I’m kind of in love with Lisa Lillien right now. Who is she, you ask? She’s the woman behind Hungry Girl, a brand that started as a daily email to her friends and family and has blossomed into New York Times bestselling cookbooks and a show on The Food Network.

Lillien basically shows you how to eat delicious foods while cutting out some of the calories because, as she says on her website, “she is obsessed with food—how wonderful it is, and how much of it she can eat and still fit into her pants.”

I caught a piece of her show this weekend while I sat for a second to feed the baby. She was making cannoli-stuffed french toast nuggets that made my mouth water. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of french toast and a huge fan of dessert (hence, my love of brunch!). The combination of these two things makes me shake with glee!

So instead of rambling incoherently, here is the delicious recipe and all of its glorious details (click the link for a printer-friendly version on the Hungry Girl website):

Cannoli-Stuffed French Toast Nuggets

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 228 calories, 6.5g fat, 395mg sodium, 31g carbs, 3g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 12.5g protein — PointsPlus® value 6*

Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 5 minutes (MAKES 1 SERVING)

Ingredients:

Directions

My husband turns up his nose, but bear with me here.

It’s sweet. It’s salty. It’s creamy and crunchy. How can you really go wrong?

Better yet, a serving of the ice cream is only 3.5 grams of fat so as long as you are well behaved in the portion control part of your little dessert, it’s a guiltless indulgence.

I use sugar free syrup because I’m hypoglycemic and syrup makes me have a major sugar crash later on. But there’s no reason why you can’t use the infinitely more delicious pure maple syrup if you don’t have any sugar issues (again though, portion control!)

As a chocolate lover I didn’t think I’d love this concoction as much as I do. It totally hit the spot on this steamy evening!

Yum.

One of my best friends and I have decided that the definition of brunch is breakfast eaten with a dessert.

For us, it usually means whole wheat french toast with strawberries and whipped cream and a side of well-done bacon followed by a delicious piece of pie (we usually get two different kinds and end up picking at both).

She sips her coffee and I sip my mint tea while we listen to the endless chatter of my always talkative five-year old. It’s fantastic!

While we generally have brunch between breakfast and lunch, the most important part of it is that it’s a decadent combo of yummy breakfast food followed by a sinfully delicious treat (at least according to us!).

With this essential piece of info in mind, I’ve decided to invite my mom over for brunch tomorrow, giving me a rational excuse to eat french toast and a sweet treat side by side.

The Food Network’s Ellie Krieger has an awesome (healthy!) french toast bake recipe in one of her books:

Ingredients

• 1 large whole wheat baguette
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup low fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups sliced peaches (I usually substitute berries)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Spray 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray
2. Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices and arrange in a single layer in the pan
3. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla in a small bowl and pour mixture over bread
4. Toss peaches with lemon juice and 1 tablespoon brown sugar, scatter on top
5. Combine remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top
6. Cover and refrigerate overnight
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (while trying not to drool too much at the smell)

She also has a Blueberry Almond French Toast recipe that’s similar and sounds equally delicious!

Now I just have to decide what to do for dessert!

Brownies? Cupcakes with vanilla frosting and coconut? Some of those  yummy popsicles I’ve yet to try?

The possibilities are endless, but I’m too hungry to decide right now!

If you have any delicious dessert ideas, leave them below!

On a sticky summer afternoon there aren’t many things that are more refreshing than a fruity, ice-cold popsicle. These iconic treats totally embody summertime fun.

In our house we always have apple popsicles ready to go for when our bottomless pit of a daughter wants a little treat. We just pour apple juice into an empty ice tray, cover it with tin foil and make tiny slices that we can slide mini-popsicle sticks from our local craft store into. Quick, easy, cheap and healthy, she even requests these mini-pops for dessert!

But while they are perfectly acceptable to a five year old, mommy needs a little something more to satisfy her craving (ok, a lot more).

I saw an awesome popsicle post over on A Cup of Jo a few weeks ago and I’ve been drooling at the thought of these yummies ever since. While I haven’t had the chance to try them out myself yet, I’ve been collecting mouth-watering popsicle recipes that I need to try. Here are a few:

avocado popsicles via A Cup of Jo

greek yogurt berry popsicles via A Cup of Jo

chocolate cheesecake popsicle via Shine

strawberry coconut popsicle via The Tomkat Studio

These big girl popsicles would actually be great to serve at a summertime party. The Tomkat Studio has some super cute (and free!) printables on their site that you can dress your pops up a with if you’re feeling fancy.

If you have any delicious popsicle recipes, please share! I’m on the hunt for good ones!

I love smoothies. I could drink them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and never get sick of their refreshing yumminess.

It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. There’s just nothing quite like starting off your day with one. During the summer they cool you down. During the winter they allow you to feel like you’re sitting poolside (even if it’s just for a second!).

I’m particularly fond of homemade smoothies, since you know exactly what’s going into them (and since I have no desire to ask the guy at the smoothie stand in the mall for an Orgasm).

My go-to is strawberry coconut. I throw some frozen strawberries and coconut milk into the blender (sometimes I add a little Greek yogurt) and I’m good to go without thinking very much.

As much as I love my signature combo, sometimes a girl needs a little change. Real Simple recently had an awesome smoothie feature. I’m not gonna lie, I totally squealed when I saw it.

From run-of-the-mill mango to a spinach, grape and coconut concoction, these recipes most certainly piqued my interest.

I think I’ll try this one next:

Raspberry and Nut Smoothie

Ingredients: