Snacks
Chocolate Stuffed Raspberries
Apr 17th
This isn’t really a recipe but these chocolate stuffed raspberries are a big hit with kids and adults alike. You can use them as a tasty treat, an afternoon snack or on ice cream and other desserts. I simply stuffed chocolate chips inside each raspberry with a bit of caramel and voilà the perfect snack!
Ingredients:
1 cup of fresh raspberries, washed
Chocolate chips (I used vegan chocolate chips, but regular chocolate or even white chocolate chips would be great)
Caramel
Directions:
Clean raspberries then lay them on a paper towel to soak up the excess water. Using a tooth pick, dab a little caramel in center of each raspberry. Then gently push a chocolate chip into the center of each raspberry.
Serve immediately and enjoy.
Roasted Spicy Chickpea Snack
Oct 24th
Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika (or cayenne pepper)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Line a baking sheet with foil, set aside. If you are using a baking stone, skip this step.
Drain, rinse and pick through the chick peas, removing the loose skins and any peas that are darker in colour. Pat dry with kitchen towel. The drier they are, the faster the will become crispy.
Spread evenly over foil lined baking sheet and bake in 400°F oven for 20 minutes.
Apple and Sunflower Butter Sandwiches
Sep 4th
Looking for healthy lunch ideas for yourself and the kids? I highly recommend these Apple and Sunflower Butter Sandwiches. I have always loved ants on a log; this is very similar, but maybe better??? Even if you aren’t still brown bagging it, I think this is a great snack for after school or after a workout.
Ingredients:
2 Apples
Sunflower Seed Butter
Raisins
Chocolate Chips
Granola
Directions:
Slice apples horizontally. Remove core with apple corer. If you don’t have an apple corer, you can use a cookie cutter or a knife.
If you are not going to eat them right away I would pour some lemon juice on the apples to keep them from getting brown.
Spread a copious amount of sunflower seed butter on one side of an apple side. Add your desired toppings. Sometimes I get crazy and add all 3 toppings. Put and apple slice on top.
Repeat until apple sandwiches are made. Then eat and enjoy!
If I had known about these sandwiches, I would have taken them to school instead of that old PB & J.
What did you take in your school lunches?
Spicy Kale Chips
Aug 22nd
My husband and I are going on vacation in a couple of weeks…and we’ll be driving. I always try to take healthy snacks in the car so we won’t be tempted to stop at fast food restaurants. Usually, I bring chips, nuts, and fresh fruit. Instead of our regular chips, I thought I would try making kale chips.
I first heard about kale chips from The Food Physician, one of my foodie friends on Facebook. She loves kale and she was the one who inspired me to first experiment with kale in my Shrimp Pesto with Kale. I think it was the first time I actually even ate kale … and I liked it.
Now kale is old hat in our house. I use it in smoothies, side dishes, main dishes, salads…but these kale chips have eluded me…until tonight.
I just bought some kale over the weekend and actually used it as a base in my Red Quinoa and Tuna Salad Boats for lunch today which actually got me thinking about these kale chips again. So while I was making dinner … because I was roasting vegetables for a Sweet and Spicy Squash Bowl, I said to myself, “o.k. let’s try this.”
Both my hubby and I like spicy foods, so I decided to add some cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder. I thought they tasted great. My hubby, who usually likes food much hotter than I do say that they were a little too spicy and to make them a little less spicy next time.
Here’s what I did and you can adjust the spices to your taste.
Ingredients:
1 bunch kale (I used green curly kale, but Lacinato/Dinosaur kale works as well)
1 tablespoon olive oil + more if necessary
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces, discarding the tough stems and ribs. Rinse well and drain. Dry, dry, dry them — I used paper towels and also let them sit until leaves were completely dry.
Lightly coat with olive oil — start with 1 tablespoon and add more as necessary (you don’t want to add too much, or the chips will be greasy). Add the cayenne, chili powder, cumin, turmeric and salt, and toss until the leaves are evenly coated with the spices.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the leaves are crisp. Serve immediately.
