Maple date scones

Maple date scones are an easy-to-make, healthier, less-sweet treat for breakfast, dessert or an afternoon snack.

While I like sweet snacks and desserts as much as the next ninja, I generally prefer my baked goods to be a little less on the sweet side.

Which is why I'll choose a scone over a cupcake any day.

(True story: My sister used to love sitting next to me at family birthday celebrations when we were young because I didn't like to eat the frosting. I would eat the cake part of my piece and give the frosting to her -- that's how much I prefer my sweets less sweet!)

And any time I can sweeten a sweet more naturally than simply using refined sugar, I'm all over it.

As their name implies, these maple date scones are sweetened with pure maple syrup, chewy dates and almost no added sugar.

Blueberry quinoa protein smoothie

Skinny blueberry and banana quinoa protein smoothie: made with soymilk, it's dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free.

I never get tired of smoothies. How about you?

I swear there are an infinite number of good-for-you ingredients that can be combined to make smoothies so that you rarely need to drink the same flavor twice. Which is great, because I love drinking them both for breakfast or as an afternoon "snack", and usually what my taste buds are craving are pretty different at those two different times of the day.

This blueberry quinoa quinoa smoothie fits the bill for either time of day, as it's super-simple to make, with only five ingredients. Also, it's easy to create new flavor variations simply by changing up the kind of frozen fruit you use in this smoothie recipe. I've swapped out the blueberries for peaches, mangoes, strawberries, grapes -- you name it, I've tried it.

In addition to tasting great, this skinny smoothie is also loaded with energy-boosting protein. I work in all that good protein by first substituting Silk soymilk -- with 8 grams of plant-based protein per serving and no cholesterol -- for dairy milk. I like to use organic unsweetened Silk soymilk, but be sure to check out the full offering of Silk soy products.  Then I also add cooked quinoa, much the same way that I like to use old-fashioned oats in my favorite breakfast smoothie.

Plus, this smoothie is dairy-free, refined sugar-free and gluten-free, making it a great no-guilt, good-for-you snack in that long stretch after lunch but before dinner. Just say no to sugary snacks and say yes to this blueberry banana quinoa protein smoothie instead!