Fix Me A Snack

True, more of a dessert than a snack. How about a treat? Anyway, the kids loved it + it took no time at all to make + a serving of fruit = winner.

2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
Vanilla frozen yogurt

In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if desired). Set aside.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add butter to pan and allow to melt. When butter starts to sizzle, add apples and stir to coat. Then add the maple syrup mixture and stir again. Cook the apples until they turn soft (approximately 5 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces).

Allow the apples to cool until they are warm instead of hot. Scoop frozen yogurt into small bowls, top with one quarter of the apples, and serve.

Note: In the picture above, I used pumpkin ice cream as my children selfishly ate all of the frozen yogurt before I had a chance to take a picture. Guess who got to eat the pumpkin ice cream version after the photo shoot? Yum.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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Dinner Table Myths Debunked from Health.com. Addresses “Clean your plate”, “Eat your veggies or no dessert”, “What my kids eat won’t affect them later”, “Sugar hypes kids up” and “My child won’t eat, he’s going to starve”.

Super Easy Frozen Yogurt Treat from Journey Into Unschooling.

9 Tricks to Make Halloween a Treat from Summer Tomato. My new favorite term: Rational Indulgence!

Whenever you feel like your child’s diet is a complete zero, pull up this article from the New York Times - Living for Candy. It’ll make you feel better in a things-could-be-worse sort of way.

Five Things To Do with Leftover Halloween Candy from Serious Eats. Leftover?

I used some sweet and juicy Garnet Spy apples for this recipe today. Try to use fresh apples as I can see a mealy grocery store apple really ruining the party.

Adapted from “Apple and Sweet Potato Puree” in the Apple Cookbook by Olwen Woodier.

1 small sweet potato (yields approximately 1 cup of cooked potato)
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground ginger (optional)
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt

With a knife or fork puncture the skin of the sweet potato a few times. Microwave on high for approximately 4 minutes or until soft throughout. Test by inserting a knife into the potato. If there is little resistance, it is cooked. Set aside and allow to cool.

Microwave apples in a small bowl for 3 minutes or until well cooked. Transfer apples to a blender along with any juices that were released while cooking. Slice the sweet potato in half lengthwise and remove most of the skin. Put the potato plup in the blender along with the apples.

Put the remaining ingredients in the blender (butter, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and yogurt) and puree until smooth. Allow to cool 2 minutes and serve in small bowls. If you feel like pulling out all the stops top with chocolate sprinkles. Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Yield: 4 servings (approximately 2 cups)
Prep time: 15 minutes

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Ahh, glorious sweet potato, how I love thee.  You are an inexpensive and highly nutritious veggie whose day job is being a carb. What could be better?

Honestly, these appear as a side dish more often than a snack at my house. But why not make these instead of slaving over a batch of cookies?

2 medium organic sweet potatoes or yams
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Scrub sweet potatoes clean. Cut into sticks approximately 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Place sweet potato sticks in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and salt over sweet potatoes and toss to coat.

Spread sweet potatoes out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until soft and browning where in contact with the pan.

Allow to cool a few minutes on the pan. Serve with ranch dressing.

Yield: 5 cups (6-7 servings)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 35-45 minutes

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Nori “crackers” from Bitten. Considering the source, I bet these really are yummy. I’m just not up for feeding my kids seaweed right now.

Study finds snack-making stimulates brain development from Japan Today.

Nourishing a sick kid from Parenting.com. Food and beverage suggestions broken down by symptom.

A Persimmon A Day… from Kid Appeal. If you’re like me and have been wondering if persimmons might be worth seeking out and what to do with them if you actually find them, here’s a nice little introduction to the fruit.

Introducing your kids to the coolness of food from Oregon Live via Food News Journal.

Chocolate-covered coconut ice cream treats from Nutrition as Nature Intended.

