Snacks

Snacks

Recipes, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas can make a great low-fat, high-fiber snack, and there is more to them than just hummus! If you love the texture and crunchiness of corn nuts, then you will love snacking on this healthy alternative of roasted chickpeas.

Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas
Makes about 6, ¼ cup servings

15oz can chickpeas
3 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread chickpeas out on a foil covered baking sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring and flipping every 15 minutes or so. While chickpeas are roasting, combine oil, chili powder, lime juice, sea salt, and cumin in a bowl and whisk together. When chickpeas are near the end of their cooking time and have become golden and crunchy, remove them from the oven and let them cool for one minute. Pour chickpeas into the oil/seasoning mixture and stir to ensure they are evenly coated. Place the chickpeas back onto the foil covered baking sheet. Bake for a couple more minutes until the mixture has dried onto the chickpeas.
Note: cooking time varies, so pay close attention to their color, and sample for crunchiness.

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Recipes, Snacks, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

These faux mashed potatoes consist of only 2 ingredients: cauliflower and milk!
A great alternative to starchy potatoes when you want a light side dish. The first time I made these, I couldn’t believe how similar they tasted to mashed potatoes!

They can be eaten plain or with your favorite additions such as garlic and parsley, as you would with regular mashed potatoes.


Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Amount of servings varies on the size of your cauliflower

1 head cauliflower
½ cup milk of your choice – unsweetened

Separate cauliflower florets from the stem and place them in a microwave safe container. Cover and heat for 4-5 minutes until soft. Remove excess water and transfer the cauliflower to a blender or food processor. Add milk in small amounts until desired texture is created.

Note: add the milk slowly a little bit at a time so that it doesn’t get too runny. The amount of milk may vary due to different sizes of cauliflower heads.

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Recipes, Snacks, Toast Tuesdays, Treats, Vegetarian

Kiwi Swiss Pepper Toast

It’s Toast Tuesday!

The perfect sweet and savory combination of flavors that your palette will love.

Kiwi Swiss Pepper Toast
Serves 1

1 slice whole-wheat bread
1 triangle Laughing Cow Spreadable Light Creamy Swiss Cheese
1 kiwi
cracked black pepper to taste

Peel and slice kiwi. Toast the bread, spread with Swiss cheese, top with kiwi slices, and add freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

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Snacks, Tips, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian

Travel Snacks

I am taking a break from packing… or should I say downsizing my suitcase, because I am going to Japan today!

I love traveling, but sometimes it gets tricky to find healthy foods at airports. I like to prepare little emergency snack kits for my carry on bag just incase I get hungry or healthy choices aren’t available.

If you are traveling somewhere far, it can be nearly impossible to bring fresh food along with you. Meal replacement bars are a great option, but some of them have ingredient lists longer than the dictionary and are filled with artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and some questionable ingredients. I have done my research to find you the healthiest meal bars and snacks that are TSA approved, portable, shelf stable, and yummy! The best part? These snacks have no preservatives, and tiny ingredient lists with the largest list containing only 7 ingredients, all of which we can pronounce and locate in a grocery store!

Meet your new travel buddies:

Ak-Mak Whole Wheat Sesame Crackers: These generously sized whole grain crackers contain only 7 ingredients such as: organically grown whole wheat flour, clover honey, sesame oil, dairy butter, sesame seeds, yeast, and salt. They add up to only 110 calories and 4 grams of fiber per serving of 5 crackers! I love these crackers because they are perfectly crunchy and not to mention Armenian (I’m part Armenian), scoreee!

Larabar: Well, I’m speechless on this one… I don’t know how they do it! Larabars are possibly the greatest meal bars to hit the market. Ever. Larabars are gluten free, dairy free, soy free, non-GMO, vegan, and kosher but do not exclude flavor. Famous for their simple ingredient list, pure delicious taste, and and outstanding nutrition, Larabars are the simple way to eat on the go. My favorite flavor “Cashew Cookie” contains only cashews and dates and actually tastes like a cookie. Amazing! The nutritional stats aren’t too shabby either. Made from whole fruits and nuts in their most natural state, it contains 230 calories, and 3 grams of fiber! They come in a variety of flavors and have been popping up in grocery stores and some Target stores all over.

