 5oz. bag of peppermint crunch. I got both this and the white chocolate at a little bakery shop in town.
Last thing you need is a double boiler. My mom has one in her kitchen, but if you don't have one and don't know what they look like here is a picture:
You first bring the water to a boil in the bottom pot, and then pour the white chocolate into the top pot. Make sure to keep stirring the chocolate as it melts, keeping care to keep every drop of water out of the chocolate. If water gets in the chocolate it won't melt smoothly! Once the chocolate is melted pour in the peppermint crunch and stir it up. This entire process is only about 5 minutes long :) Then spread it out on a cookie sheet (on a piece of wax paper) and let it harden. Mine cooled and hardened in about 10 minutes. After that, break the bark up into little pieces and snack away!
Finished peppermint bark (1 batch worth, minus some snacking):
YUMMM!!! Tweet me and let me know if you try this out... it's delicious.
xoxo,
Elle
I have been on a never-ending quest to find yummy, healthy snack options since being on my health kick. I must admit, my idea of a good snack used to be potato chips, ice cream, or Mac N Cheese. Now that I have basically cut all 3 of those things out my life, I've had to move on to other options. Here is a small list of a few I have been loving:
- Apples and Peanut Butter - just don't overdo the peanut butter because it packs a lot of calories.
- Carrots and Hummus
- Pretzels and Hummus
- String Cheese (Low Fat) with an Apple or Banana
- Shrimp Cocktail - LOVEEEE THIS! If you are unfortunate (like me) and live far away from the sea I have found a decent shrimp cocktail at my Kroger.
- Grapes and a protein - like Deli Turkey
- Cottage Cheese and Peaches (I snubbed my nose at this one for awhile but it turns out... I love it now haha! My secret is I get the Fat Free kind - it takes away that strong cottage cheesy smell that I couldn't handle.)
- Yogurt with Granola (Greek Yogurt with a bit of honey.... mmmm)
- Organic Fruit Roll up (fruit leather)
- Cherry Tomatoes
Everyone always says "a handful of nuts" but I don't really like nuts so that's not a good option for me. I try to eat 2-3 snacks a day, one between breakfast and lunch, one between lunch and dinner, and sometimes one after dinner if I eat early.
So my question for you is - what are your healthy snack options? I have been on this kick for about 10 months now and I am starting to get tired of the above options. I am going to the store soon so I want to pick up a few new things.Elle Fowler
