No Bake Oatmeal Cookies with Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks from Walmart

I have been compensated by General Mills for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own.

This week has been a bit hectic, so being able to make a one-stop shop was pretty key early in the week. I stopped into my local Walmart to pick up a few things for around the house and was also able to grab some great snacks while I was there. If you didn’t already know, Walmart carries a number of natural and organic brands like LARABAR, Annie’s, and Cascadian Farms which makes grabbing snacks that I can feel good about pretty easy.

I picked up Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks which I found in the Cereal, Granola, Hot Cereal, and Syrup aisle of my local Walmart. These fruit snacks are delicious in and of themselves, but I decided I wanted to play around. I’ll be totally honest, it was hard hiding enough of them from my niece (she’s obsessed) to even make it into a recipe, but I somehow managed it. I was initially thinking some sort of trail mix or bar because they’re generally guaranteed to be toddler approved in my house, but I decided to take it a step further, cookies. Let’s be real, these are definitely a better for you option to normal cookies. I just knew that there was no way that my niece would say no to cookies, especially ones that had her favorite fruit snacks as a major ingredient.

So I got to cooking, well, not necessarily because these cookies don’t require an oven. They’re super easy to make, have minimal ingredients, and the most time consuming part is tossing them into the fridge to harden for about 20 minutes. It’s also probably the most difficult part because waiting on cookies is always the hardest part. But they’re definitely worth the wait, and if you can’t wait that long, they still taste just as good when they’re a little bit gooey.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

-One 4 oz box (5 pouches) of Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks
-1 ½ cups rolled oats
-1 cup dates, pitted
-1/4 cup unsweetened almond butter
-1/3 cup honey
-3/4 cup almonds, loosely chopped
-1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

1. Optional – Toast the rolled oats for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees in the oven.

2. Process or blend the pitted dates and about a spoonful of the oats in a food processor or blender for about a minute.

3. Add the almond butter and honey to a saucepan on the stovetop and warm over low to medium heat, stirring regularly.

4. Add the contents of three (of the five) Annie’s gummies pouches, oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, dates, and almond butter/honey mixture into a large mixing bowl.

5. Mix together all ingredients with hands or a mixing spoon, distributing ingredients as evenly as possible.

6. Form small balls from the mixture (about ¼ cup each) and flatten into a cookie shape, topping each with 1-2 gummies from the remaining two Annie’s pouches, and placing the cookies on a plate or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. Once the mixture is totally used (makes about 12 cookies), top the cookies with more parchment paper and place in the fridge to harden for about 20 minutes.

8. Serve, and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and I’d love to hear about any fun and creative ways you incorporate the natural and organic products you’ve picked up from Walmart.

Green Chile & Aged Cheddar Turkey Meatball Skewers

Blue Moose of Boulder products have easily become some of my favorites. They make so many delicious goodies - hummus, cheese dips, salsas, and pesto, and they really are all SO good! As we're getting further into football season, it really hit me - they have the BEST game days eats! Veggies or chips with any of their dips or some pesto skewers would make for a huge hit during any entertaining you're doing this football season.

That being said, I decided I wanted to kick it up another notch and create even more options with these already delicious products. So over the next few weeks I'll be playing around with some fun football-ready recipes that are perfect to serve when you're watching the big game.

I decided to kick it off with some turkey meatballs. I thought the Green Chile & Aged Cheddar Cheese Spread would be the perfect way to pack that extra flavor into some mini meatballs. The idea was to make little appetizer-sized cheeseburger bites. I added some fresh burger toppings to the skewers, and they made for the perfect football snack!  

Here's What You'll Need:

-1 lb ground turkey
-1 egg
-1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
-3 tbsp Blue Moose of Boulder Green Chile & Aged Cheddar Cheese Spread
-2 large tomatoes, chopped
-About 30 (spicy) dill pickle slices
-About 30 toothpicks

Makes 25-30 mini meatballs

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and spray a pan with (olive oil) cooking spray.
2) Mix together the ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic, and cheese spread in a bowl using your hands.
3) Scoop out tablespoon amounts of the mixture and form into small balls with your hands, spreading out evenly on the pan.
4) Cook the meatballs for about 15 minutes until they are fully cooked through. Remove from the oven.
5) Fold a pickle slice in half and push it to the top of the toothpick with about a finger's amount of room. Add a tomato chunk, and finish the skewer off with a turkey meatball.
6) Continue until all the meatballs are used.
7) Serve, and enjoy!

You can also serve them with the dipping sauce of your choosing, but I honesty loved them as is. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Back to School Pipcorn Snack Mix

It's September which means it's that time of year again - back to school. Schedules are falling into place, lunches are being packed, and that back to school traffic is back in gear. So how can we beat the back to school blues? It's simple really, with this delicious Pipcorn snack mix.

