Something to try

I was reading/drooling/fantasizing at Pioneer Woman today. (For those of you who are not familiar with Pioneer Woman, it is SO worth a browse. Hilarious and tasty.) As soon as the berries come in season, I am making this: Yogurt Cream and Berries. We get blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries in the summer here. I love to pick and eat, but I don't always know what to do with them except eat them plain. Now, I know.

Trail Mix

As part of my getting-into-shape plan, I went through the cupboards and got rid of all of the candy. Charlie is now my new best friend. (Charlie is my 22-year-old brother who is living in a camping trailer in my garage. A fabulous arrangement for both parties.) However, as soon as I deposited the amazingly large supply on Charlie's bed, I started to crave chocolate. Now, chocolate is not a banned substance (that would be fatal to the plan) but it can't be in the form of candy. My desperately searching brain landed on a good solution, trail mix sandwiches. No one else in my house will touch them, but despite the odd sounding name, I really like them. They go like this:

8oz cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 carrot, grated
1Tbsp lemon juice
1tsp lemon zest
1/2c raisins
1/3c trail mix, chopped (I put in more like 2/3c)

Mix until blended and serve as a sandwich spread. I also like to spread it on a tortilla, roll up and eat as a wrap. Can I say, I love wraps? You can put almost any leftover in a tortilla with a little butter, sour cream or cream cheese and it tastes great! Except soup, but who has a problem eating leftover soup? Not me. And yes, I realize that with all that cream cheese, it probably isn't a great weight loss meal, but that wasn't the point. The original recipe recommended not using trail mix with M&Ms or chocolate chips, but it was only a recommendation, and I figured that a recipe is a guideline, not a rule. So mine obviously had both!