Recipes + Salty + Party Snacks

Lighter Chili With Cocoa Powder

What is the key to great tasting chili? (cocoa powder) Many would suggest that you put a lot of meat and sausage to make it delicious….

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chili: Healthy, Inexpensive, and Delicious

This slow cooker quinoa chili is for right now. Can't afford meat? No problemo.....

Roasted Walnuts Recipes **VIDEO**

Are you looking for a way to wow your friends and family while doing very little work? Try these roast walnuts recipes!

Cucumber & Tomato Bites for a Healthy Snack

The calendar says that summer isn’t over. I, for one, am still pigging out on inexpensive produce.....

Fresh Tomato Salsa in Minutes

Fresh tomatoes are rolling into supermarkets and farmer’s markets and they are cheap!...

Cool, Crisp, and Very Yummy: Watermelon Feta Bites

I don’t know about you, but I am hot! A heat wave here in Massachusetts made me feel like the Wicked Witch of The West....

Three Layer Bean Dip: Because Three is Faster Than Seven

I was first introduced to "Seven Layer Dip" in 1995 and I immediately fell in love...

Love Buffalo Chicken Wings? A Dip That Will Satisfy

Buffalo chicken wings are usually served with a few sad sticks of celery....

Time for Refrigerator Pickled Green Beans

I know you probably think it is time for potato chips – but you are wrong....

The “Worst Food In America” Gets a Makeover

I have not been the recipient of any free zucchini this summer but I know it is coming.....

Snack Girl’s Bacon and Eggs

Easter happened yesterday and my family has a tradition of dying hard-boiled eggs and hiding them around the house....

An Egg Roll Makeover

Egg rolls were one of those foods that I always ordered if I was getting Chinese food. Until I met my husband and he ruined everything....

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

The American Buffalo chicken wing is a scary thing....

Who Needs Seven When You Can Get It Done In Three?

Snack Girl was first introduced to seven layer dip in 1995....

It’s All About The Portion Size: French Fry Bites

Snack Girl’s friend, Jerri, likes potatoes whatever way you serve them. Mashed, chips, baked, scalloped, or roasted he hasn’t met a potato he wouldn’t eat.....

Give Your Popcorn A South Of The Border Spin

Snack Girl is sitting in a sleeting mess of a storm. She is dreaming of white sand and turquoise water....

Healthier Meatballs in a Snap

Does Snack Girl look like she has time to make meatballs? Look at me up there! I look busy....

Why Snack Girl Loves This Salad

I was tempted to entitle this post, “Why Snack Girl Loves This Cupcake”, because salad puts people to sleep. zzzzz.....

A Delicious Portion-Controlled Potato Recipe

Snack Girl features potatoes because they are inexpensive, nutritious, and super yummy....

Tomatoes Can Break Your Heart

Snack Girl has a love affair with tomatoes. Sorry, Tom Cruise, I lust after a summer tomato....

What To Do With Fresh Tomatoes

Can you believe those colors? You know how they say to "eat the rainbow". Here is your chance!....

Refreshing, Crunchy, Salty, Sweet, & Spicy Watermelon

Sometimes it is hard to buy one of those LARGE watermelons. Are you really going to eat all of that?....

Another Healthy BBQ Side: Red Potato Salad

Yeah, baby, it is time for potato salad. I used to buy it at my local supermarket until I found out how much better it is when you make it fresh.....

What To Bring to a Potluck BBQ

Barbeques are great because you don’t have to cook indoors and everyone gets it....

A Summertime Blast For Your Taste Buds

I don’t know about you, but I am hot! The heat wave here in Massachusetts made me feel like the Wicked Witch of The West....

Try A New Burger This Summer

I know what you are thinking - "Hello, lovely.....nom nom nom" Yes, that is a portobello mushroom burger that you will be making this summer....

Lighten The Devil In These Eggs

Yes, this photo does look like "deviled" eggs, but Snack Girl has a fix to make them much less evil....