I, along with the rest of my town, have been nursing mildly sick kids this past week. Since they are not deathly ill, I’ve taken it as an opportunity to craft a snack specifically for the sick kid. Behold, jellied coconut water with fruit juice:

 

Now, in case you didn’t know, coconut water seems to be the latest answer to all the world’s problems. It is naturally high in electrolytes and other good bits that are well suited to keeping you hydrated.

My local Whole Foods carries coconut water that is flavored with other juices such as mango and passion fruit. But the taste of these flavored drinks was not to my liking. But apparently, some kids will go for it. 

Plain coconut water is just not yummy; unless you’re sipping it out of a fresh coconut on a beach, then maybe it’s drinkable. So I chose to mix it with some fruit juice. I recommend apple juice instead of pomegrante if your child is vomiting. No need to wonder if your child is vomiting blood on top of everything else.

I’ve included two versions of the same recipe here. One uses a “natural” vegan gelling agent and another uses Knox. If you’d like more background on gelling agents, check out my Gelling Agents page.

Vegan Gelled Coconut Water

1 cup unflavored coconut water
1 cup apple or pomegrante juice
1 packet (5 teaspoons) vegan powdered unflavored jel

In a small saucepan, bring coconut water and juice to a simmer. Transfer hot juice mixture to a small bowl. Slowly pour jel into juice mixture while stirring vigirously with a fork or small whisk. Keep stirring for two minutes. Pour juice mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove any clumps. Pour mixture into small bowls, ramekins, or cups. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Serve.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 10 minutes
Set time: 1 hour

Traditional Gelled Coconut Water

1/2 cup cold apple or pomegrante juice
1 cup coconut water
1 packet (2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored powdered gelatin

In a small saucepan or microwave, heat coconut water until hot. In the mean time, pour juice into a small bowl. Pour gelatin over juice and allow to soak for 1 minute (a couple extra minutes is fine). Pour hot coconut water over juice mixture and stir until completely dissolved or 5 minutes. Skim any foam off of the top of the mixture with a spoon. Transfer the mixture to small bowls, ramekins or small cups. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Serve.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Set time: 3 hours

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I can’t stop eating these. They remind me of BBQ potato chips, which I have a complete weakness for. The secret ingredient is smoked paprika which I’ve seen a few food bloggers going ga-ga over lately.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, paprika, salt, and garlic powder. Add beans and stir to coat. Transfer beans to a rimmed baking sheet (a.k.a jelly roll pan). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until beans begin to appear dry. Allow to cool and serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes

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15 Great Lunchbox Snacks from The Kitchn

Manifesto on picky eaters from Make Your Own Damm Dinner. I love this. A nice dose of humor/reality for those of us trying to feed small ones.

Fruit & Veggies Recipe Guide from Whining and Dining via @smallbites. A lengthy list of toddler-friendly fruit and veggie recipes sorted alphabetically.

Learning to Love Foods You Don’t Like from Summer Tomato. Brussel sprouts, anyone?

Halloween Recipes and Kitchen Projects for Kids from Epi-Log via Food News Journal.

This snack idea is from Gastrokids. I’m just starting to warm up to snack mixes for kids as my youngest recently turned three and is supposedly clear to eat popcorn, whole nuts and the like.  More importantly, she is extremely likely to pick all the sweet bits out and leave the rest. But, in this case, at least it’s cranberries and not chocolates. Pepitas are a new favorite thing of mine too.

1/2 cup pepitas
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

Mix and serve.

Yield: 3/4 cup
Prep time: 2 minutes

A few days ago we went to the orchard and there were still raspberries waiting to be picked in the raspberry patch. They are terribly fragile and have a shelf life of about 10 minutes. But we nonetheless managed to turn them into a quick and delightful little snack.

1 cup plain greek-style yogurt
1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice (to taste)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup granola (preferably something with almonds)
1 pint raspberries

Gently rinse raspberries and allow them to air dry.

In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Divide the yogurt between three small bowls (1/3 cup each). Top yogurt with 1 – 2 tablespoons granola and then with a generous handful of raspberries. Serve.

Yield: 3 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes

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