Meet the Shaneyfelts

Healthy Living

Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches/Bar (Healthy!!)

I love ice cream sandwiches.  And I love eating healthy.  Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds?  I found a recipe on Pinterest last week, and of course I altered it because I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t change a recipe before even trying it.

When these ice cream sandwiches were frozen, I had Dustin try one.  Right after his first bite, he said, “WOW!”  Apparently I outdid his expectations.  See for yourself!


Pistachio Frozen Yogurt Bars
-Graham crackers
-8 oz container of cool whip (sugar free)
-1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, plain
-box of pistachio pudding mix
-1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line a 9 x 9 or 8 x 8 pan with foil.  This will help when you have to cut your bars because you can lift the foil out of the pan and cut easily!
2. Break your graham crackers up into halves or fourths.  I did some of both in order to make everything fit.  Line them in the bottom or your pan.
2. Mix cool whip, Greek yogurt, pudding mix, and vanilla extract together.
3. Spread mixture over your graham cracker layer.
4. Top with the 2nd graham cracker layer.
5. Cover and freeze 3-4 hours.
6. Take foil out of pan and cut.  Serve cold!


My First Time to Cook Quinoa–a Recipe

I had always been intrigued by the idea of eating quinoa, but I was a little intimidated to cook it myself.  I had only had quinoa in two dishes–one in a roasted butternut squash spinach salad at a local restaurant and then in a broth bowl at Panera.  That was the extent of my quinoa consumption.  But I knew that it had huge health benefits (TONS of protein, fiber, B12, magnesium….that’s just to name a few).  And it was a grain.  I texted my friend Sarah last week while I was in Walmart telling her I was taking a leap of faith and buying a box and that I needed her favorite recipe.  Luckily, she was headed into Walmart and met up with me to talk about her favorite recipe.  She emailed it to me and I tried it a few days later!  

(Note:  I accidentally messed up on the recipe and had to alter the recipe super fast–like, in the middle of cooking because I misread the directions.  So this is my version.  But I really like Sarah’s as a dip–which is how she served it Friday night.)



Sarah’s Southwest Quinoa

I cup cooked quinoa
1 can drained black beans
1 bag frozen corn kernels
1/2 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 1 tsp minced garlic)

1. Cook the quinoa and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Combine the black beans, corn, onion, and red bell pepper and sauté on the stove until onions are transparent (and corn is cooked thorough).
3. Combine all of the sautéed vegetables and cooked quinoa in a bowl. 
4. Mix together olive oil, lime juice, salt, cumin, and garlic and pour over the quinoa and vegetables.  Mix together well.

This will be served hot.  This can be a side dish or even your whole meal.  You can also add in grilled chicken!  I first ate it as a side in our meal one night and then ate it for lunch by itself the next day.  It was filling just by itself!

This is such an easy introduction dish to quinoa and will be on rotation in our house!

A Healthy Tater Tot Casserole

Casseroles are the epitome of the southern comfort food.  But they are also full of fat.  When I got engaged, one of the things I was excited to register for was the Cotton Country Cooking cookbook from the Morgan County Junior League.  I felt like it was such a rite of passage to get it.  My mom always cooked out of it and I couldn’t wait to start cooking out of it for my family.  It was published in 1972 and has great recipes!  My sister pointed out a recipe in it that she had made, and I knew that I could make it healthy so that Dustin and I could enjoy it too!

This is a recipe that takes little to no time to prep.  The only think you have to wait on is cook time–but it’s worth it!

Tater Tot Casserole (the healthy version)


1 lb lean ground turkey, uncooked
1 small onion (yellow or white), diced
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
bag of frozen tater tots
1/2 can water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. With a spatula, evenly spread your turkey over the bottom of a 9×13 pan
3. Spread your diced onion over the turkey
4. Spread your cream of chicken soup over the onions
5. Evenly spread the frozen tater tots next
6. Spread the cream of celery soup over the tater tots
7. Pour 1/2 can of water over the casserole
8. Bake for 90 minutes!


I took this after we had eaten.  It’s good!

We’ve got yet another snow day, so I probably will spend all day baking out of being bored!  Hopefully the warm weather gets here soon!!