Makeover This Favorite Bar Food

This recipe is seriously fun. I was skeptical at first, but then I started enjoying myself....

A Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe For The Snack Girl Recipe Swap

Last month, I featured a recipe swap with carrots as the featured vegetable. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.

Tasty Three Layer Dip In A Snap

Do you ever get stuck with having to make something and not wanting to drive to the store?...

Crunchy, Salty, & Satisfying Homemade Cheese Crackers

The cracker aisle at the supermarket is fraught with peril. I cannot tell you how many e-mails I get about crackers....

Our First Recipe Swap Featuring Carrots & My Favorite Pickled Carrots

Don’t those look delicious? Mmmmm, carrots....

Looking For Red and Green? Try This!

Snack Girl will not apologize for her continued healthy holiday search. Today's entry: The Christmas Salad....

Try A Lighter Potato Pancake

THE holiday food of Hanukkah is the potato pancake (AKA latke). The traditional recipe for potato latkes can include 3-4 cups of oil....

What Are You Bringing To Thanksgiving?

How many of you out there hate Brussels Sprouts? I bet you are really looking forward to them on your Thanksgiving table....

Rock The House With Your Toaster Oven

Sometimes the simplest snacks are the best. I suppose the above snack isn’t going to win me any awards, but I still wanted to feature it....

Think Beyond Mayo With Spooky Green Spread

Wow! Isn’t that green up there? That isn’t food coloring....

Little Bites With Big Flavor: The Mini Reuben

Does anyone else out there love deli sandwiches? You know the ones I am talking about....

Pizza Without Guilt

Snack Girl doesn’t believe in guilt about food. For me, there is no “good” food vs. “evil” food....

A Simple Fix For An Iconic Meaty Sandwich: The Sloppy Joe

Anyone else like sloppy joes? This sandwich consists of ground meat, onions, and mystery sauce from a can served on a bun....

Take Your Raw Veggies To the Next Level

Awwww, ma, raw veggies AGAIN! Yes, I know it is difficult but there is nothing healthier....

No Need For A Deep Fryer With These Corn Fritters

Deep frying food is cheating in my book. You can make a pencil taste delicious if you deep fry it....

Replace Potato Skins With Zucchini Boats

Row, row, row, your zucchini, gently down the STREAM!!...

Eggplant For Dummies

My partner is allergic to eggplant so there hasn’t been one eggplant post on Snack Girl. That changes today!...

A Ranch Dressing Makeover For All You Salad Lovers

Last week, I posted about grilling Romaine lettuce and a bunch of you asked for recipes for making your own salad dressing.

Romaine Lettuce Doesn’t Have To Be Boring

What am I talking about? Romaine lettuce IS boring!....

Do Something Different With Watermelon

Sometimes it is hard to buy one of those LARGE watermelons. Are you really going to eat all of that?

Turn Dull Beans Into A Potato Chip Replacement

Yesterday, we featured canned beans in a sneaky way. Today, they come out behind the curtain.

A Seriously Cool Appetizer Featuring Watermelon

I don’t know about you, but I am hot! The heat wave here in Massachusetts made me feel like the Wicked Witch of The West....

Healthier Buffalo Chicken Wings

Vegans, avert your eyes. We are going to the land of chicken and you know you are eating an animal when you chomp into a wing....

Where's The Beef? A Better Burger

I know what you are thinking - "Hello, lovely.....nom nom nom" Yes, that is a portobello mushroom burger that you will be grilling this summer....

A Super Healthy Addition To Your Grill

Hot dogs, hamburgers, steak......salad! Yes, add some salad to your grill this Memorial Day weekend.

Taking Cauliflower To A New Level

For me, the challenge with cauliflower is making it taste like something. Bland food is simply not enjoyable to eat and I want to enjoy my food!

Kale Chips: Believe The Hype

Kale is getting a lot of press and finding its way on all the top blogs. I had to ask this kale to stop on the red carpet to photograph it....

