Creamy Strawberry Banana Popsicles

July 13, 2026July 12, 2026 RefreshHer4 Comments

When I was a child, I remember the delight of hearing the ice cream truck coming down our street, ringing its bell while playing carnival-like music. We occasionally were able to purchase a treat, but oh how fun when we did! Is summer really summer for a child without popsicles? Okay, it is, but there’s something special about a delicious frozen treat on a hot summer day! The ice cream truck isn’t needed for the treats I’m sharing today!

Homemade popsicles are so easy and are full of good ingredients. Last week my grandson came over for a visit. Wanting to make our time together special, I thought it would be fun for him to make these popsicles. I pulled up the recipe for these treats on Taste of Home’s site, and found that the five ingredients needed were all in my pantry and freezer. He often has to miss out on purchased treats because he is highly sensitive to food dyes, and many of the frozen varieties contain artificial colors. These are all natural ingredients and he was so excited both to make them and to eat them!

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3-Ingredient Healthier Queso

December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 RefreshHer2 Comments

With the holiday season upon us, fattening foods are always lurking, ready to destroy any thought of healthy eating. Am I right? I have a great recipe for you that’s good enough to serve at a party, or for your snack craving tomorrow that will give you a healthy indulgence!

Last summer a friend told me about a “Cottage Cheese Queso” that she said was amazing and so much healthier. I was a little skeptical, but always looking for a way to cut calories and still eat delicious food, I wanted to give it a try. I’m usually slow to jump on the bandwagons of recipes that fly around the Internet, but this recipe has been on my radar ever since my friend’s suggestion. I tried it just a couple weeks ago. I’m sorry I waited so long!

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snack

Monkey Treats – An After-School Snack

September 2, 2024September 2, 2024 RefreshHer6 Comments

No matter if it happens in a public arena, a private setting or at home, school is hard work, hard play, and lots of energy spent. Those growing bodies need something delicious and nutritious at the end of the school day to re-energize them. Nothing is better than something homemade. I have a super easy and oh, so good snack idea that fits that bill! These are called, Monkey Treats, simply because of the main ingredient…

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snack

Parmesan & Chili Popcorn

April 3, 2023April 2, 2023 RefreshHer7 Comments

I love good food, but the truth is, I don’t have a problem eating small portions of what I love. In other words, I’ve never eaten a stack of cookies, I rarely eat a whole candy bar in one sitting, and a scoop of ice cream is plenty for me. HOWEVER, when it comes to POPCORN, it’s an entirely different story. Perhaps I should join (or create) Popcorn Antonymous, a group for popcorn lovers like me. I love it slightly buttered, caramelized, or cheesy. I DO NOT like the microwave versions. Give me the kernels and let me do it my own way.

Recently I found another savory flavor to make at home, thanks to my Ina Garten Cookbooks. it was SO delicious and also a cinch to make!

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breakfast · snack

Chocolate-Strawberry Granola

April 11, 2022April 10, 2022 RefreshHerLeave a comment

I hope your weekend was a blessing! Let’s start your week off with a great granola for breakfast or snacking!

I love the chocolate granola I buy in the grocery store, but it is very expensive. I was happy to find a recipe and then tweak it a little bit to come up with a recipe that I like even better than the grocery store version!

Sprinkled over Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, this is a favorite breakfast!

Chocolate Strawberry Granola

½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3 cups oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup of freeze dried strawberries, crushed
3 Tablespoons chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small saucepan, heat sugar, oil and honey until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Turn off stove and remove from heat.
2. In a separate bowl add oats, walnuts, cocoa powder and salt. Add sugar and oil mixture and vanilla.
3. Stir to coat and pour onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 275°F for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

4. Set tray on the counter and sprinkle with chocolate chips and stir to melt into the granola. Allow to cool and add strawberries.

Sweet, slightly crunchy, and chocolate-y, this is so good any time of the day! Also, I have occasionally found the freeze dried strawberries at The Dollar Tree!

I store the granola in a large glass jar when it has cooled completely.

I’m working on some glitches with my blog media, but if you want to see a picture of this granola, go to my Instagram account and you’ll find it there! Look for the camera/Instagram icon on this page. Click it and you’ll find the granola picture there!

Have you ever tried Chocolate Granola? I hope you’ll make this simple recipe. My traditional recipe is here and a healthier version is here.