It's easy to get lost looking at tempting desserts and bacon-laced appetizers while browsing food on Pinterest. But recently I found this Cheesy Quinoa Bites recipe from Becky of So Very Blessed, and thought, finally! A healthy snack that I can customize and enjoy many different ways.

My adaptation of Becky's recipe results in an Italian style quinoa nugget, a perfectly savory snack when dipped in marinara sauce. Next time, I think I will try making a Mediterranean style quinoa nugget by substituting feta cheese in place of the provolone and mozarella, switching curry spices for the Italian seasonings I used this time, and tahini sauce instead of marinara. The wheels are turning!

I N G R E D I E N T S :

• 3 C cooked Quinoa
• 1.5 C Carrots, shredded (I did mine in a food processor)
• 1.5 C Cheese (I used a mix of mozarella and provolone)
• 3 Large Eggs
• 3 Green Onions, chopped
• 3 Garlic Cloves
• 3 T Corn Starch
• Seasoning to taste (I used salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings)
• Dipping Sauce of choice (I used Newman's Own marinara)

M E T H O D :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all ingredients, except for your dipping sauce, and scoop out into a non-stick or greased muffin tin, filling each section half way. Using a spoon, press down the nuggets, especially around the edged, to avoid burning on any part of the batter that is sticking up. Bake for 20 minutes, and serve hot.

Makes approximately 1.5 dozen nuggets.

The night the hospital nurse told me I could finally eat solid food again in the morning, I literally dreamed about oatmeal. I'm a silly girl, but to me, a heathfully loaded bowl of oats is the perfect, if not craveable, way to start the day. Of course, the oatmeal they brought me in the morning was worthy of only nightmares, but as soon as I came home, my mother made me some oatmeal just the way I like it. Even my no-hot-cereal-eating husband loves this healthy version of oatmeal! "It tasts like apple pie!" His words, not mine. Though I whole-heartedly agree.

The trick to this recipe is cooking the oats with apple in milk instead of water.

I N G R E D I E N T S   F O R   O N E   S E R V I N G :

• 1 Cup of Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 small apple, chopped (I used Gala)
• Cinnamon to taste (I just used probably 1/16 of a teaspoon)
• 3/4 Cup of milk (I used skim, not non dairy milk should work too!)
• Honey to taste

• optional: apple slice for garnish (and eating, of course!)

M E T H O D :

Combine all ingredients except for the honey in a small sauce pan, cooking on low temperature for 5-10 minutes, or until oats get a little mushy. Be sure to stir frequently so the milk doesn't burn and the oats don't stick to the pan. When finished cooking, I usually leave the lid on the pan for a few minutes so everything softens up a tiny bit more.

Pour into your bowl of choice, top with the apple-slice garnish, and drizzle with honey. You'll love the dimension that the cooked apples and cinnamon give to the oats, and I promise, when adding honey to the cooked apples, you won't even miss the sugar!

I'm headed into my second trimester of pregnancy this week (woo hoo!), and I've been ecstatic to find my normal appetite returning. Two weeks ago I made a mild curry dish, hoping the carrots, rice and potatoes would be subtle enough for me to actually stomach- but no dice. So now that I can stand to smell yummy food again, I thought I'd give curry another go! This time in the form of a veggie patty.

I have tried this veggie patty recipe before, but attempted to blend the ingredients in a blender. Big mistake. The second time around worked much better, but I think I might've blended it too well, because the batter sort of turned into paste. Still, I cooked up some patties and found that they kept their shape better when reheated the next day. Such a yummy, satisfying lunch. And not too shabby in the health department, either!

M Y   C U R R I E D   V E G G I E   B U R G E R   P I T A   I N C L U D E S :

• Arnold's 8 grain Pocket Thin
• hummus (spread on inside top and bottom of pita)
• green lettuce
• spinach
• thinly sliced tomato (two slices)
• thinly sliced onion (I used all the parts of one slice)
• veggie patty (recipe via Veggie Num Num)
• 2 dill pickle spears on the side