Greet Spring With Some Bacon (And Asparagus)

Whenever I write about bacon, Snack Girl gets a surge of readers. Why?...

Love Chocolate But Need To Eat Less Of It? Try This

The simple truth is that chocolate rocks. It seems to hit the a very special pleasure center in the brain....

Looking For A Low Cal Burger? Give This Yummy, Simple, and Vegan Burger A Shot

I recently noticed that my favorite brew pub has a VEGGIE burger on its menu. Yes, we have shifted a bit when it comes to our burger consumption....

Return To An Old Favorite Snack (With A Twist)

Sometimes we need a little inspiration to make a healthy snack. We get into snack ruts because we are super busy....

The Best Brand Of Crackers (Your Own)

Since this site is called "Snack Girl", I get a bunch of questions about crackers. Frankly, I am pretty lost in the cracker aisle myself...

Fish Tacos With Cabbage Slaw: In Season And Yummy

Are you trying to eat seasonal foods? Put down those hard tomatoes and grab some cabbage....

Broccoli With Peanut Sauce Is For Everyone (Even The Broccoli Haters)

Raise your hand if you like steamed broccoli with nothing on it! One, two.....TWO of you :)....

For Good Luck And Good Health Try This For New Year's

Looking for a future of prosperity? All you have to do is eat the right food on New Year's Day.

The Unthinkable: A Christmas Salad

Snack Girl will not apologize for her continued healthy holiday search. Today's entry: The Christmas Salad.

Turn A Healthy Food That You Hate Into A New Love

How many of you out there hate Brussels Sprouts? I bet you are really looking forward to them on your Thanksgiving table....

The Cheapest And Healthiest Snack In The Snack Aisle

The snack aisle is one of the worst places in the grocery store to find a snack. But, there is an exception.

A Fantastic Snack From A Scary Place

You guys been anywhere scary lately? How about Costco where all your money seems to get scared out of your wallet?....

Love Salted Chocolate Caramels? Try This Healthy Candy Alternative

No one is ever going to accuse Snack Girl of not loving a WEE bit of chocolate. But, my taste bud credentials have been called into question....

A Delicious Almost Zero Calorie Snack (Really!)

When you look at those mushrooms up there do you think they are covered in olive oil? Yes?...

The Secret To Making Chicken Breast Taste Much Better Than A Hockey Puck

Snack Girl hasn't sucked on a hockey puck lately, but she has grilled skinless chicken breast past the point of edible....

Comfort Food Made Healthier

Anyone else like sloppy joes? This sandwich consists of ground meat, onions, and mystery sauce from a can served on a bun....

Fall In Love With A New Whole Grain

The comfort zone of American cuisine is meat, potatoes, and a wee bit of vegetables. When it comes to whole grains, we are sadly lacking....

Chill Out With Some Watermelon Tomato Soup

You see that leaf of basil up there? I wish that was ME! Why? Because it is 100F, and that soup is COLD....

Makeover The Best Selling Salad Dressing In America

Eating a lot of salad is a great way to maintain your health. And, when, you are asked which dressing you would like with that salad - many of you answer RANCH!....

A 100 Calorie Pizza That Will Rock Your Sox

You know what? It isn't that hard to make healthy pizza. Pizza would always be pretty healthy if we chose not to put 1/2 pound of cheese on every slice....

Why Watermelon Makes Us Feel Good

Snack Girl is chomping on watermelon and loving it. A hot day, a slice of watermelon, and watermelon juice all over the place. This is summer!...

A Fruit You Just Gotta Try

Something green and yummy is sitting right now in your supermarket and it will make your taste buds sing. This fruit resembles a tomato and is a staple of Mexican cuisine...

You Don't Need The Bread For This Healthy Snack

The local tomatoes are beginning to roll in around here and Snack Girl is happy. I will be even HAPPIER when they start to ripen in my garden....

