If you guys are anything like me (and by the looks of the comments on Wednesday’s post, you are), the thought of anything rich and sugary sweet has your stomach turning somersaults right about now.
But how about a CLEAN dessert without the butter, sugar, or an impending tummy-ache?
Using stevia, this dessert is considered sugar-free, but if you don’t have access to stevia, I’d suggest going with xylitol or agave nectar. Both have low glycemic indexes and therefore cause little to no spikes in your blood sugar.
And with all that fiber? Let’s just say, it’ll help you with that post-Christmas detox! 😉
Yay for regularity!
Ok, I seriously can’t believe I just said that!
Regardless of what shape your gastrointestinal system is in right now, this makes one hell of a dessert, snack, or even a meal if combined with the right ingredients…
Maybe mixed with a little Greek yogurt? As a dip for apples? Or you could even thin it out and drizzle it over some protein pancakes!
Oh yeah, now we’re talking!
Have you ever tried avocado in a non-traditional way?
Don’t be scared. I promise it won’t taste like guacamole! It’s rich and creamy like butter…the perfect addition to smoothies, cakes, or even pancakes!
How are you doing bouncing back after all the holiday eating? I’m still on my diet of protein shakes and juice…but I DID manage to get down a grilled chicken salad for dinner last night!
Monday, I told you guys all about the weekend of celebrating that went down around here, complete with an alcoholic rendition of Dirty Santa, a garbage bowl hat, and how I FINALLY managed to get that pony I’ve been asking for for years…
But today? TODAY it’s ALL about the FOOD!
Be sure to head on over to Peas & Crayons and show some love to our hostess with the mostest, Jenn, for putting on this food filled fun-show each and every week and check out everyone else’s holiday deliciousness!
The food-filled weekend began with our family’s finger food FEASTival:
My contribution, also known as the ONLY healthy thing on the table (besides the carrots and celery sticks), was of course, the deviled eggs!
Originally, I had planned on making my Herbed-Ricotta Deviled Eggs, but since I was all out of ricotta, I had to improvise and what I came up with was even BETTER than the ones from Thanksgiving!
“Angelic” Deviled Eggs
By:Â Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Keywords: boil food processor side snack high protein low-carb eggs cottage cheese
Ingredients (Serves 12)
12 large eggs
1/3 cup cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
1-2 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish
paprika
Instructions
1. Place eggs in a large pot and cover with one inch of water.
2. Bring water to boil, remove from heat, cover with lid and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Drain water from pan and immediately submerge eggs in cold ice water to halt the cooking process.
4. Peel eggs and slice lengthwise, carefully removing the yolks.
5. Combine egg yolks, cottage cheese, and mustard in a small blender or food processor and process until smooth (add a little water if needed).
6. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in pickle relish.
7. Spoon mixture into egg halves and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.
Almost identical stats as the ricotta version but these were stuffed to the
MAX and SUPER CREAMY!
And totally worth a close-up shot! 😉
I loaded up my plate with a little bit of everything and then totally went back and attacked that meat and cheese tray…seriously, how do I always forget just how good summer sausage slices are?!
Then it was time for dessert…
A slice of almond cake and a few dark chocolate covered pretzels.
And then, this happened:
Nom nom nom!
As practically polished off half the jar of peanut butter and entered my Christmas food coma, I couldn’t even consider the thought of having dinner later…
Until my mom mentioned homemade french fries and sausage balls.
Sorry, no pic…just use your imagination!
Of course then my dad just HAD to bring out the leftovers from lunch, the meat and cheese tray was attacked again, Ritz crackers scattered the table, and then THIS happened:
I swear I’m not pregnant! But it was SO good! 😉
The next morning, after opening gifts, I put my new spatula to good use and I whipped up a batch of Trader Joe’s pumpkin pancakes!
Topped with walnuts, peanut butter, and maple syrup! 😀
After breakfast, we all got ready and headed over to my grandmother’s for lunch, but since my aunt had some leftovers from Christmas breakfast at her church that morning, we ended up having a lunch BRUNCH sort of meal…
Ham, mac ‘n cheese, green beans, and French toast casserole
For the record, ham and French toast is REALLY good together! 😉
But that wasn’t all my aunt brought over…
Kryptonite!!