Whether you're packing lunch for your kids or yourself or even just looking for a quick and easy throw together snack for an upcoming Labor Day weekend party, this mix is perfect. It has that sweet and salty combo which will have you eating by the handful. I'd honestly even eat it for dessert. 

It takes just minutes to mix together. Then all you have to do is pop it in the freezer for about an hour, and you're ready to go. It doesn't get much easier. You can even make it in a dorm room (I see you college students). So let's get started!

Here's what you'll need:

1) Two cups sea salt Pipcorn
2) 1/2 cup raw pistachio kernels, lightly chopped
3) 1/4 cup dark chocolate bing cherries, chopped (dark chocolate coated raisins work just as well)
4) 2 tbsp original Essentially Coconut coconut butter, melted

Instructions:

1) In a large bowl, combine the Pipcorn, pistachios, and dark chocolate cherries.
2) Evenly pour about half of the melted coconut butter over the top. Mix the ingredients using a spatula. Pour the rest of the coconut butter in, and mix again.
3) Cover the bowl with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about an hour until the coconut oil has solidified.
4) Using a spatula, scrape the mix off the sides of the bowl and de-clump any huge clumps of the mix. 
5) Place in a serving bowl, and enjoy!

If you aren't going to eat the mix immediately, you can store it in the fridge. If you're taking it on the go, it doesn't need to be refrigerated, as the coconut butter will stay solid as long as it isn't too hot out. If you're serving it at a party, I might suggest at least doubling the recipe because it will be gone pretty quickly, trust me!

Let me know how you use this snack mix and what you think in the comments below!

Blueberry Superfood Frozen Yogurt Bark

I can't believe summer is winding down so quickly, but I refuse to accept that it's over (I mean c'mon, we've got almost a whole month left)! I'm still over here grilling, enjoying the fresh produce, and eating all of the frozen desserts. Case and point - this blueberry superfood frozen yogurt bark. It's SO easy to make, so summery, and so delicious! And I will most definitely be whipping up a batch or three for some labor day weekend festivities coming up.

Here's What You'll Need:

-Four 6.6 oz containers of blueberry Epic Seed Greek Yogurt + Chia
-1/4 cup Wyman's of Maine fresh frozen wild blueberries
-1/4 cup dark blueberry or plain chocolate of choice, chopped

Instructions:

1) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or wax paper.
2) Mix together the Epic Seed packages either in a bowl or as your spread them onto the baking sheet. The packages have the fruit and chia portion at the bottom, so we want that spread evenly throughout the Greek yogurt. 
3) Spread the yogurt evenly, covering the entire baking sheet.
4) Sprinkle the frozen blueberries and dark chocolate pieces over the yogurt.
5) Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 2+ hours until it's fully frozen.
6) Once frozen, remove the yogurt from the pan, cut it into chunks using a knife, and enjoy or place back into the freezer until serving time.

The frozen yogurt bark will melt, so make sure to keep it cool until you're ready to eat it. It's the perfect picnic (or really any day) guilt free dessert. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Pipcorn Dessert Bars

I was recently introduced to Pipcorn, delicious, mini popcorn that is all natural, gluten free, and non-gmo just to name a few. It's so delicious (like please hide it from me or I will eat it ALL delicious) and not to mention cute! So I decided to play around with it.

Instantly I thought to go the savory route because that's just how I'm wired, but then I thought maybe I should challenge myself a little. I pretty much never share dessert recipes on here (something I need to change), so I figured why not! The Sea Salt Pipcorn would pair perfectly with some sweet goodies, so why not make it all into a bar. This bar is packed with flavor and the perfect snack or dessert. Bring it to your next party, and it'll definitely be a crowd pleaser!

Here's What You'll Need:

-4 cups Sea Salt Pipcorn
-1 cup dried (sour) cherries
-1 cup Purely Pecans roasted pecans, chopped
-1/4 cup Wedderspoon Manuka Honey
-8 squares Alter Eco Dark Salted Burnt Caramel Chocolate, separated

Instructions:

1) Chop up 5 of the chocolate squares.
2) In a bowl, mix together the Pipcorn, cherries, pecans, and chopped chocolate pieces.
3) Add in the honey and mix completely so that it is evenly dispersed.
4) Line a rectangular baking sheet or dish with wax or parchment paper (using a smaller dish/pan 7-8" by 10-12" is the way to go because you want to the mixture to entirely cover the bottom).
5) Pour the the mixture into the dish, and evenly ditribute it with a spatula.
6) Pop the dish into the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
7) Melt the remaining dark chocolate pieces on the stove top or in the microwave. Be very careful not to burn it.
8) Remove the dish from the freezer, and drizzle the melted chocolate all over the top.
9) Place back in the freezer for at least another 30 minutes.
10) Remove from the freezer, cut the mix into bars, and serve.

This combination of flavors is just perfect, and it really gives a different, healthier dessert option. They're also a great snack! if you let the bars warm at room temperature for a bit, they also turn into a delicious trail mix-like snack. Let me know what you think in the comments below!