How To Eat Less Red Meat & Still LOVE Your Burger

This burger above has a secret. It is not as fattening as it seems. What did Snack Girl do?...

Sweet Corn Is A Stellar Snack

Don't tell me you haven't noticed the piles of corn at the front of your local grocery store. The stacks of 10 ears for $2 are calling Snack Girl....

Z Fries: The Latest In Nutritious, Delicious, and Low Cal Fries

Z French like to sspeak like thissss. In France, they call French fries - frites. Don't they know they are French fries? sheesh....

Whole Grain, Homemade Chip: Goodbye Potato Chips!

Chips, why do we love you so? Is it the crunchiness? The saltiness? or the just plain deliciousness....

French Onion Dip With Zero Guilt

When someone shows up to your house with sour cream, French onion soup mix, and a bag of Ruffles - you know you are in heaven....

Wow Your Friends This Memorial Day With Salad Sticks

If it would just STOP raining, Snack Girl would get excited about Memorial Day weekend. Click your heels together and repeat after me, "My children will not watch twenty hours of TV over Memorial Day weekend."....

Elegant, Easy, and Under 100 Calories

When you get tired of your apple and peanut butter, you need to go gourmet for your snack....

Love Chinese Take Out? Try This Trick

It is with a heavy heart that I criticize Chinese food here in the United States. Frankly, I used to live on this stuff until a doctor woke me up....

Veggie Burgers Can Be Better Than Meat Burgers (Seriously)

Snack Girl has been looking for a packaged veggie burger to endorse as a great snack. And, she hasn't found one :(...

Satan Would Hate This Recipe

Yes, this photo does look like "deviled" eggs, but Snack Girl has a fix to make them much less evil....

Give Me Three Ingredients and I'll Give You Amazing Salsa

If you are like me (and, hopefully, you are not), you can't create recipes on the fly. Snack Girl is mired in lists when she goes to the grocery store....

Who Else Wants Bacon?

What is bacon doing on Snack Girl? This site is supposed to be healthy!...

See How Easily You Can Turn Cauliflower Into An Awesome Snack

Wouldn't it be cool if the snack aisle of your supermarket had bags of delicious cauliflower? Alas, you are going to have to break out your kitchen knife and make your own.

Never Eat Fast Food French Fries Again

Yes, you can do it! You can give up your beloved french fries and celebrate their exit from your life.....

Green Thing...You Make My Heart Sing

Green thing, I think I love you. Your arrival in my neighborhood Stop-&-Shop means SPRING is coming soon....

My Friends Use To Laugh At Me...And THEN I Made This Broccoli Recipe

Do you think Snack Girl is done trying to convince you to eat broccoli? I will NEVER give up (really)....

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas - So Ridiculously Easy

Back in November, I wrote a post about healthy tortillas (A Healthy Tortilla). A reader who commented on that post changed my world....

Transform Broccoli Into a Food the ENTIRE Family Will Eat

Snack Girl KNOWS about the broccoli haters of the world. And she wants to change their minds....

Makeover Kettle Corn Into "Can Do" Corn

Kettle corn has that perfect combination of crunchy, salty, and sweet that keeps you eating it long after you should stop....

How To Avoid Wasting Carrots

Do you hate limp carrots? Do you buy a bag of carrots only to find that half of them are rotten by the time you get to eat them?...

Try This New Year's Snack: Veggie Shots

Short on time? Want to make something different and healthy for your New Year's party?...

Love Sliders? Here Is A Healthy Version

In case you are wondering, a slider is a mini-sandwich or burger. I first encountered them at my neighborhood Chili's....

Saving The Brussels Sprouts

Any of you Snack Girl readers hate Brussels Sprouts? I bet you are really looking forward to them on your Thanksgiving table....

Replace Mayo With This Healthy Spread

Seems like it is time to take on mayonnaise. I love the stuff, but when you start adding it to sandwiches, the calories sky rocket...

Don't Toss These Out!