You may laugh, but I kid you not when I say those little squares at the top should be ILLEGAL!! It was like a blondie but it was covered in chocolate chips and cranberries and…well, CRACK!
And I did just what any other crack head cookie lover would do…
I overdosed!
Later on that evening, back at my mom and dad’s house, I got the munchies (obviously)…
Remember those powdered sugar donuts from earlier?
Yeah, those guys!
Cookies may be my kryptonite, but a powdered sugar donut is just something I can NEVER turn down! And since I only had one the day before, I…ummm, well, I kinda maybe sorta ate half the package! Whoops?
And washed it down with a cup of this:
What would a Christmas weekend be without a little gluttony egg nog?!
Needless to say, once I arrived home that evening and laid down for my nap before work, I slept like a friggin’ BABY!
But now…three days later, and STILL feeling out of whack, the majority of my eats have looked like this:
And there has been a LOT of this:
Damn you donuts!
For the record, I’m petitioning for a REAL family dinner next year instead of the finger food thing we’ve been doing for the last couple of years…
the madness has to stop and well, I just miss all the home cookin’!
Does your family do a traditional dinner or finger foods for Christmas each year?
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Like I mentioned on yesterday’s post, I spent this past weekend with my family and celebrated Christmas a few days early since I’ll be working on Christmas day.
And it was a weekend FULL of marvelousness and merriment!
Starting with the Christmas tree itself…
I just love how it looks once all the presents are set out!Â
When I was a kid, I used to wake up in the middle of the night (far too early to even think about stirring the parentals) and I’d scurry out to the living room just to LOOK at the tree in all it’s Christmas wonderment. I would never even get close enough to see who’s gifts were who’s…I just wanted to soak up the vision of it all…then I would run back to my room, pull the covers up, and sleep a few more hours with the biggest, goofiest smile on my face!
Saturday afternoon was spent with my dad’s side of the family…
And we had our family’s first Dirty Santa gift exchange!
I swear we’re not all a bunch of alcoholics! 😉
I was the first to “dirty” up the game when I stole this from my mom! She laughed when I told her I was going to drink green smoothies out of it!
I have to say, this was one of the most creative gifts…my sister and my dad got together and folded up 20 one dollar bills into different forms of origami…my grandmother ended up with it and got a kick out of all the shapes!
Then?…then there was the Finger Food Feast of 2012!
My dad did all the food shopping this year and spent so much time preparing the food and setting everything up…can you believe this wasn’t even everything he bought?!
And of COURSE I made the deviled eggs…only this time I changed up the recipe AGAIN and this one is even BETTER…recipe coming soon!
Later that night, I worked on some holiday stress-relief…
Aka gift wrapping.
Each and every year I spend HOURS perfecting each and every package…curling and twisting ribbon until my fingers begin to cramp and my back starts to ache…and I love every minute of it!
Can you believe this was all just for my mom, dad, and sister? Yep, I spoiled them rotten this year! 😀
 But they spoiled me right back!
Sunday morning, we all woke up early and did our “Christmas Morning” gift exchange…
The first gift: Rachel Ray garbage bowl…also makes a great hat…who knew?! 😉
I also got some pretty square plates, a GINORMOUS pancake spatula, American Eagle gift cards, slippers, argyle socks, a necklace and earring set, and a pumpkin candle that I only wish was edible!
But the best gift I received?
Every year when my mom asks what we want for Christmas, I say I want a pony and my sister says she wants a unicorn…
Well, she finally broke down and bought them for us…
We couldn’t breath we were laughing so hard!
After I regained my composure, I headed to the kitchen to get started on breakfast…
How convenient:Â MY new spatula and MOM’S new frying pan!
Then, we were off to celebrate with my mom’s side of the family…
We kept it simple this year and just did lunch and spent time together instead of exchanging gifts, but then as we were heading out the door, my grandmother surprised us all with twenties.
It was definitely a jam-packed weekend…pretty sure I only averaged about 5 hours of sleep each night and then of course my workweek started last night after all of it, but if I had it to do all over, I wouldn’t change a thing!
My name is Heather! I'm a southern gal with a passion for food, fitness, and photography...and alliteration if you didn't notice! Here you'll find a mix of random musings, delicious recipes, and hopefully a chuckle or two! Check out my "About' tab to learn more!
And there has been a LOT of this:
I just love how it looks once all the presents are set out! 
