The Best Healhty Things...

...Are those that don't taste healthy! They taste like they should be 500 calories per bite! And then its a delightful surprise when you discover that you can eat 10 of them and be just fine. Am I right?

I'm a big hors d'oeuvres person. I love to make an entire meal out of small, snacky things like dip, buffalo wings, cocktail weenies, and so on. My Hubby rolls his eyes every time we eat out, and I order 3 appetizers and no meal...but I can be horribly indecisive about what I want to eat, so this is a win-win situation.
Sadly, most of those snack items are distinctly unhealthy. So...how do we get the taste, and (now-not-so) guilty pleasure of eating what we crave, without adding inches and pounds to our bodies? Get creative, be smart, and always, always, always think before you put things in your mouth (that's just good life advice in general)!

I did say I was going to be conducting experiments to turn non-Paleo (and non-gluten free) foods into foods that fit those categories...well I have done that here. I thought about a food I love dearly, and could live off of if you (really) twisted my arm...and I took half of a recipe I found on Pinterest, and half of my own creativity, and created:

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bites
Ingredients:
1 C. cooked quinoa
1 C. cooked chicken, shredded (remember, however you cook it, please season it!!!!)
1/4 C. goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 C. cheddar cheese, shredded, or cubed small
1/4 C. buffalo sauce
1/4 C. ground flax meal (NOT flax flour...meal is courser in texture, which is what we need here)
1 large egg, beaten
2 Tbsp coconut or tapioca flour (tapioca has a stickier consistency)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a mini muffin pan.
In large bowl, combine quinoa, chicken, cheeses, buffalo sauce, flax, egg, flour and salt and pepper.
Using a tablespoon, scoop the mixture evenly into muffin pan (should be about 1 1/2 Tbsp each cup).
Place in oven, and bake 18-20 minutes, until golden and set.
Serve hot with dipping sauces.

Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce
1 C. plain Greek yogurt
1/4 C. very very mild blue cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. tried parsley
salt and pepper

Directions:
In bowl, combine all ingredients.
Chill in refrigerator until ready for use.

You can also serve with Ranch, Green Goddess Dip, or really anything else you prefer.

I also doubled the recipe for my use...because I like to have leftovers!!

You can eliminate the buffalo sauce, and instead use barbecue sauce, or honey mustard, or really whatever you want, to change things up a bit. Play with different cheeses too.
In about 1/4 of the bites I made, I used Paleo ranch, and fed them to Pixie!