Who likes to feel like their hands are in worm guts? You? The slimy inside of a pumpkin is a SCARY place....

I Love You More Than Bacon (Maybe)

Snack-Girl.com has been devoid of bacon until today! Bacon is not known as a healthy food, but it inspires me to song....

Kale Chips

There are bunches of kale ready to eat in someone's garden right now. What are you going to do with it all?...

Love Bagels and Cream Cheese? Try This Makeover

Has anyone else noticed the size of your bagel getting bigger in the last 20 years? And the amount of cream cheese spread on them seems to be growing too!...

A Tomato Salad For Tomato Lovers

Can you believe those colors? You know how they say to "eat the rainbow". Here is your chance!....

63 Calories of Salty, Sweet, Sour, Spicy and Veggie Goodness for a Dime

After writing about Parmesan Corn Recipe, I felt bad about adulterating corn into a high calorie food. Parmesan Corn Recipe is a GREAT snack, but not the best choice for us who are watching our weight....

Olive Tapenade from Clean Food Cookbook

How many of you want to be healthy and sustainable? I'm not sure what sustainable means exactly - but if it means I'm living a long life then bring it on!...

DIY Microwave Popcorn: Healthy, Yummy, and CHEAP

Popcorn is a whole grain snack that is really low in calories and has that great crunch we crave. But, the packaged stuff in the supermarket is expensive and can be high in sodium....

Hot "Wings" From The Skinny Chef: Recipe and Book Giveaway

Buffalo chicken wings are an amazing bar snack. Truly, the people who came up with these were geniuses like the person who opened the first oyster....

Smokeratoes: A Fabulous New Snack

Sometimes you have to open your eyes to what is in front of you. Recently, my vision changed in the canned seafood section of the supermarket. There was a product I had never noticed on my search for great tuna fish....

Change Your Deviled Eggs into Angeled Eggs (Low Cal Recipe)

Snack-Girl is a working mother and sometimes she doesn't get around to things as timely as other food writers. I would say most food blogs featured deviled eggs last week. Now that I have 2 dozen Hard Boiled Eggs in my fridge, I am ON IT!...

Celebrating Easter? Wow Your Family with This Luxurious Low Cal Dip

Easter is around the corner, and for many it is a time to get together with family and share a BIG meal. What can you make that will be both luxurious and keep you from unbuttoning your pants?...

How To Incorporate Veggies in Your Breakfast

Snack-Girl is always looking at great snack ideas - and What's Gaby Cooking? is an inspirational food blog....

Feeling Crabby? Try This Cure

Convenience foods are typically worse for you than food that you make yourself. But, once in a while a product shows up that is truly healthy and helpful to the time-stretched among us....

Turn Cauliflower into YUMMYflower

You can eat 2 cups of cauliflower and only add 88 calories to your waistline. Not only that, but the stuff is really good for you. This is one of the vegetables your doctor is telling you to eat....

Fastest, Easiest, and Tastiest Guacamole

Guacamole is not a dip that should be avoided because of the calories. Of course, if you add guacamole to something that is already calorie dense (such as a cheese and meat filled burrito), you are throwing gas on the fire....

Sneak Healthy Dip into Your Super Bowl Party

When we think of the Super Bowl, we think of BBQ chicken wings, pizza, 7 layer dip, guacamole, Potato Chips, Doritos, beer, etc. (mouth watering, yet?)...

A Puffy and Cheesy Snack of Deliciousness

Let's be honest. A party is not ONLY about being healthy. Yesterday's post: Party-Snacks was yesterday....

The Tiniest (and Yummiest) Pizzas on The Planet

The quest for the quickest (and healthiest) pizza continues! One dedicated Snack-Girl reader, Theresa, sent me her solution for a pizza makeover after I posted English Muffin Pizza....

How To Make A Healthy and Glamorous Snack

Holiday parties don't have to be about meatballs, 7 layer dip, and cheese. You can do festive things with vegetables and people won't even realize they are eating them....