Hungry for something…

Seeing that I have cut out a lot of prepackaged and processed foods, sometimes I crave Pop Tarts. Of all the things that I want, why in the world Pop Tarts?  They are one of the worst foods you could eat.  They are totally unhealthy and extremely processed.   They are high in sugar… actually High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I have never understood why manufacturers have to use both sugar and HFCS?  This boggles my mind.  After doing a ton of research on HFCS, I don’t understand why the FDA still allows manufacturers use it!  I could go on and on about HFCS, but I will spare you this time! But please do your own research on it.   Don’t believe everything you see on TV either… specially the commercial where they are talking about how it is the same as sugar… NO IT IS NOT!   OK, off my soap box and back on track!  🙂

Substitution for Kellogg’s Pop Tarts!!!!!

About 3 years ago my husband and I joined forces with Usana Health Sciences to help teach people how to live a healthy lifestyle.  We are so happy we did!  Both Dan and I love helping people lose weight, gain energy and learn how to change their lifestyle in order to have better health!  That is where we met Kathy Kaehler (fellow Usana lover)!   Kathy is a personal trainer for the Superstars, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, and more… But she also has started a program call Sunday Set-Up.  This program she give you a meal plan, recipes, workouts and more!  The best things about her recipes is that they are typically Low Glycemic and very healthy.

Dan, Kathy Kaehler and Me
Copyright by Holly Hedman

Eating a low glycemic diet will typically reduce the amount of processed foods and increase the amount of fiber you eat.  As you see in the photo below is what happens to your blood sugar levels when you eat high glycemic foods and low glycemic foods.  When you eat high glycemic foods, your blood sugar levels will skyrocket and drop drastically.  But when you eat low glycemic foods, it takes your body longer to process it and your blood sugar levels stay in the optimal range (shown in the photo the optimal range is in the teal color.) There will be more information on the importance of eating low glycemic in up coming articles, so be on the look out for them. The Sunday Set-up program has great recipes and that is where I got the idea to make homemade fruit pastries (i.e. Pop Tarts) from.  I only used 5 ingredients which is a little different then how the recipe from Sunday Set-up is.  I am always changing recipes because it is fun to take a recipe and tweek it.  With all of that being said, here is how I made my homemade fruit pastries that is loved by the whole family!

Homemade Fruit Pastries

Basically, what I did was take a block of cream cheese and mash it up.  Then I added a container of washed raspberries (but leaving some out for the frosting) and mixed it with the cream cheese.  To sweeten it up a little more, I added 2 tablespoons of Agave nectar.  Mixed it all together and got my crust ready.  This time I just used pre-made crust but sometimes I make the crust too.  I unrolled the crust and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.  It can be any shape, but one that is big enough for the filling.

Filling the pastries

Once all the pastries are filled then they are ready to be baked at 375 degrees till dark golden brown as seen in the photo.

bakes fruit pastries

While the pastries are cooling, take the leftover raspberries and mash them up with a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.  Then add about a cup or so of powdered sugar to get the consistency of frosting.  Once the pastries are cooled, spread the frosting on.

Finished Product!

These are so good and is so hard not to eat all of them in one sitting.  Try to keep it at two pastries.  Two of these a long with some more fruit or yogurt will make for a nice breakfast.  Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This recipe is not mine but Sunday Set-up‘s. I am sharing it with you because it is kid friendly food and easy to make.  The photos are all my photos but I do not claim the recipe as mine! 🙂

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Thanks for taking time to read about our journey into homeschooling.  Please feel free to share my blog with your friends and family!  Also, I would love to learn from you and how you homeschool.  Please leave a comment below.  Have a Blessed Day!