Fix Me A Snack

My New Year’s resolution is to prepare devestatingly simple healthy snacks whenever possible.

Seriously, snacks featuring toast as a base are relatively unexplored territory for me. And I love it because it has that breakfasty connotation. And we all love breakfast anytime of day. It has been scientifically proven.

My kids wouldn’t eat this. Would yours? I used to feed them avocado often when they were small. But these days I get to keep it all for myself which is nice because I’m attempting the vegan before 6 thing a la Mark Bittman. I’ve surrounded myself with fresh fruit and bags of frozen leafy greens. We’ll see what happens.

Also, I need to mention my new favorite beverage: Lemon Honey Tea. Does everyone else in the world already know about this? You heat up some water and add a dollop of honey and a squeeze of lemon. I feel like maybe I’ve seen my friend Debbie drink hot water with lemon. Regardless, it goes a long way toward curing my family’s winter-time wheezing. I just love it. My kids really enjoy it with apple cider vinegar instead of the lemon.

Smashed Avocado on Toast Recipe

1/2 of a ripe Haas avocado
1 teaspoon lime OR lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch salt

Remove the pit from the avocado and scoop the pulp out into a small bowl. Add the lime juice, cumin, and salt and smash it all together with a fork. Spread on toast. Serve immediately.

Yield: about 1/3 cup of smashed avocado, enough for one or two pieces of toast
Prep-time: 5 minutes

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In case you hadn’t noticed already, I’m a great lover of snack recipes that allow me to quickly use up over ripe bananas. These recipes started with one in Feeding the Whole Family.

My husband says Banana Milk tastes like a thin milkshake without the ice creamy goodness. (He’s a master of the backhanded compliment, but I still love him.) The kids’ favorite was the Egg Noggy Banana Milk version (see the last recipe below).

1. Honey Banana Milk Recipe

1 1/2 cups milk
1 ripe or over ripe banana, peeled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey

Pour the milk into a blender along with the banana, vanilla, and honey. Blend until smooth. Serve.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep-time: 5 minutes

2. Malted Banana Milk Recipe

1 ripe or over ripe banana
1 1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons malted milk powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process the banana, milk, malted milk powder, and vanilla in a blender until smooth. Serve.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep-time: 5 minutes

3. Egg Noggy Banana Milk Recipe

1 ripe or over ripe banana, peeled
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Process the banana, milk, vanilla, and nutmeg in a blender until smooth. Serve.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep-time: 5 minutes

Even though I’ve been eating peaches, plums and nectarines for what seems like weeks on end, I couldn’t stop eating this salsa. If only I could sneak a little jalapeno into the mix, it would be stellar.

My youngest tentatively snacked on this dip even though she saw me nonchalantly cutting up the yellow tomatoes. She is (currently) not a tomato fan. It was either a moment of genius on my part or dumb luck that she even tried it; most likely the latter.

1 medium ripe plum, pitted and chopped
1 medium ripe peach, pitted and chopped
1 medium ripe nectarine, pitted and chopped
1 medium yellow tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped purple onion (optional)
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1/2 lime)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a small bowl, mix together the plum, peach, nectarine, and tomato. Add the cilantro, onion, lime juice and salt and stir until they are well distributed. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yield: 2 cups
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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I used some freshly picked berries for this sauce. Grocery store berries or frozen berries may need some extra sugar and/or lemon juice.

1 pint fresh or frozen blackberries (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon sugar

If you are using frozen berries, allow them to thaw. For fresh berries, mash the berries and the sugar in a small bowl with a fork to get the juices flowing. Puree the mixture with a hand/immersion blender until smooth.

Pour the mixture through a strainer set on top of a medium bowl. Use a rubber spatula to push the pulp through as much as possible. Discard the seeds left in the strainer. Serve or store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Yield: 1 cup
Prep-time: 10 minutes

This recipe requires farm fresh local peaches. No grocery store peaches. No. No. No.

4 ripe peaches, pitted and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar

Puree peaches and sugar in a medium bowl using a hand blender or in a blender.

Pour the puree through a strainer set on top of a medium bowl. Use a rubber spatula to push the pulp through. Set the strainer aside and discard the bits that did not pass through. Serve or store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Prep-time: 10 minutes

I love this zippy little summer salad when I have a little extra time in the afternoon. It gives us a break from the usual carrot sticks. If you don’t have champagne vinegar, you can try lemon juice. Champagne vinegar is also lovely with strawberries or on salads containing fruit. (A cucumber technically is a fruit, right?)

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

1 medium fresh-picked cucumber, peeled
A generous pinch of fine salt
Pinch ground white pepper
1 – 2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill (optional)

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice the cucumber thinly and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, and dill. Mix with your hand or serve as is.

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I think the next series I do will have to be about ways to use up over ripe bananas. It seems to be a question that puzzles me too often. And maybe it would provoke me to make a banana cream pie. I’m up for anything involving pie.

So here’s a lovely way to use up an over ripe banana.  It’s creamy without containing any dairy, which is a bonus on these hot summer days. The kids gave this one rave reviews. I’m excited to make them an egg cream someday soon.

2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg white OR 2 tablespoons pasteurized egg white product*
1/2 cup cold water
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ice cubes (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon honey

Unless you’re using a pasteurized egg product, pasteurize your egg white in a double boiler over gentle heat. In a small bowl, whisk egg white along with the sugar and 1 teaspoon water. Place bowl over a small saucepan containing an inch or two of simmering water.

Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Use an instant read thermometer to take the temperature. Keep the themometer in the egg mixture as much as possible and not touching the bowl. Once the thermometer reads 160, remove the bowl from heat and continue to whisk for another minute to be sure the egg doesn’t coagulate.

Pour egg mixture into a blender along with the 1/2 cup cold water, banana, vanilla extract, ice cubes, and honey. Mix until smooth. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups
Prep-time: 10 minutes

Lately my family has become deeply committed to consuming our individual body weights in fresh local berries. This morning, my husband came up with a healthier verison of Raspberry Rockets.

What sort of summer treats are your family snacking on?

I don’t know about you, but our summer is off to a good start…

Gone are the orange and brown days of winter. The berries are finally here! 

 

1 pint (3 cups) fresh strawberries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chocolate chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil

Wash strawberries. Spread them out on a towel to dry completely.

Meanwhile, place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwaveable cup, mug, or small bowl. Gently microwave the chocolate and coconut oil for 2 minutes at very low power (10 or 20 percent). Check the chocolate and stir if possible. Microwave for another minute on low power and keep checking until the chocolate is mostly melted. Stir vigorously until the remaining chocolate is melted and well combined with the oil.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium low heat.

Dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate. Place on a sheet of wax paper. The chocolate will set in a about five minutes. Serve.

Yield: approximately 24 strawberries
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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We are up to our elbows in fresh picked native strawberries right now. And I  wouldn’t have it any other way. Early in the season, we eat them raw for breakfast and snacks. But if this summer plays out like the last, I’ll gradually have to get more inventive in order to keep the strawberry magic alive in my household.

We served this as dessert after dinner tonight and it was a big hit. I sliced up the berries while my first-grader tended the vinegar on the stove. It was all done in a few minutes and the kids gave it a double thumbs up.

I didn’t use bargain basement balsamic for this syrup, but I didn’t use the super expensive variety either.

2 cups fresh strawberries
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Wash, hull and slice the strawberries. Place the berries in two small bowls and set aside.

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes until thickened. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the strawberries. Serve.

Yield: 2 servings
Prep-time: 10 minutes

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