Blue Diamond Almonds, 100 Calorie Packs: Almonds are great portable snack and an excellent source of  vitamin E, fiber, copper, phosphorous and riboflavin. Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away and suddenly a handful turns into an entire bag, so this mini 100 calorie pack of whole, natural, unsalted almonds takes the guesswork out for you. Talk about good things in small packages!

Justin’s Classic Almond Butter, Single-Serve Packet: These convenient single serve packages contain 2 tablespoons of almond butter at 200 calories per packet. Smear some on crackers for the perfect snack without the jar, measuring spoons, and mess! These handy little packets come in a variety of different nut butters and flavors.

That’s It: I just recently discovered these bars and have become completely obsessed! I like to call them “adult fruit leathers!” The bars consist of two servings of fruit per bar… yup… that’s it… just like the title implies. Crazy right? My Apple & Pear bar contains one whole apple and one whole pear. That’s it (I can’t stop saying that out loud, I’m truly amazed)! No added sugar, preservatives, no nothing. Oh, and don’t forget, they’re also fat free, gluten-free, kosher, and vegan. At only 100 calories and a whopping 3 grams of fiber, That’s It bars are your new bff. These thick, chewy fruit bars are a great option if you don’t feel like lugging an apple around in your purse, or don’t feel like buying one at an airport café for say $5.

Just Tomatoes: Just like the package says, these are just tomatoes! Veggies can be the trickiest food to travel with, but this awesome brand Just Tomatoes, just made getting our veggie servings in so much easier. Just Tomatoes uses a special dehydrating process, which allows nutrients to stay intact and leaves them with the perfect chewy texture. Just Tomatoes makes a variety of different vegetable snacks from peas to corn and are always kosher, GMO free, and never contain additives, preservatives or sweeteners. At 90 calories and 2 grams of fiber per ounce, these make a great snack with whole grain crackers!

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Desserts, Recipes, Snacks, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian

Raw Bites

Hoppy Easter healthy little bunnies!
I hope that everyone is having a fantastic weekend and enjoying time with their family and friends!

We all know that along with Easter, comes the oversized brunch portions, chocolate bunnies, and those darn Cadbury eggs… We might as well just call it Feaster. Instead of reaching for typical Easter candy and cookies filled with refined sugars, preservatives and saturated fats, have a raw bite! They can be made in 10 minutes, require no cooking or baking, and your family and friends will love them because they taste just like cookie dough! This is a great fun recipe to make with kids too!

When you consume raw unprocessed that are not cooked above 104° F, your body metabolizes them much more efficiently, allowing your body to focus energy on other parts of your system, other than digestion. These gluten-free, raw, vegan bite-sized treats provide healthy fats, natural sugars, and macronutrients that will satisfy your sweet tooth, give you a little burst of energy, and keep you away from the candy dishes!


Raw Bites
Makes 10 bites

6  pitted medjool dates
¼  cup unsalted almonds
¼  cup unsalted cashews
¼  cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 Tbsp mini vegan chocolate chips or carob chips (optional)
1 Tbsp water

Combine almonds, cashews, and coconut in a food processor or high powered blender (I used my Vitamix). Pulse or blend until ingredients break down into small pieces but not into butter. Add dates and 1 Tbsp of water for moisture. Blend until a thick dough is formed. Remove the dough from your blender and stir in chocolate chips. With a measuring spoon, divide the dough into 10 balls, at 1 Tbsp each. Place in mini cupcake liners and store in a container in the freezer. Cool for 20 minutes before consuming.

Nutritional Information
Serving size: 1 bite
Raw Bites (Without Chocolate Chips)
Amount per serving: Calories, 80, Fat 4g, Carbohydrate 11g, Sugars 8g, Fiber 1.5g, Protein 1g

Raw Bites (With Vegan Chocolate Chips)
Amount per serving: Calories, 95, Fat 5g, Carbohydrate 12g, Sugars 9g Fiber 1.5g, Protein 1g

Recipe adapted from TIU 

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