Cheese and pears on a double toasted and crispy slice of whole grain bread is drizzled with a touch of honey then topped with walnuts. This is a low fat, high protein snack that satisfies and takes just minutes to throw together!
I’m not joking about anything that I just wrote. I have an amazing year coming up (seriously!!). I’m turning 35, which I see as a badge of honour and not a terrible number. I am HAPPY with everything I’ve been able to do already in my life. I’ve done the work thing and had a career, I’ve given it up to stay home with three incredible kids, and I found a love of cooking and blogging to fill my free time (HAHAHA, yeah, I said I had free time, I mean I don’t sleep). Best of all though, I fell in love with and married the perfect guy – which brings me to the other reason this year is so amazing – we’re celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary next March! There are lots of other new adventures on the horizon too, but I’ll touch on those in another post.
So, with this AMAZING year coming up, I’ve decided to get into the kind of shape that this year deserves to have me in. I’m walking, running, zumba-ing, lifting weights, and eating healthier. But I’m a snacker, like, a SERIOUS snacker (always at night which I’ve really got to change).
Snacks need to be quick though, and I don’t think they can get much quicker than this. Every ingredient is something I keep in the house anyway (pears are a good fruit option for Bo too). I also love a whole grain artisanal slice of bread, double toasted so it’s extra crispy (I love how nutty those grains taste!).
My go-to is Nordica cottage cheese, and it’s fine to use their regular curd style (or the no fat curd version to make it even healthier), but what I really like, is spreading on some of the Nordica Smooth Vanilla Bean cottage cheese. The texture is like a thick yogurt, and the hint of vanilla goes SO GREAT with the pears and honey.
For the nutritional info, it’s hard for me to give you an exact break down because it depends a lot on the bread you use. The bread I used today is a bit of a treat, but it’s worth it. I also only used 1/3 of the container of Nordica Smooth Vanilla Bean Cottage Cheese. I came back home from my zumba class, 20 minutes with the weights, and then I took Sophie for a swim for a half hour. After all that, once I put Sophie down for a nap and made this, just the one slice was enough. I was completely satisfied and ready to tackle the kitchen (cleaning, yay…). Anyway, one slice for me totalled 160 calories and 4.5g fat. If I had left the walnuts off it would have been 135 calories and 2 grams fat… but thats good fat from the nuts, and I can’t resist them!
Healthy Cheese and Pear Crisps
Ingredients
- 1 slice of dense bread (I love artisanal multigrain breads for this)
- 1-2 tbsp Nordica Smooth Vanilla Bean Cottage Cheese (or regular curd style cottage cheese), depending on bread size
- 3 thin slices of pear
- honey
- 1 tbsp walnut pieces
Instructions
- Toast (or double toast like I do) your bread until crisp.
- Spread on a layer of cottage cheese.
- Top with the slices of pear.
- Drizzle on a very small amount of honey, you just need a taste. Top with the walnut pieces.
Disclosure: I am part of the PTPA Brand Ambassador Program with Gay Lea and I received